HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It's 12:45am here on January 1st! I can hardly believe 2011 is already here! There are some big changes ahead for the Garcia family this year! More on that later today. For now, here are a few pictures from tonight. We spent the evening eating good food, playing games, watching the ball drop in New York and then Kass and Kam shot silly string at each other in the rain at midnight! HA!

This little girl didn't quite make it until midnight...

But the rest of them did... just barely. I thought Keeghan was going to pass out at about 11:55!! LOL We were singing to him to keep him awake. He made it though, and then had a meltdown afterwards. Poor kid! 

Drinking sparkling grape juice and watching the ball drop at midnight. Keeghan's SO tired! LOL 

Shooting each other with silly string... all the cool kids are doing it! 

Charlie made it to midnight, too. That girl is a party animal I tell ya! HA! 

We hope you all had a fun, safe New Year and wish you a Happy, Healthy Wonderful 2011!!! It's gotta be better than last year! ;)

Q&A #176

Wow, your kids are super lucky to get so much for Christmas. My husband and I struggled to come up with six gifts each for our kids and 95% came from goodwill.
That was a combination of gifts from us, their Grandma, and both their great-grandmothers. We save all year and shop sales when we can throughout the year and the grandmothers help out a lot. We are very thankful! :) 


Just a warning: Love Comes Softly the movie was the only one that was even close to the book.
The other movies were more than a bit loosely based upon the original books. Major plot, characters and the like were massively changed. So, while the books are far superior to the movies, you may want to warn kass that they will be very different from the movie series. 
OH! Thank you!!! That is really good to know, and I think I'm glad I saw the movies first or I'd be really disappointed in them and I REALLY liked the movies! haha I told Kassidy and she said, "Aww man!" LOL I did tell her the books were still really good though so she said, "Well that's good at least!" :) 


Wow, seriously someone came on and commented on a post from 2 years ago? And not very nicely either. How strange. Do you happen to recall if Kass ended up having strep?
Nope, ended up being a virus... I had to read ahead on my blog remember what had happened that time. Still though, better safe than sorry! 


Having lived for 9 years with a medically fragile little boy who has been hospitalised most times he's caught a cold/bug from me, or his siblings, I thank you for not sending Kass to school with a sore throat! There was never any worse feeling that being sat next to a ill child and just KNOWING that I was going to get it and expose him to that risk, once I was sat next to a girl who turned out to have MEASLES, but had been sent in because "She didn't have a temperature this morning" despite the fact she was coughing up a storm, and was covered in little red spots.
I wish more parents would have your attitude, I really do. (I can't shake the feeling that sounds snarky, but it's not meant as such, honest!) 
That wasn't snarky at all, I totally get where you are coming from. We are just now to the point where, when Kennedy gets sick, I don't automatically think, "OK we are going to end up in the hospital." Her first 5 years were tough and she caught EVERYTHING, and when she did, it was serious for her. I know there are a few kids at the kids' school who are in remission from cancer or even still going through treatment, and even though they are not in Kass and Kam's classes, I think about them when my kids are not feeling well. We've been there, and it stinks. I will always play it safe if my kids aren't feeling well and not put others at risk even during *gasp* T-CAP week! HA! 


LOVE the kids bags and their shirts with a K on it! You did both on Cafe Press? 
Yes!! They love them, too! They have all picked their favorite colors now (well, Kellsey's been assigned a color for now! haha) so we're starting to color code everything since I can't initial stuff! HA! (My fault! LOL) Fortunately, the kids all picked colors of the rainbow which is neat! I have all kinds of fun things in my mind to do with it! :)


I have to make sure that Gracie doesn't see these pictures, grin....she wanted a Fuigi (sp?) ball so bad. Does it work? 
He actually hasn't tried it yet, he needs to watch the DVD that came with it. It looks pretty complicated!!


Oh, and is that an American Girl doll Kennedy has? I begged and pleaded to get one when they first came out (I was about her age), and on Christmas morning, I got her! And I have her to this day! Some gifts little girls get are cherished forever. :) 
Yes! :) She had been asking for one for months! I was so excited for her to open it that I wanted to give it to her before Christmas! HA! Charlie hasn't left her side since Christmas morning. I have a feeling she'll be around for a long, long time! :) 


Did you actually see this display in person? It's so cool! 
No, not this one, but there is another one that I'm going to post about, I'm trying to get the video for it. It was SO neat!!! This one was really awesome, too, though! 


THAT was very cool!!
Where do you find this stuff?? :) 
Someone emailed that one to me, usually I get them from emails or facebook. :) 


So did you show Keeghan this since the poor little guy slept all the way through it?? LOL...we tried so hard to wake him up and he just wasn't having it! 
LOL I would, but the sound doesn't work on my computer for some reason. Poor computer. I guess Keeghan was just destined not to see it! 


We went last night. It was really fun. Did you guys do the smores at the end? If you get the chance&feel adventurous you should go to the hotel. It is so much fun.
We didn't, we went out to eat instead... I pictured 5 sticky kids all the way home and decided it would be safer to just go to a restaurant! haha

Shadrack's Christmas Wonderland

This is the light show we saw in Nashville the other day! It's called Shadrack's Christmas Wonderland and it's at the Yogi Bear Campground right by the Opryland Hotel. This was so cool! You just stay in your car and drive through and tune your radio into a certain radio station to hear the music that coordinates with the lights. If you live in middle TN, this display is still going until January 2nd. Totally worth it!!!

Best Christmas Light Display!

We actually saw an amazing light display last night that I will tell you more about soon, but this one is probably the best I've ever seen on an individual house! SO cool!

Hope you all have had a good day, we went to spend the day with my friend Lyndi and went to the movies to see Yogi Bear. It was lots of fun! :) Now we are winding down before bed. I'm ready already! :)

Q&A #175

And now you've inspired me to be more thoughtful with my pictures!What did you use to scrapbook them? I love it! Pretty ballerina hair! 

I used picnik.com. They have so many cute layouts and choices for fancy collages! LOVE that site!


Renee - a "diva" she is! She's such a beautiful little ballerina...and when I was looking at the pics, I thought - isn't this what every mama dreams of her 6 year old doing? Dressing up for her ballet recital, putting her hair in a bun, hanging out with her friends? I'm sure it's all the more special to you though, because of what a miracle Kennedy is. :) 
Absolutely, I get teary-eyed every time! 


Why did she only get 90 seconds? How much time did everyone else get? That doesn't seem fair at all!
Her whole class only got that this time... usually they get two numbers, one tap and one ballet, but this time it was ballet only. Such a bummer. 


Yet another sacrifice you two are making for all of us. Hope you have a big celebration! In March, right?
Yep, there abouts! :)


Super sweet card. Isn't Kellsey older than Keeghan though? 
Yep. They're listed in order of appearance in our family. :)


Loved the Christmas jammies....where did you get them? Can't wait for more pics! 
From Nikki Knits. They have lots of great matching stuff on there! 


Kellseys mad because you not only woke her up but didn't give her a watergun! :)
Keep dreaming, Paige! ;)


WOW! Mini Laptops huh? I don't even have one of those! Are they cheaper? LOL
They actually are much cheaper than a regular laptop, but they don't have a DVD drive or anything... still, perfect for a kid just starting out in the laptop world :). 


What's that thing called that Kassidy is playing with in the last picture of her? I think I had one of those one time!
I actually have no idea! LOL My mom found that. I think I had one of those when I was a kid, too! 


You just found all sorts of cute stuff! And you have a fireman, policeman, AND a doctor? WOW! That's convenient! Or at least I thought I saw a drs outfit but now I can't find the picture. So maybe it was somewhere else I saw that.
Yes, the doctor picture was on Facebook :). They came as a set from Melissa and Doug. They are really great quality! 


I love to read, and have read a lot of different series of books many times. What series is Kassidy reading?
It's the Love Comes Softly series by Janette Oke. There are 8 books (and 8 movies made as well). They are Christian based and the movies were wonderful! We watched them all when Frank was home. Kass was excited to get the books (and I'm hoping she'll let me borrow them when she's done! LOL). Here's the description I found online: 

Love Comes Softly, the first series from the pen of Janette Oke, follows the lives of one family through three generations--beginning with a hated "marriage of convenience," through hardships common to life on the prairie in an earlier time, leading at last to an abiding love. These eight stories reflect the enduring hope of Christian love and faith despite adversity and hardship.

Ummm.....you keep Kass home for a sore throat? That's kinda like taking off of work for a hangnail...

Ummm first of all, why come here just to be snarky on a post from almost two years ago?! REALLY?! And if you had bothered to read the whole post you would have seen that I kept her home to get her tested for strep because she had a very sick brother with all the symptoms and the two of them had a horrible time battling strep before they got their tonsils out. You feel free to send your kids to school sick, but I prefer to keep mine home -  first because it does them no good to be in school when they're not feeling well, and second because it's not fair to infect everyone else in the class if I think they have something like strep. Better safe than sorry. But hey, I just have two kids who make straight A's and always make up their work if they do have to miss school, so what do I know. @@ Think I'll go pick at my hangnail now.

Christmas Pictures Part 4

Opening presents (continued)

Kameron wanted that fusigi ball so badly! Grandma to the rescue! Kennedy got matching outfits for her and her new baby... 

Kellsey got stringing beads which I heard she plays with all the time at school... 

One of the few things Keeghan asked for was a Curious George Jack-in-the-Box. Amazon rocks! 

And Kameron wanted a Santa Suit... I have NO idea why! LOL  

More clothes, and Toy Story 3 of course! Kennedy got a Ballerina mat and bar. 

Keeghan got Brobee shoes! Kennedy's ballerina outfit came with a matching one for her baby. More games and a princess mirror for the Sincess... 

And just what Kass and Kam have been saving and saving for... mini laptops. This gift came with a condition: They had to hand over the money they'd been saving... they saved about half, and Frank and I matched them and covered the rest. They were thrilled! Saving money is hard, but it really does pay off when you get cool stuff! Now we're all sitting in the living room on our laptops! ;)

Somehow I missed getting this one in here... Keeghan got a laptop, too! ;)

All dressed up... Kennedy and Charlie (her new baby), my little fireman, my Santa Claus 

and Kellsey in one of her new outfits. She did her beads all by herself... and she's almost smiling!

Karson and Kampbell got presents too... they got new leashes. They need to get used to them! LOL 

Keeghan was tired out by the time we got to Grandma's so when she gave him a new pillow and blanket, he was ready to try them out. 

Cutest little police man and Fancy Nancy EVER (even if he did write me a ticket)!

We hope you all had a VERY Merry Christmas!!! We surely did here!! We're looking forward to next year when Daddy can be home with us! 

Christmas Pictures Part 3

Opening presents... 

Presents presents everywhere... 

The one thing Kennedy really wanted was an American Girl. Somehow the catalogs started coming to our house several months ago and she has been hoarding them ever since and studying them closely...

I think she liked her. :)

Let the present opening begin! :) 

The bag that Keeghan has there, I designed for each of the kids on cafepress. They love them!

We tried Dance Dance Revolution the other night... 

let's just say, I hope the neighbors weren't watching through the windows! HA!

Kennedy's Tangled book came with a musical hairbrush... that won't turn off. Ever. 

The blocks actually got a half smile out of Kellsey... followed by a pout. LOL 

The kids all got lots of clothes and jammies, except Kass... not sure how that happened! LOL

Guess I'll have to take her shopping! ;)

Monkeys for Keeghan, Hello Kitty for Kennedy... they're so easy! 

 Believe it or not, those books are Kellsey's favorite thing now. Kenn and Keeghan love games! Kass has already started the first book in that series, too! 

More clothes, books, and tidbits... watch for those shirts in a group picture soon! ;)

More to come... 

Christmas Pictures Part 2

Checking out what Santa left and opening stockings... 

Santa was here!

He always eats his cookies and drinks his milk!

The Gift Card Tree...

Kass and Kam checking out their gift card tree... 

it comes with a whole day of one-on-one time with mom. ;)

Stocking stuffers...

More stocking stuffers...

Keeghan brought his monkey down to share in the joy lol

Little Einstein!

It's Brittany!

I love this new Fancy Nancy dress!

A GREEN monkey!!

Cool! A game!

A monkey flashlight!

Chapstick!

Kellsey was in quite a "mood" all morning. She did not appreciate being woken up, even for presents. Be ready for very few smiles. You've been warned.

You woke me up WHY?!

I don't know what this is, but I might hit you with it. 

I guess I'll see what else is in here.

Oh, look at this. 

A ball.

More to come... 

Christmas Pictures Part 1

Christmas Eve... 

Baking Jesus' Birthday Cake

Opening one present before bed...