Christmas 2012

As always, Santa was very good to us this year.  Here are just a few shots of what we treasured most this Christmas, starting with what Michael and I treasure:  Our 3 Things.

Morgan treasures his new ultimate unicycle.

 Mason treasures the new quadrocopter-thingy (I have no idea what it's really called!).

 And Maddox treasures his sweet, new ride!  A mini Mini-Cooper!

 Here are Mason and Morgan on the new cycle - only took them about 20 minutes to master it.

And here is Maddox enjoying his new mobility...

 We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas as well!

The Santa Train

This Christmas season, we took a special trip down to Canon City (pronounced "Canyon" - the 'n' is supposed to have a tilde on top) to ride the Santa Train aboard the Royal Gorge Route.  This is a special train that goes all the way from Colorado to the North Pole, where Santa jumps on board to visit with the children!  Then we head back and it all takes less than 3 hours - amazing!

After boarding the train and finding our seats, the first order of business was to write our letters to Santa so we could give them to him once we arrived at the North Pole.  Here is Mason helping Maddox write his letter.

 The train conductor came around and punched our tickets while we ate dinner...

While we travelled, they served us hot chocolate and cookies.

Before long (...a lot sooner than you'd think it would take to travel all the way to the North Pole), we arrived and Santa came on board!

Santa visited with each of the children.  Here he is reading the boys' letters.  He tucked them safely into his pocket and promised the kids that the elves would get busy on them right away.

Then he gave each of the kids a very nice bell!

Before moving on to the next train car, Santa posed for a picture with the boys.

Then we were entertained by this guy...

The elf that was assigned to our car was especially friendly.  I think her name was "Starlight," or something like that.  (Her sister was in the next car and her name was "Spotlight."  We had fun making up names for the rest of her siblings - she had a lot.  We decided she needed a brother named "Bud.").  Anyway, Starlight came around and after jingling the kids' bells, she was able to tell them which reindeer they came from.

Even big kids can have fun on the Santa Train!

We think Starlight was especially drawn to our table of handsome boys, as she insisted on giving each of them a kiss before we departed... whether they wanted one or not!  (which, as you can tell by the photos, I think they would've passed if given the chance.  Except, maybe, for Mason!)

As we were departing, Santa asked Maddox to pose with him for one more photo.

Happy times!!

Our Christmas Tree

Once again, we cut our Christmas tree from our own yard.  It has become a special tradition for us... all going out to pick just the right one.  We decided to get a small one this year - one that will go on top of a side table - just for something different.  Usually, our tree selection process occurs when the ground is covered with snow, but you can see it was a bit different (and unusual) this year!

Thanksgiving in Jackson

For the first time in 4 years, we were able to make the trip back to Jackson for Thanksgiving!

Just as in years past, our holiday was spent out in the country at Michael Boozer's place.  The best thing was that the house across the street that Grandmother and Grandaddy Downs used to live in (but sold when they moved to Pearl) was re-purchased by Uncle Joey and we were able to stay there!  It was pretty neat walking into that house once again after so many years.

We did all sorts of things while we were in the country.

We did some fishing...

Horsed around...

 A little target practice...

 Practiced the unicycle...

 Played some frisbee...

  Learned to drive a REAL tractor...

Michael Boozer showed the boys how to bush hog...

Had a juggling lesson...

 Played chess with a spice bottle as a queen...

 Climbed trees...

 Practiced the unicycle some more (John Rogers was DETERMINED to get it down)...

Watched Mason make it look easy...

 Performed juggling tricks...

...and somewhere in the middle of all that, we managed to eat a huge meal and catch up with everyone whom we haven't seen in so long!

Then it was off to the Forces.  We paid a visit to Dad & Dianne while Jessica was there with her new baby girls, Rivers and Ryder!

 

We all got to hold the babies!

And before we headed out of the state again, we stopped off to see Aunt Susan and her whole crew!

 Here's three girls we sure have missed!

Always nice to get the cousins together!

And after leaving Mississippi, we stopped over at my folks' house in Texas for a very quick visit before heading home to the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

 So much to be Thankful for!!!