Things That Make You Go Hmmmm... or Laugh Out Loud

Things that make you go hmmmm.....

Maybe it was one too many snow days.... But the kids were getting a little kooky... a not too pretty fairy and a dinosaur/spiderman... You never know what the kids will find playing in the basement!

 Then upstairs came a crazy, neon-pink, cowboy/cheerleader and a red-headed snow white... I was cracking up because this came out of nowhere!

 I didn't think Nicholas made a very attractive cheerleader.... but then after a minute I realized he kind of looked like Amanda in the pink wig.  (Don't get me wrong... Amanda is cute!) We tried to get her to put on the wig for a comparison, but she was laughing too hard!  She wouldn't cooperate with all the crazy dressing up.

 And finally I found these last gems on my phone.... I think they were from the summer....In the middle of Von Maur at the mall, Nicholas was down on one knee proposing to Gabby with a beautiful watch.  Are you kidding me?  The hat and the watch.... where does he come up with this stuff!.

 This is self explanatory.... Amanda hi-jacked my phone... she loves to take selfies and then change my background on my phone's home screen to this... or just her contact photo....

 More Ginger photos....  I told you she got into a lot of trouble...

 And caused a little trouble....

And is this really the correct way to sled down a hill???This looks like an accident waiting to happen... Once again Nicholas was in charge...

 Another selfie... on my phone.... not hers......

These all made me laugh today.  You never know what you will forget you have stored on your phone! Until later....

Ginger's Antics and Decking the Halls

So then it was December....  At the beginning of the month the kids were begging me to adopt an elf on the shelf.  There were rumors swirling around school about the things that these little elves do at all their friend's homes.  If you are not familiar with this elf let me share that, after you adopt an elf, they come to live with you, and each night they report back to the North Pole about your children's behavior.  They are very important assistants for Santa and when they return each day they are in a new spot in the house. The kids in the household are not allowed to touch the elf, or else it will lose it's magical powers.  I come to find out that at some homes these elves leave daily chocolates/candies, surprises, presents, etc. after returning from the North Pole.  (Oh goodness.... what am I getting myself into???)  Well.... we definitely have the room, the elf can't talk back, and it doesn't want for much.... so I decided to adopt a new family member.  It was very easy.  I headed to Target, paid my bill and then the first issue arose.  What to name our girl elf.  After a very complicated everyone-think-of-your-favorite-names-and-then-pull-them-out-of-a-hat.... we settled on Ginger the elf.  Our elf was a little different, she went to the North Pole daily but only after the kids went to school.  She wasn't too keen on leaving presents.... but she sure liked to keep herself busy at our house.  The kids had a great time looking for her everyday as soon as they came home from school!

Here were some of our crazy Ginger's antics..... Taking a bubble bath.....

 She was the master of making snowflakes

 One day the kids came home to find out that the bathroom was out of order..... Oops!

 Did someone say "Breakfast of Champions?" It's true... Elves do have a sweet tooth!

 Leaving a toilet paper trail from the upstairs bathroom....  At least she didn't clog the toilet!

 Ginger had an impromptu Birthday party for Nicholas with all her friends....

 One day the kids found her in Gabby's room reading books about Santa....

 She even built a marshmallow snowman in the pantry one day.....

Ginger was a lot of fun.  The kids will be thrilled when she returns next December.  When they weren't busy looking for her, the kids did many other activities.... like decorating the tree. The kids didn't have school one day, so it was a great opportunity to put on the Christmas music and get in the holiday spirit.

The kids and I love taking out all the ornaments each year.  We reminisce about who made the ornaments, or where we got the ornaments, and which ones are our favorites.

 Just minutes before I took that photo, Nicholas photo bombing....

More photo bombing.... or is he a male cheerleader??

Not such a great photo... he should go back to photo bombing...

 Nah... instead I gave Nick the camera and he captured the 3 of us...

 Now that's more like it.....

 And finally.... a self timer.... after our tree was complete....

Well that takes us through the first week of December.... what's in store next?  Until later..

November Happenings

Lately I find it difficult to find time to blog.  However, when I look back at the older entries I love the stories and pictures.  It's fun to see how life and the family have changed over brief periods of time.  So once again I'm going to try and start blogging.  I forget so much... that I need to write it down.  Before February is upon us let me recap where I left off..... the end of November.

Our family likes to play Jenga.... and Gabby found a unique way to play all by herself.... check out her Minecraft person.  Pretty creative if you ask me!

 Gabby has been really big into writing words lately.  She is especially proud that she can spell all of our names.  Kick is in there for good measure because it sounds so much like "Nick."  I hope she doesn't actually want to kick Nick.

 In November I took on a painting project.  It's never fun to paint.... but it is so nice when the project is complete.  Now our back entry looks refreshed for the time being.  I bought some new rugs, and I have art work to line the walls that I still need to hang one of these days..... A painting Selfie, not my best moment...

 

 Then it was Thanksgiving.... Bradley and Laura hosted.  It was wonderful! Here are some photos I captured during the day...

 This photo made the Christmas card this year...

 My handsome guys...

 Amanda looks almost as tall as her Aunt.... CRAZY! Those two girls are so pretty!

 This picture was actually taken before we arrived at Brad's.  Nicholas got a hold of the whip cream that I was putting on the chocolate pie...

 Just the best photo.... #I'mdyingtheyaresocute

 Ty looks so much like his dad.  I can't believe this little monkey actually sat still for a minute to give me a genuine smile.

 Awesome!

 Cute cousins...

The end of November also brought a lot of tennis tournaments and a lot of tennis practice.  I guess the hard work payed off because Nicholas won his first 12 & under tennis tournament just before turning 10.  He was very excited and we were so proud of him.  The match came down to a 3rd set tie-breaker and it was a nail-biter for the entire match.  Way to go Nick!

The kids had spirit week at school.  This was crazy hair day.  Nick wanted neon green and blue hair.  It was a very interesting look!

Gabby also joined in the fun.  It's hard to see.... but she had purple, blue, and green hair.  She was a colorful rainbow!

They also had hat day.  I thought this photo was cute.

Amanda didn't get to participate in any of the spirit week fun because she goes to a different school.  I was able to get her to pose with Gabby however, she is hatless and her hair is not like a rainbow.  She is just plain cute!

That pretty much sums up the end of November.  There was lots of stuff happening around here in December too.  There was decorating, baking, presents, and a new addition to the family.  Until later...