Can't Believe It's January....

Once again I have lived up to my name of a slack blogger. I always have good intentions but I just don't ever actually write the post.

The boys had their Christmas presentations at school which were cute and of course, somewhat comical. Austin's class celebrated "Christmas Around the World." They sang a Hanukkah song which Austin still likes to sing from time to time.....it is so cute. Austin was very serious and hardly cracked a smile during his Christmas program. Jacob, in true form, waved to us about 50 times during his performance and occasionally sang the songs.

We spent Christmas with my family in North Carolina and spent New Years in Colorado with John's family. It was a busy but relaxing time. John and I got to ski twice and the kids took their first ski lessons which they really enjoyed. The kids enjoyed sledding pretty much every day that we were at Johns' parents cabin.

We were able to catch up with some friends in Denver. It was great to see Kate and Mike and their kids. Austin and Jacob loved getting to play with Josh, Abigail, and Patrick. Chris and Blu made the trek down from Wyoming so we were able to see them for a quick lunch. We definitely miss those guys as well. You don't realize how much friends mean to you until they are on the other side of the country.

Both boys seemed to have settled back into the school routine. Jacob is doing much better in his preschool class and seems to enjoy the class much more than he did previously. Austin continues to do well in his kindergarten class. According to his teacher, he told everyone about "the awesome adventure that he had in Colorado."

Our next big adventure will be a trip to Disney World in March. I will try to post before then but I can't make any guarantees :)

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The Polar Express

This weekend we took the boys to The Polar Express train ride in Bryson City, NC. Our kids LOVE this movie and have probably seen it 30 times. It is a staple during the Christmas season. So, when we heard about this train ride we knew we had to take the boys.

According to the owner of the bed and breakfast where we stayed, approximately 40,000 people ride this train between Nov. 7 and Christmas. Basically you ride on a train for about an hour and a half. All the kids where their pajamas. They read the Polar Express story, sing Christmas carols, drink hot chocolate, and make a stop at the North Pole where Santa gets on and hands out bells (if you have watched the movie, you will know the significance of the bells). The kids had a blast!

On a funny note....we stayed at a fun little bed and breakfast. We had the t.v. on in the room and they were talking about Obama.

Austin said " Obama? What did they say about Obama?"

John remarked that they were talking about him moving into the White House since he is going to be out next president.

Austin replied with "Oh, man! I want to turn him into stone."

I assumed he was mad because they had a little voting thing at Austin's school and he informed us that he voted for McCain and McCain won first before Obama won, (McCain was going to win).

Contrary to what some of you may think, we hadn't ever really talked about the presidential campaign with our kids, so it was funny to hear him say he voted for McCain. I assumed he was mad at the outcome of the election.

At any rate....I said "Turn him into stone....you don't like him?"

Austin replied "No....I mean I want to make him into stone....make a statue of him."

Apparently they have been talking about past presidents, like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, in his kindergarten class and they have talked about statue replications of the presidents, so he figured Obama should have one too since he is going to be the next president. :)

Austin is trying out his new "knife". Purchased at the "As Seen on TV" Cherokee Indian store.

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