Asher's 1st Day of Kindergarten

August 8, 2011
Asher began his first day of Kindergarten.  He had some reservations about leaving home but afterwards was so excited he said "I had so much fun I can hardly tell you about it."  He really likes his teacher. He said Braxton gave him permission to say "Hi Braxton" whenever he saw him.   Eight days into school after picking up the boys he told me that his favorite part of school that day was that he got to see Braxton in the gym and he said "Hi Braxton".  How cute! Here are a few images from his first day of school.

The Muffin Team

We decided to make some banana nut bread with some old mushy bananas. I was trying to teach the kids that even though they were past the eating stage they were perfect for cooking. Needless to say we had a lot of fun in the kitchen today.

Chocolate and daffodils

February is such a great month from chocolate to some early signs of Spring.
Who could resist these chocolate lips!

It's February

Last year while I was putting together my annual calendar I realized I had taken more pictures of reptiles than my kids. So, this year I decided I would try to change that. It has been pretty cold this Winter so I will need to get the game on when it warms up a bit but here are a few of the boys.
Braxton at age 7 3/4

Asher at age 5 3/4.  In some of the images you can see Asher has a black eye on his right side.  He and his sister had a collision running through the house and that was the final result.  I think it makes him look tough.

Amazing differences

It is amazing how different your kids can be from each other.  When I was looking through some images, this one caught my eye because it shows the differences especially between Braxton and Asher.  Braxton does not have a care about style or how he looks.  It is a major task to get him ready.  Once dressed in his comfy clothes his shirt is usually backwards, shoes untied, etc... Asher on the other hand loves style. He usually  has his clothes picked out, hair combed, accessories included and prefers to be dressed in his best for play or going out.  Tennyson is the happy medium but does like cute outfits and she is still young so time will tell.

Christmas Afternoon

Christmas afternoon was special because my parents came over and we go to see a white Christmas! We had a delicious and easy meal provided by Omaha Steaks. Here are a few images of our fun together.
Mother made this delicious peppermint cheesecake with an Oreo crust..seriously you can't go wrong with it!

One of our favoite gifts from Santa were the NERF Laser Guns.  Adults to our two year old daughter have already learned and enjoyed the game.  Last night we turned out all the lights and divided into teams and had a great time ambushing each other.  Here is my daddy getting in on some action.  If you have never palyed we encourage you to try it sometime! 

Tennyson got some new clothes from our favorite store...Janie and Jack.  She was so excited and as she was opening them she said "let's go dress up."

With two older brothers Tennyson is pretty good at remote controlled items..so this girly version of a my little pony remote car was real exciting for her.

Every year my mother gives all her grandchildren Hallmark oranaments to put on our Christmas tree.  It is a real exciting time each year to unwrap, play and hang them...a fun tradition.

Braxton had outgrown  his coveralls and was super excited to get a new pair to keep hiim warm while palying outside.  He got right to work the next morning cutting trees for a new trail to our bottom pasture. He and his brother organized all the trees they cut by size and have plans to build a house.

And a matching beanie! 

Granddaddy and Asher laughed and laughed as they played with Flarp noise putty...compliments from Santa!

The last time we were visiting San Diego we saw a billboard of 'Asher's Chocolates'...mother and daddy found some and gave them to our lil' chocolate lover.

Mrs. Melanie gave the boys the new Karate Kid movie.  They were so excited and have been dressing up in their Great Uncle Ed's Karate uniform and putting on their own version of karate shows for us.

The kids got new pillows and Tennyson and I were trying it out. They have actually been sleeping better!

A rare pic of me...I am usually behind the camera

Daddy got us a battery tester. A wonderul and much needed gift.

We were blessed to get two new Wii games and controls.  We like to have Family Fun Night and play board games or the Wii. We look forward to trying out Wii Party from my mother and Daddy and Family Game night 3 from Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Mike.  We are always amazed how technologically advanced Braxton is than we are...how they figure stuff out is facinating.

Here are Mother and Daddy looking at their annual calendar

Uncle Mike and Aunt Marilyn came over to celebrate Christmas with us. We had a fun time playing with Christmas gifts and eating French Onion Soup.



Christmas Morning!

This Christmas was so very special with our kids being 7, 5 & 2 years of age.  We enjoyed being together and just relaxing in our PJ's most of the day.  Here are some pictures from the kids opening gifts Chrismas morning...most of them from our CA family....We miss you guys!
Aunt Linda and Aunt Deb got the boys the trilogy of Toy Story...what great movies!

Braxton, Asher & Tennyson got Mark a lighted non-fog shaving mirror.

Great Aunt Vonnette got the kids wooden 3-D puzzles, divided plates, glow sticks, candy and foam builiding sets! The plates have since been used at every meal and the chilly weather prevented their mid-night glow stick hike.

Nana Susan got Braxton & Asher new magformers to add to their collection...one of our favorite toys...it travels with us everywhere.  They build the neatest objects with these magnetic toys.

Their cousin Maddy got Tennyson this Playdough set.  We have never had Playdough before ever but all the kids have really enjoyed it.

Aunt Vonnette gave the kids the foam building sets.  While I was putting Tennyson down for her nap Braxton put his together with SUPER GLUE on our wood floor...yikes!

Mark's mom gave us albums our our visits to CA and TX and large prints for us to frame!

Tennyson was dressing & playing with Oliva (the pig) dress set that Aunt Deb got Tennyson

Here is a copy of my annual calendar that I make for many of our family members that enjoy looking at our kids throughout the year.  It includes monthly information such as birthdays, anniversaries, and other pertinent information for extended family members and close friends. 

Christmas with Brother's Fmaily

My brother and his family invited us and my parents to celebrate Christmas at their home.  We enjoyed a nice chili and chicken dinner with Christmas treats for dessert.  The kids had  SOOO much fun being with their cousins.  Here are a few images from our evening with them.  Lisa makes delicious lemon poppyseed bread everyear and I have been enjoying it all week...Thank you Lisa!
Granddaddy with Piper and Emmie

L-R: Sutton, Piper, Tennyson, Braxton, Emmie, Asher

Grandmommy with Sutton, Emmie & Piper

Sutton shared one of her barbie dolls with Tennyson.  She really liked it.  We have more tractors and cars than dolls at our house. 

The girls gave the boys hot wheels...a big hit!

Piper & Emmie gave me a pop quiz on all the Disney princesses...I really need to learn those!