magical

we're back.  from a long, but very nice christmas season.  i will post the big family gathering pics soon.  for now, i'm tired, enjoying being back in our home, and trying to get back on routine.  our kiddos like routine.  i like routine.  we do better with routine! :)  because we left early for omaha, we celebrated our little family christmas at our house before we left.  santa came to our house and left some fun, special gifts.  we were left with huge smiles across our faces! 

zoe actually came into our room "xmas morning" and yelled, "mommy, get up, get up! you've got to see this!"

max was nothing but smiles all morning long.

zoe checking out max's stocking since he hadn't gotten to it yet. 

zoe's favorite thing, her rapunzel doll.  heaven.  that doll has traveled with us and not left her side. 

this is bart & i. i'm hiding under the blanket b/c i didn't want a picture.  my eyes were barely open it was soooo early.  i spared you all from having to see that!

both bart & i agreed that this was the funnest year of christmas with the kiddos.  they're at the age where they both were so excited and appreciative of the things they had gotten.  its so fun to be on the parent side watching their joy.   

side note:  i'm pretty sure zoe doesn't believe in santa anymore.  not that we really push it anyway.  we just say it for fun.  but she visited santa at the mall 1 day and came out with a lot of sceptical questions regarding how he got there, who were his elves, why he was at the mall, etc.  It was after we took max to a different mall's santa, when i really knew she wasn't fooled.  after we left zoe stated, "that santa wasn't the same santa i saw!" then after a along pause, she followed it by saying, "where does santa live anyway?!?!"  :)

this year i really wanted to do a christmas date.  we do sooo many activities for the kiddos during the season, i didn't want to leave out a special evening with just bart & i.  we went to a fun shopping/dining plaza in denver to eat.  they had an ice skating rink, christmas music playing outdoors, and beautiful lights everywhere.  it was magical.

my handsome prince.

such a fun evening with you babe.  it just keeps getting better.

zoe took this pic....she chopped off part of daddy's hair, but this will do!