Visit from Olivia

This weekend we had a fun visit. Tracy, Nicole & Olivia came to see us for the weekend. Tyler and Lindsay were super excited to see their cousin, Olivia. All week they would wake up and ask 'is Olivia coming today?' The kids all had a good time and got along very nicely together. They played inside, outside, went to the park, the outlets, out to eat, Toys R Us...all of the fun stuff!! Needless to say, they all slept well both nights!

Group Shot: (or best attempt to get one :)

Lindsay and Olivia in the bus at the park:

Linsday loved looking out this telescope at the park:

Lindsay running around.

Lindsay and Olivia riding in the car together. We went to Toys R Us where they both got their first barbie:

Bath time!

Awe.....

Playing in their pjs and heels:

Snowed In...

Being snowed in over the last few weeks hasn't always been easy for all of us. As you can imagine, the kids have been going nuts at times! And for a few days, I had to either work from home or go into work while Trev watched the kids, which wasn't always easy. Overall, I can't complain though..they did do pretty well. Here are some pics of them in action:

Lindsay loves to feed her baby doll, Ariel. She goes and gets one of her spoons and bowls and feeds Aerial her food :

In action feeding Aerial:

Awe, giving Aerial kisses:

Tyler posing:

Lindsay asked me to take her picture eating an apple:

The kids got a nice Valentine's Treat in the mail from Gma and Gpa. Here they are opening it (or Tyler opening it and Lindsay watching):

More candy....

Awe..thanks Gma for the treats!!!

While Lindsay was napping one day, Tyler and I made cupcakes together:

Snowtorious B.I.G.

Ok, unless you live in a cave, you probably know that we have gotten a TON of snow down here. About 43 inches over the last week to be exact! The kids' school was only open on Friday and was closed the rest of the week. They were both excited to be home for so long! I have been swamped at work so Trev was nice enough to host a Daddy Day Care for a few days so I could either go into the office or work from home.

Here are some pics of the kids from the last week playing in the snow!

The kiddos playing in the snow. Lindsay has the sweetest laugh of pure joy and excitement when she is in the snow, which brings big smiles to our faces :)

Of course we had a party with the neighbors on Sunday. Lots of people came out, we had a firepit going, beverages and the kids had a blast.

Now here is a serious sling shot for snowballs..check out Trev getting into it:
Roxanna, me and Christi:

Lindsay and I in front of the igloo that JK made:

Our house

Tyler helping to shovel the snow. He was such a good sport and loved helping!

View from our living room:

Love this picture. I was folding laundry one day and told the kids to go and play for a few mins while I finished. I went into Tyler's room to check on them (as they were being a bit too quiet) and I found them on his bed reading their bibles!!

Tyler sledding!

Pre Christmas Activities

We had several fun events for the kiddos leaving up to Christmas. Tyler especially enjoyed getting ready for Christmas this year and asked MANY questions about Santa and how he got into the house and how he carried all the presents and how he can fit into the fireplace, etc, etc, etc! My new answer to his questions turned into 'its magic'! That helped me out for the questions I didn't quite know the answers to :)

In our development, Santa comes on the firetruck to see the kids. It was super foggy that night so we didn't get to many pics. But here is one with Tyler, Santa and his 2 friends.

Tyler waiting for Santa on the firetruck:

The kids had a Christmas show at their school. Each class got up and sang one or two songs. The kids both did great!
Here's Lindsay sitting with her class:

Tyler with his class:

The Christmas card photo taking didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked it to this year! My biggest mistake was trying to take them right before bedtime. Tyler was very good and cooperative, as he is easily bribed. Lindsay on the other hand...wasn't too easy to deal with!

Here's the winning photo (which was the best I got! )

This one cracks me up! Lindsay was crying for mommy and Tyler was just annoyed with her!

This one is funny....

Tyler was a good sport!!

Our tree!!

The kids' first gingerbread house. They each decorated 1 side of the roof by themselves!

Showing off their creation:

Tyler with Santa (he looks really happy, huh?) But I will take what I can get as this is the first year he has actually agreed to sit on Santa's lap!!

He asked for 3 things this year and kept his requests consistent...a 'real' baseball bat, a 'real' baseball glove and an electric toothbrush. Seemed reasonable to me :)

Thanksgiving Part 2

A few of the neighbors decided to get together and have a little Pot Luck Thanksgiving dinner the week after Thanksgiving. We decided to have it at our house and it sure was a deliciously fun time!! We had 3 turkeys and all the sides you can imagine. The Sangria was a little too good and made for a fun long night :)

Brayden, Tyler & Sophia

Ana & Lindsay on their phones:

Shanna with her 2 turkeys:

Shanna & Roxanna:

Rebecca & Jen:

Brayden, Will & JK

JK with the turkey fryer:

Lindsay loved Rebecca's butternut squash soup!

November Catch Up

I have been slacking on the blog updating! Attempting to catch up a bit tonight! We have been very busy the last few weeks with work, birthday parties and xmas activities :)

A few weeks ago the weather was gorgeous out! Of course the kids wanted to ride bikes. Here is Lindsay on her bike:

And Tyler on his :)

This is one of my favorite pics. Tyler is learning to write words now. One day he came over to show me that he wrote Mom and Dad all by himself. He's getting so big!!

I was making their favorite one morning...pancakes! Look how cute they are watching me make them! Awe...its the simple things :)

Cute pic of my babies:

We have discovered a new popular activity...after dinner coloring! For 2 nights in a row they sat there very seriously coloring away from after dinner until bed. Its worn off a bit, but they are still coloring 1-2 times a week. So cute as long as Lindsay doesn't try to bite the crayons!

In November I went up to NJ with Lindsay for my brother Andy's surprise 30th bday party. Here is Lindsay playing with her cousin, Christopher:

Lindsay all dressed up with her xmas presents from Aunt Erin & Uncle Andy with Grandma: