Love is in the air

I am pretty lame when it comes to Valentine's Day. I love my husband and like the idea of having a reason to do something nice for one another but I HATE, HATE the stress of trying to find just the perfect thing to do or buy on this day. So this year we did dinner the night before with kids. I am at the point in my life where going from point A to point B can be stressful if not done the correct way. So we beat the crowds, and the day of hung out with our friends, made cookies, and played with the culdesac gang.

The kids preparing to make cookies...
The finished product...
Taylor "cleans" up... The cookies were finished I PROMISE...

We are in the age of funny faces can you tell?

So sweet...
The Besties...

The culdesac gang! Happy Valentines Day!!!

Lexi Lu is 15!

I remember vividly being 15 years old and going to Atlanta to meet my sweet cousin Alexa. She is so special to me and I love every single inch of her. She is so very special to me and I would do anything in the world for her. So now this February 15 years later Alexa or Lexi Lou Who as I have always called her turned the big 1-5! We had a family party for her and enjoyed some time together. The kids love NeNe gorgeous and Lexi and really who could blame them....

A New Summers....

On January 28,2011, my little brother and sweet sister in law had their first little baby boy. Jacob Michael Summers came via c-section. I worked that morning and was so upset that I had to miss the momentous occasion. We rushed to the hospital as soon as I grabbed the kids that afternoon. Taylor and Aiden had been on baby watch for days and were so excited to meet their new cousin. Cody and Melanie got zero sleep the night before but you could not tell because of how happy they were. Jacob is a sweet little man and I love him from the tip of his nose to the top of his toes!

Park Time

January brought us the first glimpse of nice weather, or at least a taste of it for the weekend, but hey I'll take it. We decided to take the kids to the park. After the usual play equipment time, Mark and I took the kids on a walk through the woods on the nature trail. Growing up here I knew that there was a train track that I thought the kids would enjoy. The boys RAN through the woods and Taylor and I made our way their together. Let me tell you this was a boys dream complete with rocks, stickers, and even tar. Aiden and Mark climbed to the op of the track first and then Taylor and I eventually followed. We spent a good hour climbing, throwing rocks, and laughing. By the time we left Aidens hands and pants were covered in tar. Oh well....

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!

I am telling you what folks, we were busy this Christmas! Aiden had a christmas performance one evening at school. He was an angel if you couldn't tell...which is why he is wearing garland on his head. Now, we were a little nervous for Aiden this time. At his Thanksgiving play he clammed up and did not sing one word to one song. He didn't even move his lips! When we asked him about it later he told us that there were too many people and he didn't like them clapping. This time the play was in the evening and every child's entire family was there! I was right up there with all the crazy's too! I had the camera in one hand and the video camera in the other. I was one proud mama and was not about to miss one single thing. There were so many people that I ended up in the front, on the floor. But to our surprise Aiden smiled, sang, and even did the occasional hand motion. His one nervous tick was that he pulled on his shirt collar the entire time. I kept telling him hands off! Other than that the whole thing was very sweet!

Taylor got to hang out with her buddy Kyle while big sis Tori sang in the play too!

He's really singing!
Sweet Angel!
Pulling on his stinkin' collar!
This is when he entered. He was so happy and cheerful

This was before the play. So sweet and loving...

Gingerbread Party

One of my favorite things at Christmas time is making "gingerbread" houses. I usually do this with my class but just wasn't in the mood this year. Our wonderful friends The Walworth's opened up their home to host ALL of the craziness! The bigger kids were able to construct houses but the smaller ones (aiden and taylor) basically painted some frosting on a cracker and added some candy. What do they care?

Just a peek at the craziness! When all of the cookies were eaten, and the candy was finally put away, the kiddos snuggled close to enjoy a holiday cartoon. I think this time it was a christmas carol.

Aiden, Cash, Nena, Ranen, Clark, Libby.

Here are some more fun pictures from the night...

Traditions with the Besties

Another tradition that we have is watching old school cartoons. You know what I mean- Frosty, Rudolph, etc. I think Aiden watched Frosty 300 times this christmas and would have watched it 300 more if I would have let him. So one night I took the kids over to my besties house and we let the kids watch christmas shows in their jammies. It is so fun to see our mini-me's love each other. I hope that they always do.

Dorothy Oven

As a child I remember riding in the car and looking for the best Christmas light. The tradition continued when I went to college and Dana and I were roommates. One year we gathered up our hot chocolate from the Sing store and looked at lights for hours giving each of them a little note letting the home owners how wonderful they were! I know...too much free time...these are the things that I did before I had kids...now I try to pass the tradition on to my own. There is a park in town that lights up the whole park each year. Each year we find our selves wandering through and marveling at the magic. This year we went with our neighbors and shared the fun! It was freezing!!!

Snugglin

Aiden and Taylor are pure snuggle bugs! It is our favorite past time!

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving was a very interesting but an exciting one! Uncle Steve, Aunt Sam, Abby, Joanna, and baby Joshua all moved from Louisville to Sarasota! They are living with Nana and Papa for now, but will eventually have a home of their own. Thanksgiving was a time of good food, happy children, and fun family time.

Sweet cousins!

Nana read...

The big kids played...

Benny the wonder dog protected...

Baby Joshua slept....

We made messes, and cookies, and memories...

On Thanksgiving day we all pitched in and made the yummiest dinner ever! Grandma and Poppy and Uncle Larry and Aunt Starla came over, Daddy fried a turkey and we found out just how bad mommy is at corn hole...

And just like true Aiden and Abby fashion they were like two little peas in a pod...and played for hours together.