Happily Ever After...

This past weekend Shane's cousin Ashley got married. The weather was bad but the service was short and sweet and we had a ton of fun at the reception. Eric and Ashlie went with us and we got to hang out with the Jordan family, which is always a treat. After the wedding we went back to Harry and Jenni's to stay the night and almost got snowed in. It was great Family Time and we can't wait to do something similar real soon. Here are the pictures.

Kids with Grandpa and Grandma Jenni

Family pose.

The boys: Eric, Tyler, Shane, and Harry.

The girls: Me, Ashlie, Jenni, and Alexis.

Anna stole Abby's (Shane's other cousin) shoes and danced all around the floor in them. They matched perfectly.
Now this would have been a perfect Christmas card but I had already ordered them. (Notice the shoes)
Me and the Sexiest man alive.

Harry and Jenni

Tyler and Alexis

This is Pat (cousin), Eric, Shane, and Abby (cousin) before doing a toast together.

Christmas is coming.

With Christmas comes snow and lights and goodies and Fun Fun Fun. I really wanted my aunt Pam to see what she has to look forward to so here are some snow pictures.

Shane's Dad brought Christmas presents to the kids since he was not sure he'd see them before then. Ian got the Pirate of the Caribbean Ship and LOVES it. He wants everyone to play pirates with him now. Everyone but Anna that is.

Dear Santa....

This weekend the kids got to see Santa and his reindeer "Jingles." Ian was so excited and actually spoke to Santa this year. Anna was another story. She wanted nothing to do with Santa until he offered her a candy cane. She took that and ran. She liked Jingles enough. Ian keeps telling her that he will be getting all the presents since she wouldn't tell Santa what she wanted.

Here come the terrible twos!!!!!

I don't know if "the terrible twos" can get worse but on Sunday Anna turned two. She had her Princess Birkday and I think she had fun. She didn't seem to understand that it was her birthday until we let her open one of her gifts in the morning. She SLOWLY opened it and then her and Ian played with it for a while. Ian wanted her to open the present from him but she started on this one. While I was cleaning things in my room, she must have snuck her other present and opened it. When I went to leave my room it was laying in the hall. She just smiled when I questioned her. Because of the weather we didn't get as many people as planned but it was still a good time. Dairy Queen even called that morning to tell us we had to come get her cake then because they were not opening that day. YIKES! All went well and Anna got some cool "girl" toys. She is still playing with Ian's it seems.

Anna opening her first Birthday gift.

Before the guest arrived.

Birthday crown and matching earrings from Ashlie and Eric.

As we are singing Happy Birthday.

Anna tasting the cake (Snickers blizzard cake - YUMMY!)

Later when Ashlie came over we wanted Anna to show Ashlie the Birthday crown. She wouldn't so Eric did.

Cannot believe our baby is two.

Redskins VS. Bears

Last night the Redskins played the Bears and it was a BIG to do at our house. Shane had some friends over from work and we all watched the game. For any of you who have kept an eye on the skins know they are notorious for throwing the game away in the last few minutes. Not last night! GO SKINS!!!!

BATGIRL & CRAWLY.....

The other night Ian and Anna were playing together quietly - strange, I know - and when I went to see what they were doing this is what I found:

Ian informed me that he was "Crawly" because he could crawl on things and Anna yelled "I'm Batgirl" They then had to climb on top of the couch to show me their super powers.

Anna loved this cape so much she slept with it that night. I hope we never have any burglars at our "Batcave" Would you want to meet Batgirl and her attitude?

Happy 30th to me!

This past Monday was my 30th Birthday. I have been looking forward to this one just like any other. No big deal. Mema kept the kids over night and Shane took me to dinner at Club Soda. We went to eat early so we could be home in time for friends to come over but mother nature had other plans. It was very quiet at the restaurant and we laughed because we didn't know what to do or say. Shane said he felt like he needed to yell at someone since meal time at our house is a constant battle. We made our way home slowly on the slick roads and actually passed Kim and Nic. Once we got home friends came over to hang out and celebrate. The men played cards and listened to the IU game while the girls talked and oogled over baby Colten. Eventually we all played Left-Right-Center which was a blast. We stayed up until about 3:30 a.m. and I did feel 30 trying to get up and take care of the kids the next day. I didn't get pictures because I don't know why. This picture is of Shane and I before dinner. Thanks to all who came to celebrate and make my day extra special!

Thanksgiving pictures.

Here are some pictures that Mema sent me. These are from dinner at her house.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The chaos has begun. It always seems that we get so busy this time of year that you don't have time to sit and enjoy yourself, let alone family and friends. The Thanksgiving weekend started for us the weekend before Thanksgiving. We had dinner at Shane's mother's home with his family. It was great food, as always, and we all had fun. We then moved on to my side of the family. My brother and sister-in-law came home for the weekend and so we all stayed at Nic and Kim's - Thursday through Sunday. We had lunch at Grandma Kunkel's Thanksgiving day and it was delicious. Friday the girls got up at 4:00 a.m. for some shopping. It wasn't too bad and our longest wait was at Starbucks waiting for coffee and tea. CRAZY I know. It didn't seem there were as many deals this year as last but it was fun to be out without the kids. Saturday the boys went to a movie and later that night we all went to BWW's for wings and to watch Basketball. It was a good time. On Sunday we loaded up and headed home to unpack and try to relax. Garrett got the flu over the weekend and I think Anna and I got some of it as well. Then the week after Shane was feeling it and still is. I didn't get many pictures but have a ton of memories. Thanks guys.

If we can just get through Christmas maybe we can slow down......

Happy Halloween

This was a great year for trick-or-treating. The weather was great and the kids had so much fun. Anna was not real into the costume at first saying "I don't yike it!" but after she learned that people put candy in your bucket she was running up to the houses. Ian would yell "Happy Halloween" to everyone who gave him candy or he gave candy to. He would also stare at some of the costumes as the kids walked by and say there goes .... Like we didn't see it or know who it was. He was so cute. We had some friends stop by and we got their pictures as well.

Here are my pirates: Jack Sparrow and Princess Pirate (that is what she called it).

Shane and I had costumes again and it was fun. I think next year I may get a little more crafty and decorate the wagon to go along with our theme. Mema and I thought a Ship was needed.

Wayne and Linda (friends in our neighborhood) always dress up and have a spooky house that all the kids look forward to. This is Ian and Linda.

Here are a few of the kids going to the door and Ashlie and Brittany (neighbors) handing out candy.

After getting candy, we sat on our porch handing out candy to the other kids. Ian handed out candy as Anna ate anything wrappers and all. The dogs sat at the door begging to go trick-or-treating to.

Siann (baby-sitter's daughter) and Gracyn (Ian's girlfriend) stopped by.

We had soooo much fun and way too much candy left. Anyone need some?