Santa Visit!

Last week the kids had an amazing visit with Santa Clause at the Sam's Club Home Office! They were lucky enough to be chosen to fill out a survey and then meet with Santa, who then knew EVERYTHING about them! He greeted them by name and knew where Brookelyn went to school, what she wanted, and even that she needed to work on not talking back to her M0m! Brookelyn was blown away. Can you tell she was deep in thought here?

She loved here special time with Santa!
Now Braedyn, ran and jumped on Santa's lap, announcing, "I am your little elf, Santa!" It was hilarious! (he was referring to the elf feet on his shirt.) Santa knew that Braedyn wanted a "jump house" really badly. He also reminded Braedyn not to pitch angry tantrums.

It was a fabulous experience! We can't wait for Santa to arrive in a couple of days!!

I Love New York!

On Wednesday night we returned from the most amazing vacation! It was just Allen and I in NYC for three nights. We shopped, and ate, and walked around the city until our legs and feet hurt so bad I didn't think I could take another step. (Oh, and I was also able to use the bathroom by myself, eat with two hands, try on as many things as I wanted to in the fitting room, and sleep as late as we wanted!)

This is our gorgeous room:

Each morning we had breakfast in the hotel. It was super modern and fun!
On the 13th we got to see a taping of Kelly Live! It was so fun to see all the behind the scenes action.
We also managed to eat A LOT of delicious pizza! If you know me, you know I am not a huge fan of pizza, but New York City pizza is an exception! It was so good! We even ate at the same pizza place that they filmed Celebrity Apprentice!
So, while Mommy and Daddy were away having fun, two little kiddos were also having the time of their lives! Check out this picture my Mom and Aunt sent me of Brookelyn and Braedyn:

Something tells me Daddy is going to be getting quite a few requests for sink baths in the next few days. A HUGE thank you goes to Honey and Aunt B for loving on the the babies and catering to their every whim while Allen and I were able to take a little time for ourselves. It was perfect!

Triathlon Training Begins Today!

So, three years ago right around this time Allen talked me into training for the Chicago Marathon. While that might not seem daunting for seasoned runners, at the time Allen and I couldn't even run HALF a mile! But, Allen made us a 9 month training plan and we hit the gym 6 days a week. At the end of that plan we ran our first race ever--the 2009 Chicago Marathon! So, with that said, I guess I have stalled and bandaided his pleas for another race with smaller races for long enough. While I wouldn't agree to another marathon, I did agree to a triathlon. (I'll let you know in 10 months which is worse.)

We have ordered our bikes, bought our diaper-like bike shorts, special biking shoes, and bike trainers (that let us ride in place in the living room), tried on and purchased the ultra-hideous swimsuits (jammers for Allen instead of a speedo, but honestly just as hilarious to see him wearing) and goggles and swim caps, and all other sorts of special equipment that in my opinion costs WAY too much. And, tonight we start our training plan from ground zero with swimming. Here is the plan that we made yesterday afternoon:

Oh, and did I mention we are tandem training for the Bentonville Half Marathon for the first 19 weeks? Allen seemed to think that would be "fun and challenging." And weeks 30-45 I am just pretending do not exist. But, with all that said, I am looking forward to having time back to spend with my hubby--just me and him. While I will moan and groan along the way, few things beat training for a seemingly impossible goal alongside my best friend.

Princess Luncheon

Every year Brookelyn's school holds and Art Auction to raise money for the teachers to spend on supplies for their classrooms (remember my post of the kids making the melted crayon art). As a part of that event, parents can also donate their "time." So, another mommy, Elizabeth, and I decided to donate a Princess Luncheon for the Kindergarten girls. The parents could sign up their little girls for $10 and then they could come to the luncheon instead of going to school lunch. Here are all our little princesses:

We made little sandwiches and finger foods for them, had Shirley Temples to drink, crafted tissue paper flowers, painted the princesses nails, and even had them make rice krispie treat wands that they dipped into a pink chocolate fountain! Thank goodness my mom and Elizabeth's sister, Sara came to help us! We needed all the help we could get!
But, it was SO much fun and they all had a blast!

Thanksgiving Fun with Kindergarten!

Today was Brookelyn's Thanksgiving celebration. I went up early to help the kids make edible Thanksgiving crafts, and was expecting at least three other mommies to be there to help. However, NO ONE else showed up! So, thank goodness Emily (David's girlfriend) and Sara (one of Brookelyn's friend's aunt) could come to the rescue! Here is Brookelyn holding her goodies (from the left: a pilgrim hat, a tepee, and a turkey):

Then, Gramma and Grampa showed up to surprise Brookelyn! We were so glad they could make it!

Next, the kiddos all got into their "Thanksgiving Best" and we headed down to the cafeteria for our feast!

Here is our little pilgrim!
Brookelyn ate all of her lunch, and we enjoyed chatting together. Here she is with Emily:It was a great morning! Can't wait to celebrate Thanksgiving next Thursday!

Go Hogs! Beat South Carolina & Tennessee!

We have had SO much fun tailgating this football season! Last weekend we cheered the Hogs on as they beat South Carolina. Honey made the kids hundreds of red razorback beads to hand out to the fans as they walked by. Brookelyn couldn't wait to start handing them out!

Here are the kids calling to the people walking by and then handing out their beads. Our set up was perfect because everyone walks right past the fence as they head up to the stadium. The kids were able to hand out the beads and we didn't have to worry about them wandering through crowds of people.
Here is the view from the other side of the fence!
Then, Honey got out her "stash of goodies," which included an interesting game where the kids put on these elephant masks and tried to hook rings on their trunks. However, the trunks looked awfully x-rated. We laughed and laughed. But, hey--it kept the kids entertained!
Here is the princess and her daddy waiting for the game to start!

And, here is B-Man and Honey trying to stay warm! It was SO windy!

Yesterday we cheered the Razorbacks as they gave Tennessee a "whoopin" (as Braedyn says)! Emily and David were back from their cruise (yes, we were all so jealous) and joined in the fun!
We picked up the little Razorback costume from Walmart, and it was a HIT! Braedyn loved running around in it. He even got to meet Marshawn Powell (from the basketball Hogs) and shook his little Razorback tail for him.
Right before kickoff it was sunny and a little warmer, but it got COLD and WINDY quickly!
It wasn't long before my little razorback pooped out! His big sister fell asleep too!

We are so sad the tailgating season is over! And, you can bet Allen is already planning his list of tailgating toys for Santa to bring him for next year!

Happy Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

School Fun!

We have had a busy week of FUN with Brookelyn's kindergarten class! First, we made a trip to the pumpkin patch. They were all adorable!

Of course, Braedyn came too and thought he was every bit as big as the kindergarteners! (Like the shorts with the sweater? That wasn't a battle I wanted to fight that morning.)

On Friday we went trick-or-treating on the Square with Brookelyn's kindergarten class. They were all dressed up, and we walked around for about an hour and a half. It was so much fun! Here is our "posse":

B-man showed the kindergarteners how it was done!

My Little Red Riding Hood and Big Bad Wolf (minus his head) were SO cute!

Like the new mohawk? I figured since it is getting colder, it just isn't fair to shave his head anymore. So, we are going back to the faux-hawk look.

This shot tells the story of the whole morning:

Braedyn kept falling behind and we would have to RUN to catch up with everyone. Why? Not because his little wolf paws were tired, but because the businesses would have huge buckets of candy and tell the kids to pick out one piece. Well, deciding which piece he wanted was a life changing decision at each and every ONE of the TWENTY businesses we visited!

Here is one last shot of the class and Brookelyn's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Scott (the witch). She is amazing and Brookelyn absolutely adores her!

I don't have pictures of trick-or-treating at Daddy's office, or of us setting up our school carnival booth, or of us staying at the carnival until the very END to help clean up. It was a CRAZY day. But, it was SO much fun!

My Beautiful "Babies"

A friend of a friend asked if she could take pictures of the kids for her new website. So, last week we headed out to the Metropark for the photo shoot. I was beyond THRILLED with her work--thank you to Personal Paparazzi!

She set up a graffiti scene for Brookelyn.

And, got some SUPER cute close up shots!

Braedyn got to throw rocks into the stream. Can you tell he hated every minute? :)

We finished up with some shots of both kids together. I think this one is my favorite!But, I also love, love, loved this one.
My "babies" are getting so big and I am enjoying EVERY minute of it (or at least 99.9% of those minutes)!

Tailgating for the Auburn Game

We set out on Saturday morning (after Braedyn's soccer practice) for Fayetteville and some tailgating FUN! Yes--we were there before 11am and the game didn't even start until 6pm, but we loved every minute of the absolutely beautiful weather and electric atmosphere!

Here is my little "Boss Hog" all ready for the game:

And, here is Sashi and Allen leaned back with the kids, watching the football games (you can't see the TV--it is in the back of the car)!
Brookelyn took a little cat nap on Honey--and no, she wasn't sick. She was just exhausted!
Our tailgating neighbors deserve some sort of award for the spread they set up every game. They even brought a huge blow up hog this time. Of course, the kids loved him!
We had a wonderful time tailgating and and even better time at the game, since we put those "mean tigers" as Braedyn calls them in their place! GO HOGS!