Merry Christmas!

Aidan building on his tool bench.

Nick and his spy goggles.

Aidan sitting in front of his bench.

Aidan putting his new Disney ornament on the tree.

Daddy and Aidan assembling the tool bench.

Nick and Aidan opening the Tool Bench.

Nick's Star Wars gun.

Aidan's bowling set and huge pile of presents.

Aidan on his new bike.

vNick's favorite present, the Wii.

Nick opening up his Santa present. Aidan opening his stocking.

The boys trying to decide which ones to open first.

Way too many presents!

Merry Christmas to everyone! It was a very early morning at the Olson house but we have enjoyed every second of it. Jeremy was nice enough to get up with Nick at 5:40 and come out and watch tv with him until Aidan and I got up at 6:30. The boys were spoiled rotten and got so many great presents. Santa was very good to the Olson Family as he brought the entire family a Wii despite Mommy really telling Santa we didn't need one yet. He also brought Nick a Wii race car game and Aidan a new bike. Some other favorite gifts of the day were Aidan's new tool bench and tools, Nick's Star Wars gun (which he says was the only thing he really wanted), Gator Golf, Aidan's Little Tyke Bowling Set, spy gear, a Backugon BackuSphere, Jeremy's new lifejacket, and my flatscreen TV. Seriously their were so many great gifts it is crazy. We will be very busy for many months to come. I'm cheesey but my favorite gifts are the personalized ones mainly from Grandma O. like the books from the states we lived in and the Disney stuff since we are going to DisneyWorld tomorrow. The MN apparel always makes me happy too! Luckily, the weather is cooperating and the rain has stopped so hopefully we will be able to take Aidan's bike out for a ride around the block later. After turkey leftovers for lunch I think a long afternoon nap is in store for everyone around here. Unfortunately, the evening is going to be spent cleaning up and packing and getting everything ready for our trip as we are trying to leave by 7 AM tomorrow. Hope everyone enjoys the Holiday week and we will see you when we get back from Florida in the New Year.

Christmas Eve

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve. The boys were crazy with anticipation and very good all day. They even cleaned their toy room without asking. We smoked a turkey and had all the wonderful side dishes that accompany turkey. Then we went to a wonderful candlelight Christmas Eve service at church. Then we ate pie and ice cream and watched A Christmas Story until bedtime. The boys surprisingly went right to sleep. A perfect start to the Holiday!

Winter Fishing

We met Jeremy this afternoon at Lake Jordan for a little afternoon fishing. The boys truly are obsessed with fishing just like their Daddy. All 3 boys had a blast. Jeremy only caught the one fish all day but the boys didn't seem to care that they weren't catching fish they just enjoyed being out in the boat casting away. We saw a bunch of wild turkeys in the trees which Aidan scared off when he yelled Gobble, Gobble. It really was a wonderful winter afternoon to be out on the lake fishing.

Gingerbread House and Cookies

We attempted to make a Gingerbread house yesterday. We got a little kit from Wal-Mart and although we had a good time doing it our house did not want to stick together so the roof kept falling off. So we gave up after we got it all decorated. Nick decided we needed to make some Gingerbread men for the Gingerbread house. So we made some Gingerbread boys and then we made cut-out sugar cookies. The boys had a blast making all kinds of shapes and decorating them. I had sprinkles from one end of my kitchen to the other but the mess was worth the fun.

Santa at Bass Pro Shops

I really didn't think there would ever be a day where I really enjoyed going to the Bass Pro Shops but they really do put on an amazing display at Christmas. The boys had a blast playing all the free games and doing the crafts. Aidan wouldn't go near Santa again and Nick asked Santa for a truck. Nick didn't want to leave and actually ended up going back there again with his Daddy the next night. All my boys love the Bass Pro Shops!

Random December Pictures

The boys and their favorite activity, wrestling with Daddy.

Nick playing with his new Yugi-O trading cards from Auntie Linda.

Aidan playing with his new Thomas train set from Auntie Linda.

Aidan trying to stay warm under the blanket at the Zoo.

The boys riding the X-mas train at the Zoo.

Aidan making a snowflake ornament at the Mullens X-mas party.

Nick and Best Bud Ben at the Mullens party.

I just thought I would clear my camera before Christmas where I always take too many pictures and also with leaving for Florida the day after Christmas I figured I wouldn't have a chance to upload pictures for a while. These are just random events from the month of December. We have been busy but have really enjoyed the time spent together as a family. We have been invited to lots of Christmas parties and fun events. Nick had a Christmas music program at school and at church. I had an ornament exchange at my Mom's group and playgroup. And now that all 3 boys have 2 and a half weeks off for X-mas vacation we are going to do some Holiday baking and relax and have some fun. We are thinking about going fishing tomorrow if the weather cooperates. Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and we hope to see many of you in the New Year!

ACSC Holiday Ball

Jeremy's work had their Christmas Ball last night. We enjoyed a wonderful child free evening of dinner and dancing and great comaraderie with both old and new friends. They really went all out for this party with amazing door prizes and gift baskets etc. The top 4 door prizes were a 32" flat screen tv, a diamond tennis bracelet, a Wii, and a Garmin GPS. So there were some very happy people at the end of the night. We had a blast and are really enjoying the Holiday season this year. Now if I could just finish my Christmas shopping and get through the other 3 parties this weekend I can relax and enjoy the Holiday season.

Pump It Up with Playgroup

On Thursday our playgroup met at Pump It Up, an indooor bouncy house place. The boys ran around like crazy for two hours and had a blast. They actually asked to go home at the end they were so tired. Aidan's favorite bouncy house was the one with the huge slide on it. He made me go on it with him once and it was way more work then I thought it would be to get up and then it went way too fast. Man I think that means I am getting old.