7 Years

We got to REALLY celebrate our anniversary this year! Yay!!! What a treat!

A few weeks before our anniversary we asked Brent & Michelle if they would watch our kiddos so that we could go out to dinner for our anniversary. They said "No problem. In fact, why don't you let us keep your kids overnight." To which we promptly said "OKAY!" (Nobody had to twist our arm to get us to accept that offer!). We decided to celebrate on Friday night December 30th (even though our anniversary was on a Wednesday - since Jeremy had to work during the week). So we booked a hotel (the Intercontinental) on the Plaza in Kansas City and made dinner reservations for the evening. I was looking forward to it!

On December 28th I woke up and went downstairs to discover that Jeremy had made me breakfast!!! Complete with a love note and everything. :) Then in the middle of the day he called me and told me that he got a babysitter and we were going out tonight... so be ready. WHAT?!? But I thought we weren't celebrating until Friday! So I got ready and he showed up after work with the babysitter and FLOWERS. And he and I headed out to a nice dinner at the Olive Garden. We grabbed dessert and a redbox movie on the way home and RELAXED. I felt spoiled rotten! Who gets to go out twice in one week!?! Apparently we do. :) What a treat!

Here we are before heading out on our "real" anniversary.

On Friday afternoon I packed up the kids and took them to Brent & Michelle's... then Jeremy came home and around 5 pm we were able to head out on our overnight getaway.

First stop - dinner at the Melting Pot. We had never been there before and were excited to try it. It was a nice and yummy dinner - and definitely a treat for us.

Then we were able to walk along the lighted Plaza to our hotel, the Intercontinental.

Our room at the hotel. Please note the extravagantly folded ELEPHANT shaped towel sitting on the chair in the corner of the room. RANDOM. :)

Anyway, I had packed a cooler with sparkling cider & wine glasses, yummy treats for the evening, and breakfast for the morning. We also packed some of our favorite games - Phase 10, Yahtzee, etc... Mostly we were excited to sleep through the night! Lounge and watch tv (which we NEVER do) and SLEEP in.

The next morning flew by (that's what happens when you sleep in!) and we picked the kids up around noon the next day. Ahhh... it was such a nice chance to getaway just the two of us. What a treat!

.... and we're still enjoying our spoils!

For at least a week or so after Christmas ALL I saw the kids doing ALL day EVERY day - was playing with their Christmas presents. :) They were all a big hit!

It's been fun seeing Isaac's creativity and skills grow as he builds more and more with the duplos. Not to mention the DRUMS. He is really good about asking before he plays the drums (since they are SO loud)... and he is really learning to play different beats! It is incredibly impressive. Jeremy is teaching him basic drum concepts and Isaac is really learning them. It's fun to hear the drums not just as a "noise" but as actual "music". SO proud of our little guy.

And Elise is the sweetest, most attentive little mother there ever was! She keeps her purse close at hand and is constantly putting a blanket on her baby and taking it for walks. ALL the time. I love it! SO sweet.

Elise and Luke taking a turn on the drums.

Enjoying Our Spoils

The rest of Christmas day was spent lounging in our pajamas and enjoying the new toys and the nice quiet family time. It was lovely.
Elise discovering her new purse and all of its fun:

Isaac and Jeremy couldn't wait to bust open the duplos.

Trying out the Aquadoodle... what a cool toy!

Enjoying a Christmas treat. Yum.

Jeremy snuck in a few quiet moments alone with Isaac's toys. :)

Festive Holiday shaped mac-n-cheese for lunch. (We go all out people... we spare no expense).

And a LOT of drumming. :)

After nap time we relaxed some more, then later in the evening we pulled together a decent family dinner - chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, homemade rolls, and pumpkin cake for dessert.
Merry Christmas!!!!

Opening Presents

After breakfast we dove right into the rest of the presents! Both kids did GREAT at opening their own presents - it was fun to see them be "big" enough to enjoy that. Here's some photos of the magic of Christmas present unwrapping. Enjoy!

Here's Isaac exclaiming "YAY!!"

ALL of the gifts were big hits! We felt so very blessed!!
Individual laundry hampers, a hat for Elise, and a stick horse for Isaac from Granny Jo. PJs from the Wallworks (great-grandparents). An Aquadoodle and Duplos from Grandma and Papa Niland. And from us - duplos and a lego table for Isaac and a "real" purse for Elise.
They loved it all!!! What a very successful and Merry Christmas!