2011 in a nutshell?

2011 is almost gone and I haven't posted in almost a year. I have taken pictures and sorted them and maybe if I do it little by little you will have an idea what we've been up to this past year.  I'll start with January!  We took the kids to Disney World in Orlando for their first ever Disney trip.  We wanted to wait until they were old enough to enjoy it without getting tired out and whiny:)  I think it was worth the wait!  We had a blast and we were able to enjoy it all with our good friends, The Rowley Family.  So, there is our January highlight!

Poison Ivy!!!

Last weekend we finally put the playset back together in our new backyard. When we finished we stood back to admire the perfect location in a nice shady spot under the trees(picked by our dear friends:) and we noticed a vine hanging from the tree right next to it with leaves of 3!!! When we looked at the ground we saw it was covered in little patches. Sure enough Monday morning Don had a rash on his arms and it was confirmed, we put our kids playhouse in the middle of a poison ivy patch. He has had poison Ivy several times since we've been married and it is not fun! Don is outside right now removing the plant and I am hoping that he doesn't get any new spots! I went out to help him, but he didn't want to ruin 2 pairs of gloves---I'm not complaining---- So, I just took pictures:)

Poison Ivy

The big vine climbing the tree

little shoots of poison ivy on the ground

Homeschool Fun

In between blogging yesterday, we did do a little school:) We have been waiting on a few of our school books to come in, so we've only been doing Reading, Writing & Math. One fun part of homeschooling is the fun places we get to do our work. We sometimes get to sit outside on the patio or even up in the tree house. We listen to a lot of audio books in the car, too. Today Dana decided the office closet was cool:) She hung her flashlight from one of Daddy's jacket zippers and went to work.

Jordan wanted to stay in his brand new Super Mario pajamas all day. No Problem:) We got this Flash Master math machine and he is hooked. Here he got 100% on his 6 tables in addition. He is in love with math right now:)

A new subject-juggling. just kidding. Dana was determined to learn how to juggle today (2 balls). We had to document her success:)

We also got to stand on our front porch and watch the little baby deer on our neighbors front lawn (along with 7 other deer grazing there). We see deer in our front yard almost everyday and we still get excited when we can get close enough to watch them. God's creation is amazing:)

All in all a fun and productive day!!!

Cousin Kiley's Birthday Visit

Dana's cousin Kiley turned 7 last Friday and she came to visit us for the day! We had our own little slumber party and spent a little time at Sea World. You should have heard them in the car on the way to Sea World, what a racket!!!
Cousin Kiley with her big balloon
Cousin Kiley blowing out her candle
The kids played in the water zone before we left Sea World.
I think these 2 will be close forever----like sisters

Petting the dolphins was our favorite part.

They held hands most of the day:)

The park was nearly empty since school has already started. I think it was only open because it was labor day weekend. You can see behind the kids that the main gates weren't even open!

Sept 2010 - Dana's Big Teeth

Here we are--- up to date! I know that wasn't very many pictures, but with my new (smaller) camera I hope to do better:) I just had to put this picture up so you could see Dana's new teeth coming in. It makes her look so much older! I'm not sure where the other 2 top teeth are going to go, but they have to go somewhere:)

August 2010 - The Lazy Days of Summer (We had a few)

One of our biggest blessings in moving to San Antonio was Dana's new eye doctor. She recommended CRT (Corneal Refractive Therapy)lenses for Dana. It is a gas permeable contact lens that she wears while she sleeps and it corrects her vision so that she doesn't have to wear anything during the day! It was our answer to prayer! Her Vision was already to a -4.25 in the right eye and about a -3 in the left. With her new lenses she is down to a -.5 and -1! Besides the fact that she doesn't have to wear anything during the day, the lenses are supposed to slow the progression of vision loss. We are still working to get a better fit (they are making her lenses custom because she is so young) with the lenses so that we can have perfect results, but the doctor is confident that as her eye grows she will be able to get a better fit. Praise the Lord for this miracle!
Ollie waiting for crumbs, I don't think he realized it was ice cream and there wouldn't be very much falling on the floor:)
My sweetie pie who loves to come into my room at 7 in the morning and snuggle:) I asked him this morning if he wanted to crawl into my bed before I made it and he said "Are you going to lay down too?" Even though I was already dressed and ready for the day I couldn't resist snuggle time with my boy!
Ollie is a big boy now!
I got a new little camera this month (a canon powershot). I am hoping that the compact portable camera will help me to capture more sweet family moments. These are my first pictures with the new camera---not too bad:)

July 2010 - Jordan's 5th Birthday

I didn't get many pictures of this day! I pulled out the camera at the end of the day, just so I could have a picture of him on his 5th birthday! I won't go into all the events of the day/week, but let's just say---day after vacation...apartment...fleas. I'll spare you all the details. Jordan is such a sweetie and he seemed very pleased with his birthday celebration. So, here are some pictures of my 5 year old munchkin in his jammies on his birthday.

Dana also lost 2 more top teeth on his birthday.

No kisses please!

March 2010- Dana Loses Her 2 Front Teeth

Here she is calling Grandma who requested a call when they finally came out:) They both fell out within a few days of eachother. She did not want to pull them out. Daddy had to finally help when they got so loose we were worried she would choke:)

February 2010 - Dana's 7th Birthday

Dana is 7! I can't believe it. Where did the time go? This was February, so she is actually 7 1/2 now (she just informed me). Where did the last 6 months go? We found out the day before her birthday that Don was going to take a job in San Antonio/Austin and we would be moving. Our first move since the kids were born. We told her on her birthday and at first I think she was a little sad. She was worried about leaving her friends and family. Fortunately Grandma and Grandpa Long are moving with us and it is only 3 1/2 hours away, so I think we will still be able to keep in touch with some of her close friends. We started packing the day after her birthday and it has been busy ever since.

Determined to blow it out!

Dana and I have been wanting to start a Mommy/Daughter tea time during the day, so I bought a couple of tea cups so we could start our tradition.

Webkinz Jr from Aunt Carly----this was top of the wish list!

A doll and fairy wings and wand from Grandma and Grandpa Long

Special lunch requested at Grandmas: Top Ramen Noodles! The kids beg for this when they go to Grandma Long's house.

A Little House on The Prairie bonnet from Aunt Christy and Uncle Doug.

January 2010 - Disney on Ice

Dana's friend Hannah invited us to see Disney on Ice. Tickets were given to her to celebrate her scans for cancer coming back clear:) They wouldn't let me bring my camera in, the lens was too large---I had never heard of that before. So, these are the only shots we got of our party.

December 2009 - Christmas Did Happen:)

I cannnot find any photos from this past Christmas! I know I took some because I can remember one of Mom Long playing on our new Wii. Oh well, if I find them I'll come back and edit this post!!! I certainly hope they haven't been put in the recycling bin by a certain 5 year old boy who admitted to dragging some things around on my desk top:)...........

I'm back, I found them in a mislabeled folder!

Christmas morning begins with Daddy reading the passage from Luke 2 about the birth of Christ.

I made new stockings this year. They look exactly like the ones we had in our family when I was a child. I actually traced one of my Mom's stockings so they could be the exact size. Nostalgia:)

This huge stocking is our advent calendar. Every night we read a Christmas themed story and then the kids get to go and see what candy they get for that day. Candy everyday during December----WOW, they feel lucky:)


Dana got a zum and a Webkinz from Poppy. Top of her list:)


Transformers from Poppy!


American Girl Doll, Emily from Daddy and Mommy.








Grandma Long trying out the Wii Bowling Game



Grandpa Long taking a nap in his new lounge chair from some of his kids.



Our pretty tree before Don decided to hack off each branch individually so he wouldn't get scratched up dragging it out to the curb!


The chopped branches



The hacked tree!