NYE

Another year has come and gone. Although Jeff and I would love to stay up and ring in the New Year like we have in the past, it is no longer in us. We decided to celebrate NY style and ring in the new year at 11pm. Unfortunately, our kids had other plans. At 10:59pm, Tyler woke up and stayed up until 2am. Then, Aubrey woke up and 11:45pm and stayed awake until after midnight. I guess our kids wanted us to see the start of 2011 after all! Here's to a great year ahead!!

Lots to be thankful for

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year and we have so much to be thankful for. I am personally thankful for my loving husband, my beautiful children, my wonderful family and my awesome friends. In addition, I am thankful for our health, our home and our happiness. I am blessed for all that I have and wouldn't trade it in for the world.

Each year we alternate the location of our Thanksgiving celebration. This year, it was time to go and visit with my family. Not only are we fed delicious food by my parents, but I also get to spend Black Friday (or the night of) shopping with my sisters and mom. To steal the words from my mom, shopping can be "exhilarating!" We decided this year to begin at 10pm and somehow managed to shop until 7am the next morning. I can honestly say that I haven't pulled an all-nighter since college. But, even though I was completely exhausted the next morning, I wouldn't change a thing. I had a blast.

In addition to eating and shopping, the weekend was filled with family members moving. My brother and his family moved into their beautiful new house. There is some work left to do but it looks great. I can't wait to see it again around Christmas time once they are more settled in. My Aunt Gail and family also moved into a new house. Jeff and I were able to help them with their move. Even though they have a lot of work to do as well to get settled in, I am sure they will be very happy with their new home, too.

Hopefully in the next couple of years we will be moving, too?

Here are a couple of pictures of the girls from the weekend. These two were inseparable. They are best friends now and I can only assume this friendship will build over the years to come. :)

We just celebrated Natalie's 8th birthday with a costume birthday party. Everyone dressed the part and the costumes were amazing. Happy Birthday to Natalie!

Alice in Wonderland

The vampiress, coach and mermaid

Rainbow Brite

Cowboy and Angel

Cleopatra and the monk

Trick or treat!

Aubrey couldn't wait and Tyler had no idea what was in store for him. The evening did not disappoint. Aubrey dressed as a "friendly" witch while Tyler was the loud, roaring dragon. We walked a couple of block around our subdivision and the kids got loads and loads (and loads) of candy. Don't our neighbors realize our kids are too little to eat much candy and it will all really be consumed by Jeff and I? Our kids must be that cute!

The beauty and the fox?

Halloween is almost here, so it's time to carve the pumpkins. We let the kids pick which design they wanted on their pumpkins. Aubrey picked Belle and Tyler (sort of) picked Swiper the Fox. I scooped all of the guts out of the pumpkins with some help from the kids and Jeff etched the designs. Then I carved Belle while he finished Swiper. I think they turned out pretty well. The kids were in full agreement. Not bad for my first rodeo. :)

Which witch?

It was Halloween at Aubrey's school today. Ironically, Aubrey and her BFF, Tenley, both dressed as witches. Aren't they just the cutest little girls????

Bring on the candy

We have a new annual tradition, Labor Day = Keepataw Days parade in Lemont. We went last year and had so much fun, we decided we'd go again. This time, we planned ahead and ordered Turnabout Pizza (yum) for the adults and got McDonald's for kids. All were happy!

The kids were so excited for the parade to start. They each had their candy bags in hand anxiously awaiting the first fire truck to come through. Only thing is, firetruck after firetruck came through...about 6-8 in all! After that came the floats and trucks throwing out candy. Of course, this is what Aubrey was waiting for. Tyler didn't know what was in store for him but he quickly caught on. He surprised us the most by grabbing every morsel that was thrown his way. I actually had to hold the back of his shirt (see below) so that he wouldn't go out into traffic to get it all.

We had a great time and look forward to next year's tradition to continue.

BBQ on the 4th

We wrapped up the fourth of July celebration with a BBQ at Jeff's parents' house. The day was celebrated with food, a jump house, a bags tourney and capped out with fireworks. I am sad to report, there was not three-peat by Uncle Don and I this year in the bags tourney. As usual, fun time had by all!

break time

Aubrey with her sassy cousins, Cecilia and Caitlin

Orion lighted parade

We entered the lighted float parade in Orion for the third year in a row. Dad loves it and is so proud of his grandkids. Let's face, I think we all love it! Here's to many, many more....

the kiddos

our family

Aaron's family

fun before the parade begins

our family (minus Joe and Caleb)

Mom and Dad with the grandkids

sharing a sucker

the older cousins and baby Avery

the truck ready to go

so excited! (this is what it's all about!)

Happy Mother's Day!

Did the Easter Bunny come?

Yes, he did!! Aubrey was the first to awake and head downstairs with me. She immediately saw the Easter baskets full of toys and candy on the bench in the living room. Then she noticed the Easter eggs scattered about. Unfortunately, I told her that she could not look at any of it until Tyler and Daddy woke up. So, an hour later, she was ready. She loved her new purple Ballerina barbie. (Purple is her favorite color, you know.) She was also thrilled the Peeps! However, she didn't have much interest in finding the Easter eggs to start out with. Tyler on the other hand, skipped the basket and started looking for eggs immediately. I'm not sure he really knew what he was doing but rather was just picking up the eggs that were hiding in odd spots. The kids had a blast which meant Jeff and I did, too!

In the afternoon, we headed over to Jeff's parents' house where the Easter Bunny struck again. Well, maybe not the Easter Bunny, but rather Grandma. She's just as generous. The kids loved looking at their baskets and playing with their new toys. We had a great Easter this year!

Coloring the eggs

Easter weekend is here. We originally planned to head back to Orion for the weekend but that fell through. So, we decided to make the most of it and have a fun weekend at home! We started on Saturday by coloring Easter eggs. Aubrey was so excited! I set up all of the cups with the colors and she just dipped away. She may have cracked a few eggs but she loved it. Tyler just sat and watched it all. Maybe next year he'll be able to get in on the fun, too!