Christmas Fun Continues

We are enjoying our family time together and playing with every new toy.  Today, we are making homemade cotton candy.  It was pretty interesting to learn how cotton candy is made and watch the hard candy turn into thin strings.  It was very easy to find a few cute taste testers.

The bickering brothers discovered a new "punishment" today.  Hug it out timeout!  Ha!

Ridley wore herself out playing with all her new dolls.  Tonight she chose to sleep with Elena.  Such a sweet cuddler.

Merry Christmas

The kids woke up excited to check out their new stuff.  They were so happy to see new toys and clothes.  Ridley's favorite item was her doll house.  Ryland's favorite item was his new bike, and Reed's favorite item was the foosball table.  

We were lazy all day and just played around the house.  We had birthday cake and sang happy birthday to Jesus, since He is the reason for the season.

Mother's Day

I love all the handmade gifts from my darling children.  They sure know how to make me feel special.  Being a mommy to my three precious babies is the best!

Tom

Our dear elf, Tom, came to visit, and he brought all kinds of fun goodies.  John Chris and I were thrilled to see him, in hopes of his presence relieving some brotherly stress.  The children couldn't wait to dig into the gingerbread house, candy, and new underpants.  Tom also brought a great book.  The Christmas Story illustrated with Legos, and it was perfect for the boys.

Sweet Gifts

My precious children gave me the sweetest handmade gifts for Mother's Day.  I cherish these priceless gifts!

Nana & Papaw Visit

We celebrated Christmas with Nana & Papaw, and they came with tons of gifts.  Since Uncle Clint had to work, he sent his gifts with Nana.  The boys loved the combat toys, and I am wondering who will cry first.

Our neighborhood goes all out decorating for Christmas.  One house did a Whooville scene, complete with a cute photo board.  The kiddos and grandparents braved the freezing temperatures to take a quick picture. 

Ridley loved the craziness of all the gift opening and paper going everywhere.  Her favorite gift was Sophie the Giraffe.  

Easter 2014

The Easter Bunny came to visit, and he left quite a mess!  There were footprints from the pool bath door to the fireplace and a trail of jelly beans.  He left books, kites, candy, and art sets.  Awesome!

Ryland made tons of Easter themed pictures over the past few weeks.  Our favorite picture was of an Easter basket with a hand written message.

Family picture of the Allison crew all dressed up for church. 

More Family Christmas

We celebrated more Christmas with my mom and her husband this weekend.  It was a laid back celebration, and the boys loved all the toys.  They were thrilled to play with all their new goodies!

Christmas PJs

The boys loved all the cool things Santa brought, but they were ready to get out of their matching pajamas.  They were ready to build forts and play with the new hunting goods.  The cute jams came off, and the camouflage went on.  I made them both hold on just a bit, so I could take a quick picture of them.  Gotta love boys!

Tools

Aunt Emily and Uncle Jeffery gave the boys real  kid sized tools, complete with hard hats, safety classes, and tool belts.  They couldn't wait to try it all on with a few silly faces.

Later that evening, we pulled out the tools to make the ambulance kits that were part of the gift.  John Chris held the pieces in place, while the boys assembled with the new tools.  This was a wonderful way of improving hand eye coordination, even for John Chris.

Celebrating Christmas

We started our Christmas celebrations with family this weekend.  We had a full house with family and three dogs.  Ryland and Reed were really into the gift exchange this year, and they were excited to open presets.  They were pretty patient when others were opening as well.  

I love that Doodle was waiting patiently to see what was in the box.

The boys tore into the gifts.  What will it be? 

The sleeping bags were a bit hit, and now they are ready to go camping or hunting.  They wanted to try them out tonight, so it looks like it will be a pallet party in the game room.  

"Mint" to be

The boys and I were getting ready for the first day back to preschool, and we put together these little teacher gifts.  While we assembled the gifts, we talked about new teachers, new friends, and lots of new fun.  Mint soap and gum with a cute tag, "You are mint to be my teacher". 

 

Art workshop

 

Our play group met at a Southlake art studio to create a masterpiece.  The workshop was Valentine themed and created the perfect gift for Dad.  The boys traced hearts and painted with watercolor and glitter paints.

 

The art studio had a beautiful view of a field with two horses and a very friendly dog relaxing by the door.  He was a huge hit with the kids, and as soon as they caught sight of him, the art wasn't as interesting for the boys.



It's Christmas

We celebrated Christmas again, and the boys were absolutely thrilled to open more gifts.  Nanna and Papaw came to visit for the weekend, so we were back in the holiday spirit. 

 

 

Ryland was beyond words when he opened the rescue set. He just screamed with joy!

We all led Reed out to the garage for his last gift.  He knew what it was the moment he saw the track.  The grin is precious.

 

The new toys gave the adults several moments of quietness.  I hadn't heard anything out of Ryland for a while, so I wanted to see what he was up to.  I found him in the dining room playing. I just love this age.  He is getting so imaginative and exploring new things.

Twister

 

Santa brought a couple of really fun games, and since it was cold out today, we opened Twister.  I explained the game to the boys and demonstrated how to play.  Needless to say, we didn't go by the rules for long.  It helps teach Ryland left from right, and it helps Reed with his colors.  Who knew Twister was so educational and fun?  Wow, Santa, you did a great job!

Class party treats

We made adorable little Rudolph Hershey bars for Ryland's class.  He was quite the helper on their assembly.  They turned out really cute, and he couldn't wait to give them to his friends at school.  Merry Christmas!

Fun with family

 Ryland and Reed absolutely adore their cousin, Ally, and they love playing with her.  I have no idea what they are doing in these pictures, but they all look happy.

 

 

After completely stuffing ourselves on delicious cuisine, we laughed and joked at the contents of our Christmas crackers.  They all had something different inside, so it was fun to share.

 

Reed got paper dominos.

 

Ally isn't a fan of the crown.  I had the camera ready to snap the quick shot before she ripped it off.

Ryland's cracker had fancy, silver, sparkly watch.

 

Ally must really like tea.  She got 2 singing tea sets.

 

Not to give away a future gift, but the boys like their new helmets.

 

The kiddos also opened new books.