Family Pictures 2013

For the last post of 2013, our family pictures made in November is the perfect choice.  We had fun, and only a little less than enthusiasm from Beau.  Lincoln was super ready with his "cheese" face, but Beau was a little shy.  The pictures turned out great and really showed us as a family.

We are so blessed to have each other, and we have had an amazing 2013.  What hope we can take into 2014 . . . let's have the best year ever!!!

Trip to Arkansas!

The boys set out on a fun adventure on Sunday morning . . . a trip to Arkansas!!!  It's been too long since we have been to visit.  (Specifically since I was pregnant with Beau and got sick from burning fields!)  Needless to say, the boys couldn't even imagine what fun and loved ones were waiting for them to arrive.  We made the relatively easy drive from Dallas to Minnie and Bubbles' house with only a small (major 30 minute hiccup at Whataburger because of a ketchup burger for Linc!!!!) delay.  The kids picked out Monsters Inc for the first half of the drive and Monsters University for the back half.  It was pretty great timing that we just had a few minutes to chat before we got there.  After hugs and a tour of their new house, the boys and Minnie got busy with Play Dough - their favorite!  Bubbles cooked us a super yummy pork tenderloin dinner with steamed broccoli, and Minnie made her famous macaroni and cheese.  It was time to exchange a few Christmas gifts with the Freemans, and we immediately set up the Captain Hook game to play.  This one requires a delicate touch not to knock Hook in the water, and neither of my boys has learned that skill yet!  They'll get lots of practice with this game.

What could be better for two Monsters fans that their own Mike and Sully masks?!?!  These have definitely been a favorite . . . thanks Ally! 

The boys changed into their lucky Cowboys jerseys to cheer on their team, but it just didn't go their way on this final game of the season.  The only way to heal a heartbreak like that is chocolate covered ice cream cones, of course! 

On Monday morning, we got on the road early to visit lots of relatives in Dumas.  It was a surprise that it snowed on us the entire way there!  We knew the cold front was coming in, but the snow was amazing.  Our first stop was at Auntie's house.  She had so much yummy food prepared for lunch, but I wouldn't imagine anything else.  Dumplings for Bubbles and Ally, meatloaf for Minnie and myself, fried okra, mashed potatoes, purple hull peas, and chicken strips, tater tots and peas with carrots for the boys.  It was delish!!!  The boys were also awarded with a super special chocolate pudding with cream!  They weren't on their best picture taking behavior on this day, but they did have fun with Auntie.   

Besides lunch, the most popular things at Auntie's house was the rocking chair.  Lincoln and Beau loved to rock people wildly!  Everyone had to hold on tight as these two went crazy.  Ally was a victim a few times! 

We stopped by to see Grandma Ruby for a while, but the boys got a little (a lot) scared of the puppies.  I didn't get any pictures because Lincoln was climbing up me the whole time scared that the nice small doggie was going to eat him.  The doggie didn't actually eat him, just for the record!  They got cool new interactive Planes and Pirates books, so that was fun.  We headed out to the country to Memama and Poppa's house next.  After a little time to warm up, the boys really had fun playing.  Memama set up a station for Beau to take orders, and Poppa provided gold dollars to take as money.  What fun they had bossing us around while pretending to take orders!  We opened gifts and played with Sarah, Patsy and Julia Ann too! 

The boys were very serious about building real life Angry Birds sets and launching the bird at the target.  It was lots of fun! 

After the drive back to Minnie and Bubbles house, they were excited to take a shower before bed.  Showers at sleepovers are super fun, and the loved dousing themselves with cups of collected water. 

After a pretty good night of sleep, we went for donuts on Tuesday morning.  The boys played and enjoyed another few of Bubbles' special decorated sugar cookies after lunch, then it was time for the drive back home.  They picked Despicable Me for the first half of the drive, and Patsy's gift of Despicable Me 2 was the highlight of the second portion of our trip.  I didn't hear a peep for 90 minutes!!!  I was sure they would fall asleep during some of the movie, but they didn't even blink.  They were super excited to be home, even though Lincoln declared that he already missed Minnie and Bubbles as soon as we turned into our driveway.  Everyone was happy to give hugs to Daddy and get back to our normal stuff, and I think they went to sleep in record time after their bath.  It was so great to see everyone, and I know we'll make another trip before too long.  I'm so proud of Lincoln and Beau for being such big boys in the car and in their beds.  I heard way less whining during our whole trip than in 5 hours around our own house!  A change of scenery brought out the best of them, I guess.  We are so blessed to spend a little time with those people who love us from afar . . . they send letters, postcards, care packages and gifts all of the time.  It was a great way to wrap up the Christmas season!

 

 

After Christmas Fun

After all of our Christmas festivities, we've been playing nicely with our new toys.  The tents are getting a workout, as is the Home Depot station and cash register stand.  I must have put together the super hero sets a million times, and the boys have carried their Minions everywhere!!!  The gifts have been spot on!  We got out the new play dough kits again this morning and got to work.  Beau's garbage truck "poops out stinky trash" according to him!  Kind of true . . . the front loader dumps the play dough in the truck and the spinning of the wheels pulls it through and dumps it out under the truck.  Lincoln's set is much sweeter, and he loves to make fun candy shapes for us.  After a while, the boys traded so Beau could have a rest from "stinky poop trash."  We talk about poop a lot it seems. 

After lunch and a rest, it was warm enough to play outside (like 60 degrees).  Beau located a few sticks and shovels and took to digging in the flowerpots.  He transported soil to empty buckets and handed them out like prizes.  "Be very careful," he told me!  Uh, yeah, I'm not gonna touch it so don't worry!  Lincoln mostly wanted me to push him in the swing.  We worked on pumping legs.  While he knows to put his legs up then back, I'm not sure he's really putting the right effort into it.  They switched it up after a while, and Beau wanted to be pushed on the little swing.  He didn't do anything but smile while swinging! 

Lincoln moved on to soccer, and we had so much fun kicking the ball around.  We need to work on the "no hands" rule.  I'm probably not the best soccer coach around, but we laughed a lot! 

We went to Mia's for a super yummy dinner, and the boys loved their chicken tacos.  (Why have I never ordered these grilled and melty fajita tacos for them before???  I make them at home for them but never thought about it at a restaurant.  It was at mile 1.5 on my run today when the brainstorm hit, and I called Kevin completely out of breath with this revelation.  He was kind of underwhelmed!)  A visit to Monster Yogurt was super sweetly requested, so a visit we made.  After hearing all of the yogurt choices, they both picked Pomegranate Raspberry?  Really, no chocolate or vanilla?  They both added rainbow sprinkles to their exotic flavored yogurt and settled in to enjoy their sweet treat.  It was completely empty in the store . . . maybe not too many people go out for frozen yogurt on December 28?   

We're really enjoying the break from school (and work!!), and this was a wonderful week at home.  We have lots planned for our second week of vacation!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2013

Christmas Eve finally arrived, and Lincoln and Beau were excited all day!!!  We did a tiny bit of shopping, tons of cooking, and plenty of having fun!  Our church has a beautiful Christmas Eve service, so we got all dressed up and headed out.  Three handsome guys were sweet to pose for a picture.  (Well, Beau was not happy about it but couldn't help but give a sly smile when I told him that he better give his best frown face.)

We had fun singing Christmas Carols, and Lincoln grabbed the hymn book to follow along with the music notes with his finger.  He was bobbing his sweet head and singing along . . . too cute!  Beau mostly sat on my lap to sing or scribble on his coloring book.  Nana and Pops joined us, and we had a great time. 

When it was time to light our candles to sing Silent Night, the boys got super excited!  I helped Beau with his, and we managed to not burn anything down!  When we finished singing, he began to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus then blew out his candle - what a great idea!  Lincoln's sweet face is too much!   

After communion and a few more songs, we came home to have dinner.  Taco soup, cornbread muffins and cookies were on the menu, and everyone was hungry!  (No, the kids don't eat taco soup, but it isn't for lack of trying.  They had baked fish and veggies.)  It was getting late, so Pop Pop read Twas the Night Before Christmas, we bathed and got in our Santa pajamas and set out the cookies.  Lincoln decided that Santa might be tired of milk at other people's houses, and we should make him hot chocolate!  Beau was super excited about this idea and added the marshmallows.  It was a very important moment to say the least! 

Lincoln wanted to stay up to watch the news to see if they reported on Santa's progress, but Daddy found a Santa Tracker online.  He was visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico at the current moment and headed our way!  Lincoln told me we should all hurry to get to bed so he could leave our gifts while we slept.  Surprisingly, they both went to sleep quickly and quietly!

Another surprise was that they both slept until their normal time and stayed quiet in their beds until we came to get them in the morning.  They first had to check if Santa ate the cookies and drank the hot chocolate.  Success!!!  Santa ate some of each cookie, left a few crumbs and drank most of the hot chocolate.  Beau has shouted at least 15 times that Santa ate ALL OF THE MARSHMALLOWS!!!!!  Thanks for that, Santa!  Also, Santa left a note telling them how delicious the treats were.  We went to the tree to check out what Santa left in the stockings, and there were so many fun things.  An orange and banana (How did Santa get to a fruit store???), a new cup, a secret invisible ink marker and coloring book, a Mike/Sully monster, and a gift card to the Nestle Tollhouse store!  They definitely loved the "cookie credit card" the most!!!!!!! 

Santa brought them the two toys each that they had asked for . . . a Buzz Lightyear toy and Minion Dave for Lincoln, and a cash register and Minion Stuart for Beau.  They were thrilled that he brought exactly what they wanted!  He also left an extra gift for each boy because they have been so good (?!?!), and Lincoln got a Snoopy Sno Cone maker and Beau got a grabber thingy.  Tooooooooo excited!!!!  We opened our family gifts next.  Those consisted of a Dusty Crophopper tent, Cars rain boots and a balloon animal kit for Linc, a Jake and the Neverlands Pirates tent, Batman rain boots and a balloon animal kit for Beau, several kitchen gadgets, Daddy pants, an HDMI cable, a date night gift card to Alamo Draught House for Daddy, and jewelry, work out shorts and shoes for Mommy.  Everyone was super happy with their presents, and the boys may have been more excited to help us open our gifts than their own!  They posed in their new rain boots immediately! 

We had to put together the tents right away, of course.  They played separately then together in their tents, and they came up with plenty of imaginary scenarios.  While these tents are a little annoying in size, they provide a multitude of ideas. 

Of course, we had to put together the Buzz Lightyear toy and cash register next.  The Sno Cone machine was soon after, and we had lemonade sno cones before lunch.  The Snoopy Sno Cone maker is the same one that both Kevin and I had as children, and it's a little less than technological.  It took quite a bit of effort to push the ice down while turning the crank . . . the boys couldn't help but wonder why the shaved ice was coming out so slowly!  They did enjoy their sno cones at last!!! 

After lunch and another sno cone (my arm is already tired!), the mailman mysteriously left a delivery.  The boys get a package from Auntie almost every week, so the best way for her to send their Christmas gift was with a drop off at the front door.  (Super kudos to Daddy and Pops for putting together the coolest Home Depot station ever on Christmas Eve.)  They loved Auntie's gift and hurried inside to begin playing.  This work station also doubles as a pizza shop and Slurpee station, and it's just more proof that their imagination never stops! 

While the boys were playing with all of the new fun toys, Mommy and Daddy were busy cooking again.  I began the rolls early but had a bad packet of yeast that didn't rise.  Daddy went in search of an open store and didn't disappoint.  I made the chicken dressing, started a new batch of yeast rolls, and went for a run.  The boys rested/napped for a bit, and Daddy whipped up his yummy fresh green bean casserole and mashed potatoes.  Nana and Pops came for Christmas dinner again, and then we went to their house to exchange our gifts.  The boys were sooooooo excited to give them their presents, and again I love that they are happy to give!!  They loved unwrapping more gifts too, and we have two superhero houses, two Play Dough sets, and two helicopters to play with!!  Because Beau was so eager to tell them that he had asked Santa for a cash register and all of the fun food stand that he would play, Nana and Pops built him a stand!   There are different signs to hang based on what store he wants to play . . . Tom Tom, Home Depot, Target, and Whataburger.  We all know that the Whataburger sign will hang the most!!  Everyone lined up to place their orders, and Beau was in heaven!!!  Also, he had to sing the Grand Ole Flag song when he saw the flag hanging.  (We sing that every time we see a flag!!!  Patriotic - yes!!) 

Because we like to take pictures of food, our lovely dinner spread was yummy!  The ham was from an awesome place in College Station, and we just had to heat it up.  The potatoes, green beans, and dressing were wonderful, and the rolls turned out find after we got new yeast.   

The kids and I worked hard to make yummy desserts, and we had chocolate chip bundt cake, hello dollies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate covered sprinkled oreos.  So much sweetness! 

 

As we got ready for bed, we recapped the day.  Lincoln decided that the extra gifts might not have been from Santa after all.  "Maybe Jesus gave them to me for his birthday!", he told me.  I can't think of a better statement.  Perhaps all of the blessings we received were actually from Jesus.  I would be remiss to not mention that each time we discussed that it was the birthday of Jesus, Beau would wonder about the cake.  How could one have a birthday without a cake with a candle to blow out?  After a quiet bath and bedtime story for the boys, Daddy and I snuck into Lincoln's room to check out what he was doing.  He had set up all of his stuffed friends to have a contest . . . who could name the most words that started with the letter M?  Since he makes up the voices for each friend, he'll need to think up a lot of M words!  Why is a 4 year old not tired ever?  He was still talking to them at 11:00 PM!!!!  

We have had a wonderful Christmas, that's for sure!  I love that the boys didn't have a case of the gimmies, and they truly enjoyed present opening for everyone.  They might even love helping others open gifts more than their own.  It might not always be that way, but I love their sweet hearts right now.  It was a Merry Christmas all the way! 

Minnie and Bubbles Visit!!!

Minnie and Bubbles came to visit us on this Pre-Christmas weekend, and we were so excited!!  It's been quite a while since they were able to come, and the boys were peeking out of the windows for hours waiting on them.  We played and played and played!  After a short rest, Beau woke up a little less than cheerful.  The group shot on the couch showed that he wasn't feeling his best. 

Everyone kicked it into high gear to play after the slow wake up, and there was so much singing and shouting for the rest of the evening!  A few times, I pointed out that the giant amount of noise wasn't special for our visitors . . . it's just a nightly thing around here!  Lincoln tried to teach Minnie to play the new air hockey game!  Beau did lots of pretend cooking for everyone, and he led us all with his imagination games.   

When it was rest time or bed time, Beau picked Bubbles to read the story.  They love the Dr. Seuss Space Book right now, so Bubbles told them all about the planets, moon and stars.   

We all had such a fun (but short) visit.  We can't wait to visit Minnie and Bubbles in Arkansas next week!!!!!  We have tons on Christmas activities planned before our trip, and there will be lots to document on the blog.  Stay tuned . . .

Gift Exchange with the Robisons!

On Friday night, we got to spend some time with our favorite family . . . the Robisons!!!  The boys might have gotten a little restless during dinner, so Jackson sat with Lincoln to watch a little movie.  They were so happy sitting together!  Beau wasn't so sure about sharing his big brother and just watched with a little frown. 

After dinner, we went back to our house to open a few presents!  Everyone was really excited about presents, of course.  Jackson and Beau worked on unwrapping a gift together, and their teamwork made it go quickly.  Beau was so excited about his "hockey thing" as he called it.  He's learned all about table top air hockey in less than 24 hours, and the boys love it!!!   

Lincoln didn't wait for help opening his gift and was happy to cheese out with his Foosball table.  I made Samantha put it together . . . sorry!!!  He's totally an expert already at spinning his guys.   

The boys also unwrapped new adventure spy kits, and they are going bonkers over this one!  They each got a flashlight (always a super gift at our house), binoculars, and a real camera to take on super fun adventures.  Two super happy guys stopped for a smile! 

They have definitely taken the adventure spy kits seriously and are investigating and snapping pics of lots of things.  Yes, the cameras really work with 35mm film (it turns out that real film is still for sale!), and I can't wait to get that developed to see what amazing pictures they took!  The boys personally selected a Jake and the Neverland Pirates ride-on ship for Jackson at Target, and they were sure he would love it . . . and that he would love to let them play with it.  Jackson is such a laid back guy that he didn't mind sharing!  We also got him a Mickey Mouse book that plays several fun songs, and he did so much cute dancing!  It was a fun little present exchange between friends.  Lincoln and Beau really love Baby Jackson . . . wait, we probably shouldn't call him Baby anymore.  We'll work on that!  Jackson totally acts like he's a big kid too, and I can't wait to watch them grow up together.  Such a fun night with super fun presents and a good time between friends!

Another Sesame Street Cookbook Recipe

Before I can describe the fun that we were having while taking this picture, I must address the crazy hair that Lincoln and Beau are currently sporting.  It is horrendous!!!!!!  I know their hair is crazy long, and I'm sorry!  Things have been so busy with holiday fun events, lazy weekend days, ice storm electricity issues, and back to super busy work/school schedules . . . and we haven't been to get haircuts in sooooo long.  It's on my list, I promise! 

Lincoln has rediscovered a Sesame Street cookbook that the Whitener's gave him a couple of years ago, and he's picking out fun recipes to make.  We made the Grover's Blueberry Pancake Smileys over the weekend.  He greeted me on Tuesday morning with a request to make the Giggle Jiggle jello shapes.  I dutifully picked up the ingredients at lunch, and we stirred up the mixture after dinner.  It was torture to wait until Wednesday evening to eat our masterpiece, but they survived!  We used cookie cutters to make fun shapes to eat our Grape/Blueberry jigglers, and they had so much fun.  Well, Lincoln only liked them a little.  I think he liked the idea more than the texture.  Beau LOVED eating his treat and wasn't bothered that it was cold and jiggly!  I'm not sure what recipe he'll choose next . . . Oscar's Scrambled Egg & Zucchini Pie, Elmo's Tomato Pizza, or Big Bird's Mango Smoothies.  He ruled out the Strawberry/Kiwi slush because kiwi has seeds, and the Tapioca Pudding Cones are weird because Tapioca sounds weird.  I'm ready for our next cooking venture, and I will be happy to spend time stirring and tasting with my little chefs!

Super Fun Christmasy Weekend

Our weekend kicked off on Friday morning with a visit to the Trains at Northpark!  The boys really love this exhibit and watch all of the trains in their cityscapes with so much joy.  They liked the scenes of places they know, like Tom Thumb (of course they love their favorite grocery store!), the mall, and the State Fair of Texas.  It was fun to point out the things they remembered from when we went to the fair in September.  Big Tex was a favorite, but he didn't talk.  Beau said his Mommy told him to be quiet, and he was minding.  Whatever!!  I mostly have a dozen pictures of the backs of their heads while looking at the trains go by.  Aunt Marian and Uncle Larry joined us, along with Nana, and they may have some better pictures later.  This big train car was very popular, and we got kind of ok smiles when it was time to go. 

We had an early lunch then walked around the mall for a bit and stopped to visit the ducks and turtles.  Beau had spotted an ice cream store and was sure they needed an ice cream cone treat.  They were super happy with their choices and really worked on their messy faces. 

After a picture, it was time to get busy eating.  They made quick work of their ice cream and handed me the cones to throw away.  They always want an ice cream cone, but they will only eat the ice cream and never the cone! 

We stopped to get Daddy a cookie from Mrs. Fields, and the boys NEEDED a little tiny gingerbread man cookie too.  They were happy to much on those on the way home to take a rest!

I went to get Lincoln up on Saturday morning and was greeted with an excited little boy with a fun idea!  He had his Sesame Street cookbook open to the page for Grover's Blueberry Pancake Smileys and requested that we make them for breakfast.  Sure, why not!!  He ran to get Beau up and shared the plan, and Beau was excited too!  We made our breakfast together, and they had such a good time helping and then eating their yummy treat.   

After a trip to Target and quesadilla lunch, we played lots of imagination games.  The boys set up all of their friends (stuffed animals) and cooked them pretend breakfast and watched pretend Mickey.  They put their friends down for a nap, and we got ready for our rest too.  Story time included Beau's "chef's hat"!   

We needed to make angel cookies to take to Sunday School, and Lincoln and Beau were great tasters.  Of course they loved the sprinkles the most! 

Before we headed out to dinner at Mena's, Lincoln asked for a boy picture.  Beau wasn't going to participate at first, but then he told me he would stand there and not smile.  And that's what he did!  Those are three of the handsomest guys I know! 

On Sunday morning, Lincoln and I shared our angel cookies with our Sunday School friends and helped everyone decorate their own cookie.  Such a fun class!  Daddy and Beau enjoyed big church, and Beau had fun at Children's Time.  We had brunch at Cindi's then went home to play.  While I was making the grocery list for the week, I kept hearing two slap-feet runners going back and forth from the playroom to Beau's room.  They were definitely up to something!  Before I left for the grocery store, we checked on the activity in Beau's room.  They had decided that it needed to be decorated for Christmas, so they had been taking ornaments off the playroom tree to hang on the knobs on the dresser.  Busted . . . . so happy with their ornaments and snack bags! 

Every knob on every piece of furniture or door had an ornament on it, and they were so proud!!!!  I love their enthusiasm, but I actually love ornaments to stay on the tree.  Perhaps they each need a little tree to decorate in their own rooms next year! 

Clearly they the playroom tree is looking sad with so few ornaments that are only out of their reach.   

I'm not sure who's idea this decorating was, but they had a blast for at least an hour!  Working together for that long with no fights . . . decorating with ornaments doesn't seem so bad after all! With a sweet face like Beau's, he can get away with most anything!!! 

What a wonderfully fun weekend filled with lots of playing.  While I cooked dinner on Sunday night, they were busy with a new idea.  Beau had decided that they should have a Cowboy Cookout (during the Cowboys game, while wearing a Cowboys jersey!) in his room, but that they were really at Central Market.  They set up their friends, brought in the food, and sang lots of songs.  At one point, Lincoln suggested that they have a Chili Cook Off, so they got more bowls and cooked lots of chili.  The friends were the tasters, but I never got a verdict on the winner.  These imaginations are out of control, and I love to stand outside the door to hear what they are up to.  It's not all super sweetness, but I might leave that for another post.  We are working on minding a little (a lot) better, and sometimes there are consequences.  Stay tuned!