Just Pretending

I walked into our bathroom last night to find this!  

He wants to be just like daddy someday :)

Owen is three-and-a-quarter this week.  

I sure wish I could keep him little forever!

Way to go Emma!

After enjoying so much leisure time over the holidays it has been rough for all of us to adjust back to our normal routine of early mornings and busy days.  I'm pretty sure Emma was half asleep every morning as she left the house the entire first week back.  This week she won two awards and I wanted to share :)  On Tuesday she joined the '100s Club', meaning she counted to 100 with no mistakes.  We practiced and perfected during the break and we knew she could do it!!  

She also received an award for perfect attendance this past six weeks.  Unfortunately she had missed receiving the award the first two six weeks by one day each (sick and traveling).  Way to go Emma!!!

All Kindergarten students with perfect attendance:

It's hard to believe that our girl is now officially half way through her Kindergarten year.  It has been a wonderful time of meeting new friends, learning new things and adjusting to the school routine.  It has been incredibly rewarding for her dad and I to watch her bloom into a smart, sweet and determined student.  

Winter Park Tubing

On our final evening in Ruidoso we bundled up and headed to Winter Park for some good COLD fun!  We went tubing down some steep snowy hills!  

Emma and Owen basically had the entire Kids Korral to themselves and enjoyed zipping down the big hill.  

We had a lot of fun flying as a family of four down the hill in this gigantic yellow tube.  We seriously went airborne, or 'magic carpet ride' as they call it.

There is sooo much to do in Ruidoso and we look forward to returning again soon :)

Silly Snowman

Both kids loved the snow!  They didn't seem to mind the single digit temps at all.  Brrrr!  

They were determined to build a snowman during our stay and luckily there was plenty of snow to work with!

Two of the best boys I know ;)

Ta da!!  Our very own snowman :)

Thanks to Lita, we got very creative!  He had a plastic bowl hat, peppermint eyes, a blackberry mouth and tiny pine cone buttons :)

Warming up by the fireplace :)

Ready, set, SKI!

Our first full day in Ruidoso was spent skiing!  It had been at least twelve years since I had been and it was Jarrod's first time.  I had no doubt that he would pick it up quickly since he is so athletic but I was very unsure of how the kids would do.  Both were excited about trying.  Here is Owen being fitted for his ski gear:

We enrolled Emma in a private lesson and just let Owen get the feel for skiing at the bottom of the mountain. He played so hard that he actually fell asleep during lunch!

Joseph and Natalie (it was also her first time and she did great!!)

After her class Emma was a total ski bunny!  She seriously flew down the mountain with skill and only few down minimal number of times.  Here we are together on the ski lift:

On top of the mountain ready to go!

Lita, Uncle Joseph & Emma (and photographer daddy) all went back for a second day of skiing!

We are so proud of this brave and adventurous girl!  She already talks about going back!

Snow fun!

We were so excited to have a white new year in New Mexico!  Everything was covered in snow and it was absolutely beautiful!  The kids have not been around snow very much but they had so much fun playing, running and sliding in it.

I love Owen's sweet face in this photo ;)

Thawing out with Uncle Joseph by the fireplace :)

Happy New Year!

On New Years Eve we traveled approximately 600 miles (10+ hours) to Ruidoso, New Mexico.  The kids did very well on the long car ride, mostly thanks to electronics and snacks :)  Upon our arrival it started snowing big beautiful snowflakes!  Soon after unloading the cars we discovered a herd of deer in the backyard!  

We enjoyed delicious local BBQ for dinner and then celebrated by the toasty fire place with hats and silly glasses!  Owen even sipped Pediasure from a special cup and twisty straw :)

These party animals didn't quite make it to midnight.....

What a fun way to ring in the new year!  Happy 2013 to all :)

Christmas Day 2012

Wow, I blinked and December was gone!!  Jarrod and the kids had two-and-a-half weeks off from school and activities, most of which we spent away from east Texas.  We thoroughly enjoyed a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life.  I have lots of updates so bear with me :)  For the first time in our married life we finally had a mantel in which to hang our new stockings!

Christmas morning pajamas

Emma was excited about her first sparkly pair of Vans!

The kiddos have had so much fun with these marshmallow shooters!  Roxie has had lots of new snacks on the floor :)

Daddy is the proud new owner of a (Johnny football) Heisman trophy t shirt.  So neat that the past two Heisman winners are from our two favorite universities :)

Owen found all sorts of fun things in his stocking :)

 Look what we found under the tree!!  The kiddos enjoyed a quick bike ride before breakfast!

Over the river and through the woods; to Big Daddy & Lita's house we went next!

The four of us :)

The whole gang was all smiles :)

Sweet Santa boy :)

Jesus is the reason for the season.  His birth is the best gift of all!  We are so blessed to have celebrated Christmas with so many family gatherings during December.  Merry Christmas to all :)