Seeing Santa (before Thanksgiving!)

It is quite possible that I have stumbled upon the golden ticket for seeing Santa with no lines and happy children.  Every year, I try to play it early in the season but at a time with no lines.  Last year, we couldn't get it together until nearly Christmas and there was NO WAY that I was going to tackle it close to Christmas.  Have you seen the lines for Santa the closer you get to December 25?  So last year, we didn't go to see Santa.  This year, the boys and I put on our Park Meadows Mall finest and headed south to meet with Santa.  It was awesome that Santa was there, just waiting for us.  (apparently the beginning of November through black Friday is the secret ticket to see Santa with no lines.  There, the secret is out.)  We were ready with our lists (ok... the boys were), our smiles (the boys smiles) and our Christmas finest (the boys have their annual Christmas shirt that you'll see a dozen more times before New Years.  Boys can get away with recycling their "special occasion" outfit).

On the way into Santa's, we strolled through his village.  Usually, this is the last waiting spot before seeing him.  This year, the trail was WIDE OPEN and ready for us!

Oliver was willing to pause for a photo.  All of these photos are with my iPhone so please excuse the iPhone quality.

Kellan was anxious to be in a photo too. Then, they couldn't take their eyes off of whatever was behind me.

Behind me was a talking and singing reindeer.  Really, Santa has all of the good stuff!

The next stop, the Big Man, himself.

The boys walked right up and Oliver started chatting him up.  Kellan was a bit shy, but was right by Oliver's side.

Lickity Split and Santa had the boys on his lap.  

Oliver kept on chatting.  He had a lot to say this year.  I'm not sure what all they were talking about, but he had quite a detailed and lengthy conversation.  I think Kellan may have said one word when Santa asked him what he would like.  

As we left Santa, the boys received multiple compliments on how well behaved they were and how adorable they were.  No joke!!  The check out lady looked at the photos and she said, "Nice job Mom and Dad.  You make some great looking kids.".  It made my day!!  Yes, yes we agree.  We love our boy to pieces and as much as we agree that they are adorable, we love that they are also complimented for their behavior.  It makes all of the hard times worth it.

After a quick lunch, we headed for the door, but not without a stop at this bench for some photos.

Yes, our boys are adorable and well mannered, but even they have their "moments".

For instance, it's really hard to let your little brother have the first turn closest to the reindeer.

Then, to watch your little brother get the first turn on the reindeers lap.

Then, it's finally the big brothers turn, but the little brother still has to prove that he can get just as close to the reindeer as the big brother.

Finally, everyone has had their turn with being closest and we get a great photo on the funny reindeer bench.  Whew!  It's not always easy and sometimes it's a process, but almost always the outcome is worth it.

Then, they didn't want to leave.

The boys and I had a GREAT day together.  Santa, lunch, a reindeer bench and finishing touches for Thanksgiving at Bed Bath and Beyond.  Success!!

As we raced home to beat our first Thanksgiving guest pending arrival, the Christmas tunes lulled the boys into a soft slumber.  So... I took photos.

Click!

Click

Hey!!  I thought this guy was sleeping.

After I took those two photos I heard, "Mommy, what are you doing?"

Mommy said, "Hey, I thought you were sleeping?"

Oliver said, "I was about too but then I heard the camera sound"

Busted!!!

Moments later... we had this.

The final outcome of the day, pure perfection for our 2013 Santa Photo.

Merry Christmas boys!

We hope that Santa is good to you this year.  There is no doubt that you deserve it.

Quick, turn back to Thanksgiving for a few more days before we get back to Christmas mode!!

Breakfast with Oliver

When Oliver found out that I had a Thanksgiving lunch with Kellan, he was sad that I didn't have lunch with him.  I ensured him that he would get special meals too, like breakfast the following day with his Daddy.  On Friday morning there was a Parent/Student breakfast and Keith was planning to go with him.  They were both SO excited.  Then.... Kellan got a 24 hour flu.  Boo!!!  I had to be in the office that day so Keith worked from home so that he could stay with Kellan.  That also meant that Mommy got to go to breakfast.  SCORE!!

On the menu: Pancakes made by parents and Santiagos burritos.  YUM!

Not only did Oliver get breakfast with Mommy but he had an eye exam date that same evening.  What luck!!  This is his second year for having his eyes checked.  They saw some changes but nothing of concern at this time.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he can make it many more years before needing corrective lenses but the odds aren't in his favor.  I'm crossing my fingers for you kiddo!

Kellan's Pre-School Thanksgiving

The week before Thanksgiving, Kellan's school invited the parents to come for a traditional Thanksgiving feast.  When I walked in, all of Kellan's class was sitting on the ABC carpet, listening to a story.  Kellan wasn't really listening to the story as much as he was craning his neck looking for his Mama.  I gave a wave and he smiled ear to ear.  That's why I always make it a point to go to these events.  I've seen the sad looks on the faces of the kids that don't have parents there and I try to make sure that look is never on our kids' faces.  

The teacher excused the kids to find their seats and they sat down with a plate of goodies beside them.  When I showed this picture to Kellan he said "there's my family".  I suppose when you spend as much time with this group as he does, it does begin to feel like your family, at least your school day family.

Kellan's question right before this photo, "What is this??".  

Mommy's response, "Turkey.  Eat it.  You like turkey."

Last but not least, pumpkin pie.  YUM!!

I had a GREAT time at Kellan's Thanksgiving feast.  He had a 12" seat for me right next to him that I bellied up to the table with, so that I could enjoy a feast with him.  I loved it!!  He loved it!!  There was nothing but a big smile on his face.

Nuggets vs the Lakers

Recently, I was given tickets to attend the Nuggets game against the Lakers.  I was SO excited!!  There were two tickets; one for me and one for Keith.  The downside was that Keith had a work trip.  After some creative thinking it dawned on me that Oliver would LOVE to go to the Nuggets game.  Next, I had to find a sitter for Kellan.  As luck would have it, none of our sitters were available.  Fortunately, our next door neighbors came to the rescue and took Kellan in for his first ever play date.  It was a win/win/win all of the way around.

This is how Oliver spent the entire time at the game.  In this seat.  He didn't leave it once, except to stand up to take a drink of his Sierra Mist.  He was glued to the game.  Lucky for him, we were in a suite and his Mamma was kind enough to deliver snacks.  There was endless popcorn.

There was also chicken strips, which he loved.  He decided that the nachos were too spicy, so he passed on those while he took a second helping of chicken.  Feel free to spell it out: S.P.O.I.L.E.D!

Oliver had a GREAT time!

I had a great time too and had a chance to mix and mingle with some great colleagues.

The Pepsi Center got a new jumbo tron that was just about as big as the basketball court.  CRAZY Big!

When the screen said "Make Some Noise", this kid delivered!

It was down to the wire and Oliver kept me up to date with play by play reports.  In the end, the Nuggets pulled out a win of 111 to 99 over the Lakers.

Oliver was SO thrilled!!

He was a great date!!  I'm so glad that he came with me, even if it was late on a school night.

The next day, he wrote down the score so that he could remember what it was to tell his teacher.  He was so excited.  I love when I get the opportunity to take our boys to date nights like these.  It is so special to spend this time with them.

Points for Chuck-E-Cheese

We often hear compliments on how well behaved our boys are, which is always great to hear.  Isn't that what parents want to hear, that their kids are well behaved in the presence of others?  Yes, that is true.  What else is true is that every kid has bad days, down days, days when they just don't feel like being the good kid.  For our boys, that usually occurs first thing in the morning, last thing in the evening and sometimes in between.  Fortunately, it's usually at home when we are our most comfortable and true colors can shine bright.  It is those time when our boys will tend to not listen even though we have asked them a gazillion times to "get dressed, brush your teeth, go upstairs for a bath, go upstairs for a bath, go upstairs for a bath, Don't Make Me Ask You Again!!!"

So... in the spirit of their competitive nature and language of appreciation, we created a point system. If they did something the first time we ask they would get 1 point.  If they did something without being asked they got 2 points.  If they didn't do something that we asked, they lost a point.  It was brilliant and worked like a charm!  Oliver took to it immediately and Kellan followed suit.  The deal was that it was a group effort and if they earned a combined 100 points, we would take them somewhere that we normally would NEVER take them.  Without hesitation, they requested Chuck-E-Cheese.

ugh!

SO...  in less than a week, they had 100 points.  We should have raised the bar a bit higher.

It took us a couple of weekends to pay the reward (due to schedule conflicts) but finally, we made it.

They were bouncing off the walls in anticipation.  We couldn't get there fast enough.  "Are we there yet" rang through the car.  It's only a 15 minute drive.

We ordered up pizza, purchased coins and divided them by two.  Oliver watched carefully to make sure that the cashier was being honest and dividing them equally.

There were TONS of games to provide an hour of entertainment.  Those of you who have been there know this.  For us, we have never been in our adult years we had only heard the horror stories from other parents.

This game was our favorite.  You just push this handle up and down to shoot balls into the bull dogs mouth.  It was fantastic fun!

Even Kellan loved this game.

What would a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese be without some Wack-A-Mole Sharks?

We admit, it wasn't anywhere near the awful place that we had heard it was.  We all had a great time and the kids were over-the-moon thrilled with their little plastic trinkets that they won.  It just goes to show, you can't knock it until you try it (as we were reminded by our six year old).

Next up, we have raised the bar on the reward system.  Where to next?

the Super Bowl of Flag Football

Finally.... the day had come that Oliver had been talking about since before the season began, the Super Bowl (of flag football).  When you're six and you've played three seasons with the same team, it does feel like the Super Bowl of Championship Games.

The Dragons went into the game without losing a single game in three seasons.  NOT ONE SINGLE GAME!!  You could say that they did so well this season because they were teetering on the high end of the age range, but what would you have said three seasons ago?  When you watch these boys play, you say that these boyz have SKILZ!

The Dragons, before the Big Game!!

Owen M, Chase, Owen H, Oliver, Preston, Colby, Caleb, Robbie

These boys sure have grown to be a great team.

The boys knew that this would be the toughest game of the season and the one with the highest stakes.  Who wants to lose after a three season winning streak?  Not the Dragons.  They hit the field with focus and determination.

Once again, the flags were flying.

It was the first weekend in November and the boys were wearing shorts.  It was AWESOME!  We really lucked out with the weather and had true Super Bowl sunshine.

This was an attempted interception by Oliver.  You may recall at the beginning of the season that Colby caught the leagues first interception for this age group.  Oliver was ready to claim one of his own.  See the ball to the top right?

He didn't get the interception, but he did interrupt a pass by the offense.  A great play in our book.

One last cheer for the Dragons!

After another outstanding season, the Dragons took home their third championship trophy with three undefeated seasons.  This is the last season for this group as many of the kids are moving into the next age group, but maybe they will meet up again in the near future.  They truly exemplified team work, focus, determination and champions.  

Coach Ben, Chase, Colby, Nick, Caleb, Oliver, Preston, Owen H, Coach Chester, Owen M

Oliver was SO happy to have a third championship trophy.

We were SO SO SO proud of him!!

Just the other day he was seriously debating on which position he would play for the Broncos; Quarter Back or Running Back.  We are curious to know ourselves.

GO DRAGONS!!!!