Brothers Night: A Christmas Tradition

If you asked my boys, they'd tell you Brothers Night is their most favorite Christmas tradition.  They've been talking about it non-stop in the days leading up to it with much anticipation and openly telling each other what gift they would like.  You can read the details about brothers night here. 

This year the restaurant of choice was I-Sushi, a sushi restaurant with a sushi-go-round.  It's been a long time since we've eaten at one of these places and Randy and I were probably more excited about this than the kids.  I'm glad all the boys love California rolls and even tried a few unknown items as well. 
After dinner we set off for Target.  Each boy knew exactly what to do.  They quickly grabbed their own basket and made a beeline for the toy section, quickly grabbing random items to throw in their basket to confuse other brothers as to what the actual gift might be.  Ethan took a long time trying to decide on the perfect gift for Landon while Parker pretty much played with toys the entire time.  It was a fun night and gets everyone excited for Christmas Eve when the boys get to open their gift from their brother.

So much sushi.  And cheesecake.  Apparently for our family they go together.

Bean was on a mission to get the best present possible for Landon.  I think he examined every toy on the shelf

Parker was more interested in playing with toys than shopping

In the meantime, I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get everything ready for Christmas before driving down to Utah for a few days, and getting back just in time for Christmas Eve.  You might wonder what would possess me to do such a thing but for the last three years my Dad has a tradition we refer to as The Christmas Bus.  Everyone gathers at his house, eats pizza, then waits for a school bus to pull up to the house.  The bus takes the family into the city, first to a homeless shelter where we drop off treats, gloves, and hats, and then on to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights.  On the bus ride home they drink hot chocolate while listening to the Polar Express.  My boys have been anxiously waiting to live close enough to Utah to attend this grand event and are over the moon excited to be a part of this tradition for the first time.  Utah has a couple feet of snow so the trip will be a blast, assuming we make it there in one piece.  I've got to practice putting chains on my tires before we head out and then I'll be ready for anything.  I love a good adventure every once in awhile.