first bike ride

Hudson enjoyed his first bike ride with his new bike on a recent "warm" Sunday afternoon.  This year has been one of the coldest winters on record in Iowa, and Hudson and I are spending most of our time indoors.  So a breath of fresh air was certainly welcomed.  Hudson wasn't super thrilled with it all, but hopefully he will warm up to it as he gets more practice.  He loves that his bike is blue and he loves that it has a bell and a brake.  :)  The first of many bike rides, I'm sure…

 

December iPhone pics

Before I move on to the events of our very exciting January (not so much) I realized I never shared my random collection of iPhone pictures from January.  Special people, special moments, and fond memories.  

Dr. Hudson and Dr. Evie are working full time to sure everyone stays healthy during the winter months.   

Snuggling on Mommy's bed with all his stuffed animals.  

Enjoying a warm treat and pretzels with Thomas on a cold winter morning.  

Scooping snow with Daddy.  

Tubby time!  

Mimi's applesauce tastes so good that I want to get every last lick.  

A selfie of Hudson and I on a little "date" before I left for Savannah.  We shared a Starbucks blueberry muffin and talked about some of our favorite memories from 2013.  :)  

Hudson loved playing with his nativity set this Christmas.  The angel was his favorite character in the nativity and quoted the angel by saying "Mary, don't worry, don't be sad."  

Reading Pete the Cat books with Aunt Angela and Pete himself.  

We enjoy going to library story times on Wednesday mornings.  This particular week we read about and made a gingerbread baby.  Hudson is starting to enjoy art projects a little more, but always wants "Mommy do it too."    

Posing in front of the Christmas tree in his room, complete with trucks, cars, tractors, and motorcycle ornaments.  

Hudson is always such a good helper on cleaning days.  Using the vacuum is one of his favorite chores.    

Celebrating Christmas with Farah and Afifa.  We watched The Nativity movie, ate goodies, and exchanged gifts.  

belated Christmas morning

We had our "little Christmas" with the three of us on Tuesday morning, December 31st.  It was a little belated, but allowed us to spread out the celebration a few more days.  During the advent season we enjoyed reading daily devotionals and lighting the advent candles each Sunday.  

I took this picture the night before, all ready for our belated Christmas morning. 

We made these lemon ricotta pancakes for our Christmas breakfast.  I got the recipe from the Bed & Breakfast we stayed at in Savannah.  So delicious!  

A family picture, all in our pajamas.  :)  

Hudson opening his stocking.  

Hudson gave Daddy a framed picture for his new desk at work.  

Roy spoiled me with two gold boxes from Josephs.  :)  He picked out pearl earrings and a bracelet.  I have enjoyed wearing them, and as you can see they even look good when worn with your pajamas. 

 

Hudson's "gold gift" this year was a balance bike.  Roy did quite a bit of research to find the "just right fit bike" for Hudson.  Its called a Ridgeback Scoot.  Hudson's favorite feature is the bell and the brake, no surprise there.  :)  It seems to fit him perfectly and he got the hang of it while walking around the house.  We are looking forward to the weather warming up so we can head outside and go for a ride.  

Swinger Christmas

On Sunday, December 29th, we celebrated Christmas with the Swinger clan.  Its become our tradition to get together the weekend after Christmas and enjoy some extended time together over New Years.  Sue always prepares a delicious meal, we fix a puzzle, the little ones take naps, and then we open gifts.  

On Monday the 30th, Hudson and I enjoyed lots of cousin time with Milly and Clara.  They are such sweet little ladies and we were grateful for the opportunity to share snuggles and smiles.  

On the evening of New Years Eve we met at our house and ordered BBQ for take out dinner, played games, and almost made it to midnight.  :)   

Roy, excited about opening his gift.  

Hudson, trying out his comfy cozy sleeping bag from Nana and Papa.  

Checking out Clara's new farm.  

We are so grateful for our smiley, joyful boy!   

Ready to roll...I've got this down.  

Milly showed up in this Santa outfit.  She was all decked out and ready to go for her first Christmas.  :)  

Papa with Hudson and Milly.  

Ben and Roy showing off their "matching" coats from Lynn and Jacy.  

My mom created these last name letter gifts for Jenna, Lynn, and Sue as our gift to them.  

A "lunch date" with Clara and Milly on Monday.  

i created :: jalapeño pretzels

At Christmas time I usually put together a small treat bag for the ladies in my BSF group.  This year I made these festive tags and baked up some jalapeño pretzels.  I originally got this recipe from my good high school friend, Tiffany.  They are super simple and super tasty.  Plus, they would make a great Super Bowl treat, which is right around the corner.   

Jalapeño Pretzels

4 (9 oz.) bags butter braid pretzels

1 (16 oz.) bottle Orville Redenbacher popcorn oil

 1 package ranch dressing mix

1/2 tsp dill weed

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

 1 1/2 tsp black pepper

 1 1/2 tsp jalapeño seasoning

Mix oil and seasoning together.  Put pretzels in large pan or roaster.  Pour oil mixture over pretzels and mix to coat.  Bake at 200 degrees for 1 1/4 hours, stirring every 15 minutes.  Cool and put in bags or tupperware containers.  They freeze well also.  

Bomgaars Christmas

We had the opportunity to spend an extended time at my parents this Christmas, nearly 5 days.  It was a blessed time and we were so grateful that Roy had the whole week off.  Along with the Christmas gatherings, eating, and gift giving we had time to relax and be together.  Roy and I enjoyed an afternoon movie, we went to walk and shoot hoops at the Rec Center, we had a girls day of shopping, Hudson and Roy did some work and help on the farm, and we fixed a puzzle.  So many blessings!  

These first four pictures were taken after the Christmas Eve Candlelight service at Central Church.  Hudson held his own candle and sang the words of Silent Night right along with us.  I was brought to tears, it was so special!  

Christmas Eve 2013  

Hudson is loved so well by his Mimi and Bapa Rog.  He just loves being at their house and of course, they love having him there.  

Uncle Ryan and Hudson 

We always take a traditional "kids picture" in front of the fireplace on Christmas Eve, so here is this years.   

Christmas Day the whole Bomgaars gang came over for lunch so we did some preparations that morning.  As it typical for the Bomgaars family, the food was amazing and no one went home hungry.  

Check out the impressive menu...

Hudson "helping" Uncle Ryan grill the meat.  

All hands were on deck to prepare for the feast.  So yummy!  

Chatting and relaxing after lunch...

Its Bomgaars tradition to make homemade ice cream on Christmas.  I love this picture because it shows Hudson and Beckett, the next generation, carrying on and enjoying the family tradition.  

That night we opened some gifts.  Hudson's favorite was likely this big red loader tractor from his Bapa Rog.  

Aunt Angela surprised Hudson with a sled. 

Uncle Ryan got Hudson his first baseball glove, an appropriate gift from a baseball coach.  Now it just needs to warm up a bit so we can go outside and play some catch.  

On Thursday evening we enjoyed our annual fondue meal.  This was the first year I let Hudson stay up late enough to enjoy it.  Here he is getting a taste of the broccoli and of course the chocolate fondue at the end was a hit too!  

operation gingerbread house 2013

Do any of you remember my post from last year about making a gingerbread house?  Our technique is nothing fancy, but it certainly is unique and creative.  :)  We didn't get a chance to make one at home this year before we left so we opted to make it on Christmas Eve at my parents home instead.  This was great because it allowed for more creative input and help.  

The roof was quite the masterpiece, using Cap'N Crunch (Roy's favorite).  

Our random assortment of candies we had around to use for decorating.  

Working together...  Even dad participated a bit, because Hudson was there.  

Angela and I were of course the ones putting the most time and effort into the project.  :)  Roy is happy to help but gets distracted and loses interest pretty quickly.  

Proud of our work...

The finished project from the front...

The side view...

And the back...

"B" is for Bomgaars (just in case you were wondering).  I was quite impressed with the "deck" that Roy made on the back, complete with a grill and hamburgers inside of it (hard to see in the picture I know).  

The house was a fun conversation piece during the holidays.  Friends and family members were quite impressed with our work and it was fun to show it off.  Until next year...