A Visit with Santa

This story starts with another parade - the Holiday one to be more specific.  Ryan and I walked the kids downtown to see the parade on a very very cold Saturday morning.  While we were walking down there I mentioned to Isla that Santa would be at the end of the parade so she wouldn't be freaked out (Santa has done this to her in the past).  Not sure what it is with young kids and Santa - they love him yet fear him at the same time.  Anywho . . .

Trying to keep warm during the parade:

The parade turned out to be a looooooooong one and about an hour into it I couldn't feel my toes so we decided to head back home.  Isla was not happy about this at all.  I tried to explain that we were all cold and needed to warm up, but she replied back that she wanted to see Santa.  In order to avoid losing my toes and an Isla meltdown I mentioned to her that we could go and see Santa later that day thinking that she would probably forget about it.  The thing I'm learning about Isla is that her memory is getting better.  Later that day she asked if we could go and see Santa and being the good mom that I am (most of the time), I put her and Drew into the car and drove them to the mall.  I figured all she wanted to do was look at him and watch him, but imagine my shock when my painfully shy daughter asked if she could sit on his lap.  I almost fell over.  I quickly went with the kids to stand in line for Santa, but of course was informed that Santa was taking a break to feed his reindeer. Since we didn't have time to wait for Santa I promised Isla we would come back the next day.

The next morning, the first thing Isla asked about was when she could go and see Santa.  So again, I packed up her and Drew (and wrangled Ryan) into the car to head out to the mall.  We ended up being the one of the first ones in line.  I thought Isla would back out, but she waited in line patiently with her brother:

She did look a little nervous I guess.  When their time came they both went right up to Santa and sat on his lap and told him what they wanted for Christmas (Drew - a fire truck, Isla - a baby doll) and took a picture. The result was an awkward smile by both children, but hey, at least there were no tears:

I was so proud of Isla though - maybe she starting to come out of the painfully shy stage (yay!)?

  

New House, End of November, Thanksgiving 2013

A nice combo post for you:

We moved!  After spending the summer and early fall in the Plex we finally found the house we have been waiting for.  I am pleasantly surprised that we found what we were looking for in the "flat" land as Ryan calls it as I thought we would have had to move up into the foothills to find it.  In fact the house is about as close to downtown as you can get and we have been enjoying the location by riding our bikes and walking to events (see previous post).  I am so thankful that we found what we were looking for and I seriously love this house more and more everyday.

The weekend before Thanksgiving we ventured out to the Zac Brown Band concert with some friends.  Such a great concert and I highly recommend seeing this band if you can.  All the boys in their plaid shirts - so original:

We decided to stay home for Thanksgiving again this year and host Grandma, Papa Randy and Uncle Johnny.  It was my first time cooking the bird by myself (except Grandma took out the insides and neck of the turkey as that part makes me a wee bit squeamish) and I have to say that it turned out really well.  The finished product:

 My other turkey:

Dinning room set for Thanksgiving dinner:

 

Veteran's Day Parade

Okay so I'm a little behind on the blogging.  These pictures are from way back at the beginning of November when I walked the kids (yes, we can walk to downtown from our new house!) to the Veteran's Day parade.  I was surprised that I really enjoyed the parade and watching my kids wave their American Flags.  It was also touching to watch people in the parade stop and shake the hand of servicemen who were among the parade watchers and thank them for their service.  I'm glad my kids liked it too:

    Except for when the motorcycles went by:

Halloween - 2013

We had a pretty mellow Halloween this year.  Probably because we just moved into a new house (more on that later) and work has been very busy for both Ryan and I.  We started our Halloween festivities at my work the Friday before Halloween.  The kids got to go around and trick-or-treat at the offices/desks of my fellow employees.  We actually got a family picture out of the deal:

On actual Halloween the kids got to dress up at school and then we took them out trick-or-treating in the new hood.  I think Drew maybe lasted 5 houses before he had a melt down:

Token Leaf Pile Pictures - 2013

Isla and Drew "helped" their Dad rake up some leaves a couple of weekends ago:

Killer Boots Man

Drew cannot resist putting on my boots or Ryan's boots and it's quite funny:

I really wish I had video of the 5 bazillion times Drew watched this video and laughed hysterically at himself falling.  Love that boy.

Botanical Gardens Fall Festival - 2013

We decided to keep away from the large pumpkin farms this year and instead get our pumpkins at the smaller fall festival held at the Botanical Gardens.  The fact that you can have beer and wine at this festival did not sway us one bit :-).  We joined up with some friends from Isla and Drew's school and enjoyed the nice fall weather in Boise.

Only in Idaho do they have a fake cow that the kids can take turns milking.  It was quite the hit:

Isla and Kyle looking at the trains.  Not sure what was going on in this picture as I was trying to keep Drew from riding on the model trains:

Taking in the view from the new tree house:

Add of course, painting their pumpkins:

Which the squirrels have already decimated.  Halloween pictures to come!  

Isla Turns 5!

I can't believe I have been a Mommy for five years already.  My sweet Isla turned 5 a couple of weeks ago and is quickly becoming a big girl.  We went shopping for new clothes the other day and she was sooooo into it.  She wanted to try on all the clothes we had picked out for her in the dressing room and with every new piece of clothing she tried on she would look at herself in the mirror and strike a pose.  It was so darn cute and I couldn't help but get tears in my eyes.  I want to keep her little for a bit longer.

Isla is still quite shy around those she doesn't know well and is very loyal to her friends.  She loves to play with her babies and have a school day with them complete with projects.  If this girl is not a teacher I will be surprised!

She has a couple of sayings right now that crack me up.  She calls her hair conditioner her air conditioner and her cup holder in her car seat her cup folder.

I wasn't with Isla on her birthday either, but again, my family made her feel extra special on her day (even while her brother was stricken with a stomach flu):

Happy Birthday my baby girl (you will ALWAYS be my baby girl even though you don't like me to call you that), I love you!

Drew Turns 3!

Say it ain't so that my baby boy is three.  Actually I really dread this age as it has proven to be the hardest so far with our kids.  It's good thing this boy is cute as can be as he is showcasing some major attitude and some huge temper tantrums.  But along with the bad there is some good - he still has the best laugh and a great sense of humor.  He also has a great imagination that keeps him playing outside by himself for long periods of time.  He also entertains me with some of the best car/train/animal noises I have ever heard.

I unfortunately wasn't able to be with my kids on their actual birthdays this year.  It was really hard, but I got through it knowing they were with people who love them as much as I do (grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins).  I'm sure Drew didn't miss me as much as I missed him:

 Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!  I'm so blessed to be your Mommy.

    

Kiddos Birthday Party - 2013

I figure why the kids are still young and don't have much of an opinion yet I would take advantage and combine their birthday parties.  Since we are still in the tiny Plex we decided to have it at a nearby park with all the kid's friends and parents.  Thank goodness my parents decided to make the trip over for the party, I don't think I could have pulled it off without them especially since I was leaving on a week long work trip the next day.

Of course Drew had to get sick the night before the party.  We really didn't think he would feel up for the party, but he surprised us and was in good spirits for most of the party.  Isla was so excited to have all her friends come and play with her:

Drew was a bit shy:

Fun with friends:

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They both go to pick out their own birthday cakes.  Drew went with the Boise State cake:

And Isla wanted a chocolate cake with pink frosting and flowers:

Cake! It is so funny to watch how quickly kids come together when it is time to cut the cake:

Poor Drew trying to have a good time at his party (I think the cupcake helped):

A huge thank you to Grandma Connie who took all the pictures!