Our Insta-January. . .

I haven't taken my regular camera out since we've been back.  But here's a look at our life through my cell phone lens.  

The kids warmed their bellies with some hot cocoa from their new mugs!

Lego towers!

Graydon models his new Grandma-made pajamas.

Spider Man!  His birthday present from our Texas Benetti family. 

Getting to work on a Christmas present from Tyler.  He had a plateful of colors to choose from, but he just used green - his favorite color. 

Taking advantage of a 60 degree day in January.  

Girl Scout cookies are here!  Too bad it wasn't 60 degrees on this January day.

A few inches of snow fell on Friday.  That's the most we've had in a long while. 

And just tonight. . . Bella saw the photo of Graydon in his Grandma-jammies and she wanted a photo of herself in her Grandma-jammes too.

Our big news for the week:  we bought a CAR!!!!  We are finally a two car finally.  I have pics, but they are on Andy's cell phone.  I'll try to get those up next week. 

Christmas Vacation: Part 5

New Year's morning was quiet - which was very welcomed after a few busy, busy days!  But later in the afternoon we had a little adventure in the ice skating department!  This was Bella's second time skating and Graydon's first.  (Curtis and Daddy stayed back).

From cold to hot. . . the next day we went swimming!

Curtis didn't want to leave.

He was kind of a sleepy boy on our trip.

Snacking on apples on our last night in town.

Saturday morning arrived and it was time to hit the road.  We got off to a later start than anticipated.  Andy and I both ended up with the stomach bug on Friday - which pushed off our packing.  Then just as we were heading out the door on Saturday, we realized that all of our DVDs were missing!  About a half hour later, they were discovered at my Grandma's!  By about noon, we were finally off.

After some hours on the road, the kids stretched out at a Starbucks in Ohio.

We watched the Packers defeat the Vikings from our hotel room that evening.

Our first couple of weeks back have been a whirlwind!  Not the lazy January that I had imagined, but all good stuff.  As always, it was hard to say goodbye to everyone.  We're already looking forward to our next Wisconsin trip!

Christmas Vacation: Part 4

December 31st rolled around and we had a special birthday to celebrate.  Grady-Boy turned 4! 

We spent the morning at Monkey Joe's!  The kids loved it and are still asking me when we can go back.

Somehow this is the only photo where Ava shows up (barely).  Not sure how that little girl escaped my camera!

Afterwards, we all headed over to Slice (a pizza place) for a birthday lunch and celebration.

I had plans for more celebrating that evening as we rung in the new year.  But Graydon and Curtis fell asleep before the festivities even began!  Thankfully, I think he felt pretty celebrated that day.  Happy Birthday, Graydon!

Christmas Vacation: Part 3

Next up: a Benetti Christmas!

Cousins waiting patiently to open up presents.

What happens next is about 20 minutes of utter chaos as gifts are passed and opened. 

Uncle Scott got our kids the new Nexus 7 tablet.  It was an instant hit!

Bella and Ava played together so nicely. At first glance, it was almost hard to tell them apart at times.

Curtis discovered the doll bike and rode around to his heart's content.  

Kind of reminds me of his big brother back in August 2010!  Graydon is 20 months old here.

The next day was Jodi's sprinkle (aka. baby shower)!

We are so excited for the arrival of Baby Owl!!!!

Later that evening, Scott planned a beer tasting in the Benetti kitchen.

Pat (Lori's boyfriend) dressed well for the occasion.

We maybe got through half of it.

No beer for the pregnant lady!

Auntie Mary breaks away momentarily for some snuggle time with Curtis.

All that tile floor in Grandma and Grandpa's house was perfect for one of Graydon's Christmas gifts. 

Stay tuned for Christmas Vacation: Part 4