Working hard

Connor loves to clean the toilet
Catie loves to clean the mirror
Abbie working hard on her valentine heart during FHE.

Dance party

We had an impromptu dance party tonight! So fun!

Chinese New Year party

Thanks to our awesome friends, the Holders, we had a super fun party tonight! Paige lived in Singapore for 3 years in high school and brought home some mad cooking skills. She made the best eggrolls ever and delicious Mongolian beef. It was seriously so yummy. They also gave the kids traditional red envelopes filled with money, the kids made paper lanterns, colored dragons and got awesome chinese candy as prizes. Of course there had to be a few competitions as with any get together with the holders. The game of choice: chopstick peanut relay. It was intense but Curtis won. We also competed in tangrams - boy those were tricky but fun! Thanks for an AWESOME party Curtis and Paige - here's to the year of the Rabbit!

Clean out!

I spent the day cleaning out drawers, closets and the attic. I took a car load to Goodwill and I have to figure out how to get all of these boxes to sisters and sister in law in Utah. I am afraid to see how much shipping is going to be!

This boy is in heaven

when he is outside playing football with the neighbor boys.
drawing out the play on his hand - love it


touchdown!

Piano playing Abbie

Abbie started piano a few weeks ago and she is doing great! She is so excited to practice every day and loves Wednesdays - because it is piano lesson day. Sister Walker is the best piano teacher around - of course she has also been Abbie's preschool teacher and primary teacher - we just love her (and the fact that she comes to our house to teach the kids!).

Kissing Catie

Catie loves to make my lips look like a platypus and then give me a kiss. Abbie tried to get a good picture but this is what we got. I love this crazy little girl.

Plan B

Unfortunately plan A didn't work out for Family Home Evening tonight. We went to the aquatic center, enjoyed a great free meal, got everyone into their swim suits and were just about to jump in the water when we found out they were closing the pool due to vomit in the pool. Yuck. We were bummed that our efforts were in vain. Plan B was getting shakes on the way home and having a rematch from last week's pictionary game. It was a close game but the boys won tonight.

Pretty princess

We pulled the dress up bin out today - (it has been put away for a long time) and Catie was in heaven. I am sure today is the beginning of a beautiful friendship for her and princess dresses. She already has one set out to wear tomorrow - she tried to wear it to bed tonight - oh boy!

Popcorn central

Sydney worked on her science fair project today and popped 6 bags of popcorn. She counted how many popped kernals and unpopped kernals in each bag. She is trying to find out which brand of popcorn has the least amount of unpopped kernals.

and - I ran 10 MILES today! That is huge for me - by far the furthest I have ever run. I am running in a 1/2 marathon next month and I am making progress

Catie's hands

Catie figured out today how to trace her hands - she was ecstatic and it kept her busy for quite a while this morning. It is so exciting to watch your kids master even the little things.

Silly kids

We went to Discovery Place Kids today with some friends and had lots of fun. Silly Connor and Calla climbed in this part of a fun building toy.

Dress-up

Connor wanted to put on this dress up tonight - does the soccer whistle somehow cancel out the pink tutu?

Cub Scouts at WCNC

We took the cub scouts on a tour of our local NBC affiliate and the boys had a great time.
Future sports anchors Spencer, Derek and Devan

Fish face Catie

Pictionary

FHE activity - Pictionary Junior

Go?

All packed up with no place to go...

NASCAR Hall of Fame

We took advantage of a free open house and visited the newly opened NASCAR hall of fame - we do live in NASCAR country ya know...

Brotherly love

So cute.

Snow day #3 - crafting

Abbie with her awesome tissue paper butterfly

Snow Day #2 - ICE

Abbie played in the ice and was so excited to show me this H made of ice on the table outside.
Sydney and I cooked all afternoon - homemade rolls, cinnamon rolls, and creamy chicken noodle soup.

Snow day #1

The girls had a great time playing out in the snow. Spencer went sledding with the neighbors all day and had a great day. Abbie spent lots of time making a fort and a mini Mt. Everest (since the snow wouldn't pack well enough to make a snowman)

Baby kisses

Date night

We had an awesome date tonight - new running shoes and Harry Potter #7

and a great friend who babysat for us. Thanks Colby!

Busy girls

Abbie's anemometer

Say cheese

This little Connor is so funny. He moved a chair, got into the fridge and helped himself to a big chunk of cheese and I mean a BIG chuck of cheese. This is only the very last of it. He is so independent and keeps me on my toes and this made me laugh out loud,

It's time...

to take the tree down. The poor thing has taken a beating, been redecorated countless times and is as dry as a bone. I love having a real tree for Christmas!

Connor's posse

All of these lovely things sleep with Connor every night. His Mickey Mouse, TiggerPooh (that is what he calls it), Lamby, bear and baby doll. I try and sneak at least one out of his crib every day but he always notices and it ends up finding it's way back in.

My favorite part of Christmas

is getting Christmas cards in the mail from our favorite people and hanging them on the door - it makes me smile every time I look at it.