Um . . . a little MIA, I know

So, I know . . . I haven't put up any pics in FOREVER . . . so here are some of the latest ones . . . Tyler and his broom/weapon . . .

Kayla and I painted pottery on a mommy/daughter date -- lots of fun!

All ready to hit the snow . . . notice he's still smiling because he's not IN the snow yet . . .

yep, he's not a fan of the snow!

The infamous snow angel

Kayla loves it for about 30 minutes . . .

It's all about using your resources (as in the neighbor's kids), right Bryan???

Nope, not posed, just wouldn't wake up after falling asleep in the van!

Our "snow" cream

Fun visit from my former roommate Hyla -- she brought a KS cookie cutter and a DC cookie cutter --- Kayla loved it! Unfortunately, she left a day early because of the MEGA storm that was coming -- probably good she got out when she did. But, we still loved having you here, Hyla!

Just chillin' -- literally.

The all-weather crazy car. Notice the snow melting . . . tis a beautiful sight!

Our Valentines meal . . . heart pizza, heart jigglers, and heart brownies.

Just finished having a lovely tea time (with real mini cupcakes) with Kayla -- I think she would do this 3 times a day if she could!

Daddy's date with Kayla

Chrismtas in WI

We were planning on leaving first thing Monday morning for WI . . . however, I got the crazy idea to leave at night, (making our trip about 3 hours shorter) . . . and we left Sunday night! The kids think it's great to travel at night -- all was well, except for Tyler being awake from 2-4am. Guess he didn't want to miss seeing Iowa in the dark!

Tyler chillin' with Grandpa in the tent! (Yes, Grandpa is IN the tent!)

So, the kid's gift from G/G was a trip to the water park -- it has become an annual tradition of sorts. (M/D Nelson are referred to by the kids as "Grandma and Grandpa with the water park!). Anyway, I didn't get any pics of the park since my camera was inside the van, however, this was what it looked like after we had been in the van for 7 minutes after being there for 6 hours! They were pooped! (and so were we!)

Tyler liked to get an early start on the day -- so this was a mid-morning nap to compensate for the 5am wake up!

Snuggling with Grandma! This lasted about 25 seconds.

As did this . . .

In front of the fireplace -- one of the BEST places at Grandma and Grandpa's!

One of the cousins was Kayla's spotter NUMEROUS times as

she tried working on her "kick stand."

The twins and Kayla on the couch -- lots of fun together!

Merry Christmas 2010

Just woke up to open gifts!

I think it's pretty safe to say that the kids were much more interested in opening gifts AFTER the Christmas story than in listening to the story :)

For the boy who loves buttons . . . a power drill! Hopefully this will replace the need for him to push buttons on the phone which resulted in a 911 call earlier this week.

He didn't think Christmas would EVER come!

This is a prime example of our family dynamics right now . . . the oldest two are engaged in an activity . . .while Tyler stands at the ready to destroy everything with his hammer!

Kayla's gift to me . . . a decorative candy cane, of course. Love it!

We've started a tradition of sort at G/G Varner's that the kids dress up/act out the Christmas story as it is being read. Joshua announced to grandma last week that he wanted to be Joseph -- so she whipped up a simple costume for him. However, on the way up to their house, he must have had a change of heart and let us know he was NO LONGER interested in being Joseph. So . . . Uncle Brian stepped up to the plate and filled in. Quite hilarious!

Our little "Mary!"

Hangin' out! And as usually, when everyone arrives and we start opening gifts, I TOTALLY forget to take pics. Bummer.

These were our advent calendars for Christmas -- each day had a piece of chocolate and the kids NEVER let us forget! Thanks Aunt Freya!

This was Joshua's Kindergarten Christmas party -- the kids were definitely excited!

Playing bingo! I got suckered, I mean, I agreed to coordinate the Christmas party . . . not the best timing with everything else at church, but fun to see the kids!

Happy 6th B-day!

Since Joshua ended up spending his "real" birthday at home (due to pneumonia) we tried to make the best of it! So, Bryan assembled his new bike late one night (note to self -- probably worth the $10 next time for assembly!) and we had him go on a "treasure hunt" the next morning. Yep -- it was hiding in the downstairs bathroom! He hasn't had a chance to ride it yet -- I guess that the joy of having a December birthday :(.


We had to postpone his "friends" party, but did manage to sneak it in last week. Just had several of his friends over for pizza and a few games. Have you tried getting 6-year olds to smile lately?????

Not sure if his picture was taken before or after the "knock, knock" jokes started!

Now that was pure entertainment . . .!

They painted some cars (meant to look like "mario" cars) -- and then we glued Mario in them!

Like I said, we're having trouble in the "smile" department!

Opening gifts . . .

Cupcakes and ice cream! These were supposed to look like the "one up" cupcakes from Super Mario brothers -- but Joshua thought they looked more like Bowser's Back . . . so Bowser's Back it was!

Several days later we had a "family" get-together!

He was enamored with the "trick" candle!

And several random things . . . Joshua finished his book several weeks ago in Sparks, and as a reward, he got to pick a prize from the "Sparky Suitcase." Just happened to go through when he was making his very important selection . . .!

Yes -- that would be my phone in the toilet. Thank You Tyler.

We watched some neighbor kids last week, and the kids were SOOO excited to be able to have a "slumber party" for a bit before their parents returned. They were really cute!

You know your family is light show crazy

...when your six year old draws a fairly accurate representation of
the light show, complete with correct colors.

Thanksgiving, Sparks, & Joshua's hospital stay -- whew!

Just a few pics from the last week . . . My brother and sis in law were in for Thanksgiving. Lots of fun and craziness! Bonding over the "laptop" . . .



Dad had surgery the wed. before Thanksgiving on his ankle due falling off of a ladder . . . so this was his Thanksgiving experience! He actually felt pretty good at this point because the nerve block was still working its magic . . .

Uncle Ryan and Tyler . . .

Coloring with daddy . . .

Mom wrote a simple script for the Sparks lesson time about the 10 lepers -- wasn't sure how it would actually go over, but they did great! Very attentive, too!

Group coloring project on "Mario" in preparation for Joshua's 6th birthday party . . . pin the mustache on Mario. But -- that won't be happening because . . . .

. . . Joshua ended up in the hospital for 2 nights with pneumonia. Went to the dr. office on Monday morning because his cough was just getting worse (despite starting an inhaler) and we went straight from the dr. office to the hospital. After getting some antibiotics in his system, lots of iv fluids, breathing treatments, he really started to improve in how he was acting.

Yes, there was a PS2 in the room . . . so needless to say, that took his mind off the matter. Watching TV in bed, playing PS2 games (we don't have a game system at home) . . . what a life! His lungs still have some junk in them, but dr. thought with breathing treatment at home every 4 hours, more antibiotics at home, he will be fine. Still scary, though. It really makes you take a step back and evaluate everything -- thank you, Lord for the health you have given us.