An Afternoon at the Park

This past weekend I was really hoping to get a few photos of the kids together.  Saturday was a beautiful day but we knew that there were big storms on the way.  We packed up the kids and headed to a nearby park to attempt the pictures.  Little Sister fell asleep in the car on the way there and she hadn't really gotten any kind of decent nap the entire day so we did not dare wake her.  She woke up a while later but the rains were about to start so we will have to save the pictures of all three kids for another day.  

I was hoping to try a few new things with the boys because I am toying with the idea of going back into my business on a part time basis, but my ideas didn't really pan out this time.   We had a great time and I got a few shots that I love that capture these two little guys so well.  

two smiles and one about to run off.  :) 

sharing a little treat.  love how sweet they can be at times

looking at the "torm" clouds coming in

I wonder what this profile will look like one day.
I will miss those super chubby cheeks. 

someone found a stick!

and a little spot to dig

and some treasure

sticks and rocks are treasures to my 2 year old

Tea Time

Little Sister got this tea set for Christmas and the boys love it!  They have played with it almost daily for the past month.  They like to have little tea parties and practice pouring their drinks.  It is fun to watch them interact with each other and absolutely impossible to turn down an invitation when one of these little men invite you to join them for a tea party.  Today I decided to put something special in real coffee cups for a change.  They thought it was such a treat and really enjoyed it!  Next time I will make them special little sandwiches and cookies.  :)  I think I might have to get little sis another tea pot since this one has been claimed by the boys! 

cheers - a toast between brothers

Here, have a treat.  Just don't ask for the triangle one with sprinkles.  That one is his and he doesn't like to share it.  Ever. 

handsome!

Easter Bunny!

On Sunday we took the kids to the mall for an Easter Egg-stravaganza.  There was a band, odd looking clowns making balloon animals/hats/swords/etc (the swords probably weren't a really great idea considering the number of children that were there), food and fun.  The Easter bunny made a quick appearance there and my boys ran up to him and gave him the biggest hug they could give.  They LOVE characters.  I think it is funny because you usually hear of kids hating people dressed up in costume but the boys love them.  They love them so much that it's hard to get them to leave the character's side.

We told them that we would go see the bunny a bit later and they left him alone.  Telling them we would see the bunny later was a big mistake.  We walked from the egg-stravaganza down to the area where they do the bunny pics.  The line was insane!  I told the boys that we could watch for a while but we would have to come back another day to actually see the bunny (we would have been in line for 2 hours).  Ryan spotted the lollipops that some of the kids were receiving from the bunny (oh no).  Suddenly, Ryan was having an all out fit because he wanted to see the bunny and get a lollipop.  We somehow managed to get everyone out of there without creating a scene.

Fast-forward to yesterday.  We are out and about running errands.  Ryan spots the mall as we are passing by and exclaims, "They are taking us to see the Easter Bunny!!! YAY!!!"  Then Owen got all excited about it too.  I didn't have the heart to tell them that we weren't going there, especially with all of that excitement in their sweet voices.  They were dressed for the playground so I frantically ran into Baby Gap looking for something acceptable for the boys to wear.  The line was short, only 1 family in front of us.  I wasn't sure what to expect once the kids all went and sat with the bunny....

Fun in the leaves

 These pictures make me smile.  It was Christmas afternoon and my kids were still in half of their pajamas even though we had been up for at least 8 hours and it wasn't our first stop of the day.  They woke up early, as usual and we had Christmas with my Dad.  We decided to leave them in their pajamas when we drove to Nana & Papa's house because we thought they would be comfy and might possibly nap (didn't happen).  Once we got to Nana and Papa's house, they wanted to play so we just never got around to changing them or putting into their fancy Christmas outfits.  They had SO much fun playing in the leaves.

the only picture I have of anyone in their Christmas outfits.  Maybe I need to stage a photo shoot...hahaha! 

Best Christmas Yet

This year we decided to head to Texas to visit our family for Christmas.  It was the first time in 9 years that we have been home for Christmas.  Being able to spend Christmas with our family was one of the best gifts we could have ever given to our kids and to ourselves.  We had such a great time and really did not want to leave.

Uncle B and Molly stayed at Grandpa Jerry's with us and got to have fun with all of the loot that Santa brought. 

Christmas Eve @ Nana & Papa's

Monkey loved Christmas too.  Monkey still goes EVERYWHERE with us! :) 

Owen wanted Uncle A to help him open up all his gifts.  

the babies!!!

Uncle A got a candy machine for his shop.  It was a HIT!!!  The boys were his first candy customers.  :) 

he was so excited about the remote control car

His gift from Nana & Papa -- the Leap Pad.  He still says it his his best present ever.  

Bass Pro Fun

While we were in Texas for Christmas we made a stop at Bass Pro Shops.  They have some really fun things for kids to do during the holiday season and it is free (yay!).  The boys had a great time and got to do some things that they had never done before ... fire a toy gun and shoot a bow & arrow!

what's in there?

and she's had enough fun at outdoor world...

he thought this was the coolest thing ever.  10K for a 4 wheeler!!!!

the boys loved the race track

Gingerbread Houses

One Saturday morning in December we made our gingerbread house.  The boys were a bit more focused on stuffing their faces with random goodies than they were actually constructing/decorating the house, but that's kind of what it is all about.  The boys really enjoyed it and so did we.  I found big brother trying to scale the book case to get to the gingerbread house a time or two.  He said he wanted a treat.

I love love love those fat little fingers! 

happy as can be observing! 

finished product