January???

Part of me wants to complain that it's not cold outside and does NOT feel like January, but it was such a gorgeous day! We started the day by playing in the leaves in the front yard while Ross did some yard work. The leaves were a little wet and dirty, but that made it all the more fun!

Jackson and Audrey required a bath before lunch, but when they woke up from their naps, they enjoyed some homemade orange juice popsicles they'd made the night before.

After running around in the backyard for a while, we decided to go on our first family of 4 bike ride! Jackson did an awesome job riding his bike in the street. Ross took the lead, and Jackson did a great job following with me behind him. Audrey got to ride in a seat on the back of Ross' bike. Jackson got his bike for his birthday last year, and has done a great job riding it to the mailbox on the sidewalks for a while now, so we thought it was time to give this a try. We rode to our neighborhood park where we played for a while before heading back home. It was a pretty near perfect day...it just didn't feel like January!

As always, there are more pictures in the album.

Leaving 2011 in Leakey

We spent the last few days of 2011 in Leakey, TX with Leslie, Philip, and Mitchell. Friday afternoon we headed to Garner State Park where the kiddos played on their play ground. Ross, Jackson, and Bailey went for a hike up part of one of the hills while Leslie and I played with Audrey and Mitchell.

There was a small group of trees where I attempted to get some pictures of the kiddos, but they were not in the mood to cooperate. I got a couple of smiles from Jackson and Audrey individually though.

We went for a hike with all of the kiddos on the most flat path in the park. I'm not sure we even made it to the path before Audrey was asking to be carried. It was a gorgeous day to be outside though, and we loved every moment. By the time we got back to their house, we were all worn out in the best way possible.

The next day, Philip and Ross took Jackson and Mitchell fishing after their naps. Audrey slept a little later than they did, so Leslie and I took her to join them shortly after she awoke. When we arrived, you could tell the boys were having a grand time. Mitchell was covered in mud and throwing rocks in the water while Jackson was busy trying to decide what would make the best bait since he hadn't caught anything yet. All of the kiddos took a turn fishing, and Jackson did a great job casting all by himself! No one caught anything, but they had fun anyway!

Some of the most fun was had playing in the back of Philips truck. They climbed in and out, yelled and laughed, and used a metal pole as a microphone. Jackson was the lead singer, of course. Mitchell joined in at the end, and Audrey enjoyed the show from the top of the tool box.

Jackson and Audrey had a rough time going to bed that night...I guess they wanted to stay up late too. Eventually they crashed, and we rang in the New Year with some of Leslie and Philip's close friends.

We had a great holiday break. Believe it or not, I finished 3 books between Christmas and New Years, which I think is a record for me (The Hunger Games series is that good!). Now we're getting ready to get back to reality!

There are a lot more pictures from the weekend in the album.

Gone Fishing!

The day after Christmas Jackson was begging to go fishing, so that afternoon we did! It had been raining all weekend, but the afternoon provided a little break. We headed to Bay Area Park and let him make his first real cast. Of course, I documented it in photos for you. Ross helped him get set up, and then he went for it. It looked like a great cast! Then as you can see in the last picture, everyone was looking up instead of down. He'd landed his line in a tree on the first cast.

Ross was able to get it out. Then we moved down the pier a bit a tried again in an area with no trees. He was SO excited! Then he realized fishing requires patience, which is really tough for a 3 year old! There really wasn't much water around the first pier we tried, so we moved on to another. He had fun casting and reeling in the bait, but he was a little disappointed not to catch a fish, which just means we'll have to try again!

There are a few more pictures in the album.

Christmas 2011

This was our second year to have Christmas at home, and we LOVED it! Leslie, Philip, Mitchell, and my Dad all joined us on Friday, and Susan and John came down on Saturday. Ross cooked a delicious meal for us on Christmas Eve before we headed to the Christmas Eve service at our church, Gateway Community Church. Then we came home, ate some more, and let the kids open one present before sending the them off to bed.

In the process of getting ready for bed, Jackson left cookies and water out for Santa, which he told me Santa needed to share with his reindeer. Then we said "goodbye" and "see you next year" to our Elf on the Shelf, Henry. All three kids were worn out from playing so hard all day, so they crashed!

The next morning Jackson and Audrey woke up at 6:00 on the dot and were excited to see what Santa brought them. They must have been good this year because they got exactly what they asked for! Jackson got his fishing pole and umbrella!

And Audrey got her dollhouse and an umbrella too!

Mitchell was pretty excited about his truck and the "itkawa" (AKA motorcycle) he'd gotten the night before!

After playing with their Santa gifts for a while, we took a break for breakfast. When Susan and John arrived, the present opening began, and oh. my. goodness...there were a LOT of presents to be opened! We had to move our coffee table out of the living room to give everyone a little extra room!

Some of the favorite gifts included puzzles made from pictures my Dad, AKA Pop, drew of the kids; their very own luggage; a sleeping bag and a baby for Audrey; and a hot wheels wall track and legos for JD! I think they were a little overwhelmed by the time we finished unwrapping the last gifts, but they loved every moment! It was so much fun to have everyone here!

Everyone except my Dad headed out around lunch time. JD and Audrey spent the entire day in their pajamas, and after nap time, we went back through all of their gifts and played and played and played! Pop left in the mid-afternoon after a fun game of Old Maid with Jackson, which JD won!

It was a fantastic Christmas for us, and at the end of the day when we asked JD if he remembered what Christmas was all about and why we give presents, he sweetly replied, "It's Jesus' birthday!"

More pictures in the album as always!

Christmas with Nana

Our first round of Christmas celebrations started last weekend when my mom, also known as Nana, came to visit. She was able to join the kiddos at the day care for their visit with Santa on Friday. Then on Saturday morning Jackson and Audrey helped us make some sugar cookie dough. While we waited for it to chill, they got to open their Christmas presents, which you can tell they loved!

When the cookie dough was ready, Jackson and Audrey helped us roll and cut out the cookies. Of course, a little taste testing of the dough was done along the way too. When we were done, they had lunch and headed upstairs for a good nap.

Then the fun began! The icing and sprinkles were flowing all over the counter and floor, but it was lots of fun! Jackson was very deliberate in his decorating, especially with the snowmen. Whereas, Audrey was all about the quantity of decorations she could fit on a cookie...and her hands. Can you tell which one was decorated by which kid?

On Sunday, the kiddos got to take more pictures at church. They had Santa pictures, as well as pictures with Baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Again, Audrey wanted nothing to do with Santa, but she warmed up to the idea of pictures with Baby Jesus. She likes to say "Happy Jesus", which means "Happy Birthday, Jesus" in Audrey-speak.

We had a great first round of Christmas and are looking forward to more this weekend! There are a few more pictures from the weekend in the album.

All I Want for Christmas...

Santa came to visit the kiddos at the day care last Friday. Audrey is still a little scared, but Jackson was eager to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas this year. I got to be one of the photographers for the big event, so it was fun to see each kids' reaction to seeing Santa and sitting in his lap (for those that weren't afraid). Jackson, however, was the first kid of the day to crawl into Santa's lap and talk to him. In typical Jackson style, he talked and talked and talked, but it was all about what he wants for Christmas. This year he wants...an umbrella and a fishing pole! It was so cute and so sweet, and we did manage to get him to stop talking long enough to get a picture. As soon as we were done, he kept right on talking!

Christmas Tree Decorating

The weekend after Thanksgiving we spent the day decorating our Christmas trees. We have a big tree for the family and a little tree just for the kiddos. Jackson got to put the topper on the big tree, and Audrey got to put the topper on the little tree.

They both had lots of fun finding a place for each ornament, but in the process I realized just how much of a control freak I can be! I like my ornaments evenly distributed, and I had strong opinions about which tree certain ornaments went on. Needless to say, I learned to relax about most of those things in the process...after all, I could move them around later. ;-)