Cousins Come To Visit

I think these two are starting to look more and more alike!

Wes and Ry are such good buds. Always have been. :)

Emma and Jack hitchin' a ride.

Uncle Aaron caught a duck....by the beak! LOL. Ducks beware when Aaron is near. The kids thought it was so awesome. Fun times!

'Wood' You Help Me?

Okay, okay. Sorry for the corny title. I just couldn't help myself.

The kids and Daddy are working on a special 'project'. I am sworn to secrecy until the finished product is ready for display, but I just couldn't help but share these darling photos of my little wood-workers.

I have so many memories of my brother and I helping my Dad build and create in his wood shop. I'm so grateful for parents who always encouraged creativity. Now I am married to a gifted, creative person, and I look forward to passing those qualities onto my own children!

We are a family of DIY'ers!

Treat or Treasure

Its been 3 1/2 years since Josh and I have slept through the night. For those of you doing the math, you are correct. That is also the age of Jack. On a good night he will come to our room 2 or 3 times. On a bad night, its not uncommon to see him every hour. Now let me clarify----Jack has NEVER been a heavy sleeper. From the day he was born he slept in light, short increments.

Well, Josh and I realized we are getting up at night more with our 3 year old than most of our friends with newborns. Something has to give. After numerous failed attempts and methods, we have resulted to bribery, eh er, I mean incentives! We are one week in and I am happy to report JJ stayed in his bed 3 out of 7 nights! On the 4 nights he came to our room, it was only once or twice. I'm crossing my fingers that we can help him train his body to get that much needed full nights rest.

Lets not forget Sis! Her incentive jar is for cleaning up her room, without being asked, on a daily basis. So there you have it. The treat or treasure jars!

Valentines Day 2012

We had so much fun the night before V-day making home-made Valentines! The kids chose what they wanted, and did most of the work themselves. Josh and I were there to help if needed, but we really encouraged the kids to get creative and make their own Valentines!

Wow! I think it's safe to say that was the busiest V-Day I've ever had! Not that I'm complaining... :) Holidays are so much brighter when you have children to celebrate with! We started the day at JJ's Preschool party. The kids had banana splits, played in the 'big room' with the parachute and balloons, and finished off by opening their Valentines from their classmates. Teacher Christy put together the cutest packages for all of her students, complete with sunglasses!

Next we headed over to Sissy's school for her class party. Jack was so happy to see his Valentine there. GG and JJ are great friends.

The fabulous 4! I just love this group of girlies. Never a dull moment with them!

After all of the sugar, parties, and chaos, we came home to open all of the Valentines loot.

The kids wanted to have a "Brother and Sister Valentines lunch picnic". They told me I was invited if I wanted, but it is really just for brothers and sisters. I politely declined and let them enjoy their lunch, Mom-free.

Next on the agenda......COOKIE DECORATING!

Can you see the sugar crash setting in? His eyes say it all.

Have you ever seen such a pathetic looking pup? Doesn't she just look miserable? Well, she was. She helped herself to TWO entire boxes of Valentines chocolate. After hours of puking she spent the rest of Valentines Day in this very spot-with this very look upon her face. Serves her right. :)

Flowers from that awesome husband of mine!

We finished off the night with our traditional fondue dessert. Pound cake, bananas, and strawberries dipped in chocolate. In my opinion, the best part of V-day!

Happy day of love!

Harry Potter Family Night!

Josh and I decided to surprise the kiddos with a Harry Potter Family Fun Night! We made our own witch/wizards hats, drank poly-juice potion, and enjoyed chocolate 'wands'. We finished off the night by watching Harry Potter 1 (Its the least scary of the HP films). This family of mine sure does love all things HP. It was so fun for Josh and I to execute our plan and surprise the kids. Our next family night has a theme of 'A Bugs Life'. Stay tuned!.............