Tree Lighting at Levis Commons

Saturday was a very nice night, so we decided to head over to Levis for the annual tree lighting ceremony. I took Ben last year while Adam and Nick stayed home. Ben was a little reserved this year but that might be because he got sick from coughing so hard 20 minutes before we left the house...We met up with the Secrest's and the Crafton's to see the talent acts and watch the tree light up.

Ben perked up a bit when Adam came back with hot chocolate. He had fun stealing daddy's hat. Daddy did not have so much fun.

Elmo! I don't really think Ben or Nick were super impressed. 

The pretty tree all lit up

Nick got a turn for a bird's eye view

He did not steal daddy's hat. He was too tired and too bundled up in his super cute coat to move much at all.

Cookie Time!

We have been a little slacking on the pictures lately because we are all so sick. I have pneumonia for like 3 weeks, Ben also has the pneumonia, there was a stomach virus thrown in there that hit everyone but me and Nick has just been sick or gookie for like 7 weeks. So, photography hasn't really been in the forefront. 

But Friday Ben and I made cut out cookies. I wanted to try out the recipe and Ben has been watching the cupcake decorating app on the iPod and was bugging to do cupcakes or cookies. So, it turned into my good behavior for the day and take a nap, bribe.

As Ben is so sick, he cookies were pretty much just for him. He did help me use the cookie cutters to make the cookies, but I was lazy and didn't get out the camera. He was very generous with the frosting, though. We need to work on our flood fill techniques. 

He switched to the spatula for the yellow. 

And then came the sprinkles. Everyone's favorite.

And the ultimate test - the tasting. They were approved!

The Time Out Chair Gymnastics

Ah, the time out chair. A dreaded location these days for Nick, yet the place his bum seems to see the most of. The other day he decided to get creative with his time-out position. Then he got himself stuck.

After a dad-assist extraction, he was placed in the full and upright position for the remainder of his time out. 

He wasn't happy.

That kid really does have the best sad faces. They totally crack me up!

Bowling!

Sunday after church we took the boys bowling. Adam is in a bowling league this fall/winter, so Ben has been bugging to go bowling himself. Ben was super excited to go bowling. We rented a lane for an hour, which was just about perfect since Ben was into it for about 45 minutes before he got hungry and kind of bored. He did a pretty good job rolling the ball down the lane. The worker guy only had to come over once when the ball didn't have enough umph to make it all the way down the lane.  

Ben was good about letting Nick have a turn or two. Nick didn't really know what was going on. He tried to run down the lane once or twice, but luckily they are slippery, so he didn't get too far before he fell.  

Ben congratulating Nick on rolling the ball down the lane. 

I pretty much suck at bowling because I can never find a ball that is the right weight and finger size/position, but I did get two strikes and a spare! Still stunk it up, though ;) 

An Apple A Day

These kids destroy apples. We can't keep enough in the house!

A Trip to the Zoo

In my next attempt to wear out my children, we headed to the zoo after church on Sunday. Fresh air, running around the zoo - I figured I had at least 2-3 hours naps in my future. Wrong. But at least we got to see the cute lemurs, the freaky vulture and paint faces. Ben was really into painting his face. It was a cat/tiger/lion, I believe. Whatever it was, it involved roaring at every chance he got.