Alabama Basketball

Hugh loves basketball.  It was his sport of choice growing up and is still his favorite sport to play.  Needless to say he has been thrilled that Alabama has had a pretty good team this year.  He picked a game (v. Ole Miss) and planned for the whole family to go.

Poor Houston.  He'll get his revenge on those sisters one day.  The game was a success.  Alabama won--almost convincingly.  Houston sat and watched the entire game.  Maybe he loves basketball too?

Snow Cones, Decorating & Soccer

Wow this month has flown by! The girls have been busy learning about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington for President's Day.  They continue to amaze me with all they have learned in kindergarten.  Next week they are celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday all week so I know we should be reporting lots of Green Eggs and Ham events!  Houston speaks in complete sentences now and can sing a ton of songs.  His favorite is You Are My Sunshine and I love it.

We've all been enjoying the perfect weather the last few days.  The kids have played outside every day and  have acted like they have been imprisoned for years.  It is all I can do to drag them inside when I have to.  Can't say that I blame them because I'm lovin' it too.  Houston is officially a dirt magnet if you didn't already know.  It is amazing how dirty he can get in only a few seconds.  I guess that is natural for boys and I love that about him.  He is an absolute joy and cracks me up all of the time.  He officially doesn't meet a stranger and asks me what every single item in the grocery store is.  Exhausting, but I love it and wouldn't want it any other way.

Here are some pics of what we've been up to.

The kids have discovered Lincoln Logs and they love them.  These are a couple of their most recent creations.  

Houston was in a silly mood one morning and wanted me to take pictures of his "funny" faces.

The girls have been decorating again.  The first picture is a "pink" ensemble they created in honor of Valentine's Day.  The following day they created a purple tribute to Valentine's and unfortunately I failed to capture the purple decor with my camera.  The decorated duck was a random creation left on my kitchen counter as a prize for me!

Germ-a-phobes close your eyes!  The girls love eating dirty snow.  What can I say?  They only get this opportunity once a month lately.

Is it normal for soccer players to be this cute?  I'm thinking not, but oh my goodness aren't they cute?  This was before our first practice and they fueled up with some bananas.

They love soccer already.  Practice wasn't anything but fun to both of them and I'll have to say they've got game!

This is how you stop the ball with your elbow.

The coach figured out early if you put them on opposite teams it is full blown game on.  I love to see the smiles on their faces even though they both really wanted to get the ball!  Aidyn said she can't wait to play in front of a crowd.  Hugh & I pray that they have confidence and it is encouraging to see Him in little things like soccer.  Aidyn was devastated to learn that there is no goalie position in their age group.  Her parents weren't aware of this either or we would have prepared her for this.  She is taking it all in strides and waiting until practice next week.  We're excited to learn how the game works as much as the girls.  It's a fun learning experience for the whole family.  I'm sure you'll be getting some more updates soon since our first game is in less than two weeks!

Happy Birthday, Hugh!

Hugh's big 35th was last week so we tried to celebrate in a big way!  The girls were most excited about surprising him with a cake or cupcakes.  We kept everything quiet between the girls and I so Houston wouldn't tell about any of our surprises.  Unfortunately, the girls told him about the cake to distract him at some point so I showed it to him.  I had it carefully hidden in the laundry room along with his gifts.  I was cooking dinner and heard the sound I was dreading!  Houston opened Daddy's gifts!  I'll have to admit it was funny.  It's so hard for all of us to not give in to temptation, but a two year old and presents?

Football and cake....perfect combination for Hugh!

The kids had a little too much fun playing in what was left of the wrapping paper.  The girls shredded and then pretended the paper was ice skates and skated around the kitchen.  Who needs toys around this house?  

Hugh's final birthday treat was dinner at Hot 'n Hot.  Our absolute favorite date spot and it did not disappoint.  The only part that was disappointing was the fact that we were so full after appetizers and entrees that we couldn't eat any dessert--truly disappointing!

I love the creativity!

We have the most creative kids.  When the girls were younger, they would play with cereal boxes while I grocery shopped and pretended they were characters and role play with them.  They never get bored because they can come up with some interesting things to play!

Last night while I cooked dinner the kids planned a campout in our living room.  They read books in the dark because they only wanted light from their lantern.  Hollyn brought in their princess CD player and they listened to cds while enjoying the great outdoors!

These are some pictures of the girls' talent in decorating.  I never know what to expect when they spend an entire day at home.

These are pictures of some creative decorating the girls did to their pink guitars.  The dresses they are wearing are beautiful dress up clothes that their sweet great great aunt gave them for their birthday.  Both of the guitars are complete with tiaras, one is wearing a scarf and the other is "holding" a mirror.  Never a dull moment and we love it!  Let me know if you need the girls to come over and decorate anything.  I'm sure they will give you a good laugh!