Christmas Past!

Well, my favorite holiday has come and gone. I can't say that I am too sad that its over, though. When Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is in full swing, I am like a giddy kid. I love singing the Christmas songs at the top of my lungs! Everyone seems to be a little nicer and it is always a good conversation starter with patients. But, by the time it is here, I'm done. It has just run its course and I am ready to start the new year. The only thing I do miss is the threat of "Santa" with Kaleb. Every parent knows what I'm talking about. Here is the usual conversation: "Kaleb, please stop (insert bad behavior here). If you don't stop right now, I am going to call Santa and tell him that you are a bad boy and don't get any presents. (Pick up phone here and pretend to call.) Do you want Santa to bring you presents?... Then please stop so I don't have to call him." I worked pretty well the first few weeks but apparently even Kaleb was getting tired of it all because it was losing its effect. I think we are going to have to invest in a Elf on the Shelf next year and see how that works out. On a side note, I bet they are on sale right now and I could get one dirt cheap... Gonna have to check on that! =)

This Christmas was great for a number of reasons. First, Paul and I are in a really good spot this year to be able to give Kaleb everything we think he wanted and/or needed. Of course, if you asked him, all he wanted was a tractor! (CHECK!) Second, this year was the first year that Kaleb really understood Santa and the idea that he was getting presents from everyone this year. It was great seeing his excitement at the idea of it all.

Here are a few pictures that sums up our Christmas adventure in TN.

Kaleb and I headed north Friday after work. Paul had some business in Memphis to take care of earlier so he was already in town. We have found that two cars are needed in order to get everything back to MS in one trip.

Saturday at lunch, we went to Paul's mom's house and Kaleb got to open his first presents of the season. He is really lucky to have two sets of grandparents that go above and beyond for him. She got him his most favorite things and he made us take EVERYTHING out of the box. I left my phone in the truck (and my camera in MS) so I unfortunately didn't get any pictures.

Saturday night, our friends had a tacky christmas sweater party. We decided for cute instead of tacky, but we had fun just the same.

Sunday, we had dinner at my Meme's house. It was delicious as always. Unfortunately, my niece, Laurin, ended up sick (turns out to be the flu! Poor thing!) but she as a trooper and hung in there to open presents. Here are a few pics:

Monday night was Christmas eve and the tradition is to go to Ma's house. That side of the family is large and seems to get bigger every year making it a hoot and a half! I didn't get a picture of everything but lets just say, there was a lot going on. 

This little angel just gets cuter every time I see her. This is the present we got her. It is a Tangled doll with a matching dress for her. I think she liked it seeing she made T take it out of the package so she could put it on! So cute!

After we left Ma's house, we headed back to my mom's to open some more presents from Nana and Pop and then hit the sack for Santa. Mom and Dad do tend to go a little overboard but I know it makes them happy to spoil their grandkids! And spoil him they did.

Notice the HUGE combine from Pop. It was really neat. It was a perfect model of a new combine. He LOVED it!

He also loved his new kurio tablet from Nana.

And my present from mom and dad. I'm really excited. 

Santa. Notice the John Deere gator that was covered with presents. He didn't even see it was there until later when we started unboxing the toys!

This was my favorite thing to give to him. It is 30 in tall! It was the first thing he noticed from Santa.

Think he liked it?! He rode him around on his new gator. When we got back to MS, he made me back the cars out of the garage so he could ride batman on the gator some more.

That sums up our Christmas adventure 2012. Now we're ready to start the new year! I hope you had a Christmas full of love and family like we did. The presents are nice but its the family that makes it a true holiday.

My little helper

Kaleb wanted to help me with supper so I gave him a bowl of dry rice, an extra bowl and a big spoon!

Keepin on keeping on!

Well, I haven't discussed our diet and gym routine lately because, well, I have been slacking. Paul however has been faithfully going to the gym every afternoon. He has hit a plateau with the weight loss so we have decided to switch things up a bit. They offer several classes in the afternoon so we decided to give one a try last night. It is called Body Pump. Basically you have a bar with light weight and do about 100 squats, 100 lunges, 100 biceps curls,100 tricep curls, and some ab work at the end! Needless to say, I couldn't walk last night and today isn't any better! And I'm guessing tomorrow is really going to suck!! But after we left, we headed to McAlisters for some supper and our little turkey was being extra affectionate so I got a quick photo! 💗 these two SO much!!

Look how smart he is getting!

Never knew how proud I could feel of something as simple as my 3 year old son writing his letter!
And yes, he is batman today!

Kaleb's vacation

Tuesday night, I met mom on I-55 between Grenada and Batesville to drop Kaleb off for a few days. He was really excited to go! I am always an emotional wreck dropping him off. He is such a big part of my life and I miss him before I even make it back home. But Kaleb, he could care less! He is with his Nana and Pop! Mom has been sending me some pics of him yesterday. The kid is in heaven!! He is NEVER going to want to come home!!

Fair pics 2012

Sorry it took so long!

I have been horrible with keeping up this blog, and I apologize. I am going to try to do better, even if it is just a picture here and there. First, here are a couple picture from my phone I have been meaning to share!

These are some Candy Corn cones I crafted after seeing them on pinterest. Just come styrofoam cones and some yarn! Easy Peasy!

Kaleb wanted to go to the zoo a couple weekends ago so we went to the Jackson Zoo. It is really nothing to call home about but he really loves the otters. We were pretty much the only ones at the zoo so the otter was actually interacting with him.

Another one of my projects from Pinterest. Lots of glitter spray paint and super glue.

My silly little man wearing his favorite things: Spiderman T-Shirt and Fireman Boots!

Next time you see him, ask him if he is silly! Then ask him if he is funny!

The two most important people in my life! 

Paul had to go to Memphis last week for work so Kaleb and I headed to Chick-fil-A to play on the playground and kill time! He would play for about 10 minutes, then come running to tell me something. I would make him eat a french fry before he could go play again. He would open his mouth, I would put in the fry, and off he went! Hilarious! TWO HOURS LATER, we headed home!

And some other big news in our life, yesterday, on my lunch break, I became part owner of the eye group I am working for, Professional Eyecare Associates. We have 5 docs in 4 offices in the Jackson, MS area. It is an incredible opportunity for us and we are looking forward to see what the future holds. I definitely wouldn't be where I am today without my husband, mom, dad, sister, brother and the rest of my family and friends! It took a lot to pick up and move away from everything we knew and loved. But we knew that any amount of distance is not great enough to destroy the love and friendships we have. We have grown as a family and I miss everyone dearly. It definitely helps have Melodie down here with me too! I don't think anyone can really understand the bond between twins, unless you are a twin yourself. 

So, sorry again for the delay, but I promise to post more often, even if it is just a picture of my 'funny' kid! 

Kentucky Lake Kraziness

Starting about 10 years old, my family began a tradition of spending weekends in the summer at the Kentucky Lake in Pairs, TN. A lot of my favorite memories are surrounded by this place. I have memories of my 60 year old Pa riding a seadoo and throwing off himself and my younger cousin. Friends were made and fun times were had up here. As I have gotten older and my life has evolved, I just don't go as often as I would like. It doesn't help that we moved farther away so the 2.5 hour drive is now a 6 hour drive! My dad bought a new boat this year so I was determined to make it up there before the summer was over, which is actually this week for farmer's because dad and Brandon start cutting corn next week and won't be back up here till the fall. So, Paul and I decided that we would take Monday off from work and make the drive. What a great idea this has turned out to be! My cousins, Becca, Danielle, and Casey are all up here also with their kids, which I definitely don't get to see often enough. When Paul and I get the opportunity to go back to Covington for the weekend, we are extremely strapped for time trying to see all our parents and grandparents.  So, getting to see them up here is an added bonus.

We started our journey after I got off work Friday. Kaleb did really well for most of the way. We stopped in Jackson, TN at the Chick-Fil-A. We decided their play place would be a great way for Kaleb to stretch his legs for the additional 2 hours we had left. There were a couple kids already playing and Kaleb was our social butteryfly and started following a little boy around. After about 30 mintues, we loaded back up and finished our drive, arriving at the cabin around 10:30. We unpacked and headed over to see Laurin and Walt. Kaleb had a great time playing with Walt. I got to catch up with Laurin and her school life. She did a cheerleading camp this summer. I was hoping to coax some cheers out of her but she said she didn't remember any.

Saturday morning we got up at the butt crack of dawn, as usual. Kaleb was itching to ride the golf cart, our primary mode of transportation up here. We convinced him to wait until Walt and Laurin got up, so as soon as they walked through the door, he yelled "Golf Cart" and off we went. Everyone we know up here lives within a mile of each other, so we went visiting with people I hadn't seen in years. After about an hour, we headed back to the cabin to get ready to go out on Pop's boat. And it really is an amazing boat. Great ride, great music, and great company. I got a little emotional watching Kaleb, Walt, and Laurin have such a great time together and remembering all the great times we had growing up. I love what I do and where we live, but this stuff can really make you homesick.

On the water, we went to "the beach" to see everyone. The kids had the best time jumping off the back of the boat. After a few hours of this, we decided to go watch Laurin ski and see if we could get Kaleb on the innertube. Well, Laurin decided she just wanted to show me how she could get up, because after a few seconds, she would just fall. She said it was fun to jump out of the skis! Oh well. So it was now time for the innertube. First up were the kids with my mom. I wasn't sure how Kaleb would like it, but he LOVED it. When Brandon finally stopped to let me and mom switch, Kaleb yelled "Go Faster Brandon!" So funny. I got on and had a blast! It is really nice to ride with young kids because Brandon doesn't try to kill you! After the kids were done, Brandon offered to pull me and Paul but being the smart person I am, I said no thanks. As they say, I was born during the day, but not yesterday!

On the way back to the dock, Kaleb and Walt fell asleep. It was around 5:30 and he hadn't had a nap all day. He was so tired that he didn't wake up for supper and slept until 4:00 the next morning! I tried to turn in a little early, since I knew how Kaleb was going to wake up that early, but my cousins came over the visit and ended up staying till close to midnight! One benefit of staying with the folks is that when Kaleb got up at 4, he went to the living room and laid back down on the recliner in the living room where mom, Walt and Laurin were camped out and I was able to go back to bed!

Sunday, we got up and headed out a little before 12. It was getting cloudy so we weren't planning on spending a great deal of time on the water. We really wanted to see if we could get Laurin to ski a little longer today and also see if Walt could get up. Of course, we were throwing a little innertube riding in there again! Laurin did a lot better that day. She ski'd for a couple minutes this time. Not sure but she ended up falling forward and the ski hit her knee. She was pretty upset but I think more scared that anything. I left a little bruise but I told her that you're not a true skier until you have a bruise to prove it! Next, Walt tried to get up. And he did, sort of. He popped right up but only in the crouch position. He never really stood up. But I was extremely impressed! Next year, he will be great, I know it! It started raining on us around 2 so we headed back in. Of course all three kids were worn out and fell sleep on the ride back to the dock.

All in all, we had a great time. I hate that the summer is essentially over, but am looking forward to next year. Who knows, we might even get Kaleb on the skis!

Climbing up on the back of Pop's boat.

Best buddies!

Pop's little helpers

Pop, Nanna, and the grandkid's

Me and my love!

Uncle Paul helping Laurin get into her skis

Popped right up!

It was a little rough that day so she didn't ski very long

You couldn't tell who was having more fun, the kids or Nana

My turn!

Brandon showing Laurin how its done!

They loved watching him hold the rope with his legs

Amee's turn

We had a sleepover Saturday night!

Sharing Cheez-Its on the porch steps

Like father like son

Victoria and her friend. You couldn't tell if they were having fun or scared to death!

But Paul was definitely having fun!

Sleeping beauty on the way in Sunday

Another sleeping beauty

They were just too wore out from all the fun!

Video of Kaleb jumping off of Pop's boat

Laurin skiing. Ignore the end where I freak out a little. You can tell I was nervous for her! =)

A little background story on this video. My sister in law, Amee, has a great sense of humor. She rigged this cooler they have with a fake snake and fishing line, so when you open the cooler, the snake actually comes up at you. VERY FUNNY! They got me with it Saturday morning and Paul Saturday night. Well, Sunday morning, Paul decided to get Kaleb. I wish I had been there for the initial reaction, but I got my camera for the fun that followed! Hope you enjoy!