My clever Husband likes to call today Christmas Adam…because it’s the day before Christmas Eve, as in Adam and Eve.

Anywho, we went bowling tonight. Haven’t done it in for-ev-er. Little Man was a fanatic and had the people on either side of us eating out of his hand. We’ll definitely be going again.

{He loved waiting for the balls to come out}

{I know this picture is way out of focus, but it just shows how determined he was}

Last night, Husband’s awesome company got a suite at the Avalanche {hockey} game. It was ah-mazing; that’s the way to see a game. The food was so yummy: roasted chicken, red potatoes, gourmet sausages, fancy nachos, Mediterranean grilled veggies, cheese platters, fresh fruits, pasta salad, and a dessert cart that would knock yo’ socks off. The hockey was fun to watch too. Little Man stayed home with a sitter while we had a great night on the town.

Pardon the iphone pictures, I thought the DLSR just might be a little too much. Just a titch.

{Round 2 of food: balsamic tomato, fresh mozzarella salad & roasted veggies with herb dip. I think I was the only one that touched the veggies…I seriously thought about asking for a doggy bag because it made me sick all the deliciousness that was going to waste}

{Rounded out the evening with my favorite: carrot cake}

Last night, we went on a little tour of Christmas lights. We saw about 8 homes and 5 of them were timed to a radio station playing Christmas music. Little Man loved it and kept saying how the lights were dancing. Husband has gotten on a somewhat obsessive kick of Christmas lights and he warns me we’ll be a stop on the tour next year…

It’s so hard to do the homes with the light shows justice.

{My personal fav, it’s called the Gingerbread House}

Last night, we took Little Man to visit the Big Man. As we stood in line, he was so excited. “Is this Santa’s House?” Once he saw the jolly guy, his apprehension grew. By the time he sat on his lap, he didn’t cry but would not look at Santa. All-in-all he did good and afterwards when you asked him about Santa, you would’ve thought they were  best friends. It’s an improvement from last year.

We asked him what he was going to ask Santa for…he said, “Halloween?”

{I know I’m bias, but I think he is beautiful!}

They didn’t allow outside photos this year, and I wasn’t about to drop $22 on theirs. Husband was in charge of incognito iphone pictures and this is what we got:

Afterwards, we went into downtown Castle Rock for some Yolanda’s tacos. MMmmmm. They have it all lit up.

{Star on top of the actual Castle Rock}

I went down to Colorado Springs last night to have dinner and catch up with Hoodlum from college. We indulged in Thai food and practically shut the place down, but it was so nice to chat.

…and in other news. Remember that “soon-to-be-fiance”? Well, you can now drop the soon-to-be. We’re so excited for April 30 to come!

PS Don’t you just love her glasses? I do, no pun intended.

While Husband was out-of-town, Little Man and I decided to plant some traditional* paper whites. It was great because it even came with a dehydrated disc of dirt that we soaked in water, and it became enough dirt to plant with.

He loved planting his flowers and asks to check in on them daily. We’ll keep you posted on their progress.

*In college, my mom sent me some paper whites to plant. Every time we talked, she asked how they were growing and I kept saying, “Nothing yet.” After weeks of this same conversation, she said that it just didn’t sound right, did I plant them right? I laughed and said, “Really, how do you mess up planting bulbs…”

Folks, I planted the bulbs upside down. Those poor little paper whites were determined to grow. When I dug down into the dirt, they had beautiful long green stems that had been growing upside down.

When I told my mom Little Man and I were planting paper whites, she made sure to ask if I planted them correctly

This picture…

Can only mean one thing: popcorn wreath time, the time tested Cramer family tradition.

This is one of Husband’s favorite childhood Christmas traditions. We’ve compromised by making a smaller batch of wreaths, while still making our own tradition of fun neighbor gifts to share. Once Little Man saw popcorn, marshmallows and candy, he was on board too. We had so much fun.

Remember last year’s neighbor gifts? Well, this year we went with homemade strawberry jam that I canned. PS I can’t believe how young Little Man looks and that was only a year ago!

Last night, we had our church Christmas party. They transformed the gym to look like a marketplace in Bethlehem and asked everyone to dress-up…cue hot pink & blue bathrobe, Little Man was the only one that looked legit. His vest is from my aunt when she did study abroad in Jerusalem.

They did a great job with the decorations, Christmas program and yummy food.

{Shepherd & Angel}

{Shepherd holding “Baby Jesus”}

{Primary kids acting out the nativity story}

We turned the corner for a huge view of the Canyon and Little Man said “Woooooooooooooow!” Even 2 year olds can appreciate one of the Wonders of the World.

{I had to include this next pictures because I love…

1. My parents look just so naturally happy
2. My mom is such a cute little half pint
3. My dad is wearing his work gloves at the Grand Canyon…this man was in his element}

For Thanksgiving this year, we ventured to the North rim of the Grand Canyon to a lodge called Jacob Lake. My dad grew up here in the summers and it holds a special place in our family.

Not only my entire immediate family, but also most of the Bowman family and extended cousins, Rich family, were there to celebrate together…all 120+ of us for turkey dinner. It was priceless.

Here are just a few of the hundreds of pictures we took:

{ENTIRE Bowman family…missing just a few members}

{Kent Bowman Family}

{My Dad & his twin with their Aunt}

{Playing at Billy’s Sink}

{Climbing the fire tower}

{One of the highlights, was hearing Papa tell his cowboy stories to the grandbabies out on the Ranch}

I can’t find most of the pictures that were on our camera, but you get the gist. Don’t be surprised if you randomly see a posted picture here and there.