Christmas here in Florida was 85 degrees....insanely warm. Well, this week we have been plunged into the winter coolness finally! We even had to turn on the heat! It has been lovely to actually wear some of the long-sleeve clothes that we have so that we didn't just totally blow past them with how fast the kids grow!
A few weeks ago we had fun celebrating Maddie's birthday - it was an ocean theme with early breakfast and playtime. The kids had fun as always! The adults of each family always tease each other because somehow Maddie and Kaleb always find themselves undressed for whatever reason.....so we are careful now to tell Kaleb that his clothes must remain ON! After this reminder, Amy headed up mid-way through the morning to just check in on him and found him in Maddie's room playing dress-up......Oh boy. When she admonished him that he was supposed to keep his clothes on, he pulled down the neckline to prove that he in fact had kept his clothes on...he had just put a dress on top of his clothes....Oh boy.
We had the pleasure (oh joy) of Kaleb being responsible for his class bear for the weekend in which we were supposed to take pictures of all of our outings. We fell down on the job, and only managed to take him a few places and then forgot to take a picture at most places - except for gymnastics. This is our last month of gymnastics until later in the spring when our other sports slow down - then the boys can start their gymnastics again. Kaleb loves it, and is doing well. Zachary is not as inclined, but does enjoy the hour.
We had fun for the first time in probably 8 years going out as a couple for dinner and a movie - a 3D movie no less! We went to Star Wars, which was fun as they brought back all of the original characters so it had a little nostalgia to it.
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| Amy didn't realize how "outstanding" her shirt would appear standing in the middle of the group! |
Kaleb is back with the Hornets, and the first game of the season he got 3 flag pulls and has accomplished his first touchdown! Yeah!
Two weeks ago our cousin Kathy and her daughter Elizabeth came down to Orland for Elizabeth's 18 birthday - she was a preemie so they came down to tour through the hospital and the NICU. It was fun to see them and visit - and no family dinner now would be complete without Up Jinks!
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| Happy Birthday Elizabeth! |
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| Stiff competition |
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| Always results in giggles! |
Last weekend we celebrated Amy's Mom's birthday. It was a fun evening, and Connie and Dennis - Karis' parents had just arrived the night before so we had a nice group together.
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| Even Kelsey was able to come! |
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| Addison beat Grandma to the punch in blowing out her candles! |
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| The big inhale! |
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| And more Up Jinks! |
With the arrival of the cool air, it also became very windy. So windy in fact that we decided to go out to the park and fly kites. It was cold enough that we should have had mitts! The Z kites took forever to get up in the air but the Cochran two stringed kite provided much entertainment.
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| Uncle William had to hold on as well so as not to lose the kite! |
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| Addi did manage to get her kite in the air - it is that speck up there in the sky! |
On Sunday we raced to the football game and then the Z parents dashed over to surprise birthday party for Cory. They had a jazz band, which created a lovely ambiance and then Jennifer made all the goodies which were delicious as always!
The kids have enjoyed spending time with their Gram-Z and Papa-Z - playing hockey, monopolizing Gram-Z's tablet, cooking many delicious treats etc! It is always sad when they leave, and we'll have gained 5 pounds for sure!
Random pictures - Apparently Addi was the recipient of all "odd shots" this week.
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| Look at that static clean in her hair! |
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| Slides are super fun! |
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| Climbing up onto the counter is child's play.....she loves to look at the new family calendar. |
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| She is wanting to do her "homework" along with Evan. |
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| Learning her letters in whipping cream! |
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| Uncle William saves our furniture by helping Addison paint her fingernails as it was about to get everywhere...now that's a good Uncle! |
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| Hmm, a princess? A baker? Taking a shower? We learned later that they were cooking so in fact she was a baker! |
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| She's a nut through and through - PJ bottoms on her head! |
Phrase of the week: When we celebrated a birthday, we clinked glasses and now Addison will ask for "bumps, bumps!" when she picks up her glass to drink.
