King Pin

Today I took Logan "The annilator" bowling. We meet Nolan & Connor and their mom's at Fast Lane to ring in the last day of the year. It was the first time Logan had been bowling. After shoving his feet into some shoes and dragging him out to the lane with an 8lb ball (didn't find the kids balls until 2 frames in) and forcing him to throw the ball in some sort of lunging motion, he finally decided that bowling was kind of fun. All the kids had the bumpers up and Connor took 1st place (thanks to the bumpers) and I came in a distant second with Logan at my heels followed by Nolan. I think Meredith and Ann need to down a couple more beers to come close the the nearly 100 points that the rest of us came close to. Maybe next time ladies! After bowling the kids played a couple of rounds of laser tag and then hit the arcade (thanks to their sugar momma Meredith!) while the moms had a chance to just hang out.

McAllister Mania

Okay, so it's maybe not exactly the mania it used to be! Back when we first started getting together all of the kids were very little. Someone was always crying, needing a bottle or a diaper change, someone wasn't sharing...the list goes on. Now the mania has a lot more to do with the noise level. Of course put 5 big kids together that are fresh off visits to the grandmas and what can you really expect. The McAllister family joined us for pizza & fruit a lavish, nutritious meal that I slaved for hours over followed brownies & ice cream by a sugar/fat free desert that left the kids begging for more. Baby Reed was the best behaved out of all of them and if it wasn't for Preston & Greer saying no, I'm pretty sure he would be a permanent resident in our house. The B boys would have definitely kept him! Thanks for a fun evening!

Christmas with the fam...

The B boys had a fabulous Christmas. Well, why wouldn't they?! This is the second year that we have stayed at the homestead for the arrival of the big guy and we love that we get to do that. You would think now that the boys are getting a little older that they would be waking us up before the crack of dawn to check out the loot. Especially after the way Logster was breathing down my neck to go to bed so that Santa would come. Well not the case. We had to wake them up. Logan took over our bed due to alleged bad dreams. At about 6:45 he says, "Sorry mom for sleeping in your bed". I forgive him and wait a handful of seconds and nothing. So in my surprise voice I say, "Holy smokes it's Christmas morning". Still a lag and then I'm told to move it as he barrels out of my bed. I shout wake your brothers up first. Well he got one of them up and then headed for the study to see if he got his DS...of course he did. And Kale and Lucas got what they wanted from Santa too. Along with tons of stuff from Mom and Dad. Although Santa only brings a few gifts and the others are out well ahead of time, I'm pretty sure that Santa gets credit for almost everything. Steve was also wowed with the gifts the boys and I got him. Kind of a shirt year for him. While the boys played Steve took on making Christmas breakfast. He is not in charge of that next year. After Steve served his breakfast pizza (shocking that is what he made I know) I went ahead had fed them. They did not like the breakfast pizza, really no one did. Nice try though Stevo! So then we hurried up to get in the car for the next 4 1/2 hours to do it all over again at Nana & Papa's. All of the Johnston clan was there this year so if you can imagine Nana's house being invaded by 12 extra adults and 11 additional kids you'll get the gist of the experience. Thank goodness for basements! As always we had tons of fun staying up way to late and playing drinking games. Good times had by all. The primary focus of Friday...a trip to Taco Pronto, God's gift to Wichita. Deliciouso! (Got another round in on our way back through ICT on Saturday night too!) Friday night we moved on over to GB for Christmas with the Berens Family. All of the Berens clan was there as well this year. Christmas dinner and another round of presents. With all the present openings at both sets of grandparents, it was touch and go if we were going to have to leave a kid behind to make sure all the presents made it home. In the end, after weighing the pros & cons, we chose to leave a few presents behind. Tough decision though! While in GB we did get to see a little of the white stuff (snow) which we really haven't seen at home. While there, Kale developed a huge obsession with Olivia. He told us a million times how much he loved her and the he needed her and that she is so nice. He called her "My friend" and didn't really leave her side. On Saturday we braved taking all the kiddos to a movie - bedtime stories. So you know Kale is not quite ready to go to a movie. He had to hug people, he was the popcorn tyrant, was stressed out because he didn't know where his friend was (Olivia), he keep trying to sit/lay on the floor, etc. The big boys had fun though. After the movie it was back in the car to ICT. Finally an early night in bed - 10 pm. Then Sunday morning we headed back home to try to put our house back in order with all the new additions. A big THANK YOU to everyone! Until next year....

We are ready for Santa!

They dressed up for mass with very little complaining and were very well behaved - Praise the Lord! I owe it all to my not forgotten 4th son Connor. He sat with us in mass and for whatever reason Connor has this magical ability to capture all 3 boys attention and lead them to closer to good behavior. Thinking about bringing him in-house! Kale refused to get dressed until the last minute so he didn't get his picture taken all dressed up for church. I'm sure he is super upset about that. We ate a wonderful meal, baked cookies for Santa, took pictures in our Christmas jammies, watched Frosty and Orangutan Island (not part of our holiday tradition). Now Logan is begging me to go to bed so that Santa will come. He has given me a strict 10 pm bedtime. Merry Christmas!

Handsome fella in a real neck tie. Notice all of Lucas' artwork for Santa.

Rockin' a neck tie with a turtle neck. Only Lucas would try to pull this off.

Baking cookies for Santa. We slaved over the batter.

3 Adorable boys

Nice Antlers!

Too much Toghether time

Well not even 1/2 way through Christmas break and we are are already writing notes like these:

Nothin' but net!!!!!

The Flash had their first b-ball game today. They definitely have some skills they need to hone but they played with a lot of heart. If they kept score, which we didn't, the score would shown the Flash winning. Me being the excellent mother that I am completely forgot my camera so Logan did his defensive pose in the living room for me. The worst part of it is that I didn't have my camera to capture his first goal! Swish! Nothin' but net! Then he turned around and stole the ball the next play. He got called on it as he didn't wait for his guy to cross half court. We don't care the boy had a moment of aggressive play! We were going crazy for him. His friend Matthew was in the stands waiting for his game and screamed for him as well. He definitely had a great time on the court. Upward did a great job with the game. They had an announcer with background music that announced the players as they ran out to center court. Just like the pros. They also started the game with a prayer and we had a half time bible reading and reflection. Once I get more pictures I'll post them.

The Band

Logan has just informed me that he's in a band. Nolan's band. Logan's going to play the guitar. Nolan's going to play the guitar and sing. Sean has to ask his mom to buy his some drums. Once Sean has his drums they are going to have band practice. Logan's upstairs strummin' away on his guitar. And Jamey told me I was dumb when I told them they got guitars...I could be Sean's mom killing their dreams when I told him there was no way I was buying drums. Thank goodness we had the guitar!

Lucas' Christmas Program

When sitting in the audience of your sons Christmas Program with his class, most parents feel proud, awe, a sense of accomplishment for their child, happy... How did Steve and I feel you might ask...fear. Fear that he would jump/fall off the risers while goofin' around, fear that he would distract another kid and cause a huge scene, fear that they would have to stop the program and escort him out the gym. Please stop using your hands as binoculars. Did he just belch? Please don't stand on your drum? Please stop moving like a robot. Do not make bunny ears behind Jonah's head. Why did you just throw your jingle bells? Why are his eyes popping out of his head? Please come back to earth. What are you doing with your hands now? Serenity now! After what felt like an eternity and pulling a muscle in my neck from shaking my head no so often, the program came to an end. Praise the Lord! Ahhh....relief. That is what the parents of Lucas Hayden felt as soon as it was over. Did he sing? Kind of. Did he do the motions? Not often. But he didn't cause a big scene and ruin the program. No! That is a victory for that little man.

Congrats to Logan

Logan took a Star test today and made it into the AR (accelerated reading) program. It's a pretty big deal for him and he is totally Stoked!

Fayetteville Lights

Tonight we made our annual trek to Fayetteville to see the lights. For those of you that don't live in NWA, Fayetteville lights up their downtown square with millions of lights every year. We've made it part of our Christmas tradition to go down and eat pizza at Tiny Tim's and then walk around the square a couple of times. There are ponies, camels, and horse and carriage rides. Santa is there and he always has one of his reindeer along with him. It's a pretty incredible sight and for whatever reason the boys always behave relatively well. I mean they eat their dinner, sit at the table most of the time, minimize the whining, arguing & sassing and stay near us when we are walking around. It's a really enjoyable family activity. Now that is a Christmas miracle.

After seeing Santa and the lights and watching all of the Christmas shows on TV this weekend, I think they are starting to get very excited for the big day.

He knows!

Santa that is. He definitely knows who is naughty and who is nice courtesy of Lucas. Lucas took it upon himself to "write" naughty lists and tape them over the fireplace that Lucas predicts Santa will come down. That way, first thing, Santa will have an inventory of all the recent naughty activity by each kid. Per Lucas here is what they say:

Logan's list: He hit me and never shares his stuff and doesn't do what I say.

Lucas' list: Lots of goofin' and being ornery this year but more good than bad. Oh, and he spit in Logan's hair.

Kale's List: He bit me really hard on the arm and you can still see the mark.

Logan whacked Lucas when Lucas was trying to go up the stairs. He abruptly turned around and said, "That's it, I'm writing that on the list too!" Then Logan tore down his list and Lucas had to tape it back up. I'm sure that's on the list now as well!

Santa also knows what they each want for Christmas as well. They all sat on his lap today and whispered to him the surprise they would like under the tree this year. Kale was very nervous about it all day and kept asking if he could just watch instead of sitting on his lap. Lucas was a little afraid as well as he thought Santa was a giant...not sure where that came from! Turns out Santa isn't that bad. Once Kale was done he said, "Santa's awesome!"

Who's your daddy?

Young Steve compared to each of the boys at their current age. There is no question who Kale's daddy is!

St. Nicholas Showed up at our house!

On the eve of St. Nicholas' feast day, the boys left their shoes out for St. Nicholas to leave them a treat. You may be asking yourself, how on earth did Shannon know about this tradition. Well, I owe all the credit to the SVdP teachers that work deli gently to make sure all the K-1st graders come home on 12/5 anticipating St. Nicholas arrival. I happened to be up at the school yesterday and had advance notice that it was go time for St. Nicholas' trek and made a quick stop by the Wal-Mart. So before 7:00 am down the stairs hurried a sleepy Logan to check the shoes. Back up the stairs to wake Lucas up to tell him of their treats. Back down the stairs to show Lucas the shoes. Back up the stairs to take Kale his treats. So at 7:00 am all 3 of the B boys were awake which meant so were the parents who absolutely did not stay out way to late drinking beer at the neighbors Christmas party. God Bless St. Nicholas!They made sure to leave out a couple of extra pairs of shoes.

The History of St. Nicholas

Early in the Advent season celebrate a feast that has been popular for centuries in Christian countries, especially in Northern Europe. In our over-commercialized society, this holiday gives us a good "teaching moment" to remind children that Jolly Santa Claus, is, in fact, Saint Nicholas, a fourth century bishop of the city of Myra in what is now Turkey.

Saint Nicholas was renowned for his great kindness and his generous aid to those in distress. Among the kind and miraculous acts attributed to him are saving three young girls from prostitution by secretly providing them with dowries, raising three murdered boys from the dead, and saving sailors caught in stormy seas. For these reasons, he is considered the patron saint of children, unmarried girls, and sailors, among others.

Traditional celebrations of Saint Nicholas Day in Northern Europe included gifts left in children's shoes (the origin of our American Christmas stockings). Good children receive treats - candies, cookies, apples and nuts, while naughty children receive switches or lumps of coal. Sometimes coins were left in the shoes, reminiscent of the the life-saving doweries the saint provided. Today - especially in families of German extraction - children still put a shoe outside their bedroom doors on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day, and expect to find candy and coins or small gifts in their shoe on December 6th.

First B-Ball Practice

We had our first B-Ball practice last night. It was for the wrong team but whatever. They switched us to a new team and forgot to call us. Nice. So we have our first basketball practice with our real team tomorrow night...at 7:00 pm. That's a late night for my little first grader. He is totally pumped about basketball and has a legit uniform, which you know he loves. It's the Upward league so the Baptist sprinkle a little learning about God into practice. We have bible cards assigned to each practice. It's an interesting twist to a practice. He scored 2 baskets which is a big surprise to me. I was afraid he wouldn't even try to shoot. I get to go to this practice so hopefully I can get some better pix.

Rhino Man

This is Rhino Man. It is important to know that he only answers to Rhino Man. He has a partner in crime. It is baby gorilla. Baby Gorilla does not take pictures per Rhino Man.

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Turkey Lurkey

Okay, so I did a horrible job taking pictures this Thanksgiving. It's all Kodaks fault FYI. They are finally going to replace my camera but I had to mail it back to them ASAP in order to get the new one before Christmas. So I was stuck with my old camera that I also hate as it burns through AA batteries like Steve does a bag of chips. It's really that fast. So the few pictures I did take is because we were outside and the camera was easy access since I left it in the car.

The boring scenic trek across Kansas was as beautiful as ever. The boys played a new driving game...counting oil wells. There are a lot and they are easy to spot. We were in Wichita and then to Great Bend and then back to Wichita. We are kind of like Kansas nomads during the holidays. We had a great time seeing all of our family and missed those that weren't there. The boys had a great time playing with Myles, Ella, Rylin and Reese over at Nana's. A loved playing with Austin at Grandma's. Here's our Holiday round-up:

• Logan also picked up playing the game Sorry! which we now own.
• They were Ultimate Fighters with Uncle Jamey
• Colored some amazing pictures (FYI Reese thinks markers are chap stick)
• Ate 2 turkey dinners
• Lucas tried pumpkin pie and survived...ewww
• Logan at so much ochra, he is going to turn into one
• Played a family game of street football
• Climbed their first tree
• Played in the hide out under the stairs, passed the scary sump pump in GB
• Watched Kung Fu Panda for the first, second, third...times.
• Ate at Taco Pronto ...only once though. We have to better at Christmas
• Squeezed in a little Christmas shopping

Four more weeks and we do it all again but next time we should get to see all the family!

Beers with Beth

This Thanksgiving break I had the rare opportunity to drink beers with Beth. It's always hard to find time to hang out with old friends when we are in town but I made time this trip. It was a total blast from the past. There were at least 10 people that new Beth in the 3 hours we were at Old Chicago...in the afternoon...you think she goes out much?! I'm just jealous that I'm a lamo that hardly ever make it to a bar. A couple of the people were people that I know but I completely didn't recognize them...George Oxler and Ben Hanna & Deke Landwehr (via cell). Haven't seen these guys in years. We had a total blast drinking beers, talking about old times, good times and new times. The best thing about seeing Beth is that we pick up as though we never left off. I guess that can happen when you've know each other from before we ever made it to Kindergarten. We are so going to have to try and do it more often and next time Mandy has to make it! We missed you Mandy!

Tonto comes home from school

He went into to school as the white man and came out as a Native American... all in his pajamas. It's amazing what can happen at school! If you look closely at his baby pouch and his headband you will see how well he is beginning to draw. There is a tee pee, a deer, his baby has teeth and eyelashes. He's getting pretty good.