Such a wonderful week...

Last week was so incredibly wonderful... we had temperatures in the 70s and the kids played outside every day!! :) Now it is cold... in fact, we had snow flurries yesterday. Yet Jemma still wants to play outside. So, we played outside briefly today. Here are some pictures from last week!

Why do I feel the need to get toys?!? James is so content to play with the containers, pots and pans in the kitchen...

James was not too sure of the sandbox on Tuesday (1/8). He was pretty content just to crawl on the deck and play with the toys. (Notice the drool...) Jemma had a blast playing soccer... running, kicking the ball and falling down! Tuesday was Brady's birthday, and Amy was taking him to Chili's to celebrate. We went along with them, since Jim was flying and I had not made dinner plans. It was two adults and five kids... and we had a pretty good time. They gave us a huge booth... James was in a high chair on one end and Claire was in a high chair on the other end! Amy was on one side with Brady, and I had Jemma and Addison on my side.

The next day, James crawled right into the sandbox and was having a grand time! (1/9) Jim had to fly again at night and I am reminded of how much it helps having him home. Bedtime is difficult with two little ones... both want your attention at the same time. I am amazed at how parents of many little ones retain their sanity! And it certainly makes me dread the upcoming months of work-ups and cruise...

Jim went to a retirement ceremony and was dressed in his uniform... Jemma wanted to put on his hat...

...I thought James looked cute in it too!

I had such a wonderful surprise on Thursday. Jim offered to take the kids to a birthday party while I went for a Ladies Night Out playing bunko. I had such fun... I rolled a bunko for the first time and I actually had the most wins!! (The first two times I played with the group in Quantico, I had with the most losses, which isn't too bad since you get a prize for being the biggest loser!) The theme of the gift was "Re-gift" which I thought was quite funny... at least until I left with Duct-ogamy. It is a book with 18 projects that you can do with Duct tape plus a roll of duct tape to get you started. Other people got candles, scarves, cute placecard holders... I got Duct-ogamy... it is a funny and highly unusual gift... wonder if I will ever had an occassion to re-gift this re-gift?!? It was so nice to get out and have the kids already in bed when I came home... I just adore my husband!!!

Here is Daddy applying makeup for Jemma. She got a princess make-up compact in her stocking from Santa... it has sparkly eyeshadow and lipgloss.