Random notes

Other December happenings: I decided to do the 12 days of Christmas this year with the kids. they each take turns opening a present for all of them. They got some books and movies and this cool singing snowman that Ethan loves! He plays it almost every day!

Lauren is into wearing her own style these days! She always wants to wear skirts or dresses and she matches them up herself! She has quite the style! And Ethan is starting to potty train. Jack, the boy I watch is potty trained, so Ethan wants to keep up with him. He goes about 4 times a day, but still doesn't know how to hold it. He likes to keep his pants off after he goes! Silly kids!

I think we have ourselves some techies! They would be happy playing on these all day if we would let them! 

 Other than these things, we are keeping busy with the holidays coming up. We got our tree up and decorated, we made some cookies and took them to friends and neighbors, we have the lights up outside, and I even have some presents wrapped. Hopefully I can keep up with my family and record our fun a little more often in the future! Happy Holidays everyone!

 

December

December 4: 

 We had Moms and Tots at the local candy store, McCord's, this week. They let us tour the kitchen and they showed us how they make their famous candy canes. It was really cool! Then they let the kids form their own candy cane! Ethan made a circle and Lauren made a cane, but they both dropped them before we left the store.They were really good, even in little pieces!

We took advantage of the warmer weather and looked at the neat store front downtown Lafayette.

December 8:

My parents, sister and her fiance came up here to spend the day with me! I have the best family ever! My mom and dad came up early to help out with the Christmas Jubliee that was hosted at our church for families in need. This was the first year I was able to help out at the event, and it was such a humbling experience. My mom went with me and my dad stayed home with the kids, since Ricky had to work all day (the joys of a retail job during the holidays). After we got home, we just spent the afternoon hanging out. It was so nice and relaxing! For dinner, we went to McCallister's Deli for some yummy sandwiches. After dinner, we went to the Living Nativity at the Faith Church. It was such a great night! The kids really enjoyed the presentation of Christ's life and it was so nice to be reminded of the true meaning of this holiday season. 

December 9:

Sunday was our church Christmas program (since we are still somewhat of a student ward, we have to do our Christmas program before everyone leaves for 3 weeks!) and it was AWESOME! The choir did a great job and then they had people bearing their testimonies. My neighbor, Jeanie, was finally able to attend with me. We have been working on getting her there for a while now. What a great weekend!

December 13:

Lauren had her Christmas program at her Preschool. My mom was able to come and it was so cute! They sang 7 songs and Lauren did a great job! They had a little reception afterwards where the kids enjoyed lots of cookies!

Lauren with her teachers, Miss Dee and Miss Lori.

I forgot to post about her Thanksgiving program, so I'll put that in here, too! They did it during the day, so Ricky couldn't come and I had the other 3 kids. This is the best picture I got of her. You can play 'Where's Lauren!'

December 15:

 Ricky had to work again, so I took the kids to Breakfast with Santa at Ivy Tech. They offered free breakfast, activities for the kids and pictures with Santa! The kids had a great time!

I don't think the kids said anything to Santa, but they all smiled for the picture and enjoyed their candy canes! That evening was our ward Christmas Party and the theme this year was 'Bethlehem.' They had the room set up like a street in Bethlehem and everyone was dressed up. After we shopped the little stores, they had a nice program with everyone singing hymns. It was really nice!

What a great start to the Holiday season! I love this time of year and wish the time would slow down just a little so I can get more things done! I will just have to keep dreaming about that every happening!

The Big 3-0!

December 1st weekend:

I was fortunate enough to have my Thirtieth birthday on a Saturday! Ricky surprised me and took me to Chicago for the weekend with no kids! He got a hotel on Michigan Ave. with a gorgeous view and we just hung out and enjoyed the weekend! 

Friday night we went to a local restaurant close to our hotel. It was really good! After dinner, we headed to Navy Pier to see the Christmas tree in the Winter Wonderland. It was beautiful, but the whole place was set up for kids, bummer! We walked around for a minute and then headed back towards our hotel. We stopped at the theater and saw the last Twilight movie to make up for the long walk to Navy Pier.

 

Saturday morning, we headed out to search for a good place to eat breakfast. We found a couple of little places, but they were way too expensive. We ended up eating at the mall cafe that had a hot breakfast. It was really good and we got to finish breakfast up with some yummy Godiva chocolate! We explored down Michigan Ave for a little while, but it was very busy (Saturdays in December are hopping downtown Chicago!). We found a Wildfire restaurant that wasn't too far, so we walked about 10 blocks to get there to find out they weren't open for lunch. We were really striking out, but luckily Ed Debevic's was right around the corner. I had wanted to go there, but never got the chance. It was great fun! The servers are rude, but you can't leave without a smile on your face! After lunch, we headed home.What a wonderful way to celebrate my birthday! Thanks babe!

Sunday after dinner, Ricky's mom got me a birthday cake! It was really good and the kids enjoyed singing to me! I love my family so much!

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving Day, we spent time with Ricky's family. His mom really likes making Thanksgiving dinner and Ricky's brothers were able to come, too! It was a nice day with family. Ricky's brother and I decided to go Black Friday shopping in the evening. We got what we wanted at Walmart with no crowds! Yeah! Then we stopped by Target. Way too crowded for us. We left before we found something we wanted.

Kris really wanted to get a vacuum from Kohl's, so we waited until they opened at midnight. While we were waiting, we met a couple who was sitting next to us. We decided to stand up, since the mob of people seemed to be growing fast. We ended up really close to the doors and a lady behind me was not happy at all! She tried to tell the security guard that we cut in line! I think the reason I love Black Friday shopping is to see all the crazy people out there who are willing to do anything to save a few bucks. This lady was crazy! Needless to say, we will never forget this Black Friday shopping experience!

 

The kids were really excited about spending the night at Grandpa and Grandma Tate's house. (since they live so close, we never spend the night!) It worked out great because Ricky had to work all day Friday, so we spent the day with Ricky's family. We had a great time!

Saturday morning, we headed to Illinois for a bittersweet weekend. My grandpa passed away on the 15th of November and we were having a Celebration of Life. He was 90 years old and lived a great life. He died doing what he loved to do, working in the garden. He is already missed dearly. After the lunch-in, we headed to Marsha's house in Bloomington, IL. We stayed the night and then celebrated Thanksgiving with all of the family on Sunday. Grandma got to join us, which is always a treat! We played games, napped, and just visited all day. It was a great weekend!

We found Ethan hiding under the piano at my Aunt's house with a Dr.Pepper! Little stinker!

Family Pictures

My good friend Jessica took our family pictures again this year. She did an awesome job and I love all of them! The kids did a great job and I didn't even have to bribe them with sweets. It's so hard to believe how big the kids are getting. Our family is not so little anymore!

This one turned out way cute.

 

 Here is our happy family!

Craft show

November 3rd, my friend and I had a booth at the St. James Craft Fair. This was my first time ever selling anything at a craft show. I had a great time, but didn't sell as much as I expected to. Oh well! If anyone needs any hair bows or headbands, let me know! My friend is responsible for all of the wonderful decorations! It looked so good! Thanks!

Corn maze

With Halloween falling on a Wednesday this year, the corn maze was open after Halloween. We went on November 1st and were the only ones there! It was awesome! They drove us over in the tractor, which Ethan loved!

The kids had so much fun! It was kind-of cold outside, but the kids didn't mind at all!

After we finished the corn maze, we rode the tractor back to the main area where they had a hay pile to climb,

fun buggies to ride,

a hay maze to crawl through (they had to use the flashlights on our phones as it was getting pretty dark at this point!),

duck races in water, a teeter totter, and tractors to ride. It was so much fun to do everything without waiting! We will definately be going back next year, as this is Dylan's favorite thing to do in the fall!

November 1st

 One of my traditions is to take a picture the morning after Halloween with the kids and all their candy. Dylan had school, so we did his after school. I love their faces!

 

Halloween

The night before Halloween, we finally got the pumpkins carved! The other 2 didn't quite get finished. Maybe next year! We seemed to have a very busy fall season this year. The kids all helped get them started, which was the fun part!

Dylan picked out this cool bat.

  

Then on Halloween morning, Lauren got to dress up for school. They had a little Halloween party and she had so much fun. She dressed up as Cinderella, and she was beautiful!

We tried to get going after Dylan got home from school, but that just didn't happen. I finally got the kids dressed, and we went trick or treating around the neighborhood. I let Dylan pick this year, and he wanted to walk around the neighborhood. It is easier than driving somewhere and the kids still had fun.  Here is Nemo, Luke Skywalker, and Cinderella.

Everyone loved Ethan's costume. He was adorable and his little tail went back and forth as he walked.

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!