Off to vacation...

We headed out LONG before the sun came up and off to Gatlinburg we went! The kids were so excited to leave even though Brayden was still sick. Jay got their new DVD players set up so that they could watch their new movies in the car to pass the time. I will say that all three kids were amazing on the ride East and none of them so much as whimpered hardly. We were so proud of them!

Snapshots from our first couple of days of vacation...

At the Nascar park the kids rode some rides and had a blast, despite that it was FREEZING cold outside!

Yes that is Karis hiding behind that wheel. She was so short that she couldn't reach the pedals so the guy working had to help her. It melted my heart to see her do this...she is growing up!

Lolli so graciously watched Lulu for us so that Jay and I could have fun with the big kids. So they hung out inside where it was WARM!

Since Karis got to ride the big cars and Brayden wasn't big enough, he got to play some games with daddy...

After baths while the adults played FARKLE (so fun!), the kids watched a movie...

Uncle Matt and Aunt Tiff gave the kids this tent with a tunnel for Christmas...

Yep we are a technological family...lots of iphones, texting, and laptops!

We are having a blast and Brayden is no longer running fever and slowly recovering. Stay tuned for more vacation...

Help! I am pulling up and can't get down!!!

Houston...we have a problem! As of December 23, Lucy is sitting up in her bed on her own (yah Lucy) but doesn't know how to transition back down so she falls asleep like this....

And by Dec. 27th, she is pulling up in the bed and can't get down! So she just screams and screams and screams until we come and get her down!

Look mom what I can do!

Gatlinburg bound!!!!

In 10 hours we will be heading out to go on vacation in Gatlinburg with my family, my mom, dad and brothers, Jay's family, my brother and his wife Tiffany and her parents. I sure hope to catch up on some blogging about Christmas since I will have no housework to do ha! We have had an incredible week but oh so busy and I look forward to some relaxation time in the mountains with some of my favorite people. Brayden has been having some fever today and asthma issues so please pray he gets better soon and we can enjoy the break. Hope you all have a happy new year!

Brayden is sick...

It is that time of year for sicknesses...and we expect it around here with kids and asthma. However I sure hoped it wouldn't be the day before we leave for vacation! But Saturday night (before we leave on Monday) Brayden had fever all night long so I decided to be better safe than sorry since we were going on vacation and take him in. While we waited on the doctor, this was his entertainment...

They said it was just a virus but it affects his asthma as always, so they gave him a breathing treatment (which we had already been doing at home). He was coughing terribly and we were trying to keep his fever down which kept coming back randomly.

We hope he gets better soon so we can enjoy vacation!

Lucy is crawling!!!

She has done it several times but until today, it has been pretty much accidental. But today we caught her crawling to her toys. OH boy...she is going to be a handful very soon!

Christmas Day

What a fun day! The kids actually slept in this morning (us too) and the kids had to come and wake us up! They were so excited that they day had finally arrived to open up gifts from under the tree! They were both so sweet and very appreciative for everything that they were given. Karis at one point even ran up to both Jay and I and hugged our legs and said, "THANK YOU!" The excitement I see on my children's faces is the most wonderful thing in the world to me!

Opening their gifts..

A football truck he has been wanting for months....

Pink Barbie guitar...

Electric guitar...

Movies...

Easy Bake Oven...

Bakugan....

After they opened up their presents, we had one more big surprise for all of them. They thought they were finished, and then we said, "OH! I THINK there is one more surprise for each of you..."

We put together an art desk for Karis filled with drawers full of art supplies, stickers, paper, markers, colored pencils etc. We put it up in our room and she blindfolded herself for the surprise...

Then she blindfolded her brother for his surprise...

He got a hunting game called Big Buck Hunter...

Then we all got dressed and ready for Lolli and Pop to come over for the day. Here they are opening their gifts from them...(their own portable DVD players)

...and some movies

Then they had one big surprise for them but they had to go outside to get it. It was a TRAMPOLINE!!!! They were so excited!

One of Karis' fav gifts was this cheap ole High School Musical miniature player that plays all the songs from the movie. This was supposed to be a "filler" gift but it was by far her favorite gift. She just dances around the house singing all the songs...and yes she knows ALL the words (Brayden too)!

Watching a new DVD on his new DVD player...

Lolli and Lucy....

Uncle Jon Jon...

Uncle Allen...

Our neighbor is one of the kids' favorite people..Mr. Henigan. He brought over the kids some gifts...so sweet!

After Jay and Pop put together the trampoline (yes it was FREEZING) the kids jumped on their new toy...

That night out of all the new toys the kids got, Brayden was doing this...

It just proves that you don't have to spend a fortune on the toys. They are satisfied sometimes with the minimal! :)

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and celebrated Christ's birth! Thank you Lord for your continued blessings on our family.