The stockings were hung...

...by the chimney with care. 

Steve and I had a great evening shopping/decorating our home for Christmas last night. 

Fun Friday

The men babysitting the kids all day;)

Since turkey day was so fun we turned right around the next day and did the same thing. Steve smoked some delicious ribs, mom n Hollie did some shopping, and we all had plenty more laughs. What a great two days with family!

Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for this year. Steve has done a wonderful job of providing a home for us and Tyler is loving college life. 

We had everyone over for a wonderful meal. Thanks to everyone for contributing the delicious food and drinks. 

After dinner we gathered in the Fox Hole. It's the smallest room in the house where the most people gather;)

We got a climber

Everlee is climbing up on everything. She gives this aunt about 2 heart attack scares an hour. 

After lunch Everlee was climbing in and out of the stools. 

Then Maci couldn't be left out of the fun and decided to join Everlee under the stools. 

After the girls nap and after Tyler got off work, he helped me at the park with these crazy two. They ran in opposite directions, up and down the slide, and onto the dock. I was super thankful Tyler was there to help me. Although, he is a great cousin playing peek a boo, going down the slide, and chasing after Everlee his internship in child development didn't change his mind about his major at ISU;)

Everyone Has A Story

All of us ladies used to work together at BVRMC home care/hospice. It was fun to reunite under these circumstances and share in this day together. 

Yesterday was national adoption day. Steve and I spend the day volunteering at the first annual state adoption conference in Des Moines. Whether you were a birth mom, adoptee, or couple with fertility issues there was support and encouragement among the 200+ people gathered together. We were so excited to be a part of this inaugural event and can't wait to become more involved with it in the coming years. 

In order for us to be involved with this I need to thank my sister and brother. Friday night during set up, Hollie, picked up a trunk full of Tylers dirty laundry and brought it home for me. Saturday, Rich, put on another great tailgating event and brought Tyler and more of his stuff home for us. Thank you both!

Playtime!

Before nap, aunt Hollie and cousin Cooper came over to play. One of their favorite games is hide n seek. Everlee stands in the dark in the laundry room and Cooper comes around the corner and finds her. Then they both giggle and scream. 

Then after her nap Maci was over to play. Everlee thought it was funny to tip the tent over and peek out at me. 

Of course Maci couldn't be left out so she got in the tent and peeked out too;)

Indoor activities

With the weather outside being so unbearably cold we are doing lots of fun indoor activities. The first thing after lunch was to play with the play dough. 

Then it was on to coloring some artwork. 

And last, right before nap time, she sat in the toy box and played. 

A blast of a weekend

Coop bellying up to the newest bar in Polk City. 

Chloe was a great bartender. It was so fun to have our family over last night. We look forward to many more nights of family and fun at the Fox Hole. 

Tyler also had a blast this weekend. He spent the weekend in Lawrence, Kansas with his good friend/cousin, Stratton and his family. They attended a KU basketball game and watched it from the 5th row! Tyler wants to go to every big 12 arena by time he graduates in 3 years. 2 arenas down...8 to go. 

Two play dates

Before nap aunt Hollie and cousin Cooper came over to play and have lunch with us. The kids though it was super funny to put stickers on each other. 

After nap Macy was over to play. Before they got all crazy though they needed a snack and a cartoon. 

I've said it a million times but I will say it again. I'm so thankful to my husband for our new home, the close proximity to our son, and the ability to spend time with my family on a daily basis. I am the happiest "soccer mom" ever.

Minnie and Me

I finally found the Mickey Clubhouse for Everlee to watch today. After nap I put the bow in her hair like Minnie. She actually kept it in long enough for me to get a pic. 

Frozen Snot Run 2014

We did our first benefit ride Saturday. It was a brisk 45 degrees but the sun was out and not much wind so we jumped on mom n dads bike and joined them. 

It was so neat to see all the bikes. We even saw 2 other Triumphs. 

All bundled up!

As always we had a great weekend with mom n dad. The food, the company, and the many laughs shared were just what we needed this weekend.  Our cheeks still hurt. 

A classmate of mine was on the ride also, Jim Petzoldt. It was fun to catch up with him and meet his wife. 

More buckling

A favorite of Everlee's is to buckle. So after aunt Hollie and cousin Cooper came over to play she sat at the table and buckled her heart out. She likes to sit by herself, get them out of the bag herself, and buckle them herself. She is a very serious and independent buckler;)

Potty training adventures

Everlee was so excited today when she peed BY her Elmo potty! She was all smiles and we did lots of "hoorays!"

After nap time she wanted to watch Elmo on the I pad. And this is how she wanted to stand and watch him, doing a hamstring stretch:)

Trading Services

This past weekend Jason did all the electrical work for the "Fox Hole" and our laundry room. It is so terrific to have all new bright lighting throughout our home! We can not thank you enough for all the time and hard work you put into our home for us. You definitely have an open ended invitation anytime. 

 While Rich was hosting Tyler and his friends tailgating Saturday, Steve borrowed his truck to pick up our new bar! It is just what Steve wanted. 

My dad had the bar sign made for us. It's so fun to have the room coming together. Thanks for the house warming gifts for the mancave. 

The only way we know how to repay Jason for all his hard work is to give him a date night while we watch the kids. So tonight I watched the kids while they celebrated their anniversary. Chloe pretended my phone was her phone. She answered the phone when Steve called, took pics of Coop for the blog and even took a few selfies. We enjoy our special "date nights" with these two kids so much. 

Tyler enjoyed another fun weekend on campus. He ran into our old neighbor from Storm Lake, Josh, aka Bloody Knee. He also attends ISU and was out enjoying the Halloween festivities.