Art Show 2009

Bryce poses with his artwork.


Bryce & his Cheetah mask.



With Mrs. Aragon, one of Bryce's amazing teachers!

Cheesy Bryce.

Cheesy (& messy!) Drew!

Wow, I have been a MAJOR blogging slacker for the past couple of months! You'll have to bear with me, I'm going to try to do about 6 posts today to catch up! :) Our first big event of April was the annual Art Show at Bryce's preschool. It's truly awesome...his teachers turn the preschool into a mini-gallery and display all of the kids' art pieces from the year. We had a great time checking out all of Bryce's creative endeavors!

Chicago!

Stu and I just took a great trip to Chicago, one of our first without kids since Bryce was born! We were able to visit some wonderful friends, Brian & Denise Ivie, and hang out with their girls, Abby & Mimi. We had a great time playing tourist & catching up with Denise & Brian. We visited them 10 years ago while they were living in Germany, and we still have many great memories of that trip! We are so grateful to Stu's parents, who kept the boys for us while we were off having fun. It was a great way to spend our Valentine's Day weekend!

Bryce, Drew & Stu sampling our chocolate fondue dessert last week. Note Drew's face.


Stu rocking out on Rock Band at Best Buy in Chicago.


Stu & I hanging out with our favorite Chicagoan!

From the top of the Sears Tower, we spied this jail in downtown Chicago with some inmates at play on the top.

Cocktail hour!

Brian & Denise getting a caffeine fix.

Watch out, Stu! Darth has your number.

Had to take a picture with "Lego Man" for Bryce.

The view from our hotel room in downtown Chicago.

Denise & Brian showing off their chocolate mountain.

Christmas Craziness!

Drew hangs out with Papa.


Stu reads Twas the Night Before Christmas to the boys before bed.


Santa brought Scooby Doo DVDs!

Drew found a fire truck in his stocking.

Santa also brought this sweet Darth Vader costume...SCARY!

Bryce, Elsa & Drew cuddle & pose.

Drew, Brittany, Bryce, me, Elsa & Betsy.

The boys & I at the Missoula Carousel...always a favorite!

The Gibson Mansion, site of the 40th Anniversary Party for my parents.

My mom & dad...married 40 years! Cheers!

Well, our Christmas trip started out as a roller coaster ride of emotions! Despite our best efforts, the 4 of us missed our flight out of Albuquerque on Dec. 22nd. We made the quick (and perhaps not fully thought-out) decision to drive to Montana, an 1100+ mile trip. We expected to get there the following day, but weather & our late start on the 22nd were working against us. After trekking through New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, & Idaho, we finally arrived at Mom & Dad's on the morning of the 24th. I had not made this journey by car since moving to NM 11 years ago! The boys had never done the trip by car, but all things considered, they were wonderful. We are actually planning to drive up this summer, because we spotted several things along the way that we need to explore when we have more time.

Once we made it to Missoula, we had a great time! We spent Christmas with my parents, Betsy, Kennet & Elsa, Brittany & Cameron, my Grandma Helen & my Aunt Dede. Everyone had a wonderful time, and Santa was good to all of us. On Dec. 27th, my sisters & I hosted a 40th Anniversary Party for my parents at The Gibson Mansion in Missoula. It was attended by about 60 close friends, and it turned out even better than we had hoped. It was really fun to see so many of my parents' friends again.

We headed back to NM on the 29th, and were able to make it home by the evening of the 30th. While it was a quick trip, we loved every minute of our time in Montana and can't wait to head back up this summer. It was truly a Christmas to remember!

Snow Day!

Drew posing with Santa while the snow falls.


Our tree in front with lights & snow!


December snow in New Mexico! We love it!


Bryce & Drew playing in the snow this morning!


Casa de Crane with snow!

Well, it started snowing yesterday, and it didn't quit until late last night. School was cancelled & the kids were thrilled! (Northerners, quit laughing. They don't have plows here & the natives drive like maniacs on snow & ice. It's just better to shut everything down. Trust me.) The snow was basically gone by noon, so luckily we got outside to enjoy it right after breakfast. Now we're really in the mood for a Montana White Christmas!

Gettin' Christmasy

Bryce & Drew with our inflatable Santa in front of the house.


Drew, Karen & Bryce at the River of Lights.


Bryce posing as a gingerbread man.

Bryce was trying to force his brother to cooperate for pictures!

Train light sculpture.

Excavator (Drew is in front of it, but the flash couldn't handle that!)

Windup car sculpture.

December has been a whirlwind! At the beginning of this post you can see Bryce & Drew showing off some of our outside decorations. We started on those Thanksgiving weekend. We've also been busy shopping, wrapping, baking & attending the usual Christmas functions. The rest of the pictures in this post are from a great Albuquerque tradition, the River of Lights. Every year the Botanic Garden hosts this event, and they decorate their grounds with a ton of beautiful light sculptures. I've just posted a few of the boys' favorites, but there were many more! We had a great time checking them all out with Stu's parents. Note that the boys are in full winter mode, complete with hats, boots, mittens, etc. It really wasn't that cold, but they will take any opportunity to bust out the winter wear! Unfortunately, we've heard that it's currently sub-zero in Montana, so we may NEED all of those clothes next week! Hopefully it will get a little warmer by the time we get there!

Bryce also had his preschool Christmas program last week, in which he was a cloud & a tornado. His teachers always work their current unit of study into the program, and this year it's weather. The kids did a great job! Why no photos, you ask? Because I was in charge of the video camera for that event. My father-in-law took all of the stills. I need to get some from him. I may even get ambitious & try to post a short video of Bryce doing his lines. Stay tuned!

We hope that everyone reading this is staying warm, eating Christmas cookies & getting ready for Santa to visit. Happy Holidays & all the best of the season to you & yours!

Happy Thanksgiving...Happy Birthday!

Stu poses with the Thanksgiving table, set for action!


Bryce & Drew with their Thanksgiving morning cinnamon rolls at the kids' table.


Drew & Grandpa playing trains.


The big meal! Karen, Stu, Drew, and Dalon & Antonia.


Jamal, Bryce & Lamar. Drew refused to hold still for pictures!


Happy Birthday! Opening his new Curious George.


Drew thanks his "Bro-Bro" for his birthday gifts.


Showing off the new Big Wheel & Curious George.


Grandpa & Grandma got Drew this cool scooter!


Drew gets ready to make a wish & blow out the candle.



The masterpiece, created by my dear friend, Antonia. (It's Super Why, Drew's favorite character on PBS.)


Grandpa gets in on the fun.

Bryce liked the cake!

It was a big weekend here at the Crane house! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving on Thursday, immediately followed by Drew's 2nd birthday on Friday! We also somehow managed to put up the Christmas tree, the outside decorations, do a little shopping...phew, I'm exhausted just remembering all of it! :)

Thanksgiving was a relaxed, peaceful day, shared with Stu's parents and our good friends, the Bynums. Dalon, Antonia, Lamar & Jamal came over to eat with us, and we had a great time. The boys all kept each other very entertained. We ate too much and had fun doing it!

On Friday we celebrated Drew's big day. He still doesn't really understand the concept of birthdays, but he does know about cake. For the past couple of months, if you asked him what he wanted for his birthday, you always got the same answer. An emphatic, "CAKE!!!" We obliged, and Antonia made him an awesome "Super Why" cake. He loved it! He was also very happy to receive a new Big Wheel, a scooter, some singing tools, cars, shoes, and many other great gifts. Thanks to all who remembered him on his special day!

We're now in full holiday mode! Tomorrow Bryce's preschool class visits a local grocery store to decorate a Christmas tree, and we've already got several holiday parties this week. We're excited to dive into the season head first! 'Tis the season! Enjoy!