Christmas Jammies!!

2010

2011

2012

Abigail the Photographer

Abigail is a LITTLE obsessed with taking pictures with my phone. At Sam's Club the other day she was taking pictures of everything. Here is a small fraction of her handy work from that day...(she took 53 pictures in about 10 minutes)

Our Little Studmuffin

Hayden will probably kill me one day for telling this story, BUT I have to!! It is just too funny not to tell. He tells me the other night that there are so many girls at school that want to be his girlfriend. There are so many, that on the playground the following day, the girls are going to all line up and he is going to pick one!! WHAT??? I bout fell out of my chair! He was so serious and it was so precious. He also told me (as he swoops his hair across his forehead), that they like him because of his hair!! So I guess its safe to say that his long beach blonde hair is doing wonders for his social life! He said they didn't line up though, he had them race. Whoever was the fastest was his girlfriend. I asked him who won and does he have a girlfriend now....He said yes, but he can't remember her name! Hahaha! So all that build up about his "girlfriends" but he can't remember any names! Gotta love kids and their carefree lives.

Christmas at LuLu's

We went to LuLu's for their big Christmas festivities. They had Billy Claus (Santa's brother) who flew in on a seaplane right in front of us. The kids were so amazed. Before he got there Miss LuLu read all the kids the Billy Claus book, that she personally wrote. Then all the kids got to go up and see Billy and tell him want they want for Christmas. They had all kinds of crafts projects for the kids to do at picnic tables. They love doing crafts, so they loved it. Abigail calls crafts "crack" for some reason, so of course she loved doing crack that day. hehehe  There was a boat parade that evening too. So it was a fun fun day. We will definitely be going to this event annually. 

 Everyone got multiple glitter tattoos!

We love the LuLuBelles!!

Thanksgiving and Santa!!

 Things have been busy around here with the holidays approaching. We are enjoying living in South Alabama even more than before. There are tons of fun holiday things to do every weekend! Hayden was out of school for the whole week of Thanksgiving, so we decided to stay at my parents house in Gulf Shores. (so we could go to the beach everyday! which we did!) Unfortunately my parents weren't there to enjoy the week with us. They went to Gatlinburg for the week, along with my brother and his family. My sister and her daughters did come down midweek to stay with us though. It was a blast! A much needed cousin and sister bonding time. Thanksgiving Day was awesome. We took the boat out in the morning, and the water was like glass. We saw tons of dolphins that day, and the kids loved it! Then my sister took all the kids to the beach, and Sean and I prepared Thanksgiving dinner. (Sean mostly, I was just there for moral support!) Dinner was amazing of course, and Sean even added a little Gulf Coast flair, with blue crabs, stone crabs, and gumbo! Delish!! After dinner, my sister, my niece, and myself went Black Friday shopping!!! Sean was an amazing husband once again and stayed with the rest of the kiddos so we could go. We left at about 7:30pm and shopped until about 3am. We wore my niece out FOR SURE!! We all decided that we have definitely started our new Thanksgiving tradition.

We always get our live Christmas tree on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. So thats just what we did! The place we went too was really nice. They had train rides, camel rides, live nativity scene, tons of different kind of trees, and SANTA!! The girls were surprisingly great with Santa. Everyone hugged him and jumped right in his lap. Hayden told us in line that he wanted to tell Santa that he wanted a scooter. So when Santa asked Abigail first "what do you want for Christmas?" Guess what she said?.....SCOOTER! So then it was Emmaline's turn, and take a wild guess....SCOOTER!!! Poor Hayden, he doesn't have a chance with these girls, but he was very polite about it. He just waited his turn and said he wanted a scooter too. My sweet boy! We are looking forward to the rest of December and all the holiday festivities to come!

Turkey Trot 5k

My brother volunteers at the Prodisee Pantry here in Spanish Fort. They had a 5k last weekend that his family was participating in, so we decided join them. They have done many 5k's, even my 5 year-old nephew, Landon. He has even come in 1st a couple times for his age group. This particular race was having a 5k followed by a 1 mile fun run. So I asked Hayden which one he would rather do... He said "let me think about it." He decided on the fun run. I explained to him that Landon was doing the 5k, so he was not going to be able to hang out and play with Landon. Then later he changed his mind all together and said he just wanted to "watch" from the sidelines. WHAT?!!! So with the advice from Sean, I just signed us both up for the 5k. So early early Saturday morning I load up my double jogging stroller and all three kids. We started in the back of the race to keep our strollers out of the way of all the hardcore runners (Brian). I for one was WALKING, no way I could run and push 2 little girls through all the hills that were on the race course. (Kristy and I did run a few times though) Landon and Hayden were infront of us for a little while, then Hayden was GOOOOOOOONE. He ran the whole rest of the way and finished at 38 minutes, a full 10 minutes before me. I was so proud of him. Here he was, 2 days earlier, not even wanting to do it, and then finished before me! He finished 6th in his age group, but all the kids before him were 8 or 9, so he did pretty good considering his age and size. There are so many 5k's around here all the time, so we have decided to do 1 a month. Next time Sean will do it with us and run with Hayden. I bet he will do even better next time. Love my little man!

Thank Uncle Brian for taking this pic (since I was far behind him!)

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was fun like always! There were so many festivities here and around Spanish Fort. So the kids got good use out of their costumes for sure. Hayden and Abigail were superheroes! Emmaline was an owl, but she thought she was a SUPEROWL, thanks to Hayden and Abigail. It was so precious though to hear her say "I am a superowl!" We did do one thing different this year though. We only carved one pumpkin instead of the normal 5! Sean and I end up doing all the work every year, and it takes forever. So maybe in a couple years we can go back to our family tradition of everyone carving pumpkins. Hope you and your family had a Great Halloween!!

Open House!

Wheel of Fortune

I have watched WOF for as long as I can remember. I think pretty much my entire life! I remember sitting in my Dad's lap as a child watching it with him...then in the chair next to him as a teenager...then as an adult going to visit him and solving puzzles while just visiting! I have always wanted to be on the show, and that dream came true on October 5th when I got to fly out to California and record a real show!!

 It was a looooong journey to get there though.....my sister, Lisa and I went to a Wheel Mobile audition at the casinos right after we had Abigail and Savana, so about 4 years ago. We didn't even get called on stage! We were bummed, but oh well. Then we went to another Wheel Mobile audition the spring of 2011. We went 2 days in a row and still not called on stage....then the last group of 5 people on the last day, they called me on stage!! Then a few months later I got my letter for the 2nd audition at The Peabody in Memphis. BUT I got the letter after the audition already happened!! So Sean persauded me to still call the number on the letter and tell them I missed it because I never got the letter. So I did and they said they would write my name down and if there was a 2nd audition near me in the future, I could automatically go to it. I really never thought anything else about it. A year later I got an email for an audition in Knoxville. So I persauded Lisa to go with me AGAIN, and we even picked up her best friend Jennifer in Nashville so she could go too. Everything was going great we were about an hour and a 1/2 from Knoxville, starving and ready to eat lunch. Then we realized that the DAMN time changed, and we almost missed the audition. Audition went great, I made it through every cut that day and was told that I would receive a letter within 2 weeks if I made it on the show. Two weeks came and went and no letter. So I accepted it and even told my close friends and family that it wasn't going to happen for me. Then week 3 the letter came! Sean and I decided to make a life change and move to AL.Weeks before our move, I got a call saying it was time to record my show. So during our move to AL, we stopped unpacking, unloaded the kids to the nearest family, and flew to Cali on a Thursday and back on Saturday. It was an awesome short trip for Sean and I. We have never been by ourselves for more than an evening out since the birth of Hayden, so about 6 1/2 years ago!! We enjoyed our time together. We went to see the Santa Monica Pier on Thursday. On Friday my childhood friends, Jodie and Sarah (who live in Cali now) came to watch the show. Then they took us sightseeing in Hollywood. It was so fun, and we really appreciated them taking us around!

Now for my show...I can't say how I did, But I will say that it was an awesome experience. The set was really cool, and Pat and Vanna are super nice. I did well but I didn't do as good as I wanted to. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Lots of bright lights and information and sensory overload!!!  It airs January 14th, so make sure you watch!

Thanks to everyone that made this possible and contributed to the many steps for me to be on the show---Mom, Dad, Lisa, Jennifer, Brian, Sarah, Jodie, and SEAN!!!! 

It's been a while...

Well I haven't blogged in a long while, but it is time to start again for many reasons! The main reason is that we have moved AGAIN! We are not by my brother and sisters' and friends' families anymore, so I would like for them to be able to read my blog and keep up with us. Also all of Sean's family lives away, and I want them to be able to see pics and stories of the kids too! We made the move about 2 weeks ago to Spanish Fort, AL. Sean got a new job at a Toyota dealership just a mile from our apartment. We love having him so close. He can come home everyday for lunch or just to say hi! My parents and sister are in Gulf Shores, so we have enjoyed being able to go see them whenever we want. My brother and his family are in the next town over, Daphne. The cousins love to play together and us adults have enjoyed our time together too!. There are endless things to do here and the surrounding cities, so we are very excited about living her and raising our kids here. I have already started house looking, so hopefully we will move next spring into our forever home! We have taken our boat out in the Gulf every time Sean has been off work (I think this is Sean's favorite thing about being here, no more dirty lakes!), so I will leave you with a beautiful pic of Orange Beach, AL.

More Dress-up Days

"100 year-old Day"

"Circus Day"

Hayden has had more dress-up days at school that I would have ever thought they would! He loves it though, and I do too! On the 100th day of school they dressed like they were 100 years old. I put baby powder in his hair, and I took the lenses out of an old pair of glasses. He really thought he was cool!  Then on circus day, I thought I would whip up a little popcorn vendor costume for him. He loved walking around the house in his costume, yelling "fresh popcorn" "get your fresh popcorn".  Can't wait for red, white, and blue day next week, and then whatever dress-up day is next!

Abigail's Big Day

Abigail has had ear infections nonstop since she birth. Sean has always been very resistant to the idea of putting tubes in her ears, because of the risks of her being put to sleep. We were going to do the surgery at the beginning of January 2011 because she had ear infections every month from June-October 2010. Then when January came, she never had another one until August. Then had one every month August-December 2011. So Sean and I discussed it thoroughly and decided to do the surgery no matter what come January 2012. So on January 23rd, she got tubes!! I was so excited, and Sean was so scared and nervous. (I was too, but I was being strong for Daddy) She also got a frenulectomy to help with her speech. She wasn't really nervous or anxious on surgery day. She is so used to going to the doctor for her ears, it was like any other day! She was not too fond of the gown and socks that she had to wear though! Before the surgery they take the children down "toy hall" and let them pick out a toy. She picked make-up of course. So when they walked off with her holding her make-up, she was just fine! They gave her bubblegum gas, and she is still talking about the lady that gave her bubblegum stuff! Her tongue was pretty sore for a few days from the frenulectomy. She is definitely acting different (for the better), is talking better, and I'm sure feels soooo much better!!!

While sitting at the outpatient surgery center, I thought to myself how we are fortunate that Abigail was having such a minor surgery. Some families have it much worse and are put through many many major surgeries due to childhood illnesses. I do not know how they go through it, and my heart truly goes out to them. I love my husband and children so much, and I thank God that we are all healthy.

Last Christmas Post, I promise!!

Christmas 2010

Christmas 2011

Christmas has been gone for a while now, but I couldn't leave out my Matching Pajamas pic!! It's one of my favorite traditions. Hayden asked me this year, "why do we have to wear the same pajamas??  no one else does this!"  I replied, "for as long as I can find you matching Christmas pj's!!! and yes other people do!!!!  You can see in the pictures how the kids have changed and grown over the last year. I love the last picture the most. They are all posed and smiling perfectly, and like always, Emmaline is running from them!!!!

Fishing on Christmas Eve Day

 We have two ponds on the property we live on, and Sean loves to take the kids back there to fish. On Christmas Eve, he said they were going back there to fish and I laughed! I thought it was to cold to catch anything, but boy was I wrong!! Hayden caught 6 fish and was so excited. He made sure everyone knew his Daddy caught 0.

Proud Daddy!!!!!

Happy Holidays!

We once again had a great time this holiday season. We went to the Christmas Tree Farm, like we have done every year, and got our real tree. The kids love to ride around on the wagon and see all the trees. A week before Christmas we had everyone over and celebrated with yummy food and Dirty Santa for the kids and the grown-ups. Sean closed his dealership on Saturday, so we got to spend 2 whole days with Daddy, which is a rare occasion. We thoroughly enjoyed it!! Especially on Christmas Day because I woke up feeling horrible, so I basically laid on the couch all day . Sean opened everything, put batteries in everything, took kids outside to ride their new bikes, etc. etc. He is such an awesome father, I'm so lucky to have such an amazing man in my life. We spent New Years at home with our kids, like we always have. They love to stay up late and watch the Dick Clark (Ryan Seacrest) Special. I'm excited to see what 2012 brings for our family!!