Christmas with the Weldons

We were fortunate enough to spend two weeks in Iowa over the boys' winter break this year. That meant we got to see a lot of people and do a lot of things around Des Moines. 

It started with taking in an Iowa State game at Wells Fargo Arena. The seats were way up at the top but we got to see them play live. So that was fun. Most of the Weldon crew joined us even though I'm pretty sure Joe and I were the only ones interested in the game. They just wanted to do an activity as a family. How cool is that? They even dressed the part.

The boys did a lot of playing with their cousins. They love spending time with them. They spent most of the time in Iowa in costume.....

....or nothing at all. (Sorry Jeni. I just love this picture). 

Daniel convinced us to let him bring his Erector set to Iowa. He also got a few sets of Legos and a model Saturn V so he spent a lot of time building while we were there. He was always able to get a willing helper.

Is this the perfect gift for him or what?

For Monday night football (Broncos v. Bengals), we got in our Broncos finest and headed over the Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the game on the big screen. It was a fun time (not a good game) but the highlight was watching Adam order and eat 30 wings by himself. Eating with him is always entertaining. 

(This is the best picture I took of the group the whole evening. I will have to get a better group shot from someone else).

And one of the main reasons we came out, Christmas morning!!!! We all gathered at Grandma and Grandpa's house for the main event and got busy opening presents. It turns into quite a show with 18 people. The kids love it.

This guy loves to take pictures. This time I got smart and brought the little camera for him. He loved walking around taking pictures. 

These two little ones were inseparable. They are about seven months apart and love playing with each other. It was fun to watch.

(Don't mind the one arm sticking out of his top. He kept doing this to his clothes the whole time we were there.)

A current addiction for the Weldons (mainly me) is playing Ticket to Ride. We got it for Christmas and played it just about every day. 

Josh even learned to play so he could join in.

The Van Wyk's have a Friday night tradition of making their own pizzas at home. We joined in on the tradition while we were in town. Charlotte is quite the pizza maker. She has it down to a science.

All the kids helped out.

Even the big kids.

We also made it out to a breakfast staple, The Iowa Machine Shed, for their breakfast buffet. (Aaron, next time we should try for the buffet). 

In addition to seeing all the family, we got to spend some quality time with some old friends as well (not old in age but we have known them a long time). And the kids got to go bowling while the adults chatted. Win-win!

We also played at the mall indoor play area and ate out at Godfather's (one of the top places we visit while in Iowa). It was awesome. We had the whole place to ourselves so the kids didn't bother anyone. That meant more conversation time for the adults. Yeah!

Grandma also came up with the idea of an indoor play area where the kids could let off some steam from being stuck inside in the cold temperatures. It had a ton of bouncy houses and slides. The kids love it. They were all over the place. 

What a great way to spend two weeks in Iowa. We should do this every year!

Christmas with the Strutts

While we were in Iowa, we spent a few days over at the Strutts. Most of the siblings were able to make a stop at Grandma and Grandpa's house so we got to see quite a few family members (we missed you Vargas family!). That also meant we got to meet the newest family members. We had three babies born this year with two born in November. 

Uncle Joe had yet to meet Cora but she became an instant fan. She loved snuggling with him. 

We also got to meet Autumn (born November 25th)....

....and Bennet (born November 11th). So many babies and only two arms. What's an aunt to do?

The kids also had some cousins to play with. Cora and Jonah have a lot of fun with the boys. Patrick is enamored with Cora. 

And Jonah loved Josh reading him books. 

There was also a ladder to climb, footballs to throw, and stories to read with Grandpa. Each of the boys has their special activity when they come over to this house. It keeps Grandpa very busy. 

We were able to enjoy a nice dinner with everyone. Dad carved the turkey. We bought an oil-less turkey fryer last year for Thanksgiving and never used it so we brought it out before we hosted a dinner this year. Dad watched a video online about how to carve a turkey so he was showing Grandpa. Grandpa seemed pretty impressed. 

This year we actually had to set up a kids table. How cute are they?

After dinner we got to open presents with everyone. The kids were very excited. 

Daniel wanted to open up everything right then and there and Patrick was fine with the boxes.

Here is the new family. Isn't she adorable?

Whenever Uncle Jon's around, craziness ensues. At least now he has a son to be goofy with when he gets older. 

Here are Grandma and Grandpa with all the grandchildren that were there. We were missing the Vargas girls. Although I'm not sure where we would have put them on the couch. I'm not sure what we are going to do next year.

We also got to celebrate Cora's 1st birthday (not really until January 7th but most of the family was there so why not). She wasn't too sure about the candle but she did love the cupcake. 

Happy Birthday, Cora!