Elf on the Shelf; what Buddy's been up to

We've really gotten into our Elf on the Shelf this year.  It's made our mornings so much easier!  Emma and Drew (well, really Emma alone) are actually excited to get out of bed each morning to discover where Buddy's landed.  Here's a look at all the fun places that Buddy's explored this year.

Emma & Drew weren't so good this day, so Buddy had to write them a little note.

Buddy was feeling a little under the weather, so he took a little nap in the Kleenex box.

Snowball fight (marshmallows) with some Barbies.

Silly Buddy. He got a little carried away with the sticker book.

Buddy needed his coffee buzz!

Hanging out in the Christmas tree!

Kid's Christmas Lists

Emma and Drew created their Christmas Lists for this year. Complete with glitter puffy paint and rhinestones.



Since Emma can't spell yet, we did a picture list instead.



Some of the hot items this year include:

• Orbeez Soothing Foot Spa
• Bella Ballerina shoes
• Operation
• American Girl clothing & accessories
• Salon Chair and Carrier for her American Girl
• Train Set
• Garbage Truck
• Tractor Trailer, carrying cars
• Matchbox cars

Jolly Days at the Children's Museum

We took our annual trip to the Children's Museum to see Santa Claus this past weekend.  I have made many posts about the Children's Museum in the past; as members, we just love going there as much as possible.  And this time was no different. 

The Jolly Days exhibit was absolutely packed.  There were kids and parents, cameras and wipes everywhere.  It was almost nauseating.  Luckily, Daddy stood in line for the HOUR and A HALF that it took to get to Santa, while we played at the other fun exhibits.

I'm not going to post our picture with Santa just yet.  I've included that picture in our Christmas card, so I want that to be a little surprise for ya'll.

Taking a ride down the big slide.
She beat Daddy.
Of course.

Catching some fish.

Drew caught "a BIG one."

My Lou-La. I love her so much; she's my pretty little lady.

And my little man. He's such a precious little guy.

Andy's 12 Month Challenge

At the beginning of the year, Andy set a goal to run one half-marathon once a month, for 12 months.

That's a big challenge.

A Tall Order.

That's hundreds and hundreds of miles. 

IN ONE YEAR.

Did he accomplish his goal?

Hell YES he did.

And then some......

Let me lay out all of Andy's accomplishments this past year.

That's over 300 freaking miles in ONE year.  And that doesn't include all the training runs and rides that he did in between.

That's one heck of an accomplishment!  I am so incredibly motivated by his dedicated, passion, and commitment to this challenge.  I'm not sure I know of very many people that can commit themselves to something like this, all while keeping an incredibly demanding job AND staying active and supportive to me and our babies.

So am I proud?  Am I bragging? 

Hell yes I am.

Wouldn't you?!?

Winter Fun List

1. Go to Jolly Days at the Children’s Museum
2. Visit Santa
3. Decorate the house
4. Put up Christmas lights outside
5. Mini “road trip” to see Christmas lights
6. Bake cookies
7. Use our fireplace to roast marshmallows
8. Go sledding
9. Make a snowman
10. Go ice skating at Pepsi Coliseum
11. Write a letter/list to Santa
12. Go to a holiday puppet show
13. Christmas at the Zoo
14. Go to Disney World!

My Wedding Ring. My Commitment

For the first time in the SIX years that I've been married - seven if you count the engagement year - I forgot to wear my wedding rings.

And I am absolutely lost.

And naked.

And ashamed.

And embarrassed.

Who would have thought that two tiny rings have become such a part of my life?!?  Of who I AM.

Six years ago, I made a commitment in front of my family, my friends, God, and most importantly - myself and Andy.  I made a commitment to love, honor, and cherish him every single day.  And while I know that he and I are far from perfect in cherishing each other each and every single day, the one constant in my mind is wearing my wedding rings. 

These two little bands represent our love for each other.

Our love for our babies.

Our love for the life that we have created together.

He's Baaaaaaaaack. Buddy, our Elf on the Shelf.

Buddy made his first official appearance this year.  After a long winter, a hot and rain-heavy summer (for us at least, seeing as how our house flooded), and a fun fall.....Buddy flew back in from the North Pole to watch over Emma and Drew. 

This is such a fun thing for us to do.  The kids are at the BEST age to fully experience this.  It makes my mornings so much more pleasant. 

Emma's actually bearable.  She can't wait to find Buddy. 

And I think Drew's finally understanding the concept.......it's a hard concept for a 2-year old to understand: with his Christmas magic, Buddy flies through the night sky while he and Emma are sleeping, reports their behavior to Santa, then flies back to a new spot before everyone awakes.

So here's a glimpse of Buddy's first "landing spot."  At the end of the season, I'll recap all the fun and mischievous spots that Buddy got himself into - complete with pictures!

Thanksgiving 2011

Another successful Turkey Day was had with the Swickheimer clan.  On the menu this year was (click each item for the recipe):

• Traditional oven-baked Turkey
• Nana's Stuffing
• Green Beans
• Corn Bread Casserole
• Cranberry Sauce
• Mashed Potatoes
• Gravy
• Grandma's (Ginny) Homemade Chicken and Noodles
• Rolls
• Paula Dean's Gooey Pumpkin Butter Cake
• Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

Uncle Matt, showing off (in his special way) our beautiful turkey

The table setting at Nana's

Here's Brian showing off his talents!

Emma modeling her hand print turkey shirt I made
(with her tulle tutu skirt that I made last year....still fits....just a little shorter this year).

Little man was so exhausted, that he fell asleep on Daddy's lap.

And here's Uncle Matt again. Showing off. Again. We love him!

The Monster At The End of This Book

We introduced Drew to one of Emma's favorite apps on the iPad, "The Monster At The End of This Book." It's a short, but fun, interactive story where Grover "dares" you to turn the page for fear of the monster at the end.

I captured some video of Drew having fun with this. But since this was his 2nd time looking at it, he doesn't get quite as excited and animated as he first did.

But he's still so stinkin' cute.
 

Braiding

As a direct result of her love for Rapunzel's long hair, Emma has now mastered the ability to braid.  While it took a while to get it down......no, wait.  That's not true.  In Emma's eyes it took a long time get the hang of it.  She's such a stubborn perfectionist (not sure where she got that trait), that she would get furious at every one and every thing in her path, when she didn't get it down the first few times she tried.

But alas, she got the hang of it.  So every day now, she tries convincing me that wearing braids - straight down in front of her face - is perfectly acceptable.  We just have to show her how to make braid behind her head.

But I'm not ready to tackle that obstacle yet.

Trying to get the hang of it.....

This is what I mean when I say she wears the braids straight down in front of her face.
She hasn't yet mastered the ability to braid behind her head.

If I allowed it, she'd wear her hair like this every day now!

Travel, Travel, Travel

I've been MIA these past few weeks due to the amount of traveling I've been doing, but I promise I'll get a few posts written in the next couple of days.  Stay tuned......

Happy Halloween!

We had a fantastic time Trick-or-Treating this year.  We started right at 6:00 and ended up staying out the full 2 hours!  While Drew was content to sit in the wagon, sucking on his sucker for the majority of the time, Missy Lucille was our Eager Beaver.  She LOVED every minute of it!

Our neighborhood is a great spot for Trick-or-Treating.  A lot of people get dressed up and decorate their house for the holiday.  The bridge connecting 79th to Camelback has been out for a few months now, so the Clark's took the opportunity to make a path through their huge backyard, appropriately titled "Clark's Haunted Trail."  They are always amazing for Halloween......the amount of time and money they put into this holiday is amazing!  People bus in to our neighborhood, just to experience all the attractions and sights of this house.  And they truly stepped it up a notch, by making this haunted trail.  It was awesome.

Emma went as Rapunzel from the movie "Tangled"

And Drew was our little Pirate.

My Halloween Babes!

Ready to tackle the neighborhood.

Entering the Clark's Haunted Trail

It's very hard to get a full visual of all the decorations that they have.
But trust me when I say that's it's AH.MAZE.ING.

On of the scenes along the trail.

Another scene

Emma's "glow-mouth".....it's just a light-up mouth piece that she thought was oh so cool.

And just because I can't get enough.....here's my little Pirate again.....

....and my little Rapunzel.