Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Spring Break in Florida!

 
Vacation Time In Pensacola!
In March we headed to Pensacola for a wonderful, relaxing week.  It was so nice to spend some family time together, especially since Shaun had been traveling so much.  And even better Uncle Mark and Aunt Mary came along to help out!  We spent the week right at the beach and only left the condo for some groceries and one trip to the nail salon for the girls!  Our days were spent playing in the sand, soaking up the sun, and swimming in the super heated pool.  This was nice because the Gulf water was still a bit chilly!  At night we relaxed by having yummy meals grilled by Uncle Mark and Shaun and playing cards once the kiddos went to sleep.  What a perfect vacation!
 

 
 
 Playing at the beach on a chilly afternoon.

 
 Our little man couldn't get enough of the beach!

It was vacation so we had to get our nails done!
 

Yeah, beach toes!
Don't worry she had matching flowery fingers too.
 
Watching the dolphins swim by was one of our favorite parts of each morning. 
This is the view we had of them from our balcony!

Uncle Mark and Aunt Mary were so much fun to have with us. 
They are always good for hours of entertainment!
 
 A view from our walks on the beach.
LOVED how soft the sand was.
 
 Daddy burying Larkin in the sand.
 
 The finished photo.
 
Of course then Bray wanted to be buried too.
So Uncle Mark and Daddy got right back to work.

Sunset from the balcony. 
What a relaxing place to spend our week.
 
 Trying to get a picture on the giant swing, but the sun was right behind the camera so no such luck.  This is the closest I got.
 
Uncle Mark and Aunt Mary heading back from a walk on the beach.
 
 
 Getting ready for a morning at the beach.

 Brayden discovered the sand dunes.

 So of course his favorite part was trying to slide down them.
Pretty sure he could have done this all day!
 
 Running away from the waves.
 
Daddy and Uncle Mark trying to keep bray from knocking down the sand castle. 
This was his other favorite thing to do at the beach.

 
Checking out some shells we found by the shore.
 
Our Little Flight Attendant
I think that the best part of our vacation for Larkin was our flight home.  We had the best flight attendant!  He noticed what a good job Larkin had been doing and asked if she could help him with his job for a bit.  Needless to say she was more than happy to help!  The flight attendant even got on the intercom and introduced the newest member of their crew and then let Larkin pass out pretzels to everyone on the flight.  Not only that, but after we landed he arranged for us to go up in the cockpit and have a little flying lesson from the pilot.  Larkin was in heaven.  We definitely love flying Southwest!!!
 
Larkin passing out pretzels.
 
Getting a little lesson from the Captain!
 
Our little pilot flying the plane. 

Mommy and Larkin in the cockpit.
Don't mind this picture, I was a bit delirious on this flight with a fever and ridiculous headache. 
Good thing the kids behaved!
 
 

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Our Baby Boy Turns 3!

Brayden's 3rd Birthday
It is hard to believe that it has been three years since our little man came into the world.  What a sweet little boy we have with such personality!!!!
Getting ready for work, just like Daddy! 
Don't worry, Shaun usually leaves his flannel teddy bear pajamas at home
and opts for a dress shirt and slacks to go with his tie, belt, and dress shoes.

I just LOVE this little face!


On Bray's birthday we took a trip to Build A Bear. 
Here they are getting ready to put the heart in their new animals.

 At the bathing station cleaning up their new animals.  And yes, Brayden has a pink kitty, but all he wanted was a cat and of course they only had pink.  So thank Build A Bear for that one!

 
 Our attempt at a Cookie Monster cake.
 
 Brayden checking out his cake.
 
 Feeding Cookie Monster a cookie:)
 
 Family picture time!
 
 Larkin getting right in there to help open the gifts.  What a helpful big sister!
 
Safety first!  Bray trying out his new weed whacker.
He was still figuring out how to put the goggles on the comfortable way!
 
Trying out some of the yummy birthday cake.

Christmas 2012

 
Christmas 2012
This year we spent Christmas at home.  It was a great holiday!  It was nice to have so much family time without having to travel.  Since Christmas wasn't until Tuesday we spent the weekend before Christmas doing lots of little holiday projects.  We had a gingerbread house competition, a cookie decorating day, a game day, and homemade pizza/movie night.
Chatting with Santa at Larkin's preschool.
 
 Here are the gingerbread houses that Daddy and Larkin
and Mommy and Brayden created.

Hard at work making Christmas cookies! 
What good helpers we had this year.

 Our little Santa putting his hat on his own way!
 
 Getting ready to open some presents.
 
Sleeping Beauty to add to Larkin's princess collection.
 
This was the start of game day.  They were about to open Hungry Hungry Hippos and Cootie. 
This lead to an afternoon of board game fun. 
Who knew a two year old would love Hungry Hungry Hippos so much!
 
 The start of our My Little Pony collection.
 
 Ohhh an airplane!
 
 Christmas morning checking out their new "indoor" camping supplies!
 
 Guess who liked the tent!
 
 Thanks, Aunt Tara, for the Lalaloopsy house.
 
"Think I will get a little closer!"
 
 After a little scavenger hunt this was the last gift they found!
 
 Santa Jordan (the cat).  Uncle Mark and Aunt Mary make the holidays so much fun.
 
 Ready to start opening more packages.
 
Helping Aunt Mary open a present.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Jingle Bell Rock Time!

 
Holiday Dance Recital
This year for Christmas Larkin's dance school put on a holiday recital.  It was super cute, lasted less than an hour, and the girls had a blast!  Larkin's class tap danced to Jingle Bell Rock and her teacher, Ms. Pam, did a great job!
 
Getting ready to go on stage.
 
Larkin and her dance friends!
 
 
*VIDEO MAYBE TO COME*
 
Performing Jingle Bell Rock!
 
 

The Polar Express

The Polar Express!
This year during the Christmas season we decided to take the family on a ride on the Polar Express in Williams, AZ.  We had such a fun time!  Besides getting to spend the night in Flagstaff and playing some mean games of hide-n-seek in the hotel, we also had a wonderful time wearing our pajamas on the train.  Once we boarded the train the fun really began.  We had hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookies while listening to the story of the Polar Express as the train chugged on towards the North Pole!  Once we arrived at the North Pole we saw lots of holiday lights and of course, Santa Claus!  Santa even boarded the train with us and rode all the way back to the train station stopping to talk with each child and give them a little bell.  Of course we had to be in the Christmas spirit so we sang our favorite Christmas carols the whole trip back.  What a fun time we had!!!!
 Getting ready to leave for Flagstaff.
 
 Uncle Mark, Daddy, Larkin, and Brayden in Williams.
 
 Family picture time!
 
 Mommy and Larkin in our pjs
 
 Our little conductor!
 
 Getting ready to board the train with Uncle Mark and Aunt Mary.
 
 Time to board!
 
 Getting ready for the hot cocoa and cookies.
 
 Cuddling with Aunt Mary!
 
 Santa stopped to give us a bell!
 
 Showing the bell to Daddy.
 
Uncle Mark and Aunt Mary in their matching pjs.
They are such good sports!
 
The Polar Express