Two Man Bobsled

We have been really into the Olympics. The boys scramble to be dressed and ready for bed by 7:00, so they can watch the Olympics until 8:00. They've been having races in their socks around the wood floors acting like the speed skaters, but this morning.....two man bobsled!
It was Drew's idea. He had this box that he's been hoarding in his room that he draws on, puts stuff in, who knows what.....anyways, he went and got it and we cut out the top. They got their bike helmets, and they were off! Well, not really.....just in their imagination. I did push Drew around tonight when it was just him and I was working up a sweat!


We had to give Brooke a try. She had a fever and was very grumpy all day, but this was one of the few times we got a smile. The baby bobsled!!
We're sad the Olympics are over :( Another two years seems like a long time....especially when I think that my kids will be 3,8, and 10!!! Wow!

Just like mommy!

Lately, Brooke has been imitating things she sees us do. It's so fun to watch her and realize that she is observing and watching us all the time!
So, she got her hands on my turbo twist (which I love!!) and she put it on her head. I fixed it the right way on her and she just loved it!














Just going about her business......


















She also loves to put on shoes and will bring me her shoes to put on around the house. She will find things on the floor and walk over to the trash can to throw away. I always look in there first when I'm missing something! She loves to get an old makeup brush and brush her whole face. She also loves to get lotion on her hands and rub them together. I love it! This next year will be loads of fun :)

An All-Star Weekend

Jason and Jackson were fortunate to have tickets to the All-Star game this past weekend in Dallas! They started out Friday night at the "Fan Jam" Since Drew, Brooke, and I were out of town, Jackson got to take his friend Will. They had such a fun time. Here they are doing an obstacle course....









The boys got to participate in a mini-clinic taught be an all-star. OK, I can't remember the guys name, but he's famous. Anyways, the boys got these HUGE all-star shirts which they can wear for a lifetime! I don't think they were thinking about kids sizes when they made these!














The boys in front of their favorite Dallas player....Dirk!!


















On Sunday night, they went to the All-Star game.
They made history in the Guiness Book of
World Records for largest crowd at a game!!
















Proof that they were there!















In front of the Cowboys Stadium....a once in a lifetime event. It was such a great memory for Jason and Jackson :)

What a day!! SNOW!!

What is happening?? I cannot believe we live in Texas--this is so weird! This morning we woke up to it snowing heavily and it has not stopped all day! Of course, school was closed and the boys were outside by 7:15. I had to take Brooke out too, so here they all are bundled up and ready to go.














First order of business....snowmen. The snow was great for that. They just had to start a little ball and roll it around the yard. Here is Jackson's. He used 2 decorative lemons for the eyes, carrot for the nose, and little tomatoes for the mouth. It was all I had in the fridge :)















Check out Drew's!! Much bigger! He did have some help from Jackson, but after Jackson moved on to another activity (trying to slide down the driveway in our recycling bin), Drew stuck with it. Brooke and I were watching from the inside and he rolled the snow and pushed it and tried to lift it with all his might. He looked so small out there trying so hard with all the snow just falling on him. Finally, he was done and was very proud!

Super SuperBowl Party!

We had our wonderful friends, The Pottorffs, over for the Super Bowl. They have 4 kids and Susan and Greg have always been an inspiration to Jason and I because of the way they parent.....we love to watch and learn :)Here are Susan, Katie, and Drew ready to party!
I also love it when we hang out with them because one of their kids is always holding or entertaining our kids which gives us a break. Abbie carried Brooke around and she loved being carried around everywhere.
Here is our "pre-game" The kids had a ring toss onto Charlies goalposts which he has on his head. There was a big prize involved so the competition was fierce.
It ended up that Charlie won the prize! The SuperBowl glasses with one lens missing.......you can see why everyone wanted to win. What a prize!
Back to the real entertainment.....Brooke! She planted herself right in front of the tv and all the kids gathered around her so she could do some silly things like put on the superbowl glasses, roll the ball, and play with Abbie's phone. She was more entertaining than the game (to some people)!!!
Will getting creative with the ring toss game pieces....he reminds me of that Dr. Suess book where that dog puts on all those hats. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Finally...the moment we'd all been waiting for....the chocolate fountain!! Jackson had been begging for the chocolate fountain since BEFORE the Pottorffs even got here, so we finally broke it out after the 1st quarter. Look at those smiling faces.....we had a great time with great friends!

a SERIOUS haircut

Well, I thought it was time for Brooke to get a little haircut. I wasn't sure what to do about girl's hair because I want it to grow long, but it was uneven in some places and in her face, so I took her to get a trim.

This is pretty much the face that she had the whole time!! She was sooooo serious! I thought she'd love sitting in the pink car and watching the t.v, but she wanted nothing to do with it.

She didn't throw a fit or anything, but she let us know that she was not enjoying this experience with her powerful looks. I was kind of embarrassed because the lady was trying to talk to her and normally she is such a happy baby, but no one would believe that today!

OK, the blow drying just sent her over the edge. She turned the dryer on for like 2 seconds and no more! It looks like we were torturing her....poor girl!

Now it's over.....I thought we'd for sure get a smile because the ordeal was over, but she sat there frozen. It was really funny. The minute we got in the car, she started jabbering away like nothing had happened.
After all that, I am glad I took her. Now, if that fine hair will just grow......

Never ending fun!

Where's Brooke??

There she is!!
Oh my gosh.....isn't it funny how kids can do the same thing over and over again and never get tired of it? Well, mommy is tired!! Brooke is at such a fun age and her personality is really showing. We have found that she likes get a good laugh out of people. She will take food and balance it on her head until someone notices and then just laugh and laugh, she will put on any shoes that she can find, she will dance when any music come on until you can't stop laughing. She's also displaying some of her domestic skills. She likes to get a wipe and clean the couch, he toys, shoes, anything in her path, and then tries to stuff the wipe back into the box.
Even though I played peek-a-boo for an hour today (ok, not quite), I still can't get enough of her. She usually wakes up with a smile and goes to sleep the same way....I couldn't ask for more!

Trouble with a capital "T"

8 years of fun!

We celebrated Jackson's 8th birthday this past weekend. Here is the birthday boy eating a birthday breakfast!

In the afternoon, we headed over to Bass Pro Shop for his party. We did archery, laser guns, and a scavenger hunt in the store. We packed in the fun!

Here are Jackson and some of his buddies, Jack and Will.

My mom and I made a target/bullseye cake. We had to change our original plan, which was going to be a fish. The pond was frozen over at Bass Pro, so we couldn't fish. So, we made this target. Honestly, it was a lot easier than the fish was going to be, so I was glad :)

In the archery gallery, just casually leaning on an African Lion....no big deal.......

The boys learned how to shoot a crossbow and it was powerful! The guy had to help each of them just hold it, it had so much force when it shot. Check out the concentration on Jackson' face.

I told the boys they had to pose for a "nice" picture without bunny ears or weird faces. Here it is....

A second later, I told them they could be silly.....they all acted like that lion was going to attack them.

And finally, cake time!! Jackson had a great time and we had so much fun watching him with his friends and just being a boy. I am so proud of him for so many reasons. He is such a great kid and is growing into such a thoughtful, interesting, awesome, young man! I told him, that no matter how old he is, he will always be my baby. He just smiles when I say that....I think he likes it :)

Christmas 2009 (mostly in pictures because I have a TON of them)

First stop.....Mom and Dad's in Kansas!
The g-parents and kids...ready to tear into the gifts
Auntie A and Jackson being silly
The LONG awaited Wii!! According to the boys, they were the only kids in Texas who didn't have one!
So happy!
Brooke got a bitty baby, but she just wanted to crawl into the box that it came in. So funny....
The boys in all their KU gear.
Uncle Ben with Brooke loving her bitty baby. Ben looks like a natural!
Second stop....Jason's parents in Leavenworth! The boys love the bunk beds that they sleep in there. G-pa reading them a story.
G-ma reading the boys a story the night before Christmas.
One morning, we opened the door and found a wall of snow! It was so cool...we made the boys stop and take pics. before plowing thru it.
1, 2, 3....run! They could barely get thru it because it was so thick!
G-ma and G-pa yard is the best for sledding.
Great grandparents from Idaho. We were so glad to see them. It was snowing so hard that we weren't sure if they could make the drive.
Here are some of the cousins with their grandparents.
Brooke loved the snow. She didn't seem to mind the cold.
Her first sled ride. She laughed and laughed and went down the hill probably 5 times!
Grandpa gave them a litte guidance on the sled or else Brooke would have ended up in the snow.
Almost every day, they have deer that come in their backyard. There were up to 7 of them at one time. Here is Drew helping to put down the corn after a snowfall.
After Christmas, Jackson got to go to a KU Basketball clinic. All the players were there and he got all their autographs and pictures with them.
He's pretty serious about basketball. Check out those skills!
We're back at home and decompressing after an awesome Christmas. We had such a great time with family and friends and the weather couldn't have been better. It was truly magical for the kids and that is so fun to see as a parent!