Making buckeyes with Daddy (because some little boys already ate all the cookies we made for Santa!) 
And checking out Zoo Lights at Turtle Back Zoo complete with Frosty and train ride! 
Santa comes tomorrow night!
Category: Family
-
Countdown to Christmas
-
Santa Firetruck
An annual Christmas tradition! As a fundraiser our local fire station delivers Christmas presents (that parents drop off the week before).
What’s not to love?!? Santa, fire trucks and presents!
-
Cookies & Gingerbread!
With Papa, Coco and Aunt Kiki in town for the birthday party, we seized the opportunity to make some Sandtart cookies; a Kleinfelter family tradition!
Gingerbread house making with Coco! 
-
‘O Christmas Tree
The story of our 2018 Christmas tree….
We head to the Christmas tree farm. Lots of boys running free through the trees. Minus my ability to take a nice picture, things are going great!
On the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree…
Our tree is found and now it’s time to cut. This year we decided to race; moms vs. dads. I’m proud to say that the mom’s win even though the dad’s contested our victory!
Tree is home and now it’s time to put it up. A broken stand, a new stand, a new broken stand, a 3rd stand and then this…. the epitome of a last ditch effort to get it to fit. Yes, that’s a chainsaw in my living room.
2 days, 3 stands and I don’t want to think about how many hours…but it’s up! Merry Christmas! Thank god we only do this once a year!
-
Turkey Day 2018!
We hosted our first Thanksgiving at Chez Phillips for the Phillips and Sullivan clans! I was admittedly nervous since it was the first time I’d EVER cooked a turkey, let alone on Thanksgiving, but…. with the help of the internet, my mom, super helpful guests bringing all sorts of delicious side dishes and a trusty Excel spreadsheet (yes, I’m crazy but it works for us), things went off without a hitch!
The prep, from tables to beds to food, started early. I hate leaving things to the last minute and wanted to actually enjoy our family. Andy and Andrew even got in on the mix helping make breadcrumbs for stuffing. I’m pretty sure Andrew ate a piece of bread for everyone he tore up.
School placematsReady for cousins!
Shockingly we were ready EARLY! So Andy and I snuck off to enjoy a quiet drink without kids and before the craze of the holiday weekend. I think it’s a tradition we should keep. 😉
And then the holiday fun began!
We capped off our Thanksgiving weekend off with (a broken kitchen sink. ugh) and ride on the train to the park!
HAPPY TURKEY DAY 2018!
?❤️
-
We had NO fun…
….not even a little bit. We had zero fun riding water slides, splashing in the pools, playing video games and having a hotel sleep over with our best buddies at the Kalahari indoor waterpark this weekend!
Happy 4th birthday Andrew and Austin!
-
Halloween 2018!
We walked off a red-eye at 6:30 am, was home by 8:15am and all napping by 8:17am. By 1pm we were coming back to life and by 4:30, the boys were ready to hit the streets for some trick or treating! Happy Halloween 2018 from Buzz Lightyear and Bam Bam!
-
Hawaii: Mickey’s Beach!
We capped off our trip to Hawaii with a stay at Aulani, Disney’s resort on Oahu, or affectionately referred to by Andrew as ‘Mickey’s Beach.’
Aulani was big, beautiful and a kid’s dream! To say that Andrew and Teddy LOVED the splash zones doesn’t do it justice. The running around and smiles were non stop!
The adults got in on the water fun too!
We boogie boarded.
We luau’d. Kudos to Andrew to jumping up on stage to participate a few times!
We dined with the characters. Old brother loved it. Younger brother, not so much.
And what trip would be complete without a visit with the mouse himself!
And just like that our trip to Hawaiian paradise was over and we were headed home….
But when it’s snowing and cold this winter, we’ll have our ‘Aloha Spirit’ to keep us warm!
-
Kauai: More Fun!
Other moments…
Teaching Andrew to use his binoculars to look things like birds, the beach and surfers in the water- NOT other people’s hotel rooms.
Early morning pancake breakfasts with Papa.
Teddy getting into FULL vacation mode.
Playing in the sand.
Getting spiffed up for dinner.
Silly faces
Aunt Kiki rules!
Wailua Waterfall
Flying drones with Aunt Kiki.
Feeding the Fish
Mahalo for the amazing memories Kauai! Until we meet again….Next stop Oahu!
-
Kauai: Trains, Boats and the Shortest Hike Ever
Trains! If there’s a train, my boys will be riding it! We took a ride on the Kauai Plantation Railroad; antique, open air train cars through a beautiful fruit plantation. Plus the boys got to hop off and feed the pigs. Everyone had a great time- especially mommy, daddy and Aunt Kiki who popped in for an impromptu rum tasting after the ride! 🙂
Early one morning we arranged a babysitter for the boys and the adults enjoyed a wet, wild and gorgeous bot ride along the Napali Coast. Despite the large swells, we were even able to venture into some sea caves a bit. And we capped off our trip with a little snorkeling, complete with a few sea turtles! A highlight for everyone!
DCIM100GOPROGOPR1379. 
DCIM100GOPROGOPR1391. 
A road trip over to Waimea Canyon! Our initial plan was to go for a hike that overlooked the Napali Coast and the Cathedrals. So we started with Teddy on my back and Andrew walking. We took about 50 steps, looked at the decline, wet mud, 10-inch trail and 3,000 foot drop-off and quickly turned back. #notforkids. So Aunt Kiki braved the trail and we waited at the top. All the boys- Andy especially- were happy to enjoy some snacks and wait patiently instead of hike! Next time!
Even from the lookout the views were pretty amazing!
