Christmas

 Milk and cookies

Christmas of 2012 proved to be a bit of a doosey. The Tuesday before Santa came, all three boys came down with fevers and coughs. Finally it got so bad with the two younger boys that we took them to the doctor and found that they both had sinus infections. We were lucky that they weren't too sick but it was just enough to keep them semi-miserable and to force us from visiting with any of my family who were down in the Provo area for the holidays. Boo. Fortunately, Bryce braved our ailments and came up to party with us for Christmas weekend all the same! His visit saved Christmas for us. If it weren't for him and all of the fun Christmas tunes that he brought with him, our Christmas would have felt like just another day with sick boys. Nothing is better than family!

 Stockings! opening stocking on Christmas morning may be my very favorite part of the day. Poor McCabe wasn't too impressed with his slim pickins'. He has decided that that there is no way he is going to forget to write Santa a letter next year. Brothers seemed to get way more loot. Poor Char had an accident in his pants (of the number 2 nature) during his sleep so he didn't get to match his brothers on Christmas morn.

 Look at that face on Mason! We love Uncle Bryce.

 After I made Mason's blue whale for his birthday, I realized that any sort of LARGE stuffed animal was a hit with my men so I made Char a 10 foot snake to snuggle with for the Winter.

 Mason only asked for a blue yo-yo and rollerblades for Christmas this year. James said that with those items on his wishlist, this would be the most frustrating Christmas yet. But all the same, Mason was thrilled to get skates like his Pops and has been working hard at learning the ropes.

 I love how this picture captures Christmas morning so well.

 After all of the presents were opened, the boys decided that the cheap $5 punching bag that we got them was their favorite present and was worth fighting over every chance they got. Go figure.

Even McCabey agreed.

Hunting down our Christmas tree

Our family, before reality hit

Saturday our little family headed up to the mountains of Idaho where we hunted down our Christmas tree. I normally adore this activity, but after this year, let's just say that I would be fine if we didn't do this again until our boys are all grown. It was 10 degrees outside and 2 out of our 3 boys wined about the cold the whole time (McCabe would have joined in if he hadn't fallen a sleep on Poppy's back). I couldn't blame them, since my feet were so cold they were killing me! The tree we found was piddly and then we almost landed out truck in a ditch while we tried to help a Suburban out. Boo. On the upside, we ran into our favorite neighbors out in the woods (small world) and our boys got to see the power of prayer in action while Poppy got to serve his fellow men. As lame as the whole morning was, the true spirit of Christmas was out in force wearing a mullet (we love you Idaho folk!).

***Before you view anymore pictures, you should know that the smiles you might see were very few and far between....except for Pops. He was cheerful a midst the screaming.

L: Pops carrying all three boys. R: McCabe asleep on Pop's back.

The Sieg Boys

It has been rather handy having our boys around the same time of year because Charlie has been able to fit into all of Mason's clothes in the right seasons. This candy cane pajama suit is one of my very favorites. I found some old shots of Mason wearing it when he was our little one and I still can't get over how different our little boys are. Our fair-haired Mason and our bald butterball, Charlie. I don't think I will ever be able to decide which little fella is cuter. Good thing I never have to.

"....Whenever you find love, it feels like Christmas...."

Mason and Poppy, reading A Christmas Carol. I prefer the Muppet's version myself, but every now and then it's good to get back to the real deal.

"The stocking were hung by the chimney with care...."

I just finished Charlie's Christmas stocking (thanks to my talented Aunt Chris who made mine back in the day and shared her special pattern with me)! Hot dog! Now he is officially one of us! As he is named after his grandpa, I tried my best to make his stocking as much like my dad's as possible. They say that it is best to decorate in groupings of three, but I have to disagree this year. I think our stockings look much more friendly with four.

Christmas trees

One of my new favorite family traditions is going up into the woods to find our very own Christmas tree. This year we were joined by my brother,Tony, and his family. We had a ball!....except for our nephew, Ben. Overall it was a success. We both were able to find our dream trees and hauled them home successfully. What better way to bring in the Christmas season!

Our little Sieg family

Mason and Poppy.

Mason and Poppy cutting down our tree

Poor little Ben wasn't a huge fan of the outing.

My handsome mountain man

The Vances

Gunner Pup was a BIG fan of the snow. He frolicked and played the whole afternoon.

Mason meets Santa

Apparently Mason is still a little wary of bearded folk.

Christmas Carriage Ride

A couple weekends ago we brought the holiday season in with style by taking a carriage ride around a local shopping mall. Even though it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet, I couldn't resist the festivities offered at this free event. Christmas lights, Santa, carriage ride, movie ticket giveaways, etc. Fortunately, we were prompt and didn't have to wait in line for our little carriage ride, or else I would say the whole thing was a bust. I guess that is what you get for trying to celebrate a holiday too early.....don't worry though, I'll forget my lesson again next year and start amping up for Christmas in July like usual. :)

Mason was really excited to ride in the carriage. However, once he got on, she showed absolutely no emotion whatsoever. That boy is funny.

James and I were pleased as punch, though!

Charlie wasn't sure what to think.

James was good this year...

James has been begging me to let him get another dog, since we are now dogless. I kept telling him that since we were not allowed to have a dog in our rented home, we couldn't. What he didn't know was that I got it secretly approved for his Christmas wish. I was thrilled that he didn't suspect it, for once. We are excited for our family to grow!

Christmas Morning!!!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope your festivities were as good as ours! We woke up early and started the fun with our stockings. The best part of all was being with family. I just wish we could have been with James' family, too. At least we get to see them all while we are here.

James was super excited to get a backpack for his fellow outdoorsy friend, Kathleen.

Mason was ready for his morning nap long before the presents were done. It looks like we were forcing him to play with his toys....maybe we were...