Decorating the Tree

This has been my dream ever since we had kids, decorating the tree together. We didn't really do it together, I just set the balls out and let them have at it, they loved it.

As you will see in the last picture ALL of the ornaments ended up in one cluster and I haven't had the heart to rearrange them yet. I'm sure my anal tendancies will take over soon and I will put them on the "right" way but for now it puts a smile on my face every time I look at it.

They have several of their own ornaments that people have given them over the years. Next year I hope to get them their own tree and they can put all of their special ornaments on it. I know if I let them have their own ornaments this year they will just want to take them off all the time and play with them, so we'll just wait until they're a little bit older to do that.



The "cluster"

Weeds

My children are growing like...WEEDS! It's like I can literally almost watch them growing. They go to bed and their clothes fit and they wake up and they don't fit anymore. (A little bit of an exaggeration but not much).

My little mama's boy is getting so much more independent everyday. On one hand it's a relief, but on the other it's kind of sad. I realized the other day he isn't going to be my baby for much longer. He's almost FOUR, that doesn't even seem possible. Pretty soon he's not even going to want me at all. AND his hair is starting to get darker, I've always thought he would end up with dark hair like his dad but I'm just not ready for it to happen quite yet. The thought of not having a blonde baby boy almost makes me want to cry.

I'm not as concerned about Lydia growing up, girls tend to stick a little closer to there mommies. But she is growing up so fast too. She has a bit of an attitude which I'm told is fairly typical for a girl. Kirby thinks it's because she gets told how wonderful she is all the time! Maybe so, but I just can't look at that face without telling her how beautiful she is multiple times a day, forgive me!

So, this is all just hitting me all of a sudden, and I'm a little sad that my babies aren't babies anymore. I guess maybe that means it's time for another!?

House

Our house is...DONE! Well...for the most part, there are still a few little things Kirby needs to do and I have TONS of organizing to do, but we are 99% complete.

We moved the laundry down to the basement and now we will used the laundry room as an office. I did not take a picture of the office because it is still a DISASTER, it's where most of the mess has accumulated and where I have to do most of the organizing.

The staircase is the biggest change, we have had no railing the entire time we've lived here which was a major safety hazard especially with little kids. We are thankful that no one ever got hurt over the years.
This has always been a straight drop off, so we never really went upstairs at all, but we really didn't have a reason to since it wasn't finished anyway.

The mantle is finished, ready for stockings to be hung in a few short weeks!

The ceiling used to be a "natural" color but we painted it white.

The loft, an area that NEVER got used before because it wasn't finished. Now it's the toy/play room. Eventually we will get some funiture and it will also be a TV room. And it's the only room in the house with carpet. We have wood or tile in the rest of the house and it is much easier to keep clean, but it's nice to have one area with carpet, it's so much cozier.

I was going take a picture sometime when all of the toys were picked up, then I realized that would be never, so I went ahead and took a picture of it in it's natural state. (the daycare kids also nap up here)

So, this is it! Feel free to stop by anytime to see it. (Kirby is allowing me to have visitors now!)

Trick or Treat 2011

These are the best pictures I could come up with because as usual Lydia wanted nothing to do with her costume, so it was a little tricky to get a good picture of her or one of them together.

Lydia was an Owl and Clae was obviously a cowboy. He was supposed to be a UPS man but he refused to wear that costume, so he came up with his costume almost all by himself.

We thought he was watching out the door for trick or treaters but then we figured out that he was really checking out his reflection in the window!

The only picture I managed to get of her with her hood up

Consoling his sister because it's just SO rough having to dress up in a costume!

Hot Air Balloon

(Sorry the spacing is all messed up, I tried to fix it but it didn't work)

We got Nanny a hot air balloon ride for her birthday!

All of us watching it being aired up

Nanny said the fire was so close she was afraid all of the hairspray in her hair was going to catch on fire!


say "bye bye"

Clae, Lydia and Abraham all cried because they thought Nanny and Papa weren't coming back! We went to Kelly and Tiffany's and we watched them all the way from Fairfield until they landed near Stockport. I think it was a pretty fun experience for them.

It's Been a While

We're still staying at Kirby's parent's house, but our house is ALMOST done. Carpet comes next Thursday, once it's installed we should be able to move back in! We are ready to be in our own home, but we've had a lot of fun at Nanny and Papa's and we'll miss spending time with them everyday when we're gone.

Papa telling the kids a "Jolly John" story


Playing guitar with Papa

Lydia dusting with Great Grandma Brown. The two of them share a birthday and they are like two peas on a pod. They're both cleaning fools! Give Lydia a rag and she loves to scrub everything is sight. And Granny B, at age 90, is still scrubbing and cleaning anything she can get her hands on!
Celebrating Nanny's birthday

Thanks Nanny and Papa!

I'm a Cyclone

Down here in "Hawkeye Country" I get a considerable amount of grief for being a Cyclone, espcially during college football season. The reason I am a Cyclone has nothing to do with game scores or season records. (If this were the case I must admit that I would have to be a Hawkeye fan.)

So, why do I continue to wear my cardinal and gold proud while swimming in a sea of black and gold?

Because of the many perfect fall Saturdays days I spent at Jack Trice Stadium cheering on my team.

Because of the many Saturday evenings I spent cleaning the stadium after the 50,000 plus fans had all gone home.

Because I've stood in the sky box looking out over a quiet, dark staduim and watched snow falling softly onto the field.

Because during my years as a Cyclone I was just...me. Before I was Kirby's wife, before I was Clae or Lydia's mommy(not that these are bad things), I was just me. My whole life was before me. While I love the security of knowing how it all turns out, I loved to anticipation of not knowing, of dreaming about what my future might hold.

Because during that time I made some of the best friendships I will ever have in my life and I still treasure those friendships to this day. If I needed a good friend to laugh with (or cry with), all I had to do was walk down the hall.

Because the four years I spent as a Cyclone helped shape my character and build my faith.

So, win or lose, rain or shine, good season or bad. This is why I'm a Cyclone.