January- Where did the time go?!

I know lots of people find January a sluggish month, but I cannot believe it is already the last day of the month!  We have had a fantastic month.  It started off with Dan and Jane coming out to visit.  We love having them out, and we had a lot of fun!  A favorite activity was flying (and breaking) Rob's remote controlled helicopter. 

Grandma and Grandpa took everyone out to All-Aboard!, the train restaurant.  The kids really love that place.

Another perk of Dan and Jane coming out is Daddy is home!  Yay!

Max and Kate have become really great friends.  Here they are playing "missionaries."  They take their scriptures (or missionary library books) and go around teaching people about Jesus.  They know it must be hard work because they are usually adding extra physical obstacles (i.e. jumping on the trampoline, riding bikes, hiding in closets, etc.).

 

Kate running with a foam airplane.  She tried using momentum to get it airborne... tried...

Max twirling a helicopter stick.  

For MLK holiday, we went with our friends to Lake Sylvia to do some hiking, biking, and a campfire.  Although everything didn't go exactly according to plan, we still had a fantastic time!
Here Kate is hiking and finding a sign.

Bram, Max, and Asher investigating a broken tree.

The women and children starting a fire with the damp wood, while the men went to find spare keys for the car.  :)

Max and Asher playing with tractors in the dirt.

Family pic!

Mmmmm, marshmallows!

My sister, Mary, tipped me off that the recipe for The Pizza Factory breadsticks were online.  Accordingly, I went online and tried the recipe.  I did a number of things wrong, but they were still delicious.

 

Here is Santa and Mrs. Claus.  Although it is January, the kids decided they wanted Christmas to come again.  They were elves, reindeer, and Santa and Mrs. Claus, and kids all morning long.

Here they have wrapped up presents, put them under the tree, and and are eagerly waiting for Christmas morning to arrive so they can open the presents!

 

 I feel blessed to have wonderful friends and family.

Tis the Season

Max and Kate are at a really fun age.  They have made the holidays so magical for me.  I love their excitement and amazement over all the lights and decorations.  As a family, we went to Hot Springs to Garvan Gardens to see the light display.  We had a fantastic time.  The weather was mild enough that we didn't need to wear gloves, and as a bonus Santa was there!

 Kate calls any lights that twinkle, "Dancing lights."  Music accompanied this tree, and we stayed and watched it for 5 minutes or so.

Max was extremely happy to see Santa.  He couldn't stop smiling and giving him hugs and loves! 

 Kate was not terrified of Santa, but she only wanted to give him a high five.

 Max is a train conductor.

Watching the model trains go around their tracks.

We have been doing an advent calendar this month.  One of the activities we scheduled was to take treats to a fire station.  The firemen were happy to have us, and graciously gave us a tour of the fire station.  It was a lot of fun for everyone.

Another activity was for us to make sugar cookies.  Kate would not stop eating the dough.  Silly girl!  The kids rolled out the dough and cut out all sorts of shapes.

Decorating was even more fun.  I did my best to not step in and help them, but rather let them be creative.

Kids were on a big sugar high by the time they finished!

Happy Holidays!

Kate turns 2

I cannot believe my baby girl is already 2!  Where has the time gone?  Kate has been such a joy in our lives. She and Max are best buddies.  Kate is a great talker.  She has been forming sentences for quite some time. She likes to abbreviate words, although she knows how to say the whole thing.  For example, she calls a shopping cart a "shopper" and batteries are "batters".  Other times she lengthens out the word: marbles are "marb-be-bles".  She loves to be tickled and snuggles.  Books are a favorite, and she will keep bringing you more and more and more if you will sit and read to her.  Her favorite books include, "The Eye Book," "Binky," and "Bubble Bubble."  Kate is great at coloring, holding a pencil to draw, and even cutting paper.  She continues to watch Signing Time, and she is able to sign a lot of words.  I took Kate to her 2 year check up and she weighs 30 pounds (90%ile), is 36 inches tall (94%ile) and has a head circumference of 19 inches (71%ile).  I am frequently asked if Max and Kate are twins as they are both in size 3T.  Kate enjoys jumping, swinging, and riding her bike.  She still has naturally curly hair.  Kate would have her nails painted every day if I would let her!  We love our Sissy!

For her birthday, she got a play kitchen and food she can cut.

When asked what she was going to do for her birthday, Kate would reply, "I am going to blow the candles." (She would then proceed to show them how to blow!)  

We had Minnie Mouse decorations and cake.

By Kate's request, we invited Ron and Judy, Angie, Jason, and Riley, the missionaries, and Sam, Lacey, Riley and Asher over for cake and ice cream.  Here Judy is watching Kate push her new shopper!

 We love you Kate!

Motleys Tree Farm

These were posted on my Facebook page, but for those that didn't see them there here you go!

Kids had a great time swinging before the tree hunt.

They were also able to feed the animals at the small petting zoo.

Max really wanted to catch the rooster.  I told him I'd give him money if he actually caught it.

Digging in the dirt before  the pig races (which I didn't get any pictures of...)

We found the perfect tree!

"Timber!"

Fox 16 news was out there doing a story, so below is Chad showing the tree before going on the tree shaker.

Everyone was happy with the end result. 

Merry Christmas!