Penguins. Minecraft. Legos. Hobbits.

I'll never stay current with this blog if I don't speed through the holidays. So here are some of the highlights.

Alex and Ryan's Homemade Ornaments, 2012 - similar to last year's Fingerprint Snowman Ornaments, we made fingerprint Penguin Ornaments this year. I love how they came out! Each boy made their own, so all family members received one green and one red ornament.

 Basketball season started. Go Jaguars and Lakers!

Opening weekend of the Hobbit. Viewed first with Team Danger.

 

Then again with good friends so we can ogle Richard Armitage together.

Driving through Round Rock's Trail of Lights.

Alex asked Santa for just one thing. A penguin. 

Whereas Ryan had a looooong list and needed to make sure he remembered everything.

Austin Duck Adventures tour of Austin.

Its a bus that converts into a boat and takes you out on Lake Austin.

Hayride through the Neighborhood with friends to look at Christmas lights.

We even met up with Santa!

Shepherds at the Christmas Eve service. Its my favorite service of the year, and I make a fool of myself crying every year. While Dad's favorite time was the candlelight midnight service, he also had a special place in his heart for the family service. And I know he is with me watching the boys.

Opening one gift each the night before Christmas, after we get home from church.

Cookies and notes for Santa.

My tree, all decorated. The house is dark and quiet while I wait for Santa to arrive around midnight, and things are nice and clean. That won't last long in the morning.

And since I hadn't previously posted, my Santa tree and the snow village. Room decorated by Mom.

Look what Santa brought!

The Degu Hamsters. God help me.

Minecraft legos for Alex, and mining legos for Ryan.

Pleased with my ability to "wrap" Minecraft for Alex for Christmas - the legos, the "gift card" that purchases the game only available for download, a minecraft t-shirt, and a minecraft creeper scarf. God help us, but we gave him an online account on a server run by a friend that is only for third graders at our school. We were one of the last holdouts and frankly I gave in because I was really, really tired of hearing him ask 4,235 times a week when we would let him get an account.

Ryan loves his very own chess set. He's a full first grader now. :)

Alex loves his Bilbo sword, that glows blue when orcs are near. He especially loves pretending that I am an orc. (how did I get his hobbit love so right, yet his viewing me as an orc so wrong??)

My favorite Christmas present, made by Carl and the boys.

 Carl also made a single post for Alex. :)

My favorite Christmas present I gave Carl, and yes, I totally once again just gave Carl a gift for myself. A hill country winery tour in a chauffeured 1964 Rolls Royce. I can't wait!

Opening Presents with the extended family.

Chris helped us sew on all the boys Scout patches on these new blankets we got them for Christmas. They came out fantastic!

 Requisite Family Photo.

  Trying to get pictures of all four boys with Grandma and Papa. Never easy.

Swanson Family Christmas dinner.

English crackers are always a must.

It just wouldn't feel like Christmas without a crown.

Houston Family Christmas with Bebe, Mom, and Cheryl.

First time Ice Skating, with Mom.

Alex was a pro from the start!

Ryan used the walker for a bit, but then decided he was done, and off he went.

Trying to put on a festive New Years, despite our loved ones' health problems.

Here's hoping that 2013 turns around for us and the fact that we are in the year of 13 won't turn me into a Triskaidekaphobiaist. 

Meet Jack, our Elf on the Shelf

Alex has been questioning the existence of Santa quite a bit, so in an attempt to keep the magic going just a little bit longer, the Elf on the Shelf came to our house.

He was instantly a HUGE hit with Ryan, who listened very attentively to the story and followed all the rules to a T, who really wanted to stay on Santa's nice list.

First up, we had to name him. Ryan wanted Jack, Alex wanted Billy Bob Joe. Since I did not want an elf named Billy Bob Joe, his official name is Jack Billy Bob Joe Swanson. But only Alex calls him that, and to Ryan, Carl and I, he is just Jack.

I enjoyed the power of Jack IMMENSELY. Ryan cared a great deal of what Jack thought about him, and a reminder that Jack was watching worked miracles. One example: Ryan is screaming at Alex (pick a reason) and I asked Ryan to apologize to Alex. "NEVER!" he screams back. "I HATE Alex! He's the meanest person EVER!" And then I sat down on his bed next to him, and said very quietly, "I think Jack would want you to apologize to Alex." Much deep, silent breathing ensues. Ryan's little sweet face scrunches up and you can literally see his emotions warring with his desire for presents from Santa, and he pouts, "All right." And off he went to give Alex a hug. Let's just call Jack a miracle worker.

Carl was more than a bit doubtful of Jack when I first brought him home.

But once he saw Jack's hold over Ryan (and the fun he could have with posing Jack), he came over to the dark side.

Literally.

He also helped stage Jack's zipline, and made it so the boys could help Jack zipline without touching Jack, lest he lose any of his magic.

 

Did Jack help Alex believe any more in Santa?

Probably not.

Especially when Jack carried not-so-subtle messages like reminding the boys to brush their teeth.

But did Alex also have fun enjoying the magic of Jack?

Absolutely.

Jack flew off back to the North Pole with Santa on Christmas Eve.

I had a lot of fun thinking up ways to make Jack relevant to the news of the day, like Kate's pregnancy announcement.

And hopefully Dad will forgive me for using his angel for Jack.

Thank goodness he only happens one month out of the year, because it did get to be a pain thinking up new ideas (thank you, pinterest and facebook friends).

And some nights I woke up with a panic attack at 3am because I realized I had forgotten to stage Jack.

But all in all, Jack (Billy Bob Joe) Swanson was a great addition to our household for thirty days.

Penguins!!

Despite our poor start to 2013, we still managed to sneak away this weekend for our much-planned weekend in San Antonio.

I'll say more later, but for now...


we finally had a chance to give Alex his much-delayed birthday present, and we spent over an hour with the penguins at Sea World!!

Alex loves, loves, LOVES his penguins, and since we couldn't actually give him a penguin (his biggest wish), this was the next best thing.

Soooo worth every penny we spent on the experience, and I don't say that often.

(Not So) Happy New Year

Despite the boys smiling faces here, its been a fairly rotten start to 2013 so far.

My grandmother is not doing well at all, and now my father-in-law has spent all of the year thus far in the hospital. I keep waiting for things to turn around, but they just seem to be worsening at every turn.

So I'm digging through the vault to find some photos of happier times.

Like these of Mom, BeBe, and Cheryl at my cousin Allison's wedding in 2011.