Adventures in Tape

Dylan's been asking for tape a lot lately to hang his artwork around the house. While I was upstairs the other day, he got creative with the tape around the downstairs. I took off a bunch of pieces from walls before I thought to take pictures. So here's a little of what he did. The last few days, I've found more around the place. He had fun!!!

Trip to Tennessee

Me and the kids traveled to McMinnville, TN to visit my sister Kim a few weeks ago. It has just taken me forever to get these pictures posted. We had so much fun spending time with her family and meeting her newest little guy, Joshua. Our kids play really well together. They were out in the family room almost the whole time, we never really saw them much, which gave Kim and I lots of girl time. We watched movies, went shopping, made a ton of meals for her freezer, and ate really yummy but bad-for-you food. It was so great. Here's a bunch of pictures from that week.


The proud new mama. So sweet.

Joshua is such a sweet baby. He fusses when you try to lay him down in his bed. He's a little spoiled with all of us there holding him nonstop. But he's really a good baby and doesn't cry much.

Dylan and Caleb are such good buddies. They had lots of fun playing. Later, Caleb and Courtney found some things to do together, so Dylan and Gracie played together. Dylan will play with whoever will have him.

Here's pictures of all the kids taking turns with Joshua.


Big brother Caleb

Big sister Gracie

Courtney made a great babysitter for Kim. She would sit and hold Joshua for a while so Kim could get things done. She loves her little cousin. Her and I had to fight over him a few times.

Dylan, figuring out this baby thing.

Travis thought Joshua was great. I thought he'd get a little jealous with me holding him a lot, but he loved it. Is that a sign I need another one???

GO STEELERS!

I Thought We Moved To NC!

Last week, we got a big snow storm. Okay, it wasn't huge, especially considering what we used to live with. But for this area, it was big. Record snow falls of 4-6 inches. The entire area shut down for the day. All the schools were closed for 2 days. Bruce's office shut down. We had dentist appointments that were cancelled. Many businesses were closed. Basically, nobody left home unless they really had to. We didn't have problems driving, but for people who don't see this very often, driving is pretty dangerous. It's actually dangerous for us too because we have to be on the road with them.

The kids had lots of fun. They had a snowball fight with our neighbors, tried to build a snowman, jumped on the snow-covered trampoline. They stayed outside for a couple of hours enjoying this rare occasion. I stayed outside for about 20 minutes to take pictures, but then went inside for hot cocoa. That was enough for me!

It was pretty much gone within 2 days. Hopefully we won't get another storm like this for a few more years. Isn't that why I moved out here?

Our newest family member

Who is this cute little boy???

Find out here.

Can't wait to come see you next week!!

Happy '09

We had a fun little New Year's Eve party at home with just the 5 of us. Well, actually just the 4 of us, Travis went to bed quite early. We had such a great time. Even Dylan made it up past midnight. We were having so much fun that I kept forgetting to take pictures. But here's some I mananaged to get.



The kids have been asking to rent Star Wars: The Clone Wars for a while now. So that started our fun evening.



Then on to a few games. We got both of these for Christmas, and finally were able to break them out.

Bruce beat us all at Sorry. Dylan came in second, Courtney third, and I was last. It was a pretty ruthless game, no mercy given.
The teams: Dylan and I against Bruce and Courtney. Bruce and Courtney just killed us. They know way too much about Disney movies.

We had yummy chocolate fondue for dessert. I forgot to take a picture of our whole spread, so you just get the dirty pot. I cut up a bunch of fruit; Courtney and Dylan made super yummy cake balls earlier that day. I'll put the recipe at the end, if you dare try it. They are really good, so good luck having any left.


Getting ready for the countdown. I had a few poppers, and Bruce poured us Sparkling Cider.

10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...



HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!




Cake Balls
(from sis-in-law Jessica)

1 cake mix
1 tub frosting
melted chocolate

Make the cake as directed on the box. Cool completely. Break up into small pieces in a bowl and mix with frosting. Shape into small balls, about 1/2 inch. Place on a cookie sheet and freeze. Dip in melted chocolate and freeze again. Enjoy!!!

***We used chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and white cake with vanilla frosting, adding mini chocolate chips to both. Instead of dipping in melted chocolate and freezing, we just used them with our fondue. They were super good. Thanks Jess for the great recipe.


The Best Chocolate Fondue

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup milk
10 large marshmallows
1/4 cup whipping cream

Put chocolate and milk in fondue pot. Turn on heat to low setting. Stirring constantly, add marshmallows until melted. Gradually add whipping cream.
Serve with fruit pieces, pound cake, marshmallows, cheese cake, cookies, etc.
Makes 3 cups

Christmas Program

Dylan had a little Christmas program at his preschool last week. It was so cute. The kids all had their reindeer antlers that they made and their red noses. They sang a bunch of songs, a poem, recited the alphabet and some counting that they've been working on, and served us cookies they made along with a Christmas present for moms and dads. It was so fun to go to his class and let him show everything off.





Dylan with his good friend Eve. The two of them just love each other. They run up and give a big hug whenever they see each other, even in the middle of church.

Santa showed up, which worked out great since we haven't had a chance to see him yet this season. Dylan is still pretty nervous to sit on his lap, but once there, he knew exactly what to say. And then I handed Travis off for a quick picture with both of them. Travis hated it, but he did pretty good considering.