Christmas '09

We decorated our tree a few weeks before Christmas...

On Christmas Eve we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Pearson's house where we ate a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner. Grandpa left for a few minutes and then reappeared at the front door with a Santa hat on, a lantern, and a sack with a few presents. I think this was my mom's idea, and though Justin and I thought it was unusual, the boys liked it. The boys each opened a present that night, and then we headed home to get "snug in our beds".

The next morning the boys woke up to find their stockings filled and presents under the tree. Jackson got trains and a Buzz LightYear action figure. Drake got puzzles and other toys, but he was just interested in the snacks he got in his stocking.

After our small at-home Christmas we went back over to Grandma and Grandpa Pearson's house. We ate breakfast, tortured the cat by making her wear a Mrs. Claus hat, and then we opened more stockings and presents. The boys were so excited to have so many fun new toys.

We celebrated Christmas twice with Justin's side of the family. We went over a few days before Christmas to celebrate before Justin's sister Jennifer and her family went out of town for the holidays. Then we went over again on Christmas afternoon. Below is a picture of the boys with all of their cousins in front of Grandma Cersey's kids' Christmas tree (she has at least 3 trees up every year). Jackson doesn't look so happy, but Drake is compensating by being overly enthusiastic.

Grandma Cersey gave Drake his favorite thing, a ball. Jackson got lots of toy cars and some transformers.

How blessed we are to have so much family nearby to celebrate the holidays with. I am so glad that my boys are growing up surrounded by such love. Happy Holidays Everyone!

Playin' at the Park

 

A few days before Christmas my cousin Eric cut my hair at his salon (it was just a trim and I forgot to take pictures). Anyway, after the cut the boys and I went across the street to a little park. The boys loved running around the fountain. Thanks for the cut Eric!

Jackson's Haircut

So, I really wanted to grow Jackson's hair out, but I never comb it and so many people kept asking me why I let my kid wear a mop on his head, so I decided to cut it. Here are the before and after pics.

 

Disney Days 6 & 7

Epcot, Day 6

On our 6th day at Disney we went to Epcot, one of my favorite parks. I love visiting the different cultural displays. We got there in the morning and hit up a few rides. We rode "Soarin'" first. It was a really fun hang gliding ride. Then some of us rode the race track ride, but it broke down before Justin and I got the chance. We also looked at some of the future and safety displays. Jackson enjoyed learning how to prepare for thunderstorms, but he was afraid to go through the fire safety course. I guess he thought there might be a real fire. Then we got this cute picture of the kids with grandma and grandpa.

We left for lunch and then came back to the park later that afternoon. Justin and I finally got to ride the race track ride. Then we split up and looked at the different cultural displays. Unfortunately this was the coldest night in the history of Orlando (might be a slight exaggeration). We were so cold that we rode the indoor Mexican ride 3 times in a row to get out of the cold. The boys were able to find a train table at the park in the England exhibit (Thomas and friends are apparently British). For days I had been telling Justin that I really wanted to eat at one of the foreign restaurants in the park. They were all very expensive, but we finally settled on a small Japanese cafe. It wasn't that great, but I was pleased to have come to a compromise with Justin.

We ended up leaving before the big fireworks display because our kids were dead tired and we were all freezing (as you can see in the first picture, taken when we were leaving). The rest of the family said it was amazing. Oh well, next time.

Animal Kingdom, Day 7

On our last day at Disney we went back to the Animal Kingdom. We rode Everest. It was really fun. Then we went to look at some animals. Jackson liked looking at the animals, but Drake passed out. We got really close to some tigers. They were only a few feet away from us separated by a window. After a few hours of exploring we headed to down town Disney where we checked out the cool Lego displays. The dragon behind Jackson in the picture below is made out of Legos.

Drake fell asleep again.

We had a great time at Disney World. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Cersey for the amazing Christmas present. We will never forget our fun week at Disney. Love you!