What I Am Thankful For

We have a tradition that after Thanksgiving dinner we go around the table and say what we are thankful for. I thought I would share with you what I am thankful for this year.
Jason: He is a wonderful husband that does a whole lot with the kids and around the house. He goes along with all the crazy things I plan and parties I host. He loves me for me and I am very lucky to have him.
Kyler, Kassidy and Konner: They never cease to amaze me with their smartness, their sweetness, or their stubbornness. I love how they interact with each other (even when they are fighting!). I have three healthy and happy children, that is a wonderful thing to have.
G-mama: For not only being my grandma but also the caregiver to my kids.
All of my family: Being in such close proximity to ALL of our family is such a great help and makes things so fun. I feel like nobody ever misses out on anything because we are all just there to do it together.
Preschool: Kyler is loving going and learning there (even if he won't admit it). I love it's reasonable price tag. A special thanks to Vicky who carts him to and fro so graciously too.
LAHS: I love where I work. The kids are great and the people I work with greater. We have fun so it is easy to go to work.
Tutoring: I have been blessed with the opportunity to tutor privately on the side. Boy does that little extra help.
There are a lot of other little things I am thankful for, but they are probably too trivial to mention. I am thankful for you who read this and think enough of us to be included in your lives. I am thankful for every day that I continued to be blessed.

What a Crowd!

This past weekend we were able to get together all of g-mama's family (except those in Alabama). That is a whole lot of folks!! At one point there were 27 of us (plus 4 extras) in one house. We managed to get all the great-grandkids to look at a camera at the same time to capture g-mama's Christmas photo. Aunt Laura and Uncle Darvin hosted us all for their famous lasagna. We played games and laughed a lot. All the little ones ran around. After church the next day some of us met for pizza. What a lovely thing to be thankful for during this time. I just love being part of such a big crowd of a family! I was so busy having fun this weekend I hardly had time to take pictures, but here are some of the kids I did manage to take.

Family Picture Time

Our favorite photographer Amanda was on hand again to document Kyler turning 4, the twins arriving at 18 months, plus squeeze in the photo for our Christmas card too. The Nature Center at El Dorado park provided a beautiful backdrop and so two outfit changes, lots of Nerds to eat and thinking of endless ways to get the kids to smile later, here they are. Not so bad. Here are just a FEW of my favorites - I have tons to choose from! (P.S. Check out Amanda's new website http://mycaptivatingphotography.com/)

Holiday Discoveries

Since Wednesday was Veteran's Day, Grammy and I did not have to work. I thought it might be fun to take the kids to the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana. Knowing this would not be an adventure to undertake alone, Jason and Granddaddy graciously volunteered to also take the day off. The kids all had a great time playing and discovering and exploring. Kyler got to do all of the activites - climbing the rock wall and pulling himself up on a pully system chair, plus shooting and goal keeping in the ice hockey exhibit. Konner and Kassidy wanted to stay forever at each station, not really getting that there were other just as exciting stations waiting just a few feet over. We got to check out a zamboni, the "inside" of a dinosaur, and make smoke signals. I think the adults had just as much fun as the kids! Despite losing (or rather misplacing) each of the three children once during the outing, it was a nice way to spend my day off.

Pirate Party

Happy 4th Birthday Kyler! I have been looking forward to doing Kyler's pirate birthday party since he was born and now that is has come and gone, it was worth the wait! We got to use our pirate costumes from Halloween again to get all dressed up and in the spirit of the day. The backyard looked festive (thanks Rachel for letting us borrow lots of your pirate party stuff) and most of our guests even came ready to pillage and plunder themselves.

The first order of business was to find the treasure! Kyler was ready to be the captain and lead us on our adventure. Clue number one led us to the Sudsy Dog (a self-serve dog wash Grammy takes Maddy and Chloe to). The next clue told up to go across the street to It's a Grind. There we picked up a clue that told us to head back home, but at the corner we had to take a detour. The last clue was found at a neighbor's house that led us right back to where we started - our own backyard! The kids were thrilled to find the treasure chest hidden in the back corner of the yard filled with goodies to choose from.

After lunch of "scurvy" dogs and all the fixins, Kyler got to blow out the "cannon" candles on his very own pirate ship birthday cake. (I made the cake myself by following some fantastic instructions and adding my own personal touches. My favorite part, the treasure chest made from a Tootsie roll and M&M minis and a graham cracker plank.)

Probably the best part for Kyler was opening all his great gifts - and he'll tell you so if you ask him. He really loved everything he got: Transformer pjs, a castle set of duplos, pirate figures and books, a Bumblebee action figure, a skateboard, play guitar, a pirate ship, a remote control truck, a handmade (by Grandma) dog blanket, a silly laughing monkey, a big boy bike and helmet, and much, much more. Let's just say our recycling bin is quite full now.

Thanks to all our family and friends who could come and join in the fun. Kyler is a very loved and lucky little boy.

Trick or Treat

All three kids went as pirates this year for Halloween. Their costumes looked so cute together! Kyler would be the first to each door and after saying his "trick or treat" loved to announce that there were two more pirates behind him too. We invited the cousins over to have a little photo shoot before our trick or treating. (Boy is it hard to get everyone to look at the camera at the same time!) Konner and Kassidy hardly walked at all during the trick or treating, but Kyler was a trooper as we canvased the neighborhood. Jules went with us for a while, but decided she wanted to eat instead of sleep her way through the evening. Kyler, Kassidy and Konner all ditched their pirate hats and candy bags by the end, but still managed to say (or sign) "thank you" to everyone they met. I have never seen Konner and Kassidy sign "candy" so much in one evening before. When Kassidy could no longer walk straight because her bag was so heavy, we decided we had better call it quits and headed home to a treat of our own - yummy caramel (and more) apples!