Odds and Ends

Here's our 2 cub scouts after their space derby.

The space derby requires each boy to make a rocket that was then raced on what looks like a clothes line, with 4 lines. Henry's is a blue shark.

Wait! He's not a cubscout! Lukey just loves to have his picture taken.

Here's Timmy with his red and orange flame rocket.

Not much later came winter break. Complete with a visit from the Shook's. Their visit happen to fall over Valentine's Day weekend. So here are some of the kids with their Valentine's. (Julia, Henry, Tim, Parker, Oliver and Sophia) that they shared.

After the Shooks had to leave we had a day of playdough fun.

And lots of forts were built!!

Snow day!

One snowy day in January we had enough snow to get a snow day! Sophia and her friend, Madisen.

Timmy shoveling some snow. He and Henry worked hard making the beginning of a fort. Only it was in the garage, right where the little van gets parked. They were very disappointed when I told them it had to come down, because Daddy couldn't park the van in the driveway.

Sophia and Henry making a new fort next to the driveway.

Everyone trudged in and peeled off all their snow gear, immediately suggesting we have hot chocolate. Only we were out of chocolate syrup. So I suggested we try a recipe I had never tried, vanilla hot milk. Everyone agreed and eagerly tried it only to realize it was good but nothing's quite like hot chocolate.

Lukey's first big slurp!

More vanilla milk drinkers.

Grandma Steffen's Birthday!

Some of the grandkids and a great grandkid made Grandma Steffen a surprise birthday gift. Complete with a homemade birthday card, that you see on the orange table in front,as well as a 3 tier birthday cake made from cool-whip containers covered in paper they colored and taped together.

Surprise! Julia in front with Henry holding the keyboard. Braydon and Grandma in the next row. With Timmy, Parker, Lukey and Oliver in back.

Everyone sang happy birthday and Henry played a special birthday song for Grandma. Later everyone, kids and adults met up with most of Grandma's kids and lots of grandkids and great grands for dinner in Independence.

More Christmas

Celebrating Christmas with my mom's side of the family. Aunt Joni's passing out gifts for Zac, Kale, Brady, Sophia, and Timmy.

Grandma Wood and Sarah

My cousin Emily, Matt and their kidos, Lily and Mikey.

The day we opened presents we also went to visit Grandpa Wood at the care center. He was in a good mood that day. He held Lily, threw a beach ball at the little boys a few times and smiled at everyone a lot. Alex and Max are in the back then Sophia, Kara, Grandpa Wood, Grandma Wood with Timmy on her lap, Henry, Lucas and Randy.

The next morning Zac and Lukey watching someone's ipad together. We had to leave Nick and Joni's that day, it was horrible weather driving back to Dunkerton.

Chrismas Morning and the Day After

Like always before the sun is up, the kiddos are ready to run upstairs to see what Santa has left for them. Lukey's holding one of the cows he got, it was just what he wanted!

Timmy with his HUGE truck. He wanted to take it to school for their Christmas show and tell, but it didn't fit in his bag!

Sophia with all her loot, in her bean bag chair everybody wanted!

Santa brought a WiiU as a family gift but these two were the most excited about it!

Alex in front of all his Christmas goodies! We had a lazy Christmas morning at Grandma Steffen's, like we usually do, then later in the day we headed over to Dale and Audrey's to continue the celebration.

This is the day after Christmas. This year we went to the Dunkerton Hall to celebrate the Steffen Christmas, which I forgot my camera for. After celebrating at the hall lots of us came back to Grandma Steffen's. Here are cousins, Parker, Luke, George, and Tim using George's grain auger to fill Tim's truck with popcorn kernels. Lots of uncles gathered round to watch.

Sophia, Madison and Eleanor

Christmas Eve After Mass

Uncle Eric was very determined to make a pie-cake-in, a pie baked in a pie, as the name suggests. Alex was intrigued with this idea and so assisted his uncle in this amazing dessert. (This particular picture actually happened before Christmas Eve.) More to come on this later.

After Mass it has been our tradition for our children to exchange the gifts they got for each other, receive a small gift from Randy and I, and give a small gift to Grandma Steffen. In addition to this it has now grown into exchanging gifts with the Shook cousins with a crowd of aunt and uncles. It's a crazy night filled with lots of Christmas excitement!

Sophia with her gift from Henry.

Lukey with his dinosaur head he got and immediately started chasing people with.

Julia using her water coloring book. And look it's Mrs. Claus by Madison and Aunt Audrey! We also would hate to forget this was the Christmas Eve Julia got the most annoying Christmas gift, a microphone that sounded like Rudolph's glowing noise, loudly. The toy was quickly banned to the basement.

Sophia with Randy and the homemade ornament she made him!

Henry's tie-fighter Lego set he got that night.

Jack and his beautiful quilt his mom made him.

Max loving the cheese balls Alex got him.

Luke and Julia fishing.

Somehow these last two pictures got flip-flopped and I'm not sure how to switch them. Anyway this is suppose to show what the inside of the pie-cake-in looks like,( but doesn't really do a good job doing that).

 

Uncle Eric cuts the dessert of all desserts, to share with everyone. Will it become a Christmas tradition? There is talk of a goat-camel-in-elephant or something, but where would we find a big enough oven?

Christmas with the Leymaster side

After eating lunch together, nobody could wait any longer to open presents. Randy helped Lukey open his cement mixer Zac picked out just for Luke.

Many Christmas included building Lego sets when Nick was a little boy, and the tradition continues. Of course now the sets are for his little boys. Here he and Brady put some Legos together.

Kale, Max and Alex adding a little Nerf violence to the Christmas cheer.

Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Ted

Zac and Lukey playing with Zac's new playdough.

Everyone's excited to play with Timmy's new Star Wars game.

Sophia enjoying her new Legos.

Again, Max with the Christmas violence, and matching shirt with Uncle Nick! It was a great day!