New Tradition

I came up with this new tradition for Christmas Eve and I LOVE it!!! I got the idea from here. I didn't go to the extremes like she did, but I did buy an espresso kit which made it so much fun. We had hot chocolate, whipped cream, marshmellows, peppermint candies, cinnamon sprinkles, and caramel sauce. Everyone had a different favorite. We will definitely continue this tradition!

Karyna

You'd think we had disappeared off the face of the earth by the number of posts, but we are still here. Just really busy. But I have some post-worthy news about Karyna that I wanted to share. She decided to sign up for Leadership Council at her school and was accepted. At the next meeting they had to vote for officers. She was running for a few of the positions and would have been happy to do any of them, but she was very excited when she was voted in as President. This makes her "in charge" of both 5th and 6th grade. I'm proud of her for putting herself out there and being a great leader! Good Job Karyna!

A Little Bit of Work and A LOT of Play

We've really made the most of this summer at our Lake House. The biggest problem we find is that it's too hard to get any work done because it's too much fun to play. But one major project did get done. After four days of hot, back breaking work, the new roof is on and I don't have to worry during every rainstorm anymore that the ceiling with cave in on our new living room!





But as the title suggests, we played alot too! Too much to get a lot of pictures. So this one from my phone will have to do for now. The brand new knee board has added to the jet ski experience. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Cook!


I'm always sad for summer to end, but this year it's going to be especially hard for Trevyn. This boy lives for being outside. I'm also so sad to see his tan go. What are we going to do all winter???

We love SAND!

We've had my sister in town the last couple weeks and we have played and played and played. The kids have really enjoyed having friends to play with everyday at the lake house. One of the first days they played, they had a sand castle/creation contest. Here are the entries:





Besides the sand castles, we've just had a lot of fun!

Happy Birthday Kaylee!

For Kaylee's Birthday this year she got to invite one friend to spend the night. Karyna did makeovers, Tyler did games, and we all decorated cupcakes with her new cake decorating tips. It was a great night. Happy 7th Birthday!



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Trevyn Turned One!

So, I realize this is way late, so I considered not posting, but then I felt bad that it wouldn't even be mentioned. So this is more for the sake of having a post about his birthday than anything else. We are so busy these days, it was hard to find time to celebrate, but we were able to squeeze in a little cake and presents.





Trevyn is such a joy to be around! He's got more personality in him than we know what to do with. He smiles at everyone, although he's started this funny shy look when he meets someone new. We spend a lot of time outdoors because he LOVES it! Sand, grass, gravel, doesn't matter he wants to play outside. But he refuses to wear shoes so he's getting pretty tough feet. He loves the lake and playing on the beach. He doesn't love the floaties, so it's a lot of work to keep my eye on him. He even went for a ride on our jet skis, but the motion almost put him to sleep! He's got a better tan than any baby we've ever seen so that gets quite a few comments. Overall, he's a joy to be around, I can't get enough of him!

I'm not proud of what I have done!

This, my friends, tops my list of saddest pictures I will ever take. Does this look like a boy who would say, "Look Mom! I did it! I learned to fall asleep on my own!"

No. This looks like a boy who collapsed upon himself out of pure exhaustion and defeat. This looks like a boy who thought to himself, "Why... why has this women, who I have come to love and trust, abandoned me in this time of need?"

Did I do this because I think Dr. Ferber is a genius? No. I did this out of desperation! I did this to save my family. After weeks of no sleep, grouchy mornings, and just not being much fun for my other children, they are probably about ready to "Ferberize" me.

So... no... I'm not proud of what I have done, but at times you have to choose the lesser of two evils. So now as I write this, my sweet little child who can do no wrong in my eyes, is laying in a heap in his crib wondering... Where's my mother?

We have a walker!

This video is actually about two weeks old, so he's doing better than this, but I haven't taken new video. He still crawls to get anywhere, but in the last few days he has taken a step or two if his destination is close. I love the excitement on his face when he realizes he's walking!



And because this post is about Trevyn, here's a picture of him. We see this regularly. This is a sock, but he actually prefers wipes. He gets one and carries it around with him. Don't even think of taking it away. We call it his "security wipe"!

Easter

I am not usually the most festive person around, but this year I found a cool idea on this blog and really wanted to try it. So, instead of buying the cheap walmart egg dying kit, I bought some silk ties from the Salvation Army and came up with these AWESOME eggs! The kids really enjoyed doing something a little different and while they were cooking, they got to paint watercolors on some other eggs. I wish I would have thought to take a picture of the ties before, but I'm only half on the ball!

What if She Drops Him???

I came down stairs this morning and Tayden (who is very protective of his little brother, Trevyn) and I had this conversation:

Tay: Mom, is Kaylee allowed to hold Trevyn?

Mom: Yes, she's big enough.

Tay: But what if she carries him around?

Mom: Well.. she probably shouldn't too much, but she's okay if she's careful.

Tay: But what if this happens? (then he shows my the picture he drew)

Fun Stuff

Seth was out of town this past week so I made a point to do some fun things with the kids. It helped that we had great weather. So yesterday, we went to the park. It was a little muddy and Trevyn wanted to be down playing and eating the bark, so I put him in a swing and he loved it!




Last night, per Tyler's request, we had Fondue Night. My kids LOVE this. I guess you could say I enjoy it too. We did some cheese (not in the fondue pot so it didn't work real well. I need another pot!) and bread. Then for the main course we did oil with chicken and steak dipped in a tempura batter. I didn't have any vegetables to dip which surprisingly, the kids really missed. And then we cleaned up and did a chocolate fondue. It was delish!

I told them to all say "Fondue" and Kaylee is my drama queen!

Also, Tyler is now a Bear Scout. Here's some pictures from his Blue and Gold Banquet. They did a little skit and he was a mummy. It was pretty cute.