Christmas Eve 2012

On the years we celebrate Christmas in Kansas City, we always spend Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family. In fact, we've done that since I was born I think. We always enjoy our big family get togethers! Maybe I even enjoy them more than everyone else because I'm the only one who lives out of town, and I definitely don't get to see them as often as I'd like to!! 

My sister was the hostess-with-the-mostess this year, as usual!! She's got a big beautiful house with lots of space for the kiddos to play and the grown ups to eat visit. Our family visits ALWAYS include a huge spread of yummy and delicious snacks, which is probably another reason I always look forward to our Christmas Eve get togethers!

We have done a dirty Santa ornament exchange over the years, instead of exchanging gifts, and each year it seems to get more and more exciting! Just ask my cousin Chris about his creepy-baby ornament :)  

This was our first year without my Grandma there. Christmas Eve was my Grandma's favorite night of the year, I'm sure! She was always showered with presents, which she accepted greatly, with laughs and cackles galore! We knew Christmas would be different without her, but we know she was with us and our Christmas spirit was just as strong, just as she would've wanted it! After all, she taught us all to love Christmas with our whole hearts!! So my Grandpa got to partake in the ornament exchange and the receiving of gifts, something he will learn to enjoy! My sister and I made photo books of all the pictures of my Grandma we could find. Everyone loved them so, and I'm sure we will pull it out at each Christmas and let her see that, even though she's not with us in person, she is always with us in spirit!

And then, like we say we will do each year (and we hardly ever actually do!) we took a family picture!!! Eric set up his tripod, I got my camera ready to go, and in just three takes we got these two amazing pictures!! 

I just love our family!! 

Our Family Christmas

Santa emailed me and said we were very lucky people and he was going to come to our house BEFORE Christmas Eve! The boys were thrilled!! So, on Friday December 19th, we set out cookies and carrots and chocolate milk, and hoped Santa would do as he said! AND HE DID!

The boys leisurely woke up about 7:30 and I was all ready with the camera to see their faces as they came around the corner to see their presents!! Grant immediately went to the Imaginext Pirate Ship and when we told him that was Wyatt's present, he said, "Oh. Cool. I got Legos!" Then they opened their stockings to find all sorts of goodies!! Then I said, "Let's open the rest of our presents!" Grant responded, "These are all for us? WOW, I didn't know!"  

So they took turns opening presents. Grant got a Razor scooter, more Legos, a new Imaginext plane, a bathtub set from Wyatt (which he ran right over to Wyatt for thank you hugs!), Connect 4, and an Imaginext Batman with submarine. Wyatt got a bulldozer, grater, set of balls, a farm set from Grant (which also made him give Grantbig thank you hugs!), and an Imaginext Batman with a four-wheeler. They loved seeing what each other got and were so excited as each present was opened! They did a great job taking turns!!

After the presents were opened, Levi asked if the boys had seen Shed yet. Shed hadn't returned to the North Pole yet since it wasn't Christmas Eve. So we searched and searched the house looking for Shed. They found him sitting on Levi's nightstand, right next to a new iPad. Grant shouted, "Dad, you got a new iPad for Christmas!!!!!"  We told him that was for them to play with and both their faces lit up!! They were totally surprised!! Grant was even more surprised to see that I downloaded a new Lego App just for him!

It was a fabulous day filled with lots of joy and Christmas spirit!! 

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Have I mentioned before how much I LOVE Grant's preschool?? Well, I do. And today, I might just love it even more than I already did! This time of year makes me appreciate 110% that Grant goes to a Christian preschool! The thought of sending him to a school where you can't celebrate Christmas, let alone, celebrate Jesus' birthday, really makes me uncomfortable (that's a whole other topic, eek!)! And that's exactly what Grant's school did today- they had a birthday party for Jesus! It was ADORABLE!! I walked in to hear his teacher, Ms. Terry, retelling  and acting out the story of the night of Jesus' birth. The kids were pretending to be shepherds and angels, and it was really just the cutest thing you've ever seen! Then they sang numerous songs, like Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and Go Tell it on the Mountain. And then came the birthday festivities- complete with cake, ice cream, party hats, and noise makers! The guest of honor even made an appearance at the party (notice baby Jesus in the top right picture?!)  After snacks, some people from a local food bank called Horn of Plenty came to pick up all the food the kids had been bringing in the entire month. The kids were all so proud of themselves to see the boxes upon boxes of food they had collected!

 After that, the kids went back into the big room and watched a few minutes of a nativity cartoon. Then, they went through the halls of the church and activity center caroling to all the guests and staff. They are just so darn cute! Wyatt even wanted to partake in the caroling! And then it was time to say goodbye! The teachers gave each child their very own present, a brand new Christmas book (which we had to read as soon as we got home!). 

I thoroughly enjoy every minute of every activity I see of Grant's school. We are so blessed to have found a wonderful school that let's us celebrate Christmas as it should be!

500 and a Mommy Moment

This is my 500th post on my blog! I can't believe I've already hit that mark! I remember after my first blog post thinking, I doubt I will actually keep up with this thing! Well, turns out, I did! And I am so so so so so thankful I have! One of my favorite pastimes is to pick a random post from a random year and read it! All those memories come flooding back to me like they just happened! That was my goal when I started that continues to be my goal! I hope you've all enjoyed reading as much as I've enjoyed writing!

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Now, onto a Mommy Moment. This entire month of Christmas, I felt like we really did our Christmas spirit justice! We started off with donating shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, we made "bell ringer bags" and filled them with coins from the boys' piggy banks so they could drop money every time we see a bell ringer, we donated Toys for Tots, we thoughtfully bought gifts for our families, made surprises for our neighbors, and really let the Christmas spirit come alive!!  Well, last night as I was running through the upcoming weekend events with Grant, I told him that we are going to open our presents on Saturday, before we leave for Kansas. And so innocently, he looked at me and said, "You mean we are getting presents too?"  I realized at that moment that he has lived this whole month only thinking of others! Sure, he asked Santa for a present but he didn't ever ask us for anything, or even expect us to buy him anything! Never once had I heard him wonder about what he would be getting for Christmas or talked about his wishlist!  It was a very proud moment!! I am so happy to see my little boy display such a wonderful, giving, and thoughtful heart. 

December Artwork

I have been waiting not-so-patiently to see all of Grant's artwork he made at school this month! He hasn't brought home a single piece so I knew he would be bringing a whole load home today at his party! I'm pretty sure Christmas crafts are my favorite pieces of kid artwork of ALL TIME!

 I love that he goes to a Christian preschool and Jesus' birth is celebrated each and every day! The songs, the stories, the artwork just make my heart melt! It's also pretty awesome that he does at least one art project every day he goes to school!! Makes for lots of pretties to hang on our walls!! (And lots of decisions for me about which ones to keep forever...still working on that system!)

We also were busy at home making a few craft projects! Here is a small sampling of some work we did at home, by both Grant and Wyatt!

I'm pretty sure if I could laminate them all and put them in a binder, I would!! I just eat this stuff up!

Christmas Lights Galore

This past weekend, we ventured into Kansas City to fufill another Christmas tradition- seeing Christmas in the Park at Longview Lake. They were celebrating their 25th anniversary, so I guess we started going to this about 25 years ago!! I couldn't wait to show my boys all the lights!! A lot of the displays I remember from when I was a kid!! I tried to get a picture of everything I could, but with the speed my dad was driving as well as the movement of the displays, not many turned out!

We got to take my nephews as well, so all the boys were constantly saying, "Look at this one!" or "Wow, look at that one over there!" or "AWESOME!" They loved it, and so did I! Just like my childhood!!

And speaking of Christmas lights....

Here is our house!! This has been a huge creation with Levi and Grant! They are constantly bringing home more lights, and I love it!! Grant is in a secret competition with the house by Walmart who has a lot of yard decorations and lights. I love his enthusiasm to have the house with "the best Christmas lights EVER!"  

 Levi made the Nativity scene on the left and he has all the rest of the pieces cut out, just hasn't painted them yet. So that will be in next years display! As I'm sure will all the lights Grant and Levi can find on sale after Christmas!!

We just can't get enough Christmas lights!!!!!!

Christmas Cottages

I saw this idea on Pinterest MONTHS ago and I knew this was something we had to do! I figured since we've moved ALOT over the years, we would have some good boxes to use. But, they were all full of stuff (either we are hoarders or just lazy people who don't unpack??) so a trip to Lowe's for more moving boxes and $12 at the Dollar Tree and we were all set!  

The boys had a blast deciding where to put their decorations and soon, our houses were complete! They decided that their houses were their secret Lego factories and no one could come in to see what they were working on! They absolutely love playing in them!! 

Maybe next year I can get a big huge box so we can all go inside- I want to play in there too!!

Instagram Dump

Here is my mid-December (because I'm sure I'll have a late-December one) Instagram Dump! Enjoy a glimpse into our everyday lives!

Grant watched my screensaver, Wyatt did Christmas school, the boys did "puppet shows," they boys destroyed played with a roll of wrapping paper, I wrapped some presents, Wyatt helped himself to some school work, Wyatt sucked his thumb while driving at night to Grandma and Grandpa's house, Grant drew him and Wyatt, Grant anxiously sat in the car in the dark on the way to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

St. Nicholas

A tradition I always celebrated as a kid was St. Nicholas! His feast day is Dec 6 and we celebrate his generous life of giving, especially to children! We read a story of St. Nicholas' life before bedtime. Traditionally, children set out their shoes for St. Nicholas to fill, but Grant decided stockings were a better idea because the first gift St. Nicholas ever gave were gold coins in a sock hung by the fireplace to dry. 

So the boys woke up to find that St. Nicholas came, bearing gifts, of course!

(sorry for the bad quality- dark mornings and iPhone's dont mix!)

St. Nicholas brought The Wonder Pets Save the Nutcracker DVD and a Candy Land book for Grant and a Max and Ruby Christmas DVD and a Candy Land book for Wyatt! Grant said, "St. Nicholas knew just what we liked!" 

Shed's Antics

Our elf, Shed, has returned again this year!! The boys kept asking and asking when (or if) he was going to come and finally on December 1st, he came!!!! The boys were so so so excited!! Shed is a very quiet, yet observant elf, but he does like to hide in some sneaky places! Here are Shed's antics so far....

- Dec 1: Shed shows up on our Christmas tree!

- Dec 2: Rudolph played some reindeer games on Shed while we were sleeping!

- Dec 3: Shed spent some time with baby Jesus!

- Dec 4:  Shed got creative and stamped some artwork for the boys!

- Dec 5: Shed must have hitched a ride back from the North Pole with the Wonder Pets!

- Dec 6: Shed hid out in the stockings waiting to get a glimpse of St. Nicholas!

- Dec 7: Shed thought our Christmas wreath was a good accessory for him!

- Dec 10: We were out of town for Piper's birthday party, so Shed watched the clock til our return!

- Dec 11: Shed got a little tangled up after wrapping some Christmas presents! Silly elf!

Stay tuned for more antics from Shed...

Santa, Through the Years

If you look back at my Santa pictures from my childhood, it would take up a whole book! I sat on Santa's lap until my early twenties...and no, I'm not joking!! My sister and I sat on Santa's lap so my mom could have a picture of us! She loved it!  But I admit- looking back at those pictures through the years make me smile- well, more laugh at my ugly hair, my choice of Mickey Mouse sweater, the size of my bangs! It really is comical!! But thinking about it made me want to look back at the past 4 years of Santa in our house!! 

I think Grant's crying face in 2008 is totally priceless! That was pretty much my face until I turned 4 years old!! Wyatt, in 2010, had no clue what was going on- a far difference than Grant in 2008!! But you can see in 2011, they both were nothing but smiles!!  

And this year of course- all smiles and giggles!! I wonder how long this tradition will carry on in our house! I'm guessing probably not through my boys' early twenties!! ;)

Vance Christmas Party

Yesterday we attended the Vance AFB Children's Christmas Party! All the squadrons worked together to pull off a fantastic party for all the kids!! Our squadron, the 33rd, had a paper plate Christmas tree decorating table! It was a hugely successful glittery mess good time!! Lots of fun games, snacks, and pictures with Santa of course! Our squadron is lucky to have an awesome photographer, so she was around to take some candid shots! I pulled out a few of my favorites to share on here!! The kids all cracked me up!!

My friend Eileen said it best when she commented, "The kids picture should be labeled Naughty and Nice!"  Funny how some kids love group photos and some HATE them!!

My Favorite Ornaments

It's funny, but I was already planning on doing a post on my favorite ornaments! After all, I've already done ONE about Grant's favorite ornaments! But my dear blogging friend over at Our Journey sent me a link up to this Show and Tell! 

So here you go...and let me tell you, deciding on my favorite ornament is like asking which child is my favorite!! It just isn't possible! However, I picked a few out that I get super excited to pull out of the box even thinking about Christmas ornaments! 

Let me preface these pictures by stating that I have had a Christmas tree in my room as early as I can remember- probably 5 years old at least! And it wasn't a tiny tree, a stand alone 4ft tree! So I started my ornament collection at a VERY early age! I should also preface that my mom was probably Mrs. Claus in a former life, as her love for Christmas goes beyond most people's! So with that combination, my ornament collection is well over 300+ and has been since I was in college! And since my boys have been born, I'm sure its about 400+ now!

-     The top left ornament is one of my Crayola collection ornaments  I probably have 7 or 8 Crayola ornaments. The boys really like this one because of his wiggly legs! I just think he's super adorable!!

-    The bottom left was an ornament I picked out when I was about 12 years old at Crown Center. My family used to go there every year to see Santa and we'd get to pick out an ornament from their amazing Christmas store! I just love the colors and simplicity of this ornament! It makes me smile!

-  The middle ornament is one from my childhood. I remember picking it out at the Family Tree Nursery. I loved those little fuzzy bears when I was a kid! I'm really surprised this ornament is still in tact, after all it is probably 25 years old!!

-   The top right is Mickey Mouse making an snow angel. I have a pretty decent collection of Disney ornaments! Its just too adorable and you cant help but smile at it!

-  The middle right is an icicle Santa. I really remember when and where I got most of my ornaments, but I don't remember where this one came from. I know he's been around for a good 15 years, and I love the bright colors! It's hard to tell from the picture but there are little start shooting out of Santa's hat!!

-  The bottom right is possibly the oldest ornament I have! I remember getting this one from the Family Tree Nursery too. I had a thing for teddy bears back in the day! And balloons too! I thought this one bit the dust this year when I pulled this out and all the boxes were not nested anymore. But with a little tweaking, I saved it!! Phew!!

Honestly, I took about 30 pictures of my ornaments because I couldn't really pick my favorites! But this handful contains the ornaments that I would describe to people if they asked about my ornaments, say sometime in July! These would be the ones I'd think of! I think these are the type of ornaments my boys gravitate towards as well, which could also be why they are my favorites!

I hope you've enjoyed my Show and Tell!!

North Pole City

Today, the boys and our friends, Amy and Graham, went to North Pole City in OKC to visit Santa!! Amy said this place was absolutely beautiful, but I almost couldn't believe my eyes when we walked in the building!! SO.MANY.CHRISTMAS.DECORATIONS!!! It was stunning!! There were hundreds of trees decked to the every last inch! It was just awesome! I wanted to take two of everything home with me!! They had a cute little train that the boys rode around! They loved that!!!  Then we got a buzzer to hold our place in line to see Santa! How cool that we didn't actually have to stand in line?? We meandered around and checked out the largest little Christmas Village I have ever seen!!!

When our buzzer sounded, we went up to Santa's living room and got to chat with him. The boys were shy, but definitely not scared!! Grant told Santa he wanted a remote control car that was yellow (first I've heard of this...) and Wyatt told Santa he wanted a super-duper fast monster truck (again...huh?!?). Then Santa asked if they wanted an aardvark? He said they were good for getting ants out of your pants! :)  He must have been watching Gran the last 4.5 years!! They sat on his lap and got a pretty decent picture!  

I'm pretty sure that Santa was the REAL DEAL!! He was just as jolly and plump as I would expect Santa to be!!  We definitely know where we are going to see Santa next year!!!

Mommy Moments

I  just adore the sweet things that come out of my kid's mouths! They really are so innocent, sweet, and thoughtful!! Well, most of the time...

-  While dropping Grant off at preschool one morning, Wyatt said, "Bubba's school has frosting on the roof. Brrrrrr! It must be really cold!" I guess this whole "frost in the morning" thing is new for Wyatt. 

- Grant was playing with his Tinker Toys and I told him that I loved all his ideas he comes up with. He said, "God gave me the hugest brain in the whole world so I could build the neatest, coolest things with my Tinkertoys!" He often says his ideas come from "his brain God gave him." I guess I may have said, "Use your brain! God gave it to you for a reason!" a time or two ;)

- Wyatt woke up from his nap the other day and always wants me to pick him up and snuggle him. I gave him a little kiss on the cheek and he says, "Ugh, Mom you slobbered all over me!"

- The boys have been playing this random game called they call "Ketchup and Mustard." They pretend to squirt each other with ketchup and mustard. They run around the entire house and laugh hysterically! I had a random squirt bottle, so I put a piece of red construction paper in it to pretend it has ketchup. So of course, I had to get another one at Walmart to make a mustard bottle with! Who knew that game could be endless fun!?!  

I do love my crazy little wild sweet boys!!!

I Love Christmas!

The picture shows exactly why I love Christmas. Have you ever seen something that is so happy, full of joy, makes you smile, filled with dream, hope, and wonder?? 

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

Semi-Homemade Gingerbread Houses

Last year, Grant and I embarked on making a little Gingerbread Tree, from a kit. I have to say, it was pretty boring. Grant lost interest immediately, and I wound up doing all the work! This year, we decided to make them from scratch. Well, sort of. We used graham crackers, because- well, I just didn't want to bake gingerbread! We first headed to the candy store at the mall to find lots of different goodies to decorate our tree with! And after some tricky engineering of the house (and a shed built by Levi), and a little naptime, it was time to decorate. 

Wyatt decorated the shed and Grant decorated the house. It was pretty tricky to get some of the pieces to stick since they were kind of heavy and our icing was a little runny, but it all worked out! The boys really enjoyed decorating their houses! And they look alot more festive than the kit we did last year. 

I think we may have started a new tradition!!!

Lighting Up Enid, Sort Of

On Friday night, Enid held their Lighting Up the Plains festival in downtown Enid. I know we moved to a small town, compared to Jacksonville, but we were still hoping to have a beautiful Christmas light celebration to attend. Afterall, we've experienced St. Augustine a few times, and San Antiono once. So I suppose you could say we were kind of spoiled with extravagant Christmas light displays. However, Enid's was quite disappointing! But, I have heard rumors that there were some technical difficulties, so maybe it could've been better. We did see some lights, saw some friends, walked around downtown, and then headed out for pizza. We wanted to stick around for the fireworks display, but we didn't want to stand around in the cold for an hour. It was fun to get out as a family though! But I think next year, we will wait til firework time to show up!

Tree Decorating!

We decorated our tree this past Monday. I know, it was early! BUT, Levi was off work this whole week, so we took our time decorating for Christmas and thought it would be much more enjoyable that rushing to get it done over a weekend! The boys had a great time exploring all our decorations! Grant and Daddy put the star on the top of the tree! Then, after the tree was all decorated, I hid two pickle ornaments for the boys to find! (see the Legend of the Pickle Ornament here). My boys are just like their father and can't find their nose in front of their face! But they eventually found them pickles and got to enjoy their first candy cane of the season!! 

I love traditions that I can carry on from my childhood and pass them on to my kids!! I feel like the Christmas season has many traditions I hope to pass on, so my kids can enjoy the holidays as much as I do!!

Grant's Thanksgiving Feast

On Tuesday, Grant had his Thanksgiving Feast at school. Is anyone really surprised that Grant ate only popcorn and pumpkin pie?? Seriously, the look on his face as they walked into the Big Room as he smelled all the food, immediately showed his disgust! But he was happy to be sitting by his buddy, Creed!  Daddy and Wyatt came too, which was very special since Levi never gets to come to Grant's school. But since he took off this whole week, it got to be a family affair! After their feast, the kids went to play Bingo, then came back to the Big Room for a rousing game of Musical Chairs. Grant had a BLAST playing that game! He and his buddy, Colton, followed each other super close and made sure to get a chair everytime (well, there happened to be one chair for every kid!), but Grant got the idea of the game really well! I love that he loves his school!!

After school, we grabbed a quick lunch and then had a little family time at Leonardo's! I love days that we can do everything as a family of four! That's definitely something to be thankful for!!!

Instagram Dump

I love using Instagram! But I often find I'm left with these random pictures that don't make any sense if I blog them individually! But as a whole, you can get a gist for our little daily happenings!

This month, we played silly guessing games, did Christmas school, looked really cute, wore blankets in the car, tried potty training with Wyatt, and decorated our Christmas tree!

Happy November!

Grant's Preschool

Forgive my laziness, but these are pictures of pictures! Our scanner is hiding far away from my computer, so this just seemed easier!

I am absolutely in love with Grant's preschool, and he is too! When we moved here, I immediately looked up  Christian preschools and heard great things about Oakwood Christian Preschool. We decided to try it as our church too, and we all fell in love. Well, Wyatt hasn't yet, but maybe someday he will!

Grant goes to preschool Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On Monday and Friday, he always asks, "Do I have school today?" When I say no, he usually says, "Aw, darn!"  

I just wish his school went through elementary!! The thought of finding a good school for kindergarten has been very daunting to me! We will find our place eventually, but for now, I am enjoying every minute of Grant's preschool!

Writing Samples

It's been a long time in the making for Grant! But he's finally starting to find an interest in writing!! Whereas Wyatt has had an interest from the get-go. Both of them are making incredible progress! Makes my teacher heart happy!! 

The sample on the left is a Thank You letter Grant wrote to Mimi and PawPaw. It says, "I Love You Mimi PawPaw. Grant."  I love it!!!  The sample on the right is Wyatt's letter tracing he did one morning as part of his "homework." This is one of his favorite activities during "school time." He can make t's and o's and m's on his own. But he can trace pretty much anything!!

I love to see my boys spark new interests- especially in necessary skills! I often wonder what kind of students my boys are going to be like! I can see Grant having a very "whatever" attitude about his grades. He might be the kid who is happy with a B. But I think Wyatt is going to be a little perfectionist and expect a 100% every time! Levi and I were both like that! Guess we shall see!

For now, I'm happy to see them even have any interest in writing!!

Grant Graduated!!

On November 15th, Grant graduated from swimming lessons! He did two session as an Eel and passed with flying colors!! We are taking a break from swimming lessons for awhile, maybe when it warms up again! But he did amazing and I can't wait to see where his swimming future goes from here!!

I'm proud of you Bubba!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Another holiday where I have an excuse to make handprint/footprint art!!

We are spending today as a little family of four, just enjoying each others company! Something we haven't had much of these last few months! So we're going to eat turkey, pumpkin pie, watch the Parade, and then head to Oklahoma City to spend the night at a hotel and do a little shopping! Our version of a staycation!!

We are sending lots of love to all our family and friends who are celebrating elsewhere!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!

Grant's November Artwork

The amount of artwork that Grant brings home is astounding! He does an art project every day with his teacher, Ms. Tabitha. And I want to keep EVERY SINGLE PIECE!! I've tried taking pictures of most of them, and from now on, I will take pictures of everything!! But I want to do something with those pictures. So, I am going to try and do a monthly artwork display! Mostly for my own memory, and his too of course! So here is a sampling of Grant's school artwork!

You can see most of their work was holiday themed, and musical themed! There is also a sweet little hummingbird in there too!! I just love kid art work! I'd take these masterpieces over any other artwork out there!!!

Harpy Love

Grant has had a special place in his heart for Harp Seals since we went to Sea World the first time (evidence HERE). Well, when we got out the Christmas ornaments this weekend, I opened a box to find a whole set of Harp Seal ornaments I loved getting when I was a kid. They are some of my very favorite ornaments to hang on the tree each year, but I didn't even think about how much Grant would love them! You should've seen his face when I showed him the box!! Wish I would've had my camera at that moment!! It was love at first sight! He couldn't wait to put them on the tree!! He hung them all together so they could all be friends and "enjoy Christmas together."  

I love Grant's sweet little heart! Sometimes his sweetness is shadowed by his craziness, but some things just really make his heart swell!!

Family Pictures!!!

The last time we had professional family pictures taken, we looked like this...

Wyatt was 10.5 months, Grant was about to turn three, and we'd only survived 1.5 deployments! Seems like FOREVER ago! 

So we were definitely due for some good pictures!! We were very fortunate that Levi's squadron was offering pictures to be taken with his aircraft, the T-6. I knew the photographer who was doing that and asked if she could take some other pictures of us as well! Luckily, she agreed!

So without further ado, here are our newest family pictures that will grace our walls!

Grant gave us his "Bug Bunny' smile on most pictures, so I'm hoping the next time we get pictures taken, he will have learned how to give a good "fake smile." And I also hope my double chin is gone by then ;)

And if you're in need of a photographer in Enid, Chic Charlie's Photography comes highly recommended!!

Dapper Boys

 I got my boys all dressed and ready for Church, and I thought, "They hardly ever look THIS cute, so we better do a mini-photo shoot!" Boy, I'm glad I did!! They actually gave me something to work with, which is rare!! 

Grant said he looked like a candy cane and that Wyatt looked like a Christmas tree! I bought these shirts and vests and very different shopping occasions, but I'm happy I subconsciously picked the same colors! Funny how those things kinda work out sometimes!

These boys have really been giving me a run for my money lately, so I'm glad I got the opportunity to be among all smiles between the three of us! They really do make my heart swell!

Operation Christmas Child

We've already planned a shopping day for Toys for Tots next week, but when a friend of mine told me about Operation Christmas Child, I knew we had to do this!! I'm always looking for some ways to help my boys think outside themselves and help other people. They're at a hard age for them to really understand that, but its never too early to introduce the idea! 

The idea behind Operation Christmas Child is to fill a shoe box of items for a boy or girl of a certain age. These shoe boxes are delivered all over the world to children who wouldn't otherwise have Christmas gifts. I told the boys about this idea before they went to bed last night and they were so excited to go shopping this afternoon! Wyatt picked out items for a girl age 2-4, and Grant picked out items for a boy age 5-9. They had a blast thinking of what other kids would enjoy playing with!! Their shoe boxes were so full, I was hoping we would actually be able to get the lid on! We are taking them to the drop off location tomorrow, so I'm hoping to solidify what an impact they are making!
'Tis the season for giving!!

Trouble in Paradise

The day has finally come. We had to un-bunk the bunk beds!! It's been a few weeks in the making. The boys started sleeping too little and causing much trouble! Not sure if this solution will work,or if we will have to actually separate rooms- which I don't want to, since I don't want to lose the playroom- but my sanity is relying on this!! I enjoy naptime, and I plan on enjoying naptime for a few more months at least!! But these past few weeks, naptime has not been enjoyable! Between timeouts, and taking things away, and threats, the boys got what they deserved! We said they could earn their bunk beds back if they can start making better choices!! 

I know Grant is about done with naps, but he needs a rest time of some sort. I don't mind if he would sit in his bed for a while and read or whatever. He does need a short nap, if anything! But I know when Grant stops taking naps, Wyatt will too, so I'm going to hold out for as long as I can!

Hopefully this is just a phase....we shall see!

Cousins and Competition

My nephews and my parents came in town this weekend and the boys had a blast playing together! The weather was GORGEOUS, perfect for lots of playtime outside!! 

On Sunday morning, Levi made the boys an obstacle course! It's something my boys love for him to do and they get so excited when Levi has the time for it! Mason and Luke were thrilled as well. So after some setup, the boys were ready to race!

Here are the steps to the obstacle course:

1. Run to pick up your net and scoop up 4 golf balls without using your hands.

2. Drop the balls in the a bucket and walk across the balance beam.

3. Crawl under the ropes connected to the chairs. 

4. Walk across the "snake" (hose) and without "waking it up" (touching it).

5. Use your lawn mower to push a ball to the end of the cones.

6. Scoop your ball up with a net and put it in the dump truck.

7. Push your dump truck to the end of the cones.

8. Jump over the hay bail.

9. Put the detonator to win the race!

Everyone had a great time! And I mean everyone...

Yep, even us grown-ups got in on the fun!! 

We love having our families come visit!!

Trick-Or-Treat!

Our Halloween day was filled with lots and lots of candy!! After Grant's Celebration of Autumn party at school, we came home and took a well needed rest and then geared up to head out to trick-or-treat! Levi's squadron had a whole setup for all the families to come trick or treat there! And it was a good thing we did that, since Levi worked til 9:00pm that night so he missed out on the rest of the festivities! Some of the flights did a good job of decorating their part of the squadron, so much so that Grant refused to even enter a few of the rooms. He said they were too scary, so he was "outta here!" But Wyatt had no fear- he just wanted the candy!! It was a great time and the boys loved being at Daddy's work, even if only a little bit!! Behind the picture of Levi and the boys, you can see what Levi works on ALL DAY LONG...the flight schedule!!!

After that, we headed to my friend Amy's house for a little dinner and then to trick-or-treat in her neighborhood with her little man, Graham. You know, since our neighborhood has all of 3 houses, one being our own! So after a quick dinner, we hit the streets! Since Grant was the oldest and tallest, he was our official doorbell ringer! The boys did a great job going house to house! After two or three blocks, I think their candy buckets were just too heavy to keep going! So we headed home with two FULL buckets of candy!  

The weather was absolutely perfect- probably the most perfect weather I can remember! Trick-or-Treating in Florida and in Texas were both TOO hot, so it was nice to be just right!! The kids had a blast and are already talking about what they want to be for next year!!

Halloween School Party!

This morning, Grant had his "Celebration of Autumn" party at school. It was so fun watching them sing their seasonal songs and look at all their artwork displayed around the Big Room. They had fun treats and crowns too! Wyatt got to join in the fun as well! After some yummy snacks and some outside time, the party was over! Super quick- just how we like them! 

The bottom left picture is Grant and his little friend, Gracie Beth. She's the only girl Grant ever really talks about, so she must be kinda special! :)