Elf on the Shelf 2012

When we first got our Elf on the Shelf (the boys named him Buddy) 2 years ago, the only thing he did at night was move around the house...one night he might be sitting on the couch, the next he might be perched on the washing machine. Looking for Buddy's newest hiding place every morning was excitement enough, and the boys loved it. 

Then last year, Buddy got up to some mischief overnight...just hiding was too boring, so while everyone was sleeping he kept himself busy going fishing, making s'mores, redecorating our tree with underwear, etc. (You can check out all of Buddy's 2011 antics HERE.) Jackson, Cody and Luke laughed hysterically at each new Buddy discovery (him painting their noses red while they slept was a favorite), and the little bit of extra work was worth it to hear the belly laughs.

So now, Buddy has gotten himself into a bit of a pickle in that he has NO choice but to do something funny and creative every night. Which was hard enough for him to do last year...but now a whole month's worth of NEW ideas? That's pretty rough. Thanks to Pinterest, Buddy isn't completely lost...we'll see what all he can come up with. :)

Locked Out

The first night Buddy arrived, he couldn't get in our house! Guess he forgot his key...

Elf Key and Letter from Santa

Our boys had been having some typical sibling issues, and Santa wanted to remind them that Buddy was watching and reporting back on their behavior. So Santa sent a little note on his personal letterhead, and Buddy also found his personal key to our house. Whew! No more getting locked out. 

Drinking Syrup

We had just watched the movie "Elf" the night before, where that Buddy says, "We elves try to stick to the 4 main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup." So apparently OUR Buddy got  hungry and raided the pantry for one of his favorite snacks.

Sledding

Buddy and a friend decided to try sledding on our banister. Of course, the boys thought he was riding in a roller coaster...which is fun, too! 

 Elf Bling

Buddy raided my jewelry tree and decked himself out in red and green....doesn't he look pretty? ;)

Tagging

Buddy went to town with the dry-erase markers and wrote Christmas messages all over the bathroom mirror. Cody was most upset that Buddy spelled a word wrong (he wrote "Buddy ROX" across the bottom). 

Red and Green Pancakes

In honor of December 1st, Buddy got out the pancake mix, skillet, spatula and some food coloring, so we made red and green pancakes for breakfast. What a great idea! :)

Santa's Beard

Buddy brought a little countdown to Christmas where the boys have to add a cotton ball to Santa's beard every day until Christmas. He went a little cotton crazy and gave himself a beard, too. 

Packing Lunches

Buddy decided to give Mom a hand and pack up the boys' lunches overnight. Nice try, Buddy, but wine, honey, cans of pumpkin and a pepper shaker aren't exactly lunchbox fare...

In the shower

Buddy must have stepped in reindeer poop on the way home from the North Pole last night, so he decided to take a quick shower. :P

TP Tumble

Buddy rolled all the way down the stairs in a tube of TP. Silly elf! 

Summer Continued...

Well, my grand plan of a picture every day chronicling our summer activities fell by the wayside (of course) as we got busier actually DOING those activities. :)

But not to worry, we've been taking good care of ourselves, getting haircuts (above) and even pedicures!

We celebrated the Summer Solstice on June 21 with half-price milkshakes at Sonic. Yum! 

Jacks had snorkeling on his summer bucket list, so we gave that a try...

My dentist gave the boys balloons made out of rubber gloves, and Cody turned his into our favorite Mavericks basketball player. :)

We got some new water bottles to keep hydrated in the heat.

We celebrated Anthony's and my 12th wedding anniversary with a family dinner at Texas de Brazil. 

And we checked out the Monet at the Dallas Museum of Art. 

Oh, and Luke is living his dream of being a ninja and taking karate. 

So we've had a lot going on and we're having a lot of fun. Yay summer!

Jackson's 10th Birthday

        

I can't believe my first baby is 10! How did he get to be 10 already? It seems like just yesterday that he surprised us all by arriving 6 weeks early, and now he's a handsome, strong, crazy-smart and wonderfully kind young man who makes us proud every day! 

I took him down to the Arboretum to take some birthday pictures at the Chihuly exhibit. 

And on the actual day of his birthday, this was breakfast: 

Lemon cupcakes with vanilla icing! Yum! 

Later that day, we went to the Rangers game and watched them beat the Detroit Tigers. Go Rangers!

Jackson's seat was a very appropriate number.

By 9 pm, it was still 100 degrees out. HOT!!! So we got some sno cones to cool down.

Here's an official pic of Jacks and me at the game:

This was the cake he chose for his party. Note the writing on the truck. :)

One of the presents I was most excited about was a little bit of spending money...wrapped up in a pretty creative way (Thanks, Pinterest!). 

But the present he liked the best was a blue and yellow lava lamp. Groovy, baby! 

Happy Birthday, Jacks! We love you very much! 

Summer Day 05

Poolin' it with pals! 

And below...Cody with his best girl, Addie. ♥

Summer Day 04

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies 

(Jackson's bucket list item: make a new kind of cookie)

And here, Cody with his "mcgonnagall." 

(he was trying to say monacle LOL)

Summer Day 03

Thunderstorm = no baseball practice = movie night!

Summer Bucket Lists

This year, we decided to make a list of things we really wanted to do this summer. Some we'll get to, and some we may not...but hopefully this will help us keep busy with fun activities and stave off boredom (at least for the first week or two). :)

Cody's List:

• going to the beach and running from the waves
• going to Vail and going on the gondola
• swim in our pool
• make the chocolate cheese cake YUM!
• play checkers with the family
• movie day
• have a sleepover with Addie
• go to the Arboretum
• go to the zoo to see penguins, giraffes and cheetahs
• make chocolate tower double chocolate cake (that's a lot of chocolate!!!)
• bounce at BounceU
• play with Legos

Luke's List: 

• have a friend over
• go to the ice cream store
• see giraffes at the zoo
• go to the beach
• ride bikes
• make our own playdough
• swim
• watch Ice Age 4
• paint my toenails black
• get books at the library

Jackson's List

• Frisco Discovery Center
• bake a cake
• river rafting in Vail
• bungee trampolining
• snorkeling
• go on a bike ride
• take the dogs on a walk at Arbor Hills
• Nerf gun war with balloons
• Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Arboretum (I love that he knows the artist's full name)
• make ice cream sundaes
• bake new kind of cookies
• new frisbee
• make crayons
• Wacky hair day
• send balloons to Gramma
• Paper airplane competition
• big domino track
• family Lego build
• make things with cool duct tape
• flashlight tag

Those are quite some lists! We'd better get started! :)

Summer Day 02

Marble Race Track!