A Day At The Park

We have been taking advantage of our good days and our great neighborhood.

Gorgeous day at the park!

Caden ~ after-school-snacking in the sunshine.

Our Big Girl enjoying the park for the first time since she started walking.

--> Playing on the rocks. (Ambree's face cracks me up.)

We Love Christmas.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year"

"Oh Christmas Tree, How Lovely Are Your Branches"

My Caden boy is getting so tall!!!


Check out my Ambree's mischievous grin...
She's probably hiding a cricket in her mouth. Ha ha.


He's got a million dollar smile :D
She's got no patience for photos ;)



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Aren't our kiddos so cute in front of our fire?

That's right, after all these years, this if the first time we used our fireplace since we moved here (almost three years ago). I asked Adam to make sure the chute was opened... Ha ha. But in his defense, we discovered there was TWO levers that needed to be pulled in order to completely open the flu. Who woulda thunk?
Caden discovered the smoke first, and then we discovered that all our smoke detectors work - and they are VERY loud. Ha.

Ambree did really well about not touching the fire. She just kept wanting to blow on it.
We roasted up some smores and they were DELICIOUS!
There's something magical about a fire in your very own fireplace :)

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We went out to see Christmas lights around town and made a special surprise trip to this house:

Its lights were set to music and the big wreath in the middle was like a movie screen.

We let Caden get on the roof of the Xterra. Adam and I took turns being up there with him while Ambree danced her little booty inside the back of the car.

It turned out to be a very fun little family night!

Backtrack to Turner Falls

The first weekend in October, we took my parents, met up with a bunch of friends, and went on one of the best camping trips ever. I think it should be a yearly tradition!

The kids were very helpful packing up. They couldn't forget their daggers!

My manly man - in Turner Falls, Oklahoma! Did I mention, it was raining? And the water comes from a natural, freezing cold spring.


Heading up to the castle... lots and lots and lots of steps. We didn't mind though. We LOVE hiking. And the ruins were totally worth it.

Caden asked if he could feel the water. I thought he meant with his hands. Nope, he meant with his feet... socks, shoes, and pants.

Checking out the caves. It was such a fun adventure. Grandpa asked Caden how it felt to be able to climb up a mountain and Caden replied, "I feel like a dummy. It's certainly hard." Ha ha.

Perhaps he wasn't feeling so great because the sun/heat causes Caden to get hives and he broke out with them all over his face. Once I took off my hat to give to him, his shaded his face got better, but it was quite crazy looking for a while there. They kept moving from cheek to cheek to head to chin, etc. I was worried it was poison ivy or oak for a minute.

Fun With Friends!

AWESOME views!


Lots of smiles ;)

So glad we took the opportunity to go!

*Weird to think that only a day after this trip, my dad's accident happened.

Quick Picture Catch-Up

This might be a lot of cuteness to handle all in one sitting.

Our impromptu road trip to California was a HUGE success! ;)

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Trying to get a shot of Caden's loose tooth, and Ambree jumped in the shot to point it out for us.


She loves that brother!

We like to have crazy hair day at our house, but it's so hard to get them still and looking at the camera.

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We went to the museum of Nature and Science and had a fun day.
The funny mirror was hilarious. You can't tell, but our dwarf bodies were crazy funny!

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She claps and plays patta-cake and dances to every song...it is the most adorable thing ever!




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We took Ambree to the emergency room. She was right next to me and next thing I know, she is vomiting and I find a half a toothpick in the vomit. So where's the other half? Called the doctor and they said I had to take her to the ER before something bad happened. (Toothpicks, if swallowed can cause big problems.) So I rush all the way to the city. They looked in her mouth twice and sent us home two hours later with some apple juice. They tell me they want to wait until something bad happens... UGH! That's the opposite advice that my doctor gave me!
They charged $735 for this fun experience, but after insurance, it only cost us $477. Scandelous!


He ran into the doorknob...but I didn't take him to the ER for it. I think I'll really try to avoid that place - even when the doctor advises it...

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She's watching him scoot around, wishing she could do everything he does.

Life is good - we just LOVE our family!