Ben was able to take time to spend with us which doesn't happen often because of school and work. We continued with our newest tradition for the second year in a row of making Gingerbread Men and then eating them as we watch a Christmas movie. This year we watched The Polar Express, per Trav's request.
Our first stop was Grandma and Grandpa Cook's house. Unfortunately I don't have the pictures from our visit with Grandma and Grandpa Cook's because we used their camera, but hopefully I will remember to get copies when we go for our next visit because we had so much fun with them there. We went sledding down the hill in the backyard and opened presents and ate a nice steak dinner. Travis had some major bonding time with Grandma as they built a Lego helicopter together along with a couple other things. It was really nice to be able to relax and enjoy our time with them.
Kurtis and Tristan came for a Visit from Virginia which was really nice because we don't get to see them very often. My dad bought us all dinner and we were able to visit for a while.
After the New Year we went to my mom's house and visited for a couple of day's there. That was also a lot of fun. The boys drug the grandkids around in the sleigh with the 4 wheeler. Haiden tested out her Christmas present of nail polish and it turned into a family party and we had the big family game with the ball of plastic wrap and dice that almost turned into a family feud. Ben and I of course won that game, 50 bucks and we didn't even cheat. The adults had a tea party with Natalie which just made her day! We also went paintballing, which I don't have pictures of, but that was fun as well. I'm not saying my husband is a butthead, all I'm saying is that he shot me in the butt and I still have a bruise and it's been a month and a half. That's all I'm saying. It was fun though. I might need the painful memory to fade a bit more before I go again, but I don't regret going like I thought I would.
One last event of our holiday break was Ben taking Travis and Ethan out on a guys night. Those boys thought they were sure special. They went to the store and got their own drinks. While they were in line Travis made sure the cashier knew that Ben was not Ethan's dad, but it was okay because they were having a guys night! They had pizza. Natalie had a sleepover with Haiden and Macie hung out with me for the most part. It was a special night for those boys and they really enjoyed it.
