Hershey, PA - December 2011

Since we didn't have any family in town over the Holidays we decided to plan a little getaway to Hershey. Originally we were going to try and take the boys skiing at 7Springs but the weather didn't cooperate so Hershey was a great plan b!  We drove out on Wednesday morning, spent the afternoon/evening at the Chocolate World and Hershey Park then went back to Hershey Lodge to spend the night. It was an action packed couple of days but we had a blast! Thanks Opa and Yaya!

December 30, 2011

Christmas 2011

We didn't have a white Christmas but it was a perfect day otherwise! We decided to take turns opening presents so that we could enjoy each gift and see what each other opened....it went really well and made the process last a couple of hours versus 10 minutes! :) We spent the day together at the house....enjoying some sweet buns in the morning and an egg casserole for lunch. Around 3 we headed north to spend the evening with our friends the Schwartz's. We spent the night at their house after a party at Korri's parents- fun was had by all!

December 25 2011

xmas eve tradition

Matching PJs from Oma and Papa! After watching the Polar Express the boys went to bed without a peep!! We were pleasantly surprised!!

Santa came!! and even more surprising was the fact that the boys weren't up too early! Zach came in our room a little after 6, Luke around 6:30 and Jake shortly after that. I think we all went downstairs together around 7am.

Christmas Eve 2011

This year was different than years in the past, we were alone for Christmas Eve. We decided we were going to make the most of it and start some of our own traditions....but we will chalk this one up as a trial run!! Things didn't go as planned....but we still had fun! We thought we had everything planned - start cooking after lunch, dinner around 3:30, Church at 5, dessert with neighbors in the evening, bed early.  NOPE!   The first lesson is that we will plan an activity for the boys on Christmas Eve to get out of the  house and do something.....sledding, skiing, bowling, anything to tire them out and get rid of some of the excitement/energy!! It seemed like a l-o-n-g day at the house! We started cooking around 1pm....by putting the prime rib in the oven. The directions from the butcher said it would be cooked in 2 hours....so we felt like we had the timing perfect  - wrong! The meat was no where near done at 3pm. Plan B....skip church and have dinner at 5pm!! We were disapointed to miss church but thought there was no way it was all going to work out. I think we finally ate around 5:30, after many hands of UNO trying to keep the boys busy while waiting for food. After dinner we ended up enjoying cookies alone, taking some pictures, and watching Polar Express.  It ended up being a great evening with just our little family.

Z's Holiday Party

a surprise visit

Last weekend we enjoyed a quick visit from cousins! Jen (Preston), my cousin, her husband John, and two kids, Teagan and Conor stayed overnight on their journey from Georgia back to NY for the Holidays. The kids had a great time and it was fun to catch up!

action packed Saturday

December 10th was an action packed day for the Falls five. We started the day with coffee at Caribou down near Pitt, went to Heinz downtown to partake in the annual holiday festivities, came home for a quick snack, went to the high school for a percussion and bells Holiday concert, went out to dinner and then went downtown to see Penn State vs Duquesne at the Consol Energy Center. Fun Fun Fun!!!

Heinz Holiday 12.10

a warm december

The weather has been unseasonably warm this December and we have taken full advantage of it by spending many afternoons outside. Sunday we decided to go for a walk at Twin Hills - below are some photos from our adventure.

downtown adventure

On Saturday we had our good friends from the "north" over for a downtown adventure and pizza party.  We took the T downtown, checked out all of the Holiday decorations, saw Santa's from around the world, and even saw Santa Claus ice skating at PPG! It was a fun day and a great way to start the holiday season!

December 3

decorating the tree

the train

The train was Papa Preston's train when he was a little boy and has been sitting in our garage for a couple of years. I don't have memories of this train specifically from the Holidays but I do remember it being set up in my Grandpa Preston's basement. My memory is of a large platform set up with trees, little villages, etc. - I'm not sure how accurate my memory is but it is special to have that same train now set up for my boys!)Last year Eric brought the engine to a local hobby shop and had it cleaned and serviced so it would be ready for action this year. As soon as he could, Eric had the track up (even before the tree) so that he could get the train going and continue the tradition from his growing up of having a train around the Christmas tree. and he got it going!

Beverly Lite up Nite

After dinner Thursday night we walked up to Beverly Road for the lite up nite celebration. They closed the street to cars, have carolers, and all of the shops are open and giving away things to the kids. The boys had a blast.....ice cream, popcorn, hot chocolate, balloons, toys......and then Santa arrive via Fire Truck.  It was a fun way to kick off the Holiday Season!

Thanksgiving 2011

We traveled back to Geneseo this year to celebrate Thanksgiving with Oma, Papa, Tubby, Buster, Jane, Doug, Matt, and Jeff. Below is a group photo and I have attached an album from the weekend's adventures.

Thanksgiving 2011

Zach's Thanksgiving Play

Zach's kindergarden class kept a 34 year tradition alive by performing the Thanksgiving Program to their families and friends. Zach had been talking about the play all month so we were all very excited to go see our little Indian perform.

Oma's Birthday

Oma came down to visit for the weekend so that Eric and I could attend a fundraiser at the Boy's Preschool so we helped her celebrate her birthday a little early.

raking leaves

The boys were a big help this year with getting the leaves cleaned up. We raked them into a pile, and they would load them in the gator and bring them to the curb. Fun was had by all! (too bad the leaves started falling in early October and didn't stop falling until the end of November) The Fun factor wore off by November 1st! 

Halloween 2011

Obi-Wan, Spiderman, and Wolverine had a great Halloween! The activities started around five with a last minute get together/pizza party with neighbors and then the trick or treating started promptly at six. We were lucky the rain held to a sprinkle and the temps didn't dip too low - the boys lasted about an hour before returning home to check out their loot!

Halloween 2011

Halloween at Kindergarten

Zach wore his Obi-Wan Kenobi costume to Kindergarten on Halloween to show off to all his classmates. They had a fun day at school with lots of crafts and game to help celebrate. Below is a picture of a transformer (Nate), a ninja (Miles) and obi-wan. Below that the dragon (Weston) joins the crew.