Christmas Morning

The kids were so excited (and a little relieved) to get up Christmas morning and see that Santa had come leaving them gifts (instead of coal, Logan was very conscious of all the times he had picked on his little brother). Their big presents from Santa were Leapster pads. And they have been a big hit, they haven't stopped playing them since. I've even had to replace the batteries! Daddy and Mason:

Logan and Aunt Rita:

Some other fun gifts they received were Clone trooper helmets from Grandpa and Nana.

They also spoiled the boys with adorable little "farmer" coats. So now when they are on the farm they can look just like Grandpa! Here are Jake and the boys posing with their matching coats:

The boys also got some cool Transformers and sweatshirts from Grandpa Craig and Grandma Janet.

We enjoyed good food, perhaps a little too much . . . and of course played lots of games including our favorite, Loaded Question, which Jake and Mitch always seem to make very interesting. I don't know how they come up with their answers. (This picture was taken by Logan).

And of course, the Neddenriep family tradition of trying to find the rat hiding in the Christmas tree. Don't even ask.

Happy Anniversary!

I can't believe it's already been 9 years! It's gone by so fast. I'm so grateful to have Jake in my life, he's such a great husband and father. I love you! And he was so sweet by surprising me with a dozen roses! Just like the ones we had at our wedding! Thank you!

Random Pictures

Mason gets up between 6-6:30am every morning. It doesn't matter how late or early he goes to bed, he always gets up at the same time. He's gotten pretty good about entertaining himself until the rest of us get up. This morning when I went to check on him this is what I found. He looked so cute in his footy pj's just rocking away and "reading" a book I just had to go grab my camera!

And here are the boys watching The Grinch movie. Mason was scared of the Grinch, so his big brother was protecting him. I have to take pictures of moments like this to remind me just how cute and sweet my boys really are (because they are usually wrestling, fighting, yelling, etc.)

Kids' Christmas Crafts!

Mason had a great time at his Preschool Christmas party. They made painted bulbs for their craft and then Christmas trees (made of ice cream cones, frosting, and candy) for their treat. Mason didn't bother frosting his tree much, he was more interested in eating the Skittles and M&Ms!

And here are his beautiful masterpieces that he gave us as gifts . . .

Logan also came home from his party bearing homemade gifts for all. He was so excited to hand them out and watch us open them. It was fun to see how proud he was and how happy he was to give to others. And I just love all of the gifts the boys made, they're just so talented and both have such great teachers!

Christmas Party

The boys were so excited to attend the Church Christmas Party because they really wanted to see Santa. It was funny because after we parked our car Logan said, "I don't see Santa's sleigh anywhere, he must not be coming until the end." It was too cute! After enjoying some great food, Mason and Logan had fun getting their faces painted (Mason has a bell and Logi has a snowman) . . .

Decorating sugar cookies with colored frosting and of course lots of sprinkles . . .

And finally getting to sit on Santa's lap. Each of the boys told Santa one thing that they wanted for Christmas and then received a little treat bag filled with goodies. After I opened up Mason's for him he asked, "Where's the Batman toy I just asked for?" I explained that we have to wait for Christmas for Santa to actually bring the toys.

Family Home Evening Fun

For FHE this week we decided to decorate our premade, everything supplied gingerbread house from Walmart! We do have grand ideas of making one from scratch one of these times, but I think we'll wait until the kids are a little bit older. For now, this was challenging enough for them. We had a lot of fun and I think the boys did a great job. And since they didn't like any of the candy that came with the kit, all of it ended up on the house and not in their tummys!

Christmas Card Pics

Every year I fight with my boys to try and get a decent photo of them in front of the Christmas tree to send out with the Christmas cards. And each year, despite the fact that they're getting older, it's still almost impossible to get a picture that isn't silly. . .

a little bit crazy . . .

or just completely inappropriate! And now you know why all of our pictures are from the waist up. It's just too hard to keep pants on Mason!

And finally the photo that I was waiting for. . .