Tyler and Tracey Bears vs. Browns Sept.3,2009

Christmas Tree 2008

There is never enough time in a day for our family to finish all the things we would like to do. We would have loved to ride out and cut our tree together like we did last year, but between basketball games/practices and Pampered Chef shows...we ran out of time. So, instead Ed and Tyler went out on 12/21 and found a tree in one of those parking lots that sells trees and we spent the afternoon together. We first had to defrost the tree because we chose to get it the day after an ice storm...but after it was all dried out Ed and the boys decorated while I took things out of boxes.

Joshua enjoyed wearing the Santa hat :).

Tyler was so excited to decorate the tree this year! It was neat to see him take out ornaments and actually remember them :) I am not really sure what he is doing in this picture..

Jacob would not put the hat on nor would he stand in front of the tree, that is why we do not have a picture of him.

Just for the record we took the tree down on 12/26...or else our schedule would not have let us take it down until the end of January!!

Christmas 2008-Santa visit

All Joshua wanted for Christmas was a candy cane...

Jacob was not too sure about Santa at first. He asked for a bike that had a handle that sounded like a motorcycle...

Tyler was thinking long and hard about what he wanted for Christmas...

We are so lucky to have a friend who knows one of "Santa's helpers", we did not have to wait in line at the mall :) Thanks Santa ;).

Thanks Charolette for inviting us to come over an visit one of "Santa's helpers".

Thanksgiving 2008

Here is how we started our Gingerbread house. It came with the pieces and we had to "glue" it together with frosting.

The boys are trying to convince us that it would be ok if they just had a few pieces of candy...

Here we are withe our final project...Kathy, Jacob, Grammy, Tyler, and me.

This is it, the close-up of our final project.

I know it has been awhile since I have put any pictures up...but thanks for being patient.

My mom and dad as well as my aunt Kathy and uncle Ken came over for Thanksgiving. This is the second year we have celebrated together, I like our new "tradition". Well this year my mom brought a Gingerbread house. We worked on it together...which was not an easy task because my mom and aunt are not used to working with kids, the frosting WAS NOT easy to work with, the kids wanted to eat all the candy, and I enjoyed every minute of it :).

Oh the weather outside is frightful....

Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the kids think its delightful,
Outside to play they will go,
Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow...


Jacob ran out with me this morning while I was capturing the beauty of the snow. (Ask me in a month or two how beautiful I think it is ha ha ha). I told him to stand in the snow, so you could see how deep it was.

Here is a picture of our cul-de-sac this morning...

Isn't lake effect snow beautiful????

This is the tree in front of our house, I just thought it captured, the peacefulness that the snow brings. It was so quiet outside this morning.

When Tyler got home yesterday, he had to bundle up and go right outside. He had to wear his "stretchy" mittens because we could not find his winter gloves. I was able to find boots and snow pants (I was not ready for snow yet!!). We had to keep exchanging the gloves as they kept getting soaked :). So, after a few hours of fun then dinner, Tyler and I went out shopping. He had told me that his toes were squished inside the boots and his snow pants were tight when he bent over...do these kids ever stop growing??? So, we went out with what seemed like every other mom and child looking for snow gear...we were able to find boots, snow pants, and gloves. Of course, Jacob cannot wear mitten type gloves anymore, he needed the kind with fingers (even though his fingers do not even reach all the way in). We tested them in the snow, he can make a snow ball, or at least pick up a handful of snow and throw it. After spending too much at Target (which who can go in there and only buy "a few things"), we are now prepared for the snow. It will probably melt and we won't see anymore this year...UH Yeah Right :)

Our first "SLEEP??"over......

We were trusted with the care of Madison, Lincoln, Reagan, and Kennedy for a sleep-over!! I don't know who was more excited, me or the kids. We started with breakfast for dinner...BLUEBERRY pancakes. Then we made ice cream sundaes in waffle bowls, complete with sprinkles, chocolate shell, Redi-whip, and cherries. Of course, games were played..we played Wii and Zingo. The night's festivities wound down with sleeping bags, blankets and pillows and a Super Mario DVD.

Here are Tyler (bottom of picture), Jacob (green pjamas), Madison (purple sleeping bag on futon), and Lincoln (top of picture -cars sleeping bag). Lincoln was the firstto fall asleep. The other three finally fell asleep after I turned of the movie at 11:45pm!! Tell me again...why are these called "SLEEP"overs????

Here is Reagan...she got to sleep in Jacob's bed. She had a hard time falling asleep (she was able to hear the "fun" in the living room). So, Ed rested next to her until she fell asleep...so sweet :).

Yes, this picture was taken at 11:45. I guess these two win the prize of staying up the latest...Well, they both did sleep from about 6/6:30 until this point, but...they are awake and ready to eat :). They were both pretty happy - even though Kennedy doesn't look like it. It is as if she is looking at me saying - UMMM Hello lady, I wake up, eat, and go back to sleep...none of these photos, or playing with you...are you crazy or something??? After they ate, they had no trouble going back to sleep :)

The Morning After....

Ok, so the order is messed up, but you get the idea...Here is Tyler and Madison with their creations...a snowman with wings, a shark and a baby shark.

What sleepover would be complete without DOUGHNUTS???? YUMMY!! I wonder if that is why the kids thought it was a great idea to get up at 6:45?? Why is it so hard to get up at that time on a school day...HMMMM interesting!

Here are 5 of the 7 that we had for the sleepover. They are "feeding" their creative needs :) And creating a need for me to get into a "cleaning" mood ha ha ha.

Here is a close-up of the above mentioned creations.
Overall- The entire event was a success. The kids ALL played so well together, were good listeners, and were so polite!! It was fun for everyone...Although it seemed as if Ed couldn't get to practice early enough this morning ha ha ha = Seriously, I think he kinda liked having Reagan and Kennedy around - they seemed to adore him :).