Christmas in Arkansas

On December 19th (our 6th anniverssary) we all packed into the van and headed north. In Dallas I dropped Keeper off at a North Carolina/Texas basketball game where he met his brother and brother-in-law with their boys and I continued driving until I got to Bentonville, Arkansas. Keeper had a blast at the game and luckily Texas won. Go Horns!!! He hopped on a plane and was back in San Antonio by that evening because he had to work in Monday. The kids and I hung out in Arkansas for a week until Keeper was able to join us on Christmas Eve. We had so much fun with Keeper's brother, Dee and his wife, Melanie, and their kids. I had forgotten how fun and easy-going they are. For the first couple of days we were there Keeper's sister Malee and her family was there also. It was a wild house but a lot of fun. Camy was pretty worn out from all the traveling and one night I realized that I hadn't seen her in a while. Melanie found her asleep in their bathroom laying on a cat toy. It was probably the only quiet place in the house at that time. Poor baby! The day after we got there one of their little girls got the flu and was throwing up all night. I hoped that it was something that none of us would get because we had just gotten there but of course the next evening Carson woke up from a nap throwing up and then Parker woke up saying his tummy hurt. A few minutes later Camy woke up throwing up too. By this time I was thinking that I shouldn't have come. How was I going to handle this while I am feeling sick myself, without Keeper. Melanie immediately had a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear (which is what I needed most at that moment.) Throughout that night Dee and Melanie helped with my sick kids even though they had another kid of their own that got sick too. Halfway through the night I got the flu too. They were so supportive and gave up their room to me. Luckily by that time all of my kids had stopped throwing up. It was hard and not something that I would like to go through again but I am so grateful to Dee and Melanie for the love that they showed me while I was at their house. Later during the week although the flu went through everyone in the house we were able to have some fun. The kids played really well together and my kids absolutely loved their cats. (I think at some point we might have to get a cat. Not anytime soon but sometime.) We went to a jump place and Carson was hard to find because he was running non-stop. He loved it! On Christmas Eve Keeper flew in and it was fun to have him with us. We had a really nice dinner and a fun night. Although we missed him, I think he missed us more. There is nothing fun about a quiet house if your family is away. Here are a few pictures of Christmas Eve and Christmas. Christmas Day it also started snowing! Hooray! We were able to do a little sledding on boxes and the kids had a blast!

After Arkansas, we all headed up to Keeper's sister's house in Missouri. We had a little reunion with all the grown siblings and their families and just enjoyed being together. We went to an indoor pool and the kids really enjoyed that. Parker was ready to go home (to our house) and he wouldn't swim but Carson and Camy had fun.


After Missouri, we headed to Keeper's other brother's house in Kansas. They have cows and chickens and this was where Parker was the happiest by far! He is my animal man and would live with animals if I would let him. He was out helping feed the animals and anytime anyone had to go outside he was right with them. Keeper's brother's oldest, Mikenna, took Parker under her wing and was so nice to him. He talks about her all the time and he can't wait to go back. We built snow forts and just hung out. I think we were all pretty tired by this time and it was REALLY cold outside so we kinda just hung out and enjoyed being together. Lee and Traci are really easy-going and their girls are so helpful. It was a great way to end the trip.

My love/hate relationship

Christmas and I have a love/hate relationship. I love the time of year, that it actually gets cold and all the festivities. I hate that we are so stinkin' busy and there are always 10 things I still need to do when I finally get one thing done. I never feel on top of the game and I just feel drained by the time it is all over and done with.
Since we are going to visit Keeper's family on the 19th (not Idaho this time, Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas)I need to have everything done by the 18th. That's less than a week away and I am just a little stressed!
I was working on something at the computer the other night and I told the boys that they could have a "movie night". I popped popcorn, gave them a little picnic and let them pick the movie. (Is that still neglecting them when they want to do it so bad?!)
Well, I came in to check on them to make sure they were liking the movie and this is what I found. I love my boys! They are so creative! Pots?!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We decorated our house for Christmas about a week ago and the kids absolutely love it!!! It has been so much fun! I did it before Thanksgiving thinking that there would be few if any visitors last week and we ended up having a young women's party for church at our house this past Tuesday. I'm not sure what they thought but it was still fun.
Our tree is pretty small but it fit in our apartments and our last house perfectly. Now, in this house we need one a lot bigger. Last Christmas we weren't as into the decorating as much because Camy was just born, we were adjusting to that little dramatic baby, and we had Keeper's whole family coming for the holidays. I didn't even think about getting a new tree. I had too many other things to worry about.
This year we are going to visit Keeper's family for Christmas so we won't even be here. We decided to put up our "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" again and maybe we can find a sale and get a big tree next year.
Here is what happens with a 2 year old "helping" to decorate the tree.

Camy's birthday party

So this is late but we had a little party for Camy on her birthday. The cake was an adventure but it turned out pretty cute. I was pretty impressed with my "cake decorating skills". Camy was a little overwhelmed with the present opening and being attacked for the gifts but the next day when things were somewhat calm (the boys were playing by themselves) she was able to play with her gifts and she really liked the "girly" stuff she got. I can't believe my baby is one. Happy birthday princess!
We practiced blowing out candles and she was getting pretty good. (My boys are fire freaks so we light a lot of matches and candles just to blow them out a second later.) She will do it all the time now but she refused to preform on the day of. Oh well! Maybe next year.

Attacked for the presents.

The ladybug cake. I know ladybugs aren't pink and brown (Keeper made sure I knew that) but I saw this cake on line and it was pink and brown. I thought it would be easier that red and it was.

My birthday girl

I took some pictures of Camy with a cake of her own on Friday. The boys loved watching her but she didn't get all into it like I thought she would. Oh well! We all had fun! Sorry, there are a ton! This was a one time thing though so I decided to enjoy it. I will post pictures of her party and her ladybug cake tomorrow.
I loaded then backwards so it's messiest to cleanest. Oops!

Camy turns 1 on Saturday

I can't believe that my baby girl is 1. Time sure flies. It seems like just yesterday she was born, but it also seems like she has been part of our family forever. She is such a joy to have. She cuddles quite a bit now. She gives hugs and kisses all the time. Even though she is sweet, she does know how to work everyone and get what she wants. She just learned the word "Mine!" and has put it to good use. She will scream it over and over until she gets what she wants or is distracted. Parker and Carson love her a ton and are usually pretty tolerant of her. They get a little annoyed when she is taking things from them but they are also the first to jump in a knock someone down if they are picking on Camy. What else are big brothers for, right?
Here is Camy in a nut shell.
2 weeks

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months

This is a picture that I took a couple of days ago and it is so Camy! I love it! I am planning to take some birthday/1 yr. pictures in a couple of days. Hopefully they turn out.