Fun Friday Fotos - Polar Express

We had the privilege of taking the kiddos on a train ride to the North Pole this evening aboard the Polar Express!  I cannot begin to tell you how much fun we had, so I will let the pictures show you...

Getting ready to leave to catch the train...

A quick family photo opt as soon as we got to the train station 

And another...see the excitement building on their faces?

We had some time to browse through the gift shop and an activities area tent before it was time to board.  What kinds of activities?  Playing with trains, of course!

All Aboard!

Tickets please!

 A few more family photos

 We were able to listen and see the pictures as they read "The Polar Express"

 Then, we were served hot chocolate and cookies!

 And, finally! We arrived at the North Pole!

Look!  There's Santa!

We had so much fun, and we heard the jingle bells ring all the way home

Until next time...

My Little Helper

Reba has taken a liking to helping unload the dishwasher; and like every proper lady, she dresses appropriately.

I think June Cleaver would be proud!

Until next time...

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

I finally drug up the decorations one day while the kiddos were napping and Doug was working in the garage and barn.  Once I got the tree together, these were the only lights that lit up on my pre-lit tree...

Frustration!

Luckily, I had a couple strands of white lights that I was able to put on to make the tree decent.  Here's the finished product...

The kiddos loved helping us pull the ornaments out of the tubs and finding the perfect place to hang them on the tree.  We were having so much fun, I forgot to take any pictures...

The kiddos each have a small tree in their room.  Ma-maw started this tradition on Dallas' 1st Christmas.  She gets the kiddos an ornament each on Christmas to hang on their special tree.  She tries to get an ornament that is a reminder of something special to them that year.

This is Dallas' tree (2008 - baby's 1st Christmas, 2009 - animals {from going to the fairs with Ma-maw and Pa-paw}, 2010 - a steam engine train)

This is Reba's tree (2009 - baby's 1st Christmas, 2010 - Santa Claus {for visiting Santa the first time})

Doug and I were even able to decorate outside!  Sorry, my pictures aren't the greatest, but you get the idea :)

Until next time...

Tractor Tales (cont.)

Remember my post about our newest tractor?  Well, we were finally able to get it to our house.

Needless to say, the kiddos were pretty excited!

Until next time...

Gram's Little Helpers

Thank goodness for the patience of grandparents. 

My kiddos LOVE to help - no matter what the task may be. 

This past weekend, Gram was gracious enough to let the kiddos help with a few chores around the house...
They helped do dishes - not sure who got more "clean" the kiddos or the dishes

They also helped decorate Gram's Christmas tree

Reba loved pulling the boxes out of the tote - especially the empty ones Gram had just put back in!

Dallas helping hang an ornament (on the same branch he hung the previous one)

Thanks again for letting them "help".  They truly enjoyed it!

Until next time...