Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Visits with Santa!

There are many opportunities to visit Santa in Chelsea this time of year, and this year we decided to visit at an event we had never been to before...the free "Breakfast with Santa" at the Comfort Inn! Basically, the whole town (or at least everyone with kids!), joins in the fun and I am so glad we finally took the time to check it out! We ran into many friends and had such a great time!

Brett was all smiles when he saw Santa....and what do you think he asked for? Legos of course!!

Camden clearly wasn't too sure....but he never cried and seemed intrigued by this crazy man with the big white beard!




My 3 boys with Santa....love them all so much!!

Camden got to see Santa again at playgroup today, and this time he wasn't weary at all. He walked right up to him to get his candy cane, and even sat on his lap! And as you can, that candy cane sure was good!




Merry Christmas Santa, and thanks for the visits!

Sunday, December 18, 2016

December Fun!


We love the month of December! So many fun activities to do that lead up to Christmas morning! Some of our favorites so far have been holiday crafting (which you'll see we've done a lot of lately), decorating gingerbread houses, going to the festive Light Parade in Chelsea, and decorating cookies with friends. 

The weekend after Thanksgiving my parents invited the boys over for crafts at their house. This is music to any mother's ears because it meant that the mess would be at their house, not mine My mom really got into it this year and had a little bit of everything...glitter, paint, stickers, cut outs, and white paper for cutting out snowflakes (harder than it looks!)! Love the concentration on Brett and Camden's faces!






Here the boys are snuggles up on the couch watching Frosty the Snowman.....a Bingham favorite :-)

I had to throw this picture in because they are holding hands. So sweet!

Camden hamming it up next to our new addition this year...an outdoor Christmas tree for our porch! (Camden insisted on wearing Brett's backpack and said he was going to "school")

And here's a photo of our real Christmas tree inside! 

Crafting with the neighbors......


...and with Brett's den of Cub Scouts! They were making holiday cards to send to a soldier.

Next up? Gingerbread house decorating! Camden had just gotten out of the bath and insisted on staying naked.....typical toddler, right?



I forgot to get a picture of the finished product.....oh well!

The next night we walked downtown to watch the Light Parade with our neighbors. We had such a great night and the parade was magical.



The Chelsea Clocktower!


We then came back to our house and the kids watched a movie while us adults enjoyed beverages and banter around the table. Fun times for all!

Claire invited us all over for cookie decorating one day....and this is the best shot I got. We sure had a blast though! 

Every year I take the boys to Home and Garden in Ann Arbor to pick out a new ornament to add to their collection. This year Brett picked out a shiny, silver flute and Camden picked out a motorcycle. Brett also picked out these fun glasses where Christmas lights turn to twinkling stars when you look through them.....so cool! Also, notice how Camden is wearing his builder hat? He wouldn't leave the house without it and wore it all day long! 

Showing off his advent calendar :-)

More crafts (I told you we've done a lot lately)!! 



Camden made that snowman all by himself, can you tell? :-)

One of my absolute favorite things about this time of year is how beautiful outdoor lights look after the first big snowfall. So still. So peaceful. And so magical!


Christmas is less than a week away and I couldn't be more excited! Wrapping presents, spending quality time with family and friends, seeing the complete joy that Christmas morning brings to our boys, and fun adventures that only happen once a year are some of my favorite's to come!

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Annual Christmas Tree Hunt!

The weekend after Thanksgiving we headed out to our favorite Christmas tree farm to begin the holiday season, a tradition we always look forward to! Instead of grabbing a wagon and walking to the nearby field, we hopped on the hay wagon and rode out to a new area we had never been to to before. It definitely added to the excitement to try something new and both boys loved the ride! 

Brett was in charge of the saw and took this job very seriously :-)

I assumed the wagon ride would just be a quick trip up the hill, but nope, their property goes back further than I thought! We were on there for probably 10 minutes and it was so peaceful to just sit back and enjoy the beautiful scenery!



Notice the little bus ornament in Camden's hand? We had gotten our decorations out the day before and each boy has their own box of ornaments that we add to each year. Well, that was one of Brett's favorites from when he was little, but someone else insisted on playing with it! At first, Brett didn't want to share, but eventually he reluctantly gave in when he saw how much JOY it brought to his brother. I had been in the ER with Camden the night before for breathing issues due to Croup, so he got anything he wanted the next day!


Although Camden was feeling much better, he was pretty tired from being up half the night so he definitely wasn't his spunky self. Poor little guy.

Seriously cannot believe that this handsome boy is going to be 8 soon!!!

Kyle and Camden selfie!

Our view.

Before we started our search for the perfect tree, I grabbed these shots of the boys by the tractor.....and I love them! 




Then we were off....


There are always so many beautiful trees to choose from and every time we think we found the tree, we find another one that we love even more! This cycle continues for quite some time....until we all start to crave warmth and cookies that is! Ha!



Even in the winter, nature does not disappoint.

Examining "the one".....


And chopping it down!



Brett helped Kyle by supporting the tree while he cut it down. Go Brett!

After our tree hunt was complete, it was time for hot chocolate and cookies in the little country store! Yum!

Later that evening, we put Christmas music on and decorated our tree! Love this time of year so much!!