Christmas has Come and Gone

The Kids under the tree with Cousin Hailey at Gma/Gpa R's.

Kids with Cousins Abby and Katie, and Braxton at Aunt Diane's.

Caryn, Benjamin, Elizabeth and Alex on Christmas morning.

Caryn woke up with a fever, but was a party trooper.  Ended up sleeping till after 1:00 the day after Christmas though.

Even with not feeling well, Caryn says, "Daddy did you get a picture of me with my lipstick?"

Benjamin opening a "Ben" Thomas train. Notice Caryn took a rest anytime she didn't need to be awake.

Alex with his stack of presents.

Finally, a pillow pet. Dolphin!

It is amazing to watch the kids at Christmas.  How different they all react. 

Benjamin was very patient, but knew exactly when it was his turn to open a present, pointing at himself and making it known that everyone should now watch him. 

Alex was fine with everything, but after Christmas he questioned why Santa brought a few presents because he hadn't even asked for them.  I asked him if he wanted me to take them back, then he was fine with them again. :) 

Poor Caryn picked Christmas morning as the time to catch what everyone else had a few days earlier.  Her sickness turned worse than everyone else's though.  She was determined to have fun even though she felt rotten.

Elizabeth had many questions this year, one being "How does Santa know what everyone else gets you, so he doesn't get the same things?"  Well, dear Elizabeth, seems Santa has no clue since he brought a few things that we received at other gift openings.

It was a fun Christmas and not nearly as exhausting as in past years.  These kids growing up sure makes for more independence and less dependence on Mommy and Daddy, making for a much more enjoyable holiday.

School Days

Been a while since I hooked the camera up to the computer. In fact, probably hadn't downloaded the pics since the last time I was here. There were tons of summer pictures including hundreds from our trip to Disney around 4th of July. Elizabeth's birthday occurred and the kids went back to school. We try to take pictures every year on the first day of school and here's a few plus Elizabeth's birthday cake from Diary Queen.

It was a quick summer and where did the first month of school go?  The kids are getting progress reports sent home next week.

Aunt Sharon's Wedding

Just a few pictures from the big wedding day. We had a great time dancing the night away and outlasted everyone, even the DJ's ;)

Benjamin recognized the "Chicken Dance" right away and headed straight for the dance floor.

Alex had a great day, couldn't pick one moment as the best.

Elizabeth said the best part of the day was: THE MASHED POTATOES!!

Miss Caryn had a special song: "I Got a Feeling!" dedicated to her. It's her birthday today!! 6/13

Little Benjamin was one of the last ones standing.

All the Cousins!

Our new Uncle and Cousin.

Flower Girl Cousin Abby and Ringbearer Alex.

Grandpa B getting ready to give away Aunt Sharon.

Caryn, Alex and Elizabeth helped pass out Wedding Programs.

When I Grow Up...

Yesterday, Elizabeth declared that she wanted to live in our house forever. I asked her why and she quickly responded, "Because then I'll be able to save money to buy as many Webkinz as I want!"



Caryn is getting ready to "graduate" from Kindergarten. She has grown so much this year and is ready for 1st grade. She's practicing a song for her ceremony called, "When I Grow Up..." and she'll be reciting one of the month poems: October. She's been working on it!



We received our first phone call from school today! Seems Mr. Alex got into it with a classmate. Alex was playing with a toy and the other little boy wanted the same toy. Other kid punched Alex in the stomach, Alex bit the other kid in the back. Principal called parents! 3K student lying down for a nap!





Our Poppies are taking over the backyard this year. They are gorgeous! Benjamin has had a great time watering them. Seems he learned how to turn the water faucet on pretty quickly. He's been warned and in timeouts already, so the outside water faucet has been turned back off!

Mom's Away, Let's Have Dessert

Just a few quick pictures as Elizabeth said we needed to take some pictures today. Mommy is gone to NY for a few days, so we're just chilling in the awesome Springtime weather. I also needed to put the date imprint on the bathtub pic, just to prove a bath was given. Daddy and baths don't go together often!

Christmas Family Pictures

Just a few Christmas pictures. Alex had a birthday a week before Christmas and had a Lightning McQueen cake too.