Bunny Bowling

They all have different faces.

I found this pattern online and thought it was really cute.



I thought Jackson would enjoy knocking down some bunnies as he gets a little bigger. I used a bunch of scrap material that I have had hanging around. I think they turned out great.

A visit to the farm

Recently we visited an open house at an Amish farm belonging to a friend of ours, it was good fun for the kids to see all of the animals, and get to play with them. There were a ton of baby lambs, the kids got to hold them and pet them. We saw horses, rabbits, cows, pigs,and chickens. The kids got to hold baby chicks, and watch a demo of sheep herding. It was neat to see all of the things they use on the farm too. We will look forward to doing that again next year.

Guess who's 1?

We just had Jackson's first birthday this weekend. I can't believe it has already been a year. We had a little party on the 13th (even though his birthday is the 14th). John and the kids did a preformance of "Jackson and the Beanstock" for a puppet show. It was so funny, and all of the guests just laughed and really enjoyed it. We asked that in place of other gifts, people make a puppet for Jackson, so he got quite a variety of different types of puppets. It was really quite fun. Of course he had his own little cake, and made a mess of himself too.

New York.

This past weekend we had a whirlwind trip to New York City. We spent Saturday afternoon at Ellis and Liberty Islands. It was great to see the statue up so close, and to learn more about our country's history. They were celebrating Chinese new year and had a few events that the kids participated in. they also had a Chinese drum and dragon dance, that Jackson really liked. we also had an altercation with a seagull, that was pretty funny.
Sunday we went into the city for the New York Comic Con. Wow, talk about a lot of people.It was cool seeing all of the weirdo's dressed in their costumes, and the thousands of others who just love comic books and video games. of course we dressed Jackson in his Yoda costume, and made him a weirdo too. Everyone loved the baby Yoda, he even got his picture on a NBC news site, you can check it out at www.nbcnewyork.com and check out the slide shows of the comic con.
Jackson did really great considering he was dragged around for 2 days and his whole life was turned upside down. He is such an easy going kid, it is great.
this week we are getting ready for Valentines. I have helped make JT an aligator valentines box for school, and we will be making cookies as well. Kenzie went rollerskating for girl scouts, and had a great time.
I wish you all love and kisses this Valentines day.

The New Year Is Here

Well, it is now well into January, and time is flying by too quickly. I can't believe that the holiday season has already come and gone. It all happened so fast that I didn't have a chance to even send out Christmas cards. (I still plan on it) We were very busy from the beginning of October until now. After John got home from his Fathers funeral in Phoenix ,(in the middle of November) we tore out a wall in between the kitchen and dining room. We tore out carpet in the dining room, and made it one big room, replaced the floor, and repainted the whole room. We also got a new stove 3 days before Christmas. We finally finished painting the ceilings throughout, yesterday. We were preparing to move, and updating out house What an ordeal the whole process was. Now that we did the remodeling that we've wanted done since we moved here, we will be staying here in Pennsylvania, and not moving after all. I am relieved, and a little sad. Moving is always a great adventure.
Christmas was great! John's mom Carol spent a month with us from mid Dec to Jan 8th. It was great having her with us, and not just because she does the laundry. The kids had a great time with Nana, and Jackson loved having another person to dote on him.
We tried to do a mostly homemade Christmas. I made some pottery mugs for everyone, and crocheted little stuffed animals for the kids. I also sewed blue jean quilts for the kids. They turned out great. We did, however buy some gifts as well. JT finally got his coveted nintendo DS. That is all he has talked about for over a year. Mackenzie got some art supplies to become a painter, she had the paints, and now she got canvases, paper, brushes, and a nice easel.
The new year came and went, and we were our normal exciting selves. John worked early that morning, waking at 3:30, so he fell asleep on the couch around 8:00pm. Carol and JT and I watched movies and drank egg nog at the stroke of midnight. Mackenzie went to a party at her friends and spent the night there, so she stayed up later than everyone. What can I say, we are just wild party animals.
Now that the kids are back in school, and things are back to normal, we are as busy as ever with the daily grind. I hope you all had a great Holiday season and we wish you all the best this new year.