Busy, Busy

We've done lots of fun things already since we've been back from our trip.  Last weekend Santa came to the base in a jet again and we went to watch him arrive.  There were a bunch of fun activities set up for the kiddos, but unfortunately all of this took place right during naptime so all we did was watch Santa get out of the jet and then go home.  The lines for each activity were really long, and we knew that Emmett would not last very long.  We did manage to decorate two cookies, though.  :)

Here is Jackson running around in the snow (that's all gone now) and eating it at the same time!

Later that afternoon I went and bought our Christmas trees.  I was really disappointed to not get to do our annual cut-the-tree-down-in-the-woods trip, but it was just so much easier to buy the trees this year.  There's a ton of snow up in the pass right now, and with me being 7 months pregnant and Emmett not able to walk in the snow very well we decided to forgo the trip this year.  We did buy our trees from a local high school's FFA and they cut them down in the woods around here, so the trees actually look exactly like ones we would have cut down ourselves.  Pictures to come.  :)

This past Thursday we took the boys and went downtown to watch our Christmas parade.  Our friends saved us a spot right up front and we were all snuggled in and ready to watch a few minutes before the parade started.  The weather was perfect - about 40 degrees.... until it started to rain.  Yes, rain!  YUCK!!  Luckily the rain didn't dampen anyone's spirits and the boys didn't seem to mind, so we stayed and watched the 100 floats go by.  The boys really enjoyed it and we were surprised that they lasted so long past their bedtimes with no major meltdowns.   By the end of the parade the rain had soaked through my puffer coat and I was getting really cold, so we were able to leave at the perfect time.  Here are a few pics from that night...

Okay, I know this picture is terrible of me (hello double chin), but I wanted you to see how wet we were!  Emmett would NOT keep his hat or hood on.  I tried and tried, but then I eventually gave up and just hoped for no sickness!

Then on Saturday we all got to go for a ride on the BNSF Railroad's Holiday Express train!  From what I heard, the company takes their Holiday Express train to one state every year and travels around to military bases in the state and gives free holiday train rides to military members and their families.  It was really fun!  The inside of the train was decorated with greens and lights and we got free snacks, drinks, and hot cocoa. The boys were really excited to be on the train, but they did get a little stir crazy towards the end of the trip.  And I got a little queasy on the way back with how warm the train was and the slow rocking from side to side that we were doing.  But other than that it was really fun to be on the train with a bunch of our friends.  And so nice of the railway to do this special thing for military families.

Santa even came around to each car and passed out presents... Holiday Express Christmas ornaments!

As you can see, the boys wanted NOTHING to do with Santa.  Maybe next year... hopefully!

Florida Trip

Boy, it's been a long time since I blogged!  I have a good excuse, though.  We just got back from almost three weeks in Florida.  We had the best time visiting family!  We stayed with my mom and dad for a few days and then with my youngest sister, Leslie, and her family for the rest of the time.  We didn't do anything really exciting while we were there - we just enjoyed relaxing and being with family.  Phil and I contemplated taking the boys to Disney, but we weren't sure how they would enjoy it and decided to just wait another year.  We had the absolute best flights on the way there - all were on time, not crowded, and the boys behaved so wonderfully.  We didn't even have to pull out the DVD player until late in our second flight.  We were so thankful!  The flights home were pretty good, too, although Emmett had a rough time falling asleep on the first flight and fought with me for a little bit until he finally settled down.  But then he slept on my lap for about 90 minutes!!  I enjoyed the snuggle time.  :)  

Here are a bunch of pictures of our trip, if you're interested.  And when I say a bunch, I mean it!  So be prepared.  :)

The boys had so much fun jumping on my mom and dad's bed after baths.  Jackson called that time "froggy" because he would stand on the footboard and jump like a frog onto the bed.  As soon as my dad got home from work in the evenings J would start asking to do froggy.  He loved it! 

We got to celebrate my sister Becky's birthday while we were there.  It was great to be able to share that day with her!  And Jackson loves any opportunity to sing "Happy Birthday" and eat b-day cake.

The boys did lots of reading with anyone who was willing.  Those paperback George and Thomas books were total blessings on the plane, too.

We got to meet my beautiful 3-week-old niece, Olivia, while we were there!  She is the sweetest, cutest baby and I loved being able to hold her and snuggle with her.  The boys seemed to really like her, too, which made me happy.  Jackson was always "petting" her and giving her kisses.  She's just precious!

The boys loved playing in the pool, even though the water was about 60 degrees!  Luckily the weather was warm so we didn't worry about them getting too cold.  We knew E would love the pool, but didn't think they would go in with the water being so cold!

They also loved playing in the sandbox that my dad made for them.  We just had to supervise E at all times to make sure he didn't eat the sand.  No idea why he loves to eat sand so much!

We also had lots of fun petting and watching the horses, Gus and Charlotte.  Here they are giving each other some kisses...

And we could not believe that Jackson actually rode Gus!  I really did not think he would.  He went out to the barn with my dad while I ran inside to get shoes on and when I came out he was on the horse!!  He loved it and was very proud of himself.

Emmett got a turn, too...

And so did cousin Cameron...

Jackson really loved the horses, which is why it confuses me that two times in the past week he's woken up during the night screaming and crying that a horse is in his room!  I run in there as soon as I hear him and he tells me that a horse is in his room and that I need to make it go away.  So I just tell him that it's okay, the horse is gone and he settles down.  Of all the things to have nightmares about - a horse!  Poor baby!

We were so blessed to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving at my parents' house with my grandparents (who are both in their 90's), and many of my aunts and uncles and cousins from Ohio and Jacksonville.  We always have fun together and laugh so much. It was so great to be able to spend that time with them.

After dinner my dad built a bonfire and we roasted marshmallows and ate s'mores.  The night was perfect for it!  Looking at these pictures almost makes me want to cry.  I miss everyone so much and wish we could be together more.

Phil and I made sure that whenever we wanted to eat out we ate at places that we don't have close to us in Oregon.  Here are the boys at Firehouse Subs... oh, how I love a Firehouse sub!!!  YUM!  And on this trip we figured out that Emmett acts much better when we're out to eat if we let him eat and drink like a big boy.  No cutting up his food, no sippy cup... he wants to drink out of the straw and pick up his sandwich and eat it like everyone else.  He does pretty good with it, too!

The boys had lots of fun at my sister's house playing with their cousin Cameron.  They all got along together really well!  Cameron is such a sweet boy and was so tolerant of J and E taking over his space and sharing his toys.

My mom stayed the night at my sister's house one night to watch the boys so that Phil and I could go away by ourselves overnight.  We stayed pretty close and just went to Orlando, but it was so great to go out to eat by ourselves, browse around stores with our coffees, and sleep in!! It was really wonderful.  Here we are at PF Chang's...

A few days after that we loaded up the boys and drove up to Jacksonville to meet up with our good friends, Merrick and Christy, and their kiddos.  We met at the Jacksonville Zoo and had a great time!  It was so great to see M and C and get to meet their sweet kids.  I can't believe we didn't get a group photo!

Another day Phil and I took the three boys and went to a kid-friendly farm nearby.  The boys had a blast petting and feeding the animals. We went on a little hayride through a cow field and the cows came right up to the wagon and the boys were able to feed them hay.  That was a huge hit.  

Feeding the sheep was Jackson's favorite thing.  Again, we were very surprised he wasn't scared.  I guess he's growing up!

The day before we left was Phil's birthday, so we had a big family dinner and I made a cake.  J was very happy to be able to sing and eat cake again!

Here are two pictures from our drive home from the airport.  The boys were conked out about two minutes after we put them in their car seats.  

And apparently we missed a ton of snow and freezing temperatures while we were gone.  This was what our drive home through the mountains looked like.  Thankfully we were very safe in Phil's big truck.

There was a lot of snow still on the ground when we got home, but, unfortunately most of it is gone now.  I'm so hoping we'll get some more before Christmas!  

It's always good to be back in our house, but having such a wonderful time with everyone always makes it hard to leave.  We're so thankful, though, to be able to make this trip and for our wonderful friends and family.  We love you all!!