Snowmen and a Deer

I love cold weather-in short spurts and I have officially had enough!  I am ready for lazy pool days and all that comes with that!  Things have been really low key around here this week.  We are all back in school and at work. The kiddos will be back this weekend, so things will liven up considerably again!

This is Lillian two years ago when she was at their wonderful preschool.........

And this is Reed this year!  We are all going to miss this wonderful school when Reed moves on to big school!

As this picture shows, Lillian was thrilled when Maddie shot this doe!  Lindsey asked her if she was ready to hunt now, and she promptly told her no! I think she's happy just enjoying Maddie's success.

Maddie and her dad were hunting behind their house.

She was super excited and that makes us excited, too!

And this sweet little thing has been doing a little hunting, also!  He's a natural. Beau spends a lot of time gazing out the front door or our windows just waiting to see something in the yard. 

Have a great week!

Snowflakes and a New Year

We started the New Year with a bang!  We bundled the kids up in the absolutely freezing weather and shot some fireworks! (I am eagerly waiting for sunny and 75 degrees!) The great thing is that at this point they don't realize when midnight actually occurs.......So, we shot fireworks around 7:00, and were all in bed by 9:00 or so!  I call that a win!  We are all excited to see what the new year has in store for us.  In just eight short weeks, we will welcome John Sawyer.

Even with all the layers, it was still quite cold!  Still, fun was had by all!  This one is not too sure of loud noises! She stayed pretty close to me!

This one would run up and watch as Pop and Maddie lit the fireworks, and then run under the Magnolia tree!

This one was Pop's special helper and flashlight holder.

Love them so......

Ready to launch another one!

 They picked out some really fun fireworks that went way up in the air, but I think the sparklers may have been their favorite!

I introduced them to the art of making snowflakes.  In no time at all they were experts!  Maddie quickly learned to fold the paper and cut them out all by herself!  Lillian also did a fantastic job!

The entire den soon looked like a winter wonderland!  At one time, I counted over 40, but that was early in the process.

Concentrating!

This cutie was the only one that made it until the end of the ballgame!   That would be pizza on his cute little face!

Roll Tide!! 

Happy New Year!

Santa Express

I just realized that I never posted about our train ride with Santa.  So much fun!! Next year, John Sawyer will get to ride with us, and we just can't wait!  Uncle C and Aunt Tay were in Auburn for Tristan's graduation on this day, so they weren't able to join us. Basically, we boarded the Long Island car and enjoyed a long ride.  Santa and one of his elves joined us along the way, and stopped to chat with all the children!

All aboard!

Waiting to see Santa!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Santa is all ears!

Daddy's girl!

Brother wasn't into having his picture made at this time! 

What a fun ride!

This was actually taken before the train ride.  Reed had been to our house for a few days.  This is his reunion with Lillian!  They really love each other, and were thrilled to see each other.  So sweet!

I highly recommend this fun trip!  We will be back next year! I think this is my last Christmas post!  On to our new adventures in 2018.  We have lots of big things in store for this year!

Christmas Eve and Morning

After church, we headed east to spend the night with Lindsey, Josh and the babies. After a wonderful supper, we took a ride to look for Christmas lights, next Maddie read the Christmas story to all of us and then the kiddos put the food out for the reindeer.  Finally, the cookies and milk were prepared for the big guy, and we all headed to bed to get ready for an early morning. I cherish these wonderful times!

Best reindeer food ever!!


Christmas Eve - Getting ready for Santa to come!

Leaving cookies and milk for Santa!

This has become one of my favorite traditions of the Christmas season.  Maddie reads us the Christmas story before they head to bed.

I think she's dreaming of all the presents she's going to get the next morning.

Santa came and worked his magic, and then scurried off!

Checking out the goodies! I don't think anything in the world could be more fun!

Still just a tad sleepy1

Pop and Josh put up Maddie's new deer stand and then we headed home.

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas at Our House

What a wonderful Christmas!!  We have baked cookies, made candy, looked at lights, taken a ride on the Santa Express, decorated and decorated some more, and spent precious time with our family! We've attended Christmas programs, family gatherings, cantatas and more!  One of my favorite events was taking the little ones to see The Star.  There is nothing more special (or more fun) that experiencing Christmas through the eyes of our sweet little ones!  They are at the perfect ages for Santa, but all know the real reason we celebrate the season!  We are so very blessed to share so many memories with our family, and can't wait to make more!!

We have always sorted our gifts into piles the night before we open gifts.  Lindsey and Caleb have passed this job on to the little ones, and they love it!  Only three or four gifts ended up with no tags or bows, so we consider that a win!

We enjoyed breakfast, opened gifts and then ate lunch together!  No pictures of that!  Maddie and Lillian set the table! It's so great having such wonderful help!

Papa spent most of the morning with us.  The kids have always loved spending time with him, and I'm pretty sure he feels the same.

He enjoyed opening his presents, too.

 Silly girl! Maddie and Lillian are patiently waiting to open gifts!  Also, Reed is obsessed with drinking out of his Mickey Mouse cup!

 The den floor becomes covered with paper, boxes and tape!  But, that's just evidence of lots and lots of fun! 

 I can't wait until John Sawyer is here to celebrate with us! We are all ready!

 Uncle C is getting a remote control firetruck or front end loader next year!

There's nothing sweeter than Christmas smiles!

Lillian has gotten a castle of one type or another for 3 years now- and, she wanted another one this year.  Nana opted for a doll house this year, and I think she really loves it! She's checking it out with her mom.

 Inspecting the gifts!

Fun with Uncle C!

My tree is down and the decorations are put away, but we made memories to last forever!  Next up, Christmas morning with Lindsey, Josh and the grandbabies.