Fun at the Zoo!

Jason was in meetings all weekend, so the kids and I went to Memphis to visit Mimi and Papa! Between all the new toys waiting for them each time they go, and all the fun kid friendly things to do in Memphis, the kids are always excited to make the trip.

We weren't sure if the rain was going to hold out for us to go to the zoo, but my parents have a membership anyway, so we decided to try it. Turned out great- wasn't too busy, weather wasn't too cold and we stayed right up until it started to sprinkle which turned into rain shortly after we left. The Memphis Zoo is a great place, not only to see animals, but to let kids run! One of the highlights of the zoo is walking on the big logs. Braden is quite proud that he can do this without help! Little Allison ran just as hard as her big brother did, so by the time we left, she was totally spent!

Also, thanks to my friend Leigh Ann for telling me how to get more than 5 pics on 1 post!

She puts up with a lot from her big brother! Allison is becoming a pretty tough little girl, and as you can see, she has to be! The kiddos have a love/hate relationship. I never can tell - one minute they are playing great together, and the next minute Allison will let out a blood curdling scream letting me know that Braden has most likely done something to "push her buttons." Just like a man. All she really wants to do is rock her babies. All I really want is for her to stay my baby! They are just growing up way too fast! Thinking Braden will be 4 soon is hard to wrap my mind around!

Little Miss Hollywood

My Kitchen is Messier than Yours!

Because this morning it was full of beans! Occasionally I let the kiddos play with a tub full of uncooked beans. Beans are super fun for filling containers, driving trucks in or using with random kitchen gadgets and tools. This morning they took it too a whole new level and had them all over the floor, but they were having fun and it is an easy clean up with a broom and a dust pan. They played with uncooked beans for almost an hour- so what do we buy all these toys for?

Now for the disclaimers:

The bottle Allison is holding was empty to start with! She did not down any women's vitamins!

Yes, those are Braden's pj's and no, he does not usually wear a different top and bottom, but we had had a slight accident earlier.

Yes, I do have coupons strewn out all over the kitchen floor- the kids were occupied, so I chose to try (mostly unsuccessfully) to multi-task!

Snow's a little different in the South...

Not exactly what we are used to, but non the less, Braden insisted on trying to play in the snow. We went out for a few minutes, but he quickly realized that this was not exactly Illinois snow. Jason and I laughed because of all of the closings in Arkansas due to weather, but I am guessing that all of the neighbors were probably laughing at us in our big snow suits trying to get a tast of "real winter!"

The first picture is from one of last year's big snows in Illinois, and the others are from what is apparently a big snow in Arkansas. Oh, the picture of the two kids in it is what happens when I ask them to pose together...Nice.

Good thing we went out this morning, because it is all melted this afternoon!

And yes, Allison is wearing her brother's hand me down boots.

More Christmas Card Picture Outtakes

Long Time, No Post- I know!

My excuse? We only had our laptop while we were in our temporary house and it was hard to upload pics off of it. For a while after moving things were just too crazy and honestly, I have forgotten to take pics at all!

Now I am realizing that the Christmas season is here and I need to get the Christmas cards done! Trying to get pics, professional or otherwise, of a 1 and a half year old and a 3 and a half year old is just not easy! We did manage to get, with a camera timer no less, a decent one with Jason's family on Thanksgiving. Oh, and what does Braden remember from our yummy thanksgiving lunch? That he got to eat ramen noodles for dinner that evening.