A couple of weeks ago, Scott and I got the chance to go to Sedona, Arizona for a wedding. Thanks to my parents for keeping the kids!!!!!

We left Friday, January 13 and flew into Phoenix. This picture was taken about 30 minutes before we landed.

Unfortunately, the kids shared their germs with me before we left so I felt pretty bad on the flight and most of the trip. I managed to power through though and have a great time! :)  We had a 2 hour drive to Sedona, and it was already dark by the time we got our rental car, so we didn't get to see much scenery on the drive. I couldn't wait to wake up Saturday morning and see our surroundings! This is what we could see from our balcony.

This is our hotel...

Saturday we got up early... I was hoping to sleep in but was up around 7. But with the time change, I guess it was technically 9! After some breakfast we walked around the "up town" area for a little while, then decided to try out a few of the local wineries. I had no idea Arizona had wineries! We ended up doing tastings at 3 different ones. Even though the tastings were small, I still needed a nap before heading to the wedding! So we went and got some yummy Mexican for lunch, headed back to hotel for a quick nap. Then we got ready for the 4:30 wedding.

The ceremony was outside. The weather was perfect and the scenery was amazing. It was so pretty! Even now when I look at pictures, I still sort of feel like I'm looking at a painting! After the ceremony and an outdoor cocktail hours, we headed inside for a seated dinner. The wedding wrapped up around 9 and since I still wasn't feeling great we headed back to the hotel.

Our flight home wasn't until Monday, but we decided to head back to Phoenix on Sunday instead of having to get up a 3 am on Monday morning since we had to drive 2 hours and return the rental car. So Sunday after some breakfast and shopping (we finally found Addison the stuffed cat she requested!) we headed back to the airport to return our car. Then we grabbed some lunch (Mexican again - my favorite!), then hung out at the hotel for a little while.

We decided that before dinner, we'd go see a movie. Scott and I never go to movies, so I was pretty excited. The last movie we went to was on Christmas Day when I was pregnant! We went to see Mission Impossible, then headed to an Asian Tapas Restaurant for dinner. Then back to hotel for an early night since our flight was so early.

It was a great trip and I would love to go back to Sedona at some point! There was much more to do there than I was expecting, and several places in the surrounding areas I'd like to go see.

Meanwhile, back home, we knew the kids were having a great time with Grandma and Grandpa Suttle. My dad kept me in the loop by sending me pictures from his phone, which I loved! Here are a couple that I got:

You may remember when I took Addison and Fischer to story time at our local library, and Fischer about burned the place down... it was awhile ago, and for some reason we just never went back! I think I was embarrassed, and then I forgot about going, then they started school, etc...

But I have no idea why I didn't ever think of taking them to the library just to check out books. Sounds simple enough but the thought never really crossed my mind. Anyway, this past Saturday Scott and I took them since it was a nasty, rainy day. We spent about 30 minutes there. They had a great time playing with the Lego table, the puzzles, and looking at the books. Before we went in, Fischer said he wanted to check out a book about space, and Addison said she wanted a book about princesses. Luckily, we were able to find one for each of them very quickly. We also got Fischer one about robots and Addison one about a cat. I think we have read the robot one Robot Zot no less than 100 times since Saturday. It probably won't be a pretty sight when we have to return that one....

I'm looking forward to our next trip when we go to return these 4 books and check out some new ones!

It has been raining here for days and days - at least it seems that way.

We finally got a chance to play outside this afternoon and the kids were pretty happy!

So, Addison and Fischer will be 3 in less than a month. And if these past few days (well, weeks maybe) are any indication of what's to come, I'm scared! People who told me that 3 is hard than 2 weren't kidding. I am mentally, and sometimes physically, exhausted by the time they go to bed each night.

It's a good thing they do some really funny things to keep the mood light around here! Their imaginations are running wild right now and it's fun to sit and listen to them play. I wish I wrote more of it down because I tend to forget the specifics of what they do/say pretty quickly.

They are playing well together these days, but happy play can turn to fighting in a second! I'm definitely understanding why my mom used to tell my brother and I to not even look at each other when we starting picking on each other. I think I have found myself saying that a time or two.

That's about all I have to say tonight. :)

I plan on writing about the recent trip Scott and I took to Arizona soon...

Poor Addison has been sick for 2 weeks... and she still isn't 100%.

It all started 2 Saturdays ago...she seemed fine the entire day. I put them to bed, and all was normal. Scott returned from a hunting trip late that night, so he went to check on the kids when he got home. When he checked on Addison, he could tell she had a fever - it was around 102! What!? Where did that come from? He gave her some Tylenol, and we waited to see what Sunday would be like.

She woke up and seemed fine again. How weird! It was a very nice morning so we decided to head to the zoo. The kids, once again, seemed fine. We headed home to eat lunch and put the kids down for their naps. We got Subway and brought it home to eat. We sat down and Fischer was not like himself at all and asked to go to bed. My kids never ask to go to bed like that. He didn't even eat his chips so I knew he wasn't feeling right. So I put him to bed and he went right to sleep. When he woke up, he and Scott went to the grocery store. Scott called me a little while later and said Fischer had gotten sick in the middle of the grocery store - all over himself, the cart and the floor.

Meanwhile, Addison woke up from her nap and she was warm again! I took her temperature and her fever was over 101. What a confusing day! So when Scott and Fischer got home, we all just relaxed and watched TV for the afternoon. Fischer got sick a few more times, then seemed to feel better by bedtime. He woke up pretty much back to normal Monday morning.

Addison woke up without a fever, but was still kind of tired, and her nose was running a bit. We took it easy that day too. I decided to take them to school Tuesday morning because neither had fevers and they seemed ok. Addison just seemed a little tired.  And, Scott and I were leaving town that Friday and it was my last chance to run a few errands without the kids because Scott was out of town until late Thursday night and the kids didn't have school Thursday. Selfish, I guess. :) Anyway, I got a call from their teacher saying Addison wasn't being herself, and she felt a little warm. She also told the teacher she had thrown up in her bed the night before. Because of their "24 hour rule" for throwing up, the teacher had to follow up. I assured her that Addison did not get sick the night before! She said Addison told her she got sick, I gave her a bath and then gave her some Pepto. None of which was true... I thought it was pretty funny.

By the time I picked the kids up from school, Addison was feeling awful. Her nose was running a lot and she was just really tired. She perked up some, and seemed a little better Wednesday. Fast forward to Thursday.... I finally took her to the doctor because she had a developed a nasty cough and I didn't want to leave town on Friday wondering what was going on. I got the last appointment of the afternoon, and thankfully Dianne stayed with Fischer because we ended up having to wait a long time which is never fun with both kids there!

Turns out she had another ear infection, and the 2nd ear was about to become infected. The poor girl never had an ear infection before November and now she's had 5. So they gave us an antibiotic and she got her first dose Thursday evening. My parents got to town so they could keep the kids while Scott and I went to Arizona for a wedding. Friday morning, Addison seemed much better. My parents said she seemed pretty good the whole weekend, until Monday. She was getting warm by nap time so they gave her some Tylenol. By the time Scott and I got home Monday evening, Addison was quite hot and not feeling well at all.  I had talked to a nurse while we were waiting in the airport earlier in the day and she said it wasn't normal to have a fever 5 days into an antibiotic, so she should probably be checked out again.

I took her first thing Tuesday morning. Their normal doctor is on maternity leave so we saw another doctor on Thursday and then again on Tuesday. Addison liked him right away, so that was nice. After checking her ears again, he said they did seem to be improving. So he wanted to test for flu and do a blood test to check her red blood cell count, and we would decide what to do after getting those results. Those tests came back fine, so he said to continue the antibiotic, and he also prescribed a steroid to hopefully get rid of this virus that Addison has on top of her ear infection.  I was so proud of Addison - she did great during the 2 tests and hated the flu test (swab up the nose) much more than the blood test (they pricked her finger).

We will have to take her back towards the end of this coming week to recheck her ears again and make sure the infection is completely gone. It's exhausting when the kids keep getting sick so I hope we are nearing the end of this phase!!

We have a pretty good routine around our house when it comes to meal times. But sometimes it's fun to switch things up!

A couple of weeks ago, it was so nice outside so I suggested we have a picnic for lunch! The kids were excited and waited not-so-patiently for me to pack our lunches!

We each got a brown bag with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, pringles, a celery stick and a twizzler for dessert! They had fun unpacking their bags even though they saw me put everything in there.

We just went out to our backyard, but it was a nice change of pace. The kids didn't eat as well as normal because they were excited and playing, but sometimes it's nice to let those things go and just let them have fun!

Scott and I have never been big on going out for New Year's Eve... especially since having kids. I think our biggest year was when our friends Mary Anne and Rajiv got married on New Year's Eve. That was a fun way to celebrate the new year!

This year, we headed out for very early dinner with friends. Everyone going had kids, so it worked out nicely to meet up early so everyone could get home at a decent time. We went to a Japanese steakhouse and had a great time. The past couple of times Addison hasn't cared for the whole cooking-in-front-of-you experience, but she did great this time. I actually got to eat my  meal without her on my lap. :) Fischer loved it, as always.

We tried to get all 5 kids to cooperate for a picture, but it just wasn't happening. :)

After dinner we headed home, played for awhile, took some pictures, then put the kids to bed.

The kids had fun playing with their party hats... Addison loved looking at herself in the mirror with her hat on.

Scott and I hadn't planned on staying up until midnight but somehow we managed! We were a little tired the next day, since Addison and Fischer got up at their usual time, but it wasn't too bad.

I'm still having a hard time believing it's 2012 - and January is almost half over already!  We hope you had a Happy New Year! :)

For the past few years, we've travelled to Lincolnton, NC to spend some time with my Grandma, and other family members for Christmas. We go a day or two after Christmas and spend a day or two there visiting.

Three years ago, we went to visit and for our family baby shower! It's hard to believe that was already 3 years ago!

This year we headed up on the 27th, which is also my Grandma's birthday. We got to see my parents, cousins and my brother and his family! Yay!  My Grandma lives across the street from a fire station so we went over there for quick visit. They were nice enough to let all the kids climb on the trucks and even gave them hats!

Then we headed to my aunt and uncle's house for dinner that night. That was a little hectic because there were so many people there and Addison and Fischer were all over the place. They are very curious at this age, so it was hard, well impossible, to keep them in one place in a new setting. We did manage to make them sit and eat so that Scott and I could eat as well! Unfortunately I didn't get to take any other pictures because I was too busy chasing the kids around... maybe next year. :)

That night, we stayed in a hotel and got to visit some more with my parents, my brother, and his family. Speaking of that, my 14 year old niece is almost taller than me. How did that happen!? And how is she 14 already?!

Addison and Fischer had fun in in the hotel - we had adjoining rooms, which allowed for us to stay up past 8:30 and socialize while they were right next door sleeping. We kept the doors in between the 2 rooms propped open so we could easily check on them. They each had their own bed and slept great!

It's very rare that the entire family is together - it was fun, and I know it meant a lot to my Grandma!

Christmas was so fun this year! The first two were fun with Addison and Fischer, but this one was different because they actually understood what was going on. We were able to talk about everything for days (or weeks) before and they were so excited for the day to actually get here.

Most mornings, Fischer wakes up first and will come lay in bed with us. Usually about 20-30 minutes later, Addison is awake. So, on Christmas morning, we had to keep Fischer out of the living room so that he didn't see what Santa brought before Addison did! Luckily he didn't even try to go in there.

The kids looked at what Santa brought (sleeping bags and some books), then we ate breakfast.

Then it was time for stockings and presents.  And yes, Addison is wearing a pink skirt (of mine) that we have rigged to fit her. She actually slept in it too.

After opening a lot of presents, the kids got tired and just wanted to play with their new toys! So we took a break since we were staying home for the day.  I didn't want to rush it, or make it feel like we were forcing them to open presents!

After lunch and a nap, we started round 2. It took about an hour - I'm a big believer in everyone opening 1 present at a time, so it takes awhile. I like to see what everyone gets! That's the way we always did it growing up and I fully intend of keeping that tradition alive. :)

We had a great afternoon and evening playing with all the new stuff, which included movies, books, puzzles, coloring books, games, barbies, matchbox cars and much, much more.. I think we are just as excited as the kids to get new toys - we get tired of playing with the same things too. :)

I know next Christmas will be even more exciting, and we are already looking forward to it! Especially Addison, who keeps saying "Oh no! Christmas is over?!" :)

After spreading the reindeer food on Christmas Eve, we took a walk down our street, and just played in the woods around our house. We were having a lot of fun "hiking."

At one point, while we were walking down the street, Addison and Fischer ran up to each other and hugged - a very tight, real hug. It was so cute, but of course I could only get a picture right as they decided to let go.

They must've been feeling very loving that day because just a few minutes later, they started holding hands (all on their own!) and walked for a couple of minutes like that. I was able to take several pictures. It was so cute. I just love it when they do things like that!

While we were playing, Fischer laid in the dirt and said he was going to make a "Fischer angel." Then he told me he wanted snow.... unfortunately it was quite warm that day so it wasn't going to happen. I guess we just have to pretend with the dirt. :)

 Later that night, we set out cookies for Santa, then headed upstairs to read The Night Before Christmas. Then it was time to go to sleep so Santa could come!!

Christmas Eve was a fun and relaxing day at our house!

We hung out at home, and had friends over for dinner. The weather was nice so we spent a lot of the afternoon outside. Our main goal was to spread Addison and Fischer's reindeer food!

We knew we were going to leave some cookies out for Santa to snack on, but wanted to make sure the reindeer had a snack too! They received a bag of the food at their school Christmas party.

After picking the perfect spot, Fischer "spread" (dumped in one pile) his food.

Then it was Addison's turn - we made sure she picked a different spot.

She kept looking at it. :) And Fischer may have walked over and ate some out of Addison's pile.... good thing it was really just oatmeal and sprinkles.

They had a lot of fun doing that, so we will definitely do that next year.