North Pole Express

A couple of years ago, before either of our children were 2. We went on a Polar Express ride down in Palestine, TX. I wanted to make somewhat of a tradition out of it and since we weren't able to go last year I was determined to go this year! Through some research I found an alternative train ride in Grapevine, TX that was closer, and cheaper for the 4 of us so on the 21st we drove up to spend the evening celebrating all things Christmas!

Prior to the train ride there was a 25 minute stage show which the kids and I loved but Josh could have done without.

Daddy and Roy ready for the show!

Mommy and Lilli ready for the show!

In line to board the train.

Getting settled in our seats on the train!

Lilli was super excited! She couldn't wait to see Santa.

Singing Christmas Carols.

Pausing from the dancing.

Roy's favorite part - getting his ticket punched by the conductor.

Here comes Santa!

Out of dozens of other parents there was only one other mommy and daddy in their pajamas. But we didn't care, who rides to the North Pole without their jammies on? Not us!

What a fun ride!

A sneaky shot of the kids on Santa's lap... unfortunately I am too cheap to pay the $15 to get a picture of them looking at the camera.

On our way back to the car.

After not being able to get a good pic with Santa we tried going to the Bass Pro Shop to find out that to get a "free" pic with Santa we needed to be one of the lucky ones with a Santa pass. Oh well, at least Lilli got a ride on a reindeer out of the trip!

Oh Christmas Tree

Each year since we've had kids we make the trek out to Meridian to the Radde Tannenbaum Ranch to cut down our very own Christmas tree. The 40 minute drive is completely worth it to us as it's usually our kick off to all things Christmas. On the way out we explain to the kids what we're going to be doing and listen to Christmas carols. On the way back we make sure to sing some of our favorites as a nod to the Griswolds and hope that we don't lose our tree along the way! Occasionally when we have guests for Thanksgiving they get to come along for the adventure. A few years ago my sister joined us for a day in the rain, and this year Nana and Papa (Josh's parents) joined us for a day of perfect tree cutting weather. Here's what our adventure looked like.

hayride out to the trees

nana and papa on the hayride

walking in a winter wonderland... wait is that possible without snow?

we found the perfect tree!

while singing "o christmas tree" roy not so politely requested we stop... apparently he doesn't appreciate a good tune when he hears one

rugged

hitting the road in style

excited about the ornament he picked for his ornament exchange at school,

and about his new advent calendar

we made it home!

this is the last year for the camry to make the trip, next year we'll be mini-vanning it.

Wisconsin Summer

Well... better late than never! Here are some pictures from our trip to Wisconsin this summer. Coming soon... or as soon as I can get around to it... Disney Pictures!!

Well, we're here... now what?

S'mores!!!

Really, I can eat this!

Beach time!

Castle building with Cousins.

Lilli makes friends wherever she goes... this is one of her friends she made at the beach.

A boy's dream - fishing in pajamas!

The 4th of July parade... it was so cold we had to go buy blankets for the kiddos!

A pre-parade snack... can you tell they're related :o)

Grandma Debbie always has pudding for us!

Grandpa Russ just got back from Japan and brought Roy and Lilli some "Kung Fu Fighting" pajamas. And yes we do sing the song every time they wear these jammies :o)

A little bit of Kung Fu Fighting action.

Ice Cream scented bubbles with Daddy.

Look what I did!

More fun in the water.

A tractor ride around Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Russ' yard.

The tractor ride driver.

Attacking Aunt Toot-Toot (aka Aunt Angela)

Swinging after a delicious Friday night Fish Fry!

Lilli and her cousin Wynton (aka Bubba) were caught watching Zoe together.

Roy and his friend Kirsten... I especially like the gender matching poses they gave.

Heading home. Regression: one of the things we came home with was Lillian's night-night. She had kicked the habit already but we brought one along for emergencies and every night we were there was an emergency. :o) I guess we'll have to try again another day!

Constipation

After a short bout of constipation a couple of weeks ago I explained to Roy that when it's hard to poop it means he needs to eat more vegetables and fruit, and drink more to make the poop come out easier. So after a relatively easy visit to the toilet this afternoon our little man who *never forgets anything* exclaimed "See mom I ate more vegetables and fruit, and drank my milk so my poopy came out!!" I can guarantee that he will diligently eat his vegetables and fruit now that he has a logical reason as to why :o)

Automatic Carwash

Recently I realized that my kids haven't had the opportunity to experience a drive through car wash... we usually just wash our cars at home. So one day while driving around with Lilli screaming hysterically I thought it might be a good idea to hit the car wash so that Lilli and I could both cool off a bit. As I was pulling into the parking lot I remembered going through a drive through car wash with my family when I was little and my sister screaming hysterically because she was so afraid of the spraying water and the spinning scrubbers. I began rethinking the effectiveness of my plan... but I was desperate, we still had one more stop to make and nothing was helping her to calm down... so we entered. I figured that it couldn't get any worse and thankfully it didn't. She stopped crying, although it wasn't because she was enjoying it she was just terrified into silence. Roy on the other hand enjoyed it thoroughly. Here are the pics to document this milestone in their little lives.

looking at the scrubbers

shock and awe

pure bliss

Happy 2nd Birthday Lilli!

Yesterday we celebrated Lilli's 2nd Birthday. Her birthday happened to coincide with my first day of work for this school year so I was bummed I wasn't able to spend the whole day with her but still had a lot of fun getting her cake, her outfit, and her presents together. This year her birthday party is all about ladybugs (hence the ladybug outfit and cake). I had no idea how fun and easy planning a ladybug party could be... it's amazing what you can do with red and black circles!! I'll have more pics to come after her party day.

For her actually birthday daddy took her out for doughnuts in the morning and then went to Barnes and Noble to let them play trains and read some books (which she absolutely loves). Then when I got home I finished up her party outfit, decorated her cake, and helped daddy put together her present from Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Russ in the 100+ degree heat. At 6 we 'talked' to my parents via webcam and let them see her reaction to their gift - a super cute playhouse. It's fun that even though we live so far away they still got to share in the joy of their present with her! After eating dinner we did the cake thing and then after cake she opened her presents.

Enjoying her new house with Roy and her friend Oliver.

A special birthday kiss from her big brother... you can tell she loved it :o)

What a cute little Lilli-Bug!!

A close up of the cake, yes there are some bald spots but what do you expect?- I'm an amateur.

What fun to celebrate yet another year of our crazy family!