Twins & Choo Choo's

I think it is safe to say that the train set was a fabulous idea for two busy boys. The even better idea was the battery operated train that Grammy bought which occupies their attention longer than anything else we have at the current time. We absolutely love how often we are replacing batteries think it is worth every penny ; ) 

We love the expansion pack that allows us, or rather me to design all sorts of track combinations. The boys are getting the hang of putting the pieces together & are not happy when I turn it over to have it go the correct way. They are definitely getting more particular about doing things their way & the best part is they don't always like the way brother is doing it. Over all, the building of the track can get loud but once the choo choo train is on the move they are happy. 

Anson is so relaxed he sits & sucks his thumb while watching go round & round. Owen is usually busy putting the little guys in the other train. 

He hollers "guys! guys! guys!" when searching for them & pointing at the little station. We keep the "guys" put away unless we are sitting with them since they are the perfect size to get lodged in the throat ; )

The tunnel or as the boys say "nunnel" is their favorite part. Here they are yelling "NUNNEL" telling the train to get in there ASAP.  Anson looks concerned it might head the wrong way...

Anson has a slight obsession with the trees. When we were at my parents house this fall he only cared about the trees. When I noticed that the set we were purchasing for Christmas only had two trees I immediately hopped on eBay & found a guy selling ten for $8. Anson got those in his stocking. He likes to fill the "nunnel" with them & let the train push them out.

When the train runs out of batteries Owen is usually crying until I go get another battery & screwdriver to bring it back to life. You might assume the crying would stop when I show up with the necessary items but he continues screaming until he gets to hold the screwdriver. He can actually get it into the right place & I help him turn it. That's Owen, our little mechanic!

While we were in Orlando, Robby built a stand for our washer & dryer so we could have space underneath for laundry baskets. We only got to enjoy it for about three months before we moved & had to stack our washer & dryer to fit in the new space. When we moved into the house it was carried in, set down in front of the book case & covered in boxes of books. When the books were unpacked....it stayed there. Who knew it would make a perfect stage, a stunt mans' place to jump from, a hideout, a boat & a train table? 

Owen & the train....Anson & the trees....

He figures they have a good amount of fiber in them. Most have teeth marks thanks to this hungry guy.

With all this train playtime, my mind is going down the track to planning a Choo Choo themed party for birthday # 2 which is just around the corner!

Celebrating Christmas: Round 2, 3 &4

We headed south to the Valentines house for a 4 o'clock dinner prepared by chef Bob himself. He makes some pretty delicious things & this was no exception! We enjoyed Beef Tenderloin, potatoes, green beans, rolls & more than a couple desserts. Selfishly I love eating a meal somewhere that there are others who can't wait to steal my children from me. I'm pretty sure I sat at the table for a long while, ate two full servings & may have scarfed up four giant rolls...the last two when no one was looking ; ) We loved spending with with Robby's Grandma Virginia also known as Gigi to the little ones, Aunt Anne & three of her four kids. It was fun to be at the Valentines for the first time in about 7 years. Back then Jeannine had no idea that she would need all these little stockings hung over her fire place! 

I laughed out loud when she texted on Christmas Eve. She said "Ok, who is going to have a baby whose name starts with U?" I immediately knew exactly what she was talking about.  I said she must be staring at her mantle seeing all the vowels but "U" & let her know that U provided slim pickins for names & would she really want an Ursula or a Ulysses? Such cute stockings though & I enjoyed a couple of the sugary treats they held!

Owen was excited about some new tennis shoes & strutted around the room like he owned the place!

The boys hit the jackpot when they opened an expansion kit of railroad track & two trains....one with batteries! The boys were a little nervous that it could move by itself. You can imagine how terrified they were when one of the girls cranked the gas on the pretend lawn mower Uncle Kyle bought. Sad but cute ; ) 

Anson was happier eating cake off of other peoples plates although Gigi looks like she didn't mind a bit!

Almost 80 years between these two yet they get along so well! I have always said something about Lolo reminds me of Virginia & after looking at this I am pretty sure it's the eyes. Such pretty ladies!

Another attempt at a picture...Charlotte has been cracking herself up lately.

Virginia with Jack, Thomas, Robby & Caroline. Sidenote -Thomas & Caroline were in our wedding & now they are taller then each of us (respectively).

Owen & Anson have started thinking it's hilarious to hug each other throwing their entire weight onto the other person. We find it amusing...who wouldn't with those darling smiles?

The evening concluded with buckling kids into carseats & Charlotte sadly saying "I don't want Christmas to be over." I laughed & said "Don't worry honey, it isn't, we live in Texas now & we have three more "christmases" to celebrate." We were excited when Gigi was able to come by for another visit before heading back to Michigan...can't get enough of her!



All slept well that night after a long day. We woke up & got the ball rolling cleaning up anything I hadn't cleaned in my rage the day before. Our family had the pleasure of hosting the entire Loftin clan, my moms' side of the family. There were around 25 people including the 7 great grandkids that kept all well entertained.  Or wait, maybe it was Scott who kept all the great grandkids entertained ; )

Wide open spaces are good for this crew...

I am so bummed we did not get any group shots & especially bummed we did not get one of GGran with all her littlest loves. Once people cleared out, Uncle Scott & Uncle Kyle got to work building with the Magformers. It comes with a guide of all the things you can make with certain sets but these two didn't care to look at it. In no time at all, I was called in to photograph a cat.

Then I was called back in moments later because the cat was about to give birth to a Dalmation pup. Oh my goodness, never a dull moment haha!

Paw Paw got lots of snuggles while we cleaned up the house. We did some gift opening with just my parents & brothers.  Robby got a pretty cool axe from my brothers. They had picked it out months ago....they are always scheming to buy the coolest gifts ; ) I think the sweetest gift I got was from my Dad. It was a book called Everything I need to know I learned from a Little Golden Book & is filled with familiar pictures but different words from the many Little Golden Books that have been written. The beginning is probably what sold him on purchasing it for me since it starts with "Is your life beginning to feel like a circus? Don't panic. Today's a new day! Get dressed first thing. (Sweatpants are bad for morale, put on something nice)" Hilarious & sweet. My favorite page has the pictures from Baby Dear. Daddies are special to girls young & old...Grandaddies are special too!

Saturday we did some running around town then headed over to Uncle Joe & Aunt Deb's house for our final family gathering in relation to Christmas. We of course had to attempt another picture...and fail...at least five times....

So, we moved onto gift opening. Much lower failure rate ; ) To summarize what the girls received, it was a blast from the past kind of Christmas with Hungry Hungry Hippos, Twister, Simon & even a Lite Brite!  The kids were excited to play but as we observed, the adults seemed to be most interested haha ; )

Debbie, Mike, Zac & Keaton. Aunt Deb is actually quite tall compared to me & looks short in this picture.  I'm wondering how much my boys will tower over me someday?

Uncle Scott & the great Gaga took over the assembling of Owen & Anson's new race track.

Emma taught Anson everything he needed to know about a Lite Brite while Zac was probably the only one who even figured out how to properly play the new version of Simon.

Mallory helped make sure the horses were watered for buckaroo number 1.

Just a few others....

The birthday girl & boy we get to celebrate between Christmas & New Years.

Paw Paw letting Anson touch a tree he could not pull down if he tried.

Oh, there's Anson again...begging for cake...from another pushover ; ) 

I will close with a clip of all the fun that was had teaching a new generation how to play a beloved game. Here's to much Twister in the new year!

Celebrating Christmas: Round 1

Now that we are nearly a week into the new year, it is time to catch up! We have truly enjoyed our holiday whether out & about or at home. I have enjoyed the mini unplanned blogging break as well. Our anniversary trip could not have been timed more perfectly leading up to the week of Christmas providing some rest on the front end of celebrations. 

We were thankful to have healthy kids & a quiet house on Christmas Eve....as quiet as can be expected with our bunch.  While the boys napped, Rob & the girls were out & about for some last minute shopping which provided time for me to bake cookies & prepare our breakfast for the following day. Chicken Noodle Soup was on the menu for dinner, baths for all then Robby & I got the kids to bed at the normal time.  Next order of business, we filled up some stockings & snuggled up with cheese, wine, crackers & Home Alone 2- Lost in New York. What a relaxing evening it was! 

We slept in a bit then hopped out of bed to get the coffee on & breakfast in the oven. We decided that we had over done sausage balls for holiday celebrations so we ventured out to not only one but TWO new recipes that turned out to be amazingly delicious. I made a southwestern quiche & these mini donut holes from scratch. Both were a big hit as we enjoyed a meal with Bob & Jeannine before opening gifts. 

We always love the warmth of the holiday decor & I am surprised to say that not one gift was tampered with by little hands (or teeth)! The Christmas tree almost hit the ground once though. 

Our two new additions to the decor this year are these....

My friend Brooke & I went to a craft night the first week of December. We paid $35, RSVP'd with what shape we would like to paint & showed up to oodles of supplies to make them cute. I love the stocking but was kicking myself when I realized it would hang on a glass window & I failed to paint the back. Nonetheless, I enjoyed looking at it every time I walked by & enjoyed our girls night crafting even more. The snowflake Christmas tree ornament was something we found in Wimberley & now holds a certain value in remembering special moments throughout our life as we decorate each year. 

We enjoyed our basket of Christmas books as we do every year. On Christmas Eve the girls picked Song of the Stars (my absolute favorite), Room for a Little One & Humphrey's First Christmas. Christmas morning Robby read to us from his bible before we got busy with guests & gifts. 

One attempt at getting a picture of this bunch with Grammy & Papa followed by us...

It's a tricky thing! We were delighted with how excited the girls were to give gifts & were impressed by their ability to keep lots of secrets ; ) Charlotte was dead set on what she wanted to get for Eloise even though Uncle Scott & Uncle Kyle had already purchased something similar. More on that later.

A favorite part of the gifts this year were the handwritten "To & From" tags.

We were glad to have Grammy there to read to these little bookworms. They were hooked on Cowboy Slim, a favorite book with western flair.

The girls got Rob a new vest & hat. They said Daddy always looks handsome & he would be handsome in his new digs too. They didn't actually say "digs" but I'm positive that's what they meant ; )

and a zooma, zoom,zoom on the tag....

The girls did some online shopping for their baby boas & decided on a construction book & hat for Chuckles. He was pretty excited. Mr. Buckles' dreams came true when he opened up a gift to find a whale with six buckles & a zipper! He was so busy he could not even smile...surprise, surprise ; )

Again, the tags...Eloise worked so hard to write different letters of both of their names on this one.

She picked out a new stamp set for her sissy but in hindsight we see that it was really for the buyer. It has caused more than a little frustration & now resides in the top of a closet until we are ready to try again.

O & A like all things on wheels so we thought a Choo Choo Train would be a fun addition to playtime & boy were we right!

The chitlins weren't the only ones receiving gifts. The boys got me a "Two Peas in a Pod" necklace that just about made me cry when I opened it up.  Eloise bought me a new chain to replace the one she broke when attempting to pull it over her head while clasped shut. Charlotte picked out an electric tea kettle & mugs for us three girls with our initials on them for our afternoon tea/school party.

Back to the oodles of similar gifts Eloise received. Scott & Kyle had already told me they bought Eloise a Vet costume & a mini pound puppy like cage with all the necessary items you would need at a vet office. Charlotte was set on a Doc McStuffins scrub set & kit. Let's just say all these shoppers know this little cupcake well ; ) She has played with every single part of those gifts EVERY single day.....and she couldn't be any cuter. We have laughed on more than one occasion when we peak into her room & she has every animal lined up in a row with about 6 syringes giving them shot after shot. Glad it's them & not me ; ) I set up a vet office in their closet with four "cages" a dog bed & all the kits. It's getting a lot of use! As Doc McStuffins says...."Time for your check up, time for your check up!"

When we were browsing on Amazon where we bought about 90% of our gifts this year I came across a book I had as a little girl called "My Book about Me" by Dr. Seuss. I distinctly remember filling it out & my mom still has it at her house. With Charlotte's love for books combined with writing/drawing we thought it would be just right for her. She has filled out about half & I love looking at what she has written. One other gift I have to mention when talking about Charlotte was this $12 "treasure box" which is a little pink & purple plastic box that is voice activated. Once inside there are six keys she can insert to verbally record memories that she can play back. Oh, I can't possibly forget to mention a secret compartment! We were not even shopping for that but it popped up in one of those "other customers also bought this" list. We could not stop laughing thinking about how that was the best money we spent on gifts this year! Robby recorded Charlotte saying "Charlotte" the way she says when opening the box. We tried pretty hard one evening to break in with our own voices or the recording. Robby got in once & then we got found out by the owner of the box who was not too happy we were attempting a break in. Great purchase though! Here she is coloring in her pretty greenish blue eyes. 

Owen & Anson were happy to sport their "HOWDY" shirts over their footed jammies....must be nice to be one & look cute in whatever you wear! They watched Daddy build with the girls' Magformers set then crushed all they could until they were escorted out of the playroom. Eloise was quite happy to build alone with her Daddy & show off their creations. These may be my most favorite "building" toy we have. Char got a mini set for her birthday & they have played with them a ton so we figured an additional set would be greatly appreciated by all...especially that grown man there...he was all for getting the big set ; )

It was nice to take it easy after opening gifts & just enjoy playing a bit before lunch & naps. New toys are fun, memories are better, Jesus is best being the most wonderful gift of all. Our minds were turned to the gift of Jesus as us two adults got into quite the disagreement soon after nap time started. I was so angry & kept thinking "Why? Why would we get into a fight? IT'S CHRISTMAS!"  As the afternoon went by, I was reminded of how we are still wrestling with sin & how easily it is to succumb to, how Jesus came to rescue sinners, how he always forgives & how through that, we can forgive each other. We did reconcile (thankfully) before heading over to the Valentines for Christmas Dinner. We were in good enough moods on the way there that I was able to laugh when Robby said that the only good thing that comes from me being angry is that I clean like a maniac. Ha! Guess that's why my house is often a mess until I freak out.

There is much to be thankful for in celebrating the birth of a king & we pray that with each passing year we would value Him more & more.