Florida...

So right after Christmas with both families (and you may have noticed I skipped right over Christmas pictures- that's because all the pics I took are on my mom's camera and I need to get those!... to come later!) we headed off to Florida...

It was a nightmare of a trip there- 13 hours total travel time (and we FLEW!) Typically our Reese is Mr. Mellow, but by the time we arrived into FL around 11 pm, he was an absolute MESS to say the least. This is the following morning when he woke up and walked with his blankie to the door leading to the pool at our rental house. Maybe he was deciding it had all been worth it?? :)

Then the weather wasn't super, so Autumn and I tried to come up with ways to keep the kiddos (ages 6, 5, 4, 2, 1) entertained.... an indoor play place was just the ticket!...

And Aunt Pat took us to a super fun restaurant where we got to make s'mores right at the table! The kids were totally into it as you can imagine...

Josh got Emma golf clubs for her birthday, but this was the first time they had gotten to use them... until a grumpy old ranger told her she wasn't allowed to play. I think she enjoyed it anyway and loved spending time with Grammie Bev, Mark, Sarah & Aunt Pat on the course!

And we did get about ONE hour on the boat during the whole 10 days... here are Asher and Winnie enjoying the sun that we wouldn't see again for quite a while!...

Makin Cookies

We had our little friends Macy, Makenna and Kai over for an evening of babysitting... during bedtime! I knew it would be an adventure and we would need some activities, so the girls made cookies together. They did a great job putting all the ingredients in... AND sampling to be sure they were ok. ;)

Christmas Program

Wow- it's been too long on blogging... but our camera charger was MIA and we finally got our new one in the mail. We were depending on friends and family for pics for a while, so thanks to Emerson's mom, we have these precious pics from Emma's school Christmas program. They looked so adorable and Emma was so proud of their hard work learning signs and playing instruments for the Christmas songs they sang. Everyone was invited afterward to eat cookies in their classroom... so sweet!

And the verdict is in...

Guesses while in the waiting room at the doctor...

Daddy: a boy

Mommy: a boy
Emma: a girl

Reese: a firetruck

And...

Doc says HE looks perfectly healthy- praise God!
And thankfully I will not be giving birth to a firetruck- phew!

AND our new baby niece,
Paige Caitlin Gross was born this morning at 9:26 at 8 lb 1 oz, 21 in
She is totally precious and we can't wait to meet her!

First Snow!

When we got home today, Emma ran to her room, got in full snow garb and darted outside to try her hand at snowballs and snow angels. Oh, the joy of Indiana for kids. :)

Trip to Aunt Kara's

We ventured aaaaall the way to Evansville to visit Aunt Kara (and Tasha the doggie) and to go to Caden's birthday party. I can't even describe the ridiculous amount of fun kids and adults alike had at "Pump it Up," -an indoor bounce park. We got the whole room to ourselves and everyone reverted to being a 4 year old. Sadly none of my pictures really turned out, but there was an insanely tall slide that the kids could not get enough of. Thanks to Daron who took them down it about 100 times! The rest of our visit was filled with the usual pig-out sessions by me, Kara and my mom- and thankfully there are no pictures of that either. :)

Puppy and Cinderella

For Halloween the past few years, we've gone with our friends the Warners to trunk-or-treat where people open their decorated trunks and hand out candy. It's really fun and a safe place to bring young kids. We decorated our trunk as a Thomas Train Station... appropriate. The kids filled up on candy and even helped pass out some to the other kids. Can't wait til next year!

Halloween Parade

Emma had a big Halloween Parade at her school- all the kids dressed up (including little brother Reese to show his support). They sang songs and marched around the church cafeteria for the parents who came. Great job, Emma... I mean Cinderella!

Grampa's Night

Emma had Dad's Night at school last week, but Daddy was out of town... so Grampa filled in! At their field trip all the kids got to pick a pumpkin and on this night, they carved them with the special man in their lives. She requested that Grampa make a "nervous" face... this was what they came up with. :)

Cinderella & Sleeping Beauty

Emma has been taking a dance class and for their last class they got to dress up like a princess and show off their new skills to us! Here is Emma with her teacher, Miss Kelly.

Happy Birthday, REESE!

Our sweet little boy LOVES his trains. We had a Thomas the Train birthday party with cake and ice cream at our house and then headed to a REAL train in Noblesville that took us to a pizza buffet with our family. It was a great time- Reese wasn't quite sure what to do with himself on a real live train that made a choo choo sound! Thanks to everyone for sharing it with him!

The cookie cake

Emma the conductor

" I'm ready, mommy!"

Aunt Kara loves me

The three amigos

Field Trip!

Today was Emma's first Field Trip! We went to a really awesome farm owned by a family whose kids go to her school. They got to have a hay ride, pick a pumpkin AND ride a horse. Daddy and Reese tagged along and we all had a great time. Boy, were we jealous of their backyard. :)

Keeping Busy

We are trying very hard to find fun activities to do... other than TV. Here was one of the ones we came up with today- a totally adorable scarecrow craft! Emma loved it- if you'd like to make it, here's the link: http://crafts.kaboose.com/paper-bag-scarecrow.html

...and then... we watched a cartoon- with the girls, of course.

Old Time's Sake

I had so many pictures from our trip to our old stomping grounds that I've been putting off sorting through them! Here they are... and what a full trip it was! :)



We pulled a camper trailer behind an F150 full of all the "necessities" for our trip of really roughin' it... ;) We went to our campground at Illinois Beach State Park and got settled in- right by Lake Michigan!





Drove by our old house for Emma to see (we lived there for 2 years until she was almost 3).




Visited Gurnee Mills mall which we used to frequent on a weekly basis for entertainment... where Emma's good pal Charlie, Noodle and Oreo the snakes have lived. Got the kids' picture taken with Oreo (picture to come).


Went to a Milwaukee Brewers game where I saw about 30 minutes of it and the rest of the time sugaring up the kids and letting them play on the indoor playground... but only after I carried Reese around the stadium for 20 minutes up and down 3 flights in search of 2 pairs of socks so they would let them in.



Biked and walked the gorgeous beach.





Visited Emma's other favorite place- the Lamb's Farm! We have great memories of brushing the goats, riding the train and carousel and mini golf!




It was so much fun to bring Reese to experience all these fun things his sister loved... and boy, was he pooped. :)

SURPRISE!

We really know how to drag out birthdays around here- we like to say it's your birthday WEEK. Circus on Thursday, surprise costume party on Saturday... and her birthday isn't even until Tuesday. :) Josh took Emma out golfing while her friends and family were gathering at our house... and the ususpecting birthday girl arrived to everyone in silly costumes! It was tons of fun! The birthday girl needed a costume... and Grammie Debbie came to the rescue with a Snow White ensemble!
Is that Winnie & Emma... or TWO Snow Whites?!

Ottoman/banquet table.
Make a wish!

I didn't know Spider-Man was a Reds fan!

That is one silly Snow White!

Slug it, Asher! The sad remains...

What's that they say? Sugar 'em up and send 'em home? :)