The Big 3

Dylan has been obsessed with trucks, cars, motorcycles (pretty much any automobile), ever since he was a baby. His favorite has always been fire trucks. He was a fireman for Halloween last year, he went through a phase his entire second year where he was obsessed with the show Fireman Sam, and he has all the gear to “put out fires” at our house. So it seemed like the perfect idea to have his third birthday party at a fire station. We kept it a surprise, but I’m pretty sure he figured it out when daddy and pop-pop took him to his party in his fireman outfit.
The fire station was so not what I pictured a station to be – it was nicer than our house! It was brand new, and huge! The kids ate pizza and cupcakes before opening the gifts. Dylan did not seem particularly found of having the spotlight during his happy birthday song. Instead of soaking in all the attention, he buried his face in his arm and did not want to blow out the candles. Who is this boy!? It must be a sign of the upcoming year as a three year old.

Now, the firefighters told me that we eat and do gifts first, because the tour and fire safety class comes at the end or else we can’t round up the kids from all of the trucks. So, as we are finishing up eating and are about to open gifts, the fire alarm goes off. Huh?!?!!? The Captain came and told me that he wasn’t sure if this was a rescue or a fire, but they will be back. At first I thought they were joking. I mean, when I talked to him before the party, he told me that he highly doubted a call would come in during the party and, if so, they would leave one or two guys behind to stay with the kids. Well, all of them left, and weren’t sure if they would be back before the party ended! Hmmm, not a good feeling for good ole mama :-) But we got to see them rush to the trucks, jump in their suits and rush out which was really cool!

Right as we are about to open the last few gifts, most of the firefighters came back. Boy, they couldn’t have timed it any better-LOL! So two fireman showed how the gear is put on and how it works, the sounds to listen to if a fireman comes into your house, and all the kids got to hold the gear. Then all of the kids toured the fire station. I must be naive, because I thought a fire station had one or two fire trucks, and maybe a third truck thingie (that’s a technical term for all you non-fire station experts!). This station had several trucks, a tool truck, a boat, an antique fire truck, and a hovercraft. The kids got to play with all of the trucks and get in them, and while we were touring the trucks the last of the firefights came back, so we were able to see them unload.

I’m pretty sure all of the kids had a great time. I had fun – I felt like a big kid! Dylan was talking about it for the rest of the day, although he was still wondering why they didn’t have a dog at the fire station. I love you my sweet, smart little boy. I hope you had a great third birthday party!!

New Years 2010

We were able to go to our friends Jason and Carol's lakehouse for a little NYE getaway. Thank you so much MeeMaw and PeePaw for having a little slumber party with Dylan and Ava Grace! We had so much fun, and hope that we had our first of many NYEs at the lakehouse. Although, I think we need to figure out sleeping arrangements before drinking begins...although I'm not complaining because I got a king size bed all to myself!

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves (it's funny, because all of the pictures are in reverse order)!!!

Drinkin Brian's Spicy Bloody Marys

Enjoying the morning boat ride

The Breakfast Beverage Bar

Nothing like sparklers and smores to end a night!

Amy looks like she got caught peeking at the answer :-)

Busting out the rule book again in the second challenge of Men vs. Women... and yes, the Women won!!! All I can remember though is "Jennifer Lopez!!!"

The beautiful dinner table, pre-dinner

The girlies at the beginning of the evening

I love you all so much and can't wait to do it next year-with Stacy and BJ too!

White Christmas

What a treat to have a white Christmas in Dallas this year - first in 80 years! I was like one of the kids jumping up and down in the snow. I checked the weather for this week and it says high 29/low 16 for Thursday...so maybe more snow in the future-YIPPEE! Christmas Eve was so much fun, and all of the kids got a visit from Santa. Ava Grace is still unsure of Ho Ho, but Dylan loves Santa. This is the first year that he gets the gist of it all, and let me tell ya our Elf on a Shelf Jack came in handy during some trying nights.

The kids after one too many cookies

Dylan excited about his batman helicopter (cookie in hand)

Ava Grace and her uncertainty of Santa

The kids set out cookies for Santa and went to bed around 10:30. I thought they would sleep in, but they were up at their usual time of 7:00. I made wassail and breakfast casserole, and Nana and Pop-Pop joined us. I love watching the kids' faces when they first see the tree. Dylan got so excited, and Ava Grace followed his lead. He opened each gift and got so excited. When Ava Grace was handed a gift, she would get excited about it without even opening it!

After Nana and Pop-Pop left around lunchtime, the whole family was able to take a nap. I think Daddy and Mommy needed it more than the kids! After we awoke, we didn't realize how late it was and rushed to get ready and head over to MeeMaw and PeePaw's house where the rest of the McDanal crew was waiting. With 10 adults and 5 kids, presents around the tree were spilling into the kitchen, breakfast nook and living room!

Santa gifts being opened

The family

Now that we are coming down from the holiday high, it is all about organizing to fit the new toys, cleaning, and did I mention organizing?! I spent the day cleaning out our office/storage room/junk room. I am tired! We got a beautiful new dining room table and hutch, which led me to clean out the office after 3 long and miserable years. It got so overwhelming that I didn't even want to go into the room! As I type this blog, I am sitting in the newly cleaned out office. I don't think I've sat in here for at least over two years. The new year brings a new mindset-no more procrastination :-)