MLK Day

 For some reason, right after the kids get back in to the groove of school after being out all Christmas break, we take another day off for Martin Luther King Day.  Now, don't get me wrong- he's an awesome man who did a lot of good... we'd just rather have a the break a little later in the year when there are no breaks!  But we tried to do the most with the day off.  As you can tell, it started off with breakfast at McDonald's.

 Randy took the day off to spend time with the family which I so appreciated!  To be honest, if he didn't take off we probably would have just stayed at home the whole day.  I'm such a home-body and so we are lucky to have him around to get us out and "doing".  

 After breakfast we decided to hit up the mall.  And anytime we go to the mall we will always end up at Hibbitts Sports Store.  It's the only sporting good store in the mall and we are a sporting family!  In fact, the employees recognize us... is that a bad thing?!?

 Next we headed over to get Addie's hair cut.  This girl has been begging me to get her hair cut for so long but it was not something I wanted to do.  I love her hair and its fun for me to try new things on it.  Look how long it was!

After just three days of it being cut she was ready for it to be long again!  I told her she would feel that way.  However, it still looks adorable!  It turned out to be a fun-filled family day which was the best part!

Merry Christmas!

 We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  We sure enjoyed our Christmas holiday!  We have started to try and create some of our own family traditions and it's really helped us slow down and think a little more about why we celebrate Christmas.  But it has also created some fun family memories!  Christmas Eve is now our day to do things as our own family.  We started going to a matinee and afterwards getting pizza for dinner.  We read the Christmas story in Luke and watch a few church videos about Christ.  And this year after the kids opened their one gift (which is always pajamas) they went to their rooms to find tickets to the "minivan" Express.  We all jumped into the car and headed to Quik Trip (our local awesome gas station with amazing hot chocolate) where the kids all got to go get their own hot chocolate in their pajamas.  After that we headed around town on our very own Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt while listening to Christmas music.  We had a blast!  It's definitely going to be a new part of our traditions!

After that we headed home where the kids have started another tradition since we've lived in this house.  They all sleep together upstairs and wait for us to come up and get them!  They were so excited for Christmas!

Avery's favorite gift was her new phone.

Austin's favorite gift was his basketball hoop!  It hangs on his closet door and he plays on this thing all the time!

And the little girls got a new craft station homemade by the Christmas elves themselves!

And it also included a wall of dry erase boards!  Let the creativity begin!

 After that we headed over to see our families.  We went over to Grandma and Grandpa John's house where the kids made trains out of candy.

 And then we headed over to Gum-Gum's house where Nana helped the kids create some donut hole snowmen!

 They also got to open up presents while there.  Gum-Gum got them all fake glasses.... they all loved them!  For some reason its the big thing here!  I keep telling them if they actually HAD to wear them they would hate them.  But I have to admit- they look so darn cute!

Christmas Card Pictures

 I love taking pictures.  One of my favorite things about the Christmas holiday is getting pictures from friends and family.  However, my family doesn't quite share that same love... so it's quite a chore getting some of them to cooperate (Randy).  The day I decided we would have the time to take pictures was actually quite cold.  We have a field at the end of our street so I loaded up the family and a ladder and set the timer.  Wa'la!!!  But when I got home I didn't like all the pics.  However... this one had to do because it included my dear sweet husband who I knew would not be up for going back out another day to retake.

 I mustered up the courage to get my kids back in their outfits... and to my surprised they didn't throw a big fit!  Score!!

 And double-score because the weather was warmer and the light was so much better!  I love the color of the tall yellow grass with the red in their clothes!

Look how happy they are!  I think I promised them a trip to Sonic Drive-in or something... but it worked!  Christmas cards are out! 

Ashton's Ornament Party

 Every year our Pre-K has an ornament party where one adult comes and goes around each of the Pre-K classrooms with their Pre-K student and makes an ornament.  Ashton decided I would be the lucky one!  With her being our last, I really tried to take in every moment.  She made some neat ornaments to hang up on our Christmas tree.

After we finished with the ornaments we went to the cafeteria where we decorated cookies to eat!  We had such a great time together!

Thunder vs. Lakers

Randy was given tickets from a vendor to go watch the OKC Thunder vs. LA Lakers.  This was my very first real Thunder game to go to, and I was super pumped that we were playing against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.  We took our friends Trey and Carey Auschwitz.  Of course with the Lakers in town the entire stadium was sold out. The seats we got were completely the last row, nose bleed!  I remember seeing people up on that row when I would be watching the game from home and saying that I would never buy tickets to sit up there.  But honestly, they weren't that bad!  Thunder fans are amazing and it was such a great atmosphere.  Best part- they beat the Lakers!!

Thanksgiving '12

So this year we broke tradition and went to Houston for Thanksgiving.  I mean, I guess it was time to spend a Thanksgiving with Randy's side of the family!  Randy's brother Robert and his wife Jenny had recently moved into a nice big house and invited us to come down- so we accepted.  Randy's brother Ricky and his wife Anne, and also his parents came too.  But we were the first to arrive, so we spent our first day down at Galveston.

 Galveston was so beautiful and full of historic homes and beautiful trees!  We loved driving around and just sight-seeing.  But of course the kids were most excited about the beach!

 Here is Avery and Austin testing out the waters.  It was way too cold for me... but these two ended up getting in!

 I love this picture of Avery before taking a dip in the ocean.

 These girls were good just building castles in the sand.

 We had a great Thanksgiving.  Lots of good food and fun.  Addie and Ashton spent a lot of their time on their cousin Hudson's little car.

 Once Ricky and Anne and their family came, we went out for some laser tag.  So much fun!

 I think our protective mom instinct must have come out because Anne and I played great!

 We spent a couple nights eating out.  Avery enjoyed time with her Uncle Bubba...

and Ashton loved her time with her cousin Tyler!

Austin's Veteran Program

The fourth grade at Ranch Height Elementary was in charge of the Veteran Day program this year.  Austin did a great job!  Randy was able to take off for a little bit of work to come join me in watching him.  Love this little boy!