This month...whoops

January just kind of slipped up on me.  For some reason I never posted.  Whoops.  A lot has happened this month.  It's just really called, "Life as we know it".  It's full.  It's non-stop.  It's everything I hoped this season would be.

Before the boys went to school they helped me clean the house.  It was glorious.  I turned over the upstairs to them.  Glorious.

Just a few days after we got back in the groove of school, we had a snow day.  Well, it wasn't really a snow day.  It was more of a dusting, but we got out of school and that's all that counts!

On snow days we have pancakes or some sort of big breakfast.  We chose pancakes this morning.  As you can see, everyone was super happy.  

 Clayton asked if he could make a chocolate chip cookie skillet.  Just when I thought I didn't have any control issues left, he had to start making cookies.  I retired to my bedroom as he did this and, wouldn't you know, those cookies turned out divine!

 January is the beginning of basketball season.  Which at our house translates into, "Yes, he is 10.  Yes, he is tall.  Yes, I promise he's 10.  He won't turn 11 until June."

 Mawmaw and Pawpaw have attended all of Jack's games and Mimi and Tee have come as well.  Clayton is playing too, but he hasn't had any games yet.  One game when Mimi and Tee came we went to Central BBQ.  If you are ever in Memphis, I recommend the nachos on house chips. Yum!

 One Sunday night Renee had a meeting after church and our boys were in Jackson with Mimi and Tee, because they had the next day off of school.  So, Fred, Fred, and I went to McAlisters.  I had nachos and Mr. Fred had a salad.  It was a dramatic turn of events.  We had to take our picture to capture the occasion.

 Jack had a DARE graduation at school.  I'm not sure what it's all about, but he got a certificate and had to wear jeans to school.  Wearing jeans to school is a greatest accomplishment in this entire scenario.  Jack never wears jeans/pants to school.  I would just glad he had some he could wear.  If anyone is taking notes, my 10 year old wears a 31x30 from the men's department.  Yes, you read that correctly.

 Since the weather has been rather mild this January, Dash and I have been running.  If Dash the dog could, he would do a back flip when I put my running shoes on.  He loves a run.  He is on high alert the entire time.  He takes his job very seriously of protecting me from scary things like squirrels, birds, and falling leaves.  Here he is demonstrating that he CAN be a good dog.  He is trying to sit patiently until I get my things ready to go.  Unfortunately for Dash, I know the real truth.

I even went to Oak and had a little lunch with two of my favorite fellas.  Apparently when you are in middle school, it is not cool for your mother to dine with you in the cafeteria.  What?!?

We headed to Nashville to celebrate my dad and my Aunt Christie's birthdays.  While we were there the guys did a little rock climbing.  They just love rock climbing. 

 My nephew, Adam, is a little monkey.  He just makes me smile.

 Since December is over, I'm back at the grocery store.  Boo.  I loved using Click List over December, but it's time to get back into a budget routine...so back to Aldi we go.  As an added bonus, I usually have a sweet helper with me when I go to Aldi.

 Our friend, Sam, signed to play soccer at Union the other day.  We are so proud of her and can't wait to see where God takes her.

 Speaking of being back into a routine...no more desserts unless it is a special occasion.  So, here's to nature's dessert...the orange, banana, grape, and apple.

 Clayton is skiing this weekend with our church.  I thought it would be a great idea to have two of Jack's friends over to fill the void.  (I know...what was I thinking?!?)  They went to bed fine, but they woke up at 3:00 am.  Fred went upstairs and told them it was too early to get up.  Thankfully they went back to sleep, but they were up at 5:50 am making pancakes.  They fixed us all breakfast.  It was nice.  A little scary.  But nice.

 Finally, my cousin, Richard, was in town for a conference.  He and Aunt Janice dropped off lunch for the middle schooler.  Apparently, this is proper protocol for 13 year olds and lunch. He was very grateful for his tacos.

 And then they made a stop at Oak to see the other boys.  These two were grateful for their lunch as well.

Aunt Janice took Richard to the airport and then she came to our house to visit and took us to dinner at Chick Fil A.

All in all, it's been a great January.  It's been full.  It's been exciting.  Next month, I'll try to do better with updates and stories.  I'll try.

Wrapping Up Christmas Break

The day after Christmas I had our Christmas tree on the curb by 8:15 am and most of the decorations were down as well.  We cleaned up around the house and had a great day.  Wednesday we headed out for the final part of the boy's Christmas present...a trip to St. Louis and Six Flags.  I did a little research and even found us a "tiny house" to stay in. Truth be told, I think the house may have been their most favorite part of the trip.

Before we got to the tiny house we made a stop at the outlets to get some new basketball shoes for our middle child who is anything but tiny.
The next morning we headed out for Cardinals Nation.  Jack was thrilled.  There was lunch...

And fudge.  Two things that make my fella very happy.

Then we went to peak at the field.  We couldn't get in because they were preparing for an outdoor hockey game. 

 All of the excitement from the stadium just wore this fella out.  He took a brief cat nap on the way to Six Flags.

We went to Six Flags that afternoon, but I didn't get any pictures.  We were busy riding rides.  

On the way home we stopped for lunch at Taco Johns and I introduced the boys to Potato Oles and all things Taco Johns.  I think they were impressed. 

Sunday we had church that morning and then that afternoon I reentered the world of Kroger.  During the month of December I used Click List the entire month.  But in January, I have to go back inside the grocery store.  Sniff. Sniff. 

My friend sent this to me via text and I snorted.  My goal for 2017 is to find this banner!

Monday morning we cleaned up around the house and I had a moment.  The boys went upstairs and cleaned everything.  I went upstairs and they were just working away.  The big boys finished before Andrew and then they went back upstairs and helped him finish up.  Andrew later asked me if I told them to do that.  I told him I had not.  He then said, "Good.  It makes it more special that they helped me without you telling them."  Bless my soul and melt my heart.  If you need me, I'll be in a puddle on the floor. 

After we cleaned the house, we went to Chickfila for lunch, which is such a treat.  Then we got haircuts for the boys, which is not really a treat, but necessary.  Then we went to Costco, which is like Disneyland for me.  And finally we rounded out the afternoon with a 16 mile hike through IKEA.  We have had the best break together!  School starts tomorrow so we are all in a state of mourning, but we will hold these memories for sure. 

Christmas

Once school finally ended and the programs were over we started having a little fun.  We always go look at Christmas lights, but this year we decided to step it up a notch.  So we rented a limo with our friends and surprised the guys.  They were super excited!  We had a blast driving through the city looking at lights. 

 Our friend at church gave us these glasses that make lights look like certain things...reindeer, snowflakes, santa, etc.  It made looking at lights lots of fun.

 On Thursday Fred had lunch at the office so the boys and I just went to Pyro's Pizza for a special treat.  Then Andrew had a friend come over to play.  We took that friend and met his family at the movie, Sing.  They have four boys and we have three boys, which means that the Malco on Stage is now in the black.

 We typically go to Cracker Barrell on Christmas Eve, but we were going to be in Jackson on Christmas Eve so we went a day early.  A good time was had by all.

 Especially this one...he loves breakfast.  The boys all played Fred in checkers and Fred won...again.

After breakfast at Cracker Barrell we loaded up the car and headed to Jackson for Christmas with my family, but we had a brief pit stop with my friends.  We all (minus Carrie) happened to be in town so we met up for a little mission and then we paused for a brief photo.  Our original group has grown by leaps and bounds.

We got to my parent's house and had another good time.  We let the kiddos open presents and then the adults opened presents.  My mom made great food for the entire 24 hours.  

We headed back to Bartlett for Christmas Eve services at Ellendale, a little more shopping at Five Below, and some wrapping.  The boys and I wrap their presents to each other on Christmas Eve and I get ready for Christmas morning.  Each guy comes to my room to wrap for the other brother.  I looked over and Andrew was writing on Jack's package.  It was the sweetest thing. 

 For the first time ever, we ran out of communion cups at church.  I looked up and they were pouring cups with grape juice from a pitcher.  I looked up and one of our deacons was coming down the aisle with a pitcher of juice.  It made me laugh.  Best Christmas Eve service ever.  I made dinner after the service and Mimi, Tee, Fred and Renee all came over.  

Mimi and Tee stayed the night and we asked the boys to sleep until 6:00am.  I woke up about 5:50 am and crept into the kitchen to make coffee before the festivities began.  The house was quiet except for Jack sneaking up behind me.  He about scared me out of my mind.  He, of course, thought it was hilarious.  

We began opening presents.  The boys had to play a game to figure out which paper belonged to which boy.  We played that saran wrap ball game.  They really had a good time.  

 The boys shop for each other at Five Below each year.  We typically go each year after eating at Cracker Barrell, but this year we went after driving in from Mimi and Tee's.  Of course, the brothers picked out a basketball and a football for Jack.

 After opening presents, we had our typical Christmas breakfast of carbs with a side of carbs.  It was a dream come true!

 Speaking of dreams coming true, Dash received a stuffed squirrel for Christmas.  He rolled around with that thing and took it all over the house.  He finally got a squirrel.  He's been barking at them since he's been at this house.  I'm pleased to know all his dreams came true this Christmas as well.

Since Christmas was on Sunday we headed to church around 10.  After church we had lunch here with Mimi and Tee and then headed to Fred and Renee's to open presents and eat steak for dinner.  Unfortunately, I have no pictures from that event.  Boo.

The next morning (the 26th) I woke up and completely cleared the house of Christmas.  In fact, I was taking our tree to the curb before breakfast.  Done.  We were just having a lazy day around the house and Jack went to play with his buddy.  Before I knew it, Jack and Clayton were headed to the zoo to go ice skating.