January 5th and it's 60!!!

After we picked Luke up from school we were supposed to head home, eat lunch and take naps. However, that didn't happen! Nope, we drove thru, picked up some lunch and headed to the park - in JANUARY! It is absolutely gorgeous out today so naps got pushed back an hour or so and it was definitely worth it! Below are some pics I snapped from my phone. 

This past Summer/Fall Ev was a little hesitant of this bridge, but not today. He started out timid and by the end of the afternoon he was full on running across it!

Kate loved the park. The last time we were there she either hung out in the stroller or the swing the entire time. Not today, she had a blast exploring on her own.

Luke discovered that he can now climb this spiral thing to the top of the play equipment all by himself. He thought that was pretty cool and definitely picture worthy. 

Holding onto these moments

I am told that "it goes so fast".  It certainly does. I just want to remember it all - oh, they melt me. 

One more Christmas celebration . . .

We had our final Christmas celebration at my mom's house on Christmas evening. We had a great time, as usual. It was even more special with my little brother being home from Kuwait. He's been home for a couple of weeks and has to head back soon. Hopefully it won't be long before he's home for good!

Christmas at HOME!

It was sooooo much fun watching the kids open Christmas presents this year! They got such a kick out of everything and really enjoyed opening all of their packages. Santa filled their stockings with lots of fun stuff and brought a roller coaster, a Cars 2 race track and a comfy chair for baby Kate to sit in. Mom and Dad threw a few things in the mix, too : ). Such fun. What a joy it was to watch. J's parents and my mom and Anthony came by this year to watch the madness, which was so great. What a fun morning. It's just going to get better each year. L.O.V.E. it.

Christmas Celebration #2 {in photos}

We had such a fantastic Christmas this year! We were surrounded by our family for 3 days, which was such a blessing. There was plenty of great conversation, company, play and food to carry us into the new year. We feel so blessed. What an amazing and humbling time of year it is. Just a few more pictures from our weekend! (More to come).

Christmas Celebration #1 {in photos}

Christmas Cookies

The boys and I made cookies for Santa this year and we had so much fun. They started off by helping me roll the dough into balls and placing them on the cookie sheet. They had an even better time decorating the cookies with icing, sprinkles and colored sugar. Funny thing - we went to the store to pick out the stuff to decorate with and they picked red, white, and blue colors - I threw in some green for good measure. They're a patriotic duo, apparently. Anyway, we had loads of fun and they really got a kick out of picking three to set out for Santa with a glass of milk at the end of the night. Santa thought they were pretty good, at least that's what he said. : )

December (so far) - {in photos}

LOTS of warm fires going on in our house, which naturally leads to toasted marshmallows. Yumm. It's the one thing I do enjoy about winter. A real wood burning fire roaring in our fireplace. Divine. 

Christmas decor is up

So . . . getting a real tree this year didn't quite make the cut. I love the smell and look of a real tree, but really dislike the mess and remembering to water it. So, we got a fake one and we quite like it. The kids (ok, not Kate) picked out their annual ornaments and as shocking as it may seem (not really), the boys picked Cars 2 characters. They love them. It did take some convincing that they were just to look at and not play with. Kate got a bird ornament, which she loves, lucky for us it's not breakable. Ahh, I can't believe it's December! I love this time of year (minus the cold).

Skate Party

My friend Carrie's daughter had her 4th birthday at a skating rink recently. The boys and I had so much fun (J stayed home with a sleeping baby girl)! (Luke and Emerson are only about a month apart and get along really well.)It was one of the best birthday parties we've been to. The boys brought their bike and scooter and rode around freely. It was so neat! They didn't want to leave and for days they asked when we could go back. Such a great time.