our Disney trip

I'll let the pictures do the talking....it was difficult to narrow down from the over 400 shots I took.

Most of our group of 30 out in front of one of the homes we rented.

a little grown-up fun after kids were in bed

loved the Christmas decorations!

This was so much more impressive in person.

Main Street at night

The girls got the royal treatment at the Bibbiti-Bobbiti-Boutique before our lunch at the castle with the princesses.

getting to meet Aurora

the dining room inside Cinderella's castle

Brady got a kiss from Snow White

Safari ride at the Animal Kingdom...a thousand times better than any zoo I've been to! 

random ostrich beside the road

the coldest day...the wind chill was around 20 when we took this picture 

did I mention it was cold?

awesome stunt show @ Hollywood Studios

Pixar parade!

Hoop-Dee-Doo dinner show...Tim got called on stage to help act out a story.  As you can see, he was a very happy and brave indian.

worn out.

riding the flying Dumbos

 family shot with the mice

Brady loved all the characters.

bedtime stories in the Harry Potter-themed kids bedroom

Thanksgiving week

We went to Lubbock for the first part of the week to do Thanksgiving at my parents' house.  Here are some fun moments I captured:

The kids love taking baths in my parents' jacuzzi tub.

Dawson can be found just about anywhere these days!

Brady fell asleep in my dad's lap.

Then Lee and I and kids #1-3 hopped on a plane and flew to South Padre to watch Texas Tech play in a basketball tourney.  The beach was definitely the highlight of the trip.  We stayed in a house about 100 yards from the ocean, and despite the cool weather, we managed to spend several hours there.

Brady's first airplane ride! He cried the whole way down the aisle, but once we got seated, he realized it wasn't so scary.

The girls loved watching the water wash over their feet.

Addie tried to catch the birds.

Brady's feelings about the situation...

He was much happier in the dry sand!

Annalee got taken out by a wave...brrrr!

A jellyfish washed up on shore, and the girls tortured inspected it for quite a while.

Since we've been home, I've been busy preparing for our Disney trip!  We're taking kids #1-3 (Dawson gets to stay with my parents again) to Disney World this Friday, and I think I'm just as excited as the girls are.  Brady doesn't really know what's coming, and Lee...well, he's just happy to be along for the ride.  But here are my favorite pictures and videos from the last few days:

Addie loves to sit with Annalee when she does homework.

Dawson loves to suck his toes!

Watching the girls play...so happy!

He's looking at Camper out our back window...

Had to get a closer look!

And finally, here are a few good videos from this past week, hope they make you smile... and maybe laugh a little. 

Brady learning some geography

Brady, Journey (our friends' dog we're babysitting), and the donut

Dawson crawling

more crawling

Fall Festivals and Campfire

Our annual group photo at the MCA Fall Festival with the Voskamps and Smiths... my how we've grown!

2005

2010

Annalee got her hair colored and face painted at the MBC Fall Festival, and both girls got their faces painted at the MCA Fall Festival.  

Annalee also got to show off some of her new ballet skills at the MCA fall program a few weeks ago.  Here she is anxiously awaiting her turn:

I love how she pinches her bottom lip when she's nervous.

Lee & I and Luke & Lindsy took all the kids out to the ranch to go "camping"....without the actual camping.  We spent a couple of hours building a campfire, roasting marshmallows, and letting the kids run around, as sort of as a test to see how close they are to being ready for a real camping trip.  I'd say they're really close!  They loved it and did great!

Lee & Luke started off by gathering rocks for the fire pit.  The kids wanted to help, and here's a "rock" that Addie found...I'll give you a hint as to what it actually is: cows roam this ranch.

 Yep, it's a cow pattie.  I could barely hold still from laughing long enough to take her picture, which I did before telling her what she was holding.  (Is that mean?)  Then Lindsy immediately sanitized her.

Gathering sticks...

Luke started the fire, but Brady tried to blow it out.

I love this picture of Joe, I just wish it wasn't so fuzzy.  I had a million shots turn out like this because I don't know how to shoot in the dark with a fire going.

Roasting marshmallows!

Mmmmmm, s'mores!

Dawson was content in Aunt Lindsy's lap.

I have a bunch of pictures ready to do another post or two, but I've got to go make dinner...stay tuned for Thanksgiving pictures and more adorable-ness from Dawson!  He's a full-fledged crawler, sitter, and pull-to-a-stander!

Dawson: the latest

CRAWLING

Dawson crawled for the first time about a week ago! We've been expecting for the past few weeks.  He finally got the strength and coordination to hold his body up, pick up a hand, and set it down again without falling or rolling onto his back.  His previous failed attempts looked kinda his arm was a kickstand, and he didn't know how to balance himself when it wasn't on the ground.  At 5-1/2 months old, he's definitely our earliest crawler!  He is really slow, unless he's going in reverse- he's mastered that and often gets wedged underneath our entertainment center.

FIRST HAIR CUT

I also decided to trim his hair (just the sides) last night.  I wish I'd taken a before shot, but I went back a few weeks and found this picture so you can see how long it was before...

After!  So much better!  No more Bozo the Clown, as Uncle Luke described him the other night. (Totally accurate!)

FIRST TABLE FOOD

His appetite has been insatiable lately, so I decided to go ahead and introduce baby oatmeal at dinner the other night.  He couldn't get enough!

And this is how he reacted when Lee didn't get it to him fast enough...He ate all 3 ounces in about 5 minutes! Then he wanted to hold the spoon; notice he's holding it with his left hand!  We're pretty sure he's left-handed since he has a definite preference for it.