Jenks Aquarium Jan 2011

We had planned a trip to visit Granny & Grandpa Abla in January but once again we had to cancel. This time due to weather- icy roads in AR. So instead we decided to take a day trip over to the Tulsa area & go to the Jenks aquarium since we had never been. It was a fun day! The kids enjoyed all the animals & even got to touch some of the animals which they loved. We ate at an Italian restaurant on the litte river by the museum & then went to a used book store Mike had heard about.

Christmas 2010

Our annual MWC Christmas lights carriage ride. Both kids had lots of fun!

This year we visited the North Pole City store in south OKC. Both kids loved it & didn't want to leave. Isabella wasn't feeling particularly photogenic that day though so I just have a pic of Jackson & Mike on that trip. Isabella & I made a gingerbread house (from a kit) for the first time this Christmas. I finally found one that didn't have hfcs or hyd. oils. Yay! It was fun & she enjoyed eating the candy, of course.

As usual, the kids got too many toys! But we all had fun opening presents & playing all day. :)

Snow Storm 2011

As those of you in OK know, we got a lot of snow this year! Of course the kids loved it. Isabella played out in it for awhile despite being super cold & having snow in her socks. Jackson didn't last as long outside & was a bit fussy at times but he was pretty amazed by the stuff. As you can see in some of the pictures, the snow drifts got pretty high! Mike got some snow days off from work & we tried to stay warm. :)

Christmas Family photo/card 2010

Here is the picture we used for our 2010 Christmas card. Thanks Jennifer for taking it for us!

And our Christmas card...

Randomness- winter 2011

From left to right:

*Jackson likes to play dress up with Isabella... even though that means wearing a pink princess dress. ;o)

*Isabella likes to pose with her stuffed animals (I think her stuffed animals are her all time favorite toy to play with). This bear is a bear made out of antique quilt pieces given to Isabella from her great Grandma (thanks Grandma! It's one of her favorites!)

*Bella & Jackson on a bench at a park with our MOMS club friends

*Another stuffed animal pose

*Jackson came to me one day with one of Isabella's dresses & handed it to me saying, "me, me!" So I asked him if he wanted me to put it on him & he said "yes". :)

*Cutie pie Jackson

Robber's Cave Mini Vacation 2011

At the end of October we took a little mini vacation (which seems to be becomming an anual tradition). This year we headed down to Robber's Cave State Park in Wilburton, OK. We stayed in on of their cabins inside the state park & were there for several nights. The cabin was nice with 2 bedrooms & a fold out couch (so each child got their own room & we didn't have to worry about them waking each other or us having to go to bed when they did!). It also had a nice kitchen & we ate breakfast & lunch at the cabin. We relaxed a bit, hiked a little, played at the little park by the lake, climbed up & down the rocks & in the caves. Isabella was able to roast marshmallows for the first time (yay for finding some w/o high fructose corn syrup although the ones I did find were itty bitty & hard to eat off a stick!). We also enjoyed a couple of the yummy Italian restaurants (Pete's & Rosanna's) in the nearby town of Krebs & shopped @ Lovera's, the town's little Italian grocery store. So all in all a fun trip!

Halloween 2011

Okay so I am really behind on our family updates blog. :( But better late than never. So here are our Halloween pictures. Isabella wanted to do a scary pumpkin & after looking at many different ones online, she chose one that was throwing up it's seeds. Daddy, Jackson, & I chose designs that were a little less scary. :) Isabella also chose the costumes this year. She wanted Jackson to be a dog so a dog he was (& a cute one at that!). She wanted a really scary costume & after looking at many costumes (& some that I thought were scary but were not scary enough for her) she chose a "Soul Reaper" costume. She didn't want to wear the mask b/c it hurt her face... so a little less scary. ;o) But I think the part she really liked was the heart that you pumped with your hand which made the green skeletons pulse out of the chest. We took the kids to Grandma & Papa's to trick or treat (I'm still pretty particular about the sweets the kids have) & then Aunt Laura & Uncle Miguel came by our house later with cupcakes. Isabella & Jackson had a fun night passing out candy to the trick or treators & at the end of the candy they didn't want to go inside!