Obstacle Course

Bryce had a day off school today in recognition of Martin Luther King Day. I asked him if he wanted to do something special and he said, "I want to stay home all day long!" So that's what we did! A highlight of the day was the obstacle course Bryce and Landon created together. They ran, jumped on the mini trampoline then landed on pillows. It was a great day!

Pennsylvania Farm Show

We went to the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg yesterday. The boys had a blast! In this picture, Bryce is standing in front of an antique tractor. He loved sitting on all of the tractors and checking them out. Landon followed Bryce's lead and testes out the tractors too!

Landon and Bryce loved looking at all of the animals - rabbits, chickens, birds, cows, horses, just to name a few. Bryce was very brave and touched almost every one.

Molly and Wally joined us for an evening of fun at the Farm Show.

There were many educational displays and activities for the kids. In this picture, the boys are playing in a pool filled with seeds.

Library Day

I recently began working part-time again so Landon and I have been enjoying a lot of daytime activities together. We spent a few hours at the library this morning and Landon loved it! It was the first time that we went there without Bryce. Landon definately soaked up the one-on-one time and he selected his own books without the Bryce's input. He was so happy to be sole decision maker about books!

Happy New Year!

We rang in 2010 with the Conrads! Bryce and Landon had a great time playing with their cousins on New Year's Eve and everyone stayed up until midnight to watch the clock turn over to 2010! A highlight of the night was when Hunter and Wyatt got their pet turtle out of its tank. Both Bryce and Landon picked it up and examined it!

Winter Fun

Bryce has really enjoyed all of the snow we've received this season. He and John built their first snowman together. Bryce proudly posed for a photo beside his snowman.

Bowling

We enjoyed an evening of bowling tonight. Bryce and Landon were so excited that they could barely contain themselves! Bryce was a great big brother and helped Landon throw the ball down the lane.

After Landon threw the bowling ball, he would clap for himself. Too cute!

Merry Christmas

Santa made it to our house on Christmas! I think Bryce was doubtful because as soon as he saw the presents, he said, "Yes! I wasn't on Santa's naughty list!" The boys had a blast opening presents and went through everything in a half hour. This by far was the best Christmas morning we have had with the kids because of their ages. We have every moment of it recorded and we will watch it frequently!

After we opened presents, John made pancakes for us. He makes the best pancakes!

After Landon's much needed afternoon nap, he was ready to play! He enjoyed making food with the new playdough accessories.

Christmas Eve

Molly, Wally and the Eckard Family came over to our house on Christmas Eve for dinner after we went to church. The kids were so excited to be together on the night of Santa's arrival. Emily and Landon enjoyed a craft together. Landon was in a grumpy mood and didn't want any pictures taken, so I don't have any good pictures of him from Christmas Eve!

Bryce and Aaron posed for a photo together in front of the tree.

The kids enjoyed tracking Santa's progress on www.norad.com.

Bryce and Landon were anxious to go to bed that night knowing that Santa was going to visit soon! They put on their Christmas pajamas that they have been waiting to wear for weeks and then they placed Santa's cookies near the tree.

Family Christmas Celebration

We celebrated Christmas with my parents and my sisters' families on Sunday. Bryce and Landon participated in the annual tradition of sharing opaltek, however, they skipped the part where they eat it. They both gagged on the taste! Landon and cousin Hunter!

Opening presents was the highlight of the evening for all of the kids.

Snow Storm!

The boys, especially Bryce, enjoyed the big snow storm on Saturday. Bryce spent a lot of time outside playing and helping John to shovel. Poor Landon didn't last very long in the snow. He has an extreme dislike of snow gloves and spent most of his outside time whining about not being able to move his fingers. I even bought two new pairs of gloves on Friday night, hoping to find a pair he would like!

This is a picture of Bryce LOVING life during the storm!

I Declare War!

Bryce has declared war against the gingerbread houses! He has been spending a lot of time creating dramatic scenes with his army figures lately. Unfortunately, the gingerbread houses were the latest casualty of war!

Gingerbread Decorating

It was our annual December tradition of decorating a gingerbread house. Keeping little fingers from putting the candy in their mouths was the most challenging part of this project! This was a short lived project, but for a few brief moments Bryce and Landon were in deep concentration.

Cookie Exchange Party

We went to our friends' cookie exchange party on Sunday. Santa made a special appearance to give the kids gifts! Landon was fascinated by Jennifer's singing snow globe. Landon and I sat beside it for a very long time and watched the snow fall.

The older boys had a blast playing together!

Landon sat beside his special friend Katherine and ate cookies.

What a fun family Sunday!

Hours of Fun

Bryce enjoyed a few hours of fun making this "city" of cars today. He loves imaginary play!

Cookie Decorating

We made sugar cookies last night to take to a cookie exchange party tomorrow. Bryce had so much fun decorating a few cookies of his own! He is a great helper!

Landon had fun decorating too, but he wasn't as excited as Bryce. He was happy after he decorated just two cookies!

Bryce's cookies.

Landon's cookies - with a pound of sugar and cyrstals on each!

Beach Trip

We enjoyed a great weekend at the beach with Molly, Wally and the Eckards. This is the view from our hotel room. The kids fed the birds from our hotel balcony so we got an up close view of them. It rained all day on Saturday so we found inside entertainment and visited Santa. Bryce asked Santa for a Leapster and Landon refused to sit on Santa's lap!

Sunday was a cold but beautiful day!

We took a walk on the board walk on Sunday morning.

We took photos on the beach and looked for sea shells. We found a few beautiful shells and the kids have been enjoying playing with them.

Outdoor Christmas Decorating

Yes, this is a blow up snowman and it is in our front yard! Bryce has been asking for years for a blow up decoration and I swore I would never get one! The things we do to make our children happy! John posing with the decorations!

Landon and I went to the street to get a good view of our lights. The boys are so happy to see all of the Christmas lights on our house!

By the way....Bryce took all of the pictures in this post! He loves photography just like his mom!