Christmas at home

It was just us this year...my brother was working and my mom had flown to Florida to help my Grandma.

The kids actually slept in on Christmas morning (which I was thankful for since I was up helping Santa wrap presents until 2:15 a.m.). They were super excited but were cooperative during my picture taking!



Close up of the boys...I thought they were too cute!


Gavin


Me and the kids...straight out of bed!


Landon liked playing with the Glow Station



My brother, his girlfriend Megan and her daughter Raegan came over after he got off. I cooked ham, mashed potatoes, homemade macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, rolls, and stuffed mushrooms for dinner. Everyone knows that I always take a picture at the table...and my husband and my brother chose to make faces at me this year...thanks guys!



Kylie got Carnival Games for the Wii and they started playing just after dinner. Kylie was good at just about all the games. I was cleaning up dinner and only played one game. She also got another sports game for Wii and a Nintendo DS to take in the car on the way to Florida.


Landon playing Wii


Kylie playing Wii


Jared and JD being themselves


Gavin playing Wii

Changes...and Christmas Eve

This holiday has brought several changes for us.

The first being our tree. I have NEVER had an artificial tree my whole life. And, I never thought I would. We had a horrible time finding a tree this year (I am picky and only like short needled trees). We finally decided to get a fake tree and save ourselves money in the years to come. Real trees are more expensive each year. I didn't think I was going to like it but once we got the ornaments and lights on...I did like it. Our tree is not at all fancy (although I secretly would like a more "put together" tree at some point. Our ornaments are ones that the kids have made or we have gathered that have some meaning to them.


Here is a picture...



This is not a change but it has affected our holiday...my grandpa passed away Christmas Eve morning. He had cancer and was in pain and while I feel extremely guilty for not making time to call him I am at peace that he is now pain free and walking in heaven (he hasn't been able to walk for several months). Without going into too much detail we were going a few days early to Florida before our actual vacation started so I could spend some time with him and my grandma. I didn't get the chance but my grandma will be moving here soon.

We went to my in-laws for Christmas Eve. We had a wonderful dinner and a good time visiting. Here are a few pictures...

Landon





Gavin


Kylie


The kids before opening presents

Random Ramblings...

Just some random ramblings on this Friday afternoon...

First, it is Kylie's last day of school until January 13. Wait, everyone else goes back January 6. Not her...we are going to Disney World and on a Disney Cruise. She doesn't know we are going...We are leaving on Jan 2 and will be back Jan 12.

Christmas is less than a week away and I have not finished shopping...not by a long shot...I work best under pressure...I hope.

I have TONS of housework to do. Somehow I end up playing with the boys or running errands and it is not getting done. I need to get busy...it needs to be done.

UCA ticks me off. Yes I work there but is it really THAT hard to get things right? I have one graduate class left to take in the spring...yes I did say ONE!...and I received a scholarship for the fall and the spring. Only, I got my bill and the scholarship isn't on there. No joke...I talked to 7 different people from 7 different departments and no one "handled that". Geez...

Christmas Parade

We went to the Christmas parade on Saturday night. Both boys were in bad moods and decided to throw a fit before the parade started. All was well once they saw the first part of the parade. It wasn't too cold but we all had hot chocolate and the kids had popcorn.

Gavin and daddy


Brooke and Landon


Whew...Gavin was NOT happy!


They all loved playing on the train in the park before the parade started


Kylie




Landon and Gavin sitting in the back of the truck waiting for the parade

She's A Star!

Kylie has been quite busy these last few weeks. She sang a solo in her school Christmas musical (the green program) and had a speaking part and was cheer captain for her children's choir Christmas musical (white program). Kylie, we are so proud of you! You are a LEADER! We think this is just the beginning of her stage presence...

Girls Night Out

It was just the girls on Friday night...JD was working until 9 and Gavin and Landon were spending the night with their grandparents (Kylie had a cheer competition EARLY Saturday morning.

So...me, Kylie and Brooke went to Target and Old Navy and then Kylie picked dinner.

What did she choose..................Sushi. All of my kids eat California rolls. That is the extent of my sushi. Nothing raw for me. JD eats it all. So, we went to Fuji to eat and then home to roll hair and get to bed!

Kylie and her chopsticks (not the best pic...it was from my phone)

Christmas Break

Well, its official...I am on Christmas break! Yea! I am off until January 12 and my kids come back to school on January 15. I have so many things planned while I am off...but am being realistic in what I can get done with the boys home with me EVERYDAY :). I am thankful to be able to spend some time with them while they are still little.

I am going to try and post a video of Kylie either doing her solo for school or part of her church program. I'm not sure how to do it since blogger only allows a certain size video file...any suggestions??

She has a big cheer competition this Saturday in Hot Springs and then home for Conway's Christmas parade! I love this season!!

Thanksgiving

We had a very low-key Thanksgiving this year (which was good). We usually do not have a big "event" but this year it was just us and my brother. My mom is out of town at my grandparents in Florida.

Jared had to work so we had dinner instead of lunch. The kids went to Little Rock for lunch and that let me get all of my cooking done without interruption!

JD's first experience cleaning a turkey! It was too funny!


I was cooking and JD was....playing rock band....


We usually get wired looks when people find out what we eat on Thanksgiving. My family is not from the south. I grew up in Pennsylvania. I mean some of it is typical...turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole...then we get a little abnormal...stuffing (this is different than dressing...much different), noodles (now, I'm not sure this is typical northern but our family always has them...), broccoli/cheese casserole, rolls...




We hope everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving with lots to be thankful for!

Gavin and Landon School Thanksgiving

Gavin and Landon's class had a mini Thanksgiving snack on Tuesday. I was able to sit with them for a few minutes. Kylie was out of school the whole week so she was with us too.

Landon loves turkey


Gavin's favorite was sweet potato casserole (although he kept calling it apple pie)


They both ate their pumpkin pie first!


Me and the boys


They were actually getting along!

Brings back memories!

On this chilly Sunday we have not been doing much of anything. The boys were taking a nap and Kylie was digging in the game closet. She came out saying, "MOM! What game is this? Can we play??" I turned to look at her and memories of my childhood flashed into my head! What game was it??




Can you guess??





Oh yeah...MALL MADNESS! There HAS to be someone out there that remembers this!











It didn't take long to start playing (although I did have to get the directions out!). Kylie is talking her daddy into playing again right now...

It Is That Time of Year...

I am ready...prepared...totally expect what the next few weeks will be like. Want a glimpse? Here goes-

Mon (11/24)- Kylie has tumbling and cheer from 4-6:45

Mon-Tues: I am still working and Kylie is out of school the whole week. She really does like coming to school with me and she is old enough where it is not an issue. She is good and my kids like having a "big girl" with them.

Luckily, Sonshine is closed for Thanksgiving Tues-Fri (a much needed break for ME)

Tues (11/25): 7:40- Appointment to get our picture made for the new church directory

No class this week! Thansgiving Break

Now the fun begins...
Monday (12/1)- Kylie tumbling and cheer 4-6:45

Tuesday (12/2)- Kylie's Christmas program for school (she will have to miss dance and I am missing class)

Wednesday (12/3)- Kylie dance 4-5 and dress rehearsal for church children's choir performance 6-7:30

Thursday (12/4)- Kylie cheer 5:15-6:45

Saturday (12/6)- My work Chrismas Party

Sunday (12/7)- Kylie's children's choir program at church

Then we have a tiny break in the madness! Just normal dance/cheer activities until Sat, Dec 13 when Kylie has a cheer competition in Hot Springs.

Poor Gavin and Landon...they have no activities...THANK GOODNESS :)

First Cheer Competition

Kylie's first cheer competition of 08-09 was Saturday, Nov 8. It was in Little Rock so we decided to take the boys. I got the bright idea to make them shirts to wear. All the parents have shirts so why should they be any different? I got them plain navy shirts with white/gray letters (all her squads colors). After a near disaster of the iron touching a letter that was already done...they were finished and looked great!


The boys were so excited to see their sister cheer.



It was a small competition and we finished in 1st place. Actually, Kylie's squad got the highest score of all the levels and got a paid bid to a national competition in April in Oklahoma City. GREAT JOB!

Chef Kylie

Kylie loves to help cook. She has show this interest for a couple of years. We got her an apron (with her name on it) and a cookbook for Christmas last year. She is always watching Food Network and can tell you all of the names of the people who cook on TV.

One night a few weeks ago, we were talking about dinner and she said she knew what to have...salmon, mashed potatoes and vegetables. She was serious and so her and JD went out to the grocery store.

Here is her plate...

Halloween 2008

This is the first year the boys actually went out on Halloween. And, they went trick-or-treating with their school too. We STILL have bags of candy.

Gavin was a dragon, Landon was a monkey and Kylie was a 50's Girl.

Memphis Zoo

We took the kids to the Memphis Zoo. It was WELL worth the drive! Gavin and Landon love animals (if you have ever been to our house I'm sure you have had to read them animal books). We knew they would be so excited.

The animals are pretty self-explanitory so I'm not going to caption them. And, they are in no particular order. I had a hard time deciding which pictures to post...I took over 300!

Gavin's favorite was the hippos. Even though they never had more than their eyes and nostrils above the water. He was amazed.

Landon's favorite was the giraffes. The baby was too cute!

Kylie's favorite was the meercats, the sea lions, the penguins, the pandas, the aquarium...she couldn't decide.

A highlight...we were able to pet a warthog. Neat experience for all of us.