Merris Family 2012

Firemen Friday

2012-01-28T12:25:00.000-08:00

Today for our Friday excursion we headed back to the Children's museum this time with some new friends the Walkers. Last month when we came we spent so much time at the Shark exhibit and Bob the Builder exhibit that we never made it down to the Children's area so today we spent most of our time there.

My kids love this Fire truck. Calli is getting so big and brave with all of her "danger tricks." This is the first time that they wanted to get all dressed up in the outfits. We are starting to delve more into the whole world of dress-up and it is really fun plus super cute. My kiddo's were a little cranky today for some reason so I made sure to leave in time to make sure Calli had a real nap in her crib and I got some sanity time. Calli tried to climb into the water table they have to play with, and they both dumped sand on the floor from the sand table and there were some issues in the farm area over the tractors. But besides that we had a great time. Some weeks we stay late on our excursion and just have mini naps in the car on the way home. Not today. :) We are home now all enjoying some peace and quiet. I LOVE Fridays and nap time. :)

Looking the part

2012-01-27T12:16:00.000-08:00

We went ahead and did it! We entered into the world of pink leotards and tutu's and I don't think we will ever be able to return to life as we knew it. And I LOVE it!! Since Calli is loving her gymnastics class so much I figured we better invest in some gymnastics/dance attire, especially since next year she will get to doubly use it when she starts ballet as well.

I love how she is already on her tippy toes pointing like a ballerina. John took one look at these pictures and simply said, "We are in trouble."
We had to snap a picture of the whole outfit and cute pony too of course. I am not going to lie but I am pretty excited to check out some other stores and add to her dance/gymnastics attire wardrobe. Plus now it is guilt free since there is another sister who will get to use them as well. :) Poor daddy he is already starting to sweat a little.

Merry Christmas!

2012-01-27T07:38:00.000-08:00

We had such an AWESOME and RELAXING Christmas this year! It was SO nice to just stay home and enjoy time together as a family. It is really fun too that our kids are old enough to understand what is happening and bring so much excitement to the holiday. What made it extra special this year was that Grandpa and Grandma Bagley were able to spend the holiday with us as well. Have I mentioned how much I am LOVING that they are serving their mission here in Dallas. Spending the holiday's together is one of the many perks!

Dad and John were watching some sporting event I imagine while Grandma and the kiddo's were staying nice and warm by the fire.
Grandma kept JJ and Calli thoroughly entertained by playing the boat game while I whipped up our Christmas Eve dinner. In our family the tradition is to have a nice meal and program on Christmas Eve and then stay in your pajamas all day on Christmas. With Christmas being on Sunday this year we did have to change out of our pajamas but as soon as we got home we put them back on.

For dinner we had Chicken cord en blue with cheese sauce and asparagus and artichokes and rolls and raspberry pretzel salad for dessert. We also indulged ourselves with some Martinelli's to drink. Normally we have to bribe the kids to come to dinner but they must have known it was special because they were ready and seated before the rest of us.
Here is our gang minus my hubby who is snapping the picture. Over dinner John told us all about his recent trip to South Africa. (pictures and post to come about that trip as soon as I can get him to do it. :) After dinner we acted out the Nativity. I think this may have been the cutest, funniest one ever. JJ was Joseph and Calli was Mary. We used one of Calli's baby dolls as baby Jesus. John was the donkey and an inn keeper and a shepherd I think. I was the angel and an inn keeper and a Wise man. Grandma was a shepherd and a Wise man and Grandpa was the narrator and a Wise man. It was really fun and then we watched the animated movie of the Savior's birth in hopes the kids would pay better attention and understand a little more how truly special this night is. After the program was over we got the kids jammies on and of course left some cookies out for Santa and the reindeer and took them to bed. Then we got to work. My payback for John going to Africa for 11 days was to buy something that would take 2 hours to put together. Hehe not really I knew Calli would LOVE a kitchen so that was my true motivation and John is so handy he had it done in no time. We had rented a movie to watch as well but both John and I were to tired to finish it so we went to bed while Grandma and Grandpa burned the midnight oil and finished the movie.

The next morning was so fun and magical of course! The kids were so excited to see their family room filled with toys and surprises and treats. They wouldn't have even cared if there were any presents to open under the tree, but don't worry there were plenty of those too. Our original plan was to get up and play with our toys from Santa and then eat breakfast and get ready for Church at 9 but we were all a little too excited and decided to open the presents before church. Needless to say we were a little late and not looking quite our best but we got there in time for the Sacrament. :)
These two were in heaven playing with the kitchen and the fish that Santa brought.. JJ has been wanting a fish for FOREVER ! So Santa finally gave him one.
He was so cute and after church said to me, "Hey Mom, we forgot to name the fish. I think we should name him JJ. I know that isn't really a fish name, but it is so Cool!." How could I argue with that logic? So JJ the fish it is!
Daddy is teaching JJ how to feed the fish and not to feed to much so he doesn't eat to death. Both the kids still love to feed JJ the fish and watch him eat his little pellets.

Here we are in all our glory! Looks like we need a little more sleep ya think!?! Hopefully we looked a little more awake by the time we got to church.
Here is Grandpa and Grandma in all their glory too. They are looking better then we are I think.
Even though I took one for the team and had all the presents bought and wrapped and under the tree before daddy even got home from Africa. He had to go out and get the kids some presents of his own. He is so cute and LOVES to buy gifts for people he loves. This is a fun little fort they can play in. He spoiled me rotten as well and got me a temple picture that I love, and a watch and a necklace and some perfume. He is so sweet. I got him a tour hour speed tour driving 4 different luxury cars. My good friend Lauren got her husband and John's best buddy the same thing so they could do it together. We were a little bit nervous to get something so unconventional but apparently it was the best gifts we ever got our hubbies. They were so excited and loved it. (another post and pics to come if I can motivate him to do it of their tour. :)
Calli go all dressed up in her princess clothes from Grandma and Grandpa while JJ rode around like a mad man on his scooter from them.
We got Calli her very own apron that matches the one John got for me a few years ago. Now Calli and I match and John and JJ match when we make our Sunday breakfasts!

After church we made Swedish pancakes of course and then resumed playing with all of our new loot. I totally and completely forgot to put the beef stew in the crock pot for dinner that night so I was glad that it wasn't a roast. Grandma saved the day and fried the meat a little first and then added it in and it was delicious. That night after the kids went to bed we played some scrabble and some rook of course. It sure was nice to spend this very special day with the people I love the most and enjoy each other's company in a very simple yet profound way when we center all we do and celebrate on Him who Loves us most our Savior Jesus Christ.

Olympics here we come!!

2012-01-26T11:36:00.001-08:00

I have been toying with the idea of signing the kids up for gymnastics for a while and finally decided to do it after the holiday's were over. Man oh man I am sure glad that I did. These kids are LOVING every second of it. Calli is in the Mommy and me class so I go with her and JJ is in the Big Boy class down stairs all by himself. I wish I could watch him the whole time too but don't worry I do plenty of peeking through the window to see what he is up to.

Calli of course was meant to be a gymnast. She is all Merris when it comes to being "danger." From her very first class she walked in like she owned the place. It was hilarious and I am not going to lie it was pretty fun watching her be the best one in class on her first day. I was NEVER the best one in class when it came to gymnastics. She really has a knack for it and it is so fun seeing her come alive in her very first extra curricular activity. I have a feeling she will be quite the dancer as well when she takes her first ballet class next year.

She was so cute and into everything the teacher showed her. The teacher shows the circuit of what they are supposed to do while we watch and then it is our turn. Well the first time she did Calli got up and started following her around to each station doing everything the teacher Ms. Susan did without me. It was so funny. It was like she was saying, "I got this Mom." We all really look forward to our Tuesday gymnastics days.

Here is JJ with his teacher. He is the only boy in an all girl class. At first I wondered if I should switch him to have some other boys but then I realized this is probably better. I wouldn't want gymnastics to turn into dinosaur chase. His teacher said that she preferred for boys to be isolated as well. From what I can tell JJ's situation is different then his sisters. I think he might be a little behind the rest of his class, but they are girls and it may be a more natural thing for them. However, in his defense I am his mother and he definitely takes after me in the "caution" area. Although thankfully he is way better then I ever was. I think part of my problem is I tried to start at like 8 and was so self conscience because the other girls had probably been doing it forever and were way ahead of me. This is why I wanted to start my kids young so they would be confident with their skills before they got to the age where you begin to doubt or compare yourself. Also, it looks like these 4 and 5 year old girls have been doing this for a few years so they have time on their hands. I actually think he is doing really well. He has already learned and improved so much in the few weeks we have been going.

I don't think he was probably meant to be a gymnast but I love how he is learning to have confidence and control of his body and building strength for his sports career. He has always been UBER athletic so I think this time in gymnastics will for sure help him. I don't know how long I will keep him in it but he is loving it for now so we will keep it going probably until he starts kindergarden. He has already learned how to arch and walk up the wall and is working on doing a cart wheel and back somersault.

We can't wait to see what they learn next week!

Good thing the ducks were hungry

2012-01-20T08:41:00.000-08:00

We came prepared to feed a whole lake of ducks today. I told the kids that Friday was going to be nice and sunny so we could go to the duck pond to feed the ducks and play at the park. They were so excited. They LOVE to feed the ducks. So when we were at the store a few days before they made sure to tell me to buy lots of bread so we came prepared with not 1 but 2 loaves. And it is a good thing we did because we burned through it once again!

Our dear friends the Jones' came with and the kids were ecstatic to see Meg and Skylar. Meg was dividing out the bread here.
Melissa and I had to keep reminding the little ones to break off little pieces and through them in so the ducks don't choke and so the bread will go farther. They did pretty well but every now and again we would see some full pieces of bread go off floating in the water.
Calli has mastered the art of feeding the duck. Look at her arm posture. She is pretty much professional!

JJ and Meg were so cute and inseparable. As we were leaving he was so sad to say goodbye. He kept saying, "I really love Meg." It was so cute.
Lots of duckies came and appreciated their mid morning snack which thrilled the children.
Next stop was the bridge. AKA the tempter to climb up and scare mommy that you might jump in.
After the bread was gone we decided to head over to the park area and play for a while. Lots more friends met up with us and joined in on the fun and the picnic. I didn't get any pics because i was too busy chasing around my two crazies as they ran off in different directions constantly. Poor JJ slipped on the bars and banged his chin pretty hard. He has a nasty bruise but we are lucky he didn't cut it open. It was such a beautiful day and so fun playing with our friends. Can't wait until next Friday!

Drumroll Please...

2012-01-19T11:57:00.000-08:00

... Our newest addition scheduled to arrive sometime around the beginning of June is going to be a GIRL!!!

We decided to take JJ and Calli with us to the ultrasound appointment to see their new baby sister and find out whether JJ was right and it would indeed be another baby sissy pie as he calls the baby. JJ was feeling so big and important as the big brother of two that he decided to take the pictures. That is why there is a picture of my feet and why Calli looks drunk. He is really big into taking pictures these days it is super cute to see his creative genius flow.

They were both so excited and kept saying where is the baby and is it a boy or a girl. JJ has said from the beginning that it was going to be a girl. John was teasing him and kept telling him it was going to be a boy. As soon as they said it was a girl. He smiled so big and his face just lit up and then told John, "I told you daddy." He is so cute with his sissy already I know he will be a great big brother of two princesses. John told JJ they were going to have to ban together now that they were going to be out numbered.

I thought it was going to be a girl as well but it is sure nice to know for sure. I already pulled out all of the baby girl clothes to wash and get ready and am SOOOO excited to buy some matching outfits for my two girls. Yea!! I had to run to the store after the appointment to grab something for a baby shower that night and JJ kept picking out clothes and accessories that he thought both Calli and his new baby sister would like. It was so cute. I didn't buy them but I probably should have. I think when I do buy some things I will let him pick out an outfit for his new baby sister. He is so sweet and sensitive that way.

This is not the most flattering pic. but JJ took it and I thought he did a good job plus this can be my halfway pic. Although I think I wouldn't look so ginourmous if I were standing instead of sitting. But in reality who really cares at this point I am only getting bigger right?!?

I took this one of my darling supporters. How did one girl get so lucky to have such an amazing family. I have the most AMAZING and HOT husband and the most adorable children ever. I was so relieved to see that our newest addition seemed healthy and strong too. I love my ever growing fam!

It's a Princess Party

2012-01-18T09:07:00.000-08:00

Every Wednesday we get to have a play date with Skylar. Every other week we get to host so today we decided to make it a princess day. First we started out at the "salon" and had some mani's and pedi's and then we headed upstairs to get ready for the ball. I think they look pretty adorable if you ask me. I hope there will be two prince charming's waiting for them!!

Getting Purdy

2012-01-17T12:42:00.000-08:00

We sure like to get all dolled up around here. JJ picked out and bought Calli her own little supply of finger nail polish for Christmas and don't worry it is definitely getting some good use. I was painting her nails one night when she decided she wanted to take over and here is her masterpiece:

Doing her own nails wasn't quite enough so she decided she better do mine as well. Not bad for such a little stink huh? Good thing the polish peels right off. :)

But lets be honest even if it didn't come right off how do you turn down this cute little face.

And if you were about to feel bad for JJ, don't. He makes sure to stay up with the latest fashions as well. Notice "his" shoes.
I had to give him props for picking the snow white princess shoes because at least they matched his outfit. Daddy wasn't super impressed but I LOVED it!!

"Take a Picture"

2012-01-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

We hear these words a LOT in our house, "Take a picture mommy." I guess I have trained her/them well. JJ definitely cooperates but it is the little diva in training who is always demanding the photo opp. Then of course after I take the pic. she is demanding to see how cute she looks. Her arms are raised here saying, "Let me see it." I have sure created a monster but I can't help but LOVE every minute of it.

Apparently this is the most ideal modeling spot in the house. She does make it work. Notice she always makes sure to have her princess high heels on. We do not mess around when it comes to picture taking.

My birthday wish came true!

2012-01-09T07:05:00.000-08:00

I seriously had an AMAZING Birthday this year. I didn't think John would ever be able to top the surprise party he threw for me last year but some how he managed to do it. Ever since I have been pregnant I have really been craving a Cafe Rio salad. If you have never been there you are seriously missing out. If you live in a state that has one you should go at least once a week! There is no other place that compares. Anyway, I have been bugging him to bring one home for me every time he goes to Utah on business. We usually go to Utah every summer but with the baby coming in June we won't be going this year so I didn't know when I would be able to eat one again.

I told John I didn't want him to get me a present for my birthday since he got me so much for Christmas but of course he didn't listen and he gave me the BEST present ever!! He had my brother in law over night Cafe Rio to me. I could not believe it when the cooler was on my front porch and sure enough there were two cafe rio salads with my name on it. I was elated. They were still frozen so I dissected them and took the lettuce out and any ice chunks then re heated it in the oven and put new lettuce in and it was AMAZING!!! I ate the whole thing in one sitting. I was extremely full and a little sick for a couple of hours afterwards so I took a little snooze on the couch with my very full and satisfied belly. Thank you honey you are the BEST!!

John and Calli made me breakfast in bed while JJ and I were still sleeping. We had our traditional Swedish Pancakes. John has pretty much mastered them over the years. Calli sat in bed with me and shared mine then we went in the kitchen and had some more with JJ when he woke up. After breakfast we had a little snuggle fest on the couch before we had to get up and at em and get JJ off to preschool.

While JJ was at school and John was at work Calli and I decided to treat ourselves to a little girl pampering. We had some manicures. I told her we were going to go get our nails pretty so every time we stopped to run an errand she would say "no not here, want nails pretty!" It was pretty funny.
She knew right what to do when we got there. First she picked out what color she wanted and then she sat patiently on her chair waiting for her turn. She was so cute all the ladies were dying. They were thinking she might be difficult but oh no she sat perfectly still and when they finished the first hand she immediately started to blow it dry. They were dying with how she knew the process so well. That is my girl. I swear she is a DIVA in the making.
They were so sweet too and put a little extra on her and gave her some flowers. She has never had that before so she was pretty excited about that. I think they turned out so cute and stayed on pretty well for a couple of days.

They let her pick out what color of rhinestones she wanted and she picked out the blue ones.
Here are our finished manicures. We had such a great time and I look forward to many more trips to the salon and spa with this girl of mine!

After our manicures we picked up JJ from school and then ate some lunch got Calli down for her nap talked to some of my family and friends that called with birthday wishes and then John came home from work early and my parents came over to hang out for a couple of hours and eat dinner and they brought a delicious cake and ice cream.

They even brought some presents those stinkers. My mom got me just what I needed some pyrex bowls and a red fancy bowl. She know how much I love to cook and bake and I lost my other pyrex bowl so it was perfect.
JJ was so cute and so excited to take pictures of me opening my birthday presents. He couldn't find his "phone" (John's old iphone) so we had to wait until he could find it so he could take pictures of mommy. So sweet.

I know I look like I just turned 50 and not 31 in these pics but I am hoping it was either a bad day or that I am pregnant. :)

It was pretty cold and rainy so we decided to make chicken noodle soup and corn bread and mom made a yummy salad and delicious pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting and ice cream. The kids added their own touch with some sprinkles of course.

It truly was such a great day and so wonderful to be able to spend it with the people I love most!! Thank you everybody for making my birthday so special.

My friends were so sweet and took me out to Chili's a couple of days later too to celebrate. I have the greatest friends both near and far I appreciate you all so much. I hope this year will be as wonderful as last year was!

Date Night with the Gaskell's

2012-01-07T12:41:00.000-08:00

We had another super fun date night with our friends the Gaskell's. We decided to go to dinner and bowling. Come to find out both Amy and I had taken the bowling class in College. However it took me a whole game to get warmed up. I didn't get a picture of the first game but don't worry I bowled a 70. It was pretty embarrassing. Thankfully I was able to redeem myself the second game. We were all pretty excited when Amy beat her husband by one point. Thanks for the fun night and all of the laughs guys. We will have to get together again soon!

Swimming in January??

2012-01-06T12:38:00.000-08:00

Okay I have to say that it is day's like today that I LOVE living in Texas. It is January and over 70 degrees! What did we do we went to the zoo of course. We had such a great time even if we have been a million times.

We rode some elephants and got up close and personal with the Lions as they ate their lunch.
These are some pretty amazing creatures.
I love how cute Calli looks sandwiched in between the boys. It feels like yesterday that we first came to the zoo when she was just a few months old and slept through most of it. Now she is one of the big kids running around looking at everything. The other thing we did for the first time today was ride the monorail which was super cool. I can't believe we had never done it before. They had some pretty cool exhibits that you can only see from the train ride. I think we will definitely have to do that again.

And last but not least we did a little swimming in the kiddie pool at the playground. Normally I bring their bathing suits when we come in the Spring and in the Fall but I figured since it was January any swimming would be out of the question. I was wrong we got to this part around noon and it was plenty warm. The water was still freezing but the kids didn't seem to mind. They had such a ball, and we mom's enjoyed sitting back and watching them.
I know this warm weather isn't here to stay for too long but please come back and visit us soon!

Horsing around

2012-01-05T07:28:00.000-08:00

How do you entertain yourselves in the midst of Winter? We get VERY creative. Who would have thought that a diaper box would be so fun. Apparently JJ and Calli saw its possibilities. They were having a ball until they tipped over backwards and ended in tears but it was great while it lasted.

Their other favorite trick these days is for JJ to hold and carry Calli around. It is pretty amazing he can hold her for so long and she thinks it is so cool. She hugs him and wraps her little legs around him and then he lifts her up and starts carrying around. We haven't had any tears yet with this trick so lets hope we continue that way. :)

Even in the winter my children love to be as naked as possible. Crazy kiddo's. I pretty much have to bribe them to put their clothes on.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T07:33:00.000-08:00

New Years fell on a Sunday this year so we were all ready in our Sunday best for our New Year pics!

Little Missy and Big Brother Bub

We hope this year brings your family all you hope for and much more. Happy New year from our Family to Yours!

Go Cougars!!

2011-12-31T12:45:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun new years weekend with LOTS of company! The BYU bowl game was in Dallas so my Uncle Donny, my mom's brother, and their cousin Gene, who are both huge BYU fans decided to fly in from Utah and watch the game. They were kind and got us some tickets too. It has been a while since I have been to a BYU football game so I was pretty excited. The game day was GORGEOUS. It was sunny and blue skies and around 70 degrees. It was so nice being outside with my hubby enjoying the beautiful day and watching some good football. It was a pretty exciting game because BYU really wasn't playing that great most of the time but then out of nowhere they would have an amazing game changing play. It was so fun. We were all jumping up and down and screaming when they won the game with a touchdown with only 11 seconds left in the game. That weekend they had 2 of the 5 best playbacks on ESPN.

Donny and Gene flew in on Thursday evening the night before the game and then my niece Chloe and her boyfriend came in from Houston that night as well. Adam and his dad and Brother and Chloe all had tickets to the game as well. We had never met Adam's family before so it was fun getting to know them since we practically feel like they are already family. Everybody came back to our house after the game and we grabbed some Rudy's BBQ. (Thanks Gene) We stayed up way to late that night talking and having fun so Adam's dad and brother decided to spend the night as well so they didn't have to drive so late.
On Saturday we just hung out and watched movies and football and played outside and went to the park. John made some yummy Swedish pancakes to start the morning off right and then I started making dinner during Calli's nap for our New Year's Eve celebration. My Parents came over about 3:00 when nap time was ending and I was finishing up the lasagna, brushetta and spinach artichoke dip that we would eat that night. So we took the kids back to the park for a little bit and then came home to eat dinner and bid farewell to Donny and Gene.

Adam's dad and brother headed out to Six flags and Chloe and Adam headed out to the movies so we had a quiet night after the kids went to bed of just me and John and Mom and Dad. So we played some rook and then watched a little bit of the New Year's Eve celebration on TV. We barely made until Midnight. Everybody got back around 11:30ish in time to ring in the new year and have some Martinelli's and then we all headed to bed.

Mom and Dad left early that morning to go to their ward and Adam's Mom and sister drove up that morning from Houston so they could go to our ward since Adam was receiving the Melchizedek priesthood that day. It was the perfect day to start the New Year, with family and friends remembering what is most important. We were sad for Chloe and the Lemmon family to go but we had a wonderful time getting to know them and look forward to seeing them again in the near future!

Shark Museum

2011-12-28T12:46:00.000-08:00

We hadn't been back to the children's museum in a couple of months so we decided we better check out the latest and greatest exhibits before they switched them out again. They have a huge Shark exhibit going on right now that takes up like 5 rooms so the kids kept calling it the "Shark" museum. It was pretty cool but it would have been better with more real live sharks instead of just replicas. JJ really wanted to see some real sharks. They did have one but it was a little one. They had tons of shark mouths and teeth fossils. They had a particularly large one right at the entrance and Calli was so cute, she stopped and said "I scary." She was saying she was scared but it was so cute the way she said it and how she stopped and put her hands over her heart.

They had a fun little kids area right when we walked in with some sea animals to play with and some puzzles and stamps. We played there for a little while and we of course played in the shark cages and watched the movies.

Then we headed over to the dinosaur dig area after the shark exhibit. This is one of the kiddo's favorite things to do. They used to have sand to dig in and now they have little rocks. I like the little rocks way better! Less mess.
They could have stayed in there for hours. We actually never went down to the main children's part because we spent so much time at the shark exhibit and dinosaur dig area and we wanted to head over to the Bob the Builder exhibit before it is taken down. We spent the rest of the time in that area but I didn't get any pictures I guess. After our fun inside we had to take advantage of the beautiful weather and we played outside and ate some of our lunch and fed the ducks of course. JJ also got all excited about collecting the acorns. I practically had to drag him away kicking and screaming and promised we would come back to collect some more another day. It was a fun day and way to spend some of our Christmas vacation.

Day of Fun

2011-12-23T12:51:00.000-08:00

John took the Friday before Christmas off and we made lots of fun plans to go and play! I had some free coupons to ride on the carousel at the mall and to go ice skating so we figured we would make a morning of it. Our first stop was to go see the new Chipmunks movie at the theater. They had these cute little characters so we had to take the photo opp.

Daddy got both JJ and Calli their own little snack pack which they loved. JJ loves going to see movies and sits so well and has since before he was two. Calli on the other hand gets a little stir crazy after about an hour and gets a little bored. I am hoping that will change soon because I think it is so fun to take them to the movies.

However as long as she is eating she is content. It is when the popcorn runs out that we are in trouble!

We actually had to leave the movie a few minutes before it ended because the fire alarm went off. It kind of freaked JJ out and still asks me about building burning down. Thankfully it was just a false alarm so we figured since the movie was almost over and Calli was ready to go anyway we would move on to our next activity.

Which was riding the carousel. I let John take the kids on it because I get a little dizzy on it being pregnant and all. I took a couple of pics but they were pretty blurry with the movement.

Next we headed to the ice skating rink. Neither JJ or Calli had ever been ice skating before and I honestly don't think I have been in like 20 years. I was a little nervous about breaking my neck or something but it was really pretty fun and quite the workout. It was hard enough trying to balance myself let alone JJ or Calli too.

I couldn't take them all the way around the rink so I would just go back and forth and John would take turns taking them all the way around. I was really surprised at how much they really enjoyed it. I thought they would be scared but they loved it. They didn't want to leave when we did but we were so worn out we couldn't do it anymore. This is definitely going to have to be a new tradition of ours.

I thought they looked so cute in their little skates I couldn't believe how well they could walk in them when they weren't on the ice. Kids are such quick learners.

Maybe next year they can take a few lessons so they can drag us around the rink. :) John and I each took a turn going around the rink by ourselves as well. He was much faster than I. I am not going to lie I was a little worried for my life and that of my unborn child but we made and all was well. Until next time. Calli still talks about going ice skating.

Bring on the Sprinkles

2011-12-23T08:55:00.000-08:00

As if we didn't have enough fun and disaster making gingerbread houses the night before, I let the kids decorate the last of the sugar cookies I had made for my lesson last sunday. Man oh man these kids can burn through sprinkles like I have never seen before. I frosted the cookies for them and then they would sprinkle them. I think we went through two bottles of sprinkles in like 20 mins.

Here are there finished cookies. They still tasted great even if you couldn't see the frosting. This is another favorite tradition making and decorating sugar cookies. They helped me make the cookies as well a few days before but I guess I didn't get any pictures of the process since I was trying to make sure they didn't put any extra ingredients in or eat all the dough before I could cook it. Luckily for them they won't have to wait until next Christmas to make and decorate sugar cookies again. This is a tradition for pretty much every holiday in our house. :)

Bring on the Gingerbread

2011-12-21T09:01:00.000-08:00

Another one of our FAVORITE Christmas traditions is making Gingerbread houses. We did this as I was growing up and has been so fun to do with my kids. We made the gingerbread houses one morning while daddy was still in Africa and then put them in ziploc baggies until he came home a few days later. JJ and Calli are quite the budding bakers. They LOVE to help me in the kitchen and even though it makes a bigger mess it is pretty fun to watch them.

The only problem is fighting who gets to put what ingredients in and who gets to stir and if I am not watching closely we may end up with more ingredients then we needed. They have a tendency to get a little carried away sometimes!

The most fun is when everything is all mixed up and then we get to roll it out and cut out the shapes. And of course eat some of the dough. Calli is especially guilty for stealing the cookie dough before it makes it in the oven. Little stinker!

Here are our finished products. I made two houses one for JJ and one for Calli and figured John and I could each help one of them. Then we had some extra dough so we made extra gingerbread boys to eat and man were they GOOD! I seemed to have over come my first trimester nausea just in time for all of the holiday goodies.
Then on Tuesday night after daddy got home we got to put them together and decorate them. JJ and I were a team and Calli and daddy were a team. JJ really got into it this year more then the other years. He was all about putting the icing on and building the house even more then he wanted to decorate it.

Calli was really into eating all the candy! She had fun too but would run in and out a little bit.
John held strong though making their house very cute!
JJ had lots of fun ideas about what candies should go where.
I LOVE that my hubby will participate in these super fun family activities. He is the BEST!!
Mommy and Calli working together on JJ's house while he decided to decorate the Christmas tree with some of the extra candy canes. It was actually really cute I think next year I will buy candy canes to specifically put on the tree.
Calli of course had to try the candy canes to make sure they weren't poison or anything. I am not for sure why I thought it was a good idea to have my kids where white shirts while making gingerbread houses but thankfully we have a great washing machine and all came out fine.

Our little worker bee off to decorate the tree.
He figured Calli was on the right track and he might as well try out some of the candy too.
Then he was back to finish up his house. By this time he was professional and took over the icing department.
John finishing off he and Calli's house as well.

And little missy is clearly up to no good as you can see from her expression although I can't remember what she is actually doing.
I already can't wait until next year we had so much fun. Maybe we will have to make a Valentines house or something?
Calli and her finished gingerbread house.
Her and daddy did such a great job.

So precious.
JJ and his finished gingerbread house from the front

and from the back.

He iced and decorated the roof all by himself. I love this tradition and look forward to many years of gingerbread house making in our future.

At the Doc. with Mom

2011-12-18T12:57:00.000-08:00

I decided to take the kids with me to my ob appointment this time since I knew it was going to be fast one. They were pretty much just going to listen for the heartbeat so I thought the kids would think that was pretty cool and then I didn't have to worry about getting someone to watch them.

They did great and thought that was so cool to hear their baby brother or sister in mommy's tummy. They even got suckers at the end of the visit. I am excited for them to get to come to my ultrasound appointment when we find out the sex of the baby and get to see the baby on the TV.

Pulling out the Parka's

2011-12-17T11:07:00.000-08:00

We have been enjoying lots of fun indoor activities this month with the Christmas season in full force. But kids will be kids and they were insisting on playing outside even though it was freezing cold, so I pulled out the Winter coats and let them have at it! They didn't last super long but long enough for mommy to get a little break and for the kiddo's to run some of their energy out. I thought they looked so cute in their big old coats. Calli is wearing a hand me down from JJ when he was 2. It is crazy how much smaller she is then JJ. That coat did not drown him when he was her age like it does on her. It is so fun watching them grow and see how individual they are.

Merry Christmas to you!

2011-12-16T11:10:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all of our Family and Friends. You are all what makes this season Merry and Bright. If you live by us then you will be receiving one of these cheese balls. I normally make a million different cookies and deliver goodies but with being pregnant and not really being able to sweets very much and with John out of town most of the month I decided I would go rogue this year and make these little treats. I ended up making about 30 which for sure had to have kept philadelphia cream cheese in business. I delivered some before John came home but waited to deliver most after he came home for FHE one night with the kids. They thought it was pretty fun knocking on the door and telling our friends "Merry Christmas" and then handing them a little treat. Especially Calli she could have done it all night if we wouldn't have run out of cheese balls. So cute!

If you don't happen to live by us then I didn't attempt to mail the cheese balls instead you would have received one of these in the mail, assuming you sent me your address when I asked for it. :) If you didn't get one we still love and miss you but send me your address so you can get one next year with our newest addition!

One of the JOY'S of Christmas

2011-12-12T11:12:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about Christmas is the popcorn tin we buy from Walmart every year and keep under our tree and eat throughout the month. I know it is a simple thing but it makes my heart happy and my tummy satisfied. Both of our kiddo's are also big popcorn fans so it didn't take long for this tradition to be accepted. I think next year we may need to buy two!!

Fun times with Aunt Kristine, Aunt Kirsti and Uncle Adam

2011-12-10T12:17:00.000-08:00

We had SUCH a FUN week with our visitors. Two of my college roommates came for a visit while John was out of town in South Africa for school. I picked up Kristine from the airport on Friday night and then I picked up Kirsti (who was already in Texas for work) on Saturday morning. We did a whole LOT of eating and talking!! It was so great to have them here and catch up on everything. My children ADORED them and it was so nice to have 3 moms around.

Adam our adopted teenage son, aka our nieces boyfriend, was also staying with us for the week while he studied for his finals. He kept JJ thoroughly entertained with fort building and wrestling, and danger tricks and pretty much any other crazy boy thing you can think of. He was also so nice to babysit during my run to the airport and one afternoon during nap time so the girls and I could go to lunch sans wild and crazy children.

Here is the fort that Adam came up with. I have built a ton of forts in my days but it has never occurred to me to build one on top of the couch. Brilliant. JJ and Calli were in heaven with the new creation.

They even each had their own little space within the fort.

The fort quickly became destroyed with the next activity which was throw my offspring up in the air and pray they land on the cushions. I know it looks a little crazy so don't call child services on me, but they sure had fun and couldn't stop laughing. I was a little afraid for their lives but I didn't have the heart to stop their excitement.
This picture of JJ was so awesome. Look at his mad air. Clearly Calli didn't get thrown quite as high, but still for a 2 year old she is such a thrill seeker. She totally gets that from her daddy.

We also did some more mellow activities like decorating rice crispy treat houses. The girls and I managed to eat a whole one that night as we burned the night oil solving the world's problems.
Even though we make quite a mess we sure LOVE being creative around here.
Of course with 3 mommies around you better believe there was LOTS of time for getting pretty with make-up and nail polish. Calli was in HEAVEN. Good thing Adam was here to occupy JJ with guy stuff or he probably would have had pink on his toe nails too.

Come to find out Adam is also quite the motivator when it comes to getting JJ to eat his dinner. He told him he needed to get big muscles so he could beat him in arm wrestling and I think he even through some change in the mix as well. And it worked there wasn't one drop of soup left in JJ's bowl.

Adam taught JJ how to arm wrestle and either the soup really does make you stronger or JJ is a superhero in the making but apparently he is a natural.

Okay maybe he cheated just a little and maybe Adam let him win, but either way he was pretty cute and thought he was pretty much superman after he won.
Look at his proud face, so precious!

We did take a little outing as well with our company. We decided to drive by the Dallas temple and check out the big Galleria mall in Dallas. It was pretty crazy and crowded seeing that it was Saturday night in the middle of december. But this Christmas tree was worth it. I have NEVER seen such a large decorated Christmas tree. It was three stories high right in the middle of the ice skating rink. Pretty impressive.

We also stopped by to say hi to Santa, but did not wait in line since it would take an hour and my kids wouldn't want to sit on his lap anyway, so we just said hi from a distance and then we were out of there. We decided to give the girls a taste of some real Texas BBQ. We grabbed some Rudy's on the way home and ate until we couldn't buckle our pants anymore. Well maybe that is just me being prego and all.

I had such a great time with these girls and was so sad to see them go. They did keep me up way to late however and after I dropped them off at the airport on Monday evening I came home and put my kids to be and was sound asleep myself by 8:30 that night. I kept joking and telling them that they had to come back in June when we have the baby. I thought maybe if I said it enough it would become a reality. :) We will be excited when ever they decide to come back again and visit but we are sure glad they got to come this weekend and hope to see them soon! Love you girls!

I Wish...

2011-11-30T13:12:00.000-08:00

With all of the fun and family we had on Thanksgiving I forgot all about the wishbone. So after the weekend was over and I was doing an overhaul of the house I found it on the counter and brought it over for the kids to make a wish.

Daddy was their coach and referee. He had to hold their hands while he explained it so that they (JJ) didn't break it before it was time to start.

We tried to explain what a wish was it was pretty cute to watch their faces as daddy explained. Then he let them have at it! I hope all their wishes come true!

Christmas Bells are Ringing

2011-11-29T22:26:00.000-08:00

And with Thanksgiving Day over the next day bring guess what? Yep you guessed it Christmas!! I love me some Christmas. And I love my sweet husband for putting up with me and putting up the Christmas tree for me. It was super fun having so much family here to help decorate. The little ones were of course on cloud nine with all the fun things to look at and play with. The Christmas tree train is always a hit. We put a fire in the fire place and Christmas music on and Christmas was on in full swing!

The kids were "helping" daddy get the train set up. We don't know how many years this train will take all the love it gets but so far it is hanging in there.

Grandma was helping entertain the little ones as well and enjoying her posterity have so much fun with the holidays.

Then it was time for the star and it had the privilege of being put on a few different times. First John had to make sure it would go on right and then..

JJ got to be a flying angel and then Calli got to be a flying an angel. I think Katie had a turn being a flying angel as well.
I love how cute their positions are as Daddy holds them up.

JJ thought it was so fun to sit in the baby swing. I have a feeling when baby # 3 comes a lot of the baby stuff is going to no longer function for some reason.

Kaylyn was such a trooper and helped the kiddo's decorate the christmas tree with all of the bulbs. They all had SO much fun it was so cute to watch, and nice and relaxing to watch since they did all the work. :) Of course there was a little redecorating that had to be done after.
JJ was in charge of putting the metal hanging things on them.
Oh how I love everything about Christmas. This was such a fun night getting things started off right too.

Thanks all your little elves and Kaylyn for making the tree so beautiful. Thomas helped me string the ribbon around the tree as well.
This became a very familiar scene throughout the month. The kids in front of the tree in awe and watching the train go around and around and sing its songs. This is one of my favorite views in the world.

Once all the presents were wrapped and put under the tree then the train became a "little" less popular. It sure is fun to touch and shake and organize presents. I still like to do it too!

Who's got the Turkey?

2011-11-28T12:57:00.000-08:00

We do! Come on over and have some. We had such a fabulous Thanksgiving this year. John and I realized that we have hosted Thanksgiving at our house every year since we have been married except for last year we had it with John's family at his parents house. Now I am not complaining there are few things I love more then Family, Food and hosting holiday's at my house. So we were all SUPER excited when we found out so much family was going to be able to come and celebrate with us!

The first ones to arrive on the Monday before Thanksgiving were the Carlile's. We hadn't seen baby Beckham since he was born so my kids were all jazzed up about seeing their baby cousin. Steve and Summer and Beckham are moving to Japan after the first of the year so they were able to come out and see us and Mom and Dad and the Bagley's before they left. Mom and Dad picked them up at the airport so we went down to their apartment after naps and had dinner their.

My kids absolute favorite thing about Grandma and Grandpa's apartment besides them is all of Grandma's necklaces. That is the first thing they go to when we get there and it keeps them happy the whole time. Thankfully we haven't broken any yet. Fingers crossed.

Then we took the Carlile's back with us to our house to stay for the week. JJ and Calli are taking a rest in anticipation for all the fun they are going to be having!

So after a few trips to the store we were ready for the festivities to begin and the Bagley's arrived Wednesday evening about 5. You should have heard the excitement. There was all sorts of squeals of joy and running around and laughing going on for about an hour. I think that is my favorite part about holiday's and getting together with family is all of the excitement and joy that oozes out of everybody.
The Bagley's were able to meet Beckham for the first time this trip. He sure got lots of loves and kisses this week.
Grandpa and Grandma came over on Thanksgiving morning around 10 and man oh man there was some more excitement.

We were also so happy that our cousin Alisha and her family who just recently moved to Oklahoma city were able to come for the day as well. It was so great seeing them and all the kids had so much fun playing together. We are going to take a drive and visit them in Oklahoma City hopefully in the next couple of months.
The morning was filled with eating a big breakfast of course and then playing and getting ready, watching the parade and some football. Karen being so awesome and taking family pictures and of course preparing the Turkey and other foods for dinner and setting the tables.

There was even some time to get into some mischief just ask JJ. :)

The Turkey ended up being great as did the rest of the dinner. Everybody did a great job on what they made and we even had some delicious martinelli's.
Grandpa was in charge of carving the Turkey and he did a great job of course.
Grandma was making some gravy from the drippings.
And then we were ready to eat. We had to have to tables set up of course but I thought they both turned out really pretty.
Here is the second table and crew.
JJ and Katie were so cute and thought this was pretty cool that we set up a table in the family room and got to eat dinner in there and they loved their fancy drinks. It was such a great day and it always makes it so special when you get to spend it with the people you are most Thankful for.

On Friday we all went down to the Arboretum and checked out their beautiful grounds and Christmas and Fall decorations.

Aren't we a handsome group?!?

Daddy and Calli were checking out Cinderella's village.
Grandma was showing Calli Cinderella's shoe.

Here we are in front of the Mansion. It was so gorgeous inside.

JJ is taking a little rest. He wasn't mad we just captured quite the expression from him.

We waited forever to take a picture in Cinderella's carriage but Calli got tired of waiting so I took her inside and the other girls took a picture inside. Look at all those Princesses.

That is one good looking Missionary couple don't ya think. I am still so amazed at how blessed we are to have them serving so close!

These two little wild ones sure love playing together and they have lots of wild and crazy ideas.

Me and my big brother with our mom and dad. Summer had got to feed Beckham otherwise she would be in the pic. too.

We stopped by in and out burger on the way home and then headed back to relax and play some games of course. Karen was so jealous when she heard we have an In and Out I think they may come to visit us more now. :) I hope so at least!

On Saturday we went down to Mom and Dad's apartment and they got to show the Bagley's their stomping grounds. Then we went bowling. This was Calli's first time and she had lots of fun at first but then kind of tuckered out. JJ went a little longer but then tuckered out as well. I left early and took the 3 little ones home for naps.
Grandma and her were best friends and partners of course.
Why is it that little kids make everything look so much cuter?
JJ was getting some mad speed on his throws.
Pretty good don't you think for a little guy? Everybody came back to our house and we had some Italian soda's and soups and just relaxed and played some more games.

On Sunday we got up and went to church and then came back for some more relaxation and fun. I got to play Thomas in chess and actually beat him this time. Mom and Dad came back after church to say good by to the Bagley's who were headed out early the next morning.
The boys are doing the cleanup and trying to unstick some stuck pots. Good work guys!
Steve had to fly out to Japan early Sunday morning and then Summer and Beckham flew back to Utah on Monday afternoon. We sure are going to miss everybody, but we are so glad that they all got to come. Calli and her little buddy. She thought that was so cool that he had a pink seat on top of the table so she went and got her booster chair and sat on top of the table with him. He didn't really know what was going on but I thought it was pretty stinken cute! We can't wait to see everybody again hopefully this summer:)

Santa's Workshop

2011-11-18T11:42:00.000-08:00

We decided to get creative and make some gifts from the heart this year for Christmas. So We pulled out our painting project shirts, aka mine and John's old t-shirts, and went to town. We had to do a little modeling for daddy before we got to work of course.

I have a feeling that all of my clothes would look cuter on these two little nuggets!

My awesome SIL took some darling pics of the kiddos so we decided to buy some plain frames and puffy paint and glitter letters to decorate the frames for their pictures that they would give to both sets of their grandparents. We made a secret one for daddy too of course for his office.

JJ was going strong with all of the letters in fact they are still one of his favorite toys. He loves to make "words" with them and make messages for mommy and daddy. I realized after we had already started painting that I probably should have put the letters on first and then let the kids paint around them. However I didn't think of that until we were about halfway through. So we had to do a little improvising.

Calli got a little tuckered out half way through and had to take a little rest before finishing her master pieces.

After her power nap she was back to work and going strong. I had to help the kids bring to fruition their creativity a little bit, mostly Calli because it was hard for her to squeeze the paint. She did tell me what color however and where to put it. The best was when the kids would reach over the frames to grab something and smear the paint. These are for sure originals no doubt about it!

We had such a fun time doing "work" and making Christmas presents for our loved ones. Plus it entertained us for hours all morning long with not much of a mess to clean up. I call that a win win!

Here are their finished projects. I think they turned our so darling. I hope their Grandparents and daddy think they turned out cute too since they are the ones keeping them. :)

Preschool Performance

2011-11-16T12:54:00.000-08:00

Today was a special first for our little man. He had his first Preschool Performance. It was the last day of school before Thanksgiving so the families were invited to come and watch them perform the songs they had been practicing and then they was a Thanksgiving feast afterward. When we first got there all the kids had these cute Indian hats on and were all staring outside at the Teachers dog. It was pretty funny.

JJ was giving us a tutorial on how to be an Indian. I think he had it down pat.

I didn't get any still shots of JJ durning the performance because I was videotaping it but it was the cutest thing! All 7 of the kids stood up by the fireplace and sang 4 songs. The first one was my favorite called "Turkey Dinner." JJ must have really liked it because I could hear him louder then everybody else and he had all the words memorized. He has sung it so much that we all have it memorized even Calli. I love when they sing it together. Here are the words:

Turkey dinner, turkey dinner

Gather round, gather round

Who will eat the drumstick

Yummy, yummy drumstick

All sit down, all sit down!

It was so sweet because when JJ went to go up and stand at the front with his classmates. Calli automatically followed him and I told her to come back and sit with me and JJ says, "It's okay mommy, she can come with me." Then he took her hand and said, "Come on sissy right here." It was so cute. I LOVE that he was so happy to share his big moment with his little sis and that she felt so happy and proud to be next to her big brother. The whole morning was so fun and precious. I look forward to MANY more performances to come with my children.

Happy Birthday J Man!

2011-11-15T11:54:00.000-08:00

We sure do LOVE birthdays around here! And JJ's was no exception this year. The kids woke up super early on his birthday for some reason they must have known it was a special day. Anyway when they came down the stairs and saw balloons and presents it sure didn't take long to wake up! I love how the sibling gets just as excited and happy for the others birthday. I guess they know the presents are pretty much just as much for them too.

There is our little birthday boy not wasting any time going to town on those presents.

And there is his little helper and biggest supporter in the present opening department.

I love how he is studying the present to make sure he is going to like it. He did.

He got a race track from Grandpa and Grandma Bagley and some games and a puzzle from Calli and then he had one more hiding in the garage for him from Mommy and Daddy...

... His very own F150. I don't know who was more excited about this present, Me, John, JJ or Calli. We were all pretty hyped up about it. John and I have been dying for JJ to get old enough to buy him one of these. Let me tell you it was LOVE at first sight for JJ and his truck. And Calli was all about "her seat" which is the passenger seat.

Seriously BEST present ever for a 4 year old. He literally plays with it everyday and LOVES it.
I don't think it was even 7 in the morning yet and the sun had certainly not risen but there we were in our back yard driving his truck.

They were so cute and it was so fun watching these two little people act so grown up. I was having so much fun watching them have so much fun!

After about a half an hour of driving around we promised them we would go to the park when the sun came out and that we should go back inside to eat breakfast and play with the other presents.
I made our traditional birthday breakfast of sweedish pancakes and bacon, while daddy put the race track together and the kids played.

JJ and Calli named it the boomy track. John was pretty excited about this toy too. Apparently he always wanted one growing up. It is pretty cool because you turn it on and the cars race around and around the track.

After breakfast was over and we cleaned up our disaster and got ready for the day we headed to the park. JJ and Calli drove and John and I walked behind them. They drove the truck through the "enchanted forest" too. It was such a gorgeous day too. Perfect fall day to play outside and go for a "drive."

After the park and lunch Calli went down for a nap and John to JJ on a date to the movies. They had fun and ate lots of Junk! :) JJ fell asleep in the car on the way home since he woke up so early so instead of waking him up we let him stay asleep and headed to Chuck e cheese's. That is also a little birthday tradition. My kids LOVE Chuck E cheese's and we always get lots of coupons so we love to go and play.

Even daddy likes to have fun and play!
Calli is so funny and totally over the baby rides, she wants to play the big boy games too like Basketball and skee ball.
We might cheat a little and let her walk up to the front but it doesn't really get us any more points unfortunately.

After our fun at the big "C" we headed home for bed. John had to go to his study group so we took two cars and I headed home with the kiddo's. I had made cupcakes for JJ to take to preschool the day before his birthday and brought some to Chuck E Cheese as well so we could sing and he could blow out the candles but I guess I didn't get a picture. They weren't anything fancy since he had his birthday party and animal cupcakes a couple of weeks earlier.

I put Calli to bed first and then JJ and I had a few minutes to ourselves to snuggle and watch a little show. I can't believe my baby is so grown up already. How did that happen so fast? We sure do love our little man! I can't believe I am so lucky to be your momma and watch you grow and learn and amaze me everyday.

Where she belongs

2011-11-14T11:41:00.000-08:00

So I have been wanting to get a Pedicure for a few months now but with John in school every other Saturday and out of town for work on all the other Saturdays for the past few months the only "free" mornings I had were the two Wednesdays a month that Calli has "school" with her friend Skylar. (We trade off every week watching the girls so once every other week we get a few hours to ourselves while the big kids are at Preschool.) Well you can imagine in those precious 6 hours a month that I get I couldn't sacrifice 2 of them to sit and get my nails done so I took the plunge and decided to go on a Monday the other day that JJ is in Preschool and go with Calli. I was pretty nervous but apparently I don't know my daughter at all because from the moment we walked into the salon the girl came alive, as if she was meant to be there!

They only charge a couple of dollars to paint little kids nails so I asked Calli if she wanted hers painted and she didn't hesitate for a second saying "YES." She even knew exactly what color she wanted. Purple with sparkles of course. I pulled up her chair next to mine and at first she just sat and watched them work on my feet and she was mesmerized by the whole thing.

Then she really lit up when it was her turn. She is trying to show me how pretty she is with her painted nails for the picture.

I was planning on just having her finger nails painted but after she was done and they were drying she kept watching mine get painted and then finally said, "Mommy, take shoesies off, I ready toes." How could I say no to that it was so stinken cute. So I took off her shoes and they started painting her toes.

The polish didn't last that long on her fingers from getting picked off and playing so I am glad we did her toes and think that is better for the future because her toenails are still holding strong 5 days later.

I don't know what I am going to do with this girl. I swear she bleed femininity. I am sure as she gets older she is going to be my personal stylist. She comes from some pretty girly grandma's so I don't know why I am surprised by this little princess.

I am SO glad now that I didn't sacrifice another time, because having Calli go with me was even more fun! It was the best Mommy and Me date we have had together so far and now I know she is on board I for see many more pedicure dates in our future!

Santa has arrived from the North Pole

2011-11-11T11:37:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun with Santa when he arrived for a visit from the North Pole! We got to the mall early to play and eat dinner so we wouldn't be late of course. Daddy was out of town so it was just the 3 of us. The kids were so cute running around like crazy people in the food court. There is something so fun and exciting about being at the Mall during the Christmas season. It is really like there is magic in the air! They are multi tasking, eating their pizza and goofing off at the same time! Yea I got some stares but they were being so cute and having so much fun I didn't mind the stares at all :)

Then we headed down to see if Santa had arrived and he had! My kids were of course to scared to sit on his lap or even talk to him but we will definitely be back and maybe they will warm up to him. They even had a cute little story time and then everybody go a present with a cupcake and some jingle bells and some coupons! My kids were SO excited about the jingle bells that they hardly touched their cupcakes. They are still playing with those jingle bells a week later and I keep finding them all over my house!

We will be back Santa for some more fun. Oh I LOVE Christmas!!!

Our buddies at the ZOO

2011-11-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

Well we headed back to the zoo for our Friday excursion and to celebrate both Veterans day and 11-11-11! How cool is that number? Next year is the last time on 12-12-12 for almost a thousand years! CRAZY! Anyway, I had taken a couple of weeks off the friday excursions with their birthday party preparations and feeling a little tired and sick. But I am started to feel better as long as I eat well and sleep well so we had to take full advantage of the beautiful Fall weather and go see our buddies the animals. We are also trying to take full advantage of hanging out with our friends the Holmes before they move to SINGAPORE in a few weeks.

I kept telling these guys that somebody was going to mistake them for the monkeys and put them in the cages!

We spent a LOT of time in the reptile house this time. JJ and Sammy were so EXCITED to see all the creepy crawly jumpy things this building had to offer. They must be boys!

We also checked out the wild Safari part with the Lions and Tigers and zebras and elephants and giraffes, and all sorts of wild animals! That is mine and Calli's favorite part. Well her favorite part may be the carousel ride we usually do at the end of our trip. I can't believe how big she is getting. It was only a few months ago that she was terrified of the carousel and now she LOVES it.

JJ decided that this time around he was going to ride in the spinning cup with Lauren and the boys. He was having so much fun spinning it and going around in circles that he started to get a little dizzy. Lauren said towards the end he said "maybe we should stop and rest for a minute." He is such a funny boy! We sure are going to miss those guys when they move! But they will be having all sorts of fun adventures over there.

Park Time

2011-11-07T11:40:00.000-08:00

We have been spending lots of time at the park the last couple of months. This is my favorite time of the year anywhere I am, but here in Texas it is nice because the weather is so nice that you can play outside pretty much up until Christmas. You do get some cold days every now and again and some rainy or windy days but on the normal sunny day it is like around 75 degrees and PERFECT! So we are trying to take full advantage of the weather. The last few weeks I have had a harder time getting up the energy to play at the park since I am NOT in the phase where I go and sit and watch them play. I am pushing and holding and climbing and sliding just as much as they are! They love it and I love watching them I am just excited to get some more energy the next few weeks when I am out of my first trimester!

This sea horse is at the "big" park down the street. We normally go to the "little" park which is right behind our house but sometimes we like to switch it up. We also went for the first time this week to the Elementary's school playground that is down the other street from our house. I love having all of these parks that are in walking distance from us!

Happy Birthday Bugga!

2011-11-03T01:11:00.000-07:00

This is the first time in probably 13 years that I have been able to spend my mom's birthday with her! Once I went away to school I was always gone on her birthday and of course could call but it was so great getting to actually be with her and celebrate what an amazing woman and mother she is! With birthdays happening every week around here in the fall my kids are pro's now. They have it mastered, birthday cake, presents and of course they have the happy birthday song memorized. Calli has been singing "happy birthday" everyday for the past month now. It is so cute. We went to the store to pick out a few things a couple days before and my kids were so excited to give Grandma her presents that when JJ was handing her one he said, " The is a big thing to cook with you will love it." It was a crock pot. Hilarious. Then we made Grandma a pumpkin cake and after I frosted it I let JJ and Calli decorate with all sorts of different sprinkles it was quite a masterpiece. I wish I had a close up of it it was awesome and they had so much fun and were so proud of it. They couldn't wait to show Grandma her birthday cake.

We headed down to meet them for dinner after nap time around 5 and ate at a yummy Italian place and then went back to their apartment for presents and ice cream. My kids LOVE their apartment. Their are no toys so they find all sorts of things to get into and play with. Their favorite by far is grandma's jewelry! We accidentally went home with one of her necklaces in JJ's pocket. The next day he said "what the heck how did this get in here, this is grandma's." It was super cute.

I hope my mom had as great of a time as we did! She certainly deserves it! She is the BEST mom/grandma in the world we love you so much BUGGA!

A life of Luxury

2011-11-02T01:04:00.000-07:00

This girl of mine seems to have it all figured out. She is such a diva in the making. She loves to take baths and play in the water and somehow I have no idea why her swimming float ended up in the bathtub. She wanted the water really high and then put her float on and preceded to just relax the day away. I am thinking she has a pretty good idea going on here. If only my bathtub were big enough for me to do this!

I don't think Calli is going to have many issues in life she sure has a way of figuring things out and living life to the fullest!

Best Halloween EVER!

2011-10-31T18:47:00.000-07:00

So this year takes the cake on my FAVORITE Halloween so far. Last year it was on a Sunday so we didn't go Trick or Treating and the Year before JJ was still 1 and Calli was only a couple of weeks old so it was fun but my kids didn't really know what was going on. Well this year they were all about knocking on everybody's door and getting candy. Their expressions couldn't hide their excitement.

The first door they knocked no one was home but they looked so cute walking up and knocking I had to get their pictures.

Calli was like all right lets go to the next one no reason to waste time when there is candy out there to be eaten.

The next door just so happened to have a man wearing a scary mask so JJ was tough and cool with it but Calli started crying and saying "I Scary" The man was sweet and took off his mask to show her he was nice. She felt a little bit better about him when he gave her some candy but still wanted to be held most the rest of the night when we went up to the doors just in case. She was having a blast though because after every door she would say "more halloween." It was precious.

We went around the neighborhood from about 6:30 to 7:30 and then we came home to check out our goods and then pass out candy to other trick or treaters. We showed the kids how you sit on the floor and dump out your candy to check out what you got and do your trades. It was so fun. John and I felt like kids again. We all sat there eating tons of candy and sharing. I think our kids were in total shock but it was awesome.

We got some pretty good loot. We even got some now and laters! Those for sure brought the memories back from my trick or treating days.

I love my cute family so much. JJ and Calli LOVED passing out the candy we bought the all the trick or treaters that came to our house too. It was so sweet after we ran out of candy JJ said there are still kids that need candy so he ran and grabbed calli's bucket. After a few mins she noticed it was hers he was handing out and said, "HEY." So he ran and grabbed his. He gave most of it away and then we convinced him to come inside and save a few pieces for tomorrow. It was so kind. He is such a sweet and sensitive boy. He was so worried some kids wouldn't get any candy!

Here are all of our empty wrappers from all we gorged ourselves with that night. It was such a fun Halloween I already can't wait until next year. We even had a little dance party after our candy feast!

Time for Jack o Lanterns!

2011-10-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

I LOVE traditions and everything associated with holidays! We didn't carve our pumpkins until the day before Halloween this year. We didn't want them to rot and shrivel up before the big day! Since Halloween was on Monday we did them Sunday evening. It was so much fun! The kids are getting so big and really getting into these fun things now.

Calli is looking pretty while daddy does all the hard work! I love it. She was supervising and managing.

JJ was busy working himself. He LOVED his "special" knife and kept punching holes all over the pumpkin. It was pretty cute except I was a little worried he was going to cut his fingers but this boy is not accident prone like his mommy. Luckily he takes after his dad in this way.
He is trying to decided what kind of a face he wants to carve. He decided on a scary/mad face.

After daddy cut off the lids then me and the kids started to dig out the seeds. JJ was all about it. It was super cute watching him dig away and get all the gunk out. I told him that I was going to roast the pumpkin seeds so we could eat them so he was so cute and said he wanted to be in charge of putting all the seeds in the strainer bowl and he put every single one in.

Calli wasn't quite as sure about the whole messy gunk on her fingers but she sure had fun watching and supporting.

Daddy finished off cleaning the insides and started to carve with Calli as I drew a face on with JJ. Then JJ continued his "carving."

We had a fun surprise visit from our friends the Piersons too. We have seen them very much lately so it was great to catch up!

Here are our finished projects! Pretty good huh! The kids loved lighting the candles inside them and watching them glow.
They probably could have stayed outside all night besides the fact that it was past their bed time.

Here is our family shot. Thanks to Adam we all got captured together!

We had to get a picture of Adam too since he is part of the family too. Everybody says that he and John look like brothers. We were laughing saying that in this picture they kind of looked like a gay couple with their child. Hehe. It was a super fun night and now we were officially ready for Halloween!

Double the trouble and DOUBLE the Fun!!

2011-10-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

Well I know it might sound crazy but I decided to combine both JJ's and Calli's birthday party into one big birthday bash! A lot of their friends come from the same families so it just seemed to make sense to make it a family parties and invite our closest friends who also happen to be our kids friends. I decided to do it right in the middle of their birthdays at the end of October when it was still warm and the farm/cowboy theme fit perfect. It also helped that John had school off that weekend. :) We had lots of family come too which was super fun and super helpful as you can see!

Grandma and Grandpa even got to take off a few hours from their missionary labors for the big day. Calli adores her Grandma aka "Bugga" and runs to her whenever she sees her. It was nice to have my hands free at times too.

My SIL Julie and I stayed up into the night on Friday the night before the party to make the cupcakes. She is such a trooper I could not have done it without her! We made 60 cupcakes and used half a box for the little barn. I did however have to buy an extra cake mix box because apparently the 3 ingredients you have to add in are all essential! I don't know how you mess up a 3 ingredient recipe but somehow I forgot to add the water to the first batch. I blame the pregnancy for sure! It was pretty hilarious. But we got all the chickens, pigs and sheep done just in time.

Here is our latest 3 generation picture! I look so tall because I am wearing boots. Who does Calli look more like?

This is our adopted teenager son Adam who lives with us on the weekends. He is our nieces boyfriend who is going to school in Dallas but switched his records to be in our ward so he comes up on the weekends and stays with us. As you can see not only did we put him to work killing the hundreds of flies that were not invited to the party, but we also sent him all over town picking up balloons and running to the store to grab this and that including another cake mix! :) We are sure going to miss him when he leaves on his mission.

Here is Julie still hard at work! She is the BEST! She and Dana saved the Day cleaning and helping and setting up and running the hay rides.

Here is Dana getting the grill ready for some hamburgers and hotdogs.

The boys are hard at work getting ready for the party to start. Don't you think John looks super hot in his cowboy gear?

We set up a couple of tables in the back yard for people to sit and eat during the party.

Of course no party would be complete without some decorations. I don't think I took pictures of all the decorations but here are a couple.

I sort of did the same theme for JJ when he turned two just on a much lesser scale. It was mostly a family party with a couple friends but since he didn't remember and they both LOVE animals we had to do it again and this time go all out!

Here are JJ and Cole protecting everybody from the bad guys. JJ has LOVED wearing his boots and hat and guns all season. He takes after his daddy and wears the cowboy look well.

Uncle Joseph and his friend Nathan and Aunt Natalie and Grandpa Merris drove all the way up from Austin just to come to the party for a few hours and then drove all the way back home! That was so sweet! It was even Aunt Natalie's birthday too. We put Joseph to work too!

Our little cowgirl getting ready for all of her friends to arrive.

With the drought I had a little bit of a hard time getting hay bales so my AWESOME BIL Dana brought some all the way from Houston. The Tuckers ROCK!!

We decided to use the hay bales for some family photo opps before we put them in the truck for the hay rides.

Aren't the birthday boy and girl so stinken cute!?!

And then the party began. We started out with the first of many hayrides and these cute little 1-4 year olds were soooo excited. You would have thought they were at disneyland or something. I thought they would like it but I had no idea how much.
Adam and Chloe manned the back so we didn't have to return any broken children. Don't they make such a cute couple? We are praying this match is made in heaven. He already feels like family.
Uncle Joseph and Nathan and Cole guarded the front and the sides. Thanks guys for keeping all the kids inside!

After the hay ride and dinner and some bobbing for apples and put the chicken in the barn fun the PONY arrived!!

Oh man if you thought they were excited about the hayrides you should have seen their eyes when the pony came walking in. It was precious! I loved how they were all running after it and chasing it. We did another hay ride run so that there weren't so many waiting for the pony all at once. They they switched when the hay ride came back.
I think Calli rode it 4 different times that night. She LOVED it. Although she did insist that I hold her hand and walk with her which is fine by me. I LOVE watching my kids be elated.

This is one of my favorite pics of my kids. They look so stinken cute and happy I love how they are holding hands too. All the hours and work and money that I put into the party is all made worth it with this single memory captured!

After we did lots of playing and pony rides and hay rides it was time to sing happy birthday and make some wishes. JJ is so cute and singing to himself right there. Since we have so many birthday's in the fall, Happy Birthday is sung every day around here.
How cute is this little princess holding her "birshday" cupcake.
First JJ blew out his and then...
Calli blew out hers...
Then all the kids got their cupcakes and apparently mine went back for seconds. I guess it is their birthday party.
Then the party broke up and the sun went down and all our friends headed home. We had such a fun time and were so grateful most of our friends and family could make it. There were a total of 48 people we counted. Next it was time for presents. We decided to open them after the party since total chaos normally breaks out. It was chaos enough just with the family. Everybody was busy working.

JJ and Calli were busy working on opening all the presents with the help of their cousins Mia and Mallory. I was busy writing who gave what as presents were being opened faster than I could write. Grandpa was in charge of opening the packaging the presents came in and daddy was in charge of handing out the presents and Grandma who you don't see was in charge of capturing all of the chaos!

They got some super fun toys that I am confident will entertain them for weeks to come! Everybody was so generous. I think JJ's favorite was a nerf gun that he slept with and some awesome cars and Calli it is a toss up between the jewlry and makeup and play dough and dolls. They were both in heaven.

She was waiting oh so patiently for Grandpa to finish his job. I am so HAPPY my parents are so close that they can come to these fun things for the kids. We tried to get a group shot but the kiddo's were to excited to sit still.
Them of course we had to open the play dough and Calli was in heaven with the big girls showing her how it is done big girl style. They played all night and all morning the next morning. Apparently Aunt Julie was doing something awesome because the next morning when Call woke up she said "where my play dough, I need Julie!" It was so cute.
JJ is busy watching his dinosaurs expand in water.
Calli slept with that necklace and bathed with it on. I don't think she took it off for 3 days.
JJ is showing off his new outfit from Grandpa and Grandma Merris with his treasured new gun the morning after. We all had a little bit of party hang over. :)

Here they are playing with the new book Aunt Natalie gave them for their birthday. They loved how it would say the words out loud.
We had such a FABULOUS birthday weekend and were so glad so many of our family and friends could come and celebrate with us. We LOVE you guys. I LOVE planning birthday parties and now have a whole year to think of next years themes. I think I will wait until after Christmas to start planning though. :)

Farewell my Charlee Car

2011-10-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

I bid farewell to my Charlee car today. This was very bittersweet to me. This was my first car! Yes in high school I had the kid car that I drove but once I was in college I rode the Bus or my friends drove me around. I didn't have a car until John and I were married. He had his big old Tahoe that he had driven since he was sixteen. He loved it and I was grateful for it but it was only two door and not the smoothest drive around. So when I graduated and started working full time we needed two modes of transportation to get us both around so we bought my first car. I knew exactly what I wanted and John found it for me. I was so excited. I drove this car up until I was pregnant with Calli. This is how JJ and I got around town when he was a baby. So it was our car. I named it the Charlee Car after my cousins daughter who we babysat before we had JJ and I adored like my own.

After number two was on the way we traded the Tahoe in for a mom mobile for me to drive and John inherited the Passat. Well a few months ago the Passat started acting funny and on Johns drive home from Houston the engine blew! I was a little devastated. One I loved having no car payment and two I was going to miss my car. Anyway long story short we were going to sell it for parts since it wasn't really worth it to pay to replace the engine and John got to buy his car that he had wanted. Well a few weeks after we bought the new car we found out that Volkswagen had a warranty for our specific make and model if it met certain requirements that we BARELY met buy a couple of months and a few thousand miles so believe it or not they replaced our engine for free! So that was awesome but now we had three cars and only two drivers so we debated which car to sell. In the end we bid farewell to my Charlee Car and I wish her the best with her new owner who I hope enjoys her as much as I did!

Trunk or Treat

2011-10-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

We had our ward Trunk or Treat the other night and had such a fun time. It was the first Trunk or Treat the kids had been too and they loved it. They were a little overwhelmed with the complete and total chaos but they were all about the free candy being thrown at them were ever they went. It was super cold and rainy so the dinner and festivities were moved inside. The Chili was DELICIOUS!! It totally hit the spot. There were lots of fun costumes. We went as you can see as Cowboys this year. We bought our boots and hats a little while ago so we could get use out of them this fall and we did just that! I even let JJ wear his guns to the church I know a little risky huh!

Besides almost getting plowed over by all the bigger kids and the mass of people it was super fun. The kids were so excited to go they were waiting by the window for daddy to come home and really got excited for halloween in a couple of days. Oh how kids make everything more fun and exciting. We can't wait till next years!

Checking his Pearly Whites

2011-10-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

I know I have said it before and I will say it again. We have the best Pediatric dentist!!! I LOVE her and the whole office. The kids have so much fun too. We all actually look forward to going to the dentist. JJ had his 6 month check and he passed with flying colors. I didn't even help him brush before we went he did it all on his own, and they kept complimenting him on how clean his teeth were. They couldn't believe he did it all by himself. They always tell him what PERECT teeth he has. Hopefully they stay that way!

They have this fun little waiting room both in the front and in the back and they give them tokens at the end to get a prize and stickers and of course new tooth brushes and toothpaste and floss. Calli has lots of fun too so hopefully next time when she has her first check up she will check out just as well!

They have a TV on the ceiling and let the kids pick a movie and give them cool spider man glasses to wear while they watch. I love how big he looks in the pic. He looks like a teenager to me! We will see ya soon Dr. Kelli.

The Salon

2011-10-23T20:05:00.000-07:00

So recently JJ has picked up a new skill...Hairstyling! Feel free to contact me if you want to make an appointment.

The kids live in my bathroom when I am getting ready in the mornings so they have seen me many times put curlers in my hair and watch me walk around in them. Well they were still out one morning and JJ decided it was high time Calli had a makeover so he preceded to put all the curlers in her hair. I am not sure who had more fun, JJ the stylist, Calli the patron or me the observer.

They have done it several times now and every time Calli sits so still. She will do anything for beauty! I love how serious JJ's face is he really wants to make sure he does it right. He has also blowed my hair dry and put my makeup on. I think we might have a stylist on our hands. And a future beauty Queen of course!

The duck pond

2011-10-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

Back to the Beautiful Duck Pond. We had such a fun Friday excursion this week. I love this big pond in Mckinney we have been several times and plan on coming back lots more. The kids had so much fun throwing the bread in the water and watching the ducks eat it. I was a little afraid that somebody was going to fall in because they sure liked to get close to the edge but we all made it home in one piece. It is amazing how fast we burned through a loaf of bread!

Last time we came here Calli sat on my lap and through in the bread. This time she was so independent.

Of course she has big brother to show her the ropes. I didn't get any pictures of the park but they have a fun little play ground area we went and played at after the bread was all gone. We enjoyed a little picnic as well. I love that it is close too, although JJ still fell asleep in the car on the way home. He had gone to bed late the two nights before and was tuckered out I guess.

We will be back soon little duckies!

State Fair Texas Style

2011-10-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

We went with our good friends the Holms to the State Fair for Family night and had a Blast! First we hit up the games and rides. John LOVES the fair/carnival games. He is really good at them too which is why he probably loves them so much. He won three prizes. He won a basketball a blowup chair and a stuffed animal. He even let the kids help him play some of them.

We let the kiddo's go on a few rides. This was the first one and it was way faster then I thought it was going to be so I was really nervous for Calli. When it first started she had a scared look on her face but then after a few seconds she was all smiles and having a great time. I was shocked. I can't believe how fast she is growing up.

JJ loved it of course too! He went on more big boy rides because this boy isn't scared of anything anymore I swear.

We did bring the stroller but Calli preferred riding on her daddy's shoulders instead.

Next we let them go on this airplane. Once again it was WAY faster then I had anticipated and instead of loving it, Calli started screaming. So I made the guy stop it and take her off. I am all about letting my kids be adventurous but I am still momma bear and if they are terrified then I am not making them do anything.

We found some super cool tractors on our way to see the animals. We tried to get some good photos but the kiddo's were too anxious.

I have never seen so many exotic animals at a State fair before. There were tons and it was so clean it was the best part I think. We all loved petting the animals and feeding them. Calli was a little nervous at first but then warmed up quickly with some prodding on our part.

These baby zebra were so stinken cute. I loved how much fun John was having too feeding all the animals.
We of course had to try some fried foods before we left. We tried the fried oreo and snickers bar. I had a cheeseburger to eat and Calli kept coming over for bites. It was so cute because she has never had a cheeseburger before but apparently she likes them. JJ was so cute and seemed to have so much fun. He is getting so big now and such a great helper. It is fun making memories with him that I know he will remember long term. Until next year State Fair!

Visiting the Missionaries

2011-10-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

We got to officially Welcome the Missionaries to the mission on Sunday night and check out their new digs! They have a cute little apartment where miracles are going to happen! JJ and Calli had a ball playing on their deck and playing with all of Grandma's jewelry of course. She said only one but somehow they ended up with all of it. Crazy to believe, I know!

Grandma had made some Chicken and asparagus so Calli could not resist.

Dad and John were busy setting up all their electronics and doing the man stuff while we hung out and played.

My kids are loving getting to see Grandma and Grandpa so often even if it is only for an hour or two here or there. Every time someone says missionary Calli tells them that her "Buggas" are missionaries. It is so cute.

Here is a shot of their kitchen too. I think they are going to have such a great time here this year working hard and serving the Lord. I am sure we will be back soon!

Pumpkin Patch time!

2011-10-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

We went to the BEST pumpkin patch around this year. Coming from Utah there were some pretty awesome Pumpkin Patches to compete with and last year I was a little disappointed. So this year I made sure to check out some new ones and the Pumpkin Village in Flower Mound was my Fav! They had the train ride, horse ride, hay ride and even a couple of mini carnival rides. My kids loved it and so did I.

First stop was the train ride. We went with some friends and so we played musical chairs a bit before we got the show on the rode. First JJ and Calli were sitting together. Then Sammy and JJ were together and Kate and Calli were together.

In the end, Calli rode by herself while I held her hand and walked beside her and JJ and Sammy rode together. I think Kate ended up backing out last minute.

Next stop was the ferris wheel. I couldn't believe how big and brave the boys were. They didn't seem scared at all to ride the wheel all by themselves. It obviously is not normal sized and doesn't go that super high so I was cool with JJ going by himself. Call was too little to go and she was fine with that. JJ loved it and felt SO big.

Up Next the Hay ride. This is always a favorite of course no matter what age you are. I could only get a picture with me and sis because JJ the teenager was being cool sitting with his friends.

Here are the cool dudes, JJ, Sammy and Luke. They are 3 and 4 going on 13 and 14 for sure. We moms are going to be in big trouble with theses boys.

I was very anxious for the pony rides. I knew JJ would love it he has ridden a pony a bunch of times since he was little I took him to the petting zoo at Thanksgiving Point. Calli never has had many opportunities so I wondered how she would do. She is getting to that point now that she is a big 2 that she likes little rides and the carousel. It was a success. She really liked it. I did have to hold her hand and walk next to her but she was loving it. She kept saying to JJ, "Look JJ I am a Big Girl!" It was so sweet.

There is our Cowboy himself. He is pretty much professional when it comes to riding horses. His boots say it all.

The biggest surprise came last with the swings. Calli loves to swing at the park and as soon as she saw these she kept saying she wanted to swing. Well I didn't have the heart to tell her she wouldn't like these ones thinking she would be scared. So I let her go on with Ruby and these two brave bunnies LOVED it!! They swung around even faster then I thought they would and they were so cute and not scared at all. We could not believe it. It was so cute.

The boys were super brave of course too!

We had such a Fantastic morning at the pumpkin patch and even topped it off with a pumpkin pie milk shake from Sonic for the ride home. After naps we got to see Sammy and Kate and Ruby again at Sammy's birthday party that evening. Happy Birthday Sammy! Thanks for having such a fun Party!

Welcome to the Dallas Texas Mission Elder and Hermana Bagley

2011-10-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

My Parents checked into the MTC and began their mission on Monday, October 3rd. After spending a week there they were headed out to the mission field and heading our way. It took them a couple days to drive here and they arrived on Sunday, October 9th to our house. They got to spend a couple days with us before they reported to the mission office on Wednesday, October 12th. We are so excited they are serving a mission and especially excited they will be so close. We can't wait to hear about all of their amazing experiences. We are so proud of you!

Grandma's Green Thumb

2011-10-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

Grandpa's and Grandma's visit was just in time to plant some flowers with the kiddo's. We had a garden when we lived in Utah but haven't planted a darn thing in the almost 2 years since we have lived here. We bought some flowers from a boy in our ward doing a fundraiser so we finally got our green thumbs back.

When it comes to gardening Grandma is an expert so I took the pictures and the kids got dirty with "Bugga."

JJ was all about digging the holes to put the flowers in and digging the weeds.

Calli didn't last quite as long and wasn't as interested in getting dirty but she did think it was fun to see the pretty flowers and water them.

Look how dedicated my mom the missionary is wearing her tag even while gardening! Thanks grandma for entertaining my children and beautifying our home all at the same time.

Our Calli Girl

2011-10-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that I blinked my eyes for one minute and my little baby is all grown up. She is 2 going on 2o! She has changed and matured a lot in the last few months. She is so brave and adventurous and LOVES to keep up with her big brother. She is talking so well and is communicating in full sentences.

She is 100% all girl! She is all about makeup and shoes and purses and jewelry and being pretty. I think as she gets older she will become my stylist for sure.

She loves to snuggle and sing songs. I love when I am singing to her she will sing right back with me. She already knows her ABC's and sings them all day long. She loves to play with cars and balls too with her dad and brother.

She is a great sleeper and still takes about a 2 - 3 hour nap for me everyday in her CRIB. We will keep her in that baby for as long as possible and she sleeps about 11 - 12 hours at night.

She absolutely loves to dance and have naked dance parties. She would take a bath twice a day if I let her and is such a little mommy to all 3 of her babies that have to sleep with her every night.

She is by far my best eater. The girl can put it away and really seems to enjoy most foods. She is also really interested in going potty. We have only had one success so far, most of the time she sits and then says all done after nothing happens or she toots. Silly girl. One day she went pee pee all over the kitchen chair and then clapped and said "yea" I went pee pee in the potty. I didn't have the heart to burst her bubble.

She absolutely ADORES her JJ. Sometimes when I go to get her out of her crib she says, "no, I want JJ." I love how close they are and how much they love each other even though sometimes I think they might kill each other.

She is such a sweet girl and loves to pray and read the scriptures and "help mommy do everything." She is still my little shadow and BFF and I hope she still always wants to be with her mommy as she gets older. We sure love our Princess!

Here are her 2 year old stats:

Height 34 1/4 in. 61 %

Weight 26.6 lbs 49%

Head 18 1/4 21 %

Our Princess is one year Older!

2011-10-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

Our little girl turned two this morning! We had such a fun day. Aunt Esther and Isla were still here and Grandpa and Grandma came in the night before and my niece and her boyfriend Adam had stayed the weekend with us so when Calli woke up she had lots of people to wish her a happy birthday. We have a little tradition of going into their rooms with the video camera and singing happy birthday to them when they wake up. Their reactions are so priceless because they kind of like it and they kind of think we are weird.
We had blown up some balloons and and wrapped her presents and put up her birthday banner the night before so we would be already to party when she woke up.

JJ took no time at all to join in on all of the birthday celebrations. I think he had just as much fun as Calli did!

We of course had to make a special birthday breakfast. We normally make sweedish pancakes for birthday's but Calli doesn't like them that much so we made pumpkin pancakes and bacon of course she could live on bacon. Grandma couldn't get enough of her sweet little grand daughters.

There was some fun down time with daddy too. Daddy didn't have to work today because it was Columbus day so we all got to enjoy this special day together!

After breakfast was over it was time for presents! JJ was a great helper opening them with his sister and teaching her how to use all of the new toys.

She got some of her very own makeup from Aunt Esther and Isla. Which she loves to put all over her and the house. :)

JJ thought the whole makeup thing was pretty cool too as you can see. We pretty much have him convinced that makeup is just for girls but he isn't totally sure yet.

She also got her first barbie and barbie car from Grandma and Grandpa Bagley and some new clothes and jammies from Grandpa and Grandma Merris and from JJ she go and remote control strawberry shortcake car. After opening the presents all the kiddo's were worn out.

Sissy Pie and Grandpa having some snuggles

We pretty much much played all morning with all of the fun birthday presents and then right before Calli went down for her nap daddy came home with her present from us.

Daddy and JJ worked on it during her whole nap so when she woke up she would find her very own playhouse.

Even Grandma got in on the fun! Both the kids LOVE it and spent most of the afternoon in it. It is the cutest little thing with a little table and chairs for a picnic and a slide and rock wall. JJ called it his club house.

Calli and Grandma were having a picnic with some nuts.

She was so excited and that made all of daddy's hard work worth it! Let me tell you it was hard work too the man slaved away for like 3 hours. They have the BEST daddy ever.

JJ also very quickly discovered that you can climb on top of the roof and thinks that is pretty cool besides the fact he has already fallen off once but that hasn't deterred him from going back up at all.

After playing out side with her new playhouse it was time for her birthday dinner and cake. I made her favorite dinner of course which crazy enough is Salmon and asparagus. What can I say the girl is high class. :) I had this cute cup cake pan to make a really big cup cake and just happened to see some birthday decorations for a cupcake party so I had to get them. I also had some left over raspberry syrup from a dinner party I had so we made some pink raspberry sodas to match the decor. I think it all turned out so cute.

This may have been the fastest birthday cake I have whipped together for one of my kids birthday so far but I think it still turned out pretty cute!

Mommy and Daddy with our little sweetheart. Doesn't she just make your heart melt? As you can see I never quite got ready for the day I was having too much fun playing.

Calli LOVES when we sing the birthday song. She went around the house singing it all day and is still singing it!

I love this picture sequence she is making her wish and getting ready to blow out her candles and then...

her brother beat her to the punch! Shocker I know. I love her expression she is saying, "HEY!"

So what did we do? We lit the candle and did it all over again of course. However notice JJ is not near the cake this time. :)

Then it is time to dig in and that is exactly what we did. The kids however thought that the most appetizing part of the cake were the sprinkles.

They had a few bites of their cake and ice cream and some milk to top it off...

...And then this is where we found them with the bowl of sprinkles. It is so hard to deny this cuteness.

It was such a fun day celebrating our sweet little angel and I hope she knows how much we ADORE her and cherish her sweet little spirit. She brings so much joy and happiness to our lives. We love you Calli!

A visit from Essie and Isla

2011-10-08T18:51:00.000-07:00

We had such a FABULOUS visit from my little baby sister Esther and her little baby Isla! We got to meet Isla this Summer when she was just 3 months old and now she is already almost 6 months old! My kids just ate her up literally. I was a little worried for her life at times. :) Esther's husband Bryan had to go out of town for work so we got to enjoy the girls while he was away but we sure missed unkie Bry too! They flew in on Wednesday and got to stay all the way until the following Tuesday. We had so much fun and can't believe how fast the time flew by.

JJ and Calli were so excited driving to the airport to pick them up. They have flown several times but haven't been to the airport to pick people up very often. This was quite the adventure for them. We sat and played on the floor for a little bit while we waited for their luggage and my kids were all over her wanting to hold her and kiss her. One the way home she started to cry and JJ was so cute he kept saying, "Shh sweetie it's okay, don't cry." And of course he totally thought this jungle gym would be way more fun for her if he was under it too.

We had to be a bit more cautious with Calli because she was so interested in all of Isla's features that I was afraid she was going to poke her eye out. She was so sweet about always wanting to be next to her and share all of her toys with her. She even shared some of isla's toys as well.

JJ is such a sweet big brother/cousin. He LOVES holding little babies hands. He has done that with Calli for forever too.

Calli REALLY wanted to share her sippy cups with Isla and give her some drinks of water. Aunt Esther was always right there to referee the situation. Poor Isla she would get so excited too. Soon enough girlfriend you will have your own sippy's.

My kiddo's had a ball with their Auntie too. Esther was JJ's second mom when he was Isla's age. It is crazy to think how fast things change in such a short period of time.

On Friday we went to the indoor safari park. As you can see Isla had a ball! Actually once she woke up she really did have a great time watching all the kids and playing.

My wild and crazies of course had a blast they were all over the place faster then I could keep track. I can't believe Calli already is climbing up these jungle gyms. JJ didn't start playing with this stuff until he was at least 2 1/2 but then again he was my first so we didn't really go to a lot of places like this.

Then you get to slide down into the ball pits. There aren't a lot of these ball pits around these days so they love playing in these.

JJ loves throwing them at the other kids as well and getting buried in them shocker I know.

They have a fun little tramp as well. My kids love to jump solo, but they get pretty intimidated if there are other kids jumping with them.

They of course had to hit up the train ride a couple of times and the animal rides. Calli loves the train rides as long as I go with her but she hasn't braved the animal rides yet. I thought she might since we had been here before but no dice. Maybe next time. JJ loves them though in fact he probably wishes they were real animals.

We did get a photo opp with her at least sitting on the ride. So that is an improvement I guess.

Even Isla showed her up and went for a ride! She was kind of like what the heck is happening and enjoying it all at the same time.

Bryan said he was waving to him here. I think she was waving to me, her favorite aunt. :)

On Saturday we went to JJ's soccer game and then hung out around the house. On Sunday we had to take a little photo shoot of Calli and Isla who just so happened to un planned of course have coordinating outfits. It helps when you shop at the same store, but we thought it was so cute how matchy they were so we tried to capture their cuteness even if they didn't cooperate that well.

We had such a great time with those guys. They even got to be here for Calli's 2nd birthday which was monday (pictures soon to come.) They had to back home on Tuesday and we were all so sad to see them go. For like a week after they left Calli kept walking by their room and saying, "baby sleeping?" It was so cute! Come back and visit soon Attridges and bring Bryan next time with you!

Happy Birthday to my Man

2011-10-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

We celebrated John's 29th birthday on Monday and Tuesday this year! On Monday night we invited a few couples over and had a birthday dinner for John. He requested Filet Mignon and Twice baked potatoes and Broccoli for the main dish and then we had salad and rolls for the appetizer and of course birthday cake and ice cream for dessert. We also had some yummy pina coladas to drink, I got a great recipe from a friend and we love it. He of course wanted a funfetti cake so that is what he got. I tried to convince him to want a pumpkin cake but no dice so I appeased his wish since it was his birthday after all. :)

He is the hardest man alive to shop for so I pretty much was lame and told him to just buy whatever he wanted. It worked out great because he was going golfing on Tuesday his actual birthday and what he wanted was a new driver so he picked it up before he went and I made sure to tell him to take a picture using his new birthday present.

That afternoon after he got back from work we sang happy birthday with the kids and they each got their turn to blow out the candles of course.

They sure did enjoy eating daddy's birthday cake. We did also make daddy breakfast in bed and sang to him in the morning. It was so cute because it was the first time that JJ sang the whole song with me. Even Calli sang most of it and continued to sing it for most of the day.

After CAke and ice cream John and I got a babysitter and headed out for a night on the town. We went to see a movie at the Studio Movie Grill where you can eat dinner and watch a movie at the same time! It was great and we loved spending time together. I am so grateful to be married to such an amazing man. I love you babes!

Hooray for General Conference Weekend!!!

2011-10-02T09:04:00.000-07:00

I LOOOVE General Conference Weekend. It is really like a holiday for me like birthdays or Christmas. That is how much I look forward to it. I Love hearing all the inspiring messages and receiving personal direction and guidance and spending time with my family. I just love everything about it!

On Saturday before Conference began, (It doesn't start in Texas until 11 am) we had JJ's soccer game and team pics. This is not the professional one, just one I snapped.

Then JJ had a pirate birthday party to go to. Pretty stinken cute pirate don't ya think?!?

Calli was way more interested in playing on the swing set then interacting with all of the crazy 3 and 4 year old pirates. I don't blame her I was a little scared of them too. :)

After the party was over then we headed home for nap time and I settled in to watch conference. John was flying home during the first session and made it home just in time for the second session. JJ played pretty good entertaining himself. He got a little bored towards the end and was begging to put make up on me so I let him I should have taking some after shots.

On Sunday morning it is tradition that I make Homemade cinnamon rolls. Everybody gets excited to eat them and to turn conference on. As soon as JJ finished his he said I am ready for conference. Unfortunately his enthusiasm doesn't last all two sessions but he did pretty good.

Calli was all about her first cinnamon roll. I had never given her one before and she apparently had been missing out because she pretty much devoured that thing in like 30 seconds!

We love cinnamon rolls and love our fun little tradition of making them every General Conference!

JJ wanted a fork just like daddy ate it. He is such a little man these days. He kept asking all morning how much longer until they were readyd.

How do you say no to a face this edible! She is on cute disaster that is for sure.

I enjoyed listening to all of the talks and messages so much and look forward to listening to them over and over again. I felt my Heavenly Father's love so strong as I felt the direction that I needed and the path my life is heading. We also had a great time at our semi annual BBQ with all the families in our ward that live in our neighborhood. We always do a potluck and then a Conference trivia game. I was very impressed at how well everyone payed attention! We can't wait until April!

We finally made it to the Arboretum...

2011-09-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

After hearing about how AWESOME the Dallas Arboretum is for almost two years we finally made it there! We had been wanting to check it out for a while and decided now that the temps are cooler and they have their fall pumpkin displays out it was the time to do it. They do this pumpkin Cinderella Village that was so amazing. My kids loved this carriage and would have enjoyed staying in it and playing a while but there were a bunch of field trips going on so there was quite a line for quick photos.

This is of course Cinderella's glass slipper. It seems quite a bit larger in real life then I had expected. :) They also have many of the disney classics on display as well we didn't get to see all of them so we will be sure and come back soon.

Calli thought all of these pumpkins were perfect for taking little rests on.

The boys of course had to find the biggest ones and see how big their muscles are by pushing them around.

I loved this picture. It looked even cooler in person. I tried to get the kids to take a pic with me in the middle of it but they were too busy exploring!

They found this little water pond and were so excited. What is it about water and children. They seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly.

This was Beauty and the Beasts Castle they we walked through. My kids don't know all the disney movies yet but I sure do!

I have no idea why but JJ kept asking me from the moment we got there where all the real fishies were. I had no idea if there were any so I was a little worried he was going to be sad. But no worries sure enough there was a huge fish pond and he was in heaven!

I pretty much had to drag JJ and Calli away from this area to go check everything else out. Apparently we need to buy some fish or something.

There were some amazing views that I tried to capture but it is never quite the same. I loved how peaceful being there was and how beautiful God's creations and nature is.

They also had this fun little area with little houses to play in. The kids LOVED running around them and in and out and climbing up the stairs. Calli loved this spot and spent lots of time there.
Here is the other view of her hang out spot. the Outside view. I thought she looked so cute with her head hanging out the window.

I don't know what these flowers are called but they sure are pretty!

Sometimes I wonder why we spend money or go different places when the kids will simply find rocks where ever we go and through them over a fence or in the water. They are all doing that here!

While throwing rocks JJ managed to find a wild zucchini. He came running over saying, "look what I found!" Then it was pretty much the coolest thing ever to the big boys.
We had such a great time on our Fun Friday Excursion this week. We will definitely have to make it back before it gets too cold!

Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

2011-09-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

JJ had his first field trip last week for preschool and Calli and I got to tag along too. We had so much fun at the Big Orange Pumpkin Patch in celina. I couldn't resist dressing us up in our cowboy/cowgirl get up. The kids looked so cute I couldn't stop taking pictures. JJ loves feeding animals so he was clearly in heaven feeding the goats and the cows.

He looks like such a handsome cowboy. All grown up. He LOVES his boots. He demands to wear them all the time even if he is wearing shorts and we are going to the store or the gym. I love it though and totally support his creative style. If he likes it and feel cool then I am not going to stop that!

It was pretty tricky getting a picture of both of them together. So here it what I have. There was so much fun stuff going on that they had a hard time focusing on being my models. :)

Calli was a little afraid of the animals. She is all about animals and wanted to feed them but she was scared too. She didn't want to let go of her cup unless she got brave though.
It was so fun watching JJ be so big and independent with his peers. I really can't believe how grown up and responsible my baby is.

I love little ladies cute pink boots I hope she doesn't out grow them too quickly because they are so stinken cute!

I am going to try and find as many excuses as possible for these too to wear their little outfits as possible. So you might be seeing these boots and hats in many more posts to come.

My baby girl is so precious.

Thanks Sarah for getting some with me and the kids too. It is crazy how rare mom gets in the pics. because she is always the photographer.

I had to wear my hat and boots too, although I did get a wicked blister on the back of one of my heels though.
JJ's best friend Jackson was all about JJ's hat so JJ was super nice and let him take turns wearing it too. Now that these guys are getting older they are playing much better together and not fighting so much. YEA!!

We sort of failed at our family photo opp. John was bummed he missed out. He was going to come too but had to go out of town. We missed him too.

After feeding time was over then we got to go on a hayride all over the pumpkin patch and then we got to pick out our own pumpkins to bring home. That was a little tricky trying to carry both pumpkins and Calli who was tired of walking and me feeling the blister starting to form. Thankfully a sweet older man carried my pumpkins to the car for me!

Of course there was time to pretend to drive the tractor and eat some yummy snacks and take a cute class picture!
It was such a fun morning with beautiful weather enjoying the fun things about FALL!

Fun Times with Aunt Nat!

2011-09-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

We had such a GREAT time with John's sister Natalie when she came and stayed with us for a few days! The kids LOVED all the attention she gave them and cried when she would leave. She came on Monday afternoon and stayed until Friday morning and helped me SO much with my wild and crazy cuties. Uncle Dana also came for a couple of nights while he was working in town but my camera must have been sleeping by the time he got here because I didn't get any pics of him.

We did LOTS of playing outside. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this time of year. The weather is GORGEOUS here in Texas and we love to LIVE outside. As you can see JJ has his scissors aka grass trimmers in hand. He loves to help daddy trim the grass and hedges with his own scissors. It is pretty cute and keeps him busy.

On Tuesday we went and ran lots of errands so it was so nice to have Nat to help chase the kids around the store while I looked for the things we needed. I was trying to get the kids halloween/birthday party/family picture outfits all set and we had to go to a few different stores to get it all. A bag of popcorn from Target and a few hours later and we were set!

There was of course lots of down time to play and read stories. I love that JJ is old enough to sit and read "big boy" books with me. I love children stories and used to be a little sad that I could never finish the words on the page before he would be turning the page. Calli still does that a little but I am sure she will be ready for listening to the big girl books soon too. JJ was 2 when he started listening really well to them.
We even made a trip over to the swimming pool for one last time this season. It was pretty warm on Tuesday night and I asked the kids if they wanted to go swimming and of course they jumped up and down and shouted with joy. So we did. I thought the water would be too cold to really get in so I put there bating suits on thinking they would just get their feet wet and I kept my clothes on. Turned out it was a little chilly but that did not stop them. They both were wet head to toe. JJ learned how to swim this summer but hasn't been for a few weeks so I wasn't sure how he would do especially with out me in it. He was a little apprehensive at first but then he jumped right in by himself in the deep end and swam to the side multiple times! I think next summer is going to be so fun for him swimming all over the place! Calli is getting so brave too. She doesn't know how to swim yet but she gets on the shallow part and goes on her hands and knees so everything but her head is in the water and she crawls back and forth from side to side saying, "I swimming mommy, I swimming too!" It is pretty much the cutest thing ever.
We even made a little stop over to the mall one day and I had the joy and privilege of going to Baby Gap all by MYSELF! It was amazing. Natalie took the kids to the play area so I could return some things and then of course ended up buying way more then

I should have, but I am a sucker for bargains and they were having a huge sale so I couldn't resist! We were all sad to see Nat go but she is coming back for work later this month so I am sure we will get some more time to play!

Date Night at Urgent Care

2011-09-24T06:14:00.000-07:00

After we got home from the children's museum I was pretty tired and sort of looking forward to bed time and having some peace and quiet all to myself and maybe even indulging myself with a nice hot bath! I haven't had one of those in ages. John had class this weekend so he was gone for the night too. Well, everything thing was going according to plan and the kids were taking their bath before bed. Calli was done first so I got her out while JJ still played and we were playing on the floor in the playroom. Calli was sitting but some how lost her balance and tipped back. She put her hand back to catch her fall but must of landed funny on it because I heard a pop and then she started to scream. Now this girl is not the most stable of all girls and falls EVERY day multiple times. Sometimes she cries and sometimes she doesn't but she is pretty tough and usually just cries for a second. So when she was so upset and screaming and holding her hand I was worried it was something worse.

However is was getting later and almost bedtime so I thought I will just rock her to sleep and if it is still bothering her in the morning I can take her to the DR. Well that was around 6:30 and at 8:30 I am still rocking her and she is NOT going to sleep. She is still holding her hand/wrist and is barely moving but crying and wining on and off. So at this point I am starting to think maybe she REALLY hurt it. Not to mention that JJ is laying totally naked on the floor next to me after getting himself out of the bath an hour or so early. It was way past both of their bedtimes and JJ was hungry and Calli was in pain and I didn't know what to do. The LAST thing I wanted to do was drag them both to the emergency room.

I tried calling John to see if he could come home after class, but he was in a study session and didn't know I was trying to reach him. So I called my sweet friend who came to the rescue and came over to stay with JJ so he could go to bed and I could just take Calli to the urgent care which was thankfully open until 11 so I didn't have to go to the emergency room. While she was coming over I finally laid Calli down on the couch who stayed motionless while I got JJ's jammies on and then got him some cereal to eat! Then we were on our way.

The Dr. thought she had fractured her wrist but the x-rays showed no fracture so she said she probably just popped it out for a second. Which can leave a dull numb pain. Calli SCREAMED when the Dr. first tried to touch and move her hand and take the x-rays, but by the end of the visit and after some tylenol she let the Dr. touch it and she didn't even cry. I think she may have just been afraid it was going to hurt too until the Dr. did and she realized it was better. The Doc. still wanted her to sleep in her splint over night and see how it was in the morning. So we took some cute pics and headed home for bed at 10!

Even though I am sad she got hurt, it was kind of nice being able to sit and rock her for so long. She is getting so big and squirmy these days that I can't get her to sit still and snuggle me for long periods of time now. I loved having our little late night together and I am especially glad that she didn't brake anything!

Thankfully my kids spoiled me and slept until almost 9 the next morning after our adventurous evening! I heard Calli wake up and she was talking to herself. When I got upstairs to her room and opened the door. She said very enthusiastically, "Hi mommy, I took off!" Then with a big smile showed me the evidence of the once splint all unraveled in her hand. Well, at least she was feeling better that cute little stink!

Round 2 at the Children's Musuem

2011-09-23T06:11:00.000-07:00

The state fair is coming next week to the fairgrounds where the children's museum is located so we decided to hit it up again before we had to pay for parking! There were no crowds which we loved. Sometimes when we go to our different locations for our Friday activities it seems like all the schools have the same idea and it gets a little crazy. It was so nice to have the whole place to ourselves.

Yes these pics are taken in the under 18 month section. I don't know why it is always SO fun to play in areas where you aren't supposed to be. We are excited for the new exhibits to open next month when we come back again.

Our membership includes both the nature and the science museum. The first time we came we spent so much time in the science museum that we didn't even have time for the nature one. This time we made sure to hit it up, and it was a hit.

Calli wasn't so sure about the ginormous mammoth. She didn't believe me that he wasn't real at first but I finally convinced her. We have yet to go to one of the movies they show on the huge screen. I am sort of waiting for when John comes with just in case Calli isn't so into it. We will see maybe I will bet brave and give it a try next month.

Our Upgrades

2011-09-17T06:09:00.000-07:00

After being the only peeps bringing the blanket to sit on during the soccer game and trying to carry and thorn INFESTED blanket home, I decided it was time for some bootie upgrades! As I was leaving for the store John gave me a pep talk and told me not to buy the cheapest ones. It is kind of embarrassing how he knows me so well. I was totally going to buy the five dollar ones! He has taught me how it is a much better investment to spend a little more for better quality that will last longer. You end up saving in the long run. Although I know he is right these frugal roots run deep. So while at Walmart my favorite store I noticed there were 5 different chairs all ranging in price. I bought the middle priced ones and when I came home and told John there were five choices and to guess which ones I bought he said "you bought the mid priced ones." How does he know me so well!

Anyway we are ALL very pleased with our new additions, especially this little lady. She LOVES her little pink chair. JJ got a matching one in blue. The first day we got them they set them up in the family room and watched a show in their chairs with a snack and a drink. So cute! They love that they have cup holders.
The other day John was outside playing with JJ and Calli and he got his chair out to sit in. Calli came running over and said "daddy I want my chair." He said she just sat there next to him watching JJ play in the mud feeling so important in her own special little chair. Thank you Walmart!

Another year at the Dallas Zoo

2011-09-16T05:59:00.000-07:00

Now that the HOT Texas Summer is under our belt we decided to renew our membership to the Dallas Zoo. We loved going last year and are excited to go a bunch this year! Calli was only 5 months old when we came for the first time and obviously didn't get much out of it, but now she LOVES it and gets to see experience everything too!

I am so loving our Friday excursions and checking out some new places and some of our old favorites. I plan on making the zoo a monthly visit, which makes our membership like $8 a month plus free parking and free carousel rides and discounts on food. That seems like a slamming deal to me! It is only about 35 mins away so we can leave first thing in the morning and spend about 3 hours there and make it back for nap time! We love our days out in the wild.

The animals were feeling very friendly today. A monkey came right up to the window where the kids were standing and started to bang on it. The kiddo's kind of loved it and were a little freaked out by it. We we able to see the lions up close during their feeding time and then this cheetah decided to take a snooze right in front of us.

This truck however never fails to be the most popular stop at the zoo. We pretty much have to drag our children away and convince them to go see more animals.

After we saw most of the animals we headed over to the children's area and let the kids run around like animals. :) They have a fun little water area and since we didn't have the girls bathing suits we just stripped them down and let them have a ball. We may or may not have received some glares from parents begging their kids not to get wet. But I can't help it I am not the "no because it isn't convenient for me," type of mom. I hope I NEVER am but no promises as more children come along.
The boys were loving all of the things they could crawl in and climb on and we were loving them getting all of their energy out.

Little missy is never too far behind big brother. Clearly this egg must be awesome if JJ wants to go in it.

My good friend and neighbor Lauren and her cutie boys/twins/Calli's boyfriends!

JJ and Calli were enamored by this rainbow they had never noticed before on the previous dozen trips we have taken to the zoo before. It would come and go a little bit as the sun would move around. Calli kept pointing out all of the colors. She has mastered her colors and is doing so well with her Letters. JJ was more intrigued with the "where" does the rainbow come from. We had such a great time. One of if not my very favorite thing to do is just observe and watch my kids enjoy themselves. I am SO loving the stages they are in and what joys they are to me and to each other. It was a little hard dragging them away at the end of the day but I promised we would be back soon! We topped off the visit with a carousel ride. Calli is finally all about it. It has been hit or miss the last few months but I thing the thrill has overcome the fears. See ya next month!

We have entered into the SOCCER World!

2011-09-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

There are so many things that I have looked forward to about being a parent. One of those is involving my children in extracurricular activities like sports. I have dreamed about the day I would be a "Soccer Mom" and I finally am one! Technically we signed JJ up for a little indoor league last winter but it wasn't quite the same as this official outdoor league! He struggled quite a bit with his indoor soccer and wasn't super into it, but just a few months later I have seen so much progress! He really likes playing now and is much more aggressive.

He played 3 quarters of his first game and every time he would kick the ball he would run over to the sidelines with a HUGE grin and ask me if I saw that kick. I would say yep and give him a high five and tell him to go kick it again. Then he would run back on the field and ask his coach if he saw and give him a high five and then start the process all over again. It was darling. I had such a fun time watching him play.
He even at one point heard Calli cry and looked over all concerned, then ran over to ask me if Sissy was okay and patted her head and told her it would be ok. Super cute but I told him to hurry and run back still!
His little buddy Sammy from his Sunbeam class is on the team as well. Sammy's dad is the coach. Every time JJ sees him at church he says "Hi Coach!" At one point JJ and Sammy were roaring like dinosaurs at each other instead of watching the ball. I think the other team scored during their rendition of Jurassic Park. JJ is number 3!
After the game was over they had a super fun little festival going on with a couple of bounce houses and face painting and balloon artists. We stayed for like 2 hours having a ball.
The balloons however didn't make it home because the grass was really prickly so if they touched the floor then they would pop. JJ wanted a sword and Calli wanted a princess flower wand.
I didn't think my kids would want their faces painted so I wasn't going to bother and stand in line for this but Calli thought it was so "pretty" and kept saying she wanted some. So I figured why not. Neither one had ever had it done so I thought we might as well give it a try.
I was really proud of JJ he said he wanted to have a Batman face and he didn't act nervous at all. He sat right down to have it done. He did get a little squirmy when she was painting around his eye but besides that he LOVED it. Calli chickened out at the last minute but was going to get these super cute butterfly wings. Oh well maybe next year. JJ thought he was so cool and kept wanting to look in the mirror ALL day afterwards. I guess we know that from now on when ever there is face painting around we will be in line.

It was such a beautiful Saturday morning and such a fun Soccer game and festival. I am excited for the rest of the season and watch JJ improve in his soccer skills. Daddy was sad he missed the game since he had to be in class all day but he will get to come next week since he only has class every other weekend.

First Day of SCHOOL!!!

2011-09-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

I CANNOT believe this day has arrived!?! JJ's first day of Preschool. I seriously feel like I just had him. Where has the time gone? His first year of life didn't seem to fly that fast but each year since seems go faster and faster. The days are just flying now. Thankfully we still have two years before Kindergarden but I have a funny suspicion that before I know it I am going to be posting about that too. Time PLEASE slow down.

He has been so excited for his big day to arrive. The night before school we talked all about it and we laid his outfit out and then we went to bed. Well when we checked on him before we went to bed he had gotten his rolling suitcase that is also a backpack out from his closet and put it by his bed so he would have it for school. So stinken Cute!

Little Missy had a big day of Firsts too! On Wednesdays when JJ is at school Calli has "School" too with her fried Skylar. One week Skylar comes to our house to play and then the next week Calli goes to Skylar's house. It works out great for everyone. It is so awesome and weird to have a couple of mornings a month all too myself. You would be amazed at how much I accomplish in 3 hours when I am uninterrupted. Calli and Sylar play SO well together too. It is awesome! I was a little worried but they are angels!This was also Calli's first time wearing piggy tails. Have you ever seen anything cuter? I mean seriously?!?

It was a little difficult to get JJ's picture all by himself. His sissy was all about the photo opp.

He likes having her next to him too so it worked out great!

Daddy and his Big Boy

I can't believe how big and grown up our Little Man is. I am so proud of him and all he is learning and how he is maturing. He is such a joy to be with!

I got to walk him into his class with 7 other class mates. He was a little apprehensive for a couple of minutes but then he saw some of his friends and he seemed to be fine. So Calli and I said good bye and went on our way.

Momma and her forever baby

Calli and Skylar had all sorts of fun together. They played jewelry and purses and dolls for a long time and then they had their snack together. They were even detectives together and found a sugar daddy in Daddy's office and managed to unwrap it and start devouring it in about 30 seconds!
At least they are good at sharing! Spreading germs is totally overrated anyway right? I think Calli is showing Skylar how to lick appropriately.

We had Calli's other buddies over to play as well that morning. Jackson and Quinten. It is amazing how wonderful four 2 year olds played together. Mostly the girls stuck together and then the boys stuck together.

When our big boy came home from his first day of school he requested pancakes for lunch and so pancakes was what he got! He was so worn out after all that learning, plus I think he was still recovering from his ear infection, that he fell sound asleep on the couch for two hours after lunch.
Apparently the batter is way better than the cooked version! Once again germs are totally overrated right?

Calli learns all of her tricks from her Big Brogher.

Oh man I LOVE these little munchkins! I cannot believe they are not my two babies anymore rather my two big kids. I have been in baby mode for so long I am not sure when I stepped into the big kid world. But I am here and loving watching them grow and enjoying every minute!

Lovin Labor Day

2011-09-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

We had such a Fantastic Labor Day weekend. We were supposed to go down to Houston to visit John's sister Julie and family but there were some unexpected developments so they ended up coming to us. We always have a great time with cousins and this time was no different. We loved every minute of having them!

They left on Friday after school was out and arrived around 8:30 just as I finished putting the kids to bed. I was actually singing JJ some songs when I heard them come home and I was praying JJ would hurry and fall asleep because I knew if he heard them too then it would be like Christmas morning and there would be no getting him to bed for hours! My prayers were heard and his eyes closed right as they got here and he had no idea. It was awesome. They did wake up at the crack of dawn however jumping and screaming with excitement! It is so cute it is hard to be annoyed with the early wake up call.

JJ seemed to have a tiny fever when he woke up on Saturday, but I brushed it off thinking I was paranoid. Which I totally am. :) We had planned to go swimming and JJ was so excited to show his cousins that he learned how to swim this summer all by himself. I probably shouldn't have let him go but I knew this would be one of the last swims of the summer and he was so excited to show off his new skills. So we all went swimming and had a blast and then sure enough that afternoon he had a full fledged fever and was sound asleep on our bed. The picture above was taken right after swimming and lunch and before naps. Look how cute and tan they all are sucking their suckers and watching a show!

During naps Julie, Chloe and I took a little girls trip to Nordstroms and did a little shopping! It was awesome! They got some new shoes and I got a new outfit for church and some new shoes for Calli. It is such a treat to go to the mall without children and spoil ourselves a little. Husband took one for the team and stayed home keeping the kiddo's. He help with Chloe's boyfriend who is here going to school and stayed with us for the weekend too. We are hoping after his mission he will be family officially! :) No pressure though Chloe.

We were going to go to the lake after naps but JJ was definitely coming down with something so we decided to hang out at home instead. He seemed to be feeling better on Sunday so we all got ready and went to church but by the end of Sacrament mtg. he was not feeling so great again. I took him home early and he took almost a four hour nap. He did manage to eat our traditional sunday pancakes and bacon though. Miss Calli let everyone know this weekend that she is now officially one of the BIG kids and she fully expects to take part in EVERYTHING they do and does not appreciate being left out! Her cousins were so cute to her and she sure loved playing with them. The Tuckers headed back to Houston after lunch and I was pretty devastated, I wish they lived closer but I am glad we got a quick visit and look forward to the next one!

Saying goodbye to Summer time

2011-09-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

We have spent a LOT of time in our birthday suits and playing with water this summer. We are a little sad to see our tan lines go but we do LOVE the FAll. I don't know what these children of mine are going to do once they have to be clothed. I am going to have so much more laundry to do.

One of their favorite hiding spots is under the table. JJ will tell us to come find him as he hides under the table while we are standing in the kitchen. It is pretty hilarious. So then we pretend we don't know where he is even though we just watched him hide. He thinks it is sooo funny.
My kiddo's could literally spend HOURS filling up containers with water and then dumping them out and filling them all over again. I don't know why this is so great but it keeps them happy and keeps our grass green so more power to them!

Indoor Safari Park

2011-08-26T12:43:00.000-07:00

This weeks excursion was spent at the indoor safari park. It came out on Groupon so I bought a couple of tickets. I had never heard of it before but it looked so cute and fun. It is like a indoor gym decked out animal style with min golf and little train rides and animal rides. I thought it was DARLING! The only kink was that there were a MILLION people there. The kids were on fire with excitement when we first got there but after about 2 hours they both were having a melt down. I think they were a little overwhelmed with the heard of peeps. It didn't help that it was the last day to use some of the tickets and it was a friday. I think we will try on a different day next time and see how crowded it is. If it is less busy we will for sure come back lots!

I couldn't believe how big and independent little missy was being. She kept climbing all the way to the top of the jungle gyms and sliding down. She was so cute I was loving watching her have so much fun. I didn't get a picture of JJ but he loved jumping on the trampoline and throwing the balls up into the mouth of an alligator. It was pretty hilarious. He is such a boy!
I thought they would be okay on the train by themselves so I loaded them up and waved goodbye but then Calli started to cry when it started to move so they were nice enough to let me go on with them. Then she thought it was great.
They also had this little area with tables to play trains and other fun things. My kids LOVE these little stations but they do not like being interrupted by their peers. It started to get a little tricky for us so we moved on to mini golf.
We spent quite a bit of time here because my children ADORE anything with balls. JJ was so focused on getting those balls in the hole. After a while they ditched the clubs and started putting the balls in the holes that would shoot down to lower areas.
Next stop was the animal rides. They were both super excited about these, but when push came to shove only little man was brave enough to go on. Little lady was not having it. So we cheered JJ on from the side lines.

There he goes off on a Safari riding a Zebra

They also had a little romp area for the under 2's. My kids also love spending time in these little less complicated areas probably because they are less crowded.
It was super fun and we are excited to come back again! Fingers crossed it isn't a Zoo literally next time we come and we may just spend ALL day!

Fun Friday at the Aquarium

2011-08-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

We are loving our fun friday excursions! Our second one was spent at the Aquarium. It wasn't huge but the kids LOVED it. They ran around checking everything out and having a ball.

Calli apparently was starving because she kept mooching everyone's snacks. At one point I made a GRAVE mistake and told her we would go to McDonald's after we were done and for the next 20 mins. all she could say was "want nuggies, juice." I couldn't decide whether to laugh or be ashamed that my not quite 2 year old knows all about what McDonald's means.
JJ was all about this white crocodile. He didn't seem real at first until he started moving to the top. All the kids got a little freaked out by that it was awesome.

JJ and Calli are checking out all of the fish and sea creatures

They have this pretty cool area outside where you can pet the sting rays. I can't believe how brave and adventurous JJ is becoming in his old age. Last year he would have never wanted to touch them, but now he was all about it! He pet the crabs and anything else they would let him.
Calli was not so sure about the whole touching thing but she definitely wanted to be close enough to see all the action. Girlfriend does not like missing out!
She got brave for a second and put her hand in the water but that was enough for one day. We had such a great time and it was such a fun morning. The weather is starting to cool down a bit now and we are loving playing outside. We will definitely have to make the aquarium a yearly trip or so!