Time to play

While Grama and Grampa and Ty went to see a movie, the kids had a chance to play with their new goodies. Such fun! Ben loves the ATV Santa brought him and Katie doesn't even mind sharing her new wagon!

Christmas morning!

Ben really loved opening packages this year. He delighted in each and every one, even taking time to play with each item he opened for a good 10 minutes before we could convince him to open another.

Katie, on the other hand, enjoyed opening her packages SO much that she tore through them in record time. We had to make calls later in the day to determine who gave her what just so we could write thank you notes!

Tyler was much more relaxed as he opened his packages.

The calm before the storm

Christmas Eve...not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Christmas boy

As promised, here are a couple of the photos of Ben in the traditional German lederhosen that have been passed down through two generations of Beutel boys. No worries--the beer stein was empty.

Harry & Barb's 40th Anniversary

Harry & Barb celebrated 40 years of marriage in December. Chris was able to fly in to Cincy to celebrate with the family, pictured above: Heather, Harry, Jason, Barb, Chris and Eric.

Laundry/bath/Ty's room

Here is the right side of the laundry room. A mini-fridge is going in the far right corner, and a sink on the left. Counters go in next! Upper cabinets are still to come.

The left side of the laundry room waits for our new front-load washer and dryer (I'm told we'll save TONS of money on water....we'll see!) Cabinets to go over this space as well.

Tyler's bathroom vanity went in yesterday and the counter top last night. The light fixture is my fault--I thought FOUR 100-watt bulbs were a good idea. Bad call. Chris did the tile last weekend. You can see the edge of the linen closet to the right, and that's next to where the commode will go.

Tyler's room, facing out into the hallway (left door), the pocket door to the bath (where you can also glimpse his shower), and two closet doors middle and right. It's a bigger space than what he has now, plus he'll have more storage and he won't have to share a bathroom with Ben and Kate. Good news all around.

Media room

This is the view from the hallway near the staircase into the media room, showing the overhead lighting and fan. Again...disregard the clutter. It's hard to see from this picture, but the space is enormous. Of course, I'm sure once we fill it with furniture and toys, it will look waaay smaller!

This is the opposite view, showing the stairs exiting the addition into the "old" part of the house, the railing Chris made, and the hallway into the rest of the addition. Down that hallway, there is a bathroom to the left, the laundry room to the right, and Ty's new room straight ahead.

Progress!

An updated picture of the exterior of the house. The roof, skylights, and exterior paint are all completed. The dumpster is gone (yeah!), but the constant traffic in the yard has left our grass looking fairly sad and our path lights and landscaping have also taken a beating. Don't mind the trash in front of the garage--it's evidence that Chris cleaned out the garage this week (as of a few days ago, the entire contents of the garage was on our driveway, so this is a BIG improvement!) We are honestly in the final stages of this project. So why does it feel like it's draaaaagggging along??

For the young at heart

Grama Susan has been my partner in crime these last few months as I try to come up with ways to fill time on the weekend to keep the kids out of the construction zone. I couldnt' have done the Disney trip without her help, and we had a blast to boot.

Last-minute Disney fun

The house addition is coming along well, but requires that I get the kids out of the house almost every weekend so that Chris can work on a variety of projects. I'm kind of running out of things to do with them, so last weekend, on the spur-of-the-moment, Grama Susan and I loaded up the little ones and headed to Disney. They both had SUCH FUN, as you can tell by the silly grins on their faces. Thanks again to Grama & Grampa Beutel for buying us the season passes for Christmas!

HO-Ho-HO!

Sometimes when you ask for animated twig reindeer, what you actually get is an 8-foot tall blow-up Santa! Merry Christmas to all! Katie and Ben were too in love with Santa, so I didn't have the heart to make Chris take it back to the store (although my official position on yard inflatables has been firmly stated). This was taken after Christmas, the day we were to take Santa down so that Katie could see Santa on the computer whenever it strikes her fancy. I have to admit, it was pretty funny hearing Ben say "Ho-ho- HO" in a booming barritone every time he saw Santa in the yard.

Christmas Eve

All of our Christmas photos (except this one) were taken on Chris's fancy camera and I can't get them unloaded, so for now, this is the sole picture I can post from Christmas. This was taken on Christmas Eve, and Ben is wearing traditional German lederhosen that Chris wore when HE was a toddler (as did his two younger brothers and Ben's two cousins Sam and Matthew). It's a Beutel family tradition for the boys. We did get some really great pics of him posing in front of the tree in this outfit...if only I could get them off that stinking camera!

The big 3-7

Chris turned 37 on Dec. 22nd and the kids helped him open his gifts. We actually celebrated a day early, as he was in Ohio on his actual birthday helping his folks celebrate their 40th anniversary.

Little Diva

Miss Katie all ready for an afternoon of shopping at the Town Center. She was accessorized to the hilt, complete with sparkle sunglasses, beaded jewelry, and her princess wand. Is it any wonder she thinks the world revolves around her?