Get Together

Last night we met up with Amy and James at Amanda and Jeremy's house. We almost had to miss out because Tucker came down with a runny nose and we were worried about giving anything to baby Addison. But after some meds and a 4 hour nap, he seemed to be doing better so we headed over to Benton for a fun night with friends. We always eat good when we get together and last night was no exception! We had cheese ball for appetizer, salad, garlic bread, chicken spaghetti and (Josh's favorite) peanut butter balls and blueberry cheesecake bites. YUM - no wonder our jeans are snug today!

It is always good to get together with my college friends and their husbands and catch up. We usually play games but last night we had Tucker and Addison to entertain us. Tucker bonded with James and Jeremy pretty quick and even though he didn't feel himself, was a pretty good little guy while we were there. He played with Addison's stacker stars and sang Jingle Bells for everyone (binkle bells is how he says it!).




Tonight we're taking around all of our baked goodies to our neighbors and then off to pick out new tile for our kitchen. (We had a leak last week and it got under our floors so we have to replace the flooring) And then we're going to drive around town and look at lights.

---And, the REBEL is back!!! Josh is so sweet to me- he came home with it Friday and I love it. I should have never taken it back in the first place. But after having it and then downgrading, it just wasn't cutting it. Now if I can just figure out my camera and sewing machine, I'll be doing alright!

Christmas Part 1

We spent Christmas with Josh's mom and Gary Friday night and Tucker made out big- actually we all made out big. He got several toys but his favorite is his Lionel train set. It took Josh about 1 1/2 hours to set it up but Tucker loves it and wants to play trains all day. I think that's every little boys dream and looks like it will be fun for both father and son:)

I got a sewing machine that I've been wanting for awhile. I'm really hoping the DVD teaches me all I need to know to get started because I've literally never touched one!

Josh got money and he's been debating which of the 5 things he wants to spend it on.

I think we'll be set on toys for awhile and with all the time we spend inside in the winter, it will be great to pull out new stuff every so often.

First Church Program

What a memorable day! Tucker sang/performed in his first church program this afternoon and it was precious. I was swelling with pride watching him ring his handbells and sort of sing! He had a hard time staying up there once he spotted me in the aisle taking pictures and video-ing his first performance (it was only 2 minutes long!). They sang baby Jesus and Ring the Bells. He knew the words but got shy and kinda mouthed them a little but once he got his handbells- he really did his thing!


Afterwards, we went to his classroom and had a birthday party for Jesus. They sang and then we had cake and drinks to celebrate. It was a big day and I was so, so proud of my baby and yet a little sad that he is getting big.

Play Day at the Museum of Discovery

Yesterday we tried out the Museum of Discovery for the first time and loved it. I'd heard from friends with older kids that it was great but I thought it was for older kids so we held off. But I'm glad we went and I think it will be a frequent stop from now on.

Tucker loved seeing himself dance on the stage. They have a camera on it and he had control of the music and man did he tear up the dance floor! We think we've got an aspiring dancer in the family; last night during "So You Think You Can Dance" he was literally trying to break dance after watching them do it on tv! It was hilarious and the more we laughed at him, the more he got into it and got tickled at himself. He even started dancing in the church foyer today heading into MDO!

We had a fun time playing yesterday with Ryne and Adelyn and they explored the toddler area for a couple of hours. Here's a few highlights from the morning...

Cabin Weekend

We are back from a wonderful, relaxing and much-needed weekend get-away. Friday afternoon we met up with Chris and Jennifer and after taking our kiddos to their grandparents, hit the road to Mt. Nebo. This time it was camping my style! We had a deluxe cabin with a fireplace and heat!!! So the only roughing it we did all weekend was not having paper towels or pepper:)

Chris grilled some fabulous salmon for dinner friday night and we sat by the fire, played games and talked. Saturday we went for a hike (Jennifer and I didn't make it far b/c it was cold). The guys hiked several miles and took lots of great scenery pictures. We put in a movie and made lunch. That evening we grilled steaks and shrimp and then had a rematch on some games and enjoyed our time of being away with friends.

Sunday we slept in and got to be lazy for awhile before packing up and heading back to pick up our little guys. We all missed them terribly while we were gone but it was also nice to have some adult time too. Josh and I had so much fun and Mt. Nebo is a great place to go for a semi-close outing. We want to go back again when it's warmer so we can enjoy the great deck and hiking trails and the nature/environment it has to offer when it is a few degrees warmer!

Chris is the photographer in the group so he has the better pics but here's a few from the weekend...

Josh giving me his best zoolander face!


Chris, Jennifer and Josh chillin' on the couch

a waterfall right outside our cabin




The guys doing the dishes:)

A little arm wrestling match

Outside our cabin-

Cousin Caylee

We got to spend some time with little Caylee tonight. Misty needed to do a massage after work so we had Caylee at our house for a few hours and she was so much fun. She is at the cute cooing, spitting, play with her feet age and we enjoyed every minute of it. I kinda thought Tucker would get jealous of me holding her so much but guess who was the jealous one? Elvis. Yep- he followed me everywhere and jumped in my lap while I was giving Caylee a bath! He was curious and wanted to be right in on everything. Luckily Caylee loved the pups and smiled all over herself when they were around. Tucker did say, " I hold you" a lot towards the end of the evening wanting me to hold him. But he was a good kid and loved sitting by her and loving on her. Here's a few sweet pictures of little miss:






And a few of Tucker playing from this week.

Christmas Card Out-takes 2009

Getting a family picture where one of us isn't totally doing something silly, blinking our eyes, looking away, itching our nose, etc - is nearly impossible with us! We took some when we went camping and planned to use them but when I had the pic printed off, the color turned out funny and there were marks on them that weren't on the picture. So we asked Chris to come take a few for us by the Christmas tree. I had bought these cute cards at Inviting Co awhile back - only problem is they required a horizontal picture and with a tree- usually a vertical is the norm. You can see last year's outtakes here: Christmas 08



Tucker did great for the first few minutes and then we had to pull out the skittles to keep him in the same room with us. He'd said cheese a time or two and that was all he wanted of it! Many of the pictures have him chewing his skittles!

Anyway- we did end up with one where we were all looking at the camera but Tucker just would not smile for anything. I promise he is a happy child! And we didn't even attempt to get the pups in this year b/c that would've taken ALL night. So without further ado, here's the outtakes. And because I have learned to laugh at myself, I will post the crazy ones of me doing who knows what!!!

These are the semi bad...




These are the serious out takes!

This one CRACKS me up b/c Josh's eyes are closed, mine are evil (blaming it on dry contacs!) and tucker looks like he's saying "ooh!")

NO IDEA what our conversation was here but I swear I wasn't mad at him or saying anything ugly to him!!! (dry contacts again!)



Our Christmas cards went out in the mail last weekend so hope everyone got our Christmas wishes and blessings. May your holiday season be filled with joy and thankfulness instead of busyness and chaos.