Time flies when you're having fun...

May 2008

2 and a half years later

 

The last 2 and a half years has certainly flown by! 

Breakfast with Santa

The kids got to have breakfast with Santa (and Grandma Jan and Papaw Bob) this weekend.  They did great with him again; went right up and got on his lap, told him what they wanted and smiled for pictures.  They were pretty fascinated with the reindeer food and candy cane he gave them.  They're still trying to grasp the concept that Christmas isn't tomorrow and they still have to wait a little longer before he brings them presents. :o)

 

 

This has been such a fun Christmas with them.  I think we've watched a Christmas movie or cartoon every day since Thanksgiving.  (Being the Christmas lover that I am, I'm thoroughly enjoying their excitement this year!)  They LOVE the Christmas lights on all the houses, and if they see the lights aren't on, they immediately deem them broken.  Every, single evening when we pull into the garage, they say, "Mommy, the Christmas lights are broken.  Daddy will have to fix them again."  My reply every, single evening is, "They aren't broken; it's just not dark enough yet."  Maybe one day soon they'll get it. :o)  Nonetheless, we're having a blast this December!

Say CHEESE!

Santa Visit

A year can make a big difference when dealing with Santa Claus...

Christmas 2008



Christmas 2009


















Christmas 2010



Yes, I know it's before Thanksgiving and we already took our kids to see Santa.  I promise we won't turn our Christmas lights on or put up our tree until AFTER Thanksgiving. :o)

We weren't sure how it would go, so we thought we'd do an early 'trial run' given the way they acted with him last year. To our surprise, they loved him!  The most talked about item on their wish list...Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears.  (Not sure where that came from, out of the blue really.)  And of course your standard Toy Story 3 and candy for Austin and a baby doll named Emma and one princess for Lil (yes, she is very specific in her requests.)

We hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! :o)

Random Pictures

The kids LOVE 'helping' me make dinner (on the nights I actually make dinner and not just pull something out of the freezer and stick it in the oven.) :o)  Below they're helping me mix the cheeses for lasagna...I know this looks like popcorn.  We don't regularly eat popcorn for dinner, but I won't say that's never happened.

Lilly likes being goofy if you didn't already know. Here she is in her baby doll's pack-n-play...

Lilly has an infatuation with baby dolls...and names them all Emma.  This is not her complete collection.

And here's her real baby...Maggy.  Our littlest, calmest, sweetest dog Maggy is Lilly's dog.  Lilly is almost always concerned with where Maggy is and often demands that she's by her side.  She will sit with Maggy on her lap, content as can be for a solid 30 minutes.  (I know 30 minutes may not sound like a lot, but for Lil, that's a long time to be in one place!)

And here's Austin.  I know the lighting isn't the best in this picture, but he just looks so much older in this one. 

We're all doing pretty well.  We're trying to tackle the potty training thing.  It's sporadic at this point, but I think they're catching on to the concept.  Wish us luck!  We can't wait to get rid of diapers!!! :o)

Happy Halloween!

 From the cutest gnomes on the block...

 

 

The kids had a blast at our friends' Jenni and Gaston's Halloween Party last night.  They had so much fun with all the other kids, not to mention all the candy they were allowed to freely eat. :o)

The kids had another fun-filled night tonight with their cousins.  Lilly and Austin enjoyed their first 'trick-or-treating' experience in Aunt Maria and Uncle J's neighborhood with cousins Ella (Eskimo,) Will (Peyton Manning,) and Conrad (Max from Where the Wild Things Are.)  They generously let the adults tag along (including Aunt Julia, Uncle Pat, Grandma Jan and Papaw Bob) while Grandma Robbi and Grandpa Marlin stayed at Aunt Maria's to pass out candy.

 

 

 

 

We ended the night with a visit to our good friend Teresa and Earl's house where the kids not only got a bag of candy but a tray of cupcakes to take home as well.  (Thanks for the loads of sugar for the 2-year olds!)  It was a GREAT Halloween weekend! :o)

FLORIDA!

We took the kids to Florida this past week and weekend.  Our friends Ashley and Adam got married on the beach.  While Dustin and I were in the wedding on Madeira Beach (near Tampa,) the kids stayed with Aunt Kathy, Uncle Mark, Kindie and Kelsey in Oviedo (just outside of Orlando.)  It sounds like they had a wonderful time without us!  While we missed them, we enjoyed ourselves for a few days on the beach with beautiful weather and a perfect, sunset wedding.

The kids were so excited to ride in an airplane.  Overall, they did really well.  Dustin and I were pleasantly surprised.  They were really good on our first flight from Indy to Atlanta.  By the time we waited a couple hours, boarded the second plane, and waited our turn in line for the runway, Austin was getting a little cranky.  But as soon as we got up in the air, they were both zonked until we landed.

 

 

 

 

The kids enjoyed a fun time with cousins Kindie and Kelsey (and their boyfriends Brian and Jerad) and Aunt Kathy and Uncle Mark while we were at the wedding.  They LOVED the zoo.  (I'll have more pictures to post once my cousins send them to me.)  They were also spoiled with a trip to Jeremiah's Italian Ice, which is one of my personal Oviedo favorites.  :o)



We arrived in Orlando on Wednesday evening.  Dustin and I headed for Madeira Beach on Thursday.  We were busy with the wedding 'stuff' Thursday evening and all afternoon and evening Friday.  This was probably the most beautiful and perfect wedding I've seen.  Picture the gentle breeze blowing, low 80's, your feet in the cool sand, about 50 guests and onlookers as the bride and groom say their vows while the sun sets behind them and with a full moon in the distance.  GORGEOUS!  OK...enough of the sappy stuff.  It was awesome, and Dustin and I LOVED being a part of it!  :o)

 

Dustin and I came back to Oviedo Sunday afternoon.  We sent cousin Kelsey back to school and cousin Kindie off on her 2 week adventure in Italy.  Then we took the kiddos to Downtown Disney.  This is an area outside of Disney World (and FREE) that has fun restaurants and shops for the kids.  They seemed to enjoy themselves.  We ate at the T-Rex cafe complete with dinosaurs that moved (and scared Austin) and a meteor shower every 20 minutes, played with Lego's at the Lego store (which included a few dogs and their owners and a sea monster made out of Lego's,) road a train and carousel, and took pictures with their favorite characters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a wonderful trip to Florida!!!  (Now lets just hope the plane rides back tomorrow go as smooth.)

Pumpkins

Lark Ranch

The kids had a great weekend!  After we 'walked to cure diabetes' at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation downtown Indy on Saturday morning, we headed to Greenfield to visit the Lark Ranch.  The kids had a blast!  Our afternoon included fun with cousins Will and Abby, feeding some very nice donkeys, a trip (by Austin and Abby) down a huge slide, pony rides, and of course a hayride to the pumpkin patch.