Baby it's cold outside!!

Unless I am completely prepared in my snow gear....I don't think I quite appreciate the cold temps like I should.  I've decided I either want it to snow or be Spring. Anything in between is well...cold. I'm going to be really looking at what the groundhog has to say next week. Maybe I don't appreciate outside, but I do appreciate some places to warm up inside. After an early release Friday and lot of inside (our house) time, the kids were ready to let some energy out. Parker had 2 birthday parties to attend which meant Tinley got to come along for a little fun!

Big winner 150 tickets...so proud! After leaving him with Brandon to pick out his grand gift, he came home with a lovely gift of a...whoopee cushion. Lots of giggles going on around here. Be prepared for silly noises upon entering our house.

Last night the Brennemans came over and instead of staying together, the big girls went out for a movie and the boys (and Tinley) stayed home. We left Parker in charge;)

I think Parker enjoyed playing with the big boys and they were both thrilled to have a real baby to take care of. Clearly they were tired out and both fell asleep in my lap last night. Not many times I get to rock both my big babies to sleep.  I do realize looking at this picture how long their legs are but I think they'll fit a while longer right?

We had lots going on at church today with Childcare Sunday. All the preschool kids sang Lord I Lift Your Name on High. Tinley knows every single word and sings it all. the. time., but on stage she resorted to fingers in mouth pose. One day she's gonna let her rockstar self from home out on that stage:)

Parker made this today in church. Brandon said he was about to have a serious conversation with Parker about his word choice before Parker informed him it said "Peace Out." Later Parker told me, "Daddy taught me how to spell peace the right way today after church." Thankful for a Daddy that realizes when it's time to teach a little spelling lesson to prevent further embarrassment. 

Stay warm!

Recent Events (and the letter B)

So I'm always trying to jam as many recent events into one post as possible...because I can't ever seem to do things quite as they are happening. Usually I can try to make them flow together, but today not so much.  Being the Kindergarten teacher that I am, I am really good at making things fit into letter themes so here we go with the letter "B"!

Last week Parker had a "bug" and wasn't feeling good. We thought he was better but after making it to Graham, he had to go to Urgent care for an earache. Boo-hoo!

Since we got no snow, we were really excited to see the itty- Bitty amount left in Graham. Tinley was really happy to walk through in her boots. (I just started trying out Instagram even though its been on my phone for months so decided to practice with some of my pictures this week.)

Parker really wanted to make a snow angel in this one patch of snow that was left even though he wasn't feeling great. Brrrrr!

Tinley got to see her buddy Christopher for a little while at the museum. Here are the little scientists.

She also tried out her baking in the diner. Loved this little outfit!

She is so in to babies and feeds them, rocks them, puts them to sleep all the time. We are going to have to get her one of these carriers for home so she can just attach them to herself.

Saturday night we celebrated Brad and Brittany and kicked off the wedding events....

with a BBQ... The countdown is on!

Booya sent me this picture today of Parker and Lance doing an MLK activity. Parker stayed in Graham a few extra days and is feeling better thanks to some extra attention from all his grandparents.

Tinley and I have been very BUSY running all our errands. So enjoyable to have a nice long weekend.

The need for speed (and sunshine)

Well we did it...we made it through a full week Monday through Friday after winter break. Back in full swing of school, homework, packing lunches, and after school activities. We felt very proud on Friday. Sometimes you have to set small goals:) We were all adjusting back to the our regularly scheduled programs. Hopefully this week we will be hopping out of bed and clicking our heels on the way out the door (a girl can dream).

It's tough to be a teacher's kid. Here is Parker sleeping on my desk one morning before the bell rang. I felt like pulling up a chair and joining him.

Certainly by Friday, we were all ready to have some fun! Tinley and I went to support the Highland Creek Hurricanes in our staff game against the middle school.

Parker and Brandon had boy time at Monster Jam. Parker was well prepared for the big noise.

They had a great time....and there is lots of talk of Gravedigger, Stonecrusher, and Monster Mutt. Lovely name choices. 

As if that wasn't enough excitement Saturday morning we went to the new(ish) out door go carting track to watch Dad and Uncle Brad. 

We have some future racers on our hands. They aren't allowed to drive one of these until they are 8 unless you have one of your own go carts. Parker asked where we can get one. Hmmm. We'll look into that.

 It did not turn out to be the best racing conditions, but I think they managed a little fun.

At least they had a cheering section.

Lately when Tinley wants to be held, Parker says he can do it. This is about what each attempt looks like. Looks comfortable.

And with the crazy turn in winter weather, it was good to get outside. Really good for Tinley who needs some outside time. Because if she doesn't have it, things inside are a little "askew." Like finding play doh in odd places and fingernail polish painted on the table and like this morning Laffy Taffy stuck in her hair.

Yes, some of us need wide open spaces and sunshine...and pumpkin pie made of sand.

We took all of our wheels for a spin today.

Already learning to drive in heels. 

May your week be speedy and bright!

Ice Ice Baby...

We finally made it downtown to ice skate before the skating rink closed down. This was our first family trip on real ice although we've had a few practice rounds on the pretend "ice."  The kids quickly learned that the real stuff is a lot more slippery and cold! Brandon and I quickly learned this was a  one on one event as we traded kids and tried to keep everyone upright. As I told the kids falling is part of learning....true and had I not been concentrating so hard, I would have made a life analogy...maybe later. We enjoyed the skating, the "city" as Parker says, and the good music. And yes, as we were lacing up, Ice Ice Baby blared out through the speakers. Love a well themed song;) 

Happy New Year-

A year ago, I wrote my very first post as 2012 began and hoped it would not be the only one. I must have enjoyed it because here we are a whole year later. I started out thinking of this as a scrapbook (that I could handle) for my kids and a way to keep in touch when life got crazy. I have been happy that it seems to be working for these purposes but I've also had some fun reflecting and writing. Maybe because it makes me stop to think for a little while. Maybe because it's one thing that is not required, but is my very own choice. Maybe because I know I need to enjoy these moments of everyday life. Maybe because it's kind of like telling a story to all my friends.  I'm thinking it's a combination of all:)

We headed out last night for a little get together with some friends (of course the kids prepared for a party all day.) Tinley was ready for a night of fun with her party shoes of course.

She's changed quite a bit since last year...potty trained, pacifier gone, hair grew out from the mullet. She definitely has become a little girl instead of a baby.

Parker made great use of the foam letters in the Steven's playroom. He may not seem as dramatically different than Tinley but a lot of growing up in that mind and heart has occurred. He's an old pro at school...got big boy friends of his own, some great thinking about how life works, and grown much braver as he faces new challenges.

Most importantly whatever we do, we do together with support from awesome family and friends. Learning about love. Learning about grace. Learning more about God. It really doesn't matter how old you are...we could grow in these areas every year.

This is what happens when you bring out the original Nintendo system. Super Mario and Ninja turtles...fun for all ages!

We did a little bit of an "early countdown" before we went our seperate ways but enjoyed lots of celebrating with our friends. Hats. horns. cookies. babies. hugs. It was a pretty- wild- night.

Now to get ready for school in the morning. We think we can. We think we can.