Gobble Gobble goes the Turkey

We had a nice Thanksgiving. We shot down to Houston for a few days then went back to Arlington. It was a nice time and we enjoyed.

The Coolest Place on Earth

So yes, Brian and I have been married just over 5 years and during that time we have taken 1 trip to Disneyland and now 3 trips to Disneyworld (it should have been more). So.. here we are back at WDW. It is such an adventure going with the kids as they start noticing more and getting excited about more. We had a great time and plan on returning January 2011 - Who is in??

The first morning we were there we had a character breakfast at Donald's Safari - Kailey and Benson were both so excited to see all the characters.



No trip is complete without seeing Mickey!

Brian is already teaching the kids how to drive, Disney style of course.

Our family of Pirates at Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party.

So here are a couple pictures in the same spot, but 5 years later. Brian ages SO much better than I did (but I guess I am 20 weeks pregnant in the 2nd picture).

Argh and Happy Halloween

Argh Matey and Happy Halloween! We went the pirate route this year. It was super fun. I made the costumes again. Not sure what we should do next year :)

Here are a couple pictures of our little Mateys.

Here comes the flower girl!

Kailey and cousin Abigail were asked to be flower girls in my cousin Kristen's wedding. They were so excited - both of them! It was really fun to watch. The big day finally came and they got to wear the flower girl dresses and walk down the aisle. (It better be about 25 years before that happens again!)

So excited to have their dresses on!

Daddies and Daughters


Flower girls with the Bride

Kristen and her cousin (3 ushers and 1 scripture reader)

First Haircuts!

So Kailey is now 3 years and 4 months and Benson is a little over 19 months. We decided it was time for a haircut. No so much because we do not like their hair - but because they need a little shaping to it.

Kailey was very excited and ready for her haircut. She sat perfectly still and barely moved. We didn't have much cut off - just enough to even up the back and sides.


Benson on the other hand was not sure about the whole experience. Brian and I had a little more stress in deciding his haircut. We love his long curls and did not want to lose his ponytail. (I was obviously getting my hair colored at the same time - so no comments).

Our finished products!

Happy Birthday Granny

My Grandmother turned 90 on September 26th. My family threw a small surprise party for her. (We all happened to be in Dallas because my cousin Kristen was having a Bridal Luncheon that day). Here are a couple picture.

Great-Granny with her 5 Great Grandchildren

Three little boys in the wagon.

Swimmin' Lessons

So one of the best parts about summer is swimming! I got a recommendation from a friend to go to the OU pool for swim lessons. I figured it wasn't too much money, so I signed the kids up. Both Kailey and Benson are really enjoying swimming. Both of their teachers are names "Sarah" and this is a big deal to Kailey. One of the Little People has the name Sarah and Kailey thinks its great to get to swim with "Sarah." Who knows if they are getting better or not, but we are all at least having fun!

Practicing paddling

So I'm not sure what Kailey was doing with her arms here - but the teacher kept telling her to stop. Kailey seemed more entertained by watching herself wiggle her fingers. Oh well - at least she is only 3!

Oh no! Kailey is swimming by herself. =)

Benson is in the "Mommy and me" class which is a very sexist title. I shall have to tell them. Brian and I have been switching off with him. Here is Brian and Benson practicing blowing bubbles.

Here is Benson jumping in from the side of the pool. He loves this part of the class.

Catching up

One of my most favorite things was getting to go visit Jenny. I had not seen her in almost 4 years we decided and the visit was LONG overdue. Jenny lives in right outside of Lancaster, PA which is about 2 hours from DC. We originally wanted to go up earlier on Saturday, but of course had to hit the zoo in the morning. We got there around 5:00pm.

Adam and Jenny have 2 kids. Sydney is 5 and about to start Kindergarten. Brady is almost 4. It was so nice to hang out and catch up with them. We also need to get back to Lancaster. Brian's dad is from PA and grew up in Lancaster. Brian had lots of flashback moments to remember his grandmother, from the smell of the morning and the black asphalt driveway. But, there is a lot to do in PA, such as Hershey and some little amusement park in Lancaster - so we need to go back. Not to mention it was great seeing Jenny.

Jenny and I with children. WOW, I can't believe how fast time goes!

National Zoo TIme

So Kailey has really liked Panda Bears recently - especially since getting her Panda Bear Cake. So we kept telling her we were going to the Zoo to see the Panda Bears. We finally made it. We were planning on going Friday afternoon, but Brian got home too late. It worked out fine.

However, here is my advice. When going to the National Zoo - get there EARLY. We got there about 30 minutes after it opened and the parking lot was already filled up. This was pretty annoying. I guess the good news is we ended up parking for free on a street a couple blocks away. The Zoo is pretty nice and the Panda Bears are fun to see. However, I do not think the zoo was anything that great. But I guess we did just go to the San Diego zoo within the past year.

Posing with the Panda Bear Statue

Getting close - this Panda was chilled on a rock and Kailey and Benson got to get fairly close to it.

Nibbling on Bamboo - they are pretty cute though!

Here is a picture of me trying not to laugh at Kailey irrationality towards the end of the day. Poor little girl - it had been a long week.

Week Days in DC

The week between Monday and Friday went by a little slower than the weekend.

Brian had to work during the day, so I was stuck in the hotel with Kailey and Benson. It was tolerable the first couple of days, but got longer as the week went by. We were at least in a nice hotel with a full size fridge and kitchen. So, we could easily have food and could simple meals.

There were also a large grocery store, super target and strip shopping center that we could easily walk to. We developed a decent routine, went swimming a couple times, and took several walks. It was always better in the evening when Brian came back. We would take little outings. I have posted a few pictures from an outing into DC to see a couple memorials. We also went up to Leesburg, VA and hiked around Ball's Bluff, a civil war battle. The trail map was pretty rough and I'm not sure where we ended up - but luckily found our way out!

We were hoping Brian would get to come home early Friday, but that didn't work out.

Picture of us eating breakfast in the hotel.

Kailey was not very excited about riding on Poppy's back - she kept wanting to ride on Momma's (but I just cannot carry her like I used to)

Here are a couple picture of us walking from the FDR Memorial over to the Jefferson Memorial.

Vacation All I Ever Wanted

So Brian had to go to DC last week - and since I was not working - we all went! We had a great time. We stayed at a pretty nice Residence Inn so we had a full size fridge and could cook some simple meals. It was nice. The only rough part was that I wast kinda stuck at the hotel Monday-Friday during the day while Brian had to work. However, there was a large grocery store, a super Target, and a strip shopping center that even had a small playground. So, we were able to entertain ourselves.

We flew up on Saturday, July 4th. We saw a pretty decent little firework show in Reston, VA.

However, the next Sunday was a full day. We went to Arlington National Cemetery, which I had never been to before. Brian's maternal grandfather is buried there. We also went to the America History Smithsonian, which we had really not seen before due to remodeling.

Here is a picture of Kailey, Benson and I waiting in line to get on the trolley streetcar :)

Brian showing off his favorite - Route 66 (even located in Oklahoma!)

two sleeping babies!

Last Dose of Comfort?

Brian's sister Amy, her husband Brandon, two kids, Grant & Alex, and Brandon's sister Shari and driving to Alaska during July. Evidently it is 4000 miles one, which of course means once you get there you have to come back! (8000 miles round trip!) They stopped at our house for the last night in an actual bed before venturing onward. As always, we have to take a couple pictures of the kids together.

If you would like to check out their trip check out the following blog: http://thebrownesalaskanadventure.blogspot.com/

So this was not the best picture of all the kids - but it was a rough time getting pictures and this one makes me laugh. :)

Swimming/Playing in the backyard

1-2-3 Candles on that Birthday Cake

I honestly cannot believe it. I have held Kailey in my arms now on 4 June 29ths. My how the time totally flies by. I look at her everyday and cannot even begin to imagine my life without her. She is such an integral part of this family and I'm not sure what I did before her. She made me "Momma" and she made Brian "Poppy".

Kailey was super excited about her Birthday. She kept saying that Poppy had a cake, Benson had a cake, Momma had a cake and now its Kailey's turn to have a cake. Hopefully having a cake will let us off the hook for not having a party. However, I'm not sure we are going to be able to get away with no party next year!

I made her a super fun "Panda Bear" cake and we invited over some friends that have children. Kailey was happy that people came and she had cake - such a sweetheart. It was fun. Here are a couple pictures... and one for memories.

Super Cute Cake!

Make a Wish!

So Happy!

Happy Poppy's Day!

We celebrate Poppy's Day in our house and the kids love it. I find it amusing when people ask Kailey about her daddy and she looks at them like she has no idea who "daddy" is. I usually say "They call Brian Poppy." But, either way - Kailey has given some GREAT looks. *haha*

So, while Brian was in DC last week we did a couple things for his big day. We made a handmade Poppy's Day card and also got some of our "formal pictures" printed (see previous post). Brian was excited and liked the fact that the gift was more homemade than store bought.

He then got a Root Beer Float at church. He was even so kind to share it with the rest of us (well, minus Benson because he was asleep).

So to all the Father's our there - Happy Father's (or whatever your special name is) Day.


Posing with our homemade Poppy's Day Card :)

Helping Poppy open his present.



Here is a picture of Brian making his Root Beer Float - but I think the cutest part is the intent set of eyes in the background.

Yummy good!