Memorial Day *2011*

This has become a family tradition that I look forward to.  Every year we take the kids to a military cemetery, where ever we may be, and we let the kids put flowers on the graves of those that have served our Nation.  The only down side was that it was sooo hot (96 degrees with 88% humidity), one of these years we will get going early and not go in the middle of the day.  Afterward we enjoyed a little picnic in the shade and spent some time remembering those that served and what we have gained because of that sacrifice.  It was a lovely, hot day.

Our fifth child for the week was cousin Reese (Nate & Lori's little one)

Ryley

Ben

Olivia

Ethan

Reese (Niece)

Kev & Olivia

11.25.2010 A day of thanks and giving

I know I say the same thing every year but it is the truth... my most favorite holiday is Thanksgiving.  And not just because it is the same time as my birthday either.  It is my favorite because it is a time to just reflect and rejoice on all that I have been given and the things I've been blessed with. Plus it gives me the opportunity to see how I can do the same for others.  I love that it is not a time I have to worry about what I'm going to buy for someone else.  To top it all off this also happens to be my favorite time of year as well, and I so enjoy being somewhere that I can see all the amazing leaves and feel the seasons change.

I happened to turn the big 30 on Thanksgiving day this year and the best thing about it is that Kev was able to come home and we spent it together as a family.  We had a yummy dinner with friends, pumpkin pie for my b-day cake, and then I did some early bird (11:30pm Thursday night) Black Friday shopping. We then finished the short weekend off with family pictures and picking out a Christmas tree. It sure was a busy weekend and went way to fast but it was one more weekend closer to Kev coming home. Here is a preview of the Christmas tree and some of our family pictures.

Rewind- Veterans Day 2010

I'm sure many of you thought I'd given up on the old blog but it simply comes down to me being lazy and a procrastinator. And the fact that I've been doing the parenting thing by myself for the last three months. So here goes a string of updates...

Kevin flew home for a quick weekend trip over Veterans Day since we hadn't seen him in a month. We figured it would be easier for us to not spend the weekend in our normal routine and headed to Myrtle Beach, SC. I had found a great place with amazing rates when I was down there for my half marathon. We had a blast and the kids loved having their Dad's undivided attention, sadly it just wasn't long enough. So here is our weekend in pictures...

Friday night when we got there we took the kids to the indoor pools, needless to say they had a blast.  It was to cold to play in the water at the beach, so Saturday we headed to the movies and took the kids goofy golfing. We then headed to the beach to just walk around before the sun set.  We had bought ice cream sandwiches to eat while we were down there but it didn't work out so well since the water was freezing.

Mega Mind

The golf place had a Peter Pan theme.  I meant to get more pictures but miniature golfing with four kids is a little crazy and I was constantly trying to keep someone out of the water or from stealing someones golf ball.

Here is the view of the beach from our room.

We where the room at the very top, right in the middle.

Hanging at the beach before he got in the water.

The other reason no one is in the water is because there is
a seriousjellyfish problem this time of year.  We saw at
least five in the 20 ft we went.

This is the only thing Ethan wanted once he had
froze his toes off in the water.

There is nothing more fun than chasing away seagulls.

This is all Olivia was interested in.

When we got back to the room the kids saw that Kevin had made something in the sand for me.

It sure was nice to be able to get away for a weekend!

Christmas Day

Here are the stockings, just waiting for Santa to come. The kids also left cookies and milk and carrots for the reindeer.

Here is an attempt at a picture of the kids before we left for church.

Here is all the loot that Santa left for us. The kids were worried that Santa wouldn't be able to get in because our gas fireplace doesn't open (it's just for looks). They were really excited to see that he made other arrangements.

Christmas morning!

Yeah for Uncle Ben and Aunt Caitlin

The kids loved riding their scooters inside for four
days, until it was warm enough to be outside.

Ben and Caitlin got all the kids these adorable piggy banks.

This was my little surprise that I was worried I wouldn't be able to pull off. I had to take Ben and Livi with me when I bought Kev's new gun. Olivia was oblivious to what was going on but just as I was finishing things up at the gun store I asked Ben if he knew what was in the box. He said, "yeah Mom, it's a gun for Dad." So I told him that we had to make Kev believe it was a fishing pole and the box of bullets were some worms (lures). He was really excited to help me surprise Kev but I was so afraid he would ruin it. Kev happened to get home early that day from work and the first thing Ben said was, "Guess what Dad, we bought you a new fishing pole today!" I reacted like he had ruined Kev's Christmas present and told Ben not to say anything else about what we bought. Later, when Ben and I were alone, he winked at me and gave me a thumbs up! Ben is a good partner in crime. Kev even tried to pump him for clues as to what it really was and Kev even went looking for it, in hopes that it was really a gun and not a fishing pole. Needless to say Kev was so surprised and excited and tells me he really had no idea that I bought him the gun he'd been wanting.

Ethan slept as we did Christmas morning with the other kids,
but once he woke up he was all smiles

If you look close enough you can see that he cut all four of his top teeth at the same time.

We spent the rest of the day just hanging out as family and playing with all the kids new toys. We also cooked a turkey and a ham and had some friends over for a great Christmas dinner. We have been extremely blessed this year and recognize all of those blessing are because of our Savior and His sacrifice for us. Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas Eve

It was a little different this year being all by ourselves for the Holiday's. We're used to celebrating Christmas with tons of family and friends. It was fun though getting the house all decorated and just spending time together. We were also so excited that Ben and Caitlin decided to join us for Christmas. As they made their way down from Maryland we started our Christmas Eve program. Kev read from the Luke 2 and the kids decided to act it out with our 'Little People' nativity scene. We sang a couple of Christmas songs and then carried on some family traditions that Kevin and I grew up with.

The kids got new pajamas and then got to open their secret Santa gifts from each other. Ryley and Olivia drew each other and Ben and Ethan did the same. They really enjoyed picking out gifts for each other. Ben and Caitlin arrived around 1am and we finally turned in (after Santa came) around 3am.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

I was so thrilled that this year we would live somewhere that we could cut our own Christmas tree. We headed out to this little farm to scout out the perfect one. It was freezing but the kids enjoyed getting out and running around. They didn't have the trees I like growing (they were pre cut and shipped in from the mountains) and the kids insisted on cutting one down. So we settled on one that would do and chopped away! This is definitly a family tradition we'll keep going. Sadly it didn't smell yummy like the past live trees that we've had but what can you do?!

Here are the different choices of trees...




>

The lucky winner,

and here are the kids decorating it.

We had a great time making this a family tradition. Maybe next year I can convince everyone else to head to the mountains and cut a Frasier Fir.