Chrstimas Fun!

Wow! It is not even Christmas day yet, but we sure have had a lot of fun! We have had a Christmas photo shoot, made a gingerbread house, gone to Lights Under Louisville, went to Light Up Prospect, had brunch with Bonnie Mom and Grandpa and helped them decorate their tree, had Breakfast with Santa, celebrated Christmas at a preschool party, celebrated Christmas with Bonnie Mom, Grandpa and The Amshoffs, celebrated Christmas with The Keelings, celebrated Christmas with Granddaddy, Grammy and The Nickels, and had a holiday program at school, which featured Evan in the play, Stone Soup! We have had a great time! Now, we are in Key West and are ready to continue the Christmas fun!

Here are some pictures from all of our adventures. I did not take pictures at each event, but I was able to take pictures at lots of the events. Also, the pictures are not in order, but that is ok!

I love this pictures from our photo shoot! Bonnie Mom and Grandpa did a great job!

 

 

"What? It is almost Christmas? I am SO excited!" (This was an outtake from the photo shoot, but I think it is adorable!)

 

 

 

Light Up Prospect is a pretty small event, but it is lots of fun and the boys get to visit with Santa. When Preston saw Santa, he exclaimed, "Oh! There he is! There he is!" When it was his time to visit Santa, he ran and jumped up in his lap! It was precious!

 

 

The boys had fun making their gingerbread house and it turned out so cute! Evan was very proud of our creation!

 

When I asked Preston to take a picture with the gingerbread house, he ate it! It was hilarious and quite a good idea for a little boy that loves candy!

 

Breakfast with Santa was lots of fun. The boys liked seeing Santa again, as well as making cookies and having Bonnie Mom and Grandpa join us!

 

The Koontz Men

 

Christmas decorating fun at Bonnie Mom and Grandpa's house!

     

Lights Under Louisville was so much fun that Preston kept asking to go back!

 

Christmas with Grammy, Granddaddy and The Nickels was lots of fun! The boys enjoyed their gifts and had fun playing with their cousins.

 

I love this picture. I was just taking a picture of Evan and Caleb, but Preston ran over and said, "Take my picture too!" So cute!

 

Stone Soup was super cute and we all loved watching Evan. He sang and danced his little hear out! Way to go, Evan!

 

Christmas with Bonnie Mom, Grandpa, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Teddy and Caroline was lots of fun! We had a great time and the boys were super excited about their gifts for Key West, including a trip to the aquarium and a boat ride!

 

As with his Thanksgiving party, Preston was not a fan of singing at his Christmas party. Of course, the yummy food was just perfect. He also like handing out gifts to his teachers!

 

 



7 Year Survivorversary

I am so excited to announce that I am now a 7 year cancer survivor! I am so grateful that I am cancer free and that I am healthy. I am enjoying my life with my friends and family and I am VERY happy that I get the opportunity to be a mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend, etc. Life is precious and I am so glad that I am getting the opportunity to enjoy it all!

To celebrate my actual survivorversary, we planned to get Taco Bell, which is a favorite of both of my little boys, and then go to The Louisville Mega Cavern and see all of the Christmas lights. Unfortunately, both little boys were not feeling great and Carl came home with a fever, so our plans changed. We let the boys celebrate with popsicles and ice cream for dinner and Carl and I got Chinese take out and we all just relaxed at home. Well, except for the fact that Preston coughed so hard that he threw up and we had to clean up that mess on the couch with a steam cleaner, that I had laundry to do because of the throwing up, the kids made a huge mess while playing, etc. (Relaxing, right?!?) I was totally fine with all of it though, because I got to spend my night with my family and I know that is special. After seeing two, sweet friends pass away from breast cancer this year and having another friend diagnosed with terminal, stage 4 breast cancer, I am reminded that I am truly blessed to be here. Truly, I am grateful for each and every day.

So, my actual survivorversary consisted of a lot of these things.

Of course, my actual survivorversary also consisted of these two cuties too!

Plus, even though he was not feeling well, Carl brought me celebratory flowers!

A few days later, Carl and I were able to go to The Melting Pot to continue our celebration. What a fun night!

Also, we did get to take the boys to see the Christmas lights, but that is being saved for another post. =)

Thanksgiving 2014

We had a such a fun time celebrating Thanksgiving this year. First of all, we had several glorious days together as a family. Both Carl and I had time off of work and the boys had a break from school. It was wonderful! We decorated the tree, watched movies, ate dinner with our families, played, spent time with friends, and watched U of L win against UK in the annual football game. It was fantastic. I was super sad on Monday morning when it was all officially over and we all had to return to work and school. Thankfully, we have another big break from school and work coming up in a few weeks and we will be spending time together in Key West!

Preston's Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving at Grammy and Granddaddy's House

Preston really liked the fire. He would not pose for a picture, because he was too busy watching the fire and getting warm!

Back at out house, Evan was happy to participate in all parts of decorating the Christmas tree, including getting the tree set up, putting the lights on, etc. He is so helpful!

At first, Preston preferred to watch "The Grinch" instead of helping with the Christmas tree.

 

Preston soon discovered the switch to turn the Christmas lights on and off, which he found fascinating. (He has since discovered the joy of playing with his favorite ornaments on the tree. This makes for lots of redecorating fun!)





 

On Friday, Evan and Vera were cuddle buddies, as always. Evan insisted that I take a picture!

When Preston saw me taking a picture of Evan and Vera, he requested that I take his picture too! SO cute! He even yelled, "Cheese!"

We had  more Thanksgiving fun on Friday night, when Bonnie Mom, Grandpa, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Teddy and Caroline joined us for dinner.

We loved a Cards win, especially when playing UK!

French Lick Water Park and The Polar Express

We spent two days in French Lick during the weekend before Thanksgiving and it was WONDERFUL! We met up with our dearest friends, the Congletons, at Big Splash Adventure Indoor Water Park. Everyone loved being together and the boys spent hours on the slides and in the lazy river. We even got to celebrate Lucas's fifth birthday with a pirate party!

On Saturday night, we rode the Polar Express and it was AMAZING! Preston LOVES trains right now and so he was thrilled to get to ride a REAL train! Also, both of the boys love Santa this year, so getting to meet Santa and receive a special bell was truly magical! We all enjoyed the ride, which  had hot chocolate, cookies, singing and dancing!

"All aboard the Polar Express!"

Evan was sad to leave Levi to go on the Polar Express, but he cheered up within minutes of riding to the North Pole!

Preston was fascinated with the train and enjoyed the slow ride through the train station, where he could see lots of other trains.

It may look like Preston is unhappy, but he was actually really happy and announcing that he was riding a train!

"Look! Hot chocolate!"

"Yummy!"

I was trying to get Preston to smile for a picture and he smiled for me, as I made funny faces. Unfortunately, he was not looking at the camera. He was having fun though!

The elves were so much fun! They boys loved them!

Preston had recently hit his head, so he had his paci for comfort. It doesn't make a great picture, but I love that he is letting the elf hold him. He is beginning to show signs of not being so painfully shy and attached to Mommy! I am so happy for him!

Everyone had fun, including me and Carl.

 

 

Preston showed no fear at the water park! Although he enjoyed going down the slides with his brother or his friends, he was perfectly happy to go down alone too and was ALL SMILES!

 

"Whee!"

Evan and Levi - Best Buddies

At the water park, even snack time is fun!

 Having fun sure is tiring!