Family Christmas Day

We had what turned out to be one of my favorite family days ever - our first good ole Kirkham family Christmas day!  We started the day off at church with lots of great Christmas music.

 

Next stop was lunch at the downtown Aquarium and the kids' first meal in front of the massive tank.  They also got little stuffed dolphins in the lobby so they stayed entertained for the whole afternoon with their new friends.

Then we went across the street to the Wortham center.  By this time, the kids were getting into the whole picture thing and started asking to have their pictures taken.  That's a rare event so I obliged.

Mr. GQ here was striking all kinds of poses!

Then it was time to see the Nutcracker!  I couldn't wait!  The boys were pretty excited, too, but Alex gets nervous about heights and he was not happy to see that we were on the first balcony.  Once the music and dancing started, he forgot all about it and got totally into the ballet.  We had just read the book at home so the boys were able to follow the story and really soak up the experience.

Afterward, we were the first ones to say hello the the Nutcracker and the Sugar Plum Fairy.

We also met a few of the soldiers in the lobby.

Alex didn't drop his autographed program, but he definitely crashed on the way home.  All the excitement wore this little guy out!  It was such a wonderful day to do some new things together and get into the spirit of the season.

December Happenings

We kicked off December with the school's first ever musical production.  Ben had been singing rock and roll songs for months and was so excited to perform for everyone.  Sweet boy was even a little nervous!

The kids all did great and the show was entertaining.  I wanted to remember this picture because it's hard to see any student production these days without looking through a sea of electronic devices.

Ben is right in the middle of this crowd during a serious moment.  He did great and we took him out for ice cream afterward to celebrate.

 

Bart returned in December and had to up his antics a little this year after I learned that kids talk about their elf's adventures at school.  Can't have the slacker elf!  (but only if his ideas take five minutes or less)

 

Casey was pretty excited to meet Bart.  Bart learned never to sit on the floor again.

Matt and I got to get dressed up for a formal Christmas ball, which we ended up loving.  It was held where all my high school proms used to be so it was fun to go back as an adult.  Much more enjoyable with my handsome husband than a high school date :)

Santa and Mrs. Claus were there as well!  Either I've gotten taller or he's gotten shorter...

 

The kids and I took advantage of some beautiful weather and rode our bikes to the gas station for some treats.  Alex dropped all six of his chocolate donuts before the first bite.  While I was digging around for another dollar, I had to get a picture of his heartbreak.  Whatever this boy feels, he feels 150%.  But don't worry, he went back for a replacement.

The closer we got to Christmas, the more excited these kids got!  Especially on Polar Express day at school when they could wear their pajamas.  Next was FREEDOM!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in 2014 and much to be grateful for over the year.  We spent most of the week in Alabama with the Kirkhams enjoying some wide open spaces.  The kids and Casey begged to take long walks every day and I was happy to oblige when the weather permitted.  It's interesting to note that the trees in this picture were planted in 2001 during my first Christmas there and now I can't remember what it looked like before them.

 

 Casey was hesitant to leave the cover of the pines and go out into the pasture after she heard a hawk there.  I guess she knows she's small enough to be a meal to other animals!

We climbed all over, under, and through everything we could find and our four-legged friend was right there with us.

Someone had some serious hat hair!

We took the kids to the deer stand for the first time to watch the deer in the oat fields.  They loved it!   Especially since we took Hershey's kisses.

 

We always take some four wheeler rides to check on land and look at the timber and we got one particularly beautiful afternoon in the fall leaves.

 

We drove back home on Thanksgiving day and finally stopped at the Tiger station in Baton Rouge.  Turned out to be a great time because the tiger Tony who lives there was getting his Thanksgiving turkey and we got to hear him bite right through the bones.

Next, we headed to Grammy and Grumpy's house to spend time with Aunt Stacey and Uncle Jason and their kids as well.  We got the first picture of the whole gang together at the neighborhood park.

Grumpy and all of his grandsons!

Our little family of four (plus one)

The French family, who definitely dressed for the occasion.  We didn't get the memo in time.  I love Carter's smile in this one!

 It was fun watching all four boys enjoy the playground.  Casey got to have some fun there as well.

 One sweet picture from the ride home :)  This boy loves his dog.

Wedding Weekend

We were excited to get the opportunity to attend my cousin Elizabeth's wedding in Weatherford, Texas.  The kids were thrilled because it meant we got to spend time with Grammy and Grumpy and Uncle Lindy and Aunt Nell, and also because we got to spend the night in a hotel.  They were a little less interested in the actual wedding but they were great and really enjoyed the ceremony.

The ceremony and reception were in a unique and fascinating little museum and the guests got to tour all of the exhibits while the wedding party took their photos.   It was a great experience for all of us.

 

 The lovely bride Elizabeth and her new husband Sam cutting their cake together...

...while someone else watched and asked how many pieces he would get to eat!  (The answer was two)

It was a wonderful weekend and we were so happy to get to celebrate with Sam and Elizabeth!

Halloween

Our Halloween was a fun, costume-filled day!  First I walked an Angry Bird, a cowboy, and Charlotte (from Charlotte's Web) to school with a very nervous hot dog.  It was the first time the kids got to dress up at school, as long as it was a character from a book.  Thank you, Amazon, for carrying angry bird books so Alex could wear his costume!

Then I got to see the kids again as they paraded through the gym.  I wasn't thrilled to go to the story book character parade, but it turned out to be a lot of fun seeing all the kids in costume.  Ben was a blur, but here's proof he was there.

Alex stopped to make sure I got his picture :)

Next up were the classroom parties, as though the kids weren't going to get enough candy at home!

I'm pretty sure most calories consumed all day were various forms of sugar.  Alex shed the angry bird for the rest of school, which was probably wise.

Then back home, the costume was back on and this guy was dying to go trick or treating.  He completed the cul-de-sac and outside circle in record time and was the first kid done this year!

Ben, aka Lightning Larry, aka Benjamin Westin, aka Clint Eastwood (the name changed as the day went on) was excited to carry his pistol for trick or treating.  I'm pretty sure that's the whole reason he wanted to be a cowboy.

22 kids this year!  And a few that didn't make the picture.  The gang all started out together but soon split up because not everyone could maintain the speed of an angry bird.  It was a really fun time watching the kids have fun and enjoying time with our neighbors.

Milestones

Our baby is missing a baby tooth!  The first visit from the tooth fairy was such an exciting night for him that he could hardly wait to go to bed.  Ben, on the other hand, slept in Alex's room completely blocking the door to "make sure Mom and Dad couldn't sneak in".  Luckily for Alex, the tooth fairy found a way!

 

Casey turned one!  She had a lovely birthday party with dog bones and plush toys to destroy.  What more could a dog want?  (except maybe to skip the hat picture next year)

Flag Football

We enrolled Alex in flag football for the first time and it's been a lot of fun.  The first week it looked like herding cats (rather unsuccessfully, I might add) but they kids seemed to love it, especially because it was raining.  Most of them are also new to the sport this season.

Apparently, pulling flags is great fun.  It took some time for them to learn which flags to pull!

 Alex took a turn playing center and did great snapping the ball.

 

A little conditioning after practice..ha!

Week two was better and Alex grabbed the ball carrier's flag for a real "tackle" so he was thrilled.

 The cutest little player at center again.

The kids have to take turns sitting out since there are 9 kids on the team, and Alex found kicking the pylon to be much more entertaining than football.  That boy never fails to make me laugh.  Hopefully he'll have a fun and productive season.