Monster Jam!

Santa brought Kent and the boys tickets to the Monster Jam AND pit passes this year for Christmas, so we decided to get Grandpa von Harten to come along too.  It just so "HAPPENED" that Uncle Andy and Isaiah got tickets too!  So after much anticipation and waiting for the big night, it finally came.  They had THE TIME of their lives!  Kent said my dad was just beaming all night long and kept talking about how awesome it was.  I know it was a great memory for all of them.  Just wish the pictures turned out less blurry, but the lighting for pictures isn't that great in those big stadiums like that.

They were so excited to be able to get autographs of a lot of the drivers.  Here is Lindsey Winks, who is from Indiana, and who ended up winning the competition that night.

I forget the name of this guy (imagine that!), but he is the oh-so-famous driver of Gravedigger.  Kent called his name out and the guy gave him a thumbs up.  Kent was pretty excited.

They were pretty pooped by the time they got home, but completely on Cloud 9.  I love having them do things like this that make for great memories.

Christmas 2012

 Christmas Eve

Acting out the Christmas story

Some holiday entertainment!

 They match!

 One happy grandpa!

Ready for the feast

 

 

Tyler read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to Everyone - they all listened so intently!

 

Christmas morning

 

Yay!!! Exactly what they asked for from Santa!

Callie was in heaven when she opened her laptop.  She wouldn't put the thing down!
 

 

Go Colts!  He was so happy to get a jersey.  #17 is Austin Collie's number - he is LDS.

 

Christmas Day

We wondered where Grandma and Grandpa Allen had gone and a few minutes later we had a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus!!!

Callie was just happy with taking a candy cane from them - sitting on the laps, thank you very much!

Unless they all sat together, that is. :)

Best friends/cousins!

Macie and Morgan

 My other two cute and silly nieces, Hadyn and Briley!

We have a family joke about all the accidents Gary has from welding to knife accidents and everything in between.  My SIL, Beth, thought this sign was perfect for him!

Cozy cousins - Rex, Leon, Erika, Callie, Harrison

We had 6 kids ready to sleep on this air mattress.  It didn't take long for only about 3 to last on it.  The others moved somewhere else, but they all loved hanging out together on it before bed!

Tyler, Leon, Rex, Morgan, Harrison and Erika

A couple days of holiday celebrating made these little boys tired!

Harrison and Leon with their favorite blankies

We were only going to spend one night in Lafayette, but a huge snowstorm blew in, so we ended up staying a second night.  It was nice to hang out longer with everyone.

Christmas Sunday

 

 

Cute cousins

 Julie and I had fun having our little girls hang out together.  This picture reminds me of Morgan and her cousin Macie in the tub together.  She was about the same age as Callie and looks just like her!

 Twin jammies!  Claire isn't too sure about Callie giving her a hug here!

All ready for Christmas Sunday!

 

Chocolate for the Spirit

 My mom wanted to treat us to this gourmet chocolate shop in the Indy City Market called Chocolate for the Spirit, so when Julie and Brent came down, we all headed over there for a sweet treat.  It was FREEZING out that night, but I tried some Mayan Chocolate that warmed my mouth up pretty good.    The guy working there explained all the different "layers" of flavor we were tasting, which was kind of cool.  But I wouldn't have chosen it to buy b/c when I eat chocolate I am wanting something sweet, not something that leaves my mouth on fire!  There were so many things to choose from it was hard to decide what to get.

 The guy explained all about the different types of base chocolates they use to make each treat and let us try all of them.  Look at those little hands ready for some tasting!

Callie giving Claire a hug!  They were so cute together!

Kent decided to get some gelato instead of chocolate.  I was tempted, but ended up getting a fancy-looking mint patty instead.  It was pretty good, but I have to admit I like York Peppermint patties better!

 The twinners

The toffee was pretty good, but I think I would have liked the milk chocolate a bit better.  We had it in dark chocolate.  The chocolate was definitely gourmet and not something I would normally crave or think kids would like as much as the "cheaper" chocolate, but it was still good and we had a super fun time doing something different and just hanging out with the family.

Julie and Claire

The gang (we missed Andy b/c he had to work)

"World's Tallest Christmas Tree"