We need a little Christmas

December 6th was a very busy Saturday. We woke up early and went to Breakfast with Santa. We had pancakes and sausage. The kids took turns telling Santa what they wanted for Christmas.

Even the girls weren't too cool for Santa!
Bradley was Rhiannon's buddy for the day. They're so cute!

Bryce, Colin, Rhiannon, Bradley(love the lips), and Connor. Judging by the color of my boys' shirts, you'd think I thought it was a Thanksgiving parade instead of a Christmas parade. However, I just grabbed what was clean. And the lucky winner was orange.

After the breakfast we walked to the square to stake out our seats for the annual Bentonville Christmas parade. Excitement was in the air, the music was blaring and piercing our ear drums. The kids were dancing with excitement. I was busy laying out blankets saving spots for our crew. I ticked off a lot of children when the candy started being thrown during the parade, because I wouldn't let them stand on my blankets. So to make up for it, I caught the candy and distributed it to those who were less fortunate and didn't get to the parade as early as I did to ensure a front row seat. Gee, aren't I nice? It was a LOT of fun!

The boys enjoyed torturing Bryce by playing, "Let's see who can smother Bryce with the most attention."

Soon, the game changed to dancing for Bryce. Colin showed him how it was done. "You got to move it, move it!"
Bryce danced with his head...it was the only body part free to move, because everything else was bundled in blankets.

Oooooh, he's so CUTE. Sarah and Tom have three BEAUTIFUL children!

Soon, the first float meandered down the road. Rhiannon watched intently.

Everyone was in such awe that they couldn't manage even a tiny smile. The Bentonville parade is mesmerizing.
Todd and Colin enjoying the festivities.

Here are a few of my favorite floats.

First and foremost must be the Girl Scout Cookie float. This float has nothing to do with my love of Girl Scouts. It's all about the Cookies! Anyone who knows me, knows how I ADORE cookies. I love them. I've never met a bad cookie, (okay except for those loft house cookies at Walmart that are sugar cookies iced in pink or yellow with sprinkles, that everyoned seems to love but me? Yeah, that's nasty!)

Bradley and Bryce's sister Karah was in the parade, I didn't get a very good picture of her, but her float was also one of my favorites.

Another one of my favorites was Camp Bow Wow. That's our friend Sherri and her Newfoundland, Bella.

Last, but not least, no parade is complete without a purple car. I love purple.

It's All in the Timing

My girls are turning twelve in January. I can't believe it. Twelve seems so old. It's such a pivotal age. Now is the time to celebrate mood swings, boys, talking on the phone, being "oh so cool", and boobs.

It seems being a twin could get complicated in this area. Kess has developed much faster than Rhiannon.

Yesterday, when Kess was alone and Rhiannon was playing outside, Sarah congratulated her on her new boobs. Which is amazing because it appears over night she went from a developing chest to real boobs. Kess smiled so sweetly and embarrassed and Sarah explained to her how wonderful they are and not to be embarrassed. We talked about how we didn't want to hurt Rhiannon's feelings by saying anything in front of her.

At that moment, the door swung open and Rhiannon very loudly announced, "Mom, I want new boo?s for Christmas!"

We died laughing. Did she say she wants new BOOBS for Christmas?

"What did you say Rhiannon?"

"I said I want new booTs for Christmas!"

Oh my gosh, the timing...it was hilarious!

One more post

We ate Thanksgiving dinner at my Aunt Jacque and Uncle Bobby's house in Little Rock.

Leave it to my mom to make Thanksgiving interesting. Thanks mom, you little deer.
Looks like Chris had a plate full of deliciousness.

A table full of boys under the age of 8, now that's fun!

Kess enjoying a yummy roll.

Uncle Bobby scooping out some of his cherry cobbler made in a dutch oven, for Rhiannon.

My cousin Tamra enjoying her dinner.

Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Sonny (who appears to be deep in thought.)

Todd appearing to have a good time. I'm sure he would admit otherwise, though.

The children playing with and mauling the small pup. Somehow Colin managed to take his DS to Thanksgiving dinner, not something I was proud of.

My cousin Machelle and her husband Bob.

My cousin Marshall and his girlfriend, Maurice.

Tamra was blessed with identical twin boys. They are four, Luke and John. They live in Pennsylvania so we haven't seen them since they were babies. My girls adored them and they entertained each other all evening.

The ladies in attendance, back row: Mary, Carolyn, Machelle, Tamra, me. Front row: Maurice, Jacque, Rhiannon, Kess, Mom

The men in attendance: Bob, Todd, Bobby, Sonny, Marshall, ? Marshall's friend. Front row: Cole (Maurice's son), Luke and John (who's who?), Colin, Connor.

Not pictured because they'd already gone home to work on costumes, Dad, Nikki, and Chris.

Whew...Thanksgiving is over. I can now move on!

Over the River and Through the Woods

Okay...so it has literally been five weeks since I blogged. I think I was beginning to procrastinate it along with a whole list of other to do's. But this is supposed to be FUN...so here goes. It's almost the middle of December and I still have not blogged about Thanksgiving. WARNING! The following posts may be very boring, but I'm in a hurry and have little time to embellish. I must get through November so I can move on to December!

The weekend before Thanksgiving we drove to Memphis. The girls played in a soccer tournament. My parents kept the boys in Little Rock, but drove to Memphis Saturday morning for one game. Chris, my brother, and the boys curled up in the back seat of the Malibu. Poor Uncle Chris became a very handy pillow. And I think he loved every minute of it. Isn't he adorable? I love him.After the Tournament all four kids stayed in Little Rock and Todd and I drove back to NWA so that he could work a few days before Thanksgiving.

Here's what my children did while they enjoyed their vacation from mom and dad:

Stayed up way too late playing video games.

Stayed up way too late playing with the pups.

And just stayed up way too late...and were exhausted. They hung out at Hearts and Hooves and watched Chris ride his favorite horse Lloyd.

They walked the Big Dam Bridge (which crosses the Arkansas river)with Grandpa, while mom tried to be comforted by the fact that no one has actually fallen off the bridge, unless you count the drunk guy who climbed over the side. I survived outings with my dad, so surely my children would too.

They played Pilgrims and Indians with hats Grandma helped them make. I'm not sure if Connor was a turkey, or playing Star Wars at this point, but needless to say, they enjoyed stringing him up and carrying him around like a piece of meat (they did have his hands tied together, and his feet tied together, but for this picture they had already removed his ropes.)

Pumpkin pie anyone?

They scratched each other's back.

They also made a little money. Grandpa put them to work raking leaves. All Connor asked for in exchange were 100 shiny pennies. Grandpa was happy to oblige!
OH, and don't forget what they did after they piled up all the leaves!
A swan dive!
I think it's safe to say, "Everyone had a GREAT time!" I'm so grateful that they have grandparents who are a part of their lives and adore them so much. They are blessed.