I love these towels! They even came with cute little matching washcloths.
Cute little bunny and tiger
Well we had a great Christmas this year. It was so much fun since the kids are older and so they are a little more interested in opening presents. They still don't have a clue who Santa Clause is, but they love opening presents. This year James and I decided not to go all out because we're in the process of "saving" our money. So Andee got a bunny towel, dress-up shoes, "My little Pony" play set, baby doll, toy Maltese puppy, and a Tinkerbell dish set. Nicholas got a tiger towel, "Fox and the Hound" movie, a leap frog drum set, bath toy set, Spiderman dish set, and some trucks. And it's fun sharing Christmas with the in-laws, because then there's even more presents under the tree.
Stocking time.
Andee loves her little pony.
They each got animal towels, they were so cute at Cosco I couldn't resist.
Andee got a little toy Maltese that came with a ton of little accessories and a little carrier. She absolutely loves it! If Nicholas even just looks at it, she flips out. And Nicholas with his new Spiderman dish set. Andee got a Tinkerbell dish set.
Andee with her "My little Pony" play set
Nick's new movie, "Fox and the Hound"
Andee with her princess dress up shoes
It's a tradition to go over to James grandparents house on Christmas day and eat and visit, and of course Andee insisted on bringing her little puppy with her.
Well we decided it would be fun to do a gingerbread house with the kids this year. It ended up being more stressful than fun for James and I, but now that we know how to do it, we'll be masters of it next year. We were determined not to use a glue gun, so the frosting was really gooey and took forever to dry, we even pulled out my blow dryer to see if that would work. But the kids had fun, so that's all that matters.
We were so impatient with it, we took it downstairs into our room to finish it while we watched t.v.
The final product!
Andee opening her Christmas Eve pajamas. Modena made the pajamas this year and they were so cute. They fit the kids perfectly and they will be able to wear them next year too. So thank you Modena for putting in all the time and effort into the pajamas.
Nicholas getting a closer look at his pajamas.
Two excited kids, waiting for Santa to come. And after their bath and opening pajamas, we all snuggled on the bed and watched "The Polar Express". By far the best Christmas movie ever. I wish I still believed in Santa Clause because that movie just gets you so excited for him to come. I love it, so that is definitely going to be our Christmas Eve tradition until they move out!
The kids and I drove down to Arizona to visit my family for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to get away for awhile to just relax and escape everyday life, and the cold weather. I couldn't believe how nice it was!! I was expecting it to still be hot when we came, but it was gorgeous weather. James wasn't able to get work off so just me and the kids went. I was really nervous for the 12 hour trip in the car but the kids did surprisingly(if that's even a word) good so I was relieved. They even did better on the way home. The kids had fun with Grandpa and Grandma, going to the parks and taking walks almost every night. That was nice for me since I got a break away from the kids. But then I ended up just being bored and not knowing what to do so I would clean. I organized Modena's sewing room and my Dad's shed while I was there. My trip has inpired me to start my own business in organizing people's homes. So I'm excited to get that started.
Nicholas helping Grandpa with his outside yard work.
Andee joining in with Grandpa doing his exercises. Since my parents would ware them out during the day, the kids napped which means they don't sleep until really late. So my Dad would have Andee do his nightly exercises to see if that would help her unwhind.
Andee helping with Christmas decorations.
It's so nice that the park has a little area for kids now! Andee and Nicholas loved it! Well more Andee than Nick. It usually takes Nick awhile to warm up to new environments.
As you can see Nick not enjoying himself at all. The guy asked us if we wanted to get him off but we said no since I thought once he got the ride going that Nick would be better. But he ended up getting him off since Nick was completely freaking out.
So Andee got to ride all by herself and loved it!
Once again, Nicholas not looking too excited.
Riding the train! The kids had so much fun on the train.
Cute little Nicholas wearing Grandpa's hat. 
James talked me into letting Andee open her presents in the morning. Growing up we always had to wait until dinner time for the "birthday party". But James was able to open up his right when they would wake up, so I guess his tradition won.
Andee loves these little animals! Every time we go over to her cousin Addison's house, she always steals them from her, so I decided it was time to get her a set of her own.
More little baby animals...
My little pony set...
Andee and this little boy would go around and play on all the little cars and things. Andee would always get a free ride because he would use his tokens. This was our first time going to Chucky Cheese and the kids loved it! So we are definitely going to go more now that we know it wasn't a waste of money.
Nicholas wasn't too sure of the moving rides, he would freak out if the ride moved too fast. It was pretty funny. Also, when Chucky the little mouse guy came around to say hi to all the kids, he came up to Nicholas and it was the funniest thing, Nicholas completely freaked out. He kept his eyes on him while he ran the other direction. So funny.
Nicholas loved watching the little "show". He would never get too close though since the animals move around, he wasn't too sure about that.
Andee's castle cake with a river of blood. I obviously didn't read the directions good enough because when it called for 2 packages of jello, it didn't click that it was for the water..hehe. I just picked the red because I thought it would taste better. So good thing Andee is still young enough that she doesn't care.
Nicholas got so into his icecream and cone. By the end, the cone was completely destroyed. 
Here's my sweet Max, he is 1 year old. He's honestly the sweetest dog ever. He's so protective of our family, anyone that comes around he's ready to get them, which can be bad sometimes considering he does it with kids. James and I decided we are always going to have Boxers, we've fallen in love with our's. They are so good with the kids, the kids can do anything they want to them and they just sit there.
And here's our sweet little Mary. Not really little anymore though she's 5 months old. We have the dogs in this huge fenced in area and Mary has to be tied up because she climbs the fence and gets out. So my father in law has been trying to figure out how to keep her in. They went out and put wire all along the top part and thought maybe it would intimidate her, but sure enough, 5 minutes later she was out running around. Then yesterday they went and bought an electric fence wire and put that around the top. Floyd was so excited, he was hiding behind a bush giggling while he watched her to see if she would try to get out. And believe it or not, 2 minutes later she climbed right out. I told him my dogs are too tough, nothing will stop them. So I guess she'll just have to be tied up until we move : (
It was such a nice day today!! So the kids had fun playing outside for awhile without me having them come back inside because I'm too cold. We even had the dogs out with us for awhile and let them get a little exercise. Today made me not look forward for the winter even more. 
He loves this toy! In the yard there are a few little hills and so Nicholas and Andee take turns going down the hills on this wagon. It always amazes me how much they aren't afriad of.
