Meet Millie!

We finally got to go to Dallas to pick up our new Golden Retriever, Millie.  Here are some pics capturing her first 48 hours with us.

the car ride home

she's getting plenty of attention from the kids

worn out from her first bath and a full day of playing

While we were in Dallas, we got to spend a lot of time with family.  They joined us at the Dallas Zoo, which was pretty much our best zoo experience to date.  The weather was cool and sprinkled off and on.  This apparently made the animals very feisty and active.  We got to see them all alert and walking around, and even saw some zebras wrestling and a giraffe running (strangest sight)!

feeding the giraffes

mimicking the cheetah

Addie was REALLY excited to see the zebras!

Perhaps the coolest thing we did was feed these birds.  The moment you step into this enclosed area, they flock to you and perch anywhere they can.  It totally freaked the boys out--they ran away screaming.  I died laughing.

Finished early!

Our master bath remodel was supposed to take 4 weeks, but they finished in 2 weeks, 4 days! That made this mama very happy.  

BEFORE: phone-booth-sized shower, pepto-bismol-pink tile, an ugly, rusty, old shelf thingy over the toilet, a broken light fixture, rusty sink, grout that was falling out of the wall, and the worst part...CARPET.  Ewwww.

AFTER: Step into my highly functional (and good use of a) small space. Ahhhhhh. 

The shower is now twice as big and has 2 shower heads. It's my favorite part!

No more tiny cracked, plastic shelves to balance our toiletries on...they built us 2 cubbies for them!

 I asked the carpenter to use every inch of space in the vanity he built.  He definitely came through.  And yes, that is a hidden outlet behind the top left drawer!

Christmas in Vail, plus a big announcement

We got to spend 8 days in Vail, CO over Christmas.  Our 5-story, 7-bedroom condo was perfect for our group of 19, and was a short walk to the slopes.  We got to teach the kids how to ski, which the girls really enjoyed and were on their own by about day 3.  The boys...not so much.  They tolerated it, but never made it off the bunny slopes.  They definitely had more fun playing at the condo.

 Uncle Josh and soon-to-be Aunt Courtney drove in to ski and spend the day with us!

Addie helped Aunt Micah make cookies.

Lee read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever to the kids in the evenings.

 Annalee lost her 4th tooth on Christmas Day!

The kids could always find a sucker grown-up to get in the hot tub.

On to the big announcement...

We're getting a puppy!  I did a lot of research (because that's what I do), and found a beautiful litter of golden retrievers in Dallas that will be ready around Spring Break.  We were already planning to go there for Spring Break anyway to visit Lee's sisters' families, so the timing couldn't be better.

We told the kids last week, and this note was at the end of the brief scavenger hunt I sent them on around the house to gather clues about our trip:

The reactions were as expected: With the girls, there was lots of squealing, jumping up and down, and excitement.  The boys were excited for about a minute, until they realized the puppy isn't actually HERE yet.  Then they went about their business and haven't brought it up since. :)

A post about Thanksgiving break....

...on the first day of Christmas break!  I would've posted this sooner, but I had a minor glitch with my blog, I think it's all good now. 

Annalee spends ALL her spare time reading, and is proving herself a true lover of reading by reading books more than once.

Thanksgiving in Lubbock

 

 Nana said, "close your eyes, I have a surprise for you!"  They took it very seriously. (It was a new book in the series that she has been collecting for several years.)

 Brady and my brother Josh bonded instantly over Star Wars toys.

 Polar Express!

 Addie loves to read to her little brothers!

Just another day...

I love my life...mainly because I get to hang out with these cuties all day.  

photo credit: Mary Kathryn Wimberly

 

I also love that my girls go to a Christ-centered school where I am actively involved in their learning process by getting to home school twice a week.  And I LOVE our home days - where we can sleep in, take our time eating breakfast instead of feeling rushed; and where my pre-schoolers can (and want to!) get involved in the learning process.

All I have to do is say "time for flashcards!" and Dawson & Brady come running.  I love that they want to learn - or maybe they just want to do what big sisters are doing - either way, I don't care. 

They are learning!

Today, they were in earshot when I said it was time to read Annalee's history chapter, and the boys decided they wanted to hear about King James too!

 

One more thing...Dawson has been having a language/learning explosion for the past few months, and I love how hard he is working to memorize his ABC's and 123's.  I snuck up on him "reading" his favorite book last week...if you have never read this Dr. Seuss book, I apologize that you may have no idea what he is saying. Hopefully it is still cute!

a day of firsts

Being that we don't celebrate Halloween,  or do most things associated with it, yesterday was full of fun and new activities.  It was a gorgeous day, so I decided it was time to introduce the kids to the fine art of pumpkin carving, which was made even more fun when the neighborhood kids joined us:

I failed to take pictures of the kids scooping out the pumkin goop, but you can be sure there was plenty of "ooh, gross!" comments along the way.  Addie was my most diligent worker, and made sure the pumpkin was completely clear of all the goop before it was time to carve the face.

When it comes to costumes, we have mostly just princess stuff for the girls, and one Darth Vader costume for Brady.  So when the girls wanted to be Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables) and her best friend Diana Barry, I had to start asking around for ideas.  My mom-in-law's suggestion to rent costumes from our local community theater was a success!  The girls looked so precious & authentic.

Brady's costume was easy...of course he wanted to be Darth!

I had to get clever and a little crafty with Dawson, but came up with this rendition of Anakin Skywalker...

 

Another Halloween first was getting to go trick-or-treating at Daddy's office...the boys got over their timidity and had a blast once they figured out what was going on.  (The girls had gymnastics and were bummed they couldn't go; maybe next year!)

getting candy from Daddy's office

posing with some friends

Halloween fell on a Wednesday this year, which is also Awana night for us...so they let the kids come in costumes.  This made the girls so happy since they missed out on the trick-or-treating.

Happy Birthday, Addison!

 Part of what is making Addie seem so grown up lately is that she is (sweetly & politely) insisting that people call her Addison.  I don't have a problem with it, I just can't remember to do it!  And it's funny to be at school, church, gymnastics, etc. and hear her friends/teachers call her Addison.  Makes her seem so grown up!

Addie is absolutely loving Kindergarten, and is an "excellent student who wants to please" (words from her teacher) and be the best at everything (I added this part).  Her competitive side is definitely more visible these days.

She is a sweet big sister who loves to read to the boys, play Legos with Brady, and wrestle with Dawson.  She and Annalee get along so wonderfully, for which I am so thankful.  They have a very close bond, and are definitely each others' best friends.

Addie wanted a zebra party...it's what she's into, so I went with it.  She got lots of fun gifts....girl Legos, toy zebras, coloring/craft stuff, and some Brave (newest Pixar movie) books/toys.

 Her first slumber party went well and was so fun!  These goofy girls wanted to make faces for their breakfast picture.

fall soccer

Fall soccer is in full swing, and both girls are still loving the sport.  They both play on the same teams as last year: Annalee for the "Pink & Blue Wrecking Crew" and Addie for the "Barbie Bandits."  They are so fun to watch, mostly because they both love it and try really hard; but also because they have 2 totally different playing styles.  Addie is more aggressive and likes to take charge, and usually scores several times each game.  Annalee is excelling on defense, and is really good at being in the right position, anticipating where the ball will go, and blocking goals & passes.