i don't understand the fighting...{MAX}

1 helmet flying in the stands...2 over times...3 broken sticks...and too many fight to count!

The Kutz family spent our New Years Eve at the Hershey Bears hockey game.  And although we had a great time at the game...there were a couple of teary eyes over all the fighting. 

Here is a you tube link of one of the fights we saw...

i really like that one...{BRAD}

No, Brad is not talking about any Christmas gift.  Brad is talking about a photo that Max took...on his new camera.  One of Max's Christmas gifts this year was a children's digital camera.  Max is really excited to be able to take his own pictures of whatever he wants.

Today I popped the memory card into the computer to see what Max had taken some pictures of.  Most of the subject matter was random, some pictures were blurry...and every once in a while there was a good one.  Here is one of the pictures that both Brad and I really liked...

can you tell aaron rodgers what to do...{MAX}

Brad received a very special gift this year from Max and I...stock in the Green Bay Packers.  Yes, you guessed it, Brad can now proudly call himself an official NFL owner.  Cool right?  Well, when you find out that the stock has no real monetary value, and no, he can not tell Aaron Rodgers what to do...you might not be as excited as Brad.  But being an owner of your favorite team is still pretty cool. 

this is the best christmas ever..{MAX}

Max thinks that every Christmas is the best Christmas ever.  But truly, our family has been very blessed this year...each Christmas we spend with each other is the best Christmas ever.  May you and your family have the best Christmas ever!

(pictures from Christmas Eve)

(pictures from Christmas morning)

ho ho ho, i have a lightsaber...{MAX}

Now what would Santa be doing with a lightsaber? 

May the force be with you this Christmas Eve.

do you want to go for a drive...{BRAD}

Yes, you are right...it does sound like brad is a 90 year old man. 

The reason Brad asked both Max and I if we would like to go for a ride is Christmas lights.  Max can see the different Christmas lights from his bedroom window.  There are a few lights that Max wanted to see up close.  So tonight Brad took both Max and I on a little car ride. 

Although the neighborhood lights are not as spectacular as some I have seen in MN...we still had a great time as a family!

done...{JEANNI}

Done!  Done shopping, done sending out cards, done baking, done shipping, done wrapping...DONE! 

As I look around the house and realize that I am now ready for Christmas, I took a moment to notice some of the little "treasures" of the season.  One of my favorite things...Christmas wrapping.  For those of you who know me well, it will not be a surprise to you that I love wrapping gifts.  I love the ribbons and bows, and all the trappings of gift wrapping.  One of my favorite things is to see how the boys wrap gifts.  Take a look at a few snap shots of our families different styles of gift wrapping. 

(Max's wrapping job)

(Brad's wrapping job)

(Jeanni's wrapping job)

I hope that you can find some little "treasures" around your home this holiday season!

if I got coal I would still find a way to play with it...{MAX}

There is much talk of Christmas at the Kutz house these days.  All the gifts are wrapped, cookies are baked, and plans are being made for the weekend.  Max loves to discuss the holidays and how excited he is for Christmas day.  He loves the magic that Christmas brings, from the food to the music, movies, treats and lights.

While in the car today, Max was talking about Santa.  With all the splendor of the holidays I thought that Max's comment was interesting!  It reminded me that I should be satisfied with all the blessings that I have in my life.

mele kalikimaka...{MAX}

This past weekend Max participated in the children's Christmas service at our church.  He did a great job singing and reciting. 

The theme of the service was Christmas around the world.  The children sang traditional Christmas hymns, however, the first verse of the hymn was sang in a different language.  At the end of the service each child said "Merry Christmas" in a different language.  Max chose Hawaiian. 

it's hard being a bully...{JEANNI}

With temps in the sixties, our weather has been warm compared to MN standards.  Even so I have been turning on the fire place during the day.  And it looks like I am not the only one who likes a nice toasty fire.

That's right...big old bully likes to belly up to the fire every chance he gets.  Sometimes I am surprised that he hasn't melted!

this is going to be yummy...{MAX}

This weekend our family has started some Christmas cookie baking.  Although the boys love the cookie baking, what they really love is the cookie tasting.  Max loves to lick the batter bowls and spoons when the cookies are being made, while Brad loves to try all the cookies when they are done.

how do you like this sixty degree weather...{BRAD}

We have had some pretty warm days out here in PA.  And although it feels like Christmas will be here any day when I look at the calendar, outside it feels like spring is right around the corner.  Even our flowers are confused! 

(these are some flowers that I planted in the spring) 

(they are still growing and flowering in this warm "winter" weather)

ooh crap...{GUESS WHO?}

Normally I am the one who ends up saying...ooh crap, that is crap, crappy, ect.  But today that was not the case.  I was not the offender of "crap".

Today our family was playing a game of Uno, which has become pretty intense with a whole slew of different and unique rules.  Max gets pretty into it! 

This round started with Brad dealing out the cards.  After we all had a chance to arrange our cards, Max promptly plopped down a take 2 card, which he had intended for Brad.  What Max didn't realize was that I would be the one to start this game and then the turn would go to Brad, making Max the last to play a card.  When he realized that he could not bamboozle Brad with his card, he quickly said..."ooh crap."

It was hard not to laugh as Brad told Max we don't talk like that.

you're a good dog...{JEANNI}

It is amazing what pet owners subject their pets to, thinking that it is ooh so cute.  And our family is just as bad as any.

 Our whole family joined GeeBee in the holiday cheer.  Here are some more pictures of the family while we decorated the house for the holidays. 

do you know what your name means...{JEANNI}

Okay, you are going to have to work with me on this one.

I am working on a scrapbooking project.  I wanted to list the meanings of all of our names.  So I asked Brad...

Jeanni: "Brad, do you know what your name means?"
Brad:  "No, I don't."
Jeanni:  (looking at a website that shows me the meaning of Brad's name)  "It's stupid!"
Max.  (sitting next to us coloring a picture)  "Dad, your name means stupid?"

Max looked at us with a confused face while the two of us just laughed.

As a special treat, here are the meaning of our names...you can decide which ones are "stupid"!

Bradley - broad meadow
Jeannine - God is gracious
Maxwell - Mack's stream

hallelujah...{BRAD}

So why is Brad shouting for joy?  Max decided to cut his hair.

When the call came in reminding me that Max had an appointment this week to have his hair cut, he told me that he would like to cut it short.  This came as a shock to both Brad and I, as Max has been keeping his hair long for about a year now.  Brad was so excited to have a clean cut little boy back!

before hair cut

 after hair cut

the mower was going by it's self...{MAX}

A bonus blog...

Tonight at dinner our family was discussing the Packers game.  Max really loves watching the Packers play because he is sure to see his favorite commercial...the Clay Matthews Verizon commercial.  Every single time he watches this commercial he can not stop laughing about a man who's mower is going by it's self.  Even if we just bring up the commercial, he will instantly start laughing and tell us how funny it is that no one is pushing the mower.

So as a special treat, here is the commercial...  Hope you enjoy it as much as Max does!

that is the funniest thing I have heard in a long time...{JEANNI}

Last night Max was able to stay up and watch a little of the Packer/Vikings game.  This morning I told Max that the Packers won the game.  He wanted to know what the final score was.  When I told Max the score, his response to me was..."You would think that the Vikings could do a little better than that!"

Now that is the funniest thing I have heard in a long time. 

it's time to have fun creating a very unusual bird...{MRS. LATTUCA}

Mrs. Lattuca, Max's first grade teacher sent this note home...

It's time to have fun creating a very unusual bird.  As a family, disguise Tim Turkey so that he won't be eaten for Thanksgiving!  You may choose to dress your turkey as a doctor, an astronaut, a cheerleader, a ballerina, a clown, ect.  Be creative and use any materials you have at home.  Everyone gets to help.

Can you guess what Max decided to dress his turkey as?

this is the best day ever...{MAX}

I am pretty sure that any day a little boy can go house to house and get loads of candy is the best day ever.  (good thing it only happens once a year)

This year Max dressed as Luke Skywalker for Halloween.  Max and I ended up going over to a friends house for the night.  After some warm yummy pizza, we headed out to collect our spoils.  Max fell asleep in the car during the 3 minute ride home

should we turn the heat on...{BRAD}

 This weekend we got an unusual and unexpected snow storm here in PA.  That's right folks, I said snow storm.  And although 10+ inches don't really mean that much to Minnesotans, here in PA it is a big deal.

So how did the snow loving, hearty Minnesota raised Kutz family spend the weekend?  We played out in the snow for a few hours and then spent the rest of the day huddled up by the fire watching movies.

And for those of you still wondering about the heat...well, we must be true Minnesotans because we have yet to turn on the heat here.  (November 1st is our goal.)

(during the snow storm)

(after the 10+ inches fell and the sun came out)

we should buy one of these when they go on clearance...{BRAD}

This picture might be worth more than a thousand words!

did you see, we got your pictures buddy...{JEANNI}

Today Max's school pictures came home.  I always love this part of the school year.  Hopeful parents spend oodles of money on pictures that they pray turn out well, all the well knowing that the chances of that happening are pretty low.  And now with all the choices that Life Touch offers it makes it even more difficult for parents to get great pictures without spending the weekly budget. 

With all that said...here are this year's school pictures.  (Max picked out the background and what he would wear that day.  It is also Max's choice to have longer hair, which drives Brad crazy.)

have fun at the parade today...{BRAD}

A note from Brad to Max...

Max,

Have fun at the parade today with your LAX friends.  I can't wait to see pictures.

Love you,
Dad

Max was in the Dallastown parade today with his Wildcat Lacrosse team.  This is the first parade that Max has ever been in, and he was very excited.  Brad was unable to attend because of grad school classes, so he left Max this note for him to read at breakfast this morning.

let's show mom the giant crab...{BRAD & MAX}

After church on Sunday our family headed into the inner harbor to go to the children's science museum.  There are many fun areas to play and discover within the museum.  One area that Brad and Max love is the giant crab.  They both couldn't wait to show me.

This is not the giant crab, but one that we had fun watching!

They also have a really cool dino exhibit that allows the child to make project and email them home so they can keep a copy of their work.  So cool!  Check out Max's email...

I colored a Velociraptor at the Maryland Science Center's Dinosaur Mysteries exhibit, where you can see a 45 foot long Giganotosaurus (a meat-eating dinosaur bigger than T. rex!), a dinosaur nest you can sit in, and much more! Find out about the Maryland Science Center by going to www.marylandsciencecenter.org. Or better yet -- visit in person and see for yourself! Thank You, Your Friends at the Maryland Science Center