December 21 - A Small Chance of Snow

snow!

There is a flu outbreak in Houston. 36% of the first grade students are out sick at our elementary school (including Luke) and Julia is also down for the count. Luke missed his winter party yesterday, which was unfortunate because his class performed 'The Grinch Who Stole Christmas' and he had the starring role of the Grinch. Julia's class party is today and she's also missing the festivities. JD is also sick (more of a sinus infection than the flu). So, fingers crossed that the baby and I stay healthy. 

Now, let's go back 2 weeks ago for a more exciting, healthy week. On Monday December 4th, there was a promising weather report. We heard there was a small chance of snow for the end of the week.

JD's Christmas party

No one wanted to get their hopes up because...well, this is Houston. The last time it snowed here was 9 years ago. But as the week progressed and the temperature kept dropping and moisture remained in the air, chances were rising. Thursday afternoon every weather report was saying "It's coming!" Growing up in NY where snow is a given, I never thought I'd be waiting up to "see snow" but that is exactly where I found myself. I fell asleep at 11.30pm Thursday and it started snowing at 11.30pm (doh!). We woke up to a winter wonderland (by Texas standards). The kids were so excited, this was the best early Christmas present the city could have wished for! This was Amelia's first time seeing snow and...let's say she didn't want to get her paws wet!

Some cute pictures of little Jillian

December 11 - Farm Life

 Thanksgiving at the farm has been a tradition for several years now and we wouldn't have it any other way. It is good old fashion family fun and the kids are always so excited to see everyone, especially Andrew, Victoria and the horses! 

So what do the kids do at the farm while we are there? One thing they barely do is spend time inside. They literally played outside every day (including Thanksgiving day when it was raining nonstop). They rode their bikes, ran up and down the driveway, played endless games of tag, helped feed the horses, played in the stalls and went horse back riding.

They also did a scavenger hunt (created by Great Uncle Brian) which pitted Victoria and Luke v. Julia and Andrew. Victoria and Luke won but they all had a blast. One night we roasted hot dogs over a fire and did smores. So delicious! The last night we were there, JD set up a tent and all four attempted to camp out. Luke, Andrew and Victoria all came inside (they were too cold) but Julia braved the elements and slept in the tent all night. So adventurous! 

As for Thanksgiving dinner itself, JD was our chef this year and made some of his best dishes yet. The food was incredible. Turkey, ham, rolls, greenbean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes casserole, collared greens and homemade pumpkin pie (I actually made the pie, we had some laughs over my attempt at a chunky crust but it came out pretty well). Yum!!!!

Our last night, all of the adults played Codenames together and I haven't laughed so hard in years. It was an amazing Thanksgiving holiday!!

The Crew

The Cook's

Even the mom's love horses

December 11 - Tampa

Happy Monday dimpled munchkin fans. Is everyone ready for Christmas? We got our tree up this weekend but in terms of presents I have bought exactly....zero. I'm definitely not on the ball, I need to get busy! But first, I need to keep blogging about our fun trip to Florida.

After a short half day at Universal, we packed up the car and drove to Tampa. JD still wasn't feeling well and immediately went to bed upon arriving. The kids played around the house and enjoyed spending time with Grammie. The weather was also perfect. We ordered pizza for dinner (yum!) and the kids watched a movie that night. The next day, JD was feeling better and we took a family trip to the aquarium. JD took Julia years ago (I think she was around 1.5) but it was the first trip for the rest of us. It's laid out very nicely and the kids had fun seeing all the marine life.

While we were there, Grammie picked up Leah from daycare and brought her back to the house, so when we got back, the cousins were together the rest of the day. They played outside for hours putting together an obstacle course and got along fabulously. Aunt Nicole also got to meet baby Jillian and was in love!!  JD was feeling back to normal that afternoon so he played Frisbee golf with all of his brothers for a few hours. They had a lot of fun. 

The next morning, we ate breakfast, packed up and then headed out. We had a wonderful time visiting with Grammie, Uncle Chad, Aunt Nicole, Leah and meeting the neighbor kids. 

Grammie Snuggles

Aquarium Fun

Cousins

December 8 - Snow!

Let the Adventure Begin!

Guys, O-M-G. Earlier this week we heard that was a less than 5% chance of snow this week. IT HAPPENED!! It's the first snowfall here in 9 years and the first since we've lived here. I tried to stay up last night but passed out by 11.30pm (of course, it started snowing approx. 5min after I fell asleep). The kids were so excited to wake up to snow!! Pictures will be coming soon, stay tuned to the blog!

Okay, back to our amazing Thanksgiving trip. Our second day at Universal was the best because...family!! We skipped the boat and walked to the parks (the kids were wearing the house shirts I ordered...so cute) and were inside early.

walking to the parks

The Harry Potter area of the parks are open 1h early for hotel guests so our first stop was Hogmeade. After hitting up a few more rides, our day got even better. Uncles Bryan and Brian joined us!! So fun!! We spent the day at both parks and just had an all-around blast. There was a brief temperature drop at one point with a dash of rain, but it was over very quickly. We decided to stay for a holiday parade on the Universal side at 5.30pm and discovered after the parade started that we were stuck in the park until it was over. So, while that wasn't ideal I think the kids handled it pretty well. The Yamo's and NC Cook's headed back to the hotel for dinner while the uncle duo headed to City Walk. It was a magical day.

Not so magical? The stomach bug that we thought surpassed JD came for him. He was up all night sick. I tried to add another night to our trip to let him sleep but the hotel was fully booked. Luckily they let us do a late check out. So the kids and I packed up the room quickly on Monday and then met back up at Universal Studios with the Cooks. It was amazingly not busy (at all) and we walked onto a few rides. While we had fun, JD was able to sleep a little. After a few hours, it was time for us to check out of the hotel and head to Tampa.

Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy these pics.



Hogwarts

Ditto

Fun with uncles!

Dr. Seussland is so fun

Diagon Alley is amazing...and we get a picture in front of trash cans hehe

Last day collage

December 1 - Universal Adventure

Universal Day 1 - Amazing Day!

I started planning this trip several months ago and I was initially thinking Disney (as Jillian can go on several rides there). However, Disney prices were outrageous and the kids prefer Universal anyway, so off to Universal we went. Our first day was just our family and we had the option of the regular parks or the new water park. The kids wanted to go to the regular parks so off we went. Jillian and I walked from the hotel to Island of Adventure (IoA) while JD and the kids took the water taxi. Jillian and I made it there in approx. 7 min, while the rest of the crew took over 30min. Walking for the win! After meeting up on the bridge, we entered and it was...ride time! It wasn't busy at all and we got through a lot of rides. After a quick pizza lunch, JD took Jillian back to the room for a nap while I continued on with Julia and Luke. Julia is now tall enough to ride almost everything by herself, which was fantastic because Luke is still small enough that he requires an adult for almost every ride. It worked out perfectly! 

crazy milkshakes

After spending all day at the parks, JD and Jillian met us at City Walk and we had a delicious dinner at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium. If you find yourself in Orlando, give this place a try, even if it's just for dessert. The inside has a steampunk theme and the desserts are incredible! 

So, after being at the parks from about 10am-4pm and then dinner....nope, the kids were not tired. We headed to the pool for swimming. After swimming for a few hours, we headed back to our room for showers and to get ready for bed. Around 8.30pm, the NC Cook's arrived and the hotel hooked us up with adjoining rooms, so fun!!! The kids were so excited for day 2 of our adventure..!

mmmmm dessert

Hogwarts!

November 27 - Stomach Bug Attacks

 The kids were counting down the days until vacation for months and were finally in the home stretch. On Tuesday, I went to school and had Thanksgiving lunch with both kids. That evening, Jillian threw up some water and I didn't think too much about it. Around 10pm, she started projectile vomiting all over her room, bathroom and JD (I have never seen so much vomit in my life). I was giving her a bath around 10.30pm and Julia ran into the bathroom...also throwing up. Not idea. JD ended up going downstairs with Julia and she was sick every 20-30min until close to 6am. Jillian threw up one more time and while I was rocking her...I ended up getting sick starting at 1am. I was up from 1-6am sick.

makeshift bed for sick Luke

Three of us at one time, what are the chances?! Wednesday was a tough day trying to work and take care of tired children. Wednesday evening, I realized Luke had not eaten any snacks after school (unusual to say the least) and he didn't eat any dinner. He was otherwise acting fine but when we told him to shower and go to bed at 6.30pm and he was sound asleep by 6.45pm with no complaints, I knew he had it too. He started throwing up around 7.30pm and was luckily done with it by 11pm. We packed up on Thursday afternoon and were off.

We drove to Gulfport, MS for the first leg of the journey and had an uneventful trip. The next day we drove into Florida and got to the hotel by 8pm. Needless to say, we were all excited to be healthy and on vacation!!

Thanksgiving at School

We made it to the hotel, Jillian loved the trees!

November 14 - Good Luck Luna Lovegood

After just over 2 months with our family, Luna Lovegood will be going to her forever home in Connecticut. The rescue picked her up this afternoon and she is being transported tomorrow. She will be joining a family with a large yard and a female Labrador (hopefully the lab is younger than Amelia and wants to play). Best wishes to Luna, I hope she loves her new family and they love her. 

November 10 - Plaid

In case you are wondering how Texas kids dress for picture day.....here you go:

Plaid. I let them pick out their own outfits and this is how they came downstairs. So cute. And yes, Luke is rocking long hair for his picture this year. Waves!!

Happy Friday everyone!

November 8 - Baby On the Move

smooch!

Little Jillian is officially a walker now!! She's been taking a few steps here and there for awhile now, but starting last week she made the transition to full-time walking. She is so cute and getting faster by the day.  She's already trying to squeeze behind the TV stand and loves opening up the drawers in my bathroom to get into my toiletries. She's obsessed with the clock in Julia's room and likes to take it and carry it around. Another thing she's found in the last 2 days? A baby doll! She LOVES holding her and carrying her, she even slept with her the other night. So sweet!!

November 6 - Halloween Recap

School dance, swim meet & new hammock from Uncle Jay

Dimpled munchkin fans, please accept my apologies. October proved to be one of the most challenging months of my life. Sometimes, when you try to do something good, things don't turn out as planned. That is life and I'm trying to stay positive and look forward. Sorry for the lack of blog updates, I will do better this month. So, without further ado, let's jump into Halloween. 

I volunteered in Luke's class for 'Pumpkin-ology' and I was in charge of the 'science experiment' station. I put a small cup of hydrogen peroxide and dish soap into the center of a hallowed out plastic pumpkin. When we mixed yeast with warm water and the kids had to guess what they thought would happen. I then poured the mixture in and we watched as a foam mixture exploded out of the pumpkin's mouth. So fun!! The kids loved it! All I had to do for Julia's class was bake pumpkin muffins, so that was very easy. 

The Friday before Halloween was the school's costume ball, always a huge hit with the kids. Luke was so excited, he was dressed (as a ninja) as soon as he got home from school. Julia donned her devil outfit and we were some of the first people to make it into the gym for the party. The kids had a blast dancing and running around with their friends. 

The morning after the party was swim meet time. We had a cold front come into Houston and it was literally in the high 30s. We normally set up for swim meets outside but they notified us that there would be limited seating available inside. The coaches recommended we get there by 6.45am to get a spot inside. JD and the kids left our house at 5.45am and got to the pool at 6.30...they got one of the last spots in the hallway! Jillian and I got there around 9.30am, just in time to see Luke swim. Both kids did amazing and Luke placed top 8 in the 25 free and won a glow in the dark medal!!

He dropped several seconds off his free and back (from the summer) and successfully swam the butterfly for the first time ever without being disqualified. Go Luke!! Julia did her first ever 100 IM and 100 free and did a fantastic job. Great job kids!

On Halloween eve I realized...we forgot to get pumpkins!! Oops. We went to the local pumpkin patch and were shocked to find it packed. Apparently, a lot of people waited until last minute this year. The kids picked out their pumpkins and we can back home to carve. I forgot to get pictures of the finished product but they came out very cute. Julia's had a huge mustache and Luke's said "Boo!" 

On actual Halloween, we had a big crew together for trick-or-treating. We headed out at 6.30pm and were back by 8pm. Great evening for all! 

Pumpkin patch fun

Halloween

I couldn't resist the puffer vest