VomBaur Christmas!

Before the festivities...

Vance kept saying that he wanted a dowel for Christmas...there it was under the tree...then I was teasing him that that is all I got him :)

Drake has been asking for a "Dream-Light" since May...Santa came through in a pinch :)

Christmas should never be celebrated without a 4 year old...WHAT FUN! Every present was the best!!!

The boys got paint-ball guns and all the accessories to go with them! Will's mask has a built in fan to keep him cool and reduce fog...and there are glued on "predator braids," if you see this guy creeping out at you from behind a bush...you'd better run!!!

A cute monkey that Nanny got him :)

The prize gift....drum roll...a $7 bow and arrow set...THIS KID IS SO EASY TO PLEASE!!!

Liliya's prize gift...a floor mat from Grandma Judd!

Vance got into the spirit of Christmas this year and bought presents with his own money! This is the tackle box that he got his Dad :)

We have a fun little closet under our stairs that we've been debating what to do with...luckily Ben was out of town a lot before Christmas and he didn't have a chance to snoop...so I was able to pull this off without blowing the surprise! I got him a gun safe, and we put up some shelves and hooks to hang all his hunting gear! So, this is now the hunting room :)

Vance with his paint-ball gun and mask...

Will with his paint-ball gun, mask, and refill-belt...

Look out for the VomBaur boys!

Liliy-Bug :)

Lil with her little monkey that Nanny gave her...

Ben got me this beautiful reprint of DaVinci's "Last Supper." I, appropriately, hung it in the dining room :)

If you know Ben and My political beliefs, you know that we're extreme constitutionalists...so...fittingly, I got him a framed reprint of the Constitution :)

Merry Christmas to all...and to all a good night!!!

Holidays and Hunting

Sorry for not posting in a while...we have been battling the flu the last 2 weeks :( Everyone but Liliya got it...even Mom...and when Mom goes down, the home ceases to function! As some of you know, Ben has been fighting MMA and he had his 3rd professional fight on Saturday...unfortunately his bout of the flu hit the day of his fight and by "go time" it was full blown! SOMEHOW he stilled pulled out a win, increasing his pro record to 3-0, but he took some serious punishment this time, as his reflexes were so slow and he ended up filling a bucket with vomit after the fight :( sorry...TMI? He didn't get much recovery time because the very next day we hosted a Christmas dinner for the UNC wrestlers and filled the house! He were banking on 25, but ended up with 40! And that's not including children! My new dining room table was put to good use and I emptied my living room of furniture and added 2 more tables...and even so...people still had to eat standing up! On another fun side note...Ben and his friend Nate have been building some serious "duck blinds" on our property (3 of them I think) and finished up last week. So far, each morning they've hunted, they've managed to get a goose within an hour. They are EXCELLENT eating! So, life is pretty good here in Colorado :)

Wrestlers at my new pretty dining room table...

The living room, turned into party central :)

Yummy....

Those shish-ca-bobs are full of goose meat!

The 2 UNC coaches with their baby girls :)

Ben with a goose...

Ben cutting up the goose meat...

Table

So, after finishing our beautiful dining room, our table started to feel very out of place! In Victorian homes, the dining room was usually quite impressive...long, narrow rooms (and tables), so as to seat lots of dinner guests, and beautiful light fixtures...ours was no exception :) So, after hiring a wood maker to do our cabinets and seeing what a wonderful job he did and his love of wood working, we commissioned him to build us a table to seat 10-15 adults comfortably and to fit with the style of the room...and...WOW! It gets delivered on Thursday. I'm so excited!!! It is 9 feet long and 3.5 feet wide...I think I might have to host the next family get together...it MIGHT have enough room to fit all my clean books during a hand and foot game :) and yes...that was a challenge!

Cute Clothes and Elf Ears :)

Wendy bought Liliya the cutest little dress...LOOK, LOOK! I love playing dress up!

 No one can make Lil smile like her big brother Will...

I think her ears are so dang cute...who cares if they're a little "elf-ish!"

Halloween

The boys had a very fun Halloween this year! We went back to our old neighborhood, as it is much more kid friendly, and trick-or-treated with some of our old church friends. Drake DEFINITELY got the most attention recycling my old ewok costume! It totally cracked me up to watch him waddle around with the pillow in his tummy, tripping over the too-long costume :) such a trip down memory lane! ENJOY!

Vance as an astronaut

Will as a Spartan Warrior (he made the entire costume by himself  with ABSOLUTELY no help! he even bought his own fabric!)

Drake as "Wickett The Ewok"

A better look at Will's costume...he is SO crafty! I don't know where he gets it! His mother can't even sew on a button!

The VomBaur boys...ready to go!

The whole clan! Our friends: Nate as Mitt Romney, Scott as a Skeleton, and Lauren as an adorable Girly Skeleton :)

Liliya has started holding up her head, so we tried her out in the bumbo chair...not sure why I think this is so cute...just do :)

Just hanging out while mom gives Drake a bath...

"She's so cute and all alone...can we keep her?" Quick...what movie?

Football and Liliya

 Vance's football season has come to a close, and he was a SUPERSTAR! Especially on defense. I didn't like to take any videos because then I couldn't enjoy the show! But I took a few on the last game. This was by no means his best tackle, as he had so many EVERY game...but you'll get the idea :) He is on the maroon team with the bright orange sleeves, #98.

Hey, I had 3 boys....I'm allowed ruffles and frills :)

Who's kid is that?!

He totally taught himself this, I swear! I was not involved at all! He just said one day, "Mom, want to see me do a back hand spring?"

Ben's Fight, Drake's Fat Lip, and The Amazing Aunt Wendy!

Ben had his 2nd professional fight on Friday and he won very decisively! I was not there and they did not allow video, but they posted some pics on their website...I would not want to be on the receiving end of any of those punches!!!

Drake slipped on the stairs and put his tooth right through his lip :( I know this shouldn't be funny....but check out that lip! That is day 2...

My parents and my Sister-In-Law, Wendy, came for a visit last week. We had lots of fun, and let me tell you...Wendy is SOOOOO talented! I'll post a few of things, but know that there are more, I just didn't want my post to be CRAZY LONG!

She did "mag-pag" (i'm sure i'm spelling that wrong) on the "L" and vinyl for the rest. She did the headband Liliya is wearing as well as the little "shoes."

Vance on a tree over one of our ponds...just because :)

Grandma and Grandpa with their 4 VomBaur grandchildren.

Grandpa Bill arrived on Friday to stay with us. He had done a 52 day cross-country motorcycle trip and this is what his motorcycle looked like when he got here!

The vinyl Aunt Wendy did for Vance (it is right above his bed).

The vinyl Wendy did for Will (it is under his bunk beds in his "man cave").

All the headbands Wendy did for Liliya...I think she'll be set until she grows a full head of hair!

Drake thinks it's funny that Liliy's lace-y booties that Wendy made fit on his fingers :) Note the cut above his eye...we cannot keep this boy in one piece!!!