Happy Thanksgiving {turkey day}

I really can't believe that Thanksgiving is today. It seems that this year has flown by.

We started our day (at 6:30am) listening to the kids talk about their elf. {We have an elf the kids named "Lickey-Waki"} I guess we are sorta doing "Elf on the Shelf" but we didn't buy the actual elf and book combo. I found a cute elf (that I will post another time) that hangs out in our living room. Last night, the elf climbed our wall and perched himself on top of a speaker, right by the ceiling. It was hilarious listening to Jonas & Reese talk about how Lickey-Waki climbed the wall. They were shrilling over him!!!!

My parents are coming over at lunch and we will have a low-key, family-time, kind-a-day. Parade. Football. Full tummies.
Here is our menu:
turkey
ham
sweet tater casserole
broccoli-rice casserole
butter peas
dressing
broc-cauliflower salad
rolls
coconut pie
pecan pie
pumpkin pie
apple pie with chocolate/pecan/caramel streusel


These are pics taken just a few minutes ago. Jonas wanted his hair to stick-up this morning. He and Jason did his hair.

These are questions I asked Jonas:

Who are the pilgrims? "They wear hats."

What did the Indians teach the pilgrims? "How to hunt and fish"

What is thanksgiving? "chicken, mashed potatoes, meat and turkey, ummmm, corn, pumpkin pie"

What are you thankful for? "I am thankful for Ms. Barbara & Ms. Monika, mommy and daddy, Aunt DuDu and KuKu, and everybody... uncle buddy and susan, alrighty, ummm, susu and poppa, reesie, and hmmm ...and Millie, and cats and alligators, and lions. And sadie. And myself.

I am thankful for everybody. I am thankful for God too.... and Jesus."

We wish our friends and family a very thankful, thanksgiving.

Silver Dollar City {and a little extra}

This is going to be a semi-long post as I explain the pics and then include a couple of things that are going on around here!
First off: We have Silver Dollar City (SDC) passes and have not been going like we thought we would. Thanks to SuSu and Poppa (my parents) for buying them and giving them to us as a Christmas present LAST year. We went back in the summer and had gotten so busy and didn't make time for it again until last weekend (Nov 6th). So, Jason, the kids, my mom, and I traveled to Branson for the day! It was a long day, but we had a great time. The weather was cool and the Christmas lights were everywhere! Put us in the Christmas spirit immediately!

There is something about how the sun is shining down that captures me everytime I look at this picture. I love it.

There are lots of rides the kids can go on this season. We have even moved out of the kiddie section to the school age area and ride those too. The kids both love the thrill of rides, especially Jonas. A couple of their favs include the swings and a roller coaster called Fire in the Hole.

Here is Mom, best known as SuSu, around our house. An extra about us is that we are on the road to SKINNY..... well, skinnier. We are doing Weight Watchers and I have been working out consistently since February. I wish that I could tell you how many inches I have lost, but I am not sure except that I have gone down a pants size. WW'ers is newer to the life-style and believe me, I make lots of mistakes. The key is to keep right on truckin' and stay on track. Someone once said when making a choice to eat that high calorie food, "It's not as good as skinny feels." I can't say that I have taken that advice everytime, but I have for sure cut out some fat and increased my fiber. Mom has dropped 30lbs so far and is feeling much better about herself. So proud of you MOM!!!!!!!

We are waiting on the parade to begin..... and the weather is much cooler.

So those pics were from last, last weekend. Well, this past weekend, we decided to go back! This time, my parents took Reese on Friday night and we drove up Saturday afternoon. Jonas had a bday party to attend so Jason, Jonas, and I met my parents around 3p at SDC. (Will post pics from party another time) The weather was even cooler, actually COLD.... So the kids were bundled up.... and here is a pic of their sweatshirts that we bought at SDC the previous weekend. Of course I had to monogram their names on them and then added an extra touch to Reese's.

Some dear friends of ours were there at the same time and we met up for a few minutes. Here is Kristin (hubs with her but not in pic) and they were alone without kids...which is always a treat to get away! We know Kristin and Brandon from church and have remained close friends. Their children are close in age to ours.

By this point, it was freezing! The kids had on snow suits on top of their clothes.

We stayed in Branson for the weekend, thanks to mom and dad. We spent Sunday shopping before heading home! Now this week, we are working on decorating the house for Christmas. Pics to come!

Mississippi {Nana & Pops}

This is Nana & Pops, Jason's dad and step-mom. They live on the Gulfcoast but we are fortunate that we get to see them twice a year despite the long drive. They come see us in the Spring and we go to them each October. Here is a pic from when they came this past spring. It never fails, they come with lots of goodies including toys, clothes, and chocolate chip cookies!!! You can always depend on Nana and a LARGE batch of cookies, one of my faves!

The next picture is at their house this October. This is a wagon that Pops put together so that he could pull his grandbabies around in the yard. Jonas and Reese have a cousin, Sadie, that also lives on the coast. She turned one this past summer.

I thought this was hilarious with Reese trying to ride Jonas' shoulders. Another advantage of going home, is that I take some "me time" and spend it with some best friends just an hour from Jason's parents house. I was away when these pics were taken, and appreciate Nana & Pops helping Jason with the kiddos. Thank you for letting me sneak away for a night!!

Here is Reese and Sadie! She is a doll and growing so fast! Sadie's daddy, Derek, is Jason's youngest brother.

Sweet hugs and kisses!

Pops has a love for the camera and enjoys taking pics of his babies. Here is one of all 3, which I am sure Nana & Pops will cherish for a long time! Thank you for catering to our needs when we come visit you. We are a hot mess when traveling, and Jason's parents are helpful in providing us with our favorite foods, a relaxing schedule, and lots of memories. Thanks for letting Jason and me go to the movies and for watching the kids when Jason and I went to USM Homecoming. We love you and will see you in the Spring!!!!!

Love us some BOY time {at The Wonder Place}

Jonas had a playdate with his great friend, E, one afternoon after school. It was a privilege for him because Reese wasn't around with the boys!
Here they are peeking in a window looking for something.....

The boys wanted to hide and let me find them. Here is Jonas in mid-run....one reason the red-eye is present. Love his expression! Jonas loves to be scared, well in the good scared kind-of-way.

The boys played in the sand.....and of course there was lots of it on the floor too ;)

Jonas watching fabric fly through clear tubes. So fun and mesmerizing to watch!

E made us "cookies". So cute!

Oh, this was probably their second favorite (besides them hiding from me)!! Splashing water on each other!! E got so wet, we had to change his shirt.

What a blessing to have friends at this age and to get along so well.

Notice how E is grabbing Jonas' hand.... very sweet compared to how wild they were.

A first for us {teeny tiny laceration}

Jason and the kids have started playing Hide-and-Seek upstairs, which usually takes place before bedtime. We were all playing this time and instead of everyone hiding with only one person seeking, we do it the opposite way. One person hides and then the rest of us try to find 'em! It was Jonas' turn and he was hiding behind his door with it open. He could see Reese walking in his room and pushed his door closed in trying to pop out from behind it to "scare" her. As he pushed the door, the knob landed right at the top of her eye-lid causing a very tiny laceration. Unknown of whether it needed to be fixed, we drove up to the ER to let my co-workers take a look.

All is well. No need for glue! This is Reese afterwards with a big smile. She cried some but handled it like a trooper. There's a whole 'nother story on how daddy responded though!!

And, this happened tonight and I posted about it! You should be so proud ;)

Trick-or-Treat {halloween}

When it came time to decide on what the kids were going to be..... we first thought of a cat/dog, hamburger/french fries, police/jailbird, or MICKEY and MINNIE!! Recently the kids have started showing interest in Mickymouse Clubhouse on TV. They were easily persuaded to be these adorable mice!

The next 3 pictures are from Jonas' halloween parade at his school. The infants thru Pre-K walk thru the cafeteria to display their costumes. Parents come to watch these cute "creatures" as they walk thru the cafeteria about 10 times. :)
Then Jonas had his halloween party and that afternoon he had a halloween dance!

After Reese and I watched his parade, I took her to daycare because she also had a trick-or-treat trail. Staff from the hospital came out to the sidewalks by their building and the kids (150 of them) walked single file while we put candy in their buckets! For you that don't visit our site often, Reese is in daycare at Arkansas Children's Hospital..... a phenomenal daycare!

Reese's class participated in a pumpkin patch competition. Her class was "Pumpkin Pets". She decorated a kitty cat and named her "Pearl". There were turtles, dogs, a hamster, 2 fish, 2 cats, and a pink, sassy bird :) Unfortunately, her class didn't win but they did a great job on their pets.

After school on Friday, we went to Halloween on the Hill. This is a local event held in Park Hill of North Little Rock where businesses pass out candy and kids/families walk up and down the street on the side-walks. It's fun seeing all the costumes and there is something nostalgic about it.

Here they are taking a break and nibbling on candy!

And possibly my favorite pics from the day.............

Happy Halloween weekend!!!!!!!

Kelsie and Reese {besties}

My friend Beverly has a little girl named Kelsie. We were pregnant at the same time and our friendship continued to grow and now our girls are such close friends. It's a blessing watching the girls get to know one another and seeing them play so well together. We have weekly playdates and here are some pics from one of them.


Another playdate at KK's house where her big brothers had the water hose out in the front yard. The girls had been running around, squealing and giggling. What is it about being 3 and squealing in the yard?

Bev's birthday was in Sept and we made her some home-made soup and cake. The girls loved singing happy birthday and again... just blessed to have friends that completely relate with life, work, and being a momma!

We love us some Nelson girls!!!!!!

Mississippi {august}

I took this pic with our timer on the camera while driving down the road. Thought it was fun!

Jonas goes to school year round, so when he had 2 days off before the new school year started, we thought we better head south. We see Jason's moms side of the fam usually once a year. His brother Robert comes to see us in Jan/Feb for the Superbowl tradition. Next Superbowl, Robert and his wife Jamie Lee will have to stay home because she will be 8 months PREGGO!!!!!!! We are so excited that they will be having a little girl named Olyvia Faith.

Jason's sister, Jennifer, has a little girl named Brooklynn. She is 2yo and the kids had a blast playing with her! Last year, she was 1 and still a little young to run with our wild kiddos, but this time..... they had so much fun playing with each other.

Here is Jason's mom, Grandma Doreen, with her sweet grandbabies.

One day we took the kids to the coolest jump zone because the adults were allowed to play with them. All of us had such a good time!! Here is Aunt Jenn.

We went home around my 30th birthday and the fam surprised me with a cookie cake after dinner one evening. I loved it! Here is all of us with the timed camera. You can tell I love these type of pics!

Jason's other sis is Laura. We call her Aunt LaLa and she loves to spoil them with gifts!