Easter

I can't believe it's been 7 1/2 months since I've blogged....well, actually, I can!! I'm TERRIBLE at this. Be prepared for an ambush because I have LOTS to share!!

This was Sutton's first Easter, so we had the cousins come over and the kids all sat around the table and colored eggs. He kept trying to eat his, but still managed to get some coloring in. I think we'll make it a tradition to come to my house the night before and color eggs. I just love doing things like that with the kiddos. I hope it's making fond memories they'll cherish forever!!

It's been a long time since the ENTIRE family celebrated a holiday at my Aunt Cindy's house. We thought it was about time that we get together again, so all the kids, with baskets in hand, headed to Cindy's for Easter. It warmed my heart to see everyone gathered around. We ate too much, hunted Easter eggs & then had a photo shoot in her front yard. There were SO many pictures taken, so I won't share them all, but here are a few of my favorites!!

Superbowl Sunday!!

I'm not really into football (I know, I know) but the kids and I were pretty bored on Sunday so we decided to invite a few folks out. Dennis left that morning for work so he wasn't able to join in. My sisters, Kevin and the kids came over along with 4 of Aspen's friends. It was a house full!!

Raegan, Aspen and I spent some time making munchies for everyone. Since I don't care for football, we spent some time visiting and letting the boys play together. They were a hoot!! I got some cute pics of them with my AWESOME new camera. Sutton looks a little afraid, but Mason sure isn't camera shy in the least bit!!

Poor baby Mason was ready to go to bed though, so by the end of the picture taking, he wasn't a happy camper. I got a shot of him crying though and it's SO cute!!

It was a pretty good evening being able to visit with the family since we're so busy. Pretty soon though, Mason, Rachel & Kevin will be visiting quite often considering they're moving across the street. We're looking forward to having the boys spend a lot of time together and we're ready for the warm weather so we can hang outside!!

Snow, snow & more snow...

We didn't really get a chance to get out in the snow and play last time we had any, so the girls & dad decided to get out there and enjoy it. Of course, Taler is at a friends and Aspen is with a friend in Wichita so it was just Raegan & Ali. They decided to have a snowball fight first:

Then make some snow angels & do a little sledding...

After all that fun, they decided to build a snowman. Well, actually a snowGIRL. She turned out pretty cute!!

They're still out there as I'm typing, helping their dad shovel the sidewalk and driveway. I'm sure they'll be in soon for some hot chocolate to warm up so I better go get them some dry clothes and their mugs out and waiting. Hope everyone else had as much fun in the snow today as my family did!!

I Knew This Would Happen.....

I was afraid this would happen...I start this blog and go almost 2 months without updating it!! I've been SUPER busy and Dennis has been traveling so much that I feel like I don't get a second to myself.

In recent news, Sutton is now 7 months old and weighing in at a whopping 22 pounds!! He's a big baby and we all just love him to pieces. The girls are all doing well in school and keeping busy. Alison's mom moved to Augusta so she started school there after the Christmas break and seems to be liking it. She still has friends here so she comes to stay on the weekends to hang with us and her friends.

Aspen starts on the insulin pump Tuesday and we're both very excited and frightened to begin that adventure. Hopefully her blood sugars will be more in control. Taler has been keeping busy working and going to school. Raegan and I are home quite a bit these days because I don't want to get Sutton out in the cold too much. We've been putting together lots of puzzles and watching movies. She enjoys it when the older girls are finally home from their activities and when daddy is home from traveling. I think she's secretly sick of spending so much time with her dear ol' mom.

I've been telling myself for awhile now that I need a hobby. I've always wanted to try my hand at photography and finally took the first step by buying a friend's camera to get started on. Thanks Laura!! I can just picture me, the girls & Sutton driving around on a nice, warm spring day scouting out cool places to take new pics. I couldn't be more excited and plan on devoting much of my spare time hangin with my kids and making them cheese for the camera!! I've tried out the camera and am loving it, although it's going to take a lot to learn everything. Here are the first couple pics taken with my new camera:

Christmas Past

I like going back and taking a look at old photos, remembering when the kids were younger. Here are some photos from Christmases past, that I thought I would share with everyone. My how time flies!!

These are some pics of Christmas 2006. I can't believe how small the kids look. This is Raegan, Alison and Aspen. Aspen was diagnosed with diabetes about 2 1/2 months later. To the right is Taler with her new iPod!!

                                                                                                

Here are a couple from 2007. I think I skipped 2008 Christmas all together. I wasn't a very good pregnant person!!

This is a picture of my siblings and I 2 years ago when we got together to make Christmas candy & cookies. We tried to make it an annual tradition, but Rachel & I were both pregnant last year and not really in a cooking mood. Maybe we'll try again this year!!

Stay tuned for Christmas 2009 pictures!!

Decorating for Christmas

The Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, we decided to decorate the house and yard for Christmas. Dennis & my brother Tyler spent the entire day hanging lights outside while I spent time doing the inside. We like to go all out every year and I think our neighbors enjoy it.

I don't know why my pictures are coming out so blurry. Maybe I don't have a very steady hand!! Well, since all the kids weren't here while we did the decorating, we decided to leave the hanging of the ornaments to them. They enjoy doing it every year but I get the feeling we're going to need a bigger tree next year. I just wish our living room was set up differently so we could utilize our vaulted ceiling!!

Thanksgiving 2009

Gosh, a whole month since I've posted anything, go figure!! I was afraid this would happen. I feel like I can't post something unless I have pictures to go along with it and since my camera has pooped out, I'm having to use Dennis' from work and don't get as many shots as I'd like. Hint for Dennis: good Christmas gift!! So, our Thanksgiving weekend was pretty uneventful. We had a nice lunch here at the house with my sisters, brother-in-law, mother-in-law and all the kiddos. Raegan, Aspen & I made pumpkin pies the night before. It was my first time & I think they turned out GREAT!! Darn it, I forgot to get a picture of the pies. Silly me!!

Our oldest 2 stayed with friends most of the rest of the weekend and Alison was with family in Parsons. My sisters were going to Branson for the weekend after our Thanksgiving lunch, so Dennis & I figured we'd have a quiet weekend at home with my mother-in-law, Raegan and Sutton. Well, Raegan was invited to Branson at the last minute, so we were pretty much childless. Sutton sleeps from 7:30pm to 7:30am, so we had the WHOLE evening to do whatever we wanted. Thanksgiving night my friend Crystal and her husband Matt came to Winfield to stay for a couple nights with us and our friends Paul & Jennie came over to play games. We had a blast and stayed up ENTIRELY too late. Friday was spent recovering and then we did it again on Saturday night. All in all, it was a great, relaxing weekend.