Christmas at Mim's

Crazy cousins....(next year there will be one more boy---little Jackson (kels is prego!)The girls....Love em'
Finally....a photo of J.D., Jill, and Elphie (I wish they were here all the time!WAH) . Elphie's actual name is Elphaba...you know, Elphaba of Wicked the Musical. Yep, pretty sure Jill is wayyyyy up in Creed's book.
The guys were so thrilled that the ladies all got them matching PJ pants.


Every year mim has an angel food cake that is our Happy Birthday Jesus cake.
For some reason all the kiddos congregated around Ky.
One of my lovely sis's
Have I mentioned I am glad they are home for the holidays :)!
Poor Elphie, she had to be fully overwhelmed. She's inspiring me to be open to the idea of getting a small dog (that's big...I always prefer big breads).

The boys love posing sorority style


Jude is obsessed with popping Mim's bubble gum bubbles.

Welp, looks like we are snowed in. We attempted to get home and there was NO WAY. We drove about 2 miles in the all out blizzard. There were 30 or so cars stranded so we turned back around. We did not have a THING and weren't prepared at all for staying the night. Can I just say we didn't even have lovey for Jude (this is HUGE!!!!!!!!). I was in a small state of panic while the boys were singing ever so lovely around the piano not a care in the world.
Our make shift shelter.....
A few hours of sleep later and a long road trip (watch for another post...it really was an incredible journey the whole trek of 30 miles north) we are HOME. Santa has postponed (there were no gifts at mim's house) until tomorrow...yippee.

Merry Christmas

From Mary and Two Josephs....

One Joseph who happens to be proud of his 6 pack and insisted on taking his shirt off for the photo...Oh, he happens to have a major drooling problem too.

LL can throw a party...

Juju and party host extroidinare'





Yes, this is the best photo I can get off all my children together...you try it if you think it sounds easy.
Finished products from each of my kiddos... (notice Jee's was pretty elaborate !)

My friend, LL (and baby bean) can sure through a party. I would give her hubs some credit for it. But seriously.....we all know that Mrs.PR herself threw this one together and Ryan came along for the ride. We had a blast carvin' out some punkins and I loved seeing my old buddies. They are my life long friends and no matter how far away we may be or how TERRIBLY bad I am about contacting people that don't live around the corner we will be forever friends.

Weekend O' Fun

Oh my gosh....melt my heart this little one can.


The following girlies and their mommies are AWESOME. Love em' all.



Ree and her little "Korey Lynn"...she's obsessed with her. She didn't even have to think about the 5 choices of baby dolls. She went directly to the one with dark hair and almond shaped eyes....hehe, I wonder why.






Okay, so...have I ever mentioned that you HAVE to get in a small group if you don't have one? (hehe, I know I have) but, I do have to say that it will change your life. We heart our small group.

Plus, how hot are these chicks?

The one on the left has two kiddos...who would've guessed..on the right mommy of 3. They are happy to be at the American Girl Store, as you can see ;)
Mommy of 7......I know I know. She even has time to put on makeup and wear a trendy little hat AND she is always WAYYYYY earlier than I am to events. Gag me.
Mom of 5.....and talk about cutesy patootsie. And you should see how fast she can go on the eliptical and treadmills in the mornings.... not to mention her amazing weight lifting abilities.Wowzers.
Mommy of 3 and getting ready to take her skinny behind down to Taihiti and soak up some sun. Talk about funny gal. You have to read her blog....it's hilarious. She makes me laugh.
The girls in doll heaven.
The boys made it back in time to meet us outside the store (they weren't even brave enough to step inside the store...pansies).

Awhile back (bad blogger) some of our friends and us went to see Mary Poppins live (theatre) and we did a little girls side trip of stopping by the American Girl doll store. Wowzers. I've never really understood the whole phenomenon. Except, I do like the books that go along with the dolls. At least it's educational. Ree LOVED it! She had some money stored away that had been given to her as gifts and so she got a bitty baby. I surprised her when we got there and remind her about the money. She was thrilled.

We had a blast with our buddies on the road trip. Mary Poppins was amazing. Live theatre makes me cry it's so beautiful. It really is amazing to see the talent God has given to people.

Get ready for picture overload....sorry 'bout that.

For my sis....

You can watch it if you want, but it's mostly for her. I do love her so.

Camping Trip Part 1

My kids SERIOUSLY love camping with Bapa. When I announced to Ree that she would be staying back for a "girl's night" for the first night while the boys camped she was SOOO upset. Really.....a girls night of fun filled girly activities (usually this is heaven for her)? She was having none of it. So, of course, she just went along with the boys for two nights of camping. Who would think that such a girly girl would love the great outdoors.

Although, you can't tell from this photo.....
I really do value so much the fact that we live by family and get to do these fun things.

He really is loving his mama's kisses despite the face he is making.
Do we have the coolest Bapa in the world or what?
Okay, you need to be impressed. This tree was high up. I got so nervous getting to that spot and the big boy was making fun of my nervousness the entire time. (I was scooting across the tree on my buns and he ran across it holding on to nothing while I sat at the end and about had a heart attack watching my all boy boy risk his life to climb a tree).
Dad made it up too. I see where my eldest gets his bravery.
Ever read the book "Mirrette on the High Wire", it's a good series.....we were re-inacting it here. Ree was to scared to stand up (the whole boy's being brave, girls being girly and scardy cats has proven to be true in our fam).
As a side note to camping I just want to say how much I love the way my kids look and smell in the mornings (I know this may sound weird to non parents). But, their crazy hair and sweet morning scent just gets me all teary. I LOVE cuddlying in the morning times with them wrapped up in a blanky on my lap.
Could this little slobber face be any more of a toot?
Lovin' on the cuz.
One of the best parts of camping....yummy huge breakfast compliments of bapa.