The countdown is on....

We leave for Disney World

on Friday!

I have lots of laundry, cleaning and packing to do over the next 5 days. Hopefully I can be organized and remember EVERYTHING! I am so excited--can't believe our trip is finally here.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Yesterday and today (Friday and Saturday), we decorated outside (Jeff put lights on the house, wrapped the trees and is still finishing up), we decorated inside (put up tree, trimmed the tree, spruced up our Christmas wreath, and set out other Christmas decor). It has been fun and the kids have been so excited to be right in the middle of it ALL! This is the first year we have included them in ALL of the decorating. After we finished the tree, we ate dinner and then we made some cookies and hot cocoa. We sat around the tree, enjoyed the decor, listened to Christmas music and ate our cookies and drank our hot chocolate! The kids have loved getting in the Christmas spirit!

So much to be THANKFUL for....

We celebrated Thanksgiving at my Mom's this year. We had a house full -- it was Amy, Brian and their kids, Allison & Andy, Mom & Fermin, and Brian's parents (Jim and Judy). We ate a BIG yummy lunch and then just visited, hung out and the kids played. My mom and Allison made this AWESOME scavenger hunt for Reese, Collin & Brant. They had SEVERAL stops to make (the mailbox, the pond, the fallen tree by the camp fire spot, the trails thru the woods in the back of the property)....some of the items they had to find at the stops were a bird nest, a gourd, a scarecrow, painted rocks, feathers, berries, acorns, a live bug and last they had to dig up their treasure. At the last stop, each of the kids had a wooden picket with their name on it and a shovel--they had to dig until they reached the treasure box! They LOVED this--once they got to the hidden treasure, they found lots of loot in the box. Such a fun activity for the kids! Reese and Collin haven't let their treasure box out of their sight since Thursday--thanks Mom and Ali!!!! Lots of work went into this little endeavor and it is much appreciated.

Getting the treasure map and directions



Looking for the scarecrow

Another eventful moment during the scavenger hunt was when my sister decided to tell me "there is a spider on you!"....seriously, do you know how TERRIFIED I am of bugs and spiders? Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am a complete pshyco. So, I start freaking out...and Amy doesn't want to touch the spider, so I am like "where, what is it...get it! get it! get it!!! No one is responding, so I do the only reasonable thing there is to do (complete sarcasm)....I throw my camera, rip off my shirt and am hysterically crying. So there I am, standing in front of EVERYONE at our gathering with just my bra and jeans on....Jeff runs over to me to cover me up, calm me down, and is trying to reassure me that the spider is not on me. Jeff helps me get my shirt back on and at this point I realize how everyone must think I am a complete LUNATIC!! Can you say PHOBIA?? Reese is asking me, "Mommy, why are you crying?" All I can think is, because you have no idea how CRAZY your Mommy actually is!!!! That was definitely the most exciting moment of the day and one I don't think I will live down for a while.

Digging for the TREASURE!!!

Look what we found!

Thanksgiving Celebrations at Kidzworld

Today, Reese and Collin had their Thanksgiving celebrations at school! They had such a fun time dressed up as "Indians" (they had made shirts earlier in the week) as they went thru a rotation of crafts, songs/music/games, and making "turkey" cookies. I love watching them interact with their friends and seeing how much they enjoy school. I hate feeling split between the two classes the whole time I am there, but I have 2 kids in 2 different classes and 1 me, so I just try to make the most of my time with each of them. I do find that I am better able to give each of them my exclusive attention while I am with them. When they were in the same class, they were both trying to have my attention at the same time, so that is the silver lining in "splitting" my time. I just want to go on to say how "thankful" I am for Reese and Collin's teachers. They are all so special, patient and such wonderful people. It takes a special person to teach preschool and we appreciate you!!!!

Roasting Marshmallows

We went to Nana & Apa's (my mom and Fermin's)this last weekend. They wanted Jeff to help them do a few handy things around the house and my mom and I hung out and entertained Reese and Collin. R & C love going to Nana's house, they love to run around and feel free, with so much open space to play. Saturday morning we decided to build a campfire and roast marshmallows. Look at the fun we had and how much we enjoyed the yummy marshmallows. Reese thought they were a little sticky, but as you can see, Collin used his coat as a napkin--luv that :) We also hiked thru the trails behind my moms house and checked out the trees, creek and played with Found and Dakota (their dogs). When it was time for us to leave, Reese threw a complete fit and was crying, "I don't want to go home", so my mom let them stay for the afternoon and spend the night. What a nice treat (for Jeffa and me) because it was our anniversary. I picked up the kids around noon on Monday. Thanks Mom and Fermin for a wonderful weekend!

Food Drive at Kidzworld

The 4 year old classes at Kidzworld (our preschool) did a food drive. A few of us volunteered to help take the food over to Frisco Family Services, so Ms. Nish scheduled a tour for us and the kids to see the inside of the facility. Ms. Christen was the "volunteer coordinator" and she spoke to the kids about what services they provide (on a very appropriate level) and then let them "help" weigh the food we brought AND see the pantry. I felt this was good for Reese and Collin to experience and hope they will begin to understand how we should help those that are less fortunate.

Playing at Davis Park

We went to Davis Park at Turtle Creek this last Saturday--the kids had such a fun time. We met up with Brant, Cate & Claire too! The kids played for a while and then we headed to McDonald's for a morning snack and more playing.