Daddy's Home!

Daddy took a rare business trip and we were on our own for 5 sleeps. (That's how we count days in this house.  How many times do I have to go to bed until the event I'm looking forward to?)  When he returned I decided we would surprise him inside the airport instead of just picking him up in the car.  The kids missed their Daddy :)

Camping!

Hunter's been begging to go camping.  We haven't been since last March.  We finally got a group together and made it happen.  Heath and Hunter went out Friday and did boy stuff and camped with some others.  Saturday Peyton and I and the rest of the families with kids joined everyone.  Saturday night we had a total of 14 adults and 5 children camping.  We had perfect weather and the campground was pretty empty so the kids were able to ride freely on their bikes.  These kids are just getting so big.  They entertain themselves so easily when they're together and they just love the camping experience.

We spent a good part of Saturday afternoon at the playground.

They climbed trees.

We cooked hotdogs for the kids over the campfire.  Then we had homemade Gumbo and Chili for the adults.

The next morning we made pancakes and bacon for everyone.

We hit the playground one last time in our jammies while the boys packed everything up.

(Peyton is missing because she didn't actually sleep at the campsite Saturday night.  I'm not quite ready for that. :)

Hunter is already ready to go again :)

It's brag on Hunter time....

I have to brag about Hunter for a bit so beware.  This morning he had gotten up and was watching TV while Heath and I were still laying in bed.  Peyton was awake in her crib and starting to holler to get out.  Hunter came into our room and asked if he could go to Peyton's room so I said yes.  We watched the video monitor to see what would happen.  Hunter turned the light on and the sound machine off and then went over to say hi to Peyton.  She asked him to get into her bed so he happily climbed in.  Then he read books to her.  It was one of the sweetest moments I've seen between the two of them.  Completely melted my heart.

Friday was parent/teacher conference day at school.  It's a time for the teacher to report to the parents on how they're doing in school now that we've reached the halfway point.  They also recommend whether your child is ready for Kindergarten.  Heath and I were both able to go and meet with his teacher (who I just LOVE).  She had nothing, but amazing things to say about Hunter.  She said he's a very spirited child who is full of joy.  He loves his friends, plays with everyone and is well liked by everyone.  He respects authority.  He is a LEADER.  He aced all of the assessment tests and is definitely ready for 'the big school'.  She told us we were doing an amazing job in raising him and said she was so thankful to be able to teach him and have him in her class.  And yes, I needed a tissue after all of that.  If that isn't validation of what we're trying to do as parents I don't know what is.  Is was just so nice to hear.

Happy New Year!

Finally blogging about 2012!  Well, I guess this is technically the last day of 2011, but it ended ringing in 2012.  Our awesome neighbors had a party.  Marcie is an amazing party thrower.  Her food and displays are always so impressive.

(All pictures are dark, grainy, and courtesy of the iPhone)

This was the champagne bar.  You could add a little flavored juice and some fresh fruit.  It was delish.

Lots of yummy food.

I told you it was good....

Friends

Some of our best friends moved away last summer.  Thankfully they still have family here so they have to visit.  We were thankful to get our three families together while they were here and catch up.  The kids didn't skip a beat.  They had a great time together.

For some reason, Christmas get togethers with this group always involve costumes!

TWO WHEELS!

Hunter spent the night at Grandma's with his two older cousins a couple days before Christmas.  When we saw him the next day he came over and said he had something to show us.  He hopped on this bike (with no training wheels) and got a little push from Ashton and off he went.....riding a bike on two wheels!  He hasn't looked back.  He's only been doing it a couple weeks and has no fear.

Christmas 2011: Grandma and Grandpa's House

My mom had one final gift for the kids, but they had to open it outside.  I had no idea what it was.

A box of packing peanuts?  They started digging....

DOLLARS!

They had fun :)

Christmas 2011: Our House

Our kids had SIX Christmases this year.  That's SIX places where they received gifts over the span of four days.  I decided that I was going to enjoy Christmas this year without the stress of constantly taking pictures.  I ended up taking pictures at only two of the six events.  And even then not very many....as you'll see.  (We do have video though.) So, here's our house on Christmas morning.

Peyton was very into ripping the wrapping paper off this year.  She got to the point where she didn't even care what was in the box. She just wanted to take the paper off.

We hid the kids' stockings this year.  Hunter found them in the bath tub.