Final RASH party of the year!

I have lost count of how many New Year celebrations we have had with the Heines and this year was no different.  It was a little more mellow since it was just us and one Heine family this year yet it was a little sad.  There was still just as much fun though and A LOT of food!  Good times!  

The younger kids played downstairs like always and Kaylee had her own plans this year. She did send me some pics though!

Cant get this fool to take a normal pic!

Kaylee Modeling!

Since we have a live tree and we get it the day after Thanksgiving by the time Christmas is over we are so ready to take it down.  Here is it once again the day after Christmas and we are taking it all down.  Making room for the new toys and getting things back to normal.  Here is Kaylee making it a little more fun by modeling on of this years new tree toppers.

So beautiful!

Hammy downs!

Sometimes  hammy downs are the best! Kaylee decided to give Linc her old DS and she had the game Mario Kart that he wanted. He was so excited.

Update:
I was pretty excited too and decided to get him a few games for Christmas.  The kids were home from school a few days defore my vacation started and I was stressing over Linc going stir crazy.  I decided that each day i would let him opeb a new game.  That kept him busy and I think I have a new tradition  for Christmas break.

DUDE!

So I have been accused of saying dude too much. My conversation with Linc just now is as follows....

Linc: I got invited to a sleep over
Me: Really, how exciting! (Not really but I wont say that to him. Im already thinking of an excuse why he cant go in case I dont know the kids parents yet.)
Me: So whats his name?
Linc: Im not sure its tricky so I just call him DUDE!!!

Christmas Concert

Being serenaded by wonderful 8th graders! 

Add caption

They all look so happy!

Are Those Christmas Jammie?!?!

So we are all obsessed with the Holderness family and their Xmas Jammies!  They are a family whose Christmas card 'Xmas Jammies' went viral a few years ago. They are such a big hit on You Tube that they now make other videos too.  We really enjoy them all but quote the 'Xmas Jammies' video the most.
Since I always buy the kids new Christmas jammies this video is played every year. This year I went to take Linc shopping for his and this is what he picked.  I was not a huge fan but I couldn't say no. He loved them so much he couldn't wait and I let him have them early.  I didn't really want them in every Christmas picture so I think that was probably a selfish choice.

Are those Christmas jammies?!?

Heat Condo!

The heat tent has evolved.

They can be nice to each other!

Delicious!

Well I figured that "shark" tacos would taste just fine but I was really scared of the roast.  One of the reasons I didnt encourage Matt to get a deer was cooking and EATING it.  I am happy to say that our roast was amazing.  We usually cook our pork roast with french onion soup and cranberry sauce so we did nothing different other than add more fresh onion and fresh cranberries in since we had them for the co op.  We couldnt even tell a difference and I was amazed!

Yummy!

Celebrating Beauty!

Spent the day at Mom's to celebrate Kaylee's birthday with the ladies and kids.  The guys were all busy wrapping up their hunting so us ladies and the kids got together for nachos and brownies.  As always it was stressful with all the kids together but I wouldnt have it any other way.

True Beauty!

What, 14?!?

I can not believe that Kaylee is 14!  She is growing up to be such a beautiful young lady.  This year I have noticed that she is really becoming a unique person.  She is really deciding how she wants to be as a person and I an proud of her choices she is making.  She is also becoming quite funny.  I mean she has always been pretty funny to us but now she is getting her wit and it is hilarious sometimes. Matt is very jealous because he is not witty at all, between the both of us he is going to be screwed. :)

We had celebrated her birthday earlier in the month so by the time her day came she had a pretty low key birthday. We had already taken her to her birthday dinner because we had to hit Shrimp Fest at Red Lobster and she had an early party due to her birthday being so close to Thanksgiving.  So since her birthday was on a Friday she decided that her and her BFF Keili would just go to the mall and spend some of the cash she received at her party.  They had a blast and she spent almost all of her money but she came home with some cute clothes.

I am proud to call her mine!

Got Meat?

So since Matt got his first the next logical step is to learn how to process it, right?  So my gracious cousin Joel offered to help.  We went over Monday evening so Linc could see but I thought it was a little to gruesome for him to see by the time we got there.  Maybe next year!  Once they had it all cut up the grinding started.  Linc was excited to see this part but he is refusing to eat it now!  Good thing he will never know.

We all had a little fun with the meat bags.  We have a wide variety of meat to eat now...wanna try dinosaur?  I hear they are extinct now, this could be your last chance!

Weights?

We were not able to make it to the gym tonight but we didnt want to miss our workout so Kaylee and I decided to bring the gym to our living room.  We searched Hulu for a workout video. Once we settled on we realized we needed weights.  So we searched and found these....

Got One!

Matt decided three years ago to pick up hunting.  So he went out and purchased a gun, ammo and hunters orange.  The first two years were warm so not much was needed.  This year it was going to be cold so he decided that scent resistant overalls were needed instead of his already owned Carhart ones.  As he starts getting more and more into this hunting stuff I proceed to make fun of him.  Scent resistant overalls, really!?!
However in making all this fun of him I miss that him and Joel are planning a night to invite us over for dinner with plans to get me to like deer!  So chef Joel makes deer chili and backstraps two ways. Fried was my favorite of course!
Turns out the jokes on me because on Sunday afternoon on opening weekend I get a text from Matt, "Got One"!  Looks like the scent resistant overalls worked afterall.  Jokes on me! Ha!

The text that I received!

In the back of the car (Ford Focus)!  I found this to be one of the craziest parts of the of whole thing.  You have a dead deer in the back of your car???  

The kids were very excited!

Heat tent

When I met Matt I thought it was ridiculous that he would make heat tents. I would continuously make fun of him, then Kaylee started and now Linc! Linc takes it to a while new level though.  When he hears the heater kick on he comes running to the kitchen with blankets.  Then he pins up the blanket in the drawers and that is how the heat tent is created.  He then crawls in and lays there in a ball until the heat turns off.

Here is a glimpse of what I saw when I work up this morning!

First School Party

Trick or Treat!

Pumpkin Patch

We got a Groupon  that sent us to Perryville this year for pumpkins.  We were quite far from home but we actually saw Kaylee's baby brother and family there.  That was definitely  fun for her to see him and spend some time with him too.  Over all it was a good time.  The pumpkins were cheap so that made Matt and I happy.  The corn maze and slingshot were a hit for Lincoln and Kaylee.

Fall Concert

Great day!

Today the kids were out of school so I decided to take the day off too.  We spent the day making Christmas list and stopped at Bread Co for bagels.  This is one of our favorite places to stop for a snack and with a full day of "shopping" we needed a snack to get us started!
We went to Toys R Us for Linc and he was super excited when he found out he could make a wish list.   They gave his a scanner to scan things he liked and that couldnt be more awesome for a 5 year old.  There is a toy that is called and Ugly and he has wanted it for years.  I always told him no because it farts and burps and is just gross but today he out smarted me.  I thought I won the battle and as I turned away to move on he scanned it!  Guess it is on his list now and he asked Grandma for it so Im finished. Linc 1 - Mom 0
Kaylee decided that she wanted to go walk around the mall and visit multiple stores.  A lot of time was spent trying on clothes so we knew what fit to pick up later.  After the mall we ran by Old Navy to pick up an outfit for Kaylees choir concert next week.  That was not fun and she has decided that she hates dress pants as much as skirts!
We ended the day by stopping by my parents and that is always a good time.

Walnuts

Zoo Field Trip

Autumn is here!

Autumn is my favorite time of the year.  I am not sure what I like more. The changing colors, weather or the food!  I love just about any pumpkin flavored food and I instantly start craving it as soon as the weather starts to change.  Tonight I decide to make pumpkin muffins for breakfast this week.  I am so excited to have them with my coffee in the morning and even more excited that they are only 100 calories a muffin!

Recipe: A box of yellow cake mix and a can of pumpkin pie filling.  Then you just follow the box cooking instructions

Endless Love!

7 years ago we said "I Do"!  When I look back at pictures it amazes me how much we have changed.  Why I thought he needed to shave that day is beyond me.  He wears a fill beard now and I cant imagine him any other way.  I never thought I would like the beard but apparently I love it!  Not only have we aged a bit but our love has grown stronger.  Like all couple we have our ups and downs but our vows we made that day stand strong. We value them and remember them and continue to push towards the rest of our lives togther.  We really do make a great team and stand up for each other and protect each other when its needed and have the strength to say when the other is wrong.   Sometimes me may enjoy calling the other out a little too much but we are in this together through thick and thin.  Happy Anniversary to us!

St. Gemme

Matt mentioned that he wanted to go somewhere for our anniversary.  After lots of online research I found St. Gemme bed and breakfast.  B&Bs scare me and most seem old and haunted.  I was very impressed with this place once we got there.  It looked old and is, yet very updated.  It didn't smell haunted at all!  I know that sounds odd but you know what I mean, that old musty scary smell that makes you think someone must be watching you.  Matt of course thinks I'm nuts but we couldn't stay anywhere that was haunted.

When we got into Ste. Genevieve we decide to find somewhere to eat.  We found a restaurant called The Anvil and I do not think I can describe how good it was.  We both just got a club sandwich with their famous onion rings but it was SO good.  However, the place smelled haunted.  I was shocked that you could cook such wonderful food but still smell this way.  Matt convinced me to stay and I was happy I did.  After lunch we decided to walk to some of the different shops in the area.



The B&B we stayed in had a restaurant inside that served all meals. We decided to stay in and eat dinner there.  It was a good choice.  We were both very happy with our meals which says a lot because Matt got a steak and he is never happy with it.  This steak had a topping on it that was amazing and made the steak he said.  I was just excited for dessert!
When we arrived the day before we had to decide what we wanted for breakfast and I was shocked by the meal.  We got a four course breakfast included in the stay and their stuffed french toast was to die for.  Matt was the most excited over the jelly!

At first we were not sure about the Inn keeper but after a while we realized that was just the way she was.  Over all we had a wonderful stay and enjoyed the time with each other.  It was very quiet and relaxing.   The night was a little rough because we didnt really figure out the air conditioning unit until the next morning but the king size bed was amazing.

There were so many fresh flowers and little details everywhere. 

New obsession

Lincoln is a creature of habit!  This summer I would play Super Mario Brothers with him when I got off work and now it has become a new obsession.  Sometimes it drives me nuts that he doesnt even give me 5 min to relax but then I realize how lucky I am to be able to teach him a game I have always loved to play.  Kaylee and Matt do not wxactly enjoy the same enthusiasm.   They are really bad! Matt tried and is getting a little better but Lincoln and I hav special things we do that Matt just doesnt understand!

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Christmas is my favorite time of the year.  I love buying a special ornament for my family every year.  We are building the most perfect Christmas tree with our Bronners ornaments.  You know it is the start of the Christmas season with the Bronners catalog comes in the mail!  What will everyone choose?

MVP

First game of the fall soccer season and Lincoln scored a goal!  He was so proud of himself and we were proud of him too.  Thank god Kaylee went with me because Matt had to miss it due to him having to takes Hunters Ed to become official. Lincoln was upset that daddy missed it but was happy to have sissy there too. He wanted all the praise he could get.  Lincoln couldnt wait to tell daddy when he got home. Daddy was super upset that he had to miss the game and it was pouring salt in the wound when he told them about his goal.

Go Cardinals and Vineland Elementary

Since Lincoln attends Vineland elementary he got to sing 'Take Me Out To the Ballgame' during the seventh ending stretch at the Cardinal game tonight!  Since we were with the school we sat by friends so that was even more fun.  My friend Carisa had two tickets for that nights game before the opportunity came up for the kids.  Since her kids were singing we all sat together and gave Kaylee and her friend Lexi the two tickets they had.  They thought that was pretty awesome since they didnt have to sit with us parents.  We did miss her for the pics though.

Twin City Days

Skipping Rocks

Sissy wanted to go to a movie with her friends so we agreed to take her.  While we were waiting we went to the Boat Club.  Lincoln really loves it there and enjoys being by the water.  Matt decided to try to teach him how to skip rocks and he thought it was the coolest thing ever.  I really enjoyed sitting back and watching my guys play and bond.  Lincoln will always remember skipping rocks with daddy and I am sure there are many more of these times to come.

Amazing Imagination

We got a new dishwasher today and Lincoln played with the box for hours.  It was a fort, doghouse and a project.   The "project" was him using his tools to tear the box to pieces. 

Lincoln was stoked for a nice big box to play with and Kaylee was excited for the shinny new dishwasher that came out of that box!  She had been handwashing dishes for a while so she said "it felt like Christmas"!

Chuck E Cheese

The kids have a four day weekend and since Lincoln has completed his homework for a couple weeks I figured I would reward him.   He had not been to Chuck E Cheese since he was old enough to remember so I decided that would be perfect.  When I asked him if he wanted to go he was so excited!  The kids at school had been talking about it and he couldn't t wait to see for himself.

Fun in the sun

Homework Nightmares

  Needless to say Lincoln HATES homework.  This week he had his first packet of homework which includes 6 pages that he gets on Monday and has to have turned in by Friday.  His homework consist of coloring, cutting, pasting and writing.  Coloring is the biggest problem we have, he says his hands hurt with all the coloring.

  I really hate dealing with it right when he comes home but that is the rule in our house.  As soon as you get home it needs to be completed so we can focus on fun the rest of the evening.  Matt and I sure were spoiled with Kaylee, she just did it.  No problems at all and most of the time she did it on her own at daycare and we just checked it when we got home.  She is actually the reason we made the rule of doing it right when you get home.  With her always having it done when we got home from work we never had to waste that family time with homework, we got to enjoy it.

Here is a typical conversation Lincoln and I have everyday when he walks in the door:

Linc -I hate homework!
Me - I know just do it.

Linc- read the instructions (which I do)
Huh! (Read them again)

Linc - I hate coloring!
Me - I know just do it.
Linc - I'm done
Me - nope you just colored one thing.
Linc - nope I colored them all white (the paper is white, he is already being sneaky)
Me - no color them a diff color and finish the paper.

Linc - I hate cutting!
Me - I know just do it.

Linc - I gotta poop!

pasting

Cutting

He has the McMahon tongue thing. :)

writing

Writing his name!!