Elf on the shelf raids the cookie jar

He is at it again. Silly spike!

Elf on the shelf playing Sorry

Spike wanted his hand at playing kenner's favorite game.

Elf on the shelf riding with frosty!

Weeeeee!

Cold Elf on the shelf

Enough said

Elf on the shelf day 3

The boys have packed their lunch for tomorrow, which doesn't happen very often. Ike doesn't pack his lunch so Spike thought he needed one.

I really think I love this more than the boys do...hehe

Elf on the shelf photo bomb

Spike was at it again. This time helping me out with a project I have been wanting to do for a while. Except that he photo bombed Ike....

Elf of the shelf day 2

Spike wanted in on the action tonight too!

2012 hand prints

Today has been a wildly successful day for my to do list and my heart! It is fun to see the boys grow up and learn to be responsible and motivated to do things they like. Patton was on a mission this morning because he knew he would get to put up Christmas decorations. I haven't seen him move that fast in a long time. Kendra and Kenna were able to come over, which is always a treat just for fellowship.

The boys ( yes all of them) decorated the tree, which they did quite well. The blessing of having a special tree versus specific decorations help. The Elge's started a tradition with Casey that they bought him an ornament that meant something about what happened that year or his truck collection. The first years of marriage our tree was a bit bleak. Having 2 kids within 15 months helped that problem. We all enjoy putting up the ornaments and seeing what we have done through the years.
One tradition I started last year was putting the boys handprints on the tree skirt. Today we did this years. It will be fun to see the differences next year.

I just love the holidays! So grateful for God becoming Man!

Elf on the shelf day 1

Oh boy this is going to be fun. I am going to do a North Pole breakfast next year...but for now fun times with Spike.

Too busy to say cheese

I think I have limited Ike creativity by putting all the toys in the basement. When the boys were his age we had an entire house torn up but they had all access pass to their toys on the first floor. I think he could play this all day.

New camera...how did I do?

Never thought that a new real camera would be so much fun!  Still trying out both lenses and various settings.  Just fun to get clear photos of who my true monkeys are.