A Florida Christmas- Part 3.

After Disney, we headed over to my parent's house to spend a few days in Ponce Inlet. Boy oh boy was it cold. This year we had two more kiddos added to the bunch was so wonderful! Lily and Marley are so sweet and kind, the boys immediately took to them.

Everyone trying to have a mustache as cool as Pops!

Perfecting his skills!

Where's the beach?

Hockey studs.

Luke does not look happy at all :)

This is picture is such a wonderful depiction of my mother. Her heart is huge, her smile big and her love, boundless!

A Florida Christmas- Part 2.

Disney World was so much fun. We got up at the crack of dawn, drove to Orlando and were ready to conquer one of the busiest mouse days of the year. Grammy, pops, Uncle Trav, Aunt Jamie and her fiance, Jex, and his daughters, Lily and Marley joined us. What a day! By 10:30am Luke had ridden Thunder Mountain Railroad 4 times, Splash Mountain 3 times and we were off to explore the rest of the park. We took in the dance show, 13 more rides and the parade. It was a full day of laughs, adventure and memories! Thank you Grammy and Pops!

Drenched after riding Splash Mountain. Luke was brave enough to raise his hands in the air on ThunderMountain Railroad. I love his adventurous spirit.

My mom and Uncle Travis before the Mickey show.

Eli just couldn't keep his eyes open!

Aunt Jamie and Eli.

All the kiddos!

Best view of the parade- from the shoulders!

Thanks for all of the fun!

A Florida Christmas.

Oh yes, this Christmas the best! Ten days in Florida, a healthy Pax, one round of miniature golf, playing Red Rover, a date night for Matt and I, a trip to Disney World, riding the Volkswagon bus singing carols in search of lights and Luke's first bowling session........we sure had a holly jolly Christmas.

Two love birds. We are so blessed to spend this time together. Keep beatin' those odds Pax.

Gino was so sweet and got Luke drums for Christmas. These boys are fantastic musicians!

The soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy.

Family picture- will be so fun to see us as a family of 5 next year!

Don't let this cute face fool you, this one can go from smiles to a full on tantrum in 2 seconds flat!

Mr. Easy Going.

Putt putt here we come!

Hole in one!

Aunt Dana shows us how it is done with the hula hoop! It is so wonderful to have a sister-in-law like Dana. She is so easy to get along with, has the best sense of humor and the most generous of hearts. Luke loves his Aunt Dana so and always looks forward to the night he gets to spend at Dana's house. She can make him giggle like no one else and they have created so many wonderful memories together. Aunt Dana, we hope you know how much we love you!

Christmas.

This year we decided to borrow a wonderful tradition from the Davidson family. www.themayfiles.com. For gift giving, each child received, a want, a need and something to read. Simple and lots of fun! As Luke and I discussed this prior to Christmas he really contemplated about the gift he wanted most. His little mind would hop back and forth between race tracks, musical instruments, costumes and a bike.

The loop to loop was a big hit!

I love this picture as Matt is not easily surprised. His Ipad has been "life changing." :)

Eli was just happy to get......

Merry Christmas and many blessings.

Merry Christmas 2010

Grateful Little Elf.

This year we received the "Elf on a Shelf" from Matt's, very generous, Aunt Sandy and Uncle Rudy. We decided to change it up a bit though and soon the "Grateful Little Elf", a new Klasnick family tradition arrived.

Most every day in December the boys would wake up and search for the Elf. As Eli is getting older, they are becoming more competitive.

Once found, Luke would spell out the letters on the clue and sound out the word. The word was always a reminder of something to be grateful for. Once we figured out the word Luke would hang it on our grateful collage and we would come up with a pay it forward type idea for the day. The whole concept centered around the fact that we would help someone that did not have what we were grateful for.

To watch Luke's heart open and his mind come up with ways we could help others was touching. His generosity, foresight and kindness amazed me. For our December to be focused on others and not ourselves was the most wonderful of gifts received.

One trip found us at the neighborhood assisted living center. Luke and Eli arrived with bells on their necks, a smile on their face and candy canes for all of the "grandmas and grandpas." Eli, of course, stayed in momma's arms but I witnessed Luke venturing out~ dancing, carrying on conversations with adults, asking questions and showing his love. The kid landed so many red lipstick kisses he could have been a Revlon model.

The educational aspect of this new tradition was a bonus. The Gathering Place is a day shelter for homeless mothers. Together with Luke's best friend, Dylan, the boy's read through a list of the most needed items at the shelter. The boys were given a budget and taken to the store to make their purchases. They then delivered the items. Reading, math, and lots of fun filled this day.

Although, looking back the most impactful were the discussions that opened up about the way we live. For Luke to realize that not all children wake up in a warm home and open the refrigerator to choose what they want to eat. For some little boys to not have a father to show them love and encouragement or know that there is a God that loves them. For all of these things, and so many more we are so very grateful.

Santa and the chicken.

So, Luke and Eli know that Santa is not real. To them, he is like Mickey Mouse, a character. Matt and I felt it is important to be as honest as possible with the boys. Does this take the fun out of Christmas? Not at all. Do the kids miss out on the excitement of Santa coming and bringing them presents? Not that we can tell. They were thrilled to go to bed and know in the morning that they would be opening the gifts that mom and dad brought. Will we have issues arise with other children that do believe? Maybe. We are hoping that the boys will know that all families believe and do different things, not just in Santa but with religion, education, activities. This just works for us.

This year was fun though because we were at the mall one day and the boys saw Santa. Their curiosity piqued and they wanted to go check him out. Eli would have no part of sitting on Santa's lap but Luke was game. He marched right up and when Santa asked Luke what he wanted, Luke replied with, "A loop to loop" (race track). Santa said, "What else?" Luke looked a little surprised, not ever thinking he could get two gifts. He put his finger to his head in deep thought and said, "A chicken." Santa, all the elves and myself laughed.

Eli admiring from afar.

Tickling.

Luke: Dad, while you were tickling me, I peed.

Parade of Lights.

Saturday night we packed up and headed downtown for the night. We stayed in a hotel, ate yummy pizza and tried to brave the cold to see the boys first parade- The Parade of Lights. We met the Kessler family, my cousin, Callie, and (almost) the Howard family. A mere 30 degrees and lots of people made it very interesting! Poor Eli did not even make it for the beginning of the parade. The only thing to keep him from crying were the horse drawn carriages we could see every now and again. Luckily, our hotel room looked out over the street so Eli and I enjoyed a warm, bird's eye view of the show while Matt and Luke had front row seats in the street below!

The next morning we went out for crepes (a new Luke and Eli favorite) and rode the shuttle bus up and down the 16t street mall. It was a fun little getaway!

Ski Time.

I truly think Matt had been waiting for this day for the past 3.5 years. The day he could take his son skiing. There is something about the mountains, snow and being outside that takes hold of Matt's heart and fills him with life. To share this with his son, will be his joy.

The whole family headed up to the mountain. Unfortunately, Eli was not feeling well that day so he and I spent most of the day in the warming hut not zooming around on the slw like we had hoped. Luke took a 1/2 day lesson. Afterward he and Matt did a few runs down the magic carpet and pretty much every day you can find him working on his "pizza" and "french fry" skills in the living room. Oh- and let me not forget- all of the snowboard tricks he does off of our ottoman.

Cheers to many fun days on the mountain!