incoherent ramblings...

Christmas at the Doveberry Inn

So excited to be able to spend the holidays with the Fayettes during the holiday season.  We had a blast.  Thanks guys!  Merry Christmas.

Drew took the present unwrapping very seriously.

But once he got it all unwrapped he couldn't wait to show Pop and Grammy.

Ainsley loves her new baby that eats bananas and drinks juice.

She took opening very seriously, too.

Nicholas was such a good sport and played with his 1 and 3 year old cousins. You can tell by the look on my kids faces they were very excited that he was playing with them.

Look at this sweet girl....all ready for her prime rib dinner.  Nice napkin, darlin'.

And then chocolate chip Mickey pancakes for breakfast.  We were spoiled with delicious food.

Ok, so these are (were) my brothers pet ducks that my kids loved.  Sadly, my mom told me that a mink got them this week and they are no longer with us.  But here are the pictures anyway because Ainsley still talks about feeding the ducks.

Here comes the wild man!

Comet and Aiko wait patiently for them to come back.

But they kept themselves entertained until the kids returned.

The obligatory "grandchildren" photos.  Pretty cute.

I love how my kids are looking up at my 9 foot tall nephew.  Ha.

The Bookends.  Meaning, the youngest and oldest grandchildren and both just happen to be the only boys.  The Bookends, as my brother Michael referred to them.

I have to put this picture up.  I had just said to Nick that he could put his arm around Drew if he wanted to.  Hilarious!  Doesn't it look like they are both petrified of each other?!?!  Insert thought bubble over Nick's head...You mean you want me to TOUCH him?  Thought bubble over Drew...You're not going to actually TOUCH me are you?

Ainsley, the newest photographer in the family, thanks to Grammy and Pop, caught all the awkward chaos on her new camera.

 

And they surivived.  Phew.  Close call.

Off to play with the flashlight.

Thanks for the great weekend!!  xoxo

Christmas 2011

Christmas in pictures. 

Christmas cookies at Grammy's...

Making Christmas presents.

Christmas Eve!!  Michael and Drew started off with a little nap to rest up for the delicious prime rib dinner, the cupcake decorating, the cousin ornament making session, the spreading of the reindeer food, and just the general choas that comes with the holidays and family being together. 

AP got in her pretty dress and then let me put a ponytail in.

My sister.

My Mama.

The "Chaos."

Mama, he's a chef.  I can see you giving me that look but he actually knows what he's doing!

Getting ready for dinner.  Yum!

Despite best efforts...there was no fabulous kiddos-in-front-of-the-tree pic.

Stocking cupcake decorating.  Delicious.  Fun.  Ridiculously messy. 

He didn't get to decorate but he enjoyed the end result.  Woo hoo!!

Cousin Christmas ornament making time.  Paint, glue, sparkly things, Oh MY!

All bundled up to go outside and spread the reindeer food Uncle Timmy and Aunt Becky made so Santa would find his way to Grammy and Pop's.

I didn't get pictures of them actually spreading it because it was about 4 degrees and I was holding the food but this is right after and just before we all froze to death.  Grammy was the only one smart enough to stay inside.  Ha.

I caught AP trying to steal a peanut butter ball...

Putting Santa's cookies on the plate to take home and leave on our table.  She's getting excited...

Santa did show up afterall.  Quinn is a big fan of her new bed.  And, yes, we love our crooked star.

Christmas morning.  Drew looks scared silly.

Ainsley was excited and went right for her stocking.

She helped Drew dump his on the couch but he just cared about the "chewies", aka starbursts.

Ainsley's purple bear that she asked Santa for.

And one of the babies.

Drew opening his dump truck from Santa.

The other baby doll.  She got twins.

The mixer that goes with Drew's dump truck.

Quinn sharing her new bed.

Sleepy puppy on her new bed.

Lazy Drew sitting on his present as he opens it.

Chef Ainsley P at your service.  Desserts are her specialty.

After we opened presents here we got ready and went to Grandma and Pops Crawford's for Christmas brunch.  It was delicious.  And then, as it turns out, Santa left presents there, too.  Good thing we had all that reindeer food!

Drew is clearly excited that he gets to sit at the big people table for the first time ever at Grandmas!

Waiting patiently to open presents.  Sorry it is out of focus but they were very good waiting.

Look at how cute her hair looked.  It is getting so long!

Drew got a tape measure and it was a hit.

Cheese!!  Taking a picture with Diego's camera.

And Ainsley and Drew both love, as do Michael and I, the new air hockey table.  Thanks!  Hockey is definitely in my kids blood.

Concentrate...

Then off to Pop and Grammy Fayette's for Christmas!  Very excited about the M&M's.

Cheese!

Ainsley was still into the whole Christmas thing but we had temporarily lost Drew because he didn't get enough sleep that day.

But then he charged the camera and he was back to his old self!

We had a great holiday season with tons of fun and family.  We hope the same for all of you.  Night!

Santa's Workshop, North Pole New York

We went.  We saw.  We wouldn't sit on Santa's lap but we'd talk to him.  We loved the reindeer -- kind of.  We touched the North Pole.  We now have Santa hats.  We behaved...almost.  We loved the candy maker's popcorn.  We colored and went down the slide in Santa's toy shop.  We sang jingle bells.  We sat in Santa's sleigh.  We were the happiest kids by the time we left.  And, of course, Mommy took pictures.

Drew was very excited when he spotted 'Anta!

"Hello Blitzen."

"And Hello Rudolph."  Rudy was the baby this year.

Time for Santa!  Ainsley panicked last second and didn't want to sit on his lap which was fine.  We knew Drew wasn't going to anyway.  So we all got in the picture.  I know, you are jealous of my fur hat.  You should be.  Ainsley talked to Santa and said she wanted a baby for Christmas and Drew wants a dump truck.  Phew.  My shopping is done.  Until Santa asked how old she is and asked if she liked to color.  He said they have a lot of coloring books at the North Pole and he'd be sure to bring her one.  One thing left to shop for I guess.

Touching the North Pole.

We colored.

We played.

Drew's new hat.

Ainsley's new hat.

Santa's house is over there.  I know.  It has the reindeer on it.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

Christmas season is upon us and I am feeling particularly frisky this year.  So much so that I put aside the camera for the first time when we were decorating our tree.  Often times I feel like I have to take a picture of absolutely everything so that we'll never forget it.  But there are those times, like the other night, where it is simply impossible to ever forget.  Every ornament we unwrapped was like a little gift for each of them.  This year Drew was a lot more involved for a while.  He did lose interest but when I'd pull a particularly cool ornament out Ainsley made him look at it.  His expressions were priceless.  We could actually see him go from "what is that?" to "who cares?  It is pretty cool and I am going to smile!!"  Ainsley had Quinn kiss all of Quinn's ornaments before she put them on the tree.  Very sweet.  We danced.  We sang.  We forgot the garland.  We laughed.  We cried (OK, I cried but it was all very sweet and the icicles I made with my mom, Grandma and Aunt make me cry happy tears each year).  Then, we crashed.  We are tired kids this season!

I have taken pics of some fun and exciting things.  We are on our way to the North Pole on Sunday so I am sure there will be pics of that as well.  So for now...Merry Christmas season!!  Be safe.

Excited about the advent calendar!!

Our little elves...

...reading a book.

Snuzzle bunnies waiting for their calendar treat!

Our stylin' little elf (complete with a toothpaste mustache apparently).

And our silly elf.

We decorated a gingerbread house for Pop and Grammy tonight.

Drew wouldn't let Mommy decorate him.  AP was a fan. 

Happy Thanksgiving again!

The kids celebrated Thanksgiving again on Saturday at my parents house with Grammy and Pop, Pops and Grandma, Mommy and Daddy and Quinn.  Silly kiddos!!  Love them.

Our Official Turkey Taster.  Who doesn't like turkey.  We should rethink who gets to wear the pin next year.

But pepperoni is a good.

Model boy.

She clearly is not taking his lecture seriously.

The three stooges are ready for dinner.

Wardrobe change in time for dessert....a bathing suit for a popsicle?  And about that popsicle...who would pick a green popsicle over the chocolate pie, pumpkin pie, lemon marangue pie and apple pastry danish bars in front of them?  Yup...AP.

Guess what Drew picked??

And then he tried to feed Quinn her monkey for her dessert.

We spent last night at Mom and Dad's and Michael come home early to work on the garage.  When the kids and I got home they both got a turn on the tractor with Daddy!!

And then we went over to the neighbors house to check out the holiday decorations that my kids stare at every night.  AP wanted her picture taken with some of them.  Too funny!  The problem was that she was too excited to stand still for five seconds so I didn't get any good ones.  Plus, the coat she was wearing is about 3 sizes too big.

It's Wonder Woman and Santa!

And the Christmas Piggy.

Our final event this fine weekend was a quick trip to Wally World for just a few basics.  Look at my little hot mess and what she decided to wear....GO 'EERS!!  And the pink cowgirl boots really top off the look.  No picture but the final result ended up with a bright purple coat and panda bear hat, too.

Happy happy all.  Be safe and merry!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving.  This year it was different.  Productive.  Stressful.  A bit chaotic.  Fun.  Sad.  Happy.  And not quite over.  The big day will be Saturday. 

Michael will always work nights the night before and Thanksgiving night so long as he stays on his current platoon.  So this year, we did a tiny Thanksgiving dinner here before he went to work and I brought the kids to visit his family and mine. 

So there were a lot of firsts.

--  I cooked a turkey breast.  Surprisingly well.
--  Drew helped with the brownies.  Ainsley is a pro by now.
--  I made the green bean casserole and the squash/apple recipe, too.
--  Ainsley helped set the table.  She liked the place mats the best.  She even asked for her picture to be taken with hers.  It was red.
--  Drew was an active participant while watching the Macy's parade.  The boy could not sit still when the dance ditties came up.  He had to get up and dance.
--  AP was excited about the parade and it kept her interest longer than last year.  She was excited to see Dora and Santa the most, but Snoopy was pretty cool too.
--  We went old school and made turkeys out of the kids hand prints.
--  The dishes aren't done and I am still going to bed and leaving them for tomorrow morning.

I asked Ainsley what she was thankful for and she said Quinn.  She went through the whole family except for Michael and me.  Go figure. 

Happy happy, all!

Fall 2011

Overall, we've had a pretty nice fall.  No snow....yet.  So....here we go.  Michael, and all of his helpers we are very thankful for, are building a garage!

The kids helped Daddy screw in the anchor bolts and they did a great job for a one and three year old!

The only time the kids will play "on the roof."

Friday, they started the roof.  I got a little nervous when I saw them using the tractor. 

They got a lot done in a day I think.

I'll keep you updated on the progress.  Thanks to Pop, Pops, Uncle Frank and Walter for all of your help.  I am pretty excited about the storage above the garage.  I might actually be able to walk from room to room in my house without tripping over something finally!

The rest are just a bunch of funfall pics that I haven't been able to put up yet. 

Yesterday we went to play at Davis.  It was chilly out but at least it didn't smell like skunk.

He's not quite sure yet...

Got the tongue out...

Loves it!

Best Halloween Ever!

I could not be more proud of my little Lady Bug and Monkey.  They did so well and had so much fun trick-or-treating tonight.  Ainsley said "trick-or-treat" at every house we went to -- even when there were grown ups in kind of scary costumes.  She approached with appropriate caution, grabbing my hand tightly, and mumbled the magic phrase that got her a well deserved piece of candy.  "Thank you" was used in equal proportions and it just made my day to hear her say that she was "having so much fun trick-or-treating."  She was scared last year and wouldn't say Boo!  Literally.  Plus, it snowed last Halloween so it just looked like a bunch of kids in snow suits running around gathering candy.  This year she really saw and studied all of the different costumes.  She was a bit upset, however, that the bad kids were squirting their old sunblock on the sidewalks.  She, of course, wouldn't do that.  Too funny -- it was the shaving cream from the crazy teenagers but to her, it was old sunscreen.

Drew.  The monkey.  He wouldn't carry his bag because he was too busy holding on to his glow stick.  But he climbed every stair on his way to every door and although I don't think he said "trick-or-treat" once, he said "Bye!" almost everytime.  He said "thank you" when reminded but he is clearly too young to understand what was actually happening.  He walked the entire length of Church Street.  At the last house on that street a dog was barking and he was still a champ, but a champ in his stroller. 

My family is all asleep and I sit here with my very few pictures from my favorite holiday of the year.  But, tonight, although I wasn't snapping pictures left and right, I will never forget how happy I was because my kids were and I couldn't capture that in a picture anyway.  Best Halloween Ever.

Skipping along...

I still have a bunch of pictures to sort through from the late summer/fall Crawford collection, including a wild and wonderful vacation to West Virginia.  But today we went to the pumpkin patch and, well, I want to put some of these pictures up.  Actually, it was a fun filled weekend beginning with a visit with Aunt JoEllen and Uncle Frank.  We spent the rest of the weekend at Pop and Grammy's camp.  Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving with Aunt Mavis, Uncle Marcel and Pops and Grandma, and today we went to the pumpkin patch.  What a great weekend!

Thanks for the cute outfit Aunt JoEllen!!

 

Saturday we did Halloween crafts and played outside.  We threw apples to the chipmunks and collected pine cones and leaves.  Drew is constantly in motion.  My camera can probably counteract that, it being a multimillion dollar camera and all, but user operator error occurs more often than not and I take blurry photos.  Sorry in advance.  Carry on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ainsley's very own Aunt Mavis Apple Pie.  Delicious!!

 

She was kind enough to share it with her brother this morning for breakfast.

 

Country Dream Farms 2011.

 

 

Drew was right at home with all of the goats, pigs, donkeys and sheep.

 

 

AP too.

 

 

I love her face here.  It's a combination of pure excitement because she was going to get to hold the baby goat and a promise of to be careful because Daddy was trusting his big girl to do it right.

 

Hey Goat.

 

Hey Kiddo.  Surprise!  It's me.  Donkey.  Ha.  Drew actually stood still long enough for the Donkey to sneak up on him.

 

Little girl.  Big thoughts.

 

 

 

 

 

We had to buy "popsicles" as soon as the hayride was over because the kids on the wagon with us had them. 

 

 

Lesson learned...

...because I had a pretty good post with about 20 pictures all set to go until the Drew man attacked and lost my connection.  I will save frequently from now on.  So frustrating!!  And so I begin again...

I am going to go all random because I know when I get back from West Virginia I am going to have a ton of pictures!!  So here's a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

 

Mr. Egg Head.  Holding his ice instead of letting us put it on his head.  That, ladies and gentlemen, is simply a bug bite.  Gross.

 

Pop and Grammy's new friends.

 

My mom and Ainsley made the cutest little fairy garden.  Hand painted rocks covered in glitter and a beautifully decorated fairy house complete with swimming pool makes for the perfect place for fairy mischief!  Ainsley had so much fun literally hand painting the rocks and then she sat for the longest time decorating the house with sticky jewels.  I am very excited to watch them do it again next year!

 

Mud puddle fun.  And not so much fun.

 

 

 

 

But he got over it.

 

 

 

We picked some apples off of our trees for the first time and they were delicious!  Lucky me, I am the only one who likes the Granny Smith.  Yummy.  Unfortunately, I had my camera on the wrong setting for most of the pictures so I have a limited selection to put up here.

Come on Quinn!!  Let's go!

 

 

 

 

Quinn picks her own.

 

Grandma's Rose bush.

 

We have a huge pile of dirt on top of the leveled out piles of dirt where we plan to build our garage in the next couple of weeks.  Turns out...that big pile of sand is a ton of fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She was going to help him.

 

 

Almost there.

 

He made it!

 

and I think he liked it!