First Titans Game!

The Titans are terrible this year which means that tickets are cheap (in this case four free with a parking pass).  When we saw that the weather would be unseasonably warm we thought it would be a great time to take both kids to their first game together (Tyler has been to a half once, but Katie had never been to a game).  We lost, bad, but had a good time!

Christmas!

We've had a fantastic Christmas!  We had family in town the weekend before Christmas and truly enjoyed hanging out with everyone and hosting the crew at our house for the first time ever.  The kids, especially, had a blast with their cousins and played hard the entire weekend.

Christmas Eve was spent at So So's house with Lance's family and we enjoyed great company and a wonderful meal.  The kids were already spoiled with awesome gifts before Santa even arrived, including these super cool Star Wars jackets their Uncle gave them!

Christmas morning the kids awoke at a relatively normal time (7:30) and discovered that Santa had visited.  They were excited!

 Katie loves music and has commandeered my iPad to listen to Taylor Swift and Blake Shelton on repeat too many times, so she was excited to get her own kindle (and I was too)!

 They were also super excited about their shared gift - a WiiU.  Tyler asked Santa to fix his old wii and Santa decided that he might just enjoy a new system (and the new games that can be played on it) even more.

 This year the kids also bought gifts for each other.  Katie was super excited to give Tyler the bean bag chair she picked out and he was grateful that she gave him what he calls his "gaming chair."  His gift to her (a Blake Shelton autographed pillow case) has yet to arrive but he told her about it and she can't wait to get it.  Marley is opposed to any hugging in the house :)!

 The kids also got electric scooters for Christmas.  Katie was anxious to ride while it had to charge for 12 hours and then the wet roads had to dry - but her first time on got a little scared and wasn't so sure that she wanted to try again - it went a little faster than she (or I) anticipated.  In true Katie fashion, though, she kept trying and was soon making me nervous backing up as far as she could in the driveway to have a longer ride and then eventually riding circles around the driveway and forgoing the grass in lieu of brakes that I kinda liked for safety reasons ;)!

 Tyler is still Mr. Cautious - but he did try it!  He turned the throttle right before he got to the grass every time so he didn't really get the full experience, but he says he will try again today - I'm just glad that he is giving it a go since Katie will need a partner to ride with once she gets comfortable with it!

Katie was pretty insistent that her extra soft, extra big pillow she got from Santa was her favorite gift, but now that she is figuring out the scooter she isn't so sure!

Updates!

Well, I've been negligent again.  I missed a couple of important posts! 

We had a great Fall sports season.  Katie finally found a team with more than 4 other players - and they did great!  She is such a good little player that it was upsetting when her team dissolved, so we were very glad that she found a group that she enjoys playing with and that can give her the fundamentals practice that she wasn't getting when they had no coach. Playing games with no subs in 90 degree heat was brutal, too - so she had a lot more fun when she could catch her breath!  Tyler's baseball team was awesome, too.  They were undefeated throughout the entire season, and Tyler learned a ton.  He really enjoyed actually playing "real" baseball, and he improved every game.  They were the champions and Tyler got three game balls throughout the season!

This year's Halloween was our first in the new house.  We had exactly 1 trick or treater visit the house.  But K & T went around the neighborhood with a group of friends and had a blast.  It was rainy all day, but cleared up just in time for us to load up on candy!

You can't really see Tyler - but he is there, holding the light saber!

It's kind of hard to believe that the school year is halfway over!  We got 2nd grade pictures back - and I think they turned out well for a change!

Thanksgiving was fantastic, too.  We had Lance's family to the house on Thanksgiving day and then traveled to see my family over the weekend.  It was truly great to see everyone and to enjoy delicious meals.  Unfortunately, Katie picked up some bug over the holiday and went to school Monday, but hasn't been back this week.  Crossing fingers that the fever is gone in the morning, but she is wilting right now so it may be a no go, again.  Apparently a lengthy fever virus is going around - boo! 

The kids and their cousin

Basketball season for both kids starts this weekend, along with holiday parties and preparations galore - so I can't promise consistent posts, but I'll try!