Polar Express

On Garrett's first day of Winter Vacation, we donned our pj's and took a trip to here...

We took he kids on a trip to the North Pole via the Polar Express.  Though I do have to admit, I think this was mostly for me since I have dreamed my whole life of going on a train...which now I can say I did...though next time I'd like to try it going over 5 miles an hour!  :)

We had our yummy hot chocolate...complete with singing servers!

Enjoyed a reading of Polar Express while on-board...

We arrived at the North Pole...lots of lights!  All we were missing was the snow...minor detail in the North Pole, right?

And we even got to see the old jolly guy himself!

Though Olivia wasn't too fond of the old guy yet...

 We loved the magical bells from Santa's sleigh...even though Garrett's face would say otherwise!

 All in all, a GREAT train ride to the North Pole...Texas Style!

Thanksgiving

Tonight I was getting the kids ready for bed.  We knelt down to say prayers and Ethan was going to go first.  Before he started, I reminded him to say a thoughtful prayer...and then reminded him that Thanksgiving was tomorrow and that he could say a Thanksgiving prayer.

So E, then proceeds to say his normal prayer...asking for blessings for him and Garrett, asking to not have bad dreams that night...and then right before saying amen...he throws in "And please bless dinner to be really yummy tomorrow."

Hmmm...at 3 years old, my child knows the importance of that yummy dinner.  :)  Now if I can just get him to count his blessings!

Halloween

Here's my little skeletons...all decked out for Halloween!  Yes, that's right.  Nothing says Happy Thanksgiving like belated Halloween pictures!  And sorry for all the action shots...these little ones won't pose for ANYTHING right now.  They'll regret it later, I suppose!  :)

E's favorite part of his costume...the bum!

Little Leprechauns

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Of course, it didn't take long for the headbands to turn into laser eyes...

and then of course, Olivia thinks it's hilarious and laughs non-stop at her crazy brothers...

and of course, what photo shoot happens in our family, where Ethan doesn't leave his place and strike his  classic pose, saying "ooohhhh...take a picture of this!"

...and of course, Olivia with her daddy...it doesn't get much cuter than that!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Happy Holidays - Lego Style!

It's the day after Thanksgiving and this is the scene in our house...

Me: "Hey kids! Should we decorate for Christmas?!?!?!?"

Ethan: "Yeah!!!!!!" (as he starts dancing around in circles in excitement!)

Garrett: "Oooohhhh yeah! I know just what to do!" (you can almost see the lightbulb over his head as he runs up the stairs)

15 minutes or so later this is how he decorates...and I must admit, it's a whole lot easier than pulling down the bins from the attic and sorting through all the actual decorations! Not to mention, the re-usability and chageability (yes, my own made up words!) of his choice of decor! Maybe we should just go with it...just drape a few strands of lights around the legos and call it good! :)

Santa and his reindeer - complete with Rudolph's red nose! Especially designed for the reindeer to be flying (notice that their feet don't touch the ground!!!)

Music note and star

Christmas tree and gift

Gift #2 and candy cane!

So Merry Christmas, from our lego-style house to yours! May your decor be a little more dignified and classy! :)

Merry Christmas!

Nothing beats Christmas Eve as a parent! I love it! :) We've had a fun-filled day with friends, good food and fun times! And now, for my favorite part...I love finishing up the wrapping and getting everything in place! The excitement of Christmas is always so magical! Though not quite the giddy anticipation of years past...it's the preparing and excitement of seeing my own sweet kiddos so excited that they can barely sleep! I love it!!!

So, here's to wishing all of you a very merry Christmas! I hope your day is wonderful as we truly celebrate the most special miracle of all!

A Christmas Miracle

Will wonders never cease??? This is what we got to enjoy last night!

We saw a few flakes and bundled up as fast as we could to enjoy our magical winter weather -aka a few snowflakes mixed in with freezing rain! Little did we know it would turn into a real snow and last all night long!

I made Steve go outside with me around midnight to take pictures! And surprise, surprise...this was my favorite shot! I am including a lame one of me that he got while I was in the middle of a crazy pose...just so I can claim that I am fair in my blog picture posting goofiness...equal opportunity...that's what we're all about! :)

And one more...sorry to bore you! But I had to post a picture of our Christmas lights. Yes...we've only done one level...but this is a good start for us since I had to BEG and PLEAD for the lights at all. Steve...while being the most un-scroogey person I know, thinks holiday decorations are ridiculous when put up on a green lawn and a roof-top completely devoid of snow! Okay, so he's not really too anti-lights, and I didn't have to beg too much for those...but those big blow up snowmen or Santa's...that's another story! And to be honest, the night that we did put up our lights...Garrett and I managed to break quite a few bulbs between the two of us...so I need to go buy some replacements anyway before anyone is going to be climbing up on the roof...so really it's my partly my fault that we're only halfway to our full lighting capacity!!! Regardless, maybe it's possible to get our house decorated since we proved last night that a white Christmas just might be possible here in Texas!

Happy Halloween!

Okay, so I know it's late...but here are a few pics of the boys in their costumes. Sorry for the lapse in posting for those of you who have been calling and asking for pics (Dana!) :)

Garrett and his good buddy planned months ago to dress up as The Mario Brothers - Mario and Luigi! And honestly, I have to admit...they were the cutest little pair I've ever seen! :)

Ethan ended up going as a turtle. Think the turtles from the Super Mario Nintendo games - though it really just looked like any old turtle - well, any ol' CUTE turtle!

Here's a back-shot so you can see the turtle shell!

I woke up one morning envisioning how I was going to make this turtle costume...and while it is kinda random, it was really fun to make! :)

Happy Fourth...only a few days late!

So, I just had to get my frustrated venting session off of my most recent posts...things really are great and I really didn't mean to complain! I think I just use this as a journal/venting place probably more than I should! :)

So anyway...hope everyone had a great 4th! We had a wonderful day, filled with amazing friends, fun all day long and WAY too much food! Let me just say that it is a VERY good thing I still have two more days of working out before our trip!!!

Here are a few pics from yesterday...

We spent the afternoon swimming with friends...Garrett had his lovely floaties on for the picture, but he's almost rid of them! Thank goodness, since in my opinion (and his), he has completely grown past the Elmo phase...but I refuse to buy any more floaties...since he's almost swimming on his own and hopefully won't need them at all soon!

Ethan is loving the water these days...he's either so excited and playing like mad, or he's so relaxed that he's falling asleep - no matter what position he's in! I'll have to get a pic of that next time we go...it is so funny!

Here's Ethan as soon as the fireworks started...hmmm, maybe I should have explained the loud noises to him a bit BEFORE all the loud booms and bangs started! He did like it...he just preferred to be held firmly in my arms instead of lounging in his own chair!Hmmm...that's funny! Garrett also vetoed his own chair idea too and preferred to watch safely tucked away behind Daddy!

We ended the night at the end of our driveway lighting off little fireworks with our neighbors...shhh, don't tell the homeowners association!!!

Garrett, while enjoying the sights...absolutely refuses to take part in anything besides the little pop/snappers. You know...the little things that you throw down on the ground and they snap??? Yep, he looks forward to those all year long! He would have been 100% happy if Steve would have brought home a bag full of those and left the sparklers for someone else to enjoy! But I guess I was the same way as a kid...so I guess my boys do take after me in some small way!

I'm including this one only to offer proof that I was involved in the festivities!