A birthday and Thanksgiving week

Monday morning, Andrea came over to save my whole day. Long story short, she's my hero. And these two........ bestest friends. 

Monday was actually Ethan's birthday, but he's been getting gifts for over a month. He didn't have an actual party, but he was ok with that this year. We have been really busy, Jason is gone, etc. So he was happy with cupcakes. 

Brought to his class and we hung out for a while. 

And the best part of his day? Grandma, Papa and Dominik came to visit for the week! 

We ate at his choice of restaurants, and he got cheesecake. WHAT?!?! What happened to chocolate cake? 

And Aunt Let sent presents for both boys. :)  

Boxing gloves! 

Both boys had school Tuesday, but after Elliott got out, we got to hang out with everyone until Ethan got out. 

Then there was swimming! 

They all had so much fun. 

Papa made them a water toy. A water bottle with a little water in it to throw around and fight for. 

These two always pick up right where they left off, even if it's been over a year since they were together. 

Then we went to pizza. The boys got their own table and picked the biggest table in the place so they could all sit really close together. 

Thanksgiving day was gorgeous! The boys played with the neighborhood kids. 

Dominik plays football, so he was in heaven. 

It was fun to see them enjoying the day. 

My Dad fried the turkey. 

Sooooooo good. 

And Mom and I made the sides and pie! Mmmmm pie.  

Papa brought up his wood burning stuff with him. Grandma transferred their pictures for them. Ethan showed off his skills, and Dominik made his first piece. They both did great. Elliott was resting, so Papa made him one too.  

Look at the concentration. 

Ethan made a name plaque. 

Then, look who joined the party! Eli is back! 

He had a letter for the boys. 

Unfortunately his handwriting isn't that great. :) 

Eli wasted no time getting into stuff. We woke up to this on Friday. 

After we spent the day in Great Falls, seeing family and shopping, the boys got to do some more swimming. 

We headed home and got ready to snowboard on Saturday. 

Grandma and Papa headed home early Saturday morning. Eli wanted to go with us. 

The day was beautiful and perfect for snowboarding. 

It was sunny, not windy, and just plain awesome. Look at those smiles. They couldn't wait to get going. 

Our friends were able to come up with us, and their boys snowboarded with Ethan. He did lose track of them for a while though and took about 3 runs all on his own. He's getting so big, it scares me a little. But I think that face says it all. Big smile, rosy cheeks and pure joy. 

I love watching Ethan be so comfortable. He was up and down the hill all day and even when I was sure he'd be exhausted, he did not want to leave.

Elliott took some convincing to get him going, but after his first little trip down about 1/4 of the learning hill, he was hooked. He killed it too. This video makes me laugh. Doesn't every 4 year old start jumping his snowboard on his very first day out? He told me "I like to cuz it makes me go faster!"

I knew Elliott was tired, but before he passed out, he decided he should color a picture on the door of my car. I'm still not happy about it, but how do you stay mad at this kid? 

We are still counting down the days until Jason gets home. 14 to be exact, and we can't wait!