Thanksgiving 2009

We drove 20 hours up to Utah this Thanksgiving. We left at 4:00pm and got there at 2:30
pm the next day. Such a long drive! When we got there everyone was still in church so we waited in the house until church was over. When it was time we went outside and the kids were just ecstatic to see G-ma and G-pa and Maddison could not wait to see Aliya her cousin. As they were all walking home Maddison and Aliya caught sight of eachother and ran head on as fast as they could and collapsed in a huge hug when they saw eachother. It was so cute.Not much was happening the first couple of days. We went up on Tues to visit Sheri and Matt and their new baby Dexter. Who come to find out has had several medical problems including, jaundice, UTI and bacterial menigitis. Wed Dustin and Amy came down and I guess that is when all the excitement happened. DeniAnn dressed up as a princess and the little girls got to play princess with her. James wanted so badly to play too but he didn't get a costume. He did, however, get to have a princess luncheon with them and dance with them. We had a lovely Thanksgiving day and then on Friday my brother Ryan came down to visit. He moved to Montana and so this was a nice central meeting place for us. We didn't get to visit long because everyone decided to go Christmas Tree hunting but it was nice he could see us for a short time. Christmas tree hunting was fun. The kids and Ryan absolutely loved it. Tyler I think one the prize for the biggest tree and Ryan even cut us a small one too. :) The rest of the time was just spent with eachother which was nice. We had a great trip! Here are some memories of our time.

DeniAnn as Belle. Maddison as Cinderella.

Should I be worried about this pose?

This is more like it. She and Aliya danced the day away.

Princesses and Prince lucheon.

These girls were inseperable.

Here is our little Christmas tree.

James trying to get in on the snowball fight.

They were having a giant snowball fight and Maddison would throw half and eat the other half of the snowball. James and her just rolled around in the snow as much as they could.

We had a movie night and all the cousins got special pjs from Aunt Amy and then all snuggled down on blankets to watch "Up." This is the pillow fight preceding the movie.

DeniAnn is seriously the best at making the little girls feel special. All week she did nails and hair.

James wanted so badly to be included in the princess stuff. Aliya made him feel welcome.

Sleep Walker

Ok so I just had to post this so we can remember it forever! A couple of days ago Maddison walked out of her nap babbling about a laughing volcano, a funny book and the computer. I realized she was sleep walking and just giggled and tried to wake her up. Well when she did wake up she cried for 15 minutes and then fell back asleep on my lap before waking up fully a few minutes later. It was the first time she had done it and I thought it was hilarious because I used to be a big sleep walker. In fact one time I slept walked right out the front door in the middle of the night. My family put one of those little trampolines in front of the door for a few weeks to make sure I didn't escape again. Well I think Maddison my follow in my footsteps. She just came out a few minutes ago sleep walking again about clues, James did it and books. Ryan put her back in bed and she just was laughing hysterically. Then zonked out again. I hope it doesn't become a regular occurence but it is sure funny to see.

Cont' 2

For eight days straight we had rain here in TX. Very unusual for this time of year. The kids are used to getting outside at least once a day so I finally just let them go at it. They had a blast!

James was freezing by the end.

They like to throw leaves and sticks in the "river" and watch them float away. If there is just a tiny bit of water on the street James still tries to do this.

We went to the Plano Balloon Festival and that was really fun. They had lots of crafts for the kids and James loved watching the balloons light up. Maddison's favorite part was of coarse getting her face painted.

Finally and most recently James got a new bed. We found a great deal on a toddler bed at a garage sale and he couldn't wait to test it. He does pretty well but we often find an entire bookshelf in his bed by the morning.

Maddison with her princess makeup :)

Cont'

We played a ton in the water this summer. Almost every day we went to the pool, Celebration, or played in the sprinklers at home. James at first hated the spray water but soon found it was so much fun. Both kids became fish this summer. James has no fear and just jumps in whether you are ready or not. Maddison is still more timid but as long as she has her arm floaties on she was unstoppable. She got really use to putting her face in the water and even practiced a few times without the floaties. Hopefully next year she won't need them.

Grandma took us on a mystery trip to the Dallas Aquarium. We all got to ride the Dart train there (which James LOVED). They had a great time with all the animals. Maddison got lost once but was faithfully by our side the rest of the time.

So four months later....

So I know it is four months later but life happens. This summer flew by and we really enjoyed it. Maddison has started back at preschool and James is in joy school now with a couple of our friends and really seems to enjoy it as well. Ryan is in school and I am still crazy busy with the various jobs I have. Here are some pictures of the past four months of adventures:)

We went on our first camping trip with the kids. They loved it! James was obsessed with the fire. Every time Ryan would put lighter fluid on it, James would yell "Again! more!" Maddison loved chasing butterflies in the field across from us. We stayed one night and made wonderful memories. Kids can't wait to go again!

My kids LOVE to do crafts. They ask to do them all the time. So here are some fun pictures of when James decided to "craft" himself and Maddison doing playdoh. She likes to get on line and follow the instructions to do the different playdoh things.

Preschool Grad

I really should have posted this a long time ago but here it is anyway. Maddison had the opportunity to go to Apple Creek Preschool this year and it was wonderful. She learned so much and she still has a year before K-grade. I don't know what I am going to do with her. Anyway, she seems to have followed in my footsteps in performing. She loves it and like me is more comfortable on stage than any where else. Here is a clip from her graduation. The funniest thing about this is the kid next to her. His name is Cade and I guess he just got a little stage fright because he just melts down during the Peanut Butter and Jelly song. Maddison just kept looking at him like "what is your problem? This is fun!" They were both so cute and still play together at the pool often :) Thank you to the people who made it possible for her to attend this year. You all are such a blessing.

Uncle Ryan

Can I just say that my kids just love their Uncle Ryan. Whenever he comes over they just go nuts and he is so cute with them. Here are some pictures of them playing outside.

Owen's Farm

We went with some friends to the Owen's farm in Richardson. It was so fun and perfect for kids. We spent about 2 hours there, saw everything, went on a hay ride and then had lunch and the kids went home and took naps. I didn't think my kids would actually feed the goats but they did. Both had them licking and eating out of their hands. Maddison really loved petting the pony too. Thanks for coming Crystal and Rhonda!

Hay ride. James thought it was a choo-choo.

So much for a group picture...
Really nice pony.

Trip to the zoo

We went to the Ft. Worth zoo on half price Wed when Ryan had work off. I love that zoo it is so much fun. The kids favorite part was the bird enclosure. We bought the little feed sticks and both kids got to hold and touch the birds. James was especially fascinated by them. Maddison was very persistent in getting one on a stick by herself. We were probably in there a good 40 minutes. However, they were worth it! James just touched one.

Maddison getting one by herself.

Here birdie!

The week before we went to the Dallas zoo with my mom. We were in a similar enclosure but they had more than parakeets there. Anyway, my mom was just standing there and had a cockatail land right on her head and stay there for a while. I guess he thought it was a nest :) I didn't have my camera on hand but the kids thought it was great.

James' Birthday #2

Choo-Choo!Mmm I think he likes it.

James' birthday was all choo-choos. I have never seen a boy who was as obsessed with trains as James is. We all pitched in and got him a train set that has all the bells and whistles. He loves it. Ryan Vandiver got him a Thomas the Train pillow that he likes to sit on and pretend he is on a train. The following video's are of his first look at it. He still signs when he hears things by putting his hand up to his ear. He does this when he hears a train, plane, bus or motorcycle. James loved all the trains he got for his birthday.

In fact a day after we got them we had to go somewhere and I told him he could take a few of his trains. Well I saw him put 2 in and then we left. In the car I gave him the trains and he kept saying "more more. " I told him that was it and we kept going, despite his instistence. Well when we got home he wanted to play with his trains but we could not find the rest of them anywhere. I looked all over the house but couldn't find them. I was pretty upset because I just thought "great now we have a train table but no trains." Well a little while later I was getting something out of my purse and lo and behold there were the rest of the 12 trains. Funny you think I would have noticed the extra weight. James had put them in there when i wasn't looking. Now the trains still go every where we go but he has a "manly train purse" to take them in.

It was so nice having every one here for his birthday. We actually celebrated it on Easter. He is too young to know we did it a day early, right?



First look at the train.

Enjoying the sights and sounds.


I made the cake but relied on my dad for the decorations on it. He did this free-hand using the picture on the plates. Isn't he amazing? Thanks mom and dad for all you do for us. We love you!

The first present he opened was a little train and he ran around and then fell on the floor saying "ooooo." It was pretty funny.

Easter

I finally downloaded the pictures from my camera so I am just posting each event seperately. These are some of Easter. Maddison loved her dress. We had an egg hunt in the house because the weather man said it was going to be horrible all day. However, if we had just waited til after church it was beautiful. Oh well! James loved the candy in the egg. After he would find one he would shake it, open it and then proceed to dump the entire egg in it. Pretty funny. Maddison got a kite and moon sand. The Easter egg hunt pictures are on Ryan's camera so until he downloads them....Found them!

Tatoo eggs! Maddison was very careful during this part.

Catch up!

Ok so as always I am playing catch up. I just don't know how you guys keep up to date. Anyway here are some pictures of what has happened lately...

Maddison had her birthday and is sooo excited she is four years old. She had a Tinkerbell birthday party. (I am sure there are several people she invited or wanted to invite but please don't be offended if you weren't. Maddison mentioned SEVERAL people later on but as a "last minute mom" I didn't get all the invitations out on time. We love you all though!) We played freeze tag, ate cake, opened presents, played musical chairs, and several other games. She had a blast and loved it all.

Grandpa and James enjoying the cake.

The "Party People"

Another HUGE event was my sister getting married here are a couple of pictures from it. She is now Mrs. Christine Sorenson. She got married Dec 13, 2008 to Jonathan Sorenson. They are such a great couple and we are so happy for her.

ONE of the favorite aunts.

James loves her sooo much it is so sweet. He has started to just randomly go up and give her hugs.