Helper

Ryan's job while Grandpa was gone ice fishing was to feed the deer.  And feed the deer, he did!  Buckets of corn went out to the deer, morning and night.  He loved seeing the deer come to eat the corn right after he got in from feeding them.  One day he was late to feed them and the deer just stood there, stared at the house, and waited patiently for him to come out to spread the corn.  Creatures of habit!  Next on Grandpa's list...get them to eat out of his hand!

Country Sunrise

Isn't it peaceful in the country?  It looks cold, too, though, doesn't it??

Erasers

Carter likes little things that he can hold in his hands.  He holds something in his hands 24/7.  He clings them tightly in his sweaty palms, even all night long.  One of his latest favorites is erasers.  Here he is playing with his newest purchase:  Christmas erasers.  Something tells me I could have saved a lot of money on Christmas gifts and just gotten him his .50 package of erasers!

Edge

We spent a few days at the Edge Resort and Waterpark in Duluth earlier this week.  Evan, Kyle, and my Dad went to Rainy Lake ice fishing so my Mom and I took Ryan and Carter to the waterpark.  We had such a nice time and it was great to be in a warm waterpark - who likes to freeze in a waterpark?  Not me!  The kids don't seem to mind, but I do!!!!  I swear I went down the waterslides at least 100 times with the boys, mostly Carter because Ryan could go alone.  We had a blast - between the slides, the Vortex pool, obstacle course, hot tub, and lazy river, there wasn't a dull moment the entire time we were there!  Already thinking about our next adventure...

Our room, king bed for Mom and I...

and bunk beds for the boys!

The boys (im)patiently waiting for us to get ready to go down to the waterpark: 

The view of the waterpark from our hotel room:

 Ryan in the hot tub waterfall:

Relaxing in the hot tub:

Carter hanging out in the hot tub:

Ryan making his way across the obstacle course:

Laying in the pool beneath the giant bucket, waiting for it it dump:

Here it comes!

Waiting again:

Another dumping!

Carter on the kiddie waterslides:

Posing with Tiki Tom:

What a great trip - we can't wait to go back!!!!

Christmas Eve

We celebrated Christmas Eve today at our house with my Mom and Dad.  We got hit once again with a snowfall, as we have the past few Christmas Eves.  Today's snowfall produced about 3-4" here, so did not cause travel problems as our last Christmas did!!!  The boys were SO excited, especially Ryan.  It was painful for him to wait, and we found that you didn't wonder whether he liked your gift - he was very vocal and honest about every one.  Gotta love a kid's honesty!  Carter woke up under the weather - poor kid has had a bad run of colds lately - he hasn't really gotten rid of it in the past month or so.  Kyle is also sick, on top of strep, woke up with croup today.  (healthy bunch!)  Kyle is so patient opening gifts, making sure everyone takes their turn - the kids aren't quite that patient yet!!!  After gift opening, Evan made his famous shrimp pasta dish, which the adults all enjoyed - the kids, not so much.  Oh, well, you can't win them all!  Overall, we had a great Christmas together.  Looking forward to celebrating with extended family tomorrow!

The boys with their Christmas stockings:

Santa brought Ryan a new Bakugon:

Evan with his Cities 97 Sampler Volume 22 CD:

 Atlantix Lego set:

New fishing rod from Santa:

Can you feel the love?  We were not going to exchange gifts this year, so he didn't expect to receive anything, but I picked up the Keurig coffee maker he wanted:

Uggs for me - I've wanted them for a few years, so I was very excited to get a pair!

Kyle lucked out with Visa gift cards this year - he is saving for a new bow, so these will come in handy for that!