Geotrax Party

Ty is quite the Geotrax fanatic. We have amassed quite a collection since his birthday in October. We bought some pieces used from Kari, found some on Craigslist, hounded the nice ladies at Once Upon a Child and faithfully checked Kohl's to combine discounts to get the newer pieces cheaper. Needless to say, it has been fun to collect geotrax.

We are lucky to have a great group of 2 and 3 year old boys at our church, so we decided to get together and have a Geotrax party. Ty was thrilled, as was Mark. (Sometimes I think it was more for Mark than Ty. :) )

Here are the party guys.

Sarah is awesome at setting up everything. She meticulously places each sign and tree in just the right spot.

Emily loves her little Ty. On a side note, Ty is finally potty trained. We were frustrated just before Christmas because he just didn't seem to care about the whole diaper thing. He was content to be a 'baby'. Our doctor said to just wait and try again in a couple of months. Last week he said he wanted to wear underwear and it is going great! Still a few accidents, but no complaints here! Emily and I were watching him running around in his underwear and she said that she is just so proud of him. I love how she loves her brother.

Mammaw and Mom stopped by to visit for a bit. Katie thought Mammaw was so funny.

Katie and Chloe enjoying the house.

Grandpa and his train loving boys.See--doesn't it look like Mark's party! I wonder what is so funny! :)

Fun Times

I can't believe 2009 is a bit over 1/12th of the way through all ready. It seems we have already packed some much into such a short amount of time.

Last night 24 of my family members went to see a rodeo at Germain Arena. We had a good time being together.

Emily, Sarah and I had fun planning for the kids to dress up cowboy style. I think they look absolutely adorable! We bought the 3 older kids' shirts at the Thrift Store for 1.99 each.

You can't see Katie's boots very well, but they are little red boots. These were some that we bought for Emily for her 2nd birthday. (Barnyard Birthday Bash) Sarah also wore them and now it is Katie's turn.

Katie has been getting into trouble lately. She has tapped into her artistic side. I like art, but we have asked her to try finger paint rather than finger poop.

Emily, Sarah and Ty hung streamers and blew up balloons for Mark's birthday celebration. He was in Orlando on his actual birthday and we missed him so much.

We brought pizza over to Grandpa and Grandma's new house to celebrate for Grandma's birthday. The kids love to visit the house. There is so much to do and explore. Now if is would just warm up and we could swim!

Family Time at the Park

We have company visitng from Michigan. That is always a good time to get to the park. I'm already looking forward to the time change. I hate it that it is dark by 630.

I guess I didn't bring enough toys. Katie resorted to using her shoe for entertainment.
Robin bought Mammaw the Corn Hole game for her birthday. We are having a great time with it.

Ty in Katie's car. The whole pink is for girls means nothing to him! He loved having Kaylie push him around. Thank you Kaylie.

This was Silas' first visit to the park with all of us. I think he had a blast!

Nema and Dick have been enjoying their time on Fort Myers Beach. They leave on Saturday to return to the snowy state of Michigan.

Jonathan is getting so tall! Makes Keela look like a shorty.

Hannah is also visiting from Michigan. She is enjoying going to the beach every morning. Glad we got a chance to visit and catch up.
I just really like this snapshot of my Dad and Ty. I caught them throwing sand at each other. My first thought was to tell Ty to quit throwing sand, but if Grandpa is doing it too do I tell Grandpa to quit? They have a lot of fun together.

Aunt Kristy's Visit

Aunt Kristy was here to visit for about 3 weeks. We had a wonderful time and all of us are missing her already. I think having someone in your house for 3 weeks could be a little crazy, but not with Kristy. All the kids adore her. She was a huge help around the house. (I think I will have to start doing laudry again!) She changed more than her share of diapers and is just plain fun to be around.

Thanks for visiting! We love you!



I know I have been out of the blogging loop lately. With being on the computer so much for work, I just needed a break from all other things digital. Now off to check up on everyone's blog.

:)

Gift for my Dad

This year we made my dad a photo collage for his car lot.
We printed and framed the pic above. We went to his carlot one evening and took pictures off all kinds of things. When we got home we cropped, trimmed and rotated to make Willoughby Auto Sales.

It was a fun gift to plan and make.

I think I might make one for us next.

Santa meets Jesus

Christmasy Stuff

I love Christmas time. We have so many traditions that we 'must' do each year.
Tonight we went to Lakes Park to ride the train. It was freezing cold. (60, but it was high 70's earlier in the day). We sang (alot) along the way. I wonder if people wished they were on a different train, or were they happy to be with happy albiet loud people. Ty and Logan walked right up to Santa. Ty hadn't wanted to go near him any other time this year. Ty asked for Team Geo Trax. Who would have thought? :)
Logan said he wanted Money. (Randy taught him that.) When they were done Ty told me he wasn't afraid, he is a good boy. He knew I was proud of him.

The big girls got their turn too. Emily told Santa she wanted a warmer blanket. Smart kid. (Remember it was freeezing!)
Somehow they convinced Grandma to push them. They were so cold.

Ty said this present was his bed and wanted to take a nap on it. Katie thought that sounded fun. They think the wrapped presents are fun. Wonder what will they think on Thursday when we unwrap them all.

Emily is so excited about everything Christmasy this year. I love her spirit.

These are out of order. Arrgh.

After the Christmas dinner at church we went out to Briarcliff to see the lights.

Ty and Logan loved the jack in the box. I love their happy smiles.

Tay and I bought Katie and Chloe matching dresses. I thought we would get the perfect hair, perfect dress, black patent leather shoes picture, but.....well sometimes life is more like this picture. No shoes on some kids. Only tights on one kid. Dirty faces and dresses. Oh well. They looked adorable! :)

Our little foursome looking might cute! :)

I was teasing Isaiah and Sarah. When these two were younger they were the noisiest kids ever! I used to tell Keela she should get Isaiah's hearing checked. The boy didn't know how to whisper! We were glad he could join us for dinner.

The girls sang with the other girls. They did a beautiful job.

I taught Junior Church in Ty's class Sunday Morning. The Christmas Tree hats were begging for a picture.

I think it is kinda funny that Ty is holding a GeoTrax magazine. He doesn't leave home without it! :)