Family Ice Skating

DJ and I took the kids ice skating at a local ice skating arena. They had a blast. At first the ice was pretty slick and it took some getting used to. Hannah soon learned that she could do it on her own, without holding on to the rail or our hands. Trey never did get the hang of it on his own, but he enjoyed holding our hands and skating with DJ and I. We all had a great time!

 



Kid's Christmas Parties

December 20th ~ Trey's Preschool Christmas Party

 He was really excited to eat cupcakes!

 

 They were really good! (Sorry blurry photo)

 

 The class had prepared a few singing masterpieces for us. Away in the Manger, Jingle Bells, and another I'm not sure of the name. They were all so cute, especially during Jingle Bells. That must have been their favorite!

 

This is Trey's best friend, Griffin. They love playing with each other. We have had a play date with him outside of school. I'm thinking life long friends!

 

December 21st ~ Hannah's 1st Grade Christmas Party

 

 Hannah patiently waiting for the party to start.

 

 They did a gift exchange.

 

 She got some neat hair accessories.

 

 She was REALLY excited about decorating gingerbread houses. She mostly wanted to eat the candy!

 

 This is her friend Gabriella.

 

Silly girls!



Our newest family member...

Meet Charla, our hamster.

 

 

Hannah has had some good and bad days at school, behavior wise. So to encourage her to do better we started a sticker chart reward system. She wanted a hamster, so we worked hard to EARN one. The first 30 stickers went toward the hamster cage. The second 30 stickers earned her the actual hamster. Hannah named her Charla (like Charlotte, but not exactly)! She is a pretty fun pet. I didn't have one growing up and didn't really think I would like one. But she has been a surprisingly fun pet! Hannah loves to hold her, but must be supervised. She will take some time to warm up to all of us. She doesn't bite though, which was something I was worried about. She is a little skittish, but hopefully that will ease up as she is around us more.



My 2012 Photo Book

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Fall Fun

Our back yard is pretty big and gets A LOT of leaves in the fall. Today DJ and the kids (including our niece Iva) got out there to blow and rake them up. Of course they had to play in them too!

 

 Hannah and Trey helping rake.

 

 We have two small, kid size rakes, I'm not sure why he insisted on the adult one. But he was so cute trying to use it!

 

 Hannah was buried in the pile!

 

 Iva wanted to be buried too!

 

 Then of course we had to throw the leaves in the air (and ultimately mess up the pile)!

 

 Having a blast!

 

 Now back to work!!!

 

 I know this is probably not a good picture by photography standards, but I just love it! Love my Hannah Bear!

 

 Oops, caught playing again!

 

Lexi wanted to join the fun too!

 I think Lexi made a bigger mess than the kids!

 

 Back to work again....

 

Or maybe not! :)



My New Christmas Tree Skirt

I have been decorating my tree in blue and white/silver since DJ and I first married. At first it was a dark blue but over the years has changed to a light blue. My first tree skirt was a dark blue, but it just didn't match my tree this year. So I began the hunt for a skirt that was the same colors as my tree and that was big enough to go under my WIDE tree. I found one, but it was $170 dollars. It was a handmade skirt and very pretty, but I wasn't paying that much for something that was only used for 4 weeks a year and that would be covered with presents over half of that time! So, I figured I would have to make my own. I looked on Pinterest (for he first time) and found a skirt I wanted to make. Apparently ruffle skirts are very popular right now. I found a sewn one and went to work. I bought my fabric at 50% off, something unexpected. I already know how to sew and have a great machine. It took me a better part of 3 days to complete but I am really happy with the finished look. I don't really are for Pinterest, but they came through for me this time! I spent a little less than $40 dollars on my one of a kind, homemade tree skirt! I think that is a deal! Here is a link for the tutorial. And below are my pictures of the finished project. I didn't use a serger, but instead did a roll hem on my machine and I also used my machine to "gather" the fabric which cut a considerable amount of time off the finished time.

 The finished skirt! I love it!

 

 I had a hard time picking the right fabrics. I originally wanted just Christmas patterns. But I found that wouldn't work since they didn't have many patterns in my colors. I did find two snow flake patterns in light blue and white. One had brown too, but it still worked. The other 4 rows are just light blue and white patterns that I liked. One of the white patterns has silver and gray crosses on it. I found this was a must for my skirt since Christ is the real reason we celebrate Christmas! Sorry this photo is so blurry! It as taken with my phone and I didn't realize it until I enlarged it. :(

 

 It works with the colors and it big enough for my tree! Yay!

 

The full tree (from the side).

Enjoying Pinnacle Mountain

The weather has been unusually warm for this time of the year. The weather was in the mid 70s this weekend, so DJ and I took the kids to Pinnacle Mountain for the second time. The first time we only made it 60% the way up due to little legs and our dog, Lexi, was with us. This time we made it all the way to the top! The kids loved sitting up there and looking all around. As we climbed up we counted the markers. This was the only way we could keep them (and me) going! DJ said he was very proud of his family. This is one of his favorite places in Little Rock! Well, it is where he asked me to marry him and where we had our second date!

 We made it to 10!

 

 One very proud daddy!

 

I was proud of the kids too!