Christmas 2011 was so much fun for these Holub kids! No doubt the days were full & sleep was lacking, but this year I would say was the very best yet for our kiddo's.
Thursday the 22nd we Celebrated Brad's 35th Birthday! The weekend before some good friends & I had a little plan up our sleeve. Brad's birthday being so close to Christmas often means that everyone gets caught up in the Holiday craze and his Birthday isn't as well noted as it should be. Well this year we changed that! With the help of cousin Cassie coming to watch the kids & some great friends we pulled this off! Thursday evening Brad was saying he couldn't remember the last time him & I had a night out for dinner with just us. We have had nights out but not just a nice dinner out, just us, so I told him I had a surprise and I couldn't keep it in any longer, that Friday night I had lined up a sitter and we were having an early birthday dinner out, just us. His face lit up and his face brimmed with a big smile, he was so much looking forward to that. But there was more in store that he didn't know about.....
Friday came and we went to work. After work he got ready & I came home and got ready. My car was parked in the street, silly Brad didn't even notice, my dome light turned off and just as Cassie arrived so did a few friends..... yet they quietly snuck into my car & waited for us to head out of the house. I was laughing, Cassie was laughing & peeking out the window as we left because she knew what was going on & our friends in the car were cracking up! We headed out to the car, got in and it was silent for about 3 seconds when all of a sudden everyone yells, 'SURPRISE'! The look on Brad's face was priceless & to say he was shocked is a bit of an understatement!!!!! He was so excited & so was I that we pulled this one off and he had absolutely NO idea! Gotcha honey! Thank you Eddins' & Hahn's! We headed off on a road trip with a full cooler & headed south to Iowa City to Iowa River Power. Brad & I have visited there once a year for the past 10 years and this year I decided it would be for his birthday celebration. We had a fantastic evening, lots of laughs, great company & my husband felt very special by the time the evening was over.
Happy Birthday Honey!~
Thursday the 22nd on his actual Birthday my Mom, Sister & Brother arrived here from PA for the Holiday. We were so excited to have them come and stay for Christmas. We had a great night & Dylan and I made a really yummy cake for Brad! Perfect relaxing evening before a busy holiday weekend.
Friday the 23rd we headed off early afternoon on a road trip to my Dad's in Des Moines. We had Chase with us in the back seat with the kids & a packed car! My aunt & uncle & cousin Kim and her family were also along for the journey. We were very much looking forward to a very relaxing evening with great conversation, an easy meal & Christmas spirit. While a few minor details were changed it was a decent night and it was great to see my Dad and have family time. Some neighbors up the street put on a fantastic light display perfectly matched to Christmas music. So after dinner we piled into a couple of cars & drove up to witness the display. It was pretty crazy to be outside, walking thru green grass & listening to Christmas music not totally freezing our tails off! Got us thinking, were we really even in Iowa?! Yes we were, just not a white Christmas this 2011.
My Aunt is just so crafty! Aren't these little guys so cute...with a little dose of chocolate heaven inside!
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The next morning we awoke early & headed home for our traditional Christmas Eve celebration. On the way home the boys were a little bit tired from a full evening the night before so much of the car ride looked like this....... Hilarious!!!!
Bow on the head is a Christmas Eve family tradition with the Holubs! Danielle was the first one with a bow!
Princess jewelry for our little princess Danielle, how fitting!
Personalized year calendar from the grandchildren is an annual gift!
Jo had these pj's that each of her boys had worn. She asked me prior to Christmas if she washed them up, if Dylan would want to wear them home on Christmas Eve instead of his pj's that we usually take. The jammies were in surprisingly good shape after 30 years. The size was 5t which is his current size, but after getting them on they proved that the bottoms were a wee bit stretched out! After a good laugh the Scooby Doo pj's were put away until next year!
(The weekend before Christmas we celebrated with Tony since he wasn't able to make it on Christmas Eve, the kids must have been on his good list too because they got some super fun gifts!)
Danielle would get her hands up on each present and tare down with all her might to get each and every one open. She was talking non-stop, cooing & singing, it was so magical that I can't even explain! Grandpa Holub kept saying how wonderful she looked and how much fun she was having, Nick & Sarah agreed & Grandma was smiling ear to ear & kept feeding the kids more presents. We had a car FULL on the way home! Definitely the best Christmas ever with Brad's family & the kids had the time of their life!!! I think they may have been a little bit spoiled too ;-) The packed car ride home!
We arrived home just after 11 and snuggled the kids in their beds so they could nod off to sleep all in full anticipation of Santa arriving while they were nestled in their beds. I still had all of my gift wrapping to do and so did my Mom, so Chase & Brad watched Christmas Vacation while us girls giggled till the wee hours of the morning wrapping away in the kitchen. I would torture my sister wrapping her gifts right in front of her and she was going crazy not being able to see in each box. Christmas spirit I tell ya!
Christmas morning about 7, Dylan comes running into our room & was so anxious to see if Santa came that he actually asked us if he could go look! We were so shocked that he didn't just run to the living room on his own, but polite little guy asked first! Soon Grammy was awake and came in to our room & we all made our way to the living room. First Dylan spotted that Santa drank all of his milk and ate most of his cookies! He also left Dylan a little letter on the back of the letter that Dylan wrote to Santa. Then in the living room we spotted full stockings & toys, oh more toys & Dylan squealed with delight!
My little sis made each of these handmade sayings, LOVE them!! Awesome job & idea Britni!
More jewels for little peanut! Try taking this purse out of her hands if you've never heard her cry, taking that away sure brings the tears! Every girls pride and joy, a new purse!!
Loving every minute of giving Barbie a new 'do'!
Merry Christmas 2011!
The beginning of family portraits! HA!
Our tree is now shredding, it seems as tho Toys R Us and Santa's workshop threw up in our living room, only the Orphan Sugar Cookies are left in the bottom of the container, and on Wednesday we were our Recyclers nightmare......and this Christmas 2011 is now in our blogging book.
Our family in heaven, our dear first born little boy Dalton, how we miss you so. We know Santa brings you magic every year & your memory brings magic to our hearts.
Oh how the time quickly passes us by yet taking a moment to stop & enjoy the beauty and magic around us is a must. This Christmas was a ton of fun with our children, while we are sad to see it go, we are very much looking forward to a New Year with new beginnings! ~
