Windy Spring

I'm sitting here on the couch - it's late, it's dark out, and the wind is howling.  I'm instantly transported back to my hometown where the wind literally blows parked semi's over in the mall parking lot (completely saw that with my Grandma last time we were at Macy's).  Today both my brother and sister posted to their blogs, so I knew that I better get some pictures out here or family would be asking!  This is a good sample of what February was like.

This is a picture of Caleb reading his emails.  He found a stack of thank you cards in a drawer and declared them to be his "emails".  Now he'll periodically get his emails out and shuffle them around.  Last time one of the emails got ripped - if you recieve a crumpled thank you from me in the future, you'll know why.

This is my attempt at getting a cute picture of the kids on Valentines Day.  Alice did not find a morning photoshoot to be agreeable.  However, she makes a cute sad girl - love the outfit.

There's our happy girl!

This was a favorite for last month.  Caleb was missing one Saturday afternoon and I finally found him emptying the dryer - took the intiative on his own!  It was hilarious.  And I love his outfit too - sweatpants? check! crocs? check! lazy day hoodie? check!  It's like he's channeling me on cleaning day.

Picture of Caleb reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  Not really age appropriate.

And here we are sharing Readers Digest with Alice.

I was trying to get a picture of Alice in her tights and she would not oblige.  Instead she threw her hands up and walked away.  She does make me laugh and I did get those tights.

Things I am loving.

Helpful older brothers who put on socks.

Helpful older brothers who find pages of stickers.

Little girls who laugh in the tub.

Big boys who make funny faces.

Siblings who adore each other.

Sharing cheese.

Learning to color...or just rolling crayons off the table.

Sweet little barrettes (thank you Grandma!).

January Pictures

I had a hard time coming up with a title for this post - it's such a picture hodge podge.  It's been a cold January and we're all getting cabin fever.  We go outside to play when we can and when we can't - we stay inside and take pictures of the kids.  Here is Caleb trying on August's sweat band.  I'm still confused as to when August wears this himself.  Caleb gave us his best smile, angry look, blue steel, and pirate grin.

Here are the kids dressed up for the big 49ers game last weekend.  Although the 49ers didn't win, we had a great time watching the game.

Caleb's friend Avery came over for the game...I was asking them to smile for the camera and got both outcomes below.  I think they were tired of me by the second picture.

Sometimes August and I are just tired at night.  Too tired to cook dinner, too tired to do baths, heck sometimes I fall asleep while I'm telling Caleb stories at night.  This past week we decided to have dinner and a movie - the kids loved it.  So did Molly who is getting pets in wherever she can. 

Sweet Alice.  She's mastered walking and currently says "ma-ma", "da-da", "uh-oh", "more", and what sounds like "thanks."  She is a sweet pea.

X-Mas

Happy Holidays!  Whew, this is an overdue post and therefore it's a long one.  I'm warning you, there are a lot of pictures to scroll through.  Overkill? Probably.  Necessary? Absolutely.

We kicked of the Christmas celebrations with August's parents here in KC.  It was a lot of fun having them over to experience Christmas in the new house.  Alice got her first taste of Christmas gifts and Caleb?  Well he's a pro now.

August received a crepe machine!  Not only is it a great gift, but we get to store it in the kitchen!  I'm loving all the space that the new house has to offer.  No more storing kitchen items in the basement!

Our next stop over the Christmas holiday was Wyoming.  We decided to drive this year to save some money and I also think we are into self-torture.  Long gone are the days when August and I can just drive this trip straight through.  We definitely turned what used to be a 12 hour drive into a long 2 day trip.  But it was worth it!  We had a lot of fun stops along the way and the kids were so great in the car.  Honestly by the end of it it was the adults that were "all done".

Our first stop on the way to Wyoming was an amazing children's museum in Lincoln, NE.  Stop there if you are ever passing through.  It's great!

Then it was on to Casper for Christmas.  Here is Caleb posing with the plate of cookies for Santa.

Merry Christmas - your gift is a headlock.

The kids received some really fun gifts!  Caleb got his own chair and an easel.

Alice received a new doll bed with a mini quilt to match the quilt she received from Grandma Kate when she was born.  She loved it and wanted to take a quick nap.

The town of Casper.

We visited one of the museums in Casper that had a train exhibit and stagecoach ride.  Caleb loved it!

After are visit in Casper we traveled to Lander for Christmas round 3 at Bechtel Manor.  We got in tons of cousin time and Caleb and Sam had a blast.  Two peas in a pod!

And we can't forget the girls!  Alice and Anabel were two sweet little peas together.  They definitely have a long road of bonding ahead - much of it likely spent hiding from their rowdy brothers!

Since we've been home we've be having lots of tea parties!  Alice has quickly figured out how to pour tea and stir it.  She's a natural at being a hostess!

However, we're still working on our table manners.  This lady knows how to sling her spaghetti!

But she cleans up well....

And has even conquered her mylar balloon fear!