playing around

Apparently squishing Pappy should be made a new past time with the amount of fun Elizabeth and Gamma had...

pre-Christmas

The day before we left to go down to my Mom and Dad's for Christmas we decided to let the kids have a pre-Christmas present opening thanks to Nana and Papa Marlin. They got to open their gifts when they woke up and were able to play with their new toys. Thank you Nana and Papa for all of the wonderful things. The trucks have not left AJ's side since he opened them and Elizabeth loves her new Leapster.

afternoon craft

Ok - time to catch up on my blogging. As we all know, the holidays are chock full of goodies and treats so keeping in the spirit we decided to have Elizabeth make a Rice Krispies house in the afternoon while the boys were napping. Daddy got in on some of the decorating fun and helped out too. As you can tell in the last picture, Jacob woke up and was certainly intrigued by what Elizabeth had made.

little helper

So, I know I have been a bad blogger over this past week. I'm sure the excuses of getting ready for Christmas, editing pictures from photo shoots, chasing kids around , taking care of the house, and all of the other things that I do just would cut it for some of you out there. I mean, there are 24 hours in a day - really, why can't I find the time to sit down and post? Well, for those of you that think I have been slacking, I would like to give you a little taste of the "help" that I get through out the day. Jacob is infatuated with the dishwasher and the remote control. Well, tonight he decided to combine his loves as he stole the remote from the other kids and headed straight into the dishwasher while I was trying to clean the kitchen up from dinner. Needless to say, this then resulted in AJ screaming that "Ackey has the mote," and Jacob screaming in despair when I removed him from the dishwasher. But really, honestly, with all of this "help" that I get - why can't I find the time to post everyday?

cutie-pa-tootie

Yeah! I finally got to photograph little Miss Grace today! Despite the wind and cold that we had to fight today, she showed her best side for the camera. I hope you like the pictures Sarah and thank you for letting me take Grace's photos!

Graduation

How bitter sweet our senior's graduation was last night. With them graduating, it now means we are seniors and are half way to our own graduation. I am terribly excited for TPS to be over but that also means that I will have to be separated from good friends in 6 months as we go our different ways. This experience has created some of the best friendships I could have asked for and so many people have brought so much to our lives just in knowing them in. As I watched our seniors depart onto their next adventure, I realized as hard as TPS is and will become, I wouldn't trade it for anything as it has introduced me to so many interesting, wonderful people! Congratulations 07A - we aren't too far behind!

Our seniors named themselves "The Best Looking TPS Class Ever!", but I must say our guys are the best looking class ever!

Most of the 07B wives - I think we are a pretty good looking bunch too!

Team Red

Santa Comes To Town

Last night we headed over to the BX parking lot for the base tree lighting. We enjoyed some hot chocolate and cookies, good company from Santa, Mrs. Claus and his reindeer. The kids enjoyed the snow the most. Yes - I said snow! The base brought in a bunch of real snow and let me tell you these desert kids can throw snowballs like no others I have seen. They had a lot of fun!

I just thought this picture came out cool with the unintended effects.

1 year photos

Jacob decided he was going to refuse his morning nap today so I thought while the other kids were at school, it would be a great opportunity to try and get some photos of him. I would have loved to take him outside but everything is still really wet from our rain on Friday (who would have thought in the desert?). Of course in true Jacob style, he hammed it up for the camera. Hopefully, I will get to take him outside later on in the week for some more time with the camera.

jolly ole' sole

This afternoon we ventured over to the BX for the kids to see Santa. The kids did great! Elizabeth was able to list the 100+ things that she wanted but had to do it from afar - I guess getting too close to the old guy is a little scary. AJ of course got over his fear as soon as Santa pulled out candy. He is just too easy to bribe! And then of course, Jacob just went along with the game plan and sat on Mrs. Claus' lap. He was most interested in her sleigh bells though. I love to see the excitement of the season through their eyes.

first haircut

Today, Mike was able to take the morning off of school to journey into town. We decided it was time to get the boys haircut. AJ has been looking like a shaggy dog for sometime and my skills only go so far in the haircutting department. Jacob has been needing a trim for a while but I refused to do it until after he turned one. I'm not sure where that rule came from but hey - it is what it is! We ended up taking them to this cute place that specializes in kids cuts and they loved it. Of course AJ wanted Jacob to go first so Daddy placed him in the red Jeep with his Binky and he did great - no cry, no whine, no whimper, nothing! (I still think this kid is too cool to be real.) After a great job at sitting still and perfecting his skills on becoming handsome, it was AJ's turn. I think he felt the pressure of having his 12 month old brother do so good, that he decided he couldn't cry or complain because that would just be silly. He did have a look of anxiety in his eyes though. He overcame that by pretending to drive to Gamma's house the whole time. They both ended up with great haircuts - what handsome boys!