The boys are more like me in the snow...Ellee loves to stay warm. We decided to venture out in the cold and get some sledding in. 
Cole could hardly wait for the truck to park before he was running up the hill with his sled. He had a blast. He loved it...but he also got worn out pretty fast since every time he made it down the hill he immediately jumped up and ran straight back up the hill. As soon as his cousins Jake and River got to the park he decided to venture over to a little jump where he was loving it til he landed wrong and hurt himself. The combination of already sledding for over an hour plus his crash and burn made us think he was done. But he just rested for a few minutes and then was back at it and even trying to make it down the hill on his feet.
Luke was a little scared to go down the hill at first. He just wanted to go down with either Damon or me and was to frightened to venture it by himself. We knew he would love it by himself so we told him to get on the sled first and that we would go down with him but then just let go of the sled instead. Good mommy moment, huh? Well, it worked. He giggled the whole way down and then didn't hesitate again. He wasn't running up the hill like Cole, he could barely drag the sled back up the hill. He didn't let that stop him. He even decided to go off the jump Cole was going off. 
Ellee is our big scaredy-cat! We tried the same trick we did with Luke but even though she was grinning the whole way down, she pretended that it scared her. It took a few times down before she relaxed and just went after it. She even went down the hill head first and said that was her favorite. She just needed to warm up to the idea and then went off on her own with an occasional "Watch this, Daddy" or "Look how far I can go!" She also started making snow angels and drawing in the snow. Even though Damon hates the snow, he looked like he had fun. All of his sisters were there with their kids so we got to hang out and watch all the cousins together. I hope we get another big snow storm soon because I can't wait to go sledding again!
Damon got stuck working Christmas Eve and Christmas night. I guess it was just luck of the draw. We still had our annual Christmas Eve present of pajamas. The kids loved them and even held still long enough to take a pic and send it to Damon at work. Damon got off work at 6:00 am on Christmas morning so when he got home we woke the kids up (except Cole who woke up when he heard the garage) and did the Christmas morning thing. I guess all three kids were good this year because they all got what they asked for from Santa. 
Luke asked for a dragon castle and dragons to go with it. He ran right to his present and immediately started playing with it. He didn't even want to go through the stocking, he just wanted to play with his new castle. He is so fun to watch with the toys. He makes sure to play with all his toys. It's almost like he's worried about hurting their feelings if he doesn't play with them. He loves all of them! When I checked on him in bed on Christmas night I couldn't help but giggle when I saw that he had just about all his presents in bed with him. He couldn't even move because they were all around him. He's still been sleeping with a firetruck garage that his cousin River gave him for Christmas. 
Cole asked for a Nintendo DS, a game for the DS, and a bag of bells (???) He got all three. He must've been really good this year. At the Romig Christmas party everyone kept talking about how quiet Cole was being, and that they've never heard him so quiet. He wouldn't put the DS down. Mama and Papa made his night by giving him Super Mario Brothers...he wanted it so bad but somehow Santa had not realized that he really wanted that game. We are definitely going to need to put some restrictions on how often he is allowed to play. That will be a fun battle! Cole was so cute opening presents. He would close his eyes until the wrapping paper was just about gone so he would be able to see the entire present...not just a corner of it :)
My highlight this year was opening a present from Cole. He took money with him to school because the PTA offers a store the students can go to and purchase gifts for their families without any help. He bought me a silver necklace that said #1 Mom on it :) He got Damon a package of football cards and a pen that went with a globe pen holder. He bought Ellee a big ring and Luke a pull back truck. It was fun to see what he picked out for each of us on his own. After all the presents were opened and the house looked like a tornado hit it, Damon went to sleep to get ready for another graveyard shift Christmas night and the kids spent all day breaking in their new toys. 