Merry Christmas!

 We had a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of family and friends. Christmas Eve started us off by having an appetizer and dessert party with some friends. The food was great and the company was even better! 

  

After we stuffed ourselves, we read the Christmas story from Luke 2 and sang some Christmas songs. It was a great evening.  Lauren and Ethan helped out at the piano! Luckily, Tamri is great and it didn't even phase her that they were there!

 They kids had a great time!

 After everyone left, we all got to open one gift. It was pj's for everyone! I love getting new pjs! The kids were really excited! After getting their new pjs on, we put some reindeer food out for Santa to find our house! How fun it is to be a kid!

 Christmas morning was great! We opened our stockings and I think this year was a hit! Dylan got his Alien Legos that he wanted, Lauren got a dollhouse and Ethan got a Tomas Train set. Ethan doesn't have the attention span to play with anything for long, so he was all over the place!

 Lauren was so content with playing with her new dollhouse by herself. Very great morning.

 Dylan sat at the table and put together Legos with dad for over an hour!

 We enjoyed some cinnamon rolls while we waited for the Sister Missionaries and my neighbor to arrive for breakfast. (Ricky said the cinnamon rolls were the appetizer.) I tried a new recipe for egg casserole from a friend and it was a hit! Everyone loved it! After breakfast, we passed out the presents and everyone got to open them. It was a busy morning, but lots of fun!

 Sister Little and Sister Barrett

 After everyone left, we had to get ready for church. We barely made it on time and Ethan was so exhausted that he fell asleep on me! I can't remember the last time that he fell asleep at church.We had to get a cute shot of the kids in their cute Christmas clothes!

 I love having a timer to take a family picture! Everyone was smiling! Score one for me!

 After church we headed to Ricky's parents house. They were making dinners and Ricky's brothers were there too. We got a wireless router witch I am in love with! (I am using Ricky's iPad to write this!) Dylan had fun playing with Alex, and Lauren even joined them for a while. Dylan and Alex exchanged gifts this year and loved it! It was really fun to see them show the other what they picked out for them.

 We got to play a few games before someone got hurt. Lauren jumped into the pack and play and couldn't get out, so Alex tried to pull her out. After a very long evening and a night of no sleep, we found out that she has nurse maids elbow (the ligament was out of place). She was holding her wrist and we couldn't see anything wrong with it, so we waited to take her in. Poor little girl is just very fragile. She fell asleep on daddy for a little while, but would only be held all night.

 Monday morning we headed over to the Urgent Care, since the doctors office was closed for the holiday. After a long 2 hours at the urgent care along with x-rays, we finally were able to go down to my sister's house to celebrate Christmas with my family. It was a nice day after Lauren got her arm fixed.

 We had to get another family shot. (They don't happen too often!)

 My dad made these cute Barbie beds for the girls, and my  mom made crochet bedding for it. Way cute and Lauren loves it!

It ended up being a very long, wonderful weekend spent with most of our families! I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas!

Christmas time

We went to the light show on Greenview last night. It was awesome! The kids had so much fun watching the light show and listening to the music. The show is lights that flash along with the music and the music is on the radio station. The kids are really into Christmas lights this year. Every time we drive past a house with lights, someone will say, "There's some" and everyone looks. Ethan even gasps whenever he sees lights on a house! They love pulling into our driveway and seeing the lights on our house. (So do I!)

This Christmas season is just flying by! Dylan has school until the 23rd and then it's Christmas weekend! We are trying to fit in all of the cookie baking and giving along with all of the other fun Christmas activities that we do. We got the tree decorated along with lights around the house. They kids enjoy having them up and I love Christmas time lights. Ethan is still having a hard time keeping his little hands off of the ornaments. I think we only broke 2 ornaments, which is great compared to the amount that he handled!

Dylan had some fun times at school this year. They made gingerbread houses one day and watched the Polar Express in pjs another day. He really likes school.

Ethan and Jack are keeping me busy! Some days they play great, other days are a struggle. Ethan seems to be a bully to Jack. They both can say each others names, which is really cute! They are my boys!

Lauren had her last day of Joy School at our house. We had a little Christmas party with cookie decorating and a White Elephant gift exchange. It was a lot of fun!

Dylan and Lauren enjoyed some quiet time the other day while watching a movie. I thought it was cute that they shared the same couch instead of laying by themselves.

Last weekend, we headed over to have donuts with Santa at Ivy Tech. It was free and the kids had a blast! They had some cute crafts for the kids to do and then they got to see Santa for the first time this year! They all liked him and Ethan was so excited to sit on his lap! I had to hold him back until it was our turn!

Ricky had to work for the day, so I headed down to my parent's house for their Christmas party. The kids got to see Santa twice in one day! They loved it! Dylan told me that Santa had to be the real one because he was the same at both places! I love my kids!

We are really enjoying the holidays around here, minus Ricky working a ton. I think I am used to it now that he's been working retail for 6 years! We got to do all of the fun things that I love to do to get ready for Christmas!

O Christmas tree

I got a little spoiled this year. Ricky took his last week of vacation on the weekend of my birthday and we had a great time just goofing off. (Not really! I got a ton of things done with his help!) Saturday morning, after sleeping in and enjoying the morning, we went to Cassen's tree farm to cut down a tree. With the kids getting older, we thought it would be fun to cut our tree down. It was an adventure for sure! Dylan had to go to the bathroom as soon as we walked out there, so he peed on a tree. Then Lauren had to go. It started sprinkling, so we headed back to the barn to use the bathroom and get out of the rain. Ethan was fussy (he's teething) and wouldn't walk. I had to carry him the entire time. We finally found one that we liked on the second trip out. It was a fun experience, but I think next year we may just pick one out that's already cut! (I may change my mind when next year gets here!) Ricky also got the lights done outside. They look awesome and I LOVE having them! (You should drive by sometime between 6-12 pm if you want to see them for yourself!)

Then Saturday night, Ricky took me to dinner at the Melting Pot in Indy. He arranged my parents and siblings to come, too! It was really nice to have the adults together for dinner with no children! (It would have been a lot nicer if my brother wasn't an hour late! That's just how he is and we all know it!) Dinner was amazing and it was a great surprise! Thanks baby!

Tuesday night we took the kids to Chuck 'E Cheese to play. We had some free tokens to get and we wanted to go while Ricky was off work. It was a great weekend together as a family.

Friday night for date night Ricky gave me the last part of my birthday present. He took me to the mall to go shopping for myself! I can't even remember the last time I shopped for myself, actually trying on clothes and looking for styles! I normally just grab a shirt or pants and hope they fit when I get home! We went to Maurices and one of the employees helped me pick some things out. She was great! She showed me what was in style and how to wear things together. It was an awesome time and Ricky is the best husband ever! The employee even told him that she hopes her finance will take her out like this after she has kids! What a nice compliment to a perfect evening!

Another year older

I had a wonderful birthday, yet again! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family! I got breakfast in bed and got to spend the entire day with my family! Yeah, I had to do some running to classes and whatnot, but that's all part of being a mom! Dylan was so excited that today was my birthday that he ran up to his teacher to tell her! I thought it was cute! Ricky helped out with the boys all day and then put up our Christmas lights on the outside of the house! I have wanted them up for 3 years now, so I am so excited to finally have them up! We all went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse! Yummy! I love their cinnamon butter! And then we came home to put the kids to bed. I got a new laminator for my birthday! I am so excited to start some new projects with it! Ricky also told me that he has some things planned for the weekend, but he won't tell me what! I'm glad I like surprises! Ricky had a week of vacation left, so he had to use it before the busy Christmas season starts!

Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful for my wonderful family and the time that we get to spend together! I love them very much! (We got our family pictures taken and I'll get around to posting them soon!)

Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Dylan had a little program at school. He was so excited to show us the songs they had been learning. It was really cute and Dylan even memorized 2 little sayings! I was so proud of him! Then after the program, they had a little feast to celebrate.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with family. Thursday, we headed over to Ricky's parent's house for the day. It was nice and relaxing spending time with his family. We played some games and the kids had a great time playing together. I took my camera, but forgot to use it. Darn! Then Thursday night I headed down to my parent's house. Ricky had to be at work at 3:30 in the morning, so we let him get some sleep while I went black Friday shopping with my dad. He had never been before, so I thought it would be fun to show him how it's done! I got some great deals, and he got the things he wanted so it turned out to be a great experience. Plus I got to spend some quality time with my dad.

Friday was spent resting at my parent's house. Since I didn't get much sleep, I wasn't into doing much! My mom took Dylan and Lauren horse back riding, which was Dylan's favorite time of the weekend! The boys and I headed home and Lauren got to spend some time with just grandma and grandpa.

Saturday morning, we headed to Illinois to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. We went to my aunt's house and almost everyone was there! My grandparents even made it, which was really nice! (Ricky had to stay back home to work, boo for retail stores) I think there were 11 kids under the age of 9 and they all got along wonderfully! We had a wonderful weekend of playing games and just hanging out. I love getting to spend time with family.

Last week was spent catching up from the long weekend. The kids really enjoyed the snow on Tuesday (after having the temperature in the 60's over the weekend! Crazy Indiana weather for you!) We had some friends over and the boys jumped on the trampoline. They Loved it!

Lauren and I decided to stay in our pjs all day. It was an excellent day for that! She was so cute outside in the snow!

I love the holidays!

Busy week

Sunday after church we headed to Indy for dinner with my family. We wanted to squeeze in some family pictures since I waited too long and my friends were booked. Next year I'll have to schedule earlier! You live and learn! Luckily, my mom was more than willing to take some for us! (Thanks mom!) They turned out really good and I can't wait to see the prints I ordered! We had a great time with my sister and brother and their families, too! The cousins love to spend time together!

Dylan was the STAR of the week this whole week, which meant that he got to bring a poster about himself in on Monday, he got to bring snacks in every day for the week, and he got to bring a show and tell every day. I let him pick out the snacks he wanted to bring, so we ended up doing pretzels, animal crackers, pumpkin muffins, goldfish crackers, and rice krispie treats. It was fun to see what he wanted instead of just picking for him. He felt special all week and was telling the teacher how excited he was to bring snacks for everyone. How fun it is to have a kindergartener!

Friday for date night, Ricky was having another computer gaming party, I met my mom at the nail salon for pedicures! Heavenly! I love getting a pedicure and spending time with my mom! After the pedicure, we spent the last few minutes shopping! My next favorite thing! I think I could shop all day long and still not be tired of it! Kids make it hard to get things done, especially when they start remembering things! I guess that's what good friends are for! My mom offered to take the kids for the night (I mean, who doesn't want to spend the night at grandma's house!) so I enjoyed a quiet evening to myself! It was so nice!

Saturday, we were invited to 3 parties! How fun! I went to a baby shower in the morning (yeah for girl time!) then we headed to Indy for my best friend from high school's boy's birthday party. They had the party at Monster Mini Golf, and the kids had a blast! Since the kids were at my parent's house, Ethan stayed and took a nap. It was a TON easier to not have him there! There were tons of kids and we would have spent the day chasing him instead of having fun! Dylan and Lauren loved playing golf and the arcade games. Lauren was even putting by herself about half way through! We didn't make it back to the third party, but we stayed at my parent's house for some pizza and games.

Today is a relaxing day from the busy week. Dylan stayed at grandma's again, so I have to go get him as soon as the other kids wake up. Ethan has been sleeping for 4 1/2 hours and Lauren for over 2! I am enjoying some quiet time as the holidays are fast approaching and I know things are going to get crazy! Ricky also had to work today, as he will most of the week. I am thankful he gets Thanksgiving Day off, but will have to work very early on Friday and Saturday. The joys of retail shops. I am also thankful that he has a job to support our family. Thanks for all your hard work, hun! I love you!

Reading time

Life is going crazy around here. Ricky had 5 days off of work and we spent them babysitting and sick. I got the flu and felt dizzy and achy all weekend. I was very grateful to have Ricky home to take care of the kids for me. So far, no one else has gotten sick. Now that Ricky is back at work, I am trying to recover the house from the long weekend. I think it will take me all week, but that's the joys of being a mom!

Last night, we went to a Family Reading Night at Dylan's school. It was really fun to learn different ways to incorporate learning into life. The kids got to make a little book to take home, which was a big hit. I'll have to get a picture of it when Dylan is all done with his. It's called, "The Lion." It's nice to know that the school is trying to get families involved in the children's learning. Dylan had a great time, as always, and got to show off his work in the hall.

We were supposed to get our family pictures taken this past weekend, but getting sick threw us all off. Now I have to find another time to get our family pictures taken for our Christmas cards. Speaking of, I am having a little dilemma with myself. I have made our Christmas cards for the past 4 or 5 years, but am debating on using a service to just make a card this year. What are your opinions? I'd love to have some feedback! Thanks!

Happy Halloween!

I love holiday, any reason to celebrate is great for me! Halloween is no exception. We started the day by making orange pumpkin shaped pancakes with green stems. The kids really like them and they are fun to do! After breakfast, we had some friends come play, since their mom was going to get their minivan! She decided to join the mom club by getting a minivan! It was a little busy with 6 kids (5 of them were 3 and under), but we managed to make it through the morning. After lunch, I had to make some phone calls to try to get our water heater to work again. (It has been going out about 2 times a year since we moved in! Not fun when you want to take a shower and wash the dishes!) We then headed over to Lauren's dance class, since it was Monday. After class, we went to Papa Murphey's to get a pumpkin shaped pizza for dinner. It looked really good and it totally goes with the holiday! While the pizza was cooking, I got the kids dressed for trick-or treating. Here are the best shots:

My little giraffe.
Iron Man 2, he would correct you if you just said Iron Man!My Barbie Princess again! (She loves to dress up and decided last minute to be this again instead of Cinderella.)
My three little cuties!
Look at that yummy pizza!

We went over to the church for the trunk-or-treat and the kids got to walk around with their friends, Kiah and Evan. They had so much fun together! I loved seeing all of the kids' friends costumes! Everyone is so creative!
Lauren had to hold my hand (probably because there were so many people around) and I had to hold onto Ethan so he didn't run off! Ricky was passing out Glow Bracelets at the car until they were gone, then he joined us! I guess I need to get lots more next year!
Ethan and his friend, Gabby. I thought it was too cute that they were both little animals!

When we got home, Dylan wanted to go around to some of the neighbors houses, so we headed off while Ricky passed out candy at home. Dylan was really into it!
Lauren and Ethan were just along for the ride! I think Ethan only ate 2 suckers, while Lauren ate just a few too many pieces of candy! Oh well! That's what Halloween is all about!
The next morning, we dump the candy out on their laps! How fun! (I was only a day behind on this, so not quite all of the candy made it there!) Dylan was quite proud of his bucket that was full! Ethan was being goofy, but cute!We had a great Halloween and I love building our traditions as a family! Happy Halloween!

The start of Halloween

We have had a busy week! Tuesday for moms and tots at church, they had a little Halloween party. I took the three little ones and they had a blast. Lauren liked seeing all of her friends dressed up, too. They did a cake walk, bean bag toss, pin the nose on the pumpkin, and find the ghost. It was really cute!Thursday was Dylan's Halloween party at school. I was grateful to some friends for watching my kids so I could help out at the school party! I had a great time and it's so neat to see and meet the kids in his class and a few parents. They played hot potato with a gourd, ring toss with a Witch's hat, and they made a skeleton and a fall place-mat that will get laminated. Lauren also had a little Halloween fun at her joyschool. It was a fun-filled day!This is one of Dylan's friends from class, Mason. Dylan talks about him all the time!
Friday, we had a Halloween playgroup at our house with some friends that I hadn't seen in a while! It is always fun to catch up with friends! The kids made ghost suckers and foam letter/shape cards. They had a great time playing while I chatted! There were almost 20 kids and they all played so well!
All the beautiful princesses!
Friday afternoon, we played with stickers! And then made mummy dogs for dinner! Yum! Dylan had fun wrapping them for me. What a big helper! Saturday night, we headed over to the corn maze. It was Awesome! It was a little chilly, but everyone had a blast! Ethan only fell a few times in the mud puddles! Boys will be boys! He loved running all through the corn!
Dylan and Lauren had a blast running through the corn, too! Dylan and Dad even enjoyed throwing the corn kernels at each other! They had a pumpkin patch there, too! Too many pumpkins to choose from!
Look at my little cuties!
It was a perfect family activity! We had a great time and can't wait to go again next year! I think next year we will rent a camp fire spot and make s'mores and stay for the evening! It was great! After the corn maze, we headed over to our friend's annual Halloween donut party. The donuts were amazing, just like every year! (they are home-made) They have a new kind called the Baconator, which is maple icing with bacon bits on top. It is surprisingly tasty! The kids were beat by the end of the night, but it was well worth it.