Portland Children's Museum

Yesterday, we headed over to the children's museum with the kiddos.  My two nieces Kyli and Karlee came, along with my mom, Jason's mom and Dara and Landen.

I love how you try to get a picture at a place like this and you have three random kids in it!

The clay station:

Face Painting... Gaven didn't want any part of it, so he just stood and modeled his Birthday Boy button from Auntie Dara.

The train room... Carsen found a book shelf and grabbed a book to read to Kamryn.  It was so cute because she was actually looking and listening for part of the time!

The injured Mann in the ambulance!!

Still reading to Kammy

The water zone... WAY cooler than the Waco Children's Museum's water area!

Kammy finally got to get out at the baby play area and she loved it!

Crazy Braeden being crazy.

One of their favorite places, the Pet Hospital!!

The rock climbing wall that was a foot off the ground.

I love this picture... as if he's terrified of falling!

Karlee - the receptionist at the Pet Hospital

The Dig Pit

A few snacks before we head out...

... And of course, a couple more pictures

 

After the museum, we headed to McDonald's to have lunch, open the rest of his presents and play a little bit more.  This was the last picture I got before my camera battery died.

Gaven was pretty excited about his presents!! 

He's a pretty lucky little guy.  He got a watch, a treasure box and Lego set and a Razor scooter to name a few of the things... the boys had a blast spending the day with family.

Friends and Firsts

It was so great to be able to get together with two of my friends from high school who were also my soccer teammates for years.  They are two of the coolest sisters you'll meet and I feel blessed to call them my good friends!  We've known each other for years... as a matter of fact when Hillz (far right) and I played club soccer at just 6 or 7 years old, we were introduced when she took my muddy soccer cleat to the mouth.  What a way to start off a friendship, eh?!  We soon learned it was much better to be on the SAME team.  LOVE these girls! 

We had to get a picture of the kiddos... From left to right, Hillary's two girls Hadley and Mayson, Carsen, Ashley's little boy Keoni, Kamryn, Braeden and Gaven

It was Gaven's 4th birthday and Grandma and Papa's 37th Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday the 28th, so after visiting with friends, we headed out to Mongolian Grill for dinner.  The boys weren't big fans of the food (they are crazy!!), but for Gaven, the most exciting part was opening a few gifts after dinner. (The rest of his gifts we saved for Thursday when we would be with Jason's mom and sister)

I have to start by telling a little story.  Back when Gaven had just turned 3, he asked me for some gum.  I really didn't want to give him any because I didn't trust that he could keep it in his mouth and not leave it somewhere around the house for me to find later.  So, we told him that the rule in our house was that you couldn't have gum until you were 4.  To our surprise, he willingly accepted that answer.  Any time that the other boys would have gum, we would just tell him, "Not until you are 4."  The fact that he took it so well was really cute and it became something to look forward to when he turned 4.  There were even times when someone else would offer him gum and he would just politely decline saying, "I can't have gum until I'm 4!"

Just within the last few months, when you would ask him how old he was, he would tell you, "I'm 3 and when I'm 4, I get gum."  Or if asked what happens when he turns 4, he would say, "I get gum!"  So here he is opening his first gift...  He had to smell it first!

The priceless face!

He didn't even want to let go to open the other presents!

Look, Mom, I'm 4!!!!

Happy Birthday, Roo, Roo!  We love you and the simple things that make you happy!!

Christmas with the Abrahamsen's

"He came... He really came!"

We told the boys they couldn't get up until the clock said at least 6:30.  At 6:30 exactly, Carsen came into our room and told us it was time.  Grandma and Papa came out, too, to see if Santa had come.  The boys ran down the hall and straight to the kitchen to see if he had eaten his goodies.  Sure enough, he LOVED the pumpkin bar and drank all his milk.  The boys stood there for a while with smiles on their faces and I had to say, "Did he bring you anything."  They all responded, "Oh ya!"  As if they had forgotten that part of it and ran into the living room to check.  Sure enough, the big guy had been there!

Since Jason and I didn't want to pack a whole bunch of smaller gifts to go to WA, we decided that for a big family gift, we would give the kids a trip to LegoLand in Dallas.  I built the word "LEGOLAND" with Lego's and the boys went on a scavenger hunt through the house to find all the letters they needed.  I don't know who had more fun, the boys or Papa, who you can see following them in this next picture!

The scavenger hunt was a big hit... and finally they had all their pieces.

Braeden looked at it for maybe 3 seconds...

I didn't even really have a time to take a picture of him organizing them to spell LegoLand.  They soon realized what their present was.  They have been asking to go there for over a year now.

Who needs LegoLand or any other present for that matter!!

We opened all our family gifts that morning since Jason had to head back to TX at 2:45pm.  We opened gifts with my side of the family after that and then everyone came over for a yummy dinner.

The shirt I made for Kamryn... sleepy eyes and all!!

 

Once again, everyone had a great time and it was wonderful to be back with our families again for Christmas!!