Opening presents in OK

Christmas Round 2!  It was time to do it all over again on our second day in Oklahoma.  We opened presents late in the afternoon after everyone was refreshed from a post-lunch nap.  Dan and Ben weren't as patient this time around, especially when they would open a gift and find.....clothes.  Dan actually threw a bit of a fit when he got some Osh Kosh overalls, which is ironic because now he wants to wear them every day.  Note to self: Just put new clothes in a drawer and only have them open "fun" presents.

Unfortunately for Zach, Ben opened a giant metal dump truck to go along with the one that Dan already has.  Zach hates when they race in circles around our house because it is super loud and annoying, but at least now they're not fighting over the same truck.  Zach was excited for Barefoot Contessa's new cookbook (which was actually my present, but I suppose I'll share).  And my favorite thing was the iPad 4!  All in all, another successful day of giving and receiving.

Sledding at the farm

The day after Christmas, we packed up and headed to the farm in Oklahoma.  My aunt, uncle, and grandma were sick and tired of their nice, quiet house so we did our best to make it messy and loud.  Mission accomplished!  That afternoon, I bundled up Dan and Ben and we headed out to play in the snow.  I don't know why I didn't think to bring one of our sleds from Leavenworth, but we adapted a trash can lid and it got the job done.  At first, the boys weren't too sure about sledding down the hill, but after Aunt Lauren showed them how it was done, we had no problem convincing them it was a fun thing to do.  

Christmas morning

As usual, Dan was up right at 7:00 but he was very patient and waited for Ben to get up before looking in his stocking.  At the Alexander Christmas the previous Saturday, he received a Thomas coloring book from cousin Kelly so he occupied his time by reading it.  (Coloring books very rarely get colored in at our house, especially if they have words on each page.  Dan and Ben think they're just regular books with black-and-white pictures).

Finally, at 8:30, I couldn't stand it anymore and sent Dan upstairs to wake up his lazy brother.  The boys opened stockings while we ate breakfast--yummy egg casserole, monkey bread, fruit, and QT coffee.  The boys are at the stage where they want to stop and play with everything as it's opened so the grown-ups opened presents while the boys played (and Zach and I assembled).  They loved everything, especially the fake food and Toy Story DVD from Granny, aircraft carrier from Aunt Deirdre, dinosaurs from Grandma and Grandpa, Thomas trains and railroad crossing from Tom and Mary Beth, books from Aunt Layne, and the Playmobil ambulance and police van from Santa.  (Playmobil is a little too realistic--tiny sniper rifle for the police and IV tubes for the EMTs?  Really?)

After naps, Zach and I took the boys to see Monsters, Inc.  Yes, I know it's not a new movie but it's back in theaters, plus Dan and Ben are a good 10-20 years behind in their movie watching so they don't know the difference.  It was Ben's second time at the movies and he did a great job.  We had a wonderful day and are so thankful to be able to spend it with near-by family.

Christmas Eve

The weather in Wichita was bitterly cold most of the time we were home so it was a challenge to come up with fun indoor activities to keep the boys occupied.  On the morning of Christmas Eve, we broke out a gingerbread train kit and decorated it.  Well, Dan and I decorated it while Ben ate one piece of candy at a time.  Dan actually got really into it which kind of surprised me.  Maybe more arts and crafts are in our future (yippee?).

That afternoon, after naps, we headed to an indoor ice skating rink to try our luck on the ice.  I was off the hook since I'm pregnant and haven't been on ice skates in close to a decade so Zach and Uncle Jesse took the boys for a few laps around the rink.  And when I say a few, I mean a few--like maybe four laps before the boys were tired of falling down.  Zach and Jesse were happy to quit too; it must have been exhausting to skate, hunched over, while trying to keep a squirming boy upright.  Maybe next year we'll have more luck but I'm not seeing the NHL in our future.