Happy New Year!

We were so exhausted from Christmas, that our New Year's Eve was very calm and chill this year.  It was just right.  Somewhere in that first week of the new year, we woke up to find out we had been swallowed by the big, gray, fog.  Even took the river away and all the new houses just built below us!

 
The sun managed to make it's way back out, inspiring the boys to go for a little adventure with their new backyard explorer tools...

We're big fans of the new path that was built behind our house (that's us just right of center in with the shed in the backyard)

The second coming of Christmas

Gus got a big boy bedroom!  He took to his new room very well, even asking to go to bed the first night so he could sleep in his "Transformer Bed!" One of his most exciting gifts to receive this year, was a Transformer pillow and blanket from Great Aunt Kathy. He topped the night off in some new Frozen jammies too.  Kid was on cloud 9.  Big Bro Arjen was more than happy to help him make his new bed as well as move his stuff into all the new drawers in his new furniture!

Post-holiday relaxing

After a day of relaxing and winding down from Christmas, the crew decided to wander over to "The Dock" - the new bar-pub operated by Sudwerks, Davis's local brewery.  The boys drove the gator while everyone else walked.  The ride was so calming, Gus passed out and managed to get a nap in (forefront of photo).  Sloane was cooperative and slept for her parents too!  

Getting me some Gus-lovin after he woke up.

Later that same evening, we went to Dorothy's house for an evening of food, fun, and dancing. Gus even decided to step up for some karaoke!

Any guesses as to the song he picked??

Christmas 2014

Christmas was a whirlwind of fun this year!  So much so, that I hardly took any pictures!  The few that I did are here.  With the baby's due date so near, we stayed in CA for the holiday again this year.  We missed seeing our Wisconsin family, but it was the first time in a couple of years that our whole CA family was together which was wonderful.  

On the morning of Christmas Eve, the boys were surprised with an early visit from none other than Santa!  

Our tree, and the (first round of) gifts!

Gus proudly hanging his Optimus Prime transformer ornament on the tree...

...and making sure to point it out for us!

The boys opening a joint gift from the Fond du Lac Anderson's…a transforming remote controlled car!

You can't see his face, but I promise the look was priceless...

…unmistakeable excitement and sheer joy!  A Frozen clock!! (The exact one he threw his first major public tantrum over when we didn't let him take one home from Target during a recent shopping trip).  Thank you Minnesota Anderson's!!!  Huge hit!  

Intently studying the clock.  It hadn't even dawned on him that he might be able to…take…it…out…of…the…box?!?

Arjen found a back scratcher in his stocking and knew exactly what to do with it! 

 We made our way to Davis by evening on Christmas Eve.  The boys had received new bathrobes and slippers for Christmas, and Arjen decided that was the required outfit to go looking for Santa!  He even convinced Baba that she should put hers on too.

With everyone xmas-jammied up, it was prime time for a photo op with Baba and her grand-babes.

 Christmas morning came and went with more presents to open, more family to share it with, and not a single picture to show for it.  We had a wonderful day, and by the end of the day, Arjen even came up to me with arms opened wide, gave me a big hug and whispered in my ear: "Mama?  This was the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!".  Melted my heart on the spot.  Where does he come up with this stuff?

Go Badgers!

It's not very often that the Badgers show up in our neck of the woods, but when they do, you can bet on a certain group of Badger fans being there to cheer the team on!  Right before Christmas, the top ranked men's basketball team came to Berkeley to play the Cal Bears.  We all dressed in our red and made our way over to Cal to watch the game! 

So overwhelmed by the excitement that they couldn't contain themselves

Sorry for the goofy lighting, but at least you can see the excitement starting to settle in!

Perhaps too much excitement? 

No shortage of brotherly love at least!

Did I mention our seats were in the second to last row in the entire arena? Kinda perfect spot to be with the wee ones. 

The Badgers won, of course, and we finished the evening with some pizza before heading it home for the night.  All in all, a very successful outing for the boys' first live sporting event!

The tree.

That was probably the easiest part...getting the tree off the roof. 

Perhaps trimming some branches off the bottom wasn't so bad either. 

But trying to birth this thing thru the front door proved a little tougher than initially expected. 

Yes, the pregnant lady is equating this process to labor. I was entertained just watching. Fortunately he didn't destroy the entry way too badly. 

As I mentioned, getting it off the truck was the easy part. The only time Gravity was working in our favor. 

And while the tree rising was going on downstairs, a little elf decided to "decorate" upstairs. 

It stands! 

Over the next week, Andrew and the boys worked hard to get the tree decorated. 

And this little elf was glad to bark orders from up high. 

Pointing to his first placed ornament!

The only picture I was able to get of both boys in front of the finished product. Clearly they had more important things to do than smile for the camera!

Happy 60th Mom!!

We decided to surprise mom with a weekend in Tahoe for her 60th birthday this year. Found a house just the right size to fit us all, and moved in for the weekend! We had a great time eating, playing games, gawking over our cute kids, enjoying the hot tub, and wandering over to the lake (which was shockingly and sadly very low). We did manage to sneak in plenty of photo ops, however, including this years Christmas card pic! Thanks to our resident family photographer, Casey! 

Cheers!

Arjen enjoyed getting to sleep on the top bunk. 

Gus found the bottom bunk cozy too. 

A little love from my Gus. 

Casey should be standing in water. 

Not a bad park view!

The family pic. Even got the dog in it this year!!

Snuggle time with Sloane!

Arjen teaching Sloane the ins and outs of video technology. 

No 60th birthday is complete without a TMNT card! 

Soakin' with his aunties. 

Too much cuteness!!

She was getting love from everyone!! 

Happy birthday Mom!! We love you dearly and are so grateful for the life you've given us!!