School girl

It was "blue" day at pre-school and Peyton couldn't get there fast enough. For some reason blue was a much more exciting color day than purple, orange, or black. Her new jeans had her feeling super sassy. Her polka-dot jacket was NOT coming off without a fight.








She makes me smile.

"Ice!"

The Gaylord Texan is a magnificent resort/hotel near us that hosts an annual ice attraction that this year features "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." 40 master artisans from China took 30 days and transformed 5,000 blocks of ice weighing two million pounds (!) into the city of Who-ville. It is breath-taking.

The worst best part is, the temperature of the attraction is 7 degrees. Now, wuss that I am when it comes to cold, I was not looking forward to the frigid temperature. However, we were bundled up with our own coats/hats/ gloves and then the Gaylord Texan people provide you with yet another coat, so we were toasty warm the entire time.

Keaton, Hayden, and Landon entering Who-ville.

















The twenty-foot ice slide was the family favorite. Peyton and I waited at the bottom for multiple slides from older siblings.


















It's hard to believe this is all made out of ice.













Landon tried hiding...it didn't work.












Frigid photo ops





















Hot chocolate was calling our name once we exited the exhibit. "The Grinch that Stole Christmas" video was playing on big screens, so we sat and watched. Landon and mom cozied up.
















The gift shop provided opportunities to touch...












...and get tickled at ourselves.

















"We had THIS much fun!!"

Grands really are quite grand

Diney and Big Daddy came to visit us. We had a wonderful lunch that concluded with some "horse-riding." Peyton clearly thought it was the most fun she had ever had in her entire life.

How may kids can we fit on one ride?

















Keaton and Landon double-buckled.

















"Whoa buddy!"

















Better than Six Flags.















Thank you Big Daddy.

More cousin luvin'

Day two of our cousin sleepover involved vast amounts of movement: the children, not us.

Football!
















A little cheerleader action.

















The stage show...

















The floor show.


















Such pretty girls. Gina's Ashlyn and my Peyton.

Brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles...friends

The kids and I had a big 'ole sleep-over at my sister and brother-in-law's home this weekend. It was non-stop playing, giggling and belly-laughing from the minute we arrived until the second we left. Cousins need time together...and so do sisters!

Only nine months apart, Dayden (3) and Peyton (2) have an absolute ball together.
















Same goes for Bailey (12) and Hayden (8). Landon (5) runs between the little girls and the big boys, having yet to identify with a one group or the other.














Uncle David grilled pork chops...yum!














Bathing beauties.












"Hello? Um, I'd like to order a pretend pizza to go."





















Keaton (12 and beautiful)

















Reagan (14 and goofy)

















Dora was on the playlist several times.

















My beautiful sister Gina and David her pretty terrific husband.














When Dayden tired of the movie, mommy had to watch.









More pics tonight. It was so much fun.

Family fun

The kids and I (minus Reagan who was at a football game) went to Family Fun Night Friday night as a reward for a great week of getting chores done, doing homework, and just plain getting along. There was a bounce house (Peyton's favorite), tons of snacks and drinks, air hockey, video games, ping pong tables, a basketball court, everything Wii, arcade games, and the movie "Up" complete with popcorn. The best part? It was all free.

I figured we'd stay about an hour because invariable somebody gets tired and cranky and needs to go home. We arrived at 6:45pm and surprisingly we didn't leave until 9:05pm...and my kids didn't want to leave then but we were one of the last families there and the workers needed to go home. Hayden, Landon, and Peyton all fell asleep soon after we left the parking lot.























You'd have thought such a busy week and a late night would have translated into a Saturday morning sleep-in, right?

*sigh*