Christmas In A Nutshell...

Here's our 2009 Christmas Season in a nutshell:
The annual gingerbread house with a twist:

This cute little house is made out of felt! So, for all you fellow neat-freaks out there, this was just as much fun with zero mess (and zero calories)!
The Santa Visit:
Kye's Santa Time: Hunter's Santa Time:
Preschool Parent's Day:

The kids performed some cute little songs for us...

and ended the party with a pinata!
My brother was in town, so we spent some time with them & went up to the Treehouse:
Cousin Fun!
Huh?!?
My cute little Stage Dynamics girls performing: More performing... Aren't they darling?!

Going to see the lights at Temple Square:
Our cute friends got more than they bargained for! Thanks for delivering us to our train on time! Future Rap Artist Duo Practising: "Like Fatha, Like Suhn, YO!"Our very own Polar Express: He insisted on holding his own ticket: Family Parties & Nativity Plays: We actually did a nativity with each side of the family, and Hunter wanted to be Joseph both times.
The proud Joseph:He was ultra-reverent when it came to playing the part of Joseph and was the only child to stay "in character" the entire time.
Hunter's funny thoughts on trying to put the meaning of Christmas all together, involved looking for a new star to appear in our sky on Christmas Eve, and our favorite of all: "So, does Jesus believe in Santa?"
Time for the big day- Christmas Morning:
This year Santa left our stockings upstairs because he was in a hurry. I thought it worked well, because they actually spent time on their stockings instead of ignoring them amidst all the big presents that fill the room...

C'mon, boys! Less playing! More un-wrapping!
They did not receive the knight outfits for Christmas, but when Hunter saw the horse, he decided he needed to be a musketeer for the remainder of the morning.
Excited as can be:

We didn't get a lot of snapshots because we were busy filming their little reactions, which were priceless!
So, Christmas is over and here we sit a little more spoiled and a little more frustrated (well, I am, because Brett won me five times at Mickey Mouse Checkers)!
Hunter's Favorite Present:
His Handy Manny Motorcycle, Mickey Mouse Racetrack, Dark Knight Batmobile, and the Rocking Horse (meant for Kye, loved by Hunter)
Biggest hits for Kye this year: The Restaraunt (which is actually a kitchen we don't call a "kitchen") and the Geotrax Airport! (If a toy can get this child to sit still for longer than five minutes, it is a definite hit in my book!)
The flop of the year was a Desk/Easel Duo for Hunter (that has already been snubbed & forgotten)
Brett got a promisory note for a snowboard, some much needed clothes, and a tube (yes, we still think about boating in the winter)
I was truly surprised with a heart-shaped, picture-filled, locket (my hubby is quite the romancer) and a BOSCH mixer (just call me a wheat-grindin', bread-bakin', smoothie-making, Betty Crocker!)

Finally, here we sit on "Boxing Day" with some Utterly-Confusing, #*@#~@*!-Inducing, Hair-Pulling, Transformers. Sigh.... My kids have been having so much fun with their new loot, they haven't been out of their pj's all day!

She's Done It Again!!

Yes, folks, Tammy once again worked her magic! Here are some of the results:
Meet the Johnson Family

These were taken just a few minutes South from our house:
Seasons Greetings!Precious...BrothersKye:Aaawwww...Close-upMy Baby:Handsome Hunter:
Look at that gorgeous smile!
Notice how Hunter is super cooperative with that big happy grin (ha ha)
Only one "special" Sarah picture out of the whole bunch!Which is good, since 90% of the time the camera plays mean tricks on me ;)
It all started with these two love-birds :)Bet you can't guess what she had to photo-shop in this picture! (I'll give you a hint: white socks) The winner, aka, my favorite of all:And finally, I guess you've already seen this one, but I just couldn't resist...I know, I know, my boys are just about the most handsome in the history of the world! ;)

Disney World Mania

Here are some bits and peices (beware there are a whole lotta pics) from our recent Disney World trip:
Unfortunately, we lost our camera at the airport, but luckily my mom brought hers...
Hunter had a great time when the pilot invited him to come hang out in the cockpit.
Introducing Captain Hunter- Here he is flying the plane!!
This was Kye's first plane ride. He behaved way better than I expected- his only two tantrums happened when we had to get off the plane.
Although this was not Hunter's first plane ride, it was the first one he'll actually remember.
This little family of four requires a ton of luggage for a week-long vacation.
Here we are on the Magic Kingdom Ferry.
First stop, at Hunter's request, the Buzz Lightyear ride.
Followed by their first autograph... Both boys were wide-eyed with excitement the whole time!
Winnie the Pooh was Kye's favorite hands down!
A few days after we came home, Kye surprised me by talking about daddy driving us in blue car...
I couldn't figure out what he was talking about until we were looking through our pictures and he wildly exclaimed "There's my daddy in my blue car!"
Hunter loved seeing Mickey's real house. Here he is in the garden.
Who will pull the sword from the stone?
Hunter's (& his dad's) favorite ride was the Mad Tea Party.
We were so proud of Hunter for braving Splash Mountain.
We ended the night watching (and hiding from) the firework show.
Next stop: Animal Kingdom
Dinosaurland was pretty cool.
The boys ended up digging for dino bones for over an hour! Thankfully, my parents were there to help out, so Brett & I were able to get in a couple roller coasters during times like therse...
More dinosaur lovin'
Here the boys excitedly wait in line for...
Goofy & Pluto!
Pluto is Kye's absolute favorite...
He was star-struck & couldn't stop talking about Pluto!
Kye proved to be very patient when he had to wait in line. Here he waits for the Safari...
Watching the parade.
More Pluto... This time he gave Kye five. You can probably imagine how elated Kye was...
Boys with Donald.
Family with Mickey.

Here are my boys doing what they love. What's the point of going to a hotel if you can't get a little swimming in?
Our nightly ritual involved cuddling with Grandma & Grandpa until way past bedtime.
More Magic Kingdom:
Hunter was lucky enough to be one of the few kids handpicked by Captain Jack Sparrow to become a real pirate! He has a certificate and everything!
Here we are at the Swiss Family Treehouse (A must-do on Brett's list).I realize that neither of my boys are even looking, but it's such a rare occasion that I look somewhat okay, so I posted this one. That's what you get to do when you're the blogger of the family ;)
I'd say Hunter did pretty well filling up his autograph book!
More character greetings. If you look at Hunter's face, you'll see he didn't care much about this one...
More parade time for me & Hunter. I insisted on watching atleast one parade at each park. Brett is not a big parade fan, so he gratefully pushed our napping Kyler away from the loud music.
As per Hunter's request- another ride on the teacups!
Dumbo was another favorite.
By the time the park closed, we were exhausted! Goodbye, Magic Kingdom.
Next stop, Epcot!
Hunter later told me he didn't really like Daisy Duck, because she's not a boy... Needless to say, I didn't waste any time waiting in line for Minnie.
Here we are on the Finding Nemo ride.
Originally, we hadn't planned on going to Epcot, but when Waterman-Brett saw the Aquarium, he was glad we did!
All three of my boys were in an Oceanic Heaven!
We spent a lot of time in this area...
Hunter loved going in the "big ball" at Epcot. He thought it was the biggest "ride" he'd ever been on.
If you look closely, in my hand I hold a box that contains the most beautiful French Napolean ever tasted. This dessert holds the number one spot on my list of favorite treats! Biting into this mouth-watering pastry was definitely a highlight for me!
Finally, it was off to Ft. Lauderdale, where Brett & I went on a little 2-night-mini-cruise while my parents gratefully stayed back with the kids.
They spent the entire time at the beach!
I was worried they would get bored after being at Disney World for four days.
But they obviously were not bored in the least.
I have apparently forgotten what waterbugs they are...
I thought the kids would be exhausted by the time the trip was over. Yeah, right!
On the flight home, the pilot invited Kyler to come fly the plane. What are the chances?!