Sandbox

Tony had been working on a big ol' sandbox for the boys and was almost finished. I left to go to a baby blessings and my kids looked something like this:

just a little mud for Kai. I have no idea where his pants went but he was obviously having fun!

Holy cow! Blakers had only been outside for 10 minutes and was this dirty. I laughed and grabbed some pictures (secretly happy I was leaving so I wouldnt have to clean up this mess)!

All the kids loved squishing in the mud that would eventually house their sandbox!

Well, Kai did to some extent. Guess he likes mud on his own terms!

They had a ton of fun 'painting' the fence with mud.


 I was gone just over an hour and returned to find this:

Mud everywhere! In the was totally CAKED in mud. His skin looked like an elephants. It took forever to get off him!

Crazy kid liked it though!

Can you guess who 'helped' him get mud everywhere?

Bouncin' Bears!

 While Matt was in town we decided to go to the new bouncy house place. The kids loved it. I have never been to one as clean as this place. Usually I leave all covered in cooties (at least it feels that way to me) but this place was great!

 Kai loved it! Too often we go to places where he is stuck sitting on my lap or watching the fun from the sidelines. Not this place! He ran, crawled, climbed and jumped with the rest. Obviously with that smile he was having fun!

Oh Aliya. Its sad how happy this picture makes me. I love that she has no clue what she's doing (except showing me her 'owie'), I love the look on her face and I love that I was able to get a picture of it (I'm also sad to admit that this is my Facebook picture)!

 We had some cousins in town from St. Louis so we were able to play with Mason and Evan at Bouncing Bears. I was afraid they'd run crazy and leave my kids in the dust but luckily my kids kept up!

 Nuncle Matt and Kai -- Kai was pretty spoiled by his Uncle this trip.

 Ev loved going down face first -- not the best idea but he loved it!

 It was HOT inside this place. Their website said to wear long sleeved shirts and long pants. We did and we all died. I should have realized the placed would be packed with hot, sweaty kids!

 We loved getting to spend time with our cousins. We only wish it could have been longer, and with all our cousins!

 Bunch of deadbeats! You've gotta love that they both had the 'day-off' yet had to do work at least twice this day. Guess that is why I love all the hardworking men in my life.

Aliya and Tae loved to take Kai for a ride down the slide. Sure he could do it alone but the girls had so much fun schlepping him up and down the slide I figured why not. He obviously didn't mind!

Childrens Museum

 Just another reason why we love Uncle Matt. I swear the decibel levels in my house shoot up a million extra points when he's around but it is always so much fun!

 We figured we'd use Uncle Matt's visit as an opportunity to hit the Houston Children's Museum. We've been wanting to go but frankly, I just haven't been up for the drive. I don't mind driving anywhere near us but when I am forced to go through downtown Houston I am grumpy. The roads suck, the drivers are horrible, there are both and left exits from the same lane ... its chaos!

 Luckily Daddy had taken a couple days off so HE got to make the drive ... I got to hold on tight while fearing for my life (seriously, I swear I am turning into an old Idaho driver. I can make that judgemental statement ... I've lived there and I think Idaho drivers are the worst).

 It is HUGE! We have a Children's Museum right near us in The Woodlands but its small. This sucker we didn't even come close to exploring. We ended up buying a years membership and I've already been back (yep, drove through down all by myself to get there)!

 They have a big outdoor exhibit that Blakers loved (can you tell from the smile)!

 Aliya loved that she could paint her face herself (she got a make up kit for Christmas so she'd been doing a ton of face painting but these paints were 'cool')!

I don't know if it is because she is a lefty or just cuz she's 5 but she can write her name perfectly backwards. She can write sentences perfectly from right to left and the letters are perfectly backwards. Tony worries she may be dyslexic ... I worry that she is too smart!

Live Nativity

Last year while Aliya was at ELP (the preschool my kids attend) Blake was okay with the whole "wild" animal thing. As long as he wasn't forced to ride it, he was fine. He'd even touch them. But when forced onto a camels back, he lost it! See below:

This year was MUCH easier!

 Dude rode a donkey (I think it helped that he'd ridden a horse in the summer w/ Gma/Gpa and had been taking riding lessons) and loved it!

 He was the first one on the donkey this year! No tears, just a huge, massive smile!

He got to ride with some of his BFF's: at the back is Cole and Corbin. Immediately behind Blake is Jack. His best BFF. I don't know why but Blake makes boys named Jack his BFF's. There is this Jack at ELP. He loves a boy named Jackson that is at TEDS (his other preschool) then his ultimate BFF ever is Jacky ... his buddy from last year school. I guess it makes it convenient for him!

Christmas 2010

We had an awesome holiday season this last year. We got the best gift ever on Christmas Eve day: Nuncle  Matt came to celebrate Christmas with us! It was so neat to have him there. He of course spoiled us all rotten and was so fun to have in our home! Please, please, please come again Nuncle Matt!

Christmas Eve we had some awesome friends, and family over for dinner. The Moes family with their 4 kids joined us as well as Colby, Steph and newborn baby Keller. The food was killer (Prime rib etc), ambiance was great (the power went out after dinner which was a ton of fun) and conversation was terrific. We are so lucky to have so many people we love nearby! Thanks for making our Christmas Eve fun and memorable (even if we didnt get any pictures)!

Each Christmas Eve Santa's elves deliver us Christmas jammies. We were surprised to see that Matt even got jammies. Where on earth Santa found a onesie big enough to fit a 6'4" man I'll never know! 

Another tradition we have is opening one present on Christmas Eve. Tae picked out her gift to Uncle Matt and was so excited to give it to him. She picked none other than a pair of bright red "Flash" underwear. She wanted to get him a small but I convinced her that Matt's bum was big like Daddy's so a small wouldn't fit!

 Luckily Matt was a good sport and immediately tried them on (although he later learned that the lightning bolt was a great target for Blake)!

 Christmas morning was met with excitement and joy ... as well as tears and temper tantrums. Kai wasn't too sure about the is whole present thing! I swear all morning long I saw him carrying around a homemade roll. I'm not sure if he ate the darn thing or kept swiping a new one but almost every picture of the kid he's got a roll in hand!

 Bruce sent the boys each a CAT hat. They love them. It was cute to see them trade hats (even though it was the same hat)!

 Tae got a video camera that can take still shots as well. Luckily she is old enough to realize that her 'big' gift cost a lot so she didn't get as many gifts as the little kids!

Check out Aliya with her loot! I got wise this year and brought the kids laundry baskets down to hold all their presents. It kept things somewhat tidy (well, until a little brother or two started tearing through the piles)!

 Daddy got the shaft yet again! Mommy thought she'd ordered some good gifts but luckily Santa leaves receipts ... most things got returned! Mommy however scored with a bunch of cooking classes. Wahoo!

Poor Nuncle Matt had been up most of the night before throwing up. No fun being sick, on Christmas, away from home etc. However I think Tae's pink snuggie made him feel a bit better!

Merry Christmas!

The first part of November I had my local BFF, Krysta, take our family pictures. She is uber talented and  did a killer job. We are not the easiest crew to take pictures of but she did a great job (and we had fun along the way). Afterwards I told her it was painless ...which coming from me, that's a HUGE compliment! I hate getting my picture taken! Here are some of my favorite pictures plus a brief rundown of each kiddo and some of their accomplishments from this past year!

Tony and I saw this picture and both said "wow, we got a lot of kids". Its crazy how when we are  caught up in the day to day madness called our life, we don't realize how many of us there are. Not only are there a lot of kiddos, they are also pretty stinkin' cute kiddos. 

This has to be my favorite picture she took. It is so REAL. It shows the unique personality, and temperaments, my kids each have. Taeya is working hard to help out, Aliya is pouting about something, Kai is fussing and Blake is scheming about what trouble he can get into next!

Kai, 15 months, is the best caboose we could have ever asked for. He is so fun. This day he was ornery so we weren't able to coax a smile out of him. Typically he will smile at anyone. He has one of those gigantic cheeser smiles that lights up his whole face! He loves to flirt with old ladies at the grocery store. He just started to walk and I can tell, he's going to give Blakers a run for his money when it comes to mischievousness. He is already climbing and getting into EVERYTHING! Although he's getting so big (he is only 2 lbs less than Blake), he still love to cuddle. Anytime I get him out of his crib he lays his head on my shoulder and pats my back. Its really sweet! 

Ah Blakers (3). This little boy is so stinkin cute. His cuteness has saved his hiney a lot this past year. He is so curious and often times that curiosity has gotten him into trouble! These past couple months his vocabulary has exploded. He says some of the funniest things. His favorite thing is "just a second" or "in a minute" when he wants to keep playing. He continues to be obsessed with cars, trucks and diggers but has also discovered new loves: trains, tools and sticks. It is rare to find him with out some sort of toy in his hands. Blake goes to school 4 days a week and LOVES it. His teachers say he's great and that the other kids love him.

Aliya (5 1/2) is our big Kindergartner. We've been pleasantly surprised how well she is doing in school. She recently won an award for a story she wrote (I'm not exactly sure how that happened since she really cant write sentences but hers was the best Kindergarten girls story ... I cant wait to see it when school starts back up). She is so much fun. We say she's our bundle of personality wrapped up in butt length

hair. Every teacher she's had comments that all the other kids want to be friends with her. I cant blame them because when she's happy, she is so much fun to be with (fortunately ??, she saves her orneriness for home ... those times aren't so much fun)!

Taeya (8 1/2) continues to be the best firstborn kid we could ask for. She is such a huge help around the house and is so good with her little brothers (sometimes with her little sister too)! She is quite the student and we are so proud of her achievements. She recently competed in her schools spelling bee. They took the top 10 kids from 3rd, 4th & 5th grades and then had them compete. We didn't put much effort into studying because we figured she was competing against older kids, it wasn't very fair. She blew us out of the water and finished in the top 10. She has some terrific friends and loves spending time with them. She just finished soccer and is thinking volleyball maybe the next sport she'll try!

Oh I love this picture! These boys are payback for all the trouble Tony and I caused when we were younger. I get glimpses of the fun these two will have together ... part of me is scared to death but the other part thinks we'll have fun. I just fear the trouble they'll cause together!

True sisters! These two have so much fun together. They are getting to the point where they fight and get bugged by each other but at the end of the day, they are the best of friends. I love watching them play and scheme together!

I love this picture. My men have so much fun together. There is not a day that goes by that these three, and their sisters, do not wrestle or have a pillow fight. I've had so many pillow cases ruined in one of their epic pillow fights. I love how they roar and yell and wrestle yet they love each other so much. Its the sweetest thing to see each night as Tony comes through the door, the kids all yell "Dad" and go running for their hug. Kai lets out a yelp and goes waddling as fast and his little legs will let him! Yep, my boys love me but they adore their Daddy!

I love my girls. Its fun to talk with them about what their futures will be like. It was cute to hear Tae ask if I'll come take care of her when she has a baby. I love that they are at the age where they still want to be with me. 

As for Tony and I, we're doing great. Tony is staying super busy at work. He is juggling a ton of different projects that often have him traveling but when he's home, he's home. He loves us and enjoys being with  us. He is so good to take me out each weekend. I joke that we are single handedly employing all the neighborhood teens with our date nights! Its nice to know he likes 'courting' me! I'm doing the kid thing which most days I love. There have been a few days when I'm tempted to throw in the towel and get a job just so I can pee alone but those days are rare. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years!

Love,

The Dickamores

Painting w/ Papa

Before we went on our Utah trip Taeya made a list of all the stuff she wanted to do while we were in Utah. One of the top things on her list was to paint with Grandpa Thompson. She remembered doing it before and loved it. This time Aliya got in on the action!

 They have the perfect set up for painting out in Gpa's laundry room: plenty of light, big work surface and floors that clean up easily in case of spilled paint!

They would watch a little bit of a Bob Ross painting show then the girls would go and recreate what they had just watched. Tae did it all by herself and did a fabulous job!

Aliya did terrific too (and loved getting to paint with her big sissy and Grandpa). Definitely one of their favorite memories!