One Last Catch Up Post, For Posterity's Sake

At the beginning of November, we celebrated my MIL's birthday.

She did not turn 510.  We just didn't have a 6 so we put a five and a one on to equal a 6. ;)

 My FIL surprised her by flying my SIL Stephanie in for a visit.

It was so great to see Steph.  We miss her and her family so much!  It is always a treat when we get to spend time with any of them.

 The next weekend, Trent went pheasant hunting with his dad, brother, and friends.  My hubby is so weird.  I sure love him though. :)

They had a great time!

 We celebrated Thanksgiving at Trent's parents this year.

 Preston reverted back to being a baby when we pulled the high chair out of storage for Jilly.  He sat in it more than she did. ;)

Sean and Dustin digging in on the dessert.

 The weekend after Thanksgiving, we met up with my aunt Ila, uncle David, cousins Heather and Tiffany, and their kiddos.  It was great to see all of them and catch up.

 Vivi and her friend Brookie had a dance recital the first weekend of December.  They did amazing!  They're such good little dancers.

 After the show.

Our friend Kristie came and was so nice to bring Vivi flowers.

We had quite a cold snap at the beginning of December.  Jilly stayed warm though!

 The next weekend, the girls all went to see the Nutcracker.

 We headed downtown early so we could stop and get some lunch.

This is Vivi's second time seeing the Nutcracker.

It was so fun to have the grandmas with us.  Vivi loved every minute of it.

 We had some fun creating some static electricity with a balloon.

Preston has been telling me he wants his hair spiky.  I think we might need to take a few inches off first though. ;)

The boys had a fun time showing us their light saber show they had been practicing in the basement.  It looked pretty awesome with all of the lights off.

I went in to the girls' room the other day to lay Jilly down for a nap and found this list of to do's on Vivi's magnet board.  Vivi is a girl that likes to have a plan, and she likes to get things checked off her list.  She cracks me up!  I've mentioned before on this blog what a planner my Viv is.  I love that girl.

The other night when Trent and I went up to bed, we found this note taped up on the headboard of our bed.  All of our kids pitched in to write it for us.  What a bunch of sweethearts!

There you have it.  I am now officially caught up! YAY!

Catch Up Time

Oh heavens... It has been forever since I have done an update!  And there have been so many things I haven't blogged about!  So this is going to be one heck-of-a catch up post.  There are things I need to get recorded before the year is over!

First of all, way back in August, the kids started school.

 Colson (with his best bud Jared) is in 5th grade this year.  I can't believe he only has 1 more year until middle school!

 Vivi (with her bff Ashlynne) is in 1st grade.

Preston is in his second year of preschool with Miss Jen.  He's off to Kindergarten next year!  Good thing we had another baby so I don't have to be home alone during the day quite yet.

And the totally space cadet mother that I am lately, I didn't even get a picture of Trenton this year.  Hopefully my brain will be in better shape for next year.  He started 7th grade.

Back in September we celebrated Vivi's and my mom's birthdays.  Vivi turned 7 this year!

 I just love and adore this girl.  I would be totally lost without her.  (Love, love, love Trenton's face in this picture.)

It was a good birthday. :)

And of course, the beloved balloon launch.  This picture makes me miss my green grass and trees.

Also to celebrate the birthdays, us girls all went out to lunch and shopping on a Saturday.  Vivi had gotten some Charming Charlie gift cards for her birthday.  That girl loves to shop!  She must have gotten than gene from Trent's mom and sister; she surely didn't get it from me.  Look at the gorgeous flowers!  Sigh, I miss my flower garden.

In September, we also participated in a family scavenger hunt that some super fun ladies put together.

We had to get a picture of all of us on a slide together.  (Preston hadn't quite gotten into the spirit of things yet and wouldn't join in the picture.)

For bonus points, the boys all climbed the big rock.

Next up, we had to spell the word "love" as a family.  Again, Preston not shown.  He gets a little camera shy sometimes.  The boys look a little more like an "a" than an "o",  but we did our best.  And what is up with my back?  I look like a hunchback!  I better work on my posture.

 The next challenge was to use our hands and feet to write our family name in chalk.  This was Preston's favorite and he was finally ready to participate in all the fun.

Next up, a picture with a buffalo.  And yes, Jilly is hanging by the horn in her car seat.  Trenton wasn't entirely comfortable with this situation though, so he dubbed himself the spotter.

 Luckily we had our stroller in the back of the car for this one.  We had to hike into the reservoir to get a fish-lip picture with the fish.

The final challenge: stop by Chick-Fil-A to get ice cream for everyone and a picture with the cow.  I think this was the favorite.  Not necessarily because of the ice cream, but because of the cow.  As I have mentioned before on this blog, my kids love the Chick-Fil-A cow.  Being the cow is Colson's dream job. :)  This was one of the funnest Family Home Evenings we have ever had.

Also in September, Jilly had her first taste of a lollypop.

She LOVED it!  Shocker, I know.

She also had cereal for the first time, which she loved.  Just a word of advice, never come between this girl and her food.

The words on her bib... totally true. This girl LOVES her daddy.

That's all for now.  I have to download more pictures, then there will be more to come. ;)