Paintball

I finally borrowed a picture of Grant and some friends before paintballing on Christmas break.

Harlem Globetrotters

We went to see the Harlem Globetrotters at the BOK Center yesterday. They were as funny and entertaining as I remember them from when I was a kid. We went with my brother and sister and their families, and Grant and Brady brought some friends along, too. Here's the whole gang watching the pre-game show. It was a fun time. The older kids thought the Globetrotters were great, and the little kids loved the Dippin' Dots and snow cones most of all.

Snow Days

This has been the best week ever, according to the kids. Monday they were out of school for MLK Day, and Thursday and Friday they were out for snow days. They had lots of fun playing in the snow and having lots of different friends over. Way better than going to school, right?

Happy 6th Birthday Drew!

I happen to think Drew is the funniest kid on the planet. He always has unique ideas about...um...pretty much everything. It came as no surprise when this year for his birthday he didn't pick a "normal" theme. When we asked him what kind of party he wanted he said a crab party. What? He wanted to eat crab legs and have a cake with a crab on it. That's it. He didn't even have a present request. He just wanted crab legs. Such a funny kid! We invited all our family over for a shrimp boil complete with Alaskan king crab legs.

Of course we opened a few presents. Drew is at the age where he LOVES everything he gets. It's all "AWESOME!" I appreciate the enthusiasm when it comes to gift opening. He was just as excited about the package of gum that he got with one of his gifts as he was about the trampoline that Grammie and Gramps gave him. I love it!

Happy Birthday Drew!

On his actual birthday, we took Drew and some of his friends to Incredible Pizza for a party. He said it was the best birthday party ever, so I think we can count it as a success. I didn't even think to take pictures since I was so busy chasing a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds around. I was just so happy to leave with just as many kids as we came with. Whew!

Gingerbread houses

I love decorating for Christmas, but it's so sad to put all the decorations away. This year I put it off until the second week in January. When I got ready to throw our gingerbread houses away, I realized I hadn't taken any pictures of us making them this year. I guess there is always next year, but at least I have a picture of the finished products. The boys had fun making these and there was frosting and candy everywhere imaginable when they finished.

Sick Days

We've had lots and lots of sick days around here lately. Before Christmas Drew had pneumonia and missed lots of school. I was so thankful everyone was healthy during Christmas break. The kids went back to school on Monday, and Tuesday after school Drew complained of a headache. I gave him some motrin and he seemed fine. He went with us to Grant and Brady's basketball practices. I'm in the middle of coaching a drill with my team when Drew runs onto the court, tells me he's going to throw up, then starts throwing up all over the court. Definitely a memorable practice!

So, we geared up for a few more sick days from school this week. Drew spent his extra time at home building forts and houses. This one was my favorite.

Happy Birthday to Me!

My birthday was fabulous this year. I spent the day with my mom having lunch and shopping. So much fun! Then, after school, Brady decided to bake me a cake by himself. He did a great job, and it was delicious! Grant knows I love banana pudding, so he made a banana pudding for me while Brady was baking my cake. The only thing better than a birthday dessert is two birthday desserts! We had a fun evening celebrating my birthday as a family.

The boys were insistent that we take this "octopus" picture. Silly kids!

Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful New Year's Eve this year. My parents babysat while we went out to dinner, then we came home and all played games and ate treats until midnight. (except Drew who fell asleep about 9:30) I had gotten poppers and all kinds of confetti making things to shoot off at midnight, but it was so cold that we didn't want to go outside. We shot it all off in our kitchen instead. The kids thought it was awesome and even helped clean up the huge mess.

New Year's Eve Ice Skating

It's become a tradition in the past few years for us to go ice skating on New Year's Eve afternoon with lots of friends.

That's Grant skating with his friend Joe.

Brady and Drew

Don't you love the look on Brady's face? This was right after he said, "Stop taking pictures of us!" I think I've turned into the paparazzi.

Drew and his buddy Jonathon

We also got to go to a Tulsa Oilers hockey game during Christmas break. The boys especially had fun because so many of their friends were there. I couldn't get them to turn around for a picture, but in case you can't identify them from the back of their heads... left to right it's Trent, Grant, Noah, Ryan, Brady and Josh.

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day, my mom and dad, Mimi, and Alicia and Ben and their kids came over for dinner. Nick grilled steaks and it was delicious! Grammie also had a few last presents for the kids to open and then we spent the day playing with all the new toys. The Johansens spent Christmas night with us, and they all joined us for church on Sunday. After church, everyone headed back to our house and we stuffed ourselves with leftovers all day. Such a fun way to end our Christmas...with lots of family and food!

This picture of Brady is my favorite of all the Christmas pictures. He couldn't have been more excited to get this Sam Bradford jersey. I love the look of surprise on his face. He had heard the jerseys were sold out in stores, so he was sure he wouldn't be getting one.

Thanks Santa!

The main thing Santa left for the boys was this pool/air hockey/table tennis table. It's been THE BEST! All of us have loved playing on it. We spent a lot of time on Christmas break hanging out in our pj's and playing pool. Fun family memories!

Santa came!

Heather and Steve and their kids slept over on Christmas Eve. It made it so fun to have cousins there to celebrate with on Christmas morning. Here they all are waiting to come downstairs and see what Santa brought...

The first thing Drew did was check to see if Santa ate his cookies. He was super excited that Santa left him a note.

I love my boys!

I just love my boys. They're such great brothers and good friends with each other, and they make our lives so entertaining and fun!

They let me snap a quick picture before they ran upstairs to bed on Christmas Eve.

White Elephant

This year the adults did a white elephant gift exchange on Christmas Eve. The one rule was that you couldn't buy your gift...it had to be something you already had at your house. I got these shoes. Aren't they amazing? :) At least 3 or 4 sizes too small for me.

My dad with his catalog. Just what he wanted!

Grant and Brady got bumped to the adult gift exchange this year since they're growing up so quickly. Grant got this pretty awesome jewelry.

Rockin the used sunglasses

My poor mom was SO sick on Christmas Eve. She had tested positive for the flu just a couple of days before. She was a trooper and stayed her distance from everyone. She did win this awesome snow globe with a scene from downtown Tulsa that played the song "Oklahoma".