Merry Christmas and a very Happy, Happy break

We have thoroughly been enjoying our vacation from school and this Christmas season.  Each Christmas season just keeps getting better and better!

This year, Brent got a electric racetrack and 2 race cars from Santa.  It takes up almost our entire office and makes Brent and Jeff extremely happy!!!  Caitlyn got a Fur Real Pup with a leash from Santa.  Just what we needed, a 4th puppy!  Luckily it is not real.  

Our family gift has been a Kinnect system.  It has been so much fun and very entertaining.  Who knew there was a video at the end of each game or adventure!  Brent is even able to do the games on his own, especially football which he has played for about 2 hours at one time during the break.  I might need to put some limits on this game.  But it is so fun and we are moving and exercising for sure.

My big gift for Christmas was the Iphone 4S.  It took me a while to figure it out but I have finally adapted to the change and I love it.  I do need some help though.  I used to upload pictures from my Android phone directly to my Blogger account with Picasa and it was so nice and easy to blog and add pictures.  I haven't found a way to do this with my phone yet.  If anyone is using an Iphone and uploading pictures directly, could you please let me know which app you are using?  The less cords the better, right?

We took the kids to Great Wolf Lodge on Christmas Day.  It was a total surprise to me too!  Brent keeps asking when we can swim so this was right up his alley. 

I hope everyone is enjoying this time of the year!  Happy New Year! 

Opening Season

 We went to the deer lease last weekend for the much anticipated opening weekend.  We were up long before the sun and in the deer blind, as you can tell by the sunlight in the picture.

 This man lives for the hunting but thankfully he really enjoys taking his family with him even more!

 Brent ran up to me when I picked him up from school yelling, "We are going to the deer lease!"

 The kids love using their own binoculars to check for deer.

 They love climbing all over us also!  It is a tight fit but quite cozy!!

 Afterward we checked the camera on the feeder and then trekked footprints on the way back to the truck.

 Caitlyn even found a shed antler!

 We rode four wheelers for a good chunk of our afternoon. Check out Caitlyn our her own four wheeler.

 She is a wild woman on it too!  She loves to get off the rode and drive through the trees, over branches and through the creeks that of course are dry.

 Brent still loves to ride with daddy!  Smart choice!

 In the afternoon, we were all pretty snoozy in the blind.  I love how the kids snuggle and check out how Caitlyn is holding Brent's hand.  I hope they are sweet like this forever!

Jeff let them ride in the back of the truck from the blind down to the feeder.  We had the back window open and Brent kept leaning in and saying, "Dad, we sure are having fun back here!"  It's the little things!

It's Tricky to get these little Treats up on the blog!

 But better late than never!

 Presenting my Leopard and Thomas the Train makes a comeback in 2011!

 I normally let them have a piece of candy and then there sweet loot is out of here.  This year I broke down and let them check it out and indulge for a week.  Okay, so WE all did!

Even my little man is big enough to let a big bowl of candy sit on the table and not get into it.  When we got back from passing out candy the kids were able to pass out candy to the other kids.  They had the best time passing out candy! 

We had a great time walking around the neighborhood with our dear friends.  It's pretty cool when your close enough to your friend's kids that they run up and grab your hand to walk too.  Priceless!

Great night!!!

World Series Excitement

 Jeff was got to go to the World Series on Sunday night and I was so jealous.  Somehow I got lucky and got a ticket on Monday night.  I worked some quick magic and rearranged a hair appointment and whipped up a babysitter and we were off!

 Thank you Ryan for giving me a ticket!  Sunday night was an all boys night.

 It was pretty cool to the FOX sports booth live after seeing them so many nights on TV.

 Check out the logo on the World Series.

 Here we are: Jeff, Ryan, Me, Haleigh, Preston, and Tyler

 We were up high but it didn't matter the atmosphere was amazing.  Highlights:  Winning the game, hearing the crowd sing the American Anthem together, hearing the crowd sing God Bless America even louder together, walking downstairs after the game chanting "Rangers" together and feeling the togetherness of the crowd.  It was a pretty cool night!

Fall Carnival

 Each year we go to our neighborhood sponsored fall carnival.  This year two of my highlights were: 1) having daddy with us, seems like he is usually still hunting and 2) seeing Brent color.  He was serious with his pumpkin!

 My toothless wonder had to have her cotton candy.

 And get her picture taken with the fireman, but this year Brent would have nothing to do with the fireman.  Boo!

 The ponies were a big hit again!

And Brent was brave enough to ride too!  The bounce  houses were also a big hit as well!  The weather was obviously beautiful as you can see with Brent in shorts!

Happy Fall!

Friends, Bikes, and Boots

We found Brents jersey, socks and shin guards.  It was in his Thomas the Train box.  Now, why didn't I think to look there?

 I love capturing moments like this one.  Brent and Caitlyn eating a snack in between a bike ride with their buddy Mason.

 I love to take the kids on a bike ride while walking Sadie and Dixee.  We normally just go around the block and I'm so glad that the kids have gotten so good on their bikes.  This time Jenn and I took all our little ones minus the dogs to the park.  It was a long jaunt, but overall the kids did really well!

 Brent is all the way in the front.  He is becoming pretty fearless on the bike and relies on his brakes a little too much for this momma.  I would really like for him to take it much slower.  He is my baby after all.

I captured this shot of my little hunters in training as they were helping daddy unload the trailer after a day at the ranch.  They had a fun day hunting dove, fishing and playing around.  Aren't they the cutest?  I know, I'm just a bit prejudice.  But seriously, check out those boots. 

All I want for Christmas

 Caitlyn sported this cool looking smile for weeks.  She even got her first grade pictures taken with a sweet, snaggle tooth smile.  Daddy commented that she would look "silly".  She was so concerned.  When she got her pictures back you couldn't even tell and she look adorable.  She said, "See mom, my teeth look normal!"  

Another side note about picture day.  We were getting out of the car, walking into the school building and I hear my 6 year old say to herself, "Next year I'll be in 2nd grade so I'll be able to wear make-up on picture day."  Woah!  Slow down there child!

 We finally convinced her to let daddy pull the snaggle tooth.  He took one piece of floss and barely touched it.  That tooth fell straight out!  Tooth number 4!

About 3-4 days later Caitlyn loses the other top tooth!  Tooth number 5.  She lost in school and didn't even come by my room to show me.  Little stinker!  She looks so adorable and she catches me off guard every time she smiles because she looks so different.

All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth!!!!!

Brent's Open House

 This week Brent has been sick since Sunday.  Jeff was out of town at the deer lease and it seems to always happen that my kid(s) will get sick when he is away.  Brent has had a sore throat, scratchy voice and fever, all viral.  He seems to be on the mend!  But he sure has been fun to snuggle with - the only perk of a sick child.

Above is a picture of Brent standing in his classroom where all of his classmates have been measured.

 Check out my little man's art work!  I love all the hand prints.  The green and orange hand prints were used in a lesson of big and small.  His teacher's hand was the big and his was the small.

 This is where he sits at the table to eat and do crafts.

 Story time and music time spot!  I love that he already sits "criss cross apple sauce"

 They were growing plants so of course he wanted to pose with it and his "goofy smile."

 Miss Lauren is an incredible and sweet teacher.

 And we love Ms. Rosie.  Caitlyn had Ms. Rosie when she started at GL so long ago when Brent was 18 months and she was 3.

And this is how Brent shows Ms. Rosie and Ms. Lauren that he is present in the morning. 

This was the first Open House that Brent was really able to show me things without me having to prompt him on everything.  It was really fun!

Well we've gone and done it again.  We lost our soccer jersey, socks and shin guards.  Who does that?  Did I mention on my blog earlier that we lost Caitlyn's tap shoes.  I'm usually pretty organized.  If you've never been in my house, I'd describe it as the opposite spectrum of the hoarders, striving to be organized even better.  My daughter has a box for all her dance stuff and a bag to transport everything on the actual day.  Brent has nothing.  Can you see the problem?  I could just kick myself.

We did the coolest project in my classroom this week (2nd grade).  We are doing habitats and my class researched the ocean.  I had 5 groups.  1) Animal research: Seagull  2) Make a robotic Lego seagull 3) Ocean research 4) Background artists for the presentation board 5) Make the PowerPoint  Ya'll they did such a great job.  Next week we get to Skye our project with another 2nd grade class in our district. Pretty cool!

We got a new fence this week and it looks amazing!  No holes or falling boards.  Only disappointed parties are the dogs.

Caitlyn lost both of her front teeth this week. Tooth fairy visited twice this week!  She looks so adorable, different and big.  Pictures coming soon.  We have been reading a LOT of Junie B Jones books.  She has wanted me to read to her and has resisted reading but she is finally started to read to me, herself and her brother.  Of course there are a lot of, "what is this word mom?" I am beyond proud of her.  I'm working so hard to enjoy every single minute, knowing that it is flying by.

Brent is in a crying phase.  He may be very happy one minute, but will break down in tears the next.  Luckily for me I can usually snuggle him (if he isn't in trouble) when he cries. Um, maybe that is supporting the problem and keeping him a baby.  Okay, okay, I will fix that.  He also kisses me and wipes it off.  Boo.  Or will check to see if I have makeup on before he will kiss me, "No, is that makeup on your face?"  Crazy boy!

Another soccer game tomorrow.  Pray that we will find our jersey or be able to buy a new one tomorrow.  Go Lions!  ROOOOAAAARRRRRRRR

A little bit of this and a little bit of that!

My oh my, I have tried and tried to get pictures of my phone for weeks.  It was working perfectly and now it won't work.  It won't upload to Picasa and won't upload through the trusty cord.  UGH with a big GRRRR!  I finally got it to work by sending lots of emails to myself.  So therefore this blog is random.

Jeff has been doing lots of upkeep on our house.  Baseboards, painting, caulking, just the basic stuff one has to do to keep the house in tip-top condition (I'm so glad he notices these things, cause I do not!). He is so good to get the little ones involved to. 

 So we got them suited up in daddy's work shirts so they wouldn't get their clothes messed up.  We really didn't need to go to all the trouble because they got side tracked pretty quickly.  You know: balls, bikes, sand, play structure, dirt, etc!

 We went to see my parents over Labor Day.  I got to take this picture while we were shopping.  Papa loves to play with his girls. And they were all having a great time, just a bad picture.

 Brent got a balloon bouquet delivery for his 4th birthday with a crocodile attached.  This is his new favorite animal to sleep with.  He loves to run up to his soccer coach, Coach Doug (whom he adores) and tell him that he is 4.  He tells  him this every time he sees him!  LOL

 I love relaxing with my kiddos on the weekend.  Usually pictures are always of something that we are doing. 

I like that in these pictures we are relaxing!  As Brent says, "Cozy!"