Snowflakes

check out their different personalities...braden has a pile of trash
nice and neat, and cailey (who is JUST like her mama) has
it all over the place:)

anticipation of seeing the reveal!

great job!

opening it up...

how awesome is that??

Braden, Cailey, and I decided to cut out snowflakes last week and had a great time! I taught them how to do different things (like hearts, diamonds, crosses, squares, etc.) and they must have worked on snowflakes for two hours! We had such a great time just hanging out and making them together. Love you guys!!

20

We've had a COLD couple of weeks around here lately (and I mean MA cold!) The kiddos are definitely not used to it being so cold without snow and have to be reminded to dress warm when we go places. One of the 20 degree days we asked Kinsey to get her coat and shoes on so we could go somewhere. She came in like this....again....it was FREEZING! I told her it was a bit too chilly for flip flops so she went and changed but I just had to get a picture because she was so proud that she had obeyed quickly:)! I'm gonna miss the cold weather!

Viking Boats

Cailey and Braden made these great Viking boats with Brian as one of their History projects. They did a couple other projects as well but I wasn't there to take pictures:).

Once a Year!

we LOVE air hockey!

Once a year (during the weeks that Brian is off in December) we go to Chuckie Cheese's. We usually go as soon as it opens so it won't be crowded but forgot about that this year. (We won't be forgetting that again:). The kids had fun going through their tokens as quickly as they could and then collected another 200+ tickets to add to their running total. Every year they decide they'd rather save them up for something BIG:).

New Year's Eve 2009

baking cinnamon bread!

YUM!

Chinese food for dinner:)

Macy wanted to join in on the UNO game:)

JENGA!

We had a laid back and relaxed New Year's Eve this year. We ended up having a 'jammie day' and never even got dressed! The day was spent watching movies, baking bread, playing games, and just spending time together as a family. We were so blessed to get to spend so much time together while Brian was home! For dinner we had our traditional Chinese food, and spent the evening playing games:).

post op 'tea' party

Our sweet friend, Tricia, had surgery right before Christmas and the kiddos wanted to let her know they were thinking and praying for her. They decided that a great way to do that would be to bring her cards and the makings of a tea party...only with hot chocolate! (They debated bringing her Krispy Kreme too but we never made it over there and were glad because we found out she had homemade muffins already!) Her friend, Karoline, was there too and the kids were excited to see her again. Cailey kept filling up the mini serving teapot and would go around giving everyone more and more...because the cups were just so tiny:). We had a great time laughing...a LOT and felt great after seeing her...knowing that everything went well.

we used my childhood Holly Hobby Tea set and my grandmother's china

sweet ephram kept lovin' on Tricia so we think he 'knew' something
was up. we all love you, tricia! so thankful brian was there too!

Two Musuems: Part 2

After the Science Museum we went across the way to the History Museum for some more fun! We started in the store (I love museum stores) where the kids were actually encouraged to try things on...surprising and fun!

this nut thought it was HILARIOUS that she could touch everything!

they were able to learn about different wars and time periods
through the clothing!

picking out sweet treats!

Next up we headed to the Pirate exhibit which was very interesting for us grown ups and neat for the kids too. They covered all different time periods and the kids were able to correlate different facts with their History (and had fun doing it!)

making their own virtual pirate flags

my silly pirate!

they BEGGED me to take their picture in front of this car..too funny!

After the pirates we went upstairs to see the Native American artifacts and the kids got to mold and shape clay into 'masks' AND sit in a canoe replica that was simply amazing! The kids couldn't believe that you could carve a canoe out of a tree without modern tools.

We walked through the NC Sports hall of fame area (and wondered why Michael Jordan wasn't listed in the basketball area), checked out Barbies throughout the years, and some old cars (LOVE those).

We had no idea the kids would love the museum as much as they did...it was such a fun day together!

most requested...

Chocolate Bombs and Sweet and Sour Meatballs were my two most requested recipes of the season. Since I get the request for those two so often I decided to post them on the blog...enjoy! (Sorry it took so long, G and L!)

Sweet and Sour Meatballs:

1 lb hot bulk pork sausage
1 lb mild bulk pork sausage
1 1/4 c ketchup
1/4 c water
1/4 c firmly packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 15 1/4oz can of pineapple chunks

Combine first two ingredients, mixing well. Shape into 1 inch meatballs. Cook in a large skillet over medium heat until browned, drain off drippings. Combine remaining ingredients; except pineapple, mix well and pour over meatballs. Simmer 10 min, stirring occasionally. Add pineapple and simmer an additional 10 min. stirring often.

Chocolate Bombs:

1 c butter
1 1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 c flour
3/4 c cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 c chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients. Add dry ingred. to set ones, mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Roll into round (ping pong ball sized) balls and roll into sugar. Bake at 325 for 7 min. (I always double it...these freeze great!)

Two Musuems: Part 1

the snakes were VERY active while we were there...
we've never seen them this active before!

they had a cool rainforest area and these snakes reminded us of the
book VERDI. there were at least 10 others in with these guys!

We went to the Science Musuem while Brian was off and had a great time! The kids were really into learning about each animal/exhibit and were super excited when they saw something that they had already learned about. They learned about birds, habitats, other animals, North Carolina facts (like state bird, tree, etc.) ants, trees, different kinds of wood, and more! They even got to sit in on a program about Alligators and boy were they excited to pet it!