We had a great time opening family gifts tonight -- family gifts tonight, Santa tomorrow! We started by making a cute little gingerbread house.
Opening gifts isn't too interesting in still pictures, but here are a few quickies of the fun.
And Nicole cracked me up with this set of gifts -- since the kids are so interested in exercising with me, she got each of us a headband, gave the kids some little free weights, and gave me a Get Fit Kids workout DVD that we can do together. So funny, we had to take a picture!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Zoolight Safari
The Birmingham tradition of Zoolight Safari continued for us this year! The kids were beside themselves with excitement -- seriously out of their mind! We had a great time getting ready to celebrate Christmas Day! ...Christmas pictures coming soon!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Are you ready for Christmas??
Ready for the BIG day?? Here's my sermon from Sunday, one last look at getting ready to celebrate Christmas. Click here to read the lessons, then click here to listen to the sermon (or click here to read it). Merry Christmas!!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Friends Again ...and Santa!
Brayden was so excited to have Layna home -- and Layna was equally as excited to see Brayden. They woke up bright-eyed on Monday and when they saw the snow coming down outside, they immediately wanted to play. As you can see, to say it was "snowing" is an overstatement, but they still had plenty of fun!
After the fun in the snow, it was time to visit Santa! I'll admit that I'm still a little shocked that Layna wanted to see him -- she has been terrified of people "dressed up" in any kind of costume since she was aware of such things. But today was different. She wanted to see him and actually hopped up ahead of Brayden! They had a great visit.
After the fun in the snow, it was time to visit Santa! I'll admit that I'm still a little shocked that Layna wanted to see him -- she has been terrified of people "dressed up" in any kind of costume since she was aware of such things. But today was different. She wanted to see him and actually hopped up ahead of Brayden! They had a great visit.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Boys Weekend
While Nicole and Layna were in Florida (more on that later), Brayden and I had a boys weekend! Unfortunately, some of my plans were foiled because just as we were settling into our weekend, Brayden got sick. He's been sick the whole time, so I've had to tone-down the fun. BUT, we still had some. Here are some of our adventures without the ladies:
Later that night we went to get guy food (aka pizza!) and this is how Brayden wanted to accentuate his face...
After church this morning, we were surprised with some snow flurries! We're still Southerners at heart, so it doesn't take much snow to get us excited!
I will say that Brayden has really missed his BFF. Every time I talk with Nicole on the phone, Brayden asks to talk to her, too, but after a quick hello, he asks to talk with Layna. It makes his day. :) We're excited for the ladies to come home tonight!
Later that night we went to get guy food (aka pizza!) and this is how Brayden wanted to accentuate his face...
After church this morning, we were surprised with some snow flurries! We're still Southerners at heart, so it doesn't take much snow to get us excited!
I will say that Brayden has really missed his BFF. Every time I talk with Nicole on the phone, Brayden asks to talk to her, too, but after a quick hello, he asks to talk with Layna. It makes his day. :) We're excited for the ladies to come home tonight!
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Road Trip!
We took a road trip to Florida this Thanksgiving. We left early (early!) in the morning on Wednesday. Luckily, I have two old iPhones and I spent Tuesday readying them for the car trip, adding fun videos and music. After strapping the kids into their seats and powering up their toys, we were off!
The trip was uneventful until we were down into the heart of Florida, so the kids (and Zoey) caught up on their sleep. This picture cracked me up!
The trip was uneventful until we were down into the heart of Florida, so the kids (and Zoey) caught up on their sleep. This picture cracked me up!
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Exercising
This is too funny not to share! The kids asked to exercise tonight, so I gave them some random stuff and turned on my kettlebell workout video. They spent more than 15 minutes following the host -- it was a riot. This video is way too long for casual viewers, but if you watch it, make sure you get to the end (the best part).
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
From Sunday
Hey gang -- we haven't been terribly exciting the past few days, but I'll work on some more pictures and videos. Until then, I'll share my sermon from Sunday. Click here to read the lessons, then click here to listen to the sermon (or click here to read it). Happy Wednesday!!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Happy Veterans Day
The kids were very excited about celebrating Veterans Day today, especially because they held a special parade at school yesterday! All the children dressed in red, white, and blue and paraded around the parking lot wearing special hats and carrying posters. One of our priests, a former Air Force chaplain, carried the flag. Here are the kids having a great time!
After the parade, the kids gathered on the sidewalk to eat red, white, and blue popsicles and cookies.
Tonight, we celebrated with cheeseburgers (an American celebration!). When we sit down to dinner, the kids always vie for the chance to say the blessing. When Brayden asked to say the blessing tonight, this is what he did:
Thank you to all our men and women in uniform!
After the parade, the kids gathered on the sidewalk to eat red, white, and blue popsicles and cookies.
Tonight, we celebrated with cheeseburgers (an American celebration!). When we sit down to dinner, the kids always vie for the chance to say the blessing. When Brayden asked to say the blessing tonight, this is what he did:
Thank you to all our men and women in uniform!
Monday, November 08, 2010
Slumber Party
The other morning, Nicole woke me up in a bit of a panic because when she woke up, she noticed that Layna's door was open (the kids sleep with them shut) and Layna wasn't in her room. Nicole did a quick sweep of the upstairs and couldn't find her. One place she hadn't checked, however, was Brayden's room ...low and behold, there she was! Apparently, Layna woke during the night and decided to crawl into bed with Brayden -- how cute is that?! I thought you'd like to see how we found them:
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Trick-or-Treating (for real)
Finally, pictures from actual Halloween! As you can see, Layna stuck with her princess costume, but Brayden decided to flip from being a magician to a king! (good choice!) They made an excellent pair!
Something you can't see in these pictures are Layna's shoes. They are high heels with pick feathers on top of the toes -- she called them "my heels" and insisted on wearing them around the neighborhood. Although they look hilarious, they sounded even funnier! I took this video so you could hear her clip-clopping up the sidewalk in them:
I wish I had recorded some of what she was saying as she was walking from house to house, like, "Look! I'm walking in my heels without falling!" or, "I can walk in my heels the whole time!" She's such a riot!
When we got home, the kids enjoyed a pumpkin cupcake that we made earlier in the day (thanks to Gigi for the great mix and toppers!) -- click here for the mix from Williams-Sonoma (yum!).
Then it was time to celebrate the spoils of a great night!
Something you can't see in these pictures are Layna's shoes. They are high heels with pick feathers on top of the toes -- she called them "my heels" and insisted on wearing them around the neighborhood. Although they look hilarious, they sounded even funnier! I took this video so you could hear her clip-clopping up the sidewalk in them:
I wish I had recorded some of what she was saying as she was walking from house to house, like, "Look! I'm walking in my heels without falling!" or, "I can walk in my heels the whole time!" She's such a riot!
When we got home, the kids enjoyed a pumpkin cupcake that we made earlier in the day (thanks to Gigi for the great mix and toppers!) -- click here for the mix from Williams-Sonoma (yum!).
Then it was time to celebrate the spoils of a great night!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Shop-tastic
As if Halloween weekend wasn't exciting enough, this weekend also marks the opening of a new outlet mall only minutes from our house! We love a good outlet mall (we are Floridians, after all). We spent some of the day walking around, window shopping, and playing in the beautiful sunshine. We even saw some old friends!
While we were waiting for Mommy to shop in Banana Republic, the kids watched some of the street performers... before getting in on the action (video below!).
Pardon the white noise, I was standing next to a water feature.
Then we turned right around and took advantage of the waterfall that marked the entrance to the mall. The kids climbed all over it (since Mommy was still shopping ...she would not have liked them doing that!).
While we were waiting for Mommy to shop in Banana Republic, the kids watched some of the street performers... before getting in on the action (video below!).
Pardon the white noise, I was standing next to a water feature.
Then we turned right around and took advantage of the waterfall that marked the entrance to the mall. The kids climbed all over it (since Mommy was still shopping ...she would not have liked them doing that!).
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Trunk-or-Treat
I'm sure many of you have your own Trunk-or-Treat experiences, but for those of you who aren't familiar with this tradition, many communities gather cars together and allow young children to trick-or-treat from their decorated trunks. It's a very safe way to allow toddlers to have lots of fun on their own!
The Trunk-or-Treat event at Saint Luke's has been growing year by year, and this year, the church partnered with the Day School to throw the biggest one yet! We had about 300 people gathered to make it a very fun night, and the kids had a great time!
Kids aren't the only ones who get to have fun at Trunk-or-Treat ...we parents get to play, too! I love hosting a "trunk," and have a great time creating a theme. This year, I went with something akin to Hanukkah Harry (remember that SNL sketch?), but I called myself "Fr. Hanukkah" -- I was a rabbi who was celebrating Jewish Christmas on Halloween! (...and you better believe that my candy, like my decorations, were all blue and white!)
After we were finished trunk-or-treating, we headed back inside for games in the parish hall. Layna and I also took advantage of the free face painting!
We hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween!
The Trunk-or-Treat event at Saint Luke's has been growing year by year, and this year, the church partnered with the Day School to throw the biggest one yet! We had about 300 people gathered to make it a very fun night, and the kids had a great time!
Kids aren't the only ones who get to have fun at Trunk-or-Treat ...we parents get to play, too! I love hosting a "trunk," and have a great time creating a theme. This year, I went with something akin to Hanukkah Harry (remember that SNL sketch?), but I called myself "Fr. Hanukkah" -- I was a rabbi who was celebrating Jewish Christmas on Halloween! (...and you better believe that my candy, like my decorations, were all blue and white!)
After we were finished trunk-or-treating, we headed back inside for games in the parish hall. Layna and I also took advantage of the free face painting!
We hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween!
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