the family that skates together

What's more fun on New Year's Eve than a good old-fashioned roller skating rink, right? Okay, so we may not be the coolest family in the world, but we definitely have fun together! Nolan and Ben had never been roller skating before, and both of them turned out to be huge fans of this particular outing. Nolan, especially, was determined to learn to skate and keep up with his cousins. Ben tried skating for a little bit, but then he found it was just as much fun to look for treasures in the empty skating lockers.











Later that evening, after dinner and a family game of Apples to Apples, we broke out the hats and noise-makers and then turned out all the lights for our traditional glow stick party.









Happy New Year, everyone!

Family Christmas

With the Cherries in town, we all decided to spend the night at Mom and Andy's house on Christmas Eve. We started off the afternoon with all of us going to see The Muppet Movie, followed by an evening at church, where the children's rooms had all been turned into the town of Bethlehem, with crafts, farm animals, crafts and snacks. So fun! After that, we went to the family church service and then returned home to get the kids ready for bed before the adults settled in to watch Christmas Vacation. Nolan and Ben were so excited to be spending the night with their cousins, and the morning proved every bit as fun and chaotic as Christmas morning should be. Although, I will say there were far more light saber battles than I've ever before witnessed on Christmas. :)

Merry Christmas, 2011!

Christmas Card Outtakes

Marshall Family Christmas Card, 2011

I love sending out Christmas cards. I really do. There is something so exciting about addressing our envelopes and dropping our stack of cards in the mailbox each year. I think it reminds me that we've made it through all the craziness of another year, and we have a picture to prove it! Unfortunately, it's getting more and more challenging to get two little, wiggly boys to sit still long enough to make this small dream possible. This year, I actually resorted to bribing them with chocolate in exchange for a ten-minute photo session, and I was actually pleased with the results. Still, before arriving at our official photo, there were plenty of crazy ones to make me laugh. Here are a few of my favorite outtakes:

Annual Family Gondola

Last night was an absolutely perfect night for a Naples gondola ride! The weather was great, the food was yummy, the lights were beautiful, and best of all, we had special time with our family. Thanks so much, Grandma and Grandpa, for such a wonderful holiday treat!

desert holiday

Yesterday we drove down to Palm Springs to celebrate Christmas with Mike's parents. It was really nice to get out of town for the day and relax for a bit, and it was such a treat to be spoiled with gifts and my mother-in-law's amazing cooking. Such a great family day!

One of the gifts Ben received was a drum set, and, as you can see from the photo, he was instantly enamored. Now, we'll just see what happens when he tries to accompany Nolan during violin practice. :)


drummer boy

Special Persons' Day

This morning, Nolan's school had their Special Person's Day, which was actually a Christmas show. Each grade level performed two Christmas songs, which were adorable, and then the child's "special person" was treated to a classroom visit. Nolan seemed to enjoy the performance and even agreed to take a picture with his teacher, Mr. Plummer, when it was all over. Most of all, though, he was excited that the school day ended early, and, really, who could blame him for that line of thinking? Christmas vacation, here we come!