Let the Christmas season begin!

Santa pic 2011 - this is seconds before Ben realized how close he was to that stranger with the beard and burst into tears. When we passed him later though he waved and said "bye bye San-a". Nate and Riley are old pros.

On our quest for the perfect holiday photo - this one comes pretty close! Benny is such a happy, smiling toddler but he doesn't like to sit still. :)

Sunday we picked out our tree in the afternoon and then hit up Snowflake lane at Bellevue Square in the evening--where there is a drum show, lots of Christmas characters, and a fake snowfall. It's officially Christmas season and we love it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to our friends and family!  We are thankful for you!

This is Riley's placemat from her feast at  school.  They asked her how to make a turkey and she responded "I would put it in the oven for 20 minutes on warm.  I want to eat hot dogs with it." :)

And now full steam ahead to the Christmas season!  Here are some of the best snapshots (yes-I said the best - it is super hard to capture these three in one frame).  Ben was on the go and so I decided to give him some m&m's to get him to sit still.  Mission accomplished-but then either the wrapper was in the picture or his lips were puckered, and then finally I ended the session when there was chocolate all over his face.  The Christmas card will feature a picture from earlier this year but I'll try again for a good holiday photo when we go to visit Santa or before Christmas Mass.  

Rudolph lighting up the radiology department at Children's Hospital.

Noni's visit

Nonistar came to visit for 5 fun-filled days!

The Girls!

We took a road trip for a one night stay at Great Wolf Lodge- a super fun indoor water park.  Nate loved the water slides, Riley loved the wave pool, and Ben's favorite was splashing and stomping at the edge of the water. (We didn't take too many pictures because we were in the water most of the time.)

Tired out after all the fun!