Randomness

PRESCHOOL
Four other moms and myself have taken it upon ourselves to have a little twice a week preschool for our children who need a little more than just being little. We started this preschool back in September and it has been wonderful for Taryn. Each mom takes turns teaching and being a teacher's helper. We have a letter of the week, work on writing their names, crafts, songs and memorizing. This month was my month to teach and I have had a ball. I miss teaching anyway, so to be able to come up with fun ideas to introduce letters has been a blessing to my un-used brain. I am missing two kids from the picture below. This was taken on Tuesday at our Christmas party. Left to Right: Lauren, Madison, Taryn and Aaron. Taryn really enjoys going to preschool and learning and playing with other kids. It has been good for both of us, because when I am not teaching or helping, I have 2 uninterrupted hours to do something for me. (which doesn't always happen, but hey).

TARYN'S TALKINGS

Lately my little princess has taken on a whole new language. It is SASSY! (and not the cute kind, well...I guess it is a little cute).

Her new phrase is "Awe Come On". This is used whenever she is told that she cannot do something right now, or have something. Her response is "Awe Come On". She says it in such a cute way that it will leave us in a fit of giggles. Which, in turn, makes it extremely hard to tell her "no". Thank goodness I know how to stick to my guns.

Her second saying is "The deal is off". Vaughn was talking to her a few weeks ago while she was all dresses up in her darling little princess outfits. Right in the middle of his sentence she looks him straight in the eyes, puts her hand up like she is a police officer saying "stop" and tells her dad "The deal is off". I lost it! I laughed so hard I cried. It is the most hilarious thing I have ever seen her do. She is constantly keeping us in stitches.

Pellissippi Ward Christmas Party

Ah...the annual ward Christmas party is always fun. I asked Melinda to come with us this year to enjoy the festivities. Here is Brother Rankin telling the kids a story about how the candy cane came about. Surprisingly they all sat and listen. If you look towards the front of the kids Tyson is staring and Taryn is smiling at the camera.

The primary kids ready to sing for everyone.

Taryn knows all the primary songs so when they called for the Primary kids to come up and sing she ran right up. She hasn't graduated to Primary yet but in two weeks that will all change. She almost yanked up her shirt to her belly, luckily we avoided that scene. I was sitting there cringing about it though.

Next came my performance with a bunch of ladies I work with in the primary. Stormi came up with this cool idea to do the song "Santa Baby" and have us do the upside down singing thing. She made all the Santa outfits. We just had to be crazy enough to perform this nutty act.

It didn't take long for all the kids to come up and try pulling off the dresses from our faces and tell us "Hi mom." HA HA HA. I just kept singing and laughing.

I am the one on the end.

There I am singing away.

Then the biggest surprise of them all, SANTA came. Taryn was so excited to see him, but when it came time to stand next to him, she was a little timid. The meal was great and seeing everyone and their families is always a good time. They had some games for the kids in the classrooms. My kids especially liked the presents race. They stood in lines and raced presents from one end of the room to another. Another great party; now we have one more week and Christmas is here.

Chilly Time In Dollywood

Yes we are the idiots who go to the amusement park when the lines are low and the weather is FREEZING!!! Vaughn got free tickets to Dollywood for this past weekend and since we have never gone, we went, freezing cold temps and all. We invited our friends Adrian and Melody and their two kids to come brave this crazy ride with us.

Our kids have never been to an amusement park. It was an over load right from the start. We rode the 3D Polar Express ride first and then Vaughn lost his glasses, the ones he needs to work and read. So we all ate lunch as he looked for them and then we went to the county fair part of the park where it has lots of rides for the little kids. The Ferris Wheel was our first stop. Taryn loved it and so did Tyson.

Our faces were frozen in these smile, but we really were having a great time!

Next it was time for the adults to take a spin on a ride. Here are Vaughn and Adrian getting braced for this whirl around ride. This ride went up and down and then spun you in all directions.

Melody coaxed me to get on with her and the boys. Tyson was bracing for the ride to start. Xander was less than happy to be on the ride. He wanted off, but there was no way he could get off, we were strapped in.

I laughed the whole ride, trying to convince my stomach not to hurl. Whirl rides make me so sick, but I love to go on them. Tyson loved the ride and wanted to go again. Xander finally liked it when it was over and Melody had a ball. Next it was off to the spinning Tea Cups. YEAH, my stomach was hating me! After that, I was glad not to get on another spinning around ride for a minute.

There was a flying bee ride that all four kids could get on. They had a ball.

All smiles, even though we were chilled to the bone.

The kids patiently waited for some hot chocolate. They had so much fun amid the cold temperatures. We were able to watch an ice skating show, which I thought was pretty cool. We tried to catch one more ride before going home, but it was too cold and they had to shut down the rides.

They have a sanctuary for Bald Eagles that have been hurt in the wild. It was awesome to see them up close. Some they will release back into the wild, but some are not able to survive on their own, so the park takes care of them. These majestic birds are lovely. I loved showing the kids all about them.

Such a cute picture of all the kids. It was such a great time. We will go back again, when it is a bit warmer. On a side note, Vaughn did find his glasses. Some good Samaritan turned them in. It was a blessing in disguise. So glad that we don't have to pay for new glasses.

Christmas Family Pictures

When my mom was here for Thanksgiving we had her take family pictures of us by our Christmas tree. We haven't had a family picture since Taryn was a baby. It was time for a new one.

My eternal sweetheart. He is my best friend, the only one I can be myself around and not worry about offending anyone, and my biggest support. I love you babe!

My loves! I have two of the best children in the world. I love them both so very, very much and cannot imagine what I would do without them in my life. They make each day a new adventure.

Two handsome dudes.

Nothing cuter than a little girl and her daddy.

My little shadow. I love this little girl. She is so fun and so girly and yet she loves to be rough and tough.

My little buddy. Tyson is and always will be my first buddy. He is such a good kid and keeps his mom grounded. Love you!

So handsome!

Miss Gorgeous!

Once our family pictures were finished we had to get a picture of Grandma and the grand kids.

Me and my beautiful momma! Thanks mom for taking the pictures and for coming out to see us. We love and miss you.

Turkey Day Plus Black Friday

She came, she came, Grandma T came to see us for Turkey Day! Vaughn found my mom a good deal on a flight out to see us for Thanksgiving and she jumped at the chance. YIPPIE! It has been 6 months since we have seen her. The kids have changed so much since she last saw them. Lots of hugs and kisses were giving on that first day.

We planned out the perfect feast. Here is the top item on the list, the pumpkin pie. YUMMY! Next to the turkey, this is the most important part of the dinner.

Tyson and Grandma T getting the pie ready to bake. I wish I could describe the smells in our house. They were divine. Like a little piece of heaven in my kitchen.

Vaughn had to work the night before Thanksgiving and usually he takes care of the turkey, but this year it fell to me. YIKES! Once it was all thawed I shot it full of the garlic and herb seasoning. MMMMMmmmmm... Then back in the fridge for tomorrow's cooking.

Vaughn put the fryer together and prepared to cook the turkey.

1...2...3...here we go. Dip the bird in and hope that it doesn't catch on fire. Since oil and water don't mix very well, you have to make sure the turkey is free from water or ice. Luckily for us ours was and we didn't have any early 4th of July fireworks in November. We also learned that if you place an onion in with the turkey the bird tends to cook without burning.

The side dishes, and desserts were ready, we just had to wait for the turkey to cook. Grandma T always brings games to play to keep us all entertained.

The bird is cooked. Tyson likes to be dramatic about everything these days. He didn't like the look of the turkey as it came out of the pot.

Doesn't this look like a good spread? We ate and ate and ate. The kids were introduced to sweet potatoes and they weren't very happy about them at first, but then after a bite they asked for more. I love it when they try new foods and actually like them. I am so glad they are not like I was went I was young. (I was a very picky eater)

Even though we stuffed ourselves silly, we all still had room for pumpkin pie. Ahhhh! It was delicious.

Tyson had two pieces of pie. He is growing so quickly that his stomach is getting bigger. He is like a bottomless pit most days. I cannot get enough food into him without him saying, "I am still hungry." Holy Cow. What will the teenage years be like?

After dinner we made a foam train that Grandma T had given us last year, but with all the craziness of last Christmas we never did make it. So it worked out perfect. The kids love to make things and it was even better that Grandma T was there to do it with them.

Time for a little relaxation. Once dinner was finished, and the craft made, we all settled down for a minute and then it was off to bed. The kids and Vaughn went to bed and mom and I headed out in the cold to go Black Friday Shopping. I love to shop Black Friday and get good deals. My mom has never gone and so I was going to introduce her to the wonderful world of late night shopping.

We began at Kohl's. We got there at 9:15 and they didn't open till midnight, but there was some specific items I wanted, and I wasn't going to lose them. We were the tenth person in line and after waiting in the car for the first hour, which we were parked at the front, we saw a little bench and snagged it. We sat there and talked with another lady for the next few hours and then they opened the doors. The line was back about 1/4 of a mile or more, but people who weren't in line were waiting like vultures to slip into the line. A lady slipped right in front of my mom and I was about to say something, but I was too busy thinking about running to grab what I wanted. Oh well, so she got in early. Mom went one way to pick up stuff and I ran the other, and we met in the middle. We grabbed everything we wanted and headed for the check out. We only had to wait 20 minutes. Not bad. We were in and out in 45 minutes and headed to the mall. I figured it would be absolutely crazy, but it wasn't as bad I thought it would be. We headed to the Disney store and a few clothing stores, found what we wanted and headed out to another store. Around 4 a.m. we were pooped and had purchased almost everything on our lists. We saved $600.00 between the two of us. YES! I love big savings.

It is so much fun when Grandma T comes around. We enjoyed our time and were very sad to see her go. Hopefully it isn't another 6 months before we see her again.