Santa Sighting

We love Sean's company for lots of reasons, but one of them is their family-centeredness (is that a word?). The boys went to the annual Santa party at the office and got to tell the Big Guy what they were wanting this year.  You'll notice their lists are made on recycled office paper.  Gotta love having an environmentally friendly Dad! ;-)

 Cookies in the lobby.

 Santa's here!!!

 Talking things over with Santa.  They always get a book and a "stuffie" from him.  So sweet!

Loved this view of the church across the street as we were leaving the office. Beautiful scene!

Christmas Awesome-ness

Mimi, Sister & I went to see A Christmas Carol a few days before Christmas.  We started our fun evening at Sister's apartment for champagne & gifts!  The boys were thrilled to get their goodies...thanks, Sister!

 Rein-beer for Sean got an approval from Gwyneth. :-)

 Showing off their Slinkys.

 Heading out for our night on the town!

 We walked to Union Station for dinner after the show.  Loved all the lights in LoDo!  Thanks for a fun night, ladies.  Let's do it again next year!

Holiday Party, Wild West Style

Sean's company Christmas party is one of the highlights of our holiday season.  It is such a treat!  This year, the theme was "Murder in the Wild West" (or something like that).  They decorated the country club to resemble a saloon and we all had parts to play.  Our characters were visiting the big poker tournament from back East.  Hence, the more Victorian costumes.  It was a fun night!

 Loved the burlap and bandannas!

Thank goodness for Katie, a fellow Engineer wife.  I had a blast enjoying the party with her & loved her pregnant cowgirl look.  So cute!!!  Can't wait until next year...

Christmas Cookies

I promised the boys we could do Gingerbread cookies before Christmas & boy did they enjoy it!  Any excuse to use frosting and candy to be creative is a hit at our house.  Lots of sampling was done along the way...for quality control, of course.  

 Concentrating hard.

Ta-da!

Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving day was pretty traditional around here...we watched the Macy's parade, started meal preparation and the boys set up a chocolate milk stand outside.  Actually, that last part was new.  They were going to charge 1 cent per carton, but I talked them into charging a quarter.  I don't know if it was the holiday or the blustery wind, but their only customer was Mimi.  :-)  Better luck next year, boys!  

 Finally, a paying customer!

 Sean helped decorate the tablecloth.  

 Mimi helped me with the feast this year & I used Grandma Shirley's magical turkey roaster again.  The bird was delicious!

The boys had fun playing with Aunt Debbie & Taylor.  Didn't get any pics of newly-engaged Tyler & Kelsie for some reason.

Epcot

Epcot was such a cool park, almost felt like two different parks actually.  Sean had lots of memories of going to Epcot when he was a child, so this park was especially fun for him.  The boys loved all the Space/Science attractions! 

Carter & Grandad getting a groovy start to the day!

Iconic space ball pic.

We love MICKEY!

...and Goofy,

AND Minnie!

Duffy the Disney Bear was by far Davis's favorite character.  Davis had colored a picture of Duffy dressed in a Santa costume and was so excited to give it to him.  We got special treatment because I don't think Duffy has quite the fan base that Mickey & Donald have.  The ladies who worked in the gift shop where Duffy is stationed were completely in love with Davis and his affinity for Duffy.  It was adorable.

Best Buddies!

We enjoyed another fun character meal at the revolving restaurant at Epcot.

They grow their own food at Epcot and Carter was showing how healthy food makes your strong!

Epcot at night.

The World Showcase part of Epcot was my favorite.  (PS: The day we explored the entire park, my pedometer logged 12 miles of walking.  Whew!)  Carter had fun planting Perry the Platypus in various countries.   

The boys loved watching the train outside Germany.  

Another fun lunch... This time it was the aquarium restaurant by the Finding Nemo ride.  Lots of good lunchtime entertainment!

Even the desserts were sea themed! How cool!

Getting ready to ride the Chevy Test Track ride again. What a blast this was!!! (This is the identical ride to Radiator Springs Racers in Cars Land at California Adventure, FYI.  It's just decorated to look like race cars instead of Cars characters.  Of course Sean would notice that.)  

Family fun

Beautiful holiday decorations at Epcot.  That tree was HUGE.

The restaurant in Mexico where Sean remembers going as a child.  The ride inside was so cute!

We stayed late for the fireworks/light show at Epcot and nearly froze waiting for it to start.  Davis fell asleep in the stroller & Carter complained a lot, but it was worth it in the end.  That show is a must-see!