Rest and Relaxation

We had another great trip to Captiva Island. Jason couldn't make it this year because of his new job and we missed him! But, that didn't stop us from having a litle fun :) Our first day fishing with Capt. Jim. We caught some big groupers, trout, and snapper! We had dolphins coming up to our boat as we caught the fish hoping for a free handout.

Papa and his grandsons making a "tough guy" face on the beach.

Just me and the kiddos....it felt weird being there by myself.

If Papa was in the pool at the same time Brooke was, she was on his back! She would practically choke him with her grip and she loved every minute of it!

See the choke hold???

Now, it was also time to make our basketball picks.....everyone took some time to seriously contemplate their brackets :)

Brooke insisted on doing her brackets as well....

Jackson sprawled on the floor to study the whole situation...of course making sure KU would be champ!!

One of our favorite restaurants we go to on Captiva is Cheeburger Cheeburger....

Look who's taking the challenge of eating the 1/2 pounder for kids...can he do it?

He did it!!!! And he was still hungry!

Drew caught a little turtle in our bushes on our way to canoe.

The kids in front of our FAVORITE of all time....The Bubble Room! Our house is just across the street from this place and we end up eating there (especially desserts) a lot!

Double Digits!

Jackson turned 10 this January! I cannot believe we have a "tween!" Jackson had his besties, "the brothers" over for a sleep over. They started the night with a little basketball....

 Jackson requested "taco in a bag" which is basically a bag of Doritos with taco meat and cheese in it. We had it at our cousins house once and it has been a hit ever since! The boys loved making their own creation.

Half of "The Brothers".....Tate and Grant!

The other half.....Will and birthday boy, Jackson ...

Here is the gang (plus Drew and Brooke who snuck in the picture) before they headed off to the Harlem Globetrotters fame!  I am so thankful that Jackson has found a group of boys. I love these kids and it was such a fun night!

A few words...

A few cute stories from the kids.....

DREW- Drews teeth have been stubborn in wanting to fall out, but they are finally making their move and he lost his 2nd one the other day. When he lost his first one, he did not want to put it under his pillow because he said he wanted to make a mouthguard using his own teeth?!?! Say what?!?! That's right....he is collecting his teeth to make some weird creation. I think the tooth fairy should be happy that she's gonna save a little money on this one!

JACKSON-Jackson is not a morning person. He gets up, gets dressed, eats breakfast while maybe using 5-7 words. Lately, Brooke really wants us to call her "baby kitty cat" and she likes us to "meow" to her. She also refers to members in the family as "Mommy Kitty Cat, Brother kitty cat", etc....so the other morning on the way to school, she was prodding Jackson to PLEASE meow at baby kitty cat.....he was silent, silent, until her pleas grew more intense. Finally, as he got out of the car, he said in the most monotone voice "meow baby kitty cat, I love you." She was so happy and it was hilarious!

BROOKE-This girl is a crack up all the time! Seriously. Even Jackson asked me to write down all the funny things she says during the day so he can read them when he gets home. Her prayers are hilarious....she looks around the room and prays for everything she sees...sippy cups, carpet, forks, whatever....sometimes she throws in Frosty the Snowman.
This morning, I was on the treadmill and baby kitty cat came in and needed my help with something. I told her I was on the treadmill and couldn't help her right then. She meowed and said "Stop treadmilling mommy kitty cat!" Oh my......this girl is hilarious (or crazy..in a good way!)

Christmas, Part 2

We headed to my parents for the second part of Christmas. We had only been there for an hour when the doorbell rang and Cinderella was at the door! Brooke was beside herself and the boys were pleasantly surprised. She sat Brooke down on the couch and had her open a treasure chest which had an invitation in it. I love Brooke's face when she hears that she is invited to Disneyworld to meet the princesses. Yay!!!

 She was so overcome with happiness, she just leaned over to give Cinderella a big hug!

Disneyworld.....here we come!!!!

After she left, we got a shot of all the grandkids with Nana and Papa.

I just love this canvas that we gave our parents. They love it and it is so pretty! So many memories....

 Papa showing the kids videos of Disney and getting Brooke super pumped up to see the parades, ride the rides, and eat at the castle!
Cooper is not as impressed....

Brooke got an ice cream set for her kitchen and she and Papa had lots of fun playing ice cream shop. I can't believe these are all the pictures that I got at my parents house...I think I was exahusted by the time we got there...I was done with pictures! We had a wonderful Christmas season with both of our families!

Christmas Round One.....The Maupins!

We made our annual trek to Kansas for the holidays with the first stop....Grandma and Grandpa Maupins! We had wonderful weather and Brooke and Grandpa set out on an exploration walk.

Every year, Gpa puts out this snowman family on their back porch!

Christmas morning......I think it was about 6:30 a.m. and the kids were waiting anxiously at the top of the stairs. The adults were getting their coffee and cameras.....necessities!

Brooke ran downstairs and saw this pretty little table that Santa left for her and on top of it was the ballet boots and ballet dress that she wanted!! I love her face!

Immediately and every day since.....she wears her ballet dress and what she calls "ballet boots" Sad to say that those ballet boots didn't last long, so she just wears her real ballet shoes. Even better!

She got a My Little Pony from Uncle Josh and she cuddled up with Gma to show her.

The boys were both super excited to get new bats!! Brooke got a little ride on bicycle that she hasn't quite figured out yet....still working on that one, but she was more impressed that it was pink!

One of the things that the kids LOVE is Gma and Gpas yard! Everyday, for HOURS, the boys were out there playing football or doing something in the yard. That's one of the things we wish we had here. The boys go out in our yard, hit the ball once, and it goes over the fence.....bye, bye, ball....

Jason was teaching them some strategy I'm sure!

Christmas afternoon.....too much excitement for Brooke!! She actually just curled up and fell asleep on the couch! A very RARE moment of daytime stillness for her.

The kiddos with Grandma and Grandpa!

Uncle Josh with the kids....they love him and think he is crazy (in a good way!) He is :)

Other activities include.....a little exercise....

Reading the German dictionary....

The last day that we were at Jason's parents house, Drew got to go to the KU Basketball camp. He wasn't old enough to go last year, so he was ready this year. He loves meeting all the players (a lot he had met in HAwaii and they remembered him!) He had a great time!

On the court at Allen Field House! Future Jayhawk!

Hilarious pose....Brooke waiting for her ball after bowling....Jason and I went out for the afternoon and the kids went bowling with Larry and Kathy.

These things are sooo cool for little ones to help them bowl! I hear the kids had a great time and ended up at an old time soda fountain afterwards. We had a great time with the Maupins and made many great memories!

Christmas Season Festivities.....

We started off the holiday season by going to the Bass Pro Shop to see Santa. This was a great year because Brooke was really into everything about Christmas and was super excited to sit on Santa's lap!!

This Santa doesn't say much....he's just a really good listener. Brooke told him that she wanted "ballet boots." The boys told him they wanted Madden 12 and Legos.....

This is the only decent picture I got at Brooke's school performance. I got there like 30 minutes beforehand and the place was packed!! This was so sweet though....Brooke's little class were angels and they shook those bells as hard as they could and wiggled around a little. Not much singing.....it was soooooo cute! I loved it! She is standing by her bestie, Emery. They walked in holding hands!!!

.Finally, we were so excited to see Drew's performance in his first piano recital! He had only been taking lessons for 2 months and he played Jingle Bells and Mexican Jumping Bean. I'm was so proud of him getting up there in front of all the parents and kids and playing. He did great and we were so proud of him!

Princess Brooke

Brooke is in a MAJOR princess phase right now, so we were not surprised when she requested a princess cake. If you don't know, this is Belle.....

My mom has been waiting for the day to make this cake!!! She just knew she would have a granddaughter somehow....it was beautiful and tasted great. Most of all, Brooke LOVED it! 

3 Generations! 

Auntie A jumping in to pose with the birthday girl

All the girls wore princess dresses and waited for the arrival of Princess Belle...

She's here!!! The girls were instantly mesmerized by her and she did a wonderful job entertaining everyone for an hour! 

Brooke called her by her name and the girls only wanted her to help them put their crowns on.....the moms were no longer existent!

Belle did face painting or hand painting and Brooke chose a rainbow...of course, she added glitter to get the full princess effect!

Sitting on Belle's lap was almost like sitting on Santa's lap.....Brooke was so overwhelmed with awe that she just couldn't look at the camera or hear what people were saying to her! 

Heres' the group....and yes, we had 3 boys in attendance and they were the brave knights! 

Digging in to the cake and ice cream!

This was Brooke's fist real bday party because she was sick last year, so we canceled and the year before, we kept in simple. It was so fun and just the beginning of many more to come!