We LOVE Warm January Days

To be honest, we love all warm days...but the unexpected 70 degree day in January is VERY much appreciated. While we spent our morning running errands--grocery shopping, haircuts, etc, we spent our afternoon after naps playing in the sun.

Carter started out riding his bicycle {with training wheels} that he got for Christmas, but after a scary backward roll down the driveway {he had stopped pedaling so the bike rolled backwards...he hung on like a champ, and I stopped him before there was any sort of tragedy}, he abandoned the bike in favor of his trusty hot wheels.

Callen wasn't too far behind in the push-around buggy.

Carter wanted to play Light.ning Mc.Queen and Chick Hi.cks. He was Lightning, but he'd turn around to check and see if Chick {Callen} was close on his tail.

Then, he'd ride a bit and "spin out in the infield." His words, not mine.
Dad let Callen go to travel down to where I was, and Carter was in hot pursuit.
We had such a great time playing outside in warmer weather...it was nice to get a taste of spring. I can't wait for it to be warmer all the time!

Good Things and Small Packages....

...and all that.

Pretty much my idea of "precious in a box."

Visit to Indianapolis

The Thursday before the MLK holiday {which is really only a holiday for Nick, who works at the bank...the rest of us have work/school}, we headed up to visit friends in Indianapolis for the weekend. We had planned to take this trip after Christmas, but it got de-railed, so we rescheduled for MLK weekend because I had to be in Indy for work the following week.

We made the uneventful {always positive!} trip up there on Thursday and stayed the weekend with our friends, the Murphys. The Murphys were so gracious to have us for 4 whole days in their home! They have had a new addition to the family since we moved, so we were so excited to get to meet baby Erin during our visit! She is such a sweet baby, and I can't believe that she was almost 4 months old before I got to meet her! Well worth the wait, though!

Friday morning, Deanna and her two and Nick, me and our two went to Mon.key Joe's. Connor loves Mon.key Joe's, but Carter had never been. He was in heaven. He loved all the bounce houses and warmed up to the slides. Callen, however, may have liked it even more than Carter. There were bouncy areas for 2 and under, but she didn't want any of it. She wanted to be in the big bounce houses with Connor and Carter.

She had no fear...sliding down a medium-ish slide on her own...

...and down the really big one with Dad. Please see the look on her face. She was delighted!
Carter and Connor playing.
Daddy and Callen playing in the same bounce house as Carter and Connor.
It was really fun, and a great way for the kiddos to get a little energy out on a VERY cold Friday morning. Both of my children were basically asleep while they ate lunch and then slept for about 3 hours.

That night, we had dinner more precious friends, the Habeggers. They made a delicious dinner and we were all able to visit and have the kiddos (all six of them!) play. It was so much fun and so great to see them. It makes me realize how much I really miss our friends in Indy!

5 of the kiddos eating dinner

sweet Erin snoozing on Daddy

Carter, Connor & Miles...sweet friends! These boys were born within 3 months of each other!

Callen playing with John {Miles' little brother}

The moms...my precious friends Sarah and Deanna

We spent the rest of the weekend visiting and catching up and even made it to one of our favorite spots, Cafe Pata.chou. Thanks to the Murphys for hosting us, and the Habeggers for having us to dinner! We had such a wonderful time and miss you all! We can't wait to see you again soon!

The Ice Storm of 2011

...which is what it was at our house--a thin layer of ice over everything. So, while our friends in north Alabama were playing in 7-8 inches of snow, we had this outside our front door:

The layer of ice covering our back porch.
The ice skating rink that was our sidewalk.
The table on our back porch...don't be deceived--what looks like snow in the chairs probably started out that way, but quickly froze into big hunks of ice.
Not to worry, we still enjoyed lots of family time, we just decided to forgo getting out in the ice to play. We played with toys, games, watched a few movies and enjoyed some time away from school/work!

Strange Bed-places

Sunday afternoon, I put Callen and Carter down for naps shortly after lunch. During our school/work break, Carter would fight his nap about every other day, so when I didn't hear him talking or walking around, I determined that he was asleep.

After folding some clothes, I went upstairs to put them in the children's rooms, and when I got to the top of the stairs, this is what I saw in Carter's room.

Sure enough, just his "friends" were on his bed...but, strangely, all was silent, so I knew he was asleep somewhere.

I didn't have to look far. The "friend" trail was my clue. Do you see him in this picture?

He slept this way for 2 hours. At one point, I went up there to check on him and he had repositioned himself with his head where his elbow is in this picture.

There is never a dull moment around these parts!

Welcome 2011!

Happy New Year to all! We are gearing up around here to go back to work/school (for the children and me, anyway) after a 2 week vacation. I can't say I am ready to go back to work, but I am ready for us to be back in a routine...wonder how long that will take?!?!

Over the course of our two weeks off, we spent lots of time together, baked, cleaned, played, and took some exciting adventures.

Right before Christmas, I took the children to the Mc.Wane Center. The secret to going when school is out...get there when they open the doors. We were about the second people in the doors and by the time we left, there was a VERY long line of people at the ticket counter and there were LOTS of people playing.

Piloting Santa's sleigh

Standing in the tornado

This is so fun to see in pictures...it is basically a green screen, where the children can play soccer, play in a band, and be IN an arcade game. This is what you see in person....

...this is what is on the screen. {sorry for the quality...decided not to lug the nice camera that day.}

Carter loved this next exhibit...you roll the balls down the bowl and the water picks them up and lifts them into the air...or you can put them on the water and watch them bounce around. He was having a blast. Callen was a little to short to see what was going on, but she loved throwing the balls in there.

Water play is always a hit

After Christmas, Aunt B called to see if we wanted to go to the Gall.eria and ride the carousel. The answer from Carter was, "I don't want to ride the animals, I just want to ride on the chair." O.K.

Not so sure why he doesn't like to ride the animals, but he never has. Nonetheless, we had a good time riding the carousel with Aunt B in the sleigh.

After that, we headed to Chik.Fil.A for a yummy lunch and with the intention of Carter's playing in the playplace, but he wasn't so into it because there were many other children also playing. So, we headed home, where !!everyone!! took long winter's naps to recover from our busy morning.

Since we wrapped up 2010 with lots of excitement, we were excited to see the Tide usher in 2011 with some excitement, too. Those are the kinds of wins we like to see!

We are looking forward to all the fun and happiness that 2011 has in store for us!