Christmas Break Fun

I fell off the blogging wagon a couple months ago, and I'd like to do a little catch up.  Will you let me?  You will?!?!  That's great!  Hang on - here we go!

Over Christmas break, I took the whole two weeks off with the kids.  It was a-w-e-s-o-m-e!!!!  I hope I will be able to do it again in the future.  Next time I will probably do a little more event planning to keep us busy. 

This year, after playing in the snow for a couple of days, I took the kids swimming one afternoon and then we all went skating one evening.  

Hayden, our little Fish.  

(Actually, he's now a "Flying Fish" at the Y!)

The lifeguard at the Y was going to make me get in the pool with the kids (specifically Mallory, 

since she is not 9 years old).  "Well, that's a problem," I said.  "Because I didn't bring my suit!"

She had mercy on us and let the kids swim anyway.  Whew!

Skating was fun for all. It has been years since I've been on roller skates.  Hayden had recently been to a birthday party at the skating rink, but it was Mallory's first time ever!  They both did great!

Hayden had a play day with his friend Jake.  We also went to the movies and had game night with our friends, the Brewers. 

Here are the girls at the theater ~ such sweetness!

Mallory had a chance to hold Baby Molly, the Brewers' newest grandchild!

Then later that evening, the girls made cookies, YUM!

We celebrated New Year's with some other friends, the Craigs.  

This is Mallory with Grace on New Year's Eve.  

Hayden and Brett are teaching Doug, Jake, Fred and Ted how to play Settlers of Catan, a new 

game Hayden got for Christmas.  We love this game!  It's tons of fun!

All in all, it was a great break.  The kids (especially Hayden) were really ready to go back to school.

Slumber Party = Making Memories

Many years ago, we met some people who became dear friends to us. A saying that we often come back to, after having spent time together, is "Making memories together." Since we met, we've gotten married, changed jobs, moved to a new town, and had children.

Mallory and I recently had the opportunity to "make memories" with them again. A few weeks ago on a Friday noght, we drove to Indy to have a slumber party.

Mallory enjoyed reading to Titus.

And playing with Vanessa.

The girls sat up on the new bunk bed to watch a movie . . .

. . . on the wall!

The next morning we didn't have much time to play, but the girls managed to make the most of what time they had. They planned a wedding ceremony and acted it out for us! Too cute!

I am certainly looking forward to making many, many more memories with these dear friends of ours!

Birthday Fun

A few weeks ago, we were blessed to have spent the day with our dear friends, the Brewers. It was their younger daughter Vanessa’s 4^th birthday, and boy did we have fun! Vanessa’s daddy, like the Waffle, is a construction contractor for a living. He made the most awesome bunk bed for his girls! Check this out! Of course, they have 10 foot ceilings, so this bed is simply massive. It would NEVER fit in our house! But it is beautiful. Brad did a fantastic job.

Vanessa received many gifts. This one was a $5 bill in a card. The expression on her face just kills me. What was even more hilarious is that she had this expression EVERY TIME she opened a gift.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but Mallory is a very crafty and clever little girl. She is also a fan of tissue paper. This is what she decided to do with the leftovers from all of Vanessa’s packages. Do I see a fashion designer in my future?

Here are a few more pictures of the day. What a great time we had. Hope we get to do it again real soon.

Mallory and Emily

Brad and Titus

Vanessa, Hayden, Emily and Mallory

Titus Turns One

The Waffle and the birthday boy

After our Indians Outfield Adventure, we went to Titus' 1st birthday party! The Waffle and I have been friends with Titus' parents for over 12 years. They are wonderful friends, amazing parents, and just plain good people. In fact, when we got the invitation to Titus' party, I sent an email asking if we could come over at 9 am. The party started at Noon. There aren't too many people whom you can ask to come to the party 3 hours early, but they are that kind of people. You see, we had to be off the Indians field at 8 am, we were already in Indy, and they live in Danville. So, we showed up at 9, used their shower, and had a blast all day long. The theme for Titus' party was "Mr. Smiles is turning One." As you can see, he is almost always smiling. Check out these one year old photos taken of him by his cousin, Ashley.

Yellow Happy Faces were all around. His daddy decorated the cakes - with help from big sis #1 and big sis #2. He especially enjoyed the big yellow balloons. After the main festivities, the guys played bocce ball and the little girls played dress up. They were going to put on a play for the grown ups, but somehow it never materialized . . . They sure had fun practicing and coming up with ideas for it, though.

Drama princesses in pink - so sweet!

Getting together with their family is always the best of times and this weekend was no different. We were going on six hours of not so great sleep, so we were exhausted when we got home, but it was worth every minute of it. Thanks guys! We love you!