Christmas

We made the trek to Missouri for Christmas this year. We had a lot of fun to say the least. We stopped by Stacy's parents' first. We arrived on our anniversary (3 years already) and Stacy's mom had made us a mini replica of our cake. It was delicious! We then had a yummy dinner at Cheddar's. They stupidly do not have Cheddar's in Colorado. We opened gifts with Nana and Papa on Christmas Eve day. I don't have pictures of any of this unfortunately. I got a new camera for Christmas and somehow deleted the pictures I took. Anyway, we had a short but great time in Joplin! Thanks Nana and Papa!

We then headed to the lake to see Drew's family. All the siblings were there and all six grandbabies. It was a blast to see everyone together!


Grandma had to remove the glass inserts from the coffee table because a certain someone wanted to take them out himself and climb around...

Luke gives kisses, but only on his own terms. He wasn't quite in the mood with the cousins...

We woke up Christmas morning to a beautiful blanket of snow!

Three of the cutest little bums on Christmas morning...

Roxie with the loads of gifts...

Grandma and Grandpa got each family a Wii! We couldn't believe it! We've had a lot of fun with it so far...

The beautiful Christmas tree, showcasing Grandma's nativity scenes on the levels below...

Dance party after we opened the gifts...

Time for some fun in the snow! Luke wasn't a huge fan though.

We ate so much wonderful food while we were home! Here's Christmas dinner...

The famous Buttermilk Pie...

Grandma feeding the grandbabies buttermilk pie...

Don't forget the eggnog shakes!

Roxie had a blast! She went on a very long hike with the guys, played chase with the kids, and loved playing & running in the snow. She was one tuckered out puppy at the end of each day...

Drew brought everyone an American flag from Iraq. Each one flew over their base for at least a day...

Grandma and Grandpa with all the kids...

Jon and Carrie taught Avery to do the "robot". It's a favorite dance move of Drew and Jon's. I love how Caroline is posing in the background.

The whole gang!Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for such a wonderful time! We wish we could be back there right now!

Luke did a great job in the car on the long ride. You can't really tell that well, but he loved busting a move to the music...

North Pole

Last weekend we took Luke to the North Pole, a little amusement park here in Colorado. For those of you from back home, it's like a really tiny Silver Dollar City for kids. It's not nearly as well done though. We had fun, but I think Luke was still a little too young for it all.


All bundled up...

On the train ride...

The carousel started out okay, but did not end well...

I think Luke had the most fun stomping on snow patches that were still on the ground...

Luke enjoying his first taste of funnel cake...

Luke had a lot more fun on this ride with Daddy...

Overall, a nice family day!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving week with our family. Stacy's brother, Ryan, came to Colorado the weekend before Thanksgiving and we had a nice time catching up and eating good food. Luke liked Uncle Ryan's computer and helped him count some change.



It's always a long drive, but Luke did really well entertaining himself. He and Roxie did some world class sleeping as well...


The day before Thanksgiving we drove to Nebraska and picked up Stacy's Grandma so she could join us in Missouri. Luke got some quality time in with his Greatgrandma...



Somehow I didn't get any pictures of actual Thanksgiving, but Drew's parents were able to come down to Joplin so we had a wonderful meal with both sets of parents. Here's some fun around the house during the weekend...


Luke was able to spend some quality time with his cousin, Avery. They are exactly six months apart and had a blast playing in the backyard and watching the puppies out the window...

We had such a great weekend and can't wait to go back at Christmas when we'll get to see all of Drew's siblings and all five of Luke's cousins! Wish we didn't live so far away, but the long drive is always worth it!

Halloween

I realized we never posted anything about Halloween this year. We took Luke to the "Boo at the Zoo" a couple of weekends before Halloween. He didn't seem too interested but the weather was nice and we had fun as a family. On actual Halloween we went up to Denver to visit our friends, the Wilberns and had a great time. Luke really enjoyed playing with Ella. Here are a few pictures...

Reading

Here's Drew and Luke reading their favorite book before bed...

Keys

Luke has always loved playing with our keys. He suddenly found another use for them besides shaking and throwing...

Somehow our key to the Jeep fits in our bedroom door...

I Crack Myself Up

The other night, Drew was watching a playback of him and Luke playing. Luke was watching it and thought it was hilarious.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Three words: Luke, alone, baby powder...





Here's a favorite hobby of Luke's lately... flushing the toilet

Air Force vs. Army Game

Although we've lived here for 2 1/2 years now, we've never made it to an Air Force Academy football game. A couple of weeks ago they played Army so we decided to go last minute. There was a little bit of a chill in the air but it was pretty nice. Luke did better than we thought and I'm so glad we decided to go so we wouldn't lose the chance.

Jets and parachuters flew overhead before the game. The jet noise sure gave Luke a rattle but they were fun to see for sure.

Doctor Visit

Luke had his 18 month check-up a few weeks ago. I finally took a picture. We've lucked out and have a really great pediatrician here in Colorado. He's really tall for his age but a little skinny, so we're trying to bulk him up a little bit the next few months. He already ate like a pig, so we'll see if backing off some of the milk might help. He loves his milk! The picture was taken with my phone so it's not the greatest quality.