Just Like Daddy

Noah adores his Daddy. He has the habit of taking himself and literally flinging his body down on top of you, whether you are sitting or laying down. While it can be quite painful at times, it is completely adorable.

Here he is watching some BYU football with Daddy.

Kyle has the habit of leaving his shoes all over the house. Wherever he takes them off, that's where they stay. Noah saw Daddy's shoes on the floor one day and decided he needed to get his shoes and put them right them.

Aren't kids so cute!?!

Sea World

Back in October when things were really hard and I just wanted to quit my job, we decided to take a much needed break from everything in Houston. We got in the car and drove down to San Antonio to visit Sea World. It was something we wanted to do since we first moved down here, since it is not very far away. My sister had never been before and I had only ever gone once so we thought it would be a wonderful trip.

The kids and I took a few pictures at the entrance while Daddy and Tay were getting our tickets.

The first thing we wanted to do: see the whales. Gabs didn't even know what to expect. When we got into the stadium, we were able to see the whales playing in their 'pool'. It was awesome.

We decided to sit in the splash zone, just for the experience. Tay and the kids had no idea what they were in for.

Trying to take a family picture, but someone's fluffy hair kept getting in the way...

I got told to stop hiding behind Gabs. I really was trying not to, but she kept moving her head so she was blocking my face.

Tay after the show...

When we paused to figure out where to go next, the kids saw this dolphin statue and had to go play with it. Unfortunately my camera sucks so I didn't get the picture to come out correctly, but it was so stinking cute.

Then we had to go see the whale statue...

Towards the end of the day, the kids (i.e. Gabs) were tired of taking pictures and being in the park. But, we couldn't miss this show.

It was Sesame Street getting ready for Halloween.

Then on to the final ride of the day. Gabs was big enough to ride ONE. In line she was super excited about getting on the little roller coaster. She thought it was going to be awesome.

Those feelings quickly disappeared once we got on and starting going.

She kept telling me, 'It's too fast.' And when we asked her if she would like to come back again and ride it she said emphatically, 'NO!'

It was an awesome trip away from home, which helped rejuvenate me and motivate me to stick it out a little longer at work.

Taylor's Homecoming

My cute little sister, Tay, has been living with us since July. We have been very blessed to have her here to help out. Things were really hectic and stressful with me working and she willing took on the load of things that were not getting done because I wasn't home to do them anymore.

Back on the first weekend of October, she had her homecoming dance. So I thought I would share some of the pictures of her for my side of the family.

We had a difficult time finding a dress that we either a: both liked, b: wasn't too expensive, c: was modest.

This is what we finally ended up with. Tay got tired of looking so she just went with this.

We had her go to a local hair school so she could get her hair done. When she walked back in the door, she was about to burst into tears because they had totally messed up her hair. The lady who did her hair told her she didn't know how to do an updo so she just curled every single piece of her hair. But before that, she told her she couldn't possibly fix her hair with all of the split ends she had so she proceeded to cut her hair, without even asking. The lady probably used about a whole can of hair spray and we had a difficult time trying to undo the mess she made.

This is what we came up with...

And Kyle insisted that I get in a picture with her, even though I hadn't showered and was in my comfy conference watching clothes.

Here she is with her boyfriend.

Thanks for posing for pictures Tay! We love you!

First Day of Preschool/Daycare

When I had to go back to work, the kids had to be put in Daycare/Preschool. Gabbie needed a kinder mat for naptime, but Kyle still remembers his backpack from when he was in preschool so he really wanted to get her something like that.

Here she is on her very first day. She was so proud to be going off to 'preschool'. I can't believe how big my little girl is now.

This was her 'No Bubs. It's my first day of preschool' picture.

Cute little munchkins. I'll post pictures of Noah with Daddy's backpack from when he was little later.

August and September Highlights

We have had the great blessing of having my little sister live with us this year. She has been a wonderful help with the kids and things around the house that I just didn't have the time to do being gone 12 hours a day for work. These first two pictures are of Bubs and Grandpa Campbell getting reacquainted when he dropped Taylor off.

Unfortunately, Daddy and Grandpa got sick so they spent a lot of time on the couches and in the beds.

Gabs has developed a new favorite activity. She goes in the kitchen and gets our hot pads to wear on her body. Then she calls herself the cooking girl.

We also went to a Japanese drumming concert at an outdoor theater. The best part, it was completely free. The worst part, Mommy's allergies were terrible and it was really, really loud.

Noah discovered watermelon. We had to watch him very carefully because he wanted to eat the green part.

Another fun place we found was a drive-in movie. We had so much fun getting dinner and treats for the movie. Daddy got to relive some favorite childhood memories.

And when we couldn't make it out to the drive-in, we had a redbox party on the floor.

Bubs discovered this lawn mower we bought for Gabs a few years ago. He was so cute pushing it around. He definitely needs a little more practice with it.

And this is what their relationship is like. Bubs is a huge teaser. He will come and sit beside Gabs even though he know she doesn't want him to. He'll crawl over top of her to get to Mommy or Daddy. He'll grab a toy she just barely had, but not because he wants it, simply because she had it.

They definitely keep us on our toes.

Wow it's been awhile!

Our family has been through quite the whirlwind in the last few months. From being offered a teaching position in Saudi Arabia to Mommy going back to work to Daddy having some health issues. When I tell you that it has been a very trying, faith-promoting 3 months believe me it's so true. We have tried to keep our heads about us and enjoy whatever family time we have been able to come by.

Things are still not settled down, but we have made the decision that I will quite my job and stay home. Hopefully that will give me some time to update the blog and let everyone see how much the kids have grown in the last few months. Thanks for being patient with us. And thanks also for all the prayers that have been uttered in our behalf. We have felt the strength and love from those prayers through our trails. We love you all!