Christmas time...

The last few weeks I've been trying to do some fun Christmas things with the kids. Last year, we kind of missed out on celebrating Christmas at all before the actual day because we were in the midst of packing our house and moving. And the kids were younger, so they didn't really get into it as much.

This year they have been really excited for Christmas and all that goes along with it. They get so excited at night when we drive and see Christmas lights. Kylah just yells, "lights!" from the backseat.

Last week we went to see the lights in the square in Fayetteville. It wasn't quite as big of a light show as I was hoping for (I was thinking Rhema, for those of you who know what that is...), but it was still fun to look at.

Daddy and Kylah.

All four of us. (You never know whose head is going to get cut off when you have strangers take a picture for you...)

The four of us in front of a carousel of lights. If you click on the picture to make it bigger you will notice Joey's face. He was not happy because he had just been told that he could not ride on ponies, camels, or any other animal. He was really not having a good attitude since we had gotten out of the car, so there was no way we were going to reward him with those things! When we looked back on these pictures a few days later, Joey commented, "I didn't have a very happy heart then." You think??!! :)

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The kids have really been into watching Polar Express this year. I think there are a few scary parts (like the guy on the top of the train), but they seem to love it. I'm not kidding when I say I think they've watched it at least 8 times.
So, when Meredith told me about a Polar Express-like train that goes from Springdale to Fayetteville, I was all for taking the kids. Plus, it was pretty cheap because we went during the day when they take some school classes!

I didn't tell Joey and Kylah until the morning of, and when I did they were so excited. Joey kept thinking it would be exactly like the movie. I had to remind him that I'd never been there, so I didn't know what it would be like. Kylah was a little concerned that there would be a Santa at the end.

Here are Joey and Kylah waiting on the train bench with their tickets.

Waiting for the train to pull into the station with Connor and Audrey.

Can you tell the train has pulled in? It seemed so big compared to these little ones watching it.

Joey was in awe as well.

So I realized when I got home that I didn't take a picture of the actual train. That would have been a good one.

Finally inside the train. It was great. There were little tables and chairs for each child.

The girls were enjoying having their own table too.

Matty was enjoying being there too! :)

Joey took this picture all by himself. I thought he did a good job!

The train ride was so fun. The lady in the red, Miss Lisa, had a microphone and talked to the kids in the train car a lot. There was hot chocolate for each child to drink. Here she is letting the kids sing Christmas songs they knew. Kylah chose Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. (We'll pretend she was thinking about the star of Bethlehem!) :) She was really cute singing all by herself into the microphone.

Joey wasn't timid at all--imagine that! He sang his Christmas solo into the microphone.

Miss Lisa read a story to the kids.

And then she sat and talked with Kylah for a while. She really was great. Mere and I kind of felt like we had a babysitter for an hour!

We'll definitely be doing that train ride again next year!

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This weekend Joe and I decided to celebrate our anniversary weekend. Well, I should actually say that we individually planned to celebrate our anniversary without telling each other. That's right...we were both planning a surprise weekend away for each other, without telling each other. We had the kids shipped off to Kansas, so Jennifer knew we were both planning something. So did Dave and Mere. But, the funny thing was, we were both planning pretty much the same weekend for each other! We have had tickets to a concert in Tulsa on Sunday the 19th for a while now, so we both built our weekend around that.
10 years ago, on 12/1/00, we had our very first date in Tulsa. So, we both had the idea to recreate that date.
I ended up finding out about Joe's plans while I was trying to pack for our trip without him knowing on Friday. A few essential things were missing from my wardrobe, which got me thinking that Joe had taken them, which meant he may be planning something. I called Mere, who finally told me.
I called Joe, who actually ended up being a little relieved that he didn't have to try to sneak everything in the car for me!
It was really funny, and amazing that we both had the same idea! :)

So, we had two days in Tulsa to relax without kids!

After a relaxing afternoon on Saturday, we had our recreation of our first date.

First, we went to see the lights at Rhema. They really put on an amazing light display.

Then, it was on to dinner at Ti Amo. So yummy!

We had a great time staying up late playing cards, going to the hot tub, and then sleeping in the next morning.

On Sunday we just took our time getting ready, then browsed at some stores, finished our Christmas shopping, saw a matinee, and then went to a yummy dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse.

Here is a belly shot for all of those who are interested. 32 weeks.

And finally, we ended our night at the David Phelps Christmas concert. It was a great show, and we had great seats. We didn't get home until really late, but it was worth it!

Joey and Kylah are still in Kansas with Grandpa and Nana. We'll meet them there on Thursday after work. It's been awfully quiet around the house, but we've been trying to be productive while they're gone. The crib is up, and the bedding is washed and on the crib. I'll post some pictures when the nursery is all done. We also went through all of Joey and Kylah's toys and got rid of the ones they no longer need or play with. We took apart their toddler beds and are in the process of putting together their bunk beds. It's fun watching the new rooms come together! We will definitely be ready to see our kiddos tomorrow night!