Christmas 2013

We had a wonderful time in Palatine at Christmas.  We got to spend 6 days having fun with Granny and Grandpa and the Chernesky's and Burke's (and we got to see and play in the SNOW!).  We also enjoyed new traditions (Chippy the giving elf!) getting ready for Christmas and the time off of school and work once we returned from our trip (during which Treehouse Masters became our new favorite show).  For more photos, click on the one below.

Megan is 5!

How did this happen??  Our little girl is 5?!

She's still as sweet as ever, giving hugs and kisses at just the right time.  She loves to play with her brother, can be very independent, enjoys Taekwondo, and loves to sing along with the radio in the back of our car.

She had three birthday celebrations this year: one with Granny and Grandpa and the Shripka's, one with Jeff, Tyler, and me, and a Team Umizoomi birthday party with her friends.  All were a lot of fun.  For more photos, click on the photo above.

Thanksgiving 2013

We had a wonderful time at Thanksgiving as the Shripka's and Granny and Grandpa all made the trip out to see us.  The kids loved being together, spending time making inventions, posting diagrams of them all the way up our stairs, seeing Longhorns, shooting a bow, launching rockets, climbing on our wall, playing football, and swimming in a pool that was still a little bit too cold.  We had a lot of fun and are so thankful that everyone made the trip.

For more photos, click on the photo below.

Visit to the Houston Children's Museum

A few weeks ago the kids and I visited one of the best Childrens' Museums that I've ever been to; it was full of opportunities to create, learn and play.  And, since it was before Halloween, we got to trick-or-treat through the museum.  I hope we'll get to go back soon.

For more photos, click here: https://plus.google.com/photos/111368886757968637183/albums/5947111196833177921?banner=pwa

Halloween 2013

This year the kids both requested costumes that aren't available in stores, so I got the opportunity to get creative and make them (thank goodness for the internet!).  Tyler was Steve from Minecraft and Megan was Milli from Nick Jr.'s Team Umizoomi.

We spent Halloween night having dinner at our friends' house and then driving around the neighborhood for trick-or-treating (we're still getting used to this new form of trick-or-treating; you mainly see groups riding in hayrides or in the back of pick-up trucks).  It was a lot of fun!

For several more photos from the pumpkin carving, TKD Halloween party, and trick-or-treating, click here: https://plus.google.com/photos/111368886757968637183/albums/5947107803117582177?banner=pwa

Our first trip to the drive-in!

A few weeks ago we spent a family night at the drive-in watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Gravity.  It was a lot of fun and a great deal!  We look forward to going back soon.

Happy 8th Birthday, Ty!

8???? How is this sweet little boy of ours already 8?? He's still as caring, outgoing, and funny as ever, but with more confidence and even more awareness of how people are feeling around him. He makes us laugh in one way or another each day and we are so proud of him. As is traditional with his birthday falling right after a holiday weekend, we celebrated his birthday all week. This year he wanted a Minecraft theme so I did the best I could (although I still don't completely understand the game). On Tuesday he had the traditional birthday donut and present opening in the morning and that evening he had his TKD graduation (just by chance) and he got to do a birthday run through everyone in the class and we all went out to dinner.

On Saturday, we had his first out-of-the-house birthday party at TKD, with 15 of his classmates (from school and TKD) attending. They had a lot of fun learning TKD, self defense, and breaking boards (all while defeating Minecraft spiders and creepers at the same time).  Keeping with the martial arts tradition (which I just learned about), each child had to tell Tyler something that they liked about him when they gave him a gift.  I've never seen that done before, but it added something special to the time.  Mr. Cox did a great job with the party and I think everyone really enjoyed themselves.

For more pics from his birthday, click on the photo below. Since some of the activities require some explanation I added captions to many of them. Enjoy!