Go Hogs!

Recently, we took the boys to a Razorback baseball game. The kids had a blast watching the players and eating their favorite...cotton candy.

Jack love absolutely loved his first Razorback experience. He cheered, danced and talked to everyone around us. He even got a baseball. We weren't sure how well he'd be because he is so full of energy these days but he did great.

The boys loved seeing Ribby too!

This week is spring break and I'm getting to enjoy extra time with my four sweet boys!

Valentine's Day

The kids had their school Valentine parties last week. It was fun to see them having such a good time with their friends in their classes.

Josh and I with our sweet Peyton man.

Parker and his best bud, Jackson.

I took this picture of the kid's Valentines while I was still putting them together. My eyes were about to cross at this point and this was only half of them. I got the idea from THIS cute website and sort of tweaked it. Parker asked if we could make these for his friends every year. :)

Jack got to hand out Valentines for the first time at his school party too. I printed off the labels for his Valentine's HERE.

Josh and I went out to dinner that night but I didn't get a picture of the two of us. I guess we were too busy enjoying a couple hours of peace and quiet and actually getting to eat our dinner while it was still hot. :)

Thirty in Chicago

A couple weeks ago I turned 30...and it wasn't so bad (actually it was a lot of fun)! I just keep telling myself it's just a number.

A few days before my birthday we went to my parents house. Mom cooked a big dinner for all of our family that lives in town. My MIL, Jeana, made my favorite chocolate chip pound cake and my friend Holly made some adorable cookies.

The boys could care less to a picture. They were just read to eat the cookies and cake!

Holly now sells her cookies on her blog HERE. They were delicious and I will be ordering more soon. :)

A few days later, Josh and I went with our good friends the Slaughers to Chicago. Here we are near our hotel on Michigan Avenue. We did most of our shopping and eating near Michigan Avenue.

Matt and I share a birthday so we celebrated on our actual birthday at the Chicago Cut Steakhouse that night. So yummy! My favorite thing was the huge piece of chocolate cake they brought us at the end of the meal.

Here we are after eating at Bubba Gump's at the Navy Pier. We had so much fun away.

Thank you babe for taking me on such a fun trip!

A BIG thanks to mine and Josh's parents for watching our kids! Parker got the stomach bug while we were gone and my Mom had to pick him up from school early. I wasn't worried because I knew he was in good hands but it was sad to hear he was so sick. By the time we got back, he was totally back to feeling normal again.

Team Clippers and Floyd boy stories

Peyton and Parker just finished their first basketball season. They were on the same team which was a blessing so Josh and I weren't chasing two teams around like we did in soccer. That was crazy. I can't imagine what it will be like when we add Jack into the mix in a few years.

It was fun and just plain hilarious to watch.

They each made baskets in at least a couple games. And they improved a lot as the season went on. I was a proud Momma!

Jack seriously is a one year old going on six.

My three amigo's line up on the bench.

He was even included in their "team meetings."

Three funny stories for me to remember.

1-Last week near the bench, the coach was pointing at each player that was going in to play while saying, "You're in." Jack raised his hand and spoke up with his little boy voice and told the coach, "I in!" His brothers ran onto the court and left Jack on the bench which resulted in some big tears but he got over it pretty quickly. Poor Jack, he forgets he's so little.

2-One game, Peyton and Parker had to be reminded by their coach they are on the same team. One would have the ball and the other would just go up and grab the ball out of the others hands. The coach said, "One of you has to let go of the ball." Peyton quickly said, "Parker you let go and I'll take the ball!" Ha-such a good big brother. ;)

3-This has nothing to do with Team Clippers but does have to do with basketball. During a Shiloh High School basketball game, Parker wanted to go tell his friend something that was sitting on the other side of the court. I told him with strict instructions on how to do it without interfering with the game that was going on at the time. I had full confidence in him. However, as he was walking down the bleachers a friend yells, "Don't worry Parker, just go run across the court." I thought surely, he will listen to his Mom, not our crazy friend that always jokes around. Well, he made it over there, running full speed and only slightly getting on the court, but it wasn't bad. The game wasn't stopped and no one noticed except maybe me. Parker talked to his friend and a few others then decided to come back to me. Well, he started out good while running full speed beside the court but when he reach about half way across and he freaked. He took a sharp right and ran to the completely opposite side of the court which of course the ref blew the whistle and they had to stop the game...BECAUSE OF MY CHILD. I was mortified! I sat in my seat and literally couldn't move. Everyone became silent except I heard a few giggles as one fan yelled, "He's too young to play." Luckily, our crazy friend that had told him to run across the court, hopped up and went to rescue him. The funniest part of it is Parker didn't have a clue he was the reason the game stopped. The next day at school a few people asked him about it and he just played it cool and said, "That wasn't me, it was my brother Peyton." Oh my, what am I going to do with him?!

Operation "Bite" is Complete

A few weeks ago, I decided it was finally time to get rid of Jack's paci (aka: "bite" as he would call it). It was to the point he wanted it about 95% of the day. With the big boys, about this same age, I snipped the end off a little each day until they were no longer interested in it and it worked great. I tried this with Jack and he noticed a tiny part was missing from bite. He threw it across the room and had a fifteen minute major fit. So we did it cold turkey and after his breakdown, it was actually pretty easy. We kept busy that whole week and I think that really helped the most.

Now I'm glad I can see this big boy smile!

He got this toy for Christmas and it's turned into one of his favorites.

Today while Peyton and Parker were at school, we stayed home and I finally went through the playroom and removed many of the toys that the kids never play with anymore. I'm glad Jack can't talk well enough to tell his brothers what happened today. ;)

I can't believe how big our baby is getting. He says many words and runs almost everywhere. This boy has some serious energy! He wants to do everything his brothers do and most of the time figures out how to do it. We love you Jack-Jack! I can't imagine our family without you in it sweet boy.

Our Christmas 2011

We had a great Christmas with family and friends. Christmas Eve we always go to our Church's Christmas Eve service and then go Josh's parents house for dinner and their Christmas. Here's Gigi and Poppy with all the grandkids. They always buy matching PJ's for the kids each year. This was taken at the very end-everyone just wanted to play with their new toys and the little ones were tired. ;)

New bikes!

Parkerman always loves sweat bands and game faces.

Jack's new ride. He LOVES this! He just needs to learn to steer a little better. ;)

Christmas morning we opened presents at home from each other and Santa. Then we went to church on Christmas morning. I love that Christmas fell on Jesus' birthday this year.

Peyton, AKA: Aaron Rodgers doing his famous celebration move. He is obsessed with the Greenbay QB.

My football lovin' boys with their new uniforms.

Jack checking out his gifts.

Jack LOVES animals, like instant excitement when he spots any kind of animal and cries hard when he must say goodbye. So we got him a pony which was a huge hit. We keep telling Josh we need to get a puppy soon (fingers crossed!). I think we almost have him talked into getting us one within the next year or sooner. Peyton and Parker already have named the dog and refer to it often.

After our Christmas church service, we went to my parents house to celebrate Christmas with my family for the afternoon. The boys were pumped to finally get ipod touches. No more playing with my phone, which I love.

This was the first time Jack was really into opening his presents.


Everyone had a wonderful couple of weeks together. However, I am glad that we are now back on our normal schedule. Josh went back to work and the boys are back in school.

Santa Party

Our friends hosted a "Santa party" at their house a couple nights ago. We had a fun eating desserts, drinking hot chocolate and being with friends. The kids also enjoyed a special visit from Santa himself!

Peyton said, "I know he is the real Santa because he told me he'd see me on Christmas Eve." So funny. Santa brought each kid an early Christmas gift that was on their list. Thank you Smiths for a wonderful night.

Earlier that day Peyton and Parker shot a video for our church's Christmas Eve services. I told the boys this by doing this video they are helping people know the real meaning of Christmas.

Although all the Santa stuff is fun, my prayer is my boys will always remember the true meaning of Christmas and enjoy celebrating Jesus' birthday each year.