John's Rockin' Birthday Party

Happy 7th birthday to John! Wow! This guy's gotten so big, Mom and Dad agreed to let him have some friends from school come party with him. He did a good job welcoming his friends and trying to involve them all. So cool!

John has gone giddy over rocks (especially geodes) over the past few months. So we decided an appropriate party theme would be Rocks. We played Rock Relay and even the big kids thought that was fun! Then everyone got to search for their rock candy gift bags. The kids were especially excited for the rock crystal suckers. They thought those were cool! I don't know how the parents reacted when they got the bags home. But it was fun.

John also loved all of his presents, even the rocks! Can you believe it? A kid excited to put a rock on his shelf!? It's awesome! We've had to try to keep Jack away from all of John's new toys...but that's a bit difficult when John's at school. John's been a good sport about it. We've been blessed having him as a member of our family!

Happy Birthday, John!

More Zoo Pics

Okay, so you might say, "Hey, don't you guys do anything but go to the Zoo?" Well, honestly, the winter is a great time to go! There aren't so many people. It's not a million degrees outside. And the animals are TONS more active. Even the kids enjoy it more!

So, put up with a few more pictures and perhaps someday we'll add some different activities. Springtime always brings more days at the park and more fun outside (like shooting).

Jack actually didn't let me take the picture. It's one I had to sneak in while he wasn't looking. But he wanted to ride the alligator! This one looked pretty harmless to me. And Jack insisted I take a picture of the tiger. It had been walking around growling all the time we were walking up the hill to it's cage. As soon as we got to the big window, it sat down. RUDE!

This is the second attempt at getting Joe into his namesake: Turtle. The first one showed him sprawled on the ground on his nose. We didn't realize the shell was sloped slightly down and he slid from end all the way out to the wood chips below. He was a good sport about it, though!

See the two fingers in the background!? It was all I could do not to giggle and set the girls to looking away from the camera. Thanks, Daddy! Those are two cute girls!

And last, but not least, comes John. He had a blast jumping off of the pillars that hold the giant spider web. He thought it was great fun. Who needs fancy and expensive toys? Just get some thick rope, pound some logs into the ground, and you've got a boy's dream playground.

Merry, Merry Christmas

Our Christmas celebration started on Christmas Eve. We had the kids perform their very first nativity. Bekah immediately volunteered to be Mary. Kelsey wanted to be the angel. John was chosen to be the wise man (he argued that there were three...we don't have enough for three people!). And Jack was...riding the rocking horse/donkey. Joe just sat and watched. Ah well.

After that, the kids opened their gifts from Macher. They loved the coloring books, jacket, gloves, and Jack did NOT want to give up his brand new underwear! Not even to let Mommy wash it so he could wear it in the morning. It's the little things that make them excited!

After setting out all of the presents after small people were asleep, Mommy and Daddy were given their first gift from the kids: Joe slept through the night! Ahh...and the rest of the kids didn't get up until 0700. Ahhhh...peace! But the kids got up and got a neat little surprise in the kitchen and then for their stockings (which they opened before breakfast).

Thanks to Grandma Yvonne and Grand Grammy for the dishes on the table. I remember eating out of these when Grammy lived on 1 Horseshoe Lane. I can almost remember the smell of the house and waking up to the early morning fog...but enough of that...thanks for the nostalgia! The kids love the cups and plates too! Thanks for the stocking stuffers too, Grandma Yvonne!

And now...to break things down by kid:

JOHN!!! He loved his race cars, tools, and building set! Oh my goodness. The squealing we got off him from the Criss cross racetrack...joy! Here's to loads of racing and building!

Just look at that kid! Oh, and Great Grams, we loved how John's jammies matched the wrapping paper on his gifts! That was awesome! Thanks a bunch!

Now, KELSEY:

I just realized we don't have as many pictures of Kelsey and her gifts. Crazy! She must have dashed off to play with them before we got any of her. I did get her to pose with her newly decorated jewelry box. Thanks, Grams! This was an awesome idea! She loved designing and decorating stuff to make it her own. And now she's got a place to store some of her new bracelets and necklaces. Thanks so much!

Bekah:

She was the first one dressed in the morning. She couldn't wait to get into her new Christmas dress. And all of the accessories went well with her new dress too! She was so excited about her new jewelry box too! We got it all decorated for her. She did some of the work and Kelsey pitched in to help as well. Thanks for the awesome gifts!

Jack:

He tried opening everyone's gifts. Things just weren't moving fast enough for him. Enough of the one-by-one opening gifts. Let's get things done! But he loves his train and tools. He's been fixing his Tonka truck every chance he can. Thanks so much for the gifts!

Don't touch other's gifts, Jack! "Oh, man!"

And finally, Joe:

We didn't get as many of him because he decided to take a nap most of the way through opening gifts. I guess that's okay since Jack got to open some of Joe's. But it's kinda hard to get pictures of him opening gifts if he's not around. Ah well. First Christmas for Joe! And he got some awesome gifts. Thank you!

Aren't I cute?! And so warm too!

Shawn and I didn't get any pictures of ourselves (go figure!) opening presents, but we feel truly blessed. We had a wonderful Christmas and hope you all had a memorable one as well. In the days to come, we'll try to get pictures of the kids enjoying their new toys even more. Thank you all for your love and support. We love you!

The Strange Things Babies Do

I was cleaning dishes the other day and not paying any attention to what Joe was doing. He was laughing, giggling and hanging onto my pants. Like a good parent, I just assumed he was happy because he was by me. Well, the other kids noticed what he was doing and let me know! We all thought it was funny enough to share with the world. Hope you get a good laugh like we did!

Yup, that's the cabinet hardware. I guess I don't need all those teething toys. I only need lots of Clorox wipes. Ah well. Babies bring lots of joy to our lives. I'm just grateful for Joe.

John's Christmas Joy from School

John had been excited all week about the class party he was going to have on Friday. He helped me shop at the store for just the right candy to make gingerbread houses with his class at school. He loved the rock candy and thought it would be fun to "surprise" his teacher by eating something that looked like a rock.

He was so proud of his creation. When I went to pick him up from school he took forever walking to the van because he wanted to make sure he didn't bump his awesome house. He was so careful! What a good artist and designer. Good work, John!

Zoo Day with Parker!

Ice sculptures at the zoo. When we came back at 1600, there were icicles hanging off the reindeer and the snowflake. Kinda fun! I think they should have put a red LED on the reindeer.

Anyway, we had a great time visiting with the Florida edition of the Tweed family! It was great spending time Parker, Michelle, Stephanie, Allie, and Mom/Dad Jensen! The cousins loved seeing each other too, though I think Jack and Joe may not remember much of Parker. Ah well. Maybe we'll make it to the beach someday when they're bigger and they'll remember more.

As it stands, the kids loved seeing the animals. I didn't hear too many complaints about the cold either. Kelsey didn't like the smell in some of the animal houses. But that's pretty standard with her.

Poor Kelsey could barely handle the giraffe house. She made it through the small animal house better than some times. Poor girl.

Cute babes in arms. It was a miracle Joe fell asleep at the very end. But good times for all! We sure miss you guys already!

This was pretty much Jack's pose the entire time. He is 2 going on 16. He kept arguing about what the names of all the animals were. It wasn't a snow leopard...it was a cheetah.

"No, Mommy! Cheetah!" said Jack.
"Whatever," said Mommy.

Oh, and pictures of Jack were not to be tolerated. He didn't want me taking his picture the entire time. He's got his own ideas and he's definitely a very determined individual. But the kids are enjoying winter! We're looking forward to Christmas! Are you?

It's Santa!

Of all the kids to run up to Santa, it was Kelsey who approached him first. She gave him a big hug but was a little reluctant to speak with him. Ah well. It took a moment for the others to warm up to him. But I was surprised with the youngest two's reactions. Jack wanted nothing to do with the guy in the red suit.

He was more than content to hug the pillar and watch the action from behind it. He did venture out to get a candy cane from Mrs. Claus. Oh well.

But Joe didn't even scream or cry (as most of our other kids have done) upon meeting Santa. Pretty impressive! He did a great job smiling for the camera...even if it was his naptime and he was tired. We were more than happy with his reaction.

John and Bekah were good sports too. Oh, and the antlers were for the Christmas fest the store was throwing for the kids. It was fun to see which kids were excited to get the head gear, and which ones actually wore them. We are sure excited to see the holidays getting nearer.

Merry Christmas!