Wet 'n Wild

We felt like we needed a little break from all of the moving and house remodeling we have been doing so we took the kids to this indoor waterpark the day after Christmas.  It is just north of Gatlingburg, TN.  We also wanted to check out the area and see what there was to do.  There's so much...we will definitely be making some more visits when the weather warms up a little.

The kids had so much fun and actually played together with very little fighting...yeah!  The boys loved the wave pool and spent hours there together.

Here they are coming out of the Storm Chaser, their favorite ride.  Elizabeth is happy and no longer screams "I'm going to die" when she rides it!

More smiles

The lines were always long for the body surfing, but we managed to get through in the evening when the line had gone down some.  Everyone had fun trying it and Aaron's time in Guam paid off as he looked like a pro!  What a fun time we had.  Seems strange that we hardly spent any time in the kiddie pool area.  Naomi was still too short for the bigger rides, but we were able to sneak her on a few times - and she loved them!  She was content to play on the smaller rides, but we're definitely hoping she grows a few inches before we go again so we can all ride together!

Merry Christmas!

Yesterday we took the kids to see Santa.  Naomi continues to be mesmerized by him and happily jumped up on his lap.  We are just amazed that she will talk to him.  I think Elizabeth was six before she would get near Santa.  We are looking forward to spending Christmas together as a family.  Aaron has the whole week off work...yeah! 

 

We wish all of our family and friends a Merry Christmas!

Future President?

Today Will's teacher told them they could dress up for their Christmas party if they wanted.  This is what Will chose to wear.  He loves wearing a suit!

Santa Claus is coming to town...

Naomi decided a few days ago she wanted to go visit Santa.  She has been very into Christmas and wanting to know how everything works this year.  My expectations were low that she would talk to him, much less sit on his lap.  To my surprise, she did both.  Granted, she didn't say much, but look at that smile!  She was so excited and as soon as we left insisted we return so that Madelyn could visit him.

My Favorite Things

 

I'm joining Melissa in her "Favorite Things" party a day late.  Every year when I read everyone else's list I realize how boring I must be because I don't have very many favorite items I cannot live without!  Here is the list I came up with:

The Lands' End flannel sheets are one of my favorite things about cold weather.  I get almost giddy every year with excitement when I put them on our bed and leave them on as long as I possibly can.  I hate being cold.  These sheets are so warm and snuggly...love them!

This Cutco spatula spreader is definitely one of my must have items.  It is almost always in the kitchen sink because I use it for everything.  I've thought of buying an extra, but then I would just have two in my sink so I just wash it...a lot!

 

Edamame is one of my favorite foods and this bag from Sam's Club is my favorite.  It comes with 8 smaller single serving bags (maybe it's technically 1.5 servings).  I eat them for lunch all the time.  These ones are so much fresher than edamame I have bought from other grocery stores.  Very yummy!

  

This movie is one of my favorites.  I love watching it with my kids (hubby hates musicals) and hearing them laugh everytime they say the name "Dorcas!"

  

We have had Amazon Prime for a couple of years.  I now cannot imagine Christmas shopping without it.  Free two day shipping is hard to beat!

 

I have a lot of Pampered Chef kitchen tools that make my life a lot easier, but this one has become one of my new favorites.  It minces garlic quickly and is very easy to clean.

I'm not a big cereal eater, but this one makes eating breakfast a little easier.  Also good with yogurt!

The Navigation app on my smartphone is a lifesaver for me.  We just moved and I love being able speak an address into my phone and it takes me there.  I would literally be lost without it!

I think that's it.  I am loving reading everyone else's lists and finding some things I want...like that line a day journal.  I think that's my kind of journaling and just might need to be added to my Christmas list!  Merry Christmas, everyone!

All About Bruce

The past month has been a big one for Bruce.  Besides moving, he celebrated his eighth birthday!  We were in Ohio on his birthday so he was able to celebrate with his grandparents and lots of cousins.

Last Saturday Bruce was baptized.  He was so excited for his big day.  There is no one more important in this boy's life than his dad.  He writes little notes for Aaron and calls him all the time.  When we were still living in Indiana and Aaron was in Tennessee, Aaron told me after church he came out and had about three messages on his phone from Bruce.  I hadn't even known he had called him.

Aaron's parents (Mama and Papa) were able to come and spend a few days with us and be here for Bruce's baptism.  It's hard to believe he is our fourth child who has been baptized so we only have two more.  Seems like only a few days ago Justin was turning eight!  I'm so grateful for families!

Digital Age

The kids and I arrived in Tennesee on Tuesday.  We are now living in a 2-bedroom apartment with Aaron.  It's cozy, but thanks to ipods, smartphones, a laptop, and a Kindle, we are surviving!  We close on our house next Friday and can't wait!

Family pictures

We didn't think we had enough going on last weekend so we decided to get family pictures taken.  They turned out surprisingly well.  Naomi actually smiled this year and Will's normal eye sensitivity to the flash was much better than normal.  Wonder if it had anything to do with the ice cream we promised them after if they cooperated.  Hmm...

 I'm sure they won't always be stair steps like this, but it was my favorite pose.

They almost look like they like each other, right?

Love these girls!

Update

14 days on the market, 14 showings, and 2 offers...Sold!

We are excited to soon call this house "home."

Happy Halloween!

Here are the kids ready for a cold, wet night of trick or treating.   

BYU/Notre Dame game

We love it when the Cougars come to town for a game.  Originally, we planned for Aaron and Justin to go, but Aaron was out of town so I went with Justin.  Aaron and I went to the game last time they played here which was in 2003 I think.

Justin's good buddy, Jackson and his dad came from Idaho for the game. He got to spend the day on campus hanging out with them and I met them for the game.  There were really a lot of BYU fans who made the trip and the game was pretty exciting.  Good football, lots of sunshine, and no rain (during the game)...perfect day!

Pumpkin Patch

We haven't gone to a pumpkin patch for several years so a few nights ago during an open house at our house, I took the kids to one.

It's nearly impossible to get a picture with all six kids looking AND smiling at the camera at the same time.  Here's my best attempt.

The perfect little pumpkin for my lil punkin!

Madelyn noted that the girls were all wearing plaid (not planned).  Naomi was insistent she not pose for this shot.

Happy Fall, y'all!

Do Not Try This at Home!

The last light we changed out in our house was this fun one in our entryway.  We borrowed a tall ladder from our neighbor, but it still wasn't quite tall enough.  Aaron had to stand on the top step that has a big sticker on it telling you NOT to stand on it!  I'm so glad I have a husband who is not afraid of heights and who is awesome fixing things around our house.

"Marrying Kiss"

Naomi has been giving these kisses for several months now.  She calls them a "Marrying Kiss".  You can see from the picture that she puts everything she has into them.  I think I get about a dozen of them a day from her.

Big Changes

Today a little for sale sign went out in front of this house.  We have only lived here for 15 months, but we have loved every minute of it.  Our kids love the school, we love our neighborhood, and we love the people at church.  However, we don't love having Aaron gone from us all of the time.  We tried to stay here, but just couldn't find anything so we had to look elsewhere and we're really excited about this opportunity.

We have been busy working the past few weeks preparing our house to go on the market.  We painted, cleaned, de-cluttered, and replaced most all of the light fixtures and hardware throughout the house with oil rubbed bronze.  Out with the gold/brass stuff!  We had some really great help preparing the house.

 

We made our "punch list" of items to complete and prioritized them.  We had 51 items on the list.  I think we're down to about ten left to complete and those ones are pretty minor.  The kids have taken the news pretty well.  While they love it here, they haven't been here too long so they are a little more open to moving this time.  We really hope we can stay longer in our next home.  We are moving to eastern Tennessee and have heard great things about the area.  We've been in the midwest our whole married life (16 years next month).  It's going to be really different, but we're excited about all of the new places to visit and the new friends we'll make.

 

The only downside to our move will be living in the heart of the SEC, but I guess we have survived living in Notre Dame territory so it can't be that bad.  We'll keep you posted when we have news to share!