Christmas Morning!

Brad had to work Christmas morning, so the kids had to wait until dad came home to open their presents.  They just played with the toys Santa brought them.  This year Benny received Hex Bugs from Santa and Timmy received the Cozy Coupe.  After dad came home, the wrapping paper was flying!

Benny wrote a note for Santa.  He drew a picture of the cookies that we left for him.

 Benny really wanted a snow globe and he received one.

 Thanks to Lego Star Wars, Benny's favorite Star Wars character is Boba Fett. He received a Boba Fett alarm clock for his room.

I received some new toys for the kitchen (a rice cooker, a stand mixer and a new baking dish).  Brad received a Christmas tie from the boys, a Cubs sweatshirt and dress shirt from me.  We had a great Christmas and we hope you did too!

Christmas with Family

The Saturday before Christmas, Lisa and the boys went to Jill and John's house in Decatur, Il to celebrate Christmas with Lisa's family.  Brad could not be there because he had to work.  We had a lot of fun.  The kids received a lot of fun gifts.  Looking forward to doing it next year.

Look at that pile of presents!

 What a festive fireplace.  Jill bought stockings for all of us.

 Timmy being held by his favorite Uncle, Uncle Steve.

 Benny opening one of his many presents, a hooded towel in the shape of a monkey.

Flight 93 Memorial

On our way home from Pennsylvania we decided to take Route 30 home.  We made time to stop at the Flight 93 National Memorial.  Although it is not completed yet, it was a very moving memorial to those men and women who sacrificed their all for others.

The sign from Route 30.

 There was a long walkway leading to the crash site.

 The wall with the names of those on the plane (listed alphabetically).

 Opposite view from the one above.  The plane crashed right before that rock.

 Along the path to the crash site there were little alcoves like the one below.  Each one had a little memento of remembrance.  My eyes welled up each time I saw it.

 Since we were there right before Christmas, there were wreaths there, One for each person killed.

Sweet Lights!

On our way home from the wedding, we stopped in Hershey, PA to take in the sights.  We took the kids to Hershey Park.  It was all decked out in Christmas lights.  Most of the kiddie rides were running and Benny had a blast.  Timmy just wanted to ride on the Carousel.  He also liked the Monorail and the train ride.

 It was a bit cold, so we were all bundled up.

 Santa was on a roller coaster.

 This little pirate ship was Benny's favorite ride.  He must have ridden it 5 or 6 times.

Christmas Wedding!

 The week before Christmas we were fortunate enough to attend a good friend's wedding in Pennsylvania.  Our friend Jim Franklin was marrying his true love Theresa. The wedding was held at Aldan Union Church.  This was the same church that Brad attended while growing up.

 

Here is the groom waiting for his bride.

The beautiful Bride! She sang "God bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts as she came down the aisle.

 The Happily Married Couple!

Benny and Johnny playing Angry Birds while waiting for the wedding to start.

 Our silly boys having fun during the reception.

Benny and Timmy were two out of three boys at the reception.  Here is how they had fun at the reception.