Merry Christmas!

We had a great Christmas! We had 3 fun filled days of it actually. I was off work all week so it was nice to spend time with the kids. We started family gatherings on Thursday at Donn's Uncle's house. The kids had fun. Friday was a day at my parents and we got to see my grandmother which was nice. We got home pretty early b/c the kids were ready for Santa. We finally got them to sleep by 10 or so. They were so excited. Christmas morning was a beautiful white Christmas. Santa came and the kids love their presents. Ty's was all about Beyblades, Bakugans, and a Nintendo DSI. Ellie got a Tinker Bell scooter and a Vtech pink computer and she loves it. We got them movies, clothes and a few other toys but they don't come close to what Santa brought them. My parents came over for breakfast then we got dressed and headed to Donn's brothers house for dinner. We made it a quick visit since it was still snowing and the roads we getting slick. The kids had a blast and it was a GREAT Christmas.

Looking forward to spending New Year's Eve with friends.

Shopping & Snow! Christmas is almost here!

We have had a lot going on lately and trying to fit in some Christmas shopping. We are almost done. We got snow last night and its so pretty. We went to our Sunday night small group in the snow and had a great time. The elves have visited the kids during the night this week and left them candy canes or candy. They look forward to seeing if they have come every morning. Its so cute. Ty has this week of school plus 2 half days next week left. I am taking off work next week so I can enjoy some time with Donn and the kids.
I am super excited about a girls weekend in Chicago in February. I can't wait! The hotel and flights are booked but I just hope we don't get tons of snow up there when we go and get stuck. :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!!

The kids are super excited about Halloween. We decided to stay home instead of going to any Trunk or Treat at our church or the in-laws church. My parents and Donn's parents are coming over for dinner and we will take the kids trick or treating in our neighborhood. Ty decided to be a Vampire this year. He was going to be Darth Vader but changed his mind. Ellie was set on being a mermaid. She tried on the costume then looked at me at said "mommy, I want Abby Cadabby". So funny and made me happy. I wasn't crazy about the mermaid.

What a great Halloween!

Back to School !!!

Last week we have been busy. We went to the US Space & Rocket Ctr in Huntsville, we re-organized the kids rooms and yesterday was the first day of school.

The Space and Rocket Ctr had a Star Wars exhibit so we decided to take the friday before school starts to spend the day. Ty loved it. For the most part, he loved the whole robot part. They had a robot you could control to walk and one you could build and program. I think he could have done the first one the entire time we were there. He loves robots. I had to pull him away b/c of the long line behind him. We spent about 2 hours in the exhibit and 40 min in line to ride a 4.5 minute ride but it was fun and Ty loved it but Ellie was scared.

We re-organized the kids room mostly b/c we had to clean them after a baby powder incident. Lets just say that Ellie's room was covered in baby powder and all three were to blame (even Donn). We cleaned rooms top to bottom. We even made a headboard for Ty out of an old canvas painting my mom was going to get rid of. It turned out really good I thought.

Yesterday was the first day of school. By the look on Ty's face you can tell he wasn't a happy camper. He had his mind set that he would get a certain teacher and he didn't get. He will be fine I am sure. His teacher is really good. After his half day I picked him up and took him for lunch. The only thing he said is "she is going to be really hard" :)

Let the school year begin !

Myrtle Beach

VACATION !

We traveled to Myrtle Beach for vacation this year for the first time. It was nice to be on the beach b/c its been 4 years since our last trip which was Gulf Shores and Ty was 2. The kids loved it. They had a blast playing in the sand and making castles with my parents. My parents did come along as well. They debated and debated. My dad was bored out of his mind the entire time, surprise, surprise. He took 2 naps a day and worked out and ate lunch in between them.

I have to say that I really missed the Gulf. I love the gulf much more. The shells on the coast were not fun. They really hurt your feet walking on them but it was still pretty. We played putt-putt 3 nights of the 6 days we were there. My mom and Donn were challengeing each other. My mom won 2 out of the 3 :)

The ride home wasn't as good as the ride down. Ellie cried on and off for about 3 hours. She was tired of being in the car and I don't blame her, almost 10 hours is hard. We ended up coming home one day early and I am glad we did. That gave me Saturday and Sunday to straighten up clothes and the house for the work week. I can't believe school starts in about 4 weeks. wow!

May

May has been a very fun filled month. Ty turned 6 on the 9th and he had his party at Pump It Up and he had a blast with his friends. Kindergarten has come to an end which I am sad and he is happy about. No naps in 1st grade :) He had his kindergarten program at school and it was great. They all had speaking parts. His was "Time goes by really fast. In a dozen years or so, I will be a member of the the senior class." They all received awards. Ty got "friendliest" and the "fruit of the spirit" award. I am so proud of him!
Right now we are in the middle of swimming lessons for both of the kiddos. They are loving it and it has been the best one we have been to. This is Ty's 3rd time taking lessons. I started him at 3 but we missed last year. I started Ellie this year b/c I really want her to get use to it before vacation. She wanted to go home when we got to the first lesson but by day 4, she didn't want to get out.
We are ready for a busy fun filled summer!

Kids Names

I decided to participate in Kelly's Korner "Show Us Your Life--Your Kid's Names" this Friday.

Ty Bridges and Ellie Joy are my little ones names. There is a little story behind them. 1st I didn't want them to go by middle names or any shortened name. I don't like it, its to confusing. Ty was a name we liked and its short and we have 11 letters in our last name. My grandmother takes credit for his name because my grandfather had a doctor at one time they really liked and his first name was Ty. Bridges is my father and grandfathers middle name. My grandfather was Odis Bridges and he was named after a Dr. Bridges that delivered him. I just think its such a cool name. When I became pregnant with #2 I knew it would be a boy. I wanted to name it after my husbands grandfather so we really liked Benson Tate. I still love that name. At my ultrasound, I was in shock when I found out we were having a girl! We went through tons of names and really had a hard time. I wanted Maggie or Caroline but my mom came across Ella. I didn't like it but I had heard of Ellie and it just clicked. I told my husband we need to name her middle name after his family. My husband has one sister and one brother. His sister is older and always wanted a sister but ended up with 2 brothers. She now has 2 boys of her own. We decided to use her middle name which is Joy. I just think they really go well together. Ty Bridges and Ellie Joy, you know you have to have a name that flows well when they are in trouble. :)

April and Ellie

I love spring! I can't seem to keep the kids inside. We ate sandwich last night because I couldn't get them to come inside so I could cook. PB&J's are the kids favorite anyway.

We had a great Easter. We ate lunch at my parents with my grandmother and two of her sisters. They love watching the kids. The neighbors had a egg hunt and Ty love it. Ellie fell asleep so she had her own once she woke up. She carried her basket of eggs around all week. Ellie turns 2 on the 20th. I can't believe she is two already. Miss sassy, she can go from one extreme to the other. One Friday night, she wore Ty's Star Wars t-shirt and wouldn't take it off the whole day Saturday. She wore it and she looked like a boy. On the other hand, she now has shiny pink princess cowboy boots (thanks to my mother). She wore them the whole day until they tripped her as she was walking down the stairs (all the way down). She can be a girly-girl and a tom boy all in one day. She is really talking a lot. She says "I want..." alot. She can put a whole sentence of 5 words together also and tell me anything she wants or doesn't. Going out is an adventure in itself. The terrible twos are here! :)

March

March is here and daylight savings time is this weekend, Yea!! I love the time when its 8pm and the sun is just going down. Its my favorite. Next week is Spring Break for Donn and Ty. Donn is starting his masters this month so he will be very busy. Two more months of school left. Ellie's birthday is in a month and a half and Ty's in two months from today, wow!

Scary... I went through old pictures at my parents and found one of myself. I think Ellie and I look so much alike besides the hair color.

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

The kids had a blast playing in the snow. We usually don't get this much and Ty was so excited about it. Ellie found the sidewalk chalk and thought that was more fun than the snow. Ty wanted to throw snowballs at me and ellie.

January- a New Year

Well, lets see. So far its mid-January and there are several changes going on. One, I got a new job. I am excited and scared at the same time. This will be a big change for me and of course a little extra cash which never hurts. The second thing... Ellie is now in a big girl bed. I was very nervous but we found one that was so cute and bedding that matches her room so well so I thought it was time. Ty was in a big bed at 15 months so she is 21 months and I think she is more than ready. She can't seem to crawl out of it but she will learn. She has had two nights in it and so far so good. I am going to have to move some of her pictures and mirrors on the walls around some so that will be the next thing to do. I will post more pics when I am done. Its quite a mess right now.

Ty has had a good month so far. They will celebrate the 100th day of kindergarten on Jan. 28th. He is so excited. We have to count out 100 munchies for snack. He has picked cereal to bring which is better than what he wanted to bring, kiwi. I told him a dry snack but he didn't exactly understand that. They also have to make a poster of 100 items. We decided on a 100 piece puzzle. I found a spiderman puzzle at the store so we will glue that to the poster tonight. He is having homework about 2 to 3 nights a week which is isn't a fan of but we have to learn to read. He is catching on really well and seems to surprise himself sometimes. :)
This month has flown by so quick. I am ready for Spring!

Happy New Years!

We had a such a great Christmas and we have moved into the new year.

Happy New Year!