Kevin and I couldn't resist. They were too cute.
Here is Gavin trying out his skates. He's a bit shaky, but getting the hang of it.Kevin, Courtney, Hannah, Gavin, & Luke
Gavin loved the giraffes...
and the zebras...
The cheetah was active, it's nice to see animals at the zoo that aren't sleeping.
The kids liked the petting zoo too.
We really enjoyed the zoo. Thank you Mamo J and Papa Tee for a fun trip, we all had a great time!
This was the first year we took Hannah and Gavin, we had not been for awhile. I bundled them up well. Some lady commented how I shouldn't have my kids out so late. I love unsolicited parental advice. I said, "Yea, I'm a cool mom!" I stole that line from my friend. Come on lady, it's New Year's Eve!
Jeremy was not excited to go to the parade. Jeremy is from Arizona, so he didn't know thought it was going to be lame. Once he saw the floats he LOVED it.
All the floats line up the night before, you can walk up right next to them. The details are amazing. Here are some of our favorites...
Gavin loved the zebras...
Kevin loved the Alaskan float's tribal masks and dogs...

They had dogs skateboarding on a float. So cute! Look how BIG this dog is!
The next day we slept in and enjoyed a day of laziness. It was much needed. Hannah rode her bike she got for Christmas, she is getting better every time. Gavin played hockey with Kevin.
When she walked into the airport with her grandparents she looked so grown up. She is such a sweet girl. She'll be in Ohio for about 10 days.
I cleaned up all the Christmas decorations. I suddenly remembered, I didn't take any pictures of the stuff I made today, and I know everyone is dying to know what I did with that football field worth of flannel. Well, here ya go!
My next blanket I made was a Christmas throw. My sister-in-law, Rachel, was over and I showed her my cute flannel, she liked it a lot. She twisted my arm, and I decided to make not one, but two... we both needed one. She cut, I sewed. It was a fabulous team. She also helped minimize the critical remarks from Kevin on how messy the house was getting.
I made this pillow too! I love the red ball trim.
I wanted a wreath, but all the ones I saw I didn't like, so I made my own. I was really intimidated with the thought of making my own wreath, but once I got started I realized how easy it was.
Remember my New Year's Resolutions for this year? One of them was to finish all my unfinished craft projects. This is one I finished. I got a custom mat, but bought a regular frame from Michael's (the mat was twice as much as the frame, but it makes the cross-stitch look so good). This one only took me 6 years to finish!
Another one of my unfinished craft projects finished! My Christmas advent calendar only took me 2 1/2 years!
I think Hannah has caught the crafting bug, maybe she was born with it? Nature or Nurture? Santa brought her a sewing machine for Christmas, she is so excited to use it! Unfortunately, the elves put the wrong sewing machine in Santa's sleigh, so Hannah can't sew on it until Santa comes back to bring her the right one. While she waits, she is working on her hand sewing.
Well, back to unpacking from Christmas and beginning the task of finding places for all these new toys Hannah and Gavin got.
Then as usual, we all need a break, and go to the arcade for the second period.
We go back once the third period starts. Kevin is borrowing a jersey, he is #68 right now. It looks so weird to me because he has always been #22. I'll be happy when he gets his jersey. It's taking FOREVER!
Kevin played really well and scored some goals, but the best part is watching Hannah and Gavin get so excited to see him play.
They are so proud of him. He is the coolest Dad! I'm proud of him too. I hope he keeps playing hockey.
Here is Kevin's team, the VIPERS!!! They are all trying to convince me to let Kevin go to Las Vegas on my birthday weekend for a tournament. We will see.
The season starts up again after the new year!

Gavin had a great time in Hannah's class. After cupcakes he participated in practicing their holiday songs for their Christmas Program. He is so ready for preschool... I'm ready for him to go to preschool.