Brilliance

I received my Christmas gift from the kids yesterday and Rhett hung it up for me right away. I don't know what it is, but I've been really into trees lately. It took my a long time to find the "right" picture and here it is. It's called "Brilliance" and it's brushstroked canvas. It came in a gigantic box with an abundance of bubble wrap. The kids had a ball jumping on it. I guess I should let you know that Reese is bottomless because we are attemping potty boot camp once again. Wish us luck, we need it! (I used Adobe Photoshop to "blur" his private parts). :)

Sledding in the backyard.

Raly begged me to go sledding, but I was a little hesitant to take them to a big hill...you know Reese, not the best listener especially in a large open space! So, we went sledding in our backyard. We have a pretty good slope from our front yard to our backyard so we took advantage of it. We had to build up a large speed bump so that they wouldn't slam into the fence. It worked fairly well and I got some good exercise. At first Reese didn't want anything to do with the sled, but after a good 30 minutes of "shoveling" the backyard, he decided to give it a try. Also, the kids are wearing new coats and snowpants, thanks to Daddy. He happened to be in REI on the first day of their big sale! Great timing. Raly played in the snow while I was getting the sledding path ready and as safe as possible.

Raly is sledding down feet first so that I could get a picture. I had to hold the sled while they got on so that they would go down straight.

Jodie came by to deliever Raly's kindergarten registration paperwork for me to fill out (YIKES) and she heard us playing out back. She took a few pictures for us. Thanks Jodie.

Raly's face is funny here. She must have been anticipating the speed bump. The kids were so disappointed when it was time to go inside. We had a great time.

Happy New Year

We spent New Year's Eve at Jon and Jodie's house (our neighbors). The kids had a great time... Jodie had a variety of fun "poppers" for the kids (and the GUs aka grown-ups). We pretended that it was 2009 at 10:00. Raly was so tired! I have these pictures out of order (sorry). We spent much of the evening playing Guitar Hero. I'm not sure, but I think the GUs had more fun than the kids.

Jon and Rhett were so focused!

Raly changed into her pjs early in the evening. Here she is playing against Jodie. Pallen and Connor are watching from the couch.

Reese was hysterical. He danced with his head and tongue while playing his guitar. We had such a great time. Thanks Jon and Jodie!

Ready to Camp

With some of our Christmas money, we bought camping equipment: tent, stove, table, sleeping bags, pots, dishes, air mattresses, lantern (the Coleman outlet had a big sale). So, we think we are ready for warm weather so that we can get up to the moutains for a fun filled weekend of camping. Talk about adventure!

Christmas in Manthattan

I'm sorry to everyone who kept checking to see if I had gotten my act together. It seems that since my laptop no longer connects to the internet, I'm less likely to post. We had a great week in Manhattan. Rhett and I even got a night away in Kansas City while Grandma and Grandad watched the kids. We were so appreciative. Here are a few pictures of our time with family.

One of the best "gifts" was the bubble wrap! Reese and Grandad had a darn good time.


Raly loved her giant polar bear.

Not sure what Reese enjoyed more, the bubble wrap or the rhino. He sure loves driving!

We got to see Great Grandad and Great Grandma. Raly and Reese even cooperated for a picture.