Bowling

On Martin Luther King Jr Day and Inauguration Day, a neighbor had a great idea to go bowling and we were glad to join them.  We had a great time.  Plus it was helpful that they had a ball ramp for kids as well as gutter guards.   

After Alex let the ball go down the ramp, he would do a little dance as the ball when down the lane. 

 

Olivia's Birthday Cake

On Saturday, January 12th, we celebrated Olivia's FIRST birthday with a cake decorated by Alex and Aubrey.  (Olivia is my niece.)  So some of you may be wondering where Olivia is.  Well she was 600 plus miles away in Michigan celebrating with her Mommy, Daddy and other family members.  We couldn't make it to the gathering, so we decided to make a little cake ourselves and sing Happy Birthday to her from here.


We even blew out the candle for her.

 

Please excuse the creativity in the cake decorating.  It started as a cupcake snowman.  Then with frosting that didn't turn out like I was hoping and with the help of Alex and Aubrey, it was transformed into a dinosaurs/princess/blue/pink cake.  Isn't it a beauty!  : )

Pillowcases

A few days after Christmas, Alex and Aubrey received a package in the mail.   They were so excited to open it up.  Inside were two perfect pillowcases made by my wonderful cousins, Bridget and BethAnn.  Alex and Aubrey went upstairs immediately to put them on their pillows.  

Thank you Aunt Bridget and Aunt BethAnn!

Christmas Day

Christmas Day was an interesting day.   It started out with Dave and I not feeling so good through the night.   Then in the morning, Dave and I did not feel good at all.   We weren't sure if we had eaten something bad or if we had the stomach virus that was going around.  

We were able to pull ourselves together for the morning and we enjoyed watching Alex and Aubrey open their presents.  They were so happy to see all the gifts that Santa had given them.  They really liked their LeapPads even though they hadn't even asked Santa for them.  This year, Aubrey asked for a "Doll that talks, but doesn't open her mouth" (she said it just like that anytime anyone asked).  Alex asked for a Pirate Ship.   They were both happy that Santa also brought those gifts.
 

 

 

 Santa must have thought that Alex and Aubrey were good this year.   These last two pictures prove that.   The picture also includes the gifts from Mommy and Daddy as well.   The guitar from Jessica and Marissa was a great gift too.  They have enjoyed singing songs while strumming along on the guitar.  (We opened the wonderful gifts from Nanny and Grammie later in the day to break it up a bit.  Alex and Aubrey needed a break as well as Dave and I.)

Dave and I were really sick in the afternoon.  We took turns taking naps and we were very thankful that Santa brought Alex and Aubrey the LeapPads to play with as well as new DVDs.   It kept them busy so that we played it low key for the rest of the day.  I am also thankful that Alex and Aubrey were content with PB&J sandwiches because that is all we had the energy to make.  I am glad that we felt better the next day....just wish we didn't have to be sick on Christmas Day.

Opening up Christmas Eve Presents

After our walk to Subway, we went to the 5pm Christmas Eve Service at our church.   We followed this with dinner at home and opening up one present.   Of course, we chose the present with the pajamas in it.   They were excited with the pajamas until we had them pose together for a picture in front of the Christmas tree.

 

 

(Insert temper tantrum from two tired kiddos here. 
But thankfully, we came out of it to continue the evening.)

We then celebrated Jesus's birthday with a star cake that was beautifully decorated by Alex and Aubrey.

Of course, every birthday cake has to have a candle to blow out.

Finally, Alex and Aubrey wanted to leave Santa Claus some birthday cake and milk instead of cookies.  They also left the reindeer some carrots and oats.

Then  they went to sleep so that Santa Claus could arrive.

Christmas Eve Walk to Subway

On Christmas Eve, we took our annual walk to Subway for lunch.   It is a little over a mile there and a little over a mile back.    Alex and Aubrey did great.  But every walk requires at least a couple of sticks and a stop at a playground.

 

 

At the end of the walk, we even saw snow. Dave told the kids to stick out their tongues to catch the snow. There really is snow coming down even if you can't see it in the picture.