Turning SIX times two

Wow, those twinkies had a great time ringing in being SIX year olds! Sad to say but they had never had a birthday party with friends so this was a big deal.  They are easy to please unless we are at the dinner table ; ) We invited a bunch of boys & a couple big sisters over for the big bash. 

Delcious donuts + a dinosaur craft + an obstacle course = happy boys

Arlo the explorer did the inspection of the yummy treats...

You know you have big sisters when you request a craft at your birthday celebration. I suggested this fantastic Pinterest idea & it met their approval & our bank account's approval too! Lots of dried pasta, black construction paper, glue & chalk.  With a few examples the kids went to town designing their own....

Next up, obstacle course time. We set it up first thing that morning, tested it multiple times & were ready to roll by the time the contestants arrived! On your mark, get set, GO!

Action shot of the O-Meister!

He stuck close by his mama....

We kept a stopwatch going & recorded each race. They had SO much fun & were great at cheering for each other, especially when the 3 year old brothers had their turns.

When I say "we" kept the time, I mean the 4 big sisters, Charlotte, Eloise, Daphne & Hera. They kept those boys under their command. I saw so much of myself at 9 years old as I was observing that role. The runners & jumpers never voiced a complaint against the judges so I just went with it!

Every minute was full of playing & noise, just as it should be!

and the whole bunch... for such a crew, it was easy peasy!

We enjoyed our morning & evening celebrating with our family too. The girls & I worked on some homemade dinosaur décor & it was mostly great minus table bumping & knocking down trees. 

The video of the candle blowing is so hilarious. A few of us have asthma & we joke that due to that condition, our lungs don't work as well as they should & it takes twice as long to blow out candles. Poor Owen, he was quite the source of laughter that morning! 

 Silly siblings.

Some gifts they received were walkie talkies, fidget cubes, Battleship & Uno. There were more but my memory is lacking and I am about to fall asleep while typing.

Wouldn't it be fun to have another picture like that when they turn 66? Just 60 more years : )

It was a busy day with lots of visitors. Paw Paw came then Auntie Deb joined him. Our beloved babysitter Alison stopped by with a mini Bop-it game for each of them. They were quickly hi-jacked first by siblings then by parents where we worked hard to blow any record out of the water. Thanks Alison!

 Speaking of BELOVED, GGran stopped by as well. 

Grandpa & Grammy were happy to play a game of Battleship, Uno & of course offer a cozy lap to sit in.

We had to squeeze in a hug at the end of dinner. We just love those birthday bubbies to the moon & back. Six has been a great year & seven is just around the corner come 2020! 

Gobble Gobble in the forest

Over the course of 14 years of marriage, we had never spent Thanksgiving in Kingwood until last year & boy were we missing out! That Gaga & Paw Paw are gracious hosts welcoming the crazy that our family brings & faithfully filled our bellies with all things delicious : ) Here's the whole crew.

It is funny to be so delayed (like almost a year behind on writing posts) and notice how much the kids have grown! It makes me a little sad!

Arlo & Paw Paw played a lot of Slapjack which Arlo never quite fully grasped but he liked to win. It was basically like slap any card or cards you put down & if Paw Paw slaps it, take it anyway. It's fun to be three. Owen is there in the background enjoying the train track he convinced Paw Paw to get out. It is the track that wraps around the Christmas tree every year but it looked just as lovely around the entertainment center ; ) They LOVE it! 

Thanksgiving morning we mixed & rolled about a billion sausage balls. It's great to have capable helpers these days to speed the process along so we could enjoy some of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Here's Arlo with one of his silly faces. We peeled sweet potatoes together. He has on the trash truck jammies he got for his birthday. He wore them so much that the knees were ripped up. Just a few weeks ago, I mentioned throwing them away but he couldn't bear to part with them & wanted me to cut them into shorts. The holes were big & he now wears daisy dukes at bedtime. Glad the real trash guys don't ; )

Those twinkies love their uncles. I can list a million reasons why because I feel the same way.

Sometimes they smile at the same time!

A bunch of baseball gloves & balls were pulled out of the closet & everyone was hooked! Last summer in Lake City, my favorite things was playing baseball right behind the house where we stayed. Both sets of grandparents, uncles & our crew in the beautiful mountains having a ball.

We attempted a family picture & the live photo looks like Arlo is doing crab pinchers over & over with a funny little giggle. He is pretty much cute whatever he is doing. Lucky guy....siblings might be jealous.

Anson said he wanted to sit next to Aunt Sharon so they could eat rolls together. It's the little things that forge strong relationships right?

I tried to get a shot of the table....tried & failed I guess, ha! It is proof that at least half of Robby was there!

These three made a pumpkin pie & a chocolate pie that both tasted delicious.

The kids were responsible for making place cards with each persons name along with some fall décor to hang from the chandelier. I love that my mom encouraged that rather than being fancy. Our family doesn't do fancy real well right now ; ) I saved all the place cards & will smile year to year at the precious handwriting. 

Before we loaded up to head back to Big D, we took a walk down to the park to burn off some energy. My dad calls us Big Momma & Little Momma. She is the best momma.

Almost Christmas....last year

The holiday season (last year) was yet again, full of fun! This is just a smattering of pictures, maybe some words to accompany. The above picture was taken at a neighborhood not too far away. We walked around a lake (in the dark with disobedient kids) surrounded by trees with beautiful lights. Arlo was rockin' that three year old fake smile. Ha! 

I will begin with saying that around Thanksgiving last year, my mom asked if there was anything I would enjoy receiving for Christmas. My answer was "mama, all I would love is for you to make me an apron." Her creativity & skills are just over the moon & within a week of my request, this adorable Christmas cookie apron was on my doorstep! And then, a few weeks after that, she surprised me with a year round one! That girl, I just love her : ) 

Our past gingerbread house experiences have been ANYTHING but successful due to many factors.
Because of that history, I was reluctant to try again. Rob encouraged me to attempt real gingerbread this year & it worked! The best part was that it was actually fun with 10 little helping hands.  I baked it all & Robby helped me assemble the night before and sadly, we were one house short. Poor Arlo ended up with a small shack. We took the kiddos to Central Market & everyone got to choose a couple candies.  We were all set up & ready to go! Let the decorating begin!

Arlo didn't mind the shack as long as he could cover it in sugar!

Just before December I discovered the option for a live photo.  The live version of the following picture is one of my favorites. The amount of squealing & laughing makes your eardrums feel like they may burst BUT the picture sure turned out cute!

Instead of choosing an official winner, Robby names each one. The kids love it! 

The names for 2018 Gingerbread Baking Extravaganza:

Charlotte- Quintessential Martha
Eloise- "There's no place like home" as she swirled it up in the air to take a bite
Owen- Rooty Tooty, fresh & fruity
Anson- Type 2...as in diabetes
Arlo- Lights up all year round

Onward & upward in the gingerbread world!

Another serious Arlo smile....

Little Lolo-bird got to put the star on the tree. It has made it through every Christmas since the year we got married while the broken ornament pile grows larger & larger. Small price to pay to have a house full of little ones!

Advent season was kicked off once again with a beautiful performance by the Children's Chorus. 

Just a few days before Christmas the kids & I had a "leapover" in Arlo language at Auntie Deb's & Uncle Joe's house.  It was full of Twister, tire swings & tons of sugar!

 It was all part of a plan to surprise the kids with their very own playground in the backyard. The plan went off without a hitch & they were SO excited when we arrived home! To be honest, I was more excited than they were!

They couldn't believe it & were so quick to express their gratefulness. We have all enjoyed having it in the yard especially with our school days. It's a popular place for lessons or read-alouds. Not so much in this 105 degree heat index day after day but the fall is a comin!

Well, this gets us to just before Christmas : )