Deck the Halls

I LOVE Christmas. I love the songs, decorations, cheer, and all the chaos that comes along with it. My neighbor's nine year old daughter told me I was a little creepy because I have 3 Christmas trees! I just can't help it, I love Christmas! Because of that, and the fact that we are traveling for Thanksgiving, I like to enjoy my decorations early. The house seems so cozy and inviting with the tree covered in ornaments and all the lights on. On Sunday, we decided to get a start on the decorating. I had seven little helpers, including several of our neighbors kids. They had a great time, and my tree is VERY heavily decorated, from about 4 feet down! Too cute! I haven't had the heart or the time to re-decorate the bottom, and they think it looks perfect!

On Monday, I took pictures of my niece in front of the tree, and Drew was my helper. He decided that he wanted to be silly with the Santa hat and was SO cute! I had to share his silliness in these photos! I am going to have at least one, probably two, little clowns on my hands! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Deck the Halls!!! Now lets get ready for Thanksgiving!

Homecoming

Last weekend was Ashley's 10 year college reunion at The Citadel. We rented a beach house with 8 other adults and 6 other children. The house was perfect, and there was tons of room to spread out. The kids had a ball playing together! Here are a few photos from the weekend.

Photos

Last weekend we tried desperately to get some good pictures of the boys together. Jack was very cooperative, but the other boys were not. Drew was tired and did not want to have his picture taken. Davis was silly as usual!

Jack's new glasses

Today we picked up Jackson's new glasses. They are so cute, and he said that everything looks big and bright now! I'm so glad that he can see now.

Happy Halloween!

The boys had fun trick-or-treating. Of course, their favorite part was eating candy. We went to a neighbor's house for a great Halloween party. The kids had so much fun, and we adorable in costume! Some of the parents dressed up too! It was great. Here are some highlights...

Davis's Halloween Party

Davis had a Halloween party at school yesterday. The kids put on a show for the parents and preformed 4 songs, dancing away on stage! Davis decided he after the first song that he wanted no part of that, which suprised us all, as his teacher says he is the "star dancer" and LOVES to dance. He has decided to give up his naps, and this is posing a challenge for us all, and he is incredibly cranky! I think this is why he decided not to participate. He did cheer up when he had time to play with his best buddy, Buzz Lightyear. They even got to swing at a pinata. Too cute! The woman in the picture with the boys is Davis's assistant teacher. He adores his teachers!

Free Flying

Davis has always been free spirited. Yesterday, he was cooperative enough to help me out in my photography hobby and let me get some more pictures of him. When we went to the backyard, searching for better light, he found the swing and began to play. I hope that he will always keep his free spirit!

Halloween Bingo

We went to Jackson's school on Tuesday night for Bingo. You buy pizzas and bingo cards from the school for the fundraiser, and then the kids get chances to win prizes. Jackson was so excited and won a football. Davis and Drew tried to play, but their attention span just wasn't long enough. Instead, they took turns running back and forth in the hallway! The kids also had to dress up in costume...this year we have a Panther's Football Player, a Pirate, and a Jester. Drew likes to wear the football helmet, and sometimes even wears it backwards!

The GREAT Pumpkin

Tonight, we had a visit from the Great Pumpkin! The children were so excited to see a basket of goodies on our front doorstep tonight! When I asked them who they thought it was from, they didn't know, but once they saw all the Halloween Goodies, they knew that it was from the Great Pumpkin. Jackson said he must have known where we lived b/c he had visited us last year. They had silly teeth, a pumpkin spider kit, suckers, a cake, book, and much more! Here are some photos and video from tonight. Thank you GREAT Pumpkin!!

Photography

I have been trying out some new techniques and photo editting software today...the boys haven't been so happy to be my subjects, but did bear with me for a little while!

Glasses

We found out last week that Jackson didn't do well on his vision screening at school. We had a follow up appointment at the opthamologist. He was nervous going to the doctor, and said he'd be embarassed to get glasses. Once we were in the waiting room, we wandered next door to the optical center. He got to try on several pairs of glasses while we were waiting, and then quickly changed his mind and said that all he really wanted was for Dr. Fritz to tell him that he needed eye glasses! He did really well at the appointment, and even had his eyes dialated. Dr. Fritz said he definately needs glasses, and has to wear them at school, for homework, and watching tv.

Later that night, we went to Costco to pick out some frames. Jackson looks adorable in the glasses, and the sales clerk at the office told him he looked like a 2nd grader with them on! He was so excited. Drew was dying to try them on too, and was such a ham! Too cute! We can't wait to pick them up later this week! Although you can't tell it from the picture, Jackson is really excited about his new glasses!

Tree

Davis has been doing some cute artwork at pre-school. Here is what he brought home today!

Backyard Camping

Last weekend, the boys camped out with our neighbors for their 3rd annual backyard campout! They had so much fun all afternoon playing outside, helping with the tent, and searching for sticks to use to roast marshmallows on. As usual, their favorite part was making smores. It took a little coaxing to get Jackson to sleep outside, but they made it through the night, and through the cold! It got down to about 40 degrees that night.

Bed Time

It's been a busy few weeks since my last post! We went out of town on a cruise, without the boys, last week. It was a nice vacation with a lot of our friends. B & B'pa were nice enough to come and keep the boys. I know that they all had a great time, but also were so very worn out! I've been told that there's a reason you have kids when you are young, and I believe it!

This week, Ashley's been gone a lot for work, so things have been a little crazy here. We went on a walk tonight, and the boys all rode their bikes. Drew can reach the pedals, but chooses to push the bike along with his feet. Jackson and Davis like to go "off roading" and "mountain biking" down the undeveloped lot next door. They wear their helmets and go flying down the hill. I know it's a matter of time until they get hurt, but they are boys! It's only natural to want to play in the dirt and ride bikes, right? Drew pushed his bike all the way up the hill too, and was upset when I stopped him from riding down with the big boys. He sure wants to keep up!!!

Now, they are ready for bed...and there will be some much needed quiet around here. These are some pictures that I took of the boys wrestling and Drew brushing his teeth. Sweet dreams can't come too soon tonight!

Breathing Treatments

I took Drew back to the doctor yesterday. His croup is better, but the cough and congestion are in his chest now. He has to do breathing treatments 3x a day. He has done them so much, he now wants to be independent and do them on his own! It's too cute to see him hold the mask to his face. Davis thinks it's funny too!