St Nick and bathtime fun

St Nick delivered some fun things in the stockings, BATH TUB crayons. I was surprised how challenging it was to get the stuff off. Thanks Gma Van!

I have noticed something

I have noticed in the past recent postings that Jamison has worn the same shirt on 4 separate occasions. Honestly...he does wear other clothes but they are all red. I would have to say the "95" and Bucky the Badger are his favorite! Peter goes for a little more variety.

First Snow

WE have been getting a load of snow. I guess it figures, the first year in a new house with a big drive way. Pat is pretty happy...he can use a snow blower! A man feels like a man when he gets to use a John Deer (or so I am told).

After the first snow...it rained about an inch which made what looks like nice snow....but actually a large ice rink. The boys went "sledding"...actually sliding. And yes, the ice is strong enough to hold up even Pat and me!The boys really enjoyed sliding down the hills in the yard as well as getting on their bellies and pushing, like a penguin or a seal.

Wish we would get good packing snow, the boys are dying to make a snow man with a carrot nose!

Visit with Santa

We had a very important visitor in Mount Horeb last weekend. SANTA! The boys had mixed feelings about talking to "the big man in the red hat" but after a little pursuasion...we stood in line. Below is a picture of Peter trying to peek through the sea of people to catch a glimps of the man!

But ultimately the boys met him, told him their names, ages (although Jamison said he was 43) and what they hoped for him to bring to their houses.

Jamison would like "a red, brown, grey silver train with no face" and Peter would like a "pancake toy." I am assuming Jamison would like a train but not from the Thomas series but I have NO idea what Peter is talking about. When asked "Show me how you play with a pancake toy" Peter proceeds to get on his back, arms and feet in the air, and rolls around like a dog trying to scratch its back. If anyone has a clue as to what he may be talking about, please let me know.

Holiday Picture Outtakes

Who knew it was so hard to get a good photo for the holiday card. Below are a few out takes!We did not quite get the perfect shot....so another attempt below

We did get on ok one to put in the cards. Surprisingly one with the whole family!

Thanksgiving and the annual tree hunt

This year for Thanksgiving we had Gma and Gpa Van down for the big turkey dinner. We have brain washed the boys to think that Thanksgiving is about eating and watching football. We enjoyed the game, the Pack won, and fun was had by all. Unfortunately, no pics.

Part of the Cullen Thanksgiving tradition is to hunt for a christmas tree and cut it down. The tree farm that we have been going to for years is closed, the owners retired so we had to find a new one."Is this a good one?" asks the boys. A little too short. This is a good one!
ALthough I doubt we will be returning to this tree farm we were able to find a good one. The boys were very excited to see horses! The horses were surprised to see us also!

We brought the tree home and the boys were very excited to decorate it. We had to learn the word "gentle" the hard way. Not too many "beautiful balls" we hurt in the making of the Cullen Family tree.
The finished product!

LEAVES and Katie in town

Katie was in town this past weekend. And let me tell you, we had a blast! As you can see, we have a few leaves. So we raked them up in a big ole pile and jumped in them over and over and over again.
Katie taught us how to do the superman jump into the pile! We then proceeded to cover her up until you could no longer see her! I think she is still pulling leaves out of her hair and pants!

We spend HOURS doing this. Katie wore the boys out so much that they slept until 8:45 sunday morning!!! I think Katie can come when ever she wants!! The Packers then shut the Vikings out...it could not have been a more perfect weekend.

Dad is making us clean the leaves up this weekend. The weather is looking cold and wet.....It is too soon to say the "s" word so I am not going to do it! Happy Thanksgiving week!!!

5 Van Boys

This past weekend we went to Minneapolis and stayed with Alex and Nikolas and Grayson came over to play! What happens when you get 5 Van grandsons together?? The answer...pig pile! Nikolas was the smart one and got the "heck out of dodge"
Say "Cheese" Jamison!
TV is like a drug...turn it on and everyone is hooked. The feature film....a promotional DVD about snowboards. There were some pretty crazy people on that thing....a mothers nightmare! Peter....dont be getting too many ideas from that, winter IS coming up!

Art Work

On a cold, windy morning what better to do is create masterpieces! We broke out the water colors and went to town!! Some of you will be seeing the beautiful work coming via the US postal service!

Keiko Birthday

November brings a string of birthdays....first is Keiko's!

The boys were very helpfull in decorating Keiko's Birthday cake. Notice how helpful (both have chocolate all over their face). We decorated the bundt cake with sprinkles so it kind of looked like a big donut!
Wearing a shirt from the esteemed "Poupon Unversity" in Mt Horeb's college of mustard she blows out ALL of those candles. We wont tell you how many...all we will say is that we needed to open the window after she blew them out.

Next I believe we have cousin Aidan, Uncle Matt, Gpa Van, Pat and then Heike. Throw in Thanksgiving and we will have enough sugar in us to make it to Christmas for sure!