Snow!!!

yes, that's my husband in the snow in shorts:/
snowball fight!

This is the 3rd time this season that it has snowed at our house. The 1st time it wasn't really enough to play in and the 2nd time we weren't here. But yesterday we finally got to enjoy it! After the kids woke up from their naps and we had some dinner, we went out and built snowmen and threw some snowballs! Jackson loved it so much as well as Justin, but Kate didn't last long. She wanted to go out, but once her hands started freezing (she wouldn't let me put gloves on her), we were ready to go back in. I got a few pics of the fun!

Happy New Year!

Christmas!!!

She finally has her baby doll and stroller. Wherever we go, church, someone's house, etc, Kate always heads for the babies and strollers. She's a little momma;)

taking the new bike for a spin;)

Jackson showing Kate what she got.

We had Christmas at our house on the 23rd, because we were going to Lufkin for Christmas eve and day to celebrate with the grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins! I must say, Christmas is so much fun with kids! They get so excited! Jackson kept reminding us that we were celebrating Jesus' birthday! I love that he knows the real meaning of why we do what we do. It reaffirms us as parents we are doing something right;)

I would have had more pictures from the grandparents, but we left the batteries to our camera at home, so I'm counting on other family members' pictures to recapture those sweet moments.

Making Christmas Cookies

Santa's plate
Kate cleaning her mess;)

Every year, I look forward to making Christmas goodies and especially now with my kids! They love it. My plan was for us to decorate cookies for Santa, make a happy birthday Jesus cake, and then yummy peanut butter balls. I only got as far as the cookies, so we'll be celebrating Jesus' birthday again with cake for new years! Maybe this can be a lesson to the kids that we celebrate Jesus everyday of the year:)

Ice

The end of our tour and watching The Grinch movie at the hotel.

Poor Jackson got stuck on the ice slide. We couldn't get him to come down. He just sat there and cried. We finally coaxed him down.

The kids helping me open my birthday presents after church.

So for my birthday, the kids and Justin and I went to see Ice at the Gaylord! So much fun and amazing! We waited a long time in line, but it was well worth it. It was 9 degrees inside, so they gave us all parkas to wear even the kids, which was not the most fun part for the kids. Jackson was hesitant, but he was a good sport and understood he had to wear it to go inside because it was so cold and he would have to wear it to go down the ice slide. Kate on the other hand, did not like the parka. Justin had to hold her down while she was screaming and fighting to take it off just so he could get it on her. Once we got inside, she was okay with it. It was hilarious to see her walk in it because all you could see was this big blue parka, as big as she was, with no legs moving across the floor. She kind of looked like a penguin. Too cute to watch!

The theme was the Grinch and most everything was made out of ice. At the end, they had a nativity scene and an angel that was really incredible.

We ended the evening at one of my favorites, Bucca di beppo! Love it:)

Christmas in Waco

Justin and Jackson watching Lady and Joy
Looking at the Brazos while at the park.

Grandma and the kids.

This past weekend we went to visit my grandmother and have a little Christmas with her. This lady is amazing! She's 79 and seems like she's 30;) I just hope I age as well as she does! She is so sweet to have as many grandchildren and great grandchildren as she does and still have something for all of them for Christmas. After opening presents, we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch (yum!) and then off to Cameron park to play with the kids. We went by Baylor to see the bears and finally made a stop by my aunt and uncle's house to see them and my cousins.

Quick trip, but lots of fun!

Fun Run

Kate had had enough of the cold and was running for the car by the end of the race.
The kids loved seeing the cfa cow, frosty and Santa.

Our warm-up with frosty, the cfa cow and santa's elves.

Freezing and waiting for the race to start.

I'm playing catch up for the month of December, so there will be many more blog entries to follow;)

Every year, since we've been married, Justin and I have always gone to the Neimans Adolphus Parade downtown with and without kids. It's so fun, but this year, for some reason, we decided to run in the Rudolph run in Allen. (They are always the same weekend every year.) Anyway, we decided since we were pushing the kids in the jogging stroller, we should just do the "fun run" which is only a mile. Justin kept taking this "fun run" a little serious. He said he was going to time us and he was determined that we were going to be the first stroller to cross the finish line:/ Keep in mind, it's 28 degrees and the kids are not the most excited about this. Okay, so I keep reminding him it's a fun run and that time doesn't really matter. Lets just finish. Once we got started, I was trailing behind him trying to keep up as he weaved in and out of people for what seemed like forever. If they were in his way, he had no problem going off-road to pass them. Despite my constant reminder that this was supposed to be "fun", Justin thought otherwise. He has quite the "quiet, sneaky competitive spirit" in him.

Once we crossed the finish line, they announced, "our first stroller to cross the finish line". You would have thought Justin had just won a million dollars. He was so excited..................Good times;)

Peek A Boo!

One of Kate and Jackson's favorite games to play in the car with each other and us is "peek a boo" in various ways. Here are some pics on our Thanksgiving trip! You get a little creative in the car after a few hours of being stuck in a carseat:) It's funny when they start giggling under whatever it is they're under and they think they are totally hidden from us. So cute!