disney on ice

We were spoiled again this year by Grandma and Papa with tickets to see Disney on Ice at the Allen Events Center. We love this tradition of a family Christmas date, and it's always a win when you start at In-N-Out. 

Of course it's my kid who poses with her grilled cheese sandwich, haha. 

These kids are so spoiled!!  They all wanted to wear princess dresses, and since Colby didn't want to be left out, he chose to wear his Spiderman costume :)

The show was amazing, but was a bit darker than years past with the story of Aurora. When the huge dragon came out, complete with real fire on the ice, Aubrey and Brooke grabbed for each other and held their hug until the dragon was off stage.  It was the sweetest thing, and thankfully the hug lasted a while so I could catch a picture.

Three pretty princesses who are also best friends.

When Colby saw these pictures, he couldn't understand why he wasn't in them.  I reminded him that he was sitting by Papa, and that it wasn't intentional, but he seemed pretty hurt by it :/ I told him that next time he should just ask to be in the picture.  He might always be the only boy, but he still wants to be included in everything.

The kids were pretty good about showing their gratitude to Grandma and Papa, which was good because it was definitely a huge privilege to go to a show like that!  When I found out how much they have been paying for these tickets, I made sure to voice my opinion that we don't have to come every year.  It's been fun the past three years, but definitely not a NEED.

turkey day

Grandma and Papa hosted Thanksgiving this year, and within minutes of being at their house, all the kids were back in the craft room coloring!  Colby refers to this room as "the drawing room" and this is where you can usually find the kids when they aren't outside playing in the backyard.  It was actually pretty chilly on Thanksgiving, so they colored a LOT of pictures. 

We really only ventured outside to take some family pictures.  Doing a family picture on Thanksgiving has become the norm the past few years, and no matter what anyone wears, it always seems to coordinate pretty well without the fuss of actually trying to coordinate.

Since they now own the lot behind their house, we decided to take the pictures along their new fence line.  It sure is a blessing to live so close to family, especially during the holidays!

My kids were quick to rush back inside the house (it was cold and damp), so we took the grandkid picture indoors this year. 

After pictures, it was finally time to eat! Papa had asked the kids to make place cards for our Thanksgiving table and it was fun to see what they all came up with.  Brooke and Colby did leaf rubbings for our assigned people, and I love how they turned out.  Oh, and the food was delicious, as always. Why don't I make sweet potatoes more often?  That was my only assignment, which made things super easy.

Cheers to another great celebration of gratitude! I was honestly a little worried about my emotional state heading into this holiday, and I was worried that I would lose it if we started talking about all that we have to feel grateful for.  I knew we would talk about the Peacock's baby, which of course we are all excited about, but I just felt too emotionally raw to not also feel an overwhelming grief that we didn't have that same blessing to look forward to. But, we kept things light and I did just fine.  I do recognize all that I have to be grateful for, and I am immensely thankful for my family, the support and love of family and friends, and the knowledge I have that my Savior knows me and will not forsake me.  I know that things will get easier as time moves on, but for now, I will cling to those truths.

And continue kissing this sweet boy's cheeks :)  I think we went through 4 bottles of sparkling cider for the 10 people in attendance, haha. It's clearly a favorite!

zoo date

During Thanksgiving break, we headed to Fort Worth to spend a few hours at the zoo. We went on half-price day so I wasn't sure about the crowds, but since we went later in the day, it was mostly empty! Oh, and it was cold, which probably kept a lot of people away. The cooler temps definitely affected some of the primates so we didn't get to see the Orangutan, Mandrill, or several smaller monkeys.  But we did get to see the gorillas up close and personal, so I'd call that a win. 

It's always kind of creepy to me how human-like the gorillas are, and when the big one showed us his backside, the kids lost it.

The giraffes, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with any zoo patrons.  Several people were there trying to feed them lettuce, but the giraffes stayed far away. Maybe they just weren't hungry?  At least it saved me from having to buy $6 lettuce.

Brooke wanted to be sure to take a picture of the Nubian Ibex to show Daddy :)  I love that they think of him while we are out and about. 

The giraffes weren't hungry, but the birds sure were! That was a change from our last trip, and the kids were SO happy.

Especially since one of the birds landed on Brookie's feed stick...

We spent a great deal of time in the reptile house where the snakes officially freaked me out.  I mean, look at the size of this thing...

After we left the MOLA, we followed the signs to the stingray exhibit.  I had read online that morning that this was a new part of the zoo, and we were all anxious to check it out. Well, turns out that you have to pay extra to get in.  I hate when they do stuff like this at the zoo.  My first reaction was to just turn around and walk away, and that was exactly what we did;  But I could see the disappointment on Brooke's face.  Obviously, she has to learn to deal with disappointment in her life, but we had been talking it up the whole morning together so I felt bad.  I started justifying that since we got in for half price, maybe it was fine to pay extra to go touch the stingrays.  I also wasn't sure when we would come back to the zoo since Brooke is normally in school on Wednesday and i don't do the zoo during the summer.  I told Brooke my thoughts, but reminded her that she better touch those stingrays after we payed for it or else I was gonna be mad, haha. She assured me that she would :)  At first, she was super scared and I could feel myself getting frustrated, but as I put my arm into the water, I understood her trepidation because I was a little nervous as well.  I've touched stingrays before, but you had to put her arm pretty far down and there were tons of them just swimming laps in the large pool so it was quite intimidating.  She eventually did it, and I was super proud of her!  Colby, on the other hand, didn't want his hand anywhere near the water.

She was so proud of herself for having enough courage to try, and in that moment, I knew that we had made the right choice.

We checked out a few more animals before heading home, and the kids especially loved the Texas animal section with all the baby goats.

As closing time neared, the animals started going crazy.  I think they could sense that it was almost feeding time because they were pacing back and forth in their habitats. 

I also learned that we need more than 4 hours to see everything at the zoo!  We were racing past the last few animals, but the kids still wanted to stop and check out their wingspans :)

It was a great outing with my little people!

prairie lights

The Sunday before Thanksgiving, we attended the 11th Annual Sneak-a-Peak of Prairie Lights.  We started this tradition in 2015 with a brand-new Colby, missed 2016 since I forgot to register early, and have been the past three years.  We always look forward to this night, and it's a fun way to kick off the holiday season! We also met up with the Hawkins and Smiths and enjoyed walking the path with our friends :)

new skills

Since it's not really boating season, we have more time for other things, like teaching our kids how to ride their bikes!  As winter approached, Kevin and I discussed that NOW was the time to teach out kids since it's not too hot and we can actually tolerate being outside and running around behind them.  

Colby was the most eager to learn, so Kevin took off his training wheels first.  Joanna had recommended teaching him on a grassy flat field, so that is what we did.  He was doing pretty good, but we eventually moved to the street so the bike was a little easier to pedal.

Brooke decided that she still wanted her training wheels, but she allowed Kevin to raise them up a bit so that at least she could get the feel for the need to balance. And she still loves her Pinkalicious bike, so there's that :)

As we put the bikes away, the kids asked to go to the park.  They really will play outside all day if we let them! Colby was interested in batting practice, while Brooke wanted to play on the playground with all her jumpropes.

Brooke eventually made her way over to join us for batting practice, and I had fun watching Kevin coach her on her swing.  It's fun to teach your kids new skills and work on strengthening skills they already have.

family pics

With everything that we had going on this Fall, family pictures weren't a top priority for some of us (ahem, Kevin).  Looking back, I really think it was because so much of our life (with IVF) was out of our control, so the things we could control became bigger issues than they should have been.  But he knows how important they are to me, so as soon as he gave me the go-ahead after our Turner Falls trip, I asked Danielle if she could meet us for pictures the next day.  Thankfully, she is a gem of a friend and made it happen even though I know it was a busy night for her. 

But I am SO grateful to have these pictures and I love so many of them for different reasons!  This was by far my favorite family picture, and the one we used for our Christmas cards...

I really like this one as well, but Kevin thinks he looks funny since he was crouched over. 

Our sweet girl...

At the end of the photo session, her and Colby found this huge fallen down log to play on.  Brooke decided to lay the blanket out and was posing herself and then pretending to sleep, haha.

Our cutie boy...

Love these ones of our precious littles...

But especially this one...

I don't know what it is about taking family pictures, but Kevin and I both want like every combination of pictures.  Each of us with each kid, each of us with both kids, a few of us together, haha.  Each of those relationships is unique and it's fun to have pictures to show the dynamic. 

Brooke was pulling the silliest faces and looking at me cross eyed, which was literally cracking me up.  I definitely have a double-chin in one of these pics, but I don't even care because that moment was so fun with my girl!

I am SO grateful to be Brooke's mom and to have that mother-daughter bond that I hope will continue forever!  One thing I love about my own mother is that she makes me feel like I am the most amazing woman out there.  She constantly builds me up, and I want Brooke to feel those good things about herself.  That I see her amazing potential and value all of her positive and admirable qualities! She is a kind-hearted girl and definitely my rule-follower.  She is a total artist and loves creating and crafting every day.  Her love for princess dresses and babies hasn't dwindled in the slightest, but she also loves to run free and play outside. A well-rounded girl to the max!

And a few with my little guy...

One thing I love about Colby is the way he makes me laugh every day!  He has the most animated little personality and an uncanny ability to say the funniest things at the perfect time.  He has some wicked awesome dance moves and isn't afraid to bust them out :) He's such a good boy, but also likes to push the limit at times!  But he's quick to apologize if he's made a mistake. Oh, and he's a Mama's boy through and through. 

These handsome boys...

And Daddy's girl...

I've said this before, but Kevin rocks in his role as Daddy. Our littles LOVE him so stinkin' much and you can see it on their faces.

And a few of me and the kids...

This is motherhood to me...

I truly love being a stay at home mom to my kids.  Of course, there are times when I allow myself to feel ashamed that I'm not "using my degree", or "doing more with my career", but I wouldn't want to miss this!  I want to be there each day with them and be their person.  I want them to be excited to see me, play with me, snuggle me, whatever it may be.  I will most likely go back to work in the next few years, but for now, this is motherhood for me.  And I love these two more than words could ever describe.

I also love this guy...

We're kind of awful at the whole "let's look at each other and be serious" thing, but I still love how these turned out.  Even the one of Kevin showing us his backside :)

Family is my biggest blessing, and I think having these pictures will be a treasure forever!  We had just found out that week that our embryos hadn't progressed past a multi cell level and weren't eligible for a transfer. That was pretty devastating news (more in other post), but it made me increasingly aware of how blessed I was to have two beautiful, healthy, amazing children who bring so much light and joy to Kevin and I.  

When we have each other, we have everything!