Our Weekend

We had a great time at my parents' house last weekend.  We got there just in time Friday evening for Rhett to go to a business dinner with Dad...and of course he won a $20 door prize!  He is always so lucky!

Since Mo & Granddad won't be able to attend her party this weekend, Alexee got to open her gift a week early.

I rode with Mom to feed the cattle Saturday afternoon.  I'm so ready to see green grass again!  The ducks flying off of the pond were pretty though.  

Hi, Mo!

My sister and I also took the kids to see my cousin's lambs that afternoon.  The ewe had triplets, and oh were they cute!  They were so small that you could easily pick them up, but their mother did not like it at all.  I felt bad for stressing her out.

That night we went to Yoshi's Japanese Steakhouse--Rhett's favorite.  This picture of Alexee cracks me up.

C was determined to use the chopsticks.
1) I couldn't believe he had the patience to use them.
2) I couldn't believe he liked the salad.

A tiring but fun weekend.

Firefighter Cupcakes

A sweet friend sent Crosby this cute firefighter cupcake set because she knew he was a big fan of firetrucks--he was so excited to get it!  We thought it would be a perfect thing to share with his buddy Cole when he came over to play last week.  I think they watched a few episodes of Fireman Sam while they waited for the cupcakes to bake.   

 They worked so hard to make them look nice!  :) 

 And I think Cole really enjoyed adding the decorative toppers-ha!

 Crosby was happy to do the taste-test.

Such fun times--three is a great age!

MLK Day Climb

The kids were out of school last Monday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and the weather was really nice so we decided to climb Pinnacle.  Rhett and Alexee had climbed it before, but this was Crosby's first trip.  He did GREAT (they all did)--especially considering we accidentally took the more difficult route.  Crosby never slowed down or complained.  It was a fun time together.

R was sweet helping C along the way.

We made it!

So thankful for a beautiful January day and healthy kids.

This was in Alexee's backpack yesterday afternoon.  I love her drawings!

Joey

Two weeks ago today Alexee got a belated Christmas gift, her very own guinea pig!  I think her expression here says it all!   :)

buckle up

Introducing:  Joey Roger Garner

(Rhett read her a list of boy names from the internet, and she decided to call him Joey.)

For the first few days he was really shy and didn't want to leave his house, but he's getting more curious now.

Lane ordered the cage and let Alexee choose the colors--of course she went with pink and purple.

I like his heart-shaped ears.  He's really sweet and loves to eat.  We've found that he loves carrots and celery, but does not like broccoli, cauliflower or bananas.  He also munches on hay all day long.

She drew this at school one day.  I hung it up beside his cage.

She has enjoyed introducing him to her friends, and they all seem to like him too!

2013...so far

Well, Happy New Year (3+ weeks late)!  I hope 2013 is off to a great start for you!

I'm not sure what happened after Christmas, but I took a long blog break.  We really didn't do much that seemed like blog material (January isn't my favorite time of year...the holidays are over and I'm ready for spring, but winter is just getting started) and after the Christmas craziness I just didn't want to make time to sit down and type.  Anyway, I'm back and I'm going to do a quick picture recap of the first three weeks of the new year and then I'll try to get back on track with blogging!

New Year's Eve was a quiet one.  Lane worked until 7p, so I took the kids to Party City to get balloons and party hats, and we picked up pizza. Lane was tired when he got home, so I think he fell asleep watching TV while I finished my Christmas blog posts.  He worked on New Year's Day too, so we didn't eat our black-eyed peas until that night, but everyone (including Bogart) ate at least one pea for good luck.

The kids didn't start back to school until Wednesday the 9th, which seemed so late to me.  After Christmas visits to see family, the remainder of their break looked about like this.  It was fun for a while, but I was ready to get back to the routine.

They did learn to play Yahtzee during Christmas vacation.  I think it's a fun game--I was glad they liked it.  I hadn't played since December 2004 (according to the old score cards in the box when we opened it).  Alexee and Rhett each rolled a Yahtzee in their first game.

Alexee

Rhett

Cole and Kylie came over to play with Crosby and Alexee one morning.  I didn't get a picture of the girls, but snapped one picture of the boys dressed up in Crosby's new firefighter and policeman costumes.  :)

One afternoon we bundled up and met Courtney and her kids at the church playground.  It was good to get out of the house and hang out with friends, even if it was chilly!

With his Christmas money, Rhett finally had enough money saved up to purchase his iPod touch.  He was very excited when it arrived in the mail!

And it's time to start thinking about birthdays around here.  Alexee's is less than two weeks away. She's excited about having an indoor swim party and Hello Kitty decor.

Right when school started back, Rhett told me that he was having trouble seeing the board at school.  I  had recently wondered if he was having trouble when he couldn't clearly read the time on the oven clock, so when he mentioned it I made him an appointment right away.  He did need slight correction in both eyes (-.75 and -1.0).  We talked to the doctor about possibly trying contacts first.  I wasn't sure how that would go, but he's done great!  I took him back yesterday for a re-check, and everything was fine so we're going to move forward with an order for contacts.

One afternoon Crosby and I attended the 3rd-5th grades awards ceremony where Rhett received a Principal's Award for all A's Honor Roll and a "Good Character" award.  Very proud of him for both!

After the ceremony we went to Alexee's classroom to pick her up and she wanted to show us her MLK Day artwork in the flex space!

love this!

January 18th was the Accelerated Reading celebration for the students that met their first semester reading goals.  I went early that day to help set up for the party.  Crosby and (our neighbor) Emily decided to take a break and eat their lunches at 8:45 a.m.!  :)

 setting up the tables

(I helped hand out the prizes during the ceremony, so I didn't get to take a picture of Rhett walking across the stage)

Crosby sat with Rhett and his friends

Last Sunday my parents, Micaela, Jaiden and Jeryn (and Jaiden's friend Mary Kate) came to visit.  The kids had fun playing and we picked up dinner to eat at home.  And Lane's parents came over today after school--it was great to see them, and we enjoyed dinner with them at Larry's Pizza.  

I always love to open Alexee's backpack and see her drawings.  This one made me laugh:  "I love to roll in the mud."

In other January news, Alexee got a guinea pig (belated Christmas gift) and the kids and I climbed Pinnacle Mountain on Monday when they were out of school for MLK Day.  Posts on these events coming soon.  :)

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2013!