feeling hungry?

i made some glitter play dough for church and there was some left over so madelyn played with it this afternoon and made iteration after iteration of nuggets and fries. i guess she was trying to give me a hint... love.

always read the instructions

papa and nana gave maddux a roman candle fireball blaster for christmas (daddy recommended that one...) so once it got dark we took it out for a spin - along with their light-up glasses given to all of the kids. we had some less than exciting results...

so mason came up with his own way to play...

and then we went in to try it in the basement since it can be just as dark and is a lot warmer. when we went in, mommy read the instructions and things got dramatically more exciting! unfortunately, the video of that doesn't really show anything you can see. now the lit balls fly much closer to the advertised 20 feet and come out rapid fire. it is a little tough for the kids to do on their own, but we have a fantastic new way to wear them out! love.

one more lego fix for the road...

manning and maddux

this was seconds before manning turned around to hit him. love.

early christmas

while papa and nana were in town, they celebrated christmas with us (well, they gave us presents. ours for them are going to have to be shipped). 

and things immediately moved to lego building!

after presents, matt and i took the opportunity of free babysitters to have a second date night. papa and nana took the opportunity to watch frozen with the kiddos. mason couldn't be separated from his new legos though and watched from the floor instead of snuggling on the couch.

thank you for spoiling us, papa and nana! love.

pro football hall of fame

we weren't going to have a long time together today because uncle derek and miss ashley had to head back in the early afternoon, so we chose to visit the pro football hall of fame. they have a 'kids day' on black friday where the kids get in free and are given 'grab bags.'

the temporary exhibit this time was an art exhibit by an ex-chargers player - barnes. and then we went to check out the exhibits. it was pretty crowded, but not miserably so.

the kids were pretty impressed by a typewriter.

all of the kids had me take their picture with the old browns jersey.

for big pop...

 the kids liked seeing these molds of players' arms and hands. they were really large!

they all loved trying on the helmet with speakers inside - even papa.

and then there were the pads! i asked them all to give me a "tough face" but manning was having a difficult time not smiling.

i liked this "sack" award with a paper bag in it

the hologram induction rings display was a favorite with every kid there. they just couldn't figure out how it worked. (the real rings are down in the bottom and projected up.

we had to get a picture of daddy with the dan fouts bust after seeing him in the parade this summer!

the boys do this every time there is a handrail along a sidewalk. it takes forever!

we had no idea that this is the real lombardi trophy. it is going to head to arizona in a few weeks.

of course, madelyn likes the jewelry. they have an exhibit with all of the super bowl rings and this interactive part where you can design your own. there wasn't room for enough for all of the diamonds madelyn wanted to add. daddy made his ring too...

maddux was starting to get bored...

on our way out, the kids got grab bags and were able to go through an inflatable obstacle course a few times. we could not believe how great the grab bags were - easily $50 worth of product in each one! someone maddux got an orange sweatshirt and many other orange items.

papa did a little shopping for daddy's birthday - chargers gear!

such a fun time (well, at least until the end when manning screamed like a maniac for about 20 minutes making it impossible for us to get everyone going in the same direction)! then out to lunch and home again to say good-bye to derek and ashley. love.