Sunday, February 14, 2016

Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head

Lots of laughs. We made videos of each kid like this -- they are hilarious. I remember doing this in about 5th grade or so. Here are some still shots from the videos! :)







Thursday, February 11, 2016

JUMP Dance Convention / Competition

I can say, truthfully, that this girl loves to perform.





friends during class: Lainey and Ava

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And in case anyone is wondering, she danced even after she got home. Both days. I would have been exhausted!


Monday, January 25, 2016

January...

Sorry for my lack of blog posts! Here are a few pictures of what we've been up to lately...

Lainey went to a birthday party at Great Wolf Lodge. It was awesome. I didn't stay, but the girls had an absolute blast.



Lainey and Walker discovered our dry-cleaning bin. It's like a fun-house mirror. :) Everything looks longer in the bin...like Lainey's fingers.

She thought it was hilarious. Not kidding. Both kids were entertained for a solid fifteen minutes. Walker discovered that other parts of his body looked long. :-/


Some of my very favorite people. :) I love all of them.

Walker's cute class made "moons" at their tables! And he no longer likes peanut butter because it sticks in his teeth. And he has anxiety about going #2 at school. Always something with that sweet boy. But it's okay. It's all about perspective. :) 

And, the kids have had several "snowball fights" in our house. It's hilarious. Another activity that occupies them for quite some time! :) Basically,.. Lainey is great at inventing games and activities and can almost always create something out of nothing. She's your girl if you have a "bored" child...she is much better at entertaining herself than Walker. :) Which is why we miss her when she's not home... ;)

Monday, January 11, 2016

2016!

Happy New Year! From Lainey. Mid-flip. New Year's Eve Day.

Lainey's first sleepover birthday party was at Morgan's house, just after Christmas. 

They had a blast. Lainey got a whopping 5-1/2 hours of sleep and was a disaster the next day. But she had a wonderful time.

being flexible

Walker and Ben attended the NCAA Division I championship game on Saturday. It was COLD. Walker wore a sweatshirt on top of his long-sleeved shirt. Ben and I consider that a win in the jacket battle. ;) North Dakota State beat Jacksonville State and the boys stayed the WHOLE time. Amazingly!

Hope everyone's year is off to a great start! :)

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Weeks 50, 51, and 52

Clearly I don't have very good math skills. Somehow, with less than a week till New Year's, I have three remaining weeks of "weekly posts" to do. Oh well! Sorry, kids - but here are your last few posts before 2016!

Lainey // You like to talk. And you like to show me things. You like to explain what you're doing all the time to everyone. :) When explaining something to me, you start your sentence with "All I do is..." and then you just talk. I tend to feel bad when I can't always stop what I'm doing to watch you or listen to you. I hope you can forgive me one day. You love being with your friends, dancing, doing gymnastics, jumping on the trampoline, playing with dolls, holding your dog, and creating things. You love your family members, your teachers, and your brother. You're confident, but you can be awfully shy at times. You are still slightly clumsy... You tend to trip and fall and spill and break things. :) As long as you're safe, a little spill is nothing we can't handle. :) You naturally tend to look at the bright side of things. Except when you're tired. Then you're not so positive. :) You have a tendency to make some poor choices every now and then...and because of that, I realize you have a long way to go before I can trust you in certain situations. But, that's what growing up is all about. You will learn to think through decisions and you will learn to make choices based on what you should do, even if it conflicts with what you want to do. We love you so much, Lainey. Continue to be YOU and believe in yourself. You will do great things in life!

Walker // You're a sensitive one. You have a severe reaction to blood (screaming, crying, hysterical) and you still don't like to get messy (hands, bottom, nose, body, etc.). The only exception to this is when you are playing football with friends...you seem to be okay with getting a little dirt on your pants. :) We often laugh at your growing obsession with sports. All sports, but especially football. You will throw the ball with anyone who is willing, but you LOVE to play the game outside with the "big boys." :) You ask a ton of questions, you love to watch it on TV, you want to know the names of all the teams and which teams we cheer for, and you are often curious about who won a particular game and what the final score was. It will be pretty sad for all of us when football season is over. ;) You are still a bit hard to read sometimes...and you take time to warm up to social situations. We can't just throw you into a room and expect you to be talkative and outgoing. Even with people you know and love. You're pretty reserved for the first ten minutes or so...then you start to open up a bit. :) You are smart, a great listener (and responder), and you hate being in trouble. We love you so much, Walker. You've grown a lot in 2015. Can't wait to see what 2016 has in store for you! :)

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Christmas Cheer 2015

We had a wonderful Christmas. We hope you all did, too! :)

First...a sweet picture of my amazing co-teacher (Stacey) and our sweet Camryn. This was taken the last day of school, before our winter break. We've been blessed with the most amazing group of parents and kids...truly, we are so lucky! 

Lainey and her cute teacher, Mrs. Bennett at the school-wide holiday party on Friday, December 18th. :)

Supporting our friends in The Nutcracker - a fun tradition for Lainey and me!

My really, really poor attempt at a gingerbread house...not so much like the picture. :(

at the restaurant Raising Canes


cousins on Christmas Eve

Basically, this is what Walker looks like these days. A short- or long-sleeved t-shirt, athletic shorts/pants, blue tennis shoes, and a football of some sort in his hands. 

A little Christmas morning chaos. :)

Pretty sure our kids wore the same pajamas last Christmas morning. ;) 



Lainey got the American Girl Doll Julie and her bed from Santa. AND! A beanbag chair for her doll. ;)

one of Walker's fun new toys


This picture was taken just as the kids were opening games for the PlayStation 4... "Just Dance" and "Minecraft." We finally caved and got them games for the gaming device. They have been really good and respectful thus far; hopefully it continues!

so happy

One of Walker's favorite new things...a Dallas Cowboys helmet. A gift from Santa!




That's a LOT of stuff!

mostly dolls and doll-related things

mostly football and Angry Birds-related things



sweet cousins at Yiyia and Bud's house

Walker and his cousin, Collin

Why not. Walker tries to tackle everyone these days.

Cally and Kate :)






so happy

And...for Christmas #3. Emmy and Tuck's house. :)

Uncle Matt, Sofi, and Lainey

Legos!

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Merry Christmas to all! :)