Christmas Day

Another year that Santa was liberal with the definition of nice. 

6 am & not a second sooner. 

The banana board--love the yellow "sunnies."

Ben's looking pretty cool.

This is Zack's preferred way to ride a skateboard, usually down David & Emily's driveway.

Guitar Center--what else can he possibly need?

The kids were really excited to give presents this year. We took each boy out on a parent date so they could pick it out. 

To Zack from Ben:

To Ben from Noah:

To Noah from Zack:

Something to mix it up this year--the present fake out. We bought a gift for Ben that was pretty obvious. I knew he'd figure it out, so I wrapped it, then wrapped it again and put Zack's name on the present. To keep things even, I did the same thing to one of Zack's presents. Ben was the first victim and wasn't a fan of the trick...

Until it happened to Zack. 

This is how Emily became the favorite Aunt

and sister-in-law. 

Ben mentioned that he wanted to have a treasure hunt to find a Christmas present. I wasn't sure how to work that, until we decided to give a family trip for a present. This gift was the beginning of the hunt: 

The clue:

Off to our bathroom

where they found this clue:

Then it was out to my car

for the final clue:

The clues didn't reveal the destination and required them to use their heads a little. They were quick to notice the seemingly random capitalized letters and went to Noah's new laptop to decipher the clues.  (Good thing he got that for Christmas--how would they have solved it without it??) 

They were excited for a trip to Universal Studios. They were super excited for a trip to Universal Studios with their cousins. 

And a few random shots: 

Bobble head Dwight.

Zack in a bag.

Serious excitement.

A great big mess= a great Christmas.