My Exciting New Year's Eve...

Last night Meggan had her friend, Cami, stay the night. They had lots of fun, but I didn't even think to get a single picture! :( They spent a while trying to pass some of the worlds on Mario Bros. on the Wii, but since Meggan is literally playing for the first time ever, she's not all that great at it. She also gets VERY frustrated when she dies over and over and over...

Today we decided to try our hand at roller skating. It sounded like something fun, and it was something we don't do every day that Meggan could enjoy while on her break from school still. We had lots of fun!

Meggan and Cami skating! Sorry it's so dark, but it was during the "couples" skate. :)

Tonight for New Year's Eve, I have absolutely no plans. My mom said to come down to her house and we'd put the kids to bed there and watch a movie, but that just didn't sound enticing to me. It was also 7:00 or so by the time we were chatting, and it just didn't seem worth the trouble to pack all the stuff up to go and then drive down there just to put them to bed and watch a movie (if I even made it through the whole thing, that is). So we stayed put, and just enjoyed a laid-back night at home.

Meggan mentioned we still needed to try the Easy Bake. She got it from our friends across the street for Christmas, and she's been wanting to check it out for the past 2 weeks or so! It was pretty fun! It didn't even taste TERRIBLE. It wasn't good necessarily, but it wasn't awful. The kids both ate it like it was going out of style! :)

Before...

and after!

Hard at work frosting the cake! It's pink, so I'm not sure what happened to the color there.

She even let Jordan try a little bit!

I just realized that I took a picture of the final "masterpiece" with my phone but not with my camera. Bummer! It was complete with flower-shaped confetti sprinkles! Actually pretty cute!

The kids are both fast asleep, and I think I'm going to go try my hand at some Mario Bros. myself! I'm thinking I probably won't even be awake to see the ball drop on TV, but that's okay too.

Here's wishing everyone a Happy New Year! We're more than happy to see 2009 come to an end around here and be put behind us - ready for better things to come in 2010!!!

New Haircut!

So I decided it was time for some pampering today after a STRESSFUL holiday season (both through Thanksgiving and continuing through Christmas) and went for a 1-hour massage! It was absolutely wonderful! Then I decided it was time for a new haircut as well and had them cut, layer, and style it! Straightened is something different!

I need to do this more often, that's for sure! I think next time will be pedicure calling my name...

The new do (don't mind the no makeup - it wasn't worth it today)!

Christmas was a Whirlwind!

No play-by-play for this post, as it would take entirely too long to get through the excitement, busyness, and fun of the past 2 weeks or so around here. Just enough to say that we enjoyed the company of Jason's side of the family the weekend before Christmas and then my side of the family the week/weekend of Christmas! We even made the 10-hour trek down to southwest Missouri and visited my grandma for her 90th birthday the day after Christmas! It was surely a quick trip (leaving Saturday morning and coming home Monday), but we're glad that we went and it was nice to see everyone there!

We're back home and quite content with getting back into the swing of things here. I have to finish a job up tonight and get it turned in for cutoff tomorrow, and then the rest of the week is going to be for relaxing and some fun! I think we're going to try and hit the Children's Museum and also try to hit the skating rink (roller skating, that is) yet this week! I do want to enjoy a little bit of time with the kids before this Christmas break from school is over. :)

I will let the pictures tell the rest. Enjoy!


The kids both helping me clean the house up a little bit before Jason's family came to visit!

I guess it tuckered him out... They were settling down watching Scooby Doo, and I look over and he's completely passed out on Meggan's shoulder! They are so cute! :)

Meggan, Randie, Jordan, and Jess all ready to dig into their goodies!

Jordan, Meggan, Randie, and Jess in their jammies from Jason's mom and dad! (Don't ask what the poses/faces are for...)

Jason's mom and dad took off Monday morning, and then Crystal, Jesse, and Jackson got here late Monday night. They didn't stay at our house, but they were here to visit all! Then Matt, Julia, Lily & Olivia got here late Wednesday night and we were able to enjoy a couple days with them! It was a really nice time with the whole crew here!!!

The whole family after Christmas Eve service!

Meggan in her dress she picked out (complete with a dolly dress to match, which was her favorite part)!


Jordan not exactly as excited about his outfit...


Lucas, Olivia, Lily, Meggan, Jackson, and Jordan in front of the Christmas tree at Dawn & Jer's house. Crystal bought them all these matching outfits, and so we dressed them up and tried our luck at catching them all in a picture at the same time!

And one of just Meggan and Jordan for fun! It turned out SOOO cute! (Is it just me or do they both look REALLY grown up in this picture?)

Hoping that everyone had a Merry Christmas and wishing everyone a Happy New Year! It's hard to believe that 2010 is just around the corner. Here's to a wonderful, peaceful new year full of hope and love!

Winter is upon us...

It's 10:00 at night and the winds are slamming against the side of the house and the windows. I guess winter has officially made its way here. The snowflakes were falling outside when I was heading to and from a meeting tonight. I am just happy that we're not in Iowa - apparently it's the literal eye of the storm. Ugh!

It's cold and the heat seems to be running nonstop. But at least we have heat, and a house, and a garage so I don't have to warm my car up and defrost it in the morning, and each other!

Here are a few pictures of the kids, mostly just being silly! They are quite the pair, I tell you.

Cuddling up to watch some cartoon that was on that night!

Playing school (yes, he had to raise his hand so she could call on him)!

He loves these snowman pajamas that I got from a co-worker whose grandsons grew out of them!

ICE CREAM FACES! :)

Jordan and Lucas playing on Monday night (they are so hilarious together)! Don't worry - I wasn't too far away, just in case he started to topple backwards because of the bumpy ride. :)

Today, December 9, is a day I will always remember. Specifically December 9, 1995, 14 years ago. That was my first date with Jason. It was to a movie in Grundy Center (no, I don't remember what movie it was). I thought that I was the luckiest girl in the world! Oh, how the years have flown by...

Hoping this has been a good week so far for everyone! Try to stay warm and safe!