Pictures of our White Christmas

We had a wonderful trip to Muleshoe to celebrate Christmas this year. Kenna went to stay with my parents a day early (they just couldn't wait any longer) and then Daniel and I drove in on the night of the 23rd. We arrived the same time as the "blizzard" that hit the area. Luckily, we didn't really hit the bad weather until we were only 30 miles from my parents house....of course, those 30 miles took over an hour! But what a beautiful, snowy view we had when we woke up on Christmas Eve! Mom decided that it was time for the girls (Abbye and Kenna) to learn to decorate Christmas cookies. She gave them a little help to show them how it was done before turning them lose with the cookie sprinkles.

She had to sneak a cookie in under the sprinkles or else Kenna would have been decorating the counter.....

It didn't take Kenna long to realize that it was a real cookie she had in her hand.

The finished product didn't look too bad.....I love the green snowman with the outline of the top of the sprinkles bottle right on his stomach.

Kenna loved all of the great presents that she got for Christmas. It did not take her long at all to realize that there was some fun stuff inside those wrapped boxes! Her favorite phrase of the day was "open". She got a fun stroller and baby from my sister and her family.....

.....a wagon from Mimzi and Poppy.....

....and a stick horse and some boots from my brother and his fiance (yep - he proposed on Christmas Day - YEAH!!).

We had to play peek-a-boo in the wrapping paper before she would let us put it all in the trash.

Despite the snowstorm, Santa made a visit to Muleshoe on Christmas morning. Kenna loved all of her presents.She quickly jumped on her new ride and put her cup in the cup holder to fully test it out.

She had to make sure that the cup would stay inside her truck, as she calls it, as she cruised around the living room. It has taken her a little while to get used to holding the button down to make the 4wheeler go (instead of going in little bursts every time you push the button), but she is quickly figuring it all out. Now she loves to "wide twuck".

She has always loved to rock in other people's chairs and will make you get out so she can be the one rocking...now she has her own!!

We also had a lot of fun at Mama & Papa's and at Gran's house with all of the extended family before we made the trek back home, but I guess I didn't take any pictures while we were there!

I hope everyone had as much fun at Christmas as we did!

Merry Christmas!!

Hope everyone is as excited about Christmas as Kenna is.... Of course, she is really content to look at all the "pwetty yights" on the tree...

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas Day,

Meeting Family and Friends

Kenna finally has a girl cousin on Daniel's side of the family...we are so excited that Meg is here!!! Meg officially made her arrival on Friday (you can see more pictures here), but we didn't get to go meet her until Saturday. What a sweetheart! Kenna actually did pretty well with Baby Meg and we had to work on being 'gentle' when she would pat her feet. Of course, here she is working really hard to help mommy hold her new cousin. Kenna can't wait for Meg to grow up so she can show her how much fun being a girl can be!!I was so excited last night to get to spend part of the evening with two of my favorite "old" roommates! Julie was in town for the evening so we all had dinner at Mitzi's house. Kenna loved getting to play with some new toys.

She and Colt (Mitzi's two year old son) loved rocking on their horses together. They kept trading off on who was supposed to ride which horse....too cute!

Here is our first attempt at a group shot...Kenna was MOST unhappy with me that I had taken her away from the shopping cart and pretend bananas....but what kind of mom would I be if I didn't post it for the rest of the world to see?!?

Much better!! Julie, Mitzi with her two - Makenzi and Colt, and me and Kenna

I am so blessed to have such special friends in my life!

Picture with Santa

On Saturday, Daniel and I took Kenna to visit Santa Claus. She had stayed up really late the night before and was ready for an early nap. She waved and waved at Santa when we were in line and kept telling us what he says (Kenna says that Santa says "ho, ho, hope"), but when it came time for the pictures, she got really quiet. The guy behind the camera kept jingling some bells at her to get her to smile, but I really think she thought that was kind of silly...she just kept staring at him and then smiled as soon as he quit taking pictures (and jingling the bells).

Although we didn't get a grinning, smiling picture of our little girl, at least she wasn't screaming! :)

P.S. Don't you think this guy makes a good Santa?

Bookshelves

When we moved into our house 2.5 years ago, we started talking about putting some bookshelves in the office. Of course, for the past 2.5 years, this is exactly what our office has looked like!

We have had a really hard time finding any bookshelves that looked tall enough with the big vaulted ceiling. After looking and striking out, we decided to have some book shelves built-in. The cabinet makers came a few weeks ago and the stain/paint guys left yesterday.

And here is our "final" product.....

They even built a desk to match the bookshelves.

We still have to replace the floor (it is just concrete right now....remember the wood floor we bought several years ago...yep, going in here) and put the baseboards back on (they have been hanging out in the garage) but we are definitely making progress!

I have always wanted a red room, now I just have to convince my hubby that it is not too bright! I can't wait to put the finishing touches on things!

It's a BOY!!!

Kenna is going to have a little BROTHER!!! We had a Level II sonogram scheduled for the day before Thanksgiving and actually got to learn a little earlier than normal who to expect when our new baby arrives the end of May. I don't think there is much doubt from the picture above that a little boy will be joining our family! :)

He was very cooperative and even gave us a little wave before putting his hand back in his mouth where it stayed for a while. I love how stretched out and comfy he looks....that will be changing before too long!!!

We are super excited and think that Miss K is going to make a great big sister!!

Thanksmas

I'm not sure who coined the phrase "Thanksmas" but I saw it on several people's facebook and decided that it aptly described our holiday at the Boyds. We had a great time on Friday celebrating a combined Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was so great to be able to spend time with all of Daniel's brothers and sisters. Everybody (and their significant others) were all in attendance. We had a great, fun-filled table! The boys played their annual football game, which I am happy to report involved some flags this year. Daniel said the played a combo game of tackle/flag, but in the past it has always been full tackle. So grateful that nobody got really injured!!

After stuffing ourselves full of great food, we exchanged Christmas gifts. Miss Kenna absolutely LOVED her MegaBloks. She thinks they are the greatest things ever and has played with them non-stop ever since we opened the present! If we pick them up and put them back in the bag, she will carry the bag over to you saying "hep tower" (help tower), because she wants you to open the bag and help her build the tallest tower. We have stacked and stacked today! Great gift Jackson! Kenna loves it!

Luke thought that Kenna's purse and cell phone that she brought from home were pretty fun...every little boy needs a picture carrying a pink purse!

And then my camera battery died! Oh well, it was a wonderful day and I can't wait to see everyone again soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Daniel had to work today so Miss K and I made a trip to visit Daddy at the fire station. The guys were in the charge of the turkey and the other families all brought sides and desserts...we ended up with quite the Thanksgiving feast!

Kenna loved playing in the fire engine.......and exploring the inside of the engine, of course, Daddy had to intervene before she figured out how to make a call to dispatch.

After some fun times at the station, Kenna and I made a quick visit to my aunt and uncle's house where my grandparents were visiting. Miss K ran around outside and kept us all entertained for the afternoon.

Hope everyone enjoyed their families today!

Tree Lighting

Saturday evening we joined Jon, Mandy, and JD for Santa's arrival and the lighting of the tree at the Village of Allen. I was surprised they were having it this early, but we really enjoyed the beautiful weather. The organizers had several craft tables set up for the kiddos, complete with face painting, etc., but there were SOOOO many people there! Our little ones were not going to be too interested in waiting in line so we worked our way up to see the reindeer before taking a break for dinner. Kenna thought the reindeer was pretty cool.

After eating, we went back out to watch Santa turn on the lights for the Christmas Tree. Kenna was absolutely amazed at all the lights. I kept trying to get her to look down at me from her perch on her Daddy's shoulders, but that meant she was taking too much time away from the tree!There was also Christmas music playing and the lights were blinking in time with the music. JD and Kenna danced together for a little while, but I was too slow to get the pictures.JD thought it was pretty neat too! I loved how excited he was in this picture!This was the best group shot I could get of the kiddos and their daddy's.... I love the holiday season and I am so excited that we get to celebrate Thanksgiving in just a few days....can't wait!!

Muleshoe Memories

This past weekend, Kenna and I made a quick trip to Muleshoe to stay in my childhood home once last time. My parents are moving into a new house "in town" and are leaving our house out on the farm. I am very excited for them and can't wait for them to get settled in the new house, but I am also a little sad that they are leaving our old house!

We had a great trip and Kenna did really well on the flight there. We spent the day Saturday playing, resting, and looking around their new house. I can't believe they will be moving in just a few weeks! (I also can't believe that I didn't take any pictures of the current house....guess I will have to took back through my old pics...I know there are some somewhere!!) Miss K has always loved their new house. Even when it was just in the framing stages, she would run through all of the framed walls, just having fun. Just because the house is finished doesn't change that any at all....she kept playing and playing! She convinced her Uncle Cade to show her how to open the windows and then he sat her out onto the back porch and she took off! She loved being able to run and run.

Abbye and Kenna both had fun playing in the new 'backyard.'

Can you see the tiny hot pink speck in the distance and the lighter colored pink speck following behind (but a little closer to the camera)? That would be Kenna running from her Mommy (because she thought it was funny....she was giggling like crazy!) and Abbye trying to catch her. My sister took the picture from the back porch. I'm the one going after them both. Those two are definitely going to get into some trouble in the future!

Sunday was my mom's birthday and we spent the day celebrating before we had to come back home...and I didn't take any pictures of that either (I didn't do a very good job with the camera apparently!).

Kenna did great on the flight home as well...especially considering our flight was extended by quite a bit! Because of weather/heavy rain in the Dallas area, we ended up circling in the air for about 15-20 min before being diverted to Oklahoma City for fuel. We were lucky and were able to refuel and take right back off toward Love Field, but that still meant that our flight that was supposed to land at 5:05 actually got to Dallas around 6:45. Thank goodness my daughter is a good flier!! She just sat in my lap, ate animal crackers, and read books the entire time.

Thanks everyone for a great weekend!