Christmas Tradition #3

Donald's mom, Evelyn, is so sweet. She does almost every holiday on the wrong day so that all 5 of her her kids can be there! So, here are the pics of our December 29th Christmas!

Football Mania-

Jack, Curtis, Trent, Donald & Ethan. Check Jack out!

Lily Kate & Keaton-
you can tell they have had their pictures taken a time or two..
Donald's parents + siblings + their spouses
= all of these cute kiddos (2 of them now have spouses of their own)

My New Year's resolution...

Post Christmas pictures BEFORE New Year's... Check!

Christmas Tradition #1: Every Christmas Eve we eat out (IHOP) & go see a movie. We saw National Treasure this year. I've heard several people say that they didn't like this one as much as the first- but we loved it. We like anything we see on Christmas Eve!

We then go home and open up our Christmas Eve pajamas...

Christmas morning-Lily & her way too big Barbie house.

.
Christmas Tradition #2: Go eat with Bubba & Nana (my parents) & then open presents with the cousins. Nana scored big with the I-Coaster for Jack!

My Romo- obsessed family!

E-Man & Ben-Ben (how much longer until he hates this nickname?)

All in the family

The top pictures are of Donald's sister, Sheryl, & her family. We took them while we were together for Christmas this past weekend. The bottom 2 are of D's brother, Darryl, & his family. I took these over Thanksgiving- it was raining and absolutely freezing! The only place to take them was inside a barn- with no light. Not the best set-up, but the 4 of them looked great!

My budding photographer...

I was going through my pictures of the day & thought I would post the pictures that Lily Kate took. She has decided that she is going to be a photographer when she grows up. I got her a photographer Barbie for Christmas (so cute!). She always wants to take a picture with my camera- they are pretty good! Okay, so she cut off the top of my dad's head. Give her a break- she's 4!
I will post my big Christmas post later- I am one tired mama tonight. I hope you all (my 3 readers) had a wonderful day! Love ya!

'twas the night before the night before Christmas...

I realize I have gone collage happy lately- but I do not want to bore you with a dozen pictures to scroll through. Tonight was our traditional "make cookies for Santa" night. We had so much fun! They are so serious and detailed in the beginning- then after a while they just slap whatever on there. They created a "Patrick" from Spongebob, a gingerbread man that got "beat up" & "Gingi" from Shrek (complete with a candy cane). But my favorite had to be Donald's masterpiece- he made me! See if you can figure out which one it is from the above. Hope your pre-holiday fun is just as great!!! I can't wait to read all of your Christmas posts. Until then...

HaPPy 10th BiRTHDaY eTHaN !!!

Okay- so, yesterday was completely CRAZY!!! Ethan, Jack & Lily Kate's Christmas parties were ALL from 11:00-12:00. I was "the party planner" for E's class which meant that I had to get all of the paper goods, craft supplies, Chicken Express for 14, etc to the school before hand. It was Jack's teacher's (that I adore) last day to have Jack (she's going to another school in Jan.- how mean of her!) So, I wanted to have a little quality time with her (that, of course, did not happen). And on to my Lily- she's 4- parties are a HUGE deal when you're 4. I did not want to miss a minute of her party. To top if off- they put on the most adorable program for us!

So, I drove between 2 schools... visited a little... took too many pictures ... ate brunch with Lily's class... carted two "sugared- up" 4 year olds (& all of their loot) to the next party... checked to see that they had all that they needed in Ethan's class... took more pictures...hugged our beloved Mrs. Lisle... left with 3 more children (& all of their loot) all between 11:00-12:00!

Next stop- Holiday in the Park at Six Flags...

Luckily, we had the most gorgeous December weather EVER yesterday! TODAY IS ETHAN'S 10th BIRTHDAY! So, we let him invite a friend to spend the day with us at Six Flags. We had the best time! My parents + Laura, Travis & Reese partied with us, too. The "men" rode the Titan twice. Lily rode anything she was tall enough for. Jack decided he did not need to wait in line to meet Santa. "Why?", he said. It broke my heart. *Side note- I did not post the picture of Lily sitting in Santa's lap- he was quite creepy.

Now- on to today. It was fun to celebrate Ethan's birthday on his actual birthday. We never do. It makes me sad that he was born so close to Christmas. All of his fun for the year all in within 3 days. I have always let him have a party on Nov. 22nd. But he decided he would rather just take a friend to Six Flags and spend the night. Plus, he got a better than usual birthday gift b/c I did not have to spend $ on a party. He now has an I pod nano. This may turn out to be our best investment ever. That boy will do anything to buy another song. Sorry- I am beginning to ramble. Where was I?

Back to Ethan- he's 10. I now have a child in the double digits. I am not sure we are ready for what lies ahead. I can not believe Donald & I have been parents for a whole decade. Crazy, crazy!!! He is so precious. He makes me so proud to be his mom. Happy Birthday, E-Man!

Ethan got his nano, $, under armor, a gift card, Wii sing-a-long, a cross necklace, cool shirts, 2 guitar books...

I am not blessed as a baker- So, I did what I do best- I ordered the best Oreo ice cream cake from Cold Stone.

His birthday pictures were hilarious- he is such a ham! Hmmm- I wonder where he gets that from?

What I like about this time of year...

Angel tree presents * Brothers being nice to each other because "santa is watching" * Christmas cards * Donald is "cuddly" shirts, Decorating * Entertaining (and being entertained) * Frost outside (when I don't have to go anywhere) * Going to the movies with the kids (Alvin & the Chipmunks- here we come!) * Hot coffee, Hiding presents * Interesting Christmas letters from friends * Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!!! * Kids making beautiful treasures (crafts) at school * Looking for presents, Lights everywhere! * My trees- I love my trees! We have 2. 1 that is our "fancy" tree & 1 that we let the kids have full creative control over- it's actually the best one! * Not going to school for (almost) 3 weeks * Opening presents (I am just being honest) and then re-wrapping them. I have no patience! * Pictures (of course) * Quick trips down memory lane every time I put out a Christmas decoration, an ornament on the tree, or address a card * Running to the mailbox to see whose Christmas card we got in the mail today * SHOPPING!!! * Time with family- yes, I actually LOVE this! * Usually eating too much * Very loud Christmas music ( I love to blare the Christmas station while the kids are at school and I am at home cleaning- who am I kidding- while I am at home on the computer editing) * Watching my kids flip out when toy commercials come on t.v. * eXcited kids- "how many more days? how many more days?" * Yelling at my kids to quit eating all of the candy canes off the tree * Z (who can ever think of a "Z" word when you need one)

Too much Thanksgiving (in a good way)

It was freezing... it rained- we played too many hours of Guitar Hero III, we ate too much and the girls took too many bubble baths. It was too much fun!