Christmas Eve!

We were beyond thrilled that we were able to have Christmas with our family this year!  All those horrible memories of being so sick last year were haunting us making us nervous that it would happen again.  But I am happy to announce that we have been able to avoid sickness this entire winter!  Yay!  First I have to share a thousand photos of the kids all dressed up.  They were so adorable!  You'll notice at the end Annie is in every photo because she INSISTED on it.  Insisted.  :)  And who could say no to all those curls?!

You can see that ALL posing for Annie must end in twirling.  Lots of twirling!  After a  billion pictures we made our way to my parents for mom's delicious dinner, which never disappoints.  And then of course gifts!!  Lots of gifts. 

The kids were thrilled with everything they got. They had fun playing with the cousins and opening up everything they possibly could.  It was so incredibly nice for Josh to have the night off!  Our first time since we've had kids that he was able to be home on Christmas Eve and not have to rush away to work.  The nicest Christmas Eve we've had in many years!

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Summer!

I really don't think it can get any sassier than this!!!  Memorial Day weekend officially means that it is time to pull out the pools!  At least that is what it means to my parents.  :)  The kids have been waiting for this moment for weeks now!  Annie was super excited cause she called her Grandpa and convinced him to buy her a special pair of pink goggles just for this occasion.  She was so tickled with herself!

 She was pretty unsure of the cold water (their well water is frigid year round!) but eventually loosened up.  Such happiness to splash about!  We spent the whole afternoon outside while they played.

And of course the boys had all kinds of war games going on with the waterguns.  Annie even gets in on the action and will shoot ya when you least expect it!  And to make the day extra special they ended it with a fire.  Grandpa really knows how to make this group happy!

I had to sneak a shot of my dad with Annie all bundled up.  She was saying she was so "coldy" and needed to get warm by the fire.  What a sweet moment to capture!

There was no relaxing for Noah J - he had to throw everything he possibly could into the fire!  I love the relationship these two have.  Also love that we get to soak up as many grandpa and grandma moments as possible - so blessed to have them such an integral part of our lives.

We were getting ready to leave and my mom made me run into the bathroom and snap a pic of Annie - she was cracking us up all wrapped up in her towel sitting on the potty.  We have been working so hard on potty training her, but it is hard since we are out of the house so much!  We tried right before Christmas but she wasn't quite there yet.  As a matter of fact she pooped on the floor right under the Christmas tree, LOL!!  And then we all got so sick I gave up.  But I think she really is finally ready to finish it up!  She just lingers so long on the potty we both get bored!  So bored she makes faces at me while I take her picture.  Maybe she is just exasperated that I would photograph her on the toilet!  :)

A Dream Come True!

Do your sons desperately want to go onto the roofs of buildings?  Please tell me mine aren't the only ones.  We showed up at my parents house today and my dad was on the roof fixing something and the whining and begging immediately began, "Can't we PLEEEEEEEEEAAAAAASE go on the roof with Grandpa?"  Of course my answer is no but then I see my dad's face like I'm being ridiculous and I decided to trust him on knowing what boys need and send those 2 up there.  So over the top happy, but scared me to death. :)  And what did Annie get to do special while the boys cavorted on the roof?  Eat a bowl of strawberries with a spoon of course.  Grandma spoils this girl! 

Swimming!

You know at the Marlatt house we like the water, but only water our toes can touch the bottom in!  So the boys are completely happy still playing in blow up pools, which makes my life so easy!  I love being able to take them just into the yard and still have a good time.  So it was quite an event when Grandma and Grandpa set up the pools at their house for the first time of the "summer".  They even got Annie girl her own little tiny pool, which she LOVED!  They have such a great set up with the slide into the little pool, another big pool for swimming, and then a tiny pool for Annie.  And of course tons of water toys and guns!  No wonder they beg all day to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house!

We had a little pool like this for Wyatt when he was little but he would have nothing to do with it.  Rosie muffin was just the opposite - she seriously didn't want to get out.  We only took her out cause she was so sleepy I thought she was going to fall asleep right in the water.

Of course, you know who had to get right into the tiny pool with her.  The girl never gets a moments peace!

Aren't my kids just so incredibly white?!  :)  We were talking about their paleness the other day in front of the kiddos and I announced that I think Annie has the darkest skin out of all the kids.  Noah promptly agreed with us saying, "Yeah, look at how dark her leg's are."  And then, with all seriousness, the boy said, "Do you think God meant to make her black?"  LOL  I love that boy!!  And check out Annie's little teeth in the last picture!  Two teeny tiny ones right on the bottom.  I love them!

Mmmmmmm! Ding Dongs!!!

When we went to my parents yesterday Noah J got the best treat he's ever had - a Ding Dong! Since they are Grandma's favorite snack she just had to share one with him and he was happy as a lark. He ate the outside first, all the way around, and then when he got to the filling he was so excited he had to say, "MMMMMMMMMMMM!".

Easter at G&G's

After we quickly had our own egg hunt we dashed over to G&G's house to hunt more eggs and to eat dinner. Noah and Joseph were so funny hunting eggs - you can see in one picture that Joseph came over to Noah and tried to give him his whole basket! Too funny!

After dinner Noah and Joe had so much fun wrestling on the couch. They were jumping on each other, pulling the other one down, and just cracking up the whole time. This was one of the first times they really, truly played together and it was so sweet!