Happy NoonYears Eve Party

 

 

 

 

We hosted a NoonYear's Eve party today and invited our friends from our playgroup. It was a lot of fun! We had all sorts of crazy hats and noisemakers and such and counted down to noon instead of staying up until midnight tonight. The kids really enjoyed it! We had lunch before and everyone brought something to share. We had Chick Fil A nuggets, fruit, veggies, brownies, almond pound cake, chex mix, pretzels and crackers, and summer sausage and cheese cubes. It was all so yummy and we had a lot of fun just talking and laughing and letting the kids play. It was my kind of party since the kids were able to enjoy it and no one is overtired the next day since they could go to bed on time and still not miss out!

Happy New Year! I hope 2010 brings much joy and happiness to you and your families!!

The End of the Christmas Trip

 
 
 
 
So after sledding and playing in the snow, it is imperative that you have some hot chocolate. Then you lay down on the couch with your favorite puppy, Molly. When mom says smile, you now say "cheeeeeese" just like a big boy and when a hotel receptionist gives you a sucker, you definitely get it all over yourself and your clothing!

We had a wonderful trip. There were definitely trials: poor weather, long hours, little sleep, traffic in big cities and overnight stays. But there were so many positives that I am so glad that we took the risk and drove the 2 days each way to spend some time with friends and family! Christmas sure was a lot merrier than I had planned it would be. I missed Bill a lot, but it was so much easier to smile and have fun with so many loved ones around to help you. My boys really enjoyed seeing their grandparents, their cousins and friends of mine. They were spoiled rotten! Probably the most touching memory I have is when we asked Ian what his favorite moment during Christmas was, instead of saying when Santa brought his gifts or something along those lines, he said, "When Grandma Jelly got here." (Grandma Jelly is my grandmother and his great grandmother.) That made the trip totally worth it that my son appreciated seeing family over receiving gifts. I agree with him!

Snow Much Fun Part 2

 

 

 

 

So my dad went into his shop and dug out MY old sled and fixed it up so that Ian could take a ride on it. Oh the memories that it brought back along with the new memories that were made. Ian got on and went for a little ride just around the park, but then we set off to find a hill. The old hill we used to slide down was just a bit too advanced for a 4 year old so we settled on a smaller hill and my dad would drag Ian and the sled up and then give them a running start down. Ian laughed and had a grand time "swedding"! I am not even sure if he knew what sledding was until he got a chance to himself. He is still talking about Papaw and the sled today. Hopefully we will get another chance to sled again in the next couple of years and we can try out the old standby hill that is super fast!

Snow Much Fun Part 1

 
 
 
 
As promised to Ian the day before, Sunday after church we went outside to play in the snow. We didn't have any snow boots so to keep his feet from getting soaked we used some Target shopping bags and tied them over his shoes. They looked ridiculous, but they did the trick and he was able to stomp through the snow and had dry shoes when we went in. Ian had not really had much experience with real snow so when we first went out, he wanted to just stand there and soak it up. Then he remembered seeing someone making a snow angel and dropped down and did that on his own. :) Then he thought he'd like to taste it so he tried to catch some with his tongue. Well that gave little to taste so he leaned down, grabbed some and made sure it wasn't yellow (hee hee) and took a lick! I can't tell you how fun it was to see snow through my son's eyes for the first time. He was just so excited and I couldn't help but be excited, too.

My dad had come out with us and had slipped away to his workshop while we were playing so we went off to find him. See part 2!

Another Visit from some Old Friends

 
 
 
 
After the gathering at my uncles, we were so happy that my old college friends, The Rueths were able to stop by. Jen and I were sorority sisters at Butler. She grew up in the next county over and was there visiting her family and was able to drop by my parents' house on the way back to Indianapolis. She came with so many gifts and the kids really loved tool set. (It's still a favorite and is being played with as often as the kids spot it.) Her husband Dave and her daughter Olivia (who shares my birthday with me!) also came. Olivia had grown so much and I was so happy to see them all. We were able to share Zhu Zhu pets with them and enjoy a cup of java and some laughter and talk and fun! I was just so excited to get to see them!

First Time Touching Snow!

 
 
 
Ian was so excited to see it snowing when we were on our way to eat on Saturday evening. By the time we were leaving my uncle's house the ground was covered. Ian was super curious so I allowed him to pick some up to feel it and promised him that we would play in it after church the next day unless it was too cold/raining/melted, etc.

An Evening with the Hoaglands

 
 
 
 
Saturday evening we went to dinner with my uncle and his family. We got to meet the newest Hoagland, Gavin James, who is just shy of 2 months old. We enjoyed the fellowship over dinner and then went back to their house to eat some dessert and spend a little more time together. My cousin, Andrea just recently got engaged so it was fun to see her and her fiance, JW. I only had 2 girl cousins growing up. (There have been some added since I moved away from home and was already grown up.) Andrea is 8 years younger than me and I was so excited when she came along. Now I am super excited for her as she gets to plan her wedding!

The last picture is my Uncle Mark showing Ian how the hooey stick works. :) It was my grandfather's and it was fun to see him show something that Grandpa would have done.

A Visit from an Old Friend

 
Getting to see my lifelong friend Lisa while I was home was a special treat. Lisa and her husband Rick stopped by my parents' house on the way to her parents' house on Saturday morning. She came bringing Dunkin Donuts which was super sweet of her. We had a lovely visit and it was so great to be able to spend some time with her.

Happy Birthday, Jesus Birthday Party

 
 
 
 


Because my mom's family has suffered some great losses in the past year or so, no one really felt like celebrating "Christmas" in the traditional sense. My mom was pretty depressed to think that because her sister wasn't here that no one wanted to get together so she schemed up a "Birthday party" and sent out invitations as such. Everyone came and I am so glad they did! There were birthday streamers and party horns and a big cake. My uncle's big joke was that he was going to bring a pinata since he heard that it was Jesus' birthday and thought it might be one of our Hispanic friends. :) That got everyone laughing and we all enjoyed eating ham and turkey, shrimp, relish and all sorts of sweets. We didn't really give gifts to anyone but my grandmother and then all the younger kids received a party favor bag with a few sweet treats. We also got out the old family videos and tortured everyone! I think the birthday party was more fun than the traditional Christmas would have been anyway. We still missed our missing loved ones, but the true meaning of the day was held first and foremost and that was what was most important. Happy Birthday, Jesus! We're so glad you came!

Christmas Morning

 
 
 
 

Santa was very good to us! He delivered our gifts to Indiana after I sent him a quick email to make sure he knew we wouldn't be in Texas. Ian so excited that Santa filled his request for a Shake N Go race track. He also loved his Zhu Zhu pets and puzzles. Daddy and Mommy gave him a Nintendo DS so he made out like a bandit.
Aaron got some Duplos, some puzzles and a Zhu Zhu pet. He also got a basketball set and other goodies. He really wasn't all that interested in opening gifts and Ian helped him quite a bit.

December 23rd

 

We headed north after I got off work on Wednesday. We drove through a pretty bad storm and arrived at our hotel on the south side of Little Rock, AR at 10:30pm. This is my ornery boy who was wide awake when I was so tired and just wanting to go to bed!

 

Of course, I can't forget this little guy! He slept just like he was supposed to.