Thinkery

We have neighbors a couple houses down with a 2-year-old, named Eli, and we've gotten to become good friends with them.  It's fun to have someone living so close to call for impromptu park visits and playdates.  With Luke and Eli only being about 6 months apart, it's also fun to see them grow up alongside each other and develop a friendship.  Yay for neighborhood friends!!  Last week, they invited us to go to the Thinkery and we definitely couldn't pass it up.  Luke LOVED it and here are the pictures and the smile to prove it...

Gingerbread House

 We made our first Lawson family gingerbread house this year.  We all had a lot of fun, and both boys actively participated.  Luke did so much better than I expected and actually put things on the house in a semi-ordered fashion. 

We like to party!

 Jake has gotten the chance to go to a couple birthday parties at Main Event recently.  One was a rock climbing party.  This was the first time Jake has ever rock climbed with a harness, and he loved it!  He was quick to the top and had a lot of fun!  Here he is getting ready...

Making his way up...

 And ready to ring the bell...

 The arcade was also a fun treat.  I had to share Jake's driving technique since he's not able to reach the pedals...

 Luke and I hung around for this party and Luke was happy to turn the steering wheel.  It won't be too long before the free "games" won't be good enough any more, but I'll take it as long as he's happy...

Pancake Breakfast

 Jake's school had a pancake breakfast a couple Saturdays ago, so the boys and I headed over to enjoy some pancakes and Christmas activities.  Luke was a super fan of the pancakes.  He went back for thirds!

Jake made a couple ornaments after his breakfast...

 Santa made a visit.  Luke was not a fan and only got close enough to receive a candy cane, but a picture was definitely out of the question.  Jake was a great big brother and went on his lap to encourage Luke, but he insisted he would not speak to him!  I guess it's a good thing Santa can receive mail!

Follow the Star 2014

This year is either the 3rd or 4th year we've headed out to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church's presentation of Jesus' life, Follow the Star.  As always, it was incredible and definitely worth the visit.  It's unbelievable how many volunteers and hours must go into such a well-done event.  If you've never been, I highly recommend it, and I highly recommend walking rather than driving..  You can see so much better and go at your own pace, plus you get the added bonus of hot chocolate and cookies at the end!  There are a couple scenes too graphic for small children, so we skip those and enjoy the rest.  I took just a couple pictures.  Here's Mary and Joseph welcoming baby Jesus...

 and the wise men bowing before the new King...

 Jesus' entry into Jerusalem...

 and the guys after some yummy cookies...

Luke and Hazel

Luke and I have been hanging out with Hazel on Tuesday and Thursday mornings during this holiday season to help out one of my bff's, Chez.  Hazel is adorable, and it's great to watch the two developing their friendship.  For the most part, they share lots of love and hugs and are great friends.  Sometimes, we have moments when sharing is difficult, especially for Luke, but it's all a part of life's lessons.  Hazel gets to learn about sports and cars and tracks, Luke gets to learn about sharing his things, and they both get to learn how to be good friends.  One day, we were eating lunch and Hazel got especially messy so I grabbed the camera...

 Luke didn't want to be left out of the photo op, so here he is...

 Sweet friends!

Christmas begins

Christmas time around our house begins the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  We wait for Daddy to get home from practice and we are ready to decorate!  Jake loves decorating so it makes the task a lot of fun, especially now that he's such a big helper.  This year, Luke slept through most of the decorating , then awoke to a transformed house.  I think it was probably to everyone's benefit.  Here's Luke with his classic smile checking out the tree...

 We did leave a few ornaments and the star untouched so Luke could join in...

 Jake got to have the honors...

 The boys each got to unwrap a bag of some Christmas goodies to enjoy throughout this entire Christmas season.  Included in the bags, were their Christmas pjs and some Christmas socks.  Luke refused to put on his pj pants, so this was the best I could get in their festive gear...

Gainesville November 2014

We had a fun-filled 24 hour stay in Gainesville over Thanksgiving.  One highlight was the annual Lawson family soccer game.  Here are the teams...

Even Luke was ready to go...



I'll admit, I played very little soccer this year so I can't say I contributed any to the team.  When Luke was finished being on the field, I was quick to join him on the swing set along with this sweet girl...

The three of us were quite satisfied with our sideline positions!

ICE 2014

 We continued our tradition of heading to the Gaylord Texan to see Ice!  I stayed back with Luke this year since we didn't think he was quite ready for the freezing temperatures, so I didn't take any pictures, but luckily Ice provided us with some.  Here's Papa, Granmama, and Jake all bundled up and ready to go...

Here are some shots of the amazing ice sculptures...

 While they were inside enjoying the sculptures, Luke and I ate popcorn, people watched, and found of few of our own snowmen...

It's always a must to take some pictures in front of the amazing decorations and fun things to see around the hotel...

Aledo November 2014

 The Monday before Thanksgiving, the boys and I headed to Aledo to spend some time with Papa and Granmama.  The weather was great so it was nice to spend time outside.  Papa got out the 4 wheeler Jake used to ride when he was younger so that Luke could now take the driver's seat...

Jake drove his bigger version, but Luke also liked pretending in the driver's seat of this one too...

 We made a trip for some new cowboy boots and jeans for Jake and they tried out some saddles...

 Luke seemed pretty comfortable on this horse...

 On Thanksgiving morning, Jake is now Papa's official helper with the turkey.  He even had a special turkey hat for the occasion...

 Papa and Jake getting ready to put the bird in the oven...

 Ready and anxious for the feast to begin...