still no snow? another road trip!

having lounged at home long enough, we decided that the weather was nice enough to drive to indiana to visit matt's grandma and see his cousin's daughter play in a basketball tournament.

we arrived yesterday afternoon in time to have dinner with his grandma and visit for a little bit. then we drove over to his cousin, jason's house to spend the night and head over for the first game of the tournament before driving home again.

the kids were delighted! maddux bonded with dayton during our summer visit and was super excited to see her again.

video game fun with the big kids

we were (sort of) surprised to find matt's uncle dennis and aunt joy at the basketball tournament too! we weren't planning on being able to see them on this super short trip, but weren't surprised to see them at the game.

pretty much all g family.

dayton is #23

mason and nolan

we had an easy time coming up with spirit wear for the game because dayton's school is the same colors as ours - orange and black - and all six of us were in our colors. it was a close one, but dayton's team won! so happy that we were able to make the trip. love.

a quick group shot before heading home.

christmas morning

it's finally here! christmas morning! i don't know if i was more organized or the kids are just more independent or the weather being so gorgeous or what, but this christmas was so much more enjoyable than any i can remember since being a kid myself. and we had the whole day to enjoy time together as a family! 

we started with stockings, which could have been all we purchased because the kids were so genuinely thrilled with their new socks, coloring books, and tsum tsums. manning even had to put his new star wars socks on as soon as he pulled them out!

we took a little break for some breakfast and then got to the main pile.

a little skype with grandma and big pop so that we could watch them open their presents from us (we opened theirs while they were here at thanksgiving).

mason was filled with the most genuine gratitude for his gifts and gave us both a hug after each one.

i love how madelyn is more excited than mason.

madelyn and mason bought each other the same gift at their schools' holiday shops.

the number one request on manning's list - lambie (from doc mcstuffins).

our big reader received his first real bible.

look familiar?

i didn't realize that it was so blurry, but i got the same gift from both bigs too.

manning contemplating if he really wanted to eat any more of his gingerbread house.

the new sled made a perfect play-doh table.

we opened presents for several hours and everyone was as excited for each other as they were for themselves. we all talked about how we plan on celebrate a little differently next year since we really don't need any more toys - there will be a lot more giving. this might have been my favorite christmas so far. merry christmas! love.

christmas jammies

how can i pick just one picture of the christmas eve jammies? (although, i just realized that i didn't take any of matt or me in ours. next year.)

even with knowing "santa" is mom and dad, they still wrote a note to leave with their cookies.

the tree is ready and waiting. we went sort of light this year since there weren't any 'must haves' on their lists. it just looks overwhelming because the gifts for our family of six from both sets of grandparents are also under the tree (and they are extremely generous).

i get just as excited as the kiddos! love.

christmas eve service

our church has such a great family christmas eve service. the message is great but there are also a lot of fun family activities. look at our good looking crew all ready to head out.

matt and madelyn were the only ones willing to dress up this year.

this might be my favorite picture.

the picture is blurry, but notice matt standing near the doors in the back towards the left with the armful of 'snowballs.' i think he had more fun than the kids during the snowball fight!

and a few group pictures before heading home. love.