ALOT of Christmas Pictures

Here are some pictures from our four Christmases that we had. Sorry for the overload of pictures, but at three out of the four we were the only ones with a camera, so I was trying to get one of everybody in. Plus, it was hard to narrow them down. :)

Grandma and Grandpa Burdorf with the grandkids. Quite the challenge with 3 kids under the age of 3!

Jenna LOVED her Christmas dress!

Brode Man growling and getting in to big sister's gift.

Jenna gives Grandpa a big hug!

Aunt Mandy liked the sled Jenna and Brody got from G'pa Larry

Vike fans like their gift.

Uncle Justin with Brody - Same blond hair, same big blue eyes, and same chin!

Family picture at Mom's - can't believe everyone is looking at the camera!

Family Picture - Christmas '08

Christmas - Our highlights & lowlights

We had a memorable Christmas and decided to make a list of some of the things we'll remember. Here goes:
1. Pink eye and puking: Both kids got pink eye before we left, and Aaron and I managed not to get it ourselves. It wouldn't be a road trip without Jenna getting carsick! We made it to just outside of Correctionville before Jenna got that 'I'm going to be sick' look on her face.
2. Forgotten presents: Aaron realized we accidentally left half of our presents at home when we got to Sioux City. We grabbed the presents from the basement, but not the ones under the tree. DUH!
3. FOGGY! We drove a total of six hours on Friday from Cherokee to Swea City and back in some really foggy weather. It kind of sucked because we drove six hours and only stayed for three. Oh well, it was nice to see everybody, if only for a short time.
4. "Mama" - Brode Man finally said it! He was sad that I left the room, was crying and wanted his, "mama." I didn't hear it, but Aaron and Jill did. Luckily, he said it again the next day and it is becoming more frequent.
5. Stuffing overboard - Mandy and I had a good laugh when we were trying to transfer the stuffing from the pan to the tupperware container and Mandy wasn't really ready when I scooped and it went ALL OVER the floor.
6. Jess declares that beef comes from a pig!!!

I'll post some pictures later...

All we wanted was a little wine...

Aaron tried to drill a whole through the cork.


Mitch trying to pull out the cork with his pliers.


The proud boys after they got the cork out!!

All Jess and I wanted was a little wine. How hard does that sound? Harder than you'd think! You'd be surprised how many people it takes to get a wine cork out. First, Mitch broke the wine corkscrew. Yep, the bottom part got stuck in the cork. Aaron and Mitch were trying everything to get the cork out. It was funny to watch them. Give them points for persistance and perseverance though, because they finally got it!

Travel Delayed

Our holiday travel got off to a great start...not really! Tuesday our daycare gal called me in the morning and told me that Brody was really fussy and she thought he might need to go to the doctor. We were set to leave for Sioux City mid-afternoon, but instead had to go to the doctor at 4:30 in Ames. Turns out one of the kids at daycare has pink eye...and now Jenna and Brody do too! By the time we left Ames after seeing the doctor and getting prescriptions for both of them it was 6:30 PM. A three and a half hour drive to Sioux City just didn't seem that exciting, so we decided to stay in Fort Dodge. Jess and Mitch were nice enough to let us spend the nite with them, so we could break the trip up. Thanks guys!

Where's the pause button?

It's funny because when I was the editor at the paper I would have a weekly column that was called, "The Way I See It." I would write about just random things, like what was going on in my life, current events, local events, my opinions, etc. Well, it's been a few months since I've written one, but if I was still at the paper, I would write something sort of like this:

Isn't it funny how when you're little you can't wait for Christmas to come? You always look at the calendar or bug your parents about when you can open gifts or when Santa Claus is coming. Now that I'm older I want to slow down Christmas. Funny how that happens, isn't it? We're two days away from Christmas Eve as I write this and I just want to hit the pause button.

I want to enjoy the Christmas songs, baking, movies, family time, and most importantly that look of pure excitement in Jenna's eyes when we do something together. She was so excited to put tape on the gifts we were wrapping the other day I couldn't help but smile.

I guess what I'm getting at it this. As you get older things change. Time really does fly by, especially when you have kids. I'm learning to enjoy every single moment, because these little Christmas things that we do will be the things that my kids will probably remember as our family's traditions years from now, but that's just the way I see it.

Our Christmas

Brody - giving the ball a taste.

Jenna with a big swing!

We realized on Saturday that we better open gifts with the kids on Sunday because Monday Aaron had a game and we would be leaving on Tuesday for Christmases with our families. It's so funny how the kids change so much from year to year. Brody is at the "I'm more interested in the wrapping paper than the presents" stage and Jenna's at the, "Whoever's opening a gift I'm going to help" stage.

I think Jenna liked her gifts, especially her wiffle bat, balls, and tee. We set it up in the basement and let her hit. She's never really hit off of a tee before and I think she did pretty well. Coach Dad was there to help of course! It was so funny because everytime Jenna would hit it she'd yell, "Yeah!" I told Aaron she'll probably get to little league, hit the ball, yell "yeah" and forget to run!

Christmas Craziness

It was all things Christmas this past weekend at our house. Saturday we got up early and went to Ames to finish our Christmas shopping. The snow was really starting to blow on the way home, so I was glad that we left early. That night, we got started on our baking. Aaron, who can't resist fudge at Christmas, wanted to make that first. I made some sugar cookies after that and left the rest for Sunday.
Sunday was more cookie baking, wrapping, a Christmas show or two on t.v., and our Christmas with the kids. I'll post more about that later with some pictures.
Hope everyone is ready for Christmas! We are hitting the road for Sioux City Tuesday afternoon - weather permitting.

Christmas comes early

I love to paint and make a mess!

Who's a cute little Hawkeye?

She looks like she's been naughty!

Aaron and I have been talking for a long time about getting a nicer camera. We decided a few weeks ago that that should be our Christmas gift for each other. Aaron has always loved to take pictures and ever since I have started working at the photography studio, I am beginning to understand and enjoy it even more. We were going to wait until after Christmas to purchase a camera, but thought we'd get it early so we'd have it FOR Christmas to capture snapshots of the kids and other family members. (For you techies out there, we got a Nikon D40) Aaron and I think it's a good investment and now we'll probably be posting even more photos than we usually do!

Basketball & Shopping

Our weekend basically consisted of two things: basketball and shopping. Aaron had games both Friday and Saturday nights. Saturday morning Aaron and I went to Ames and shopped for a good five hours and got about half done, although we only have one more gift to get for Jenna then we're done with the kids.
Sunday we stayed inside! BRRRRR. Sunday afternoon we painted some ornaments that Jenna and I had made earlier in the week. Jenna had a blast because she loves to paint and then we put them on the tree. Sunday we made a couple of our gifts for our "homemade Christmas" with my mom.
I am kind of starting to stress about finishing shopping and I haven't baked a single Christmas cookie yet! Hopefully the weather cooperates next weekend!

Christmas Question

As I work, I listen to Christmas music non-stop. I love it! I don't care if I hear the same songs again and again, they just have a way of making me happy. It got me thinking, what is my favorite Christmas song? I think, even though it's not the cheeriest song, I'd have to pick "Blue Christmas" by Elvis. I LOVE to sing to that song! I'm curious what other people's favorites are. So, if you would humor me, leave me a comment and let me know. :)

Streak Snapped

Brody at Dad's basketball game - he wasn't too impressed!

Aaron had his 18-game winning streak broken on Saturday night. His JV girls' basketball team had won 18 games in a row dating back to last season. It was an impressive run, but it had to end sometime. We'll see if Coach B can get the girls regrouped and maybe get another streak going...

Girls Only

Saturday morning Jenna and I headed over to Marshalltown to do a little shopping. It was so strange because it was just Jenna and me. That almost never happens! It was so fun just to hang out with her and talk to her and not have to carry a diaper bag. :) She's growing up so fast and I really enjoyed the one-on-one time with her!

Holiday Stress

For those of you who read Mandy's blog or Jess/Mitch's you know that we are having some issues with scheduling for the holidays. It's giving me a headache! We thought we had everything worked out and then Justin's schedule at work changed and now we don't know what to do. It's not Justin's fault, we know that "just because it's Christmas, it doesn't mean people stop getting sick." (That's Justin's famous holiday quote!).

I like to have a plan. That's just my personality and not knowing makes me a little nuts! I talked to my mom last nite and she just said to not stress because it would all work out. I know she's right, things always have a way of working out...especially this time of the year.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm thinking it might be time to start our Christmas shopping....:)