Atlantic City or bust...

Okay, not really. I mean it wasn't our primary reason for going...

But we did go down to New Jersey for the long President's day weekend. True to form, the Doxeys are a party! We packed a lot into a few days. We left early Friday morning and got to Jersey just in time for Leah to get home from school. We went to an awesome park where Doug later joined us and just played. Perfect weather! Amber/Doug and Ryan and I had a great date night that night and went to a haunted forest and dinner. I LOVE date nights with siblings. Sometimes that feels like the only time we get to really be adults together. It seems like whenever one of us goes or comes to each others house that always gets planned in and I am SO glad. Saturday was Philly. We went to Valley Forge for our first time. It was more beautiful, enormous and special than I was anticipating. Next go around we are bringing the bikes! That night we stopped by the funnest children's museum in Cherry Hill on the way back. That was probably one of my favorite things we did. We all had the place to ourselves. They had a smallish hockey rink that we played on Robbie/Ryan against Aubrie and I. That was the first time I realized how fun it is to really "play" with our kids at an older level.

Monday morning we headed to Atlantic City with Amber and the girls. Another first time for Ryan and I. The Jersey shore is beautiful. All of our kids wasted NO time in jumping into the ocean. Crazies!

We had a really hard time leaving it was such a relaxing and fun weekend. I think we didn't get out of there till 5:00 or so. But we missed all the Boston and NYC traffic because of it:)

George and Martha's home behind us

*we even had a little National Geographic thrown in there. A female praying mantis eating the male. We watched for a good 25 minutes I bet.

Regular soldiers quarters at Valley Forge

Martha and George

Boardwalk inn Atlantic City

Children's museum

Iphone updates

Its that time again. The IPhone picture dump. We really don't use the camera anymore (maybe if we get a nicer camera one day...). So, in no particular order.....LIFE!:)

Our jaunt down to Boston to hang out with Dave and Karla for the day. It couldn't have been more perfect. Beautiful day, not too cold, a long bike ride along the Charles River, amazing playground along the way and pizza at Pinocchio's next to Harvard before heading home.

The playground that we stopped at had a zipline. Crazy fun! The kids have been waiting for years for Grandpa Haynie to come to our house and build a zipline in the backyard (I told them all about my fun backyard growing up). So this might hold them off for a few more.

Ryan and Aubrie were having a chat on the trampoline the other day and I had to get capture it, it was so cute. I love seeing moments like that. It makes me feel so content and I want to stop time for them.

Our nor'ester crazy October storm. Hanging out by candlelight before our 8 o'clock bedtime. We were lucky and had power after 24 hours. Most were out for at least 3-4 days. 3 snow days 2 months into school is a really bad sign...

Handsome guys one Sunday afternoon. And as a note--Robbie LOVES Ryan so much. He is his favorite person. He always wants to work with him, play with him, know where he is, etc. and the feeling is definitely mutual. Pretty special.

Robbie's first tennis lesson. "Mom, I really love that tennis!" and thanks to Ryan and many afternoons in the backyard playing baseball and at the track and tennis courts, Robbie has great hand/eye coordination.

Apple-picking with Whitneys and Medaris'

Afternoon at the playground

Karla gets roped into helping me re-finish our dining room table. It was LONG overdue.

???

Many, MANY Friday nights are spent at the YMCA for the Jensens. The kids usually have gymnastics or tennis or some class. Then we stay for their family time. We play in the gymnastics room for an hour--they are allowed on all the apparatus' and they love the tumble track and ball pit and rope swing, and parallel bars and... they LOVE it needless to say. Then we swim for an hour. By that time we are all tired and hungry and Friday night is pizza night. :)

Butterfly Unit at school. They even were able to see caterpillars go through all of the stages and eventually they tagged the butterflies and released them as a class. One of Aubrie's favorite things this year so far.

A staple :) costumes and trampoline.

Miss Hallie Rae's ballet

Conversation in the bathroom tonight (Aubrie was involved so you know it'll be good:):

no idea what preceded this conversation...
Aubrie: Robbie, boys that like girl things, they are called sissys. And girls that like boy things, they are called tomboys. So, you are a sissy, Robbie. and I am a tomboy.

Robbie: I DO NOT like girl things!




and another really good one--

We had our home teachers over last week. We were talking about General Conference and Ryan asked the kids if they remembered some of the apostles that we learned about for Family Home Evening. They went through a few of them and we were giving them hints (he really likes sports or he was a heart doctor, etc). Then they get to Elder Ballard. My hint-"it rhymes with mallard duck". Aubrie yells (so excited she remembered), "Ballard F&*%".
and the room fell silent for a split second while all the adults in the room register and swallow a reaction. And then the conversation keeps going. Ryan leans over and whispers to me, "Maybe next time, just stick with mallard".

Ryan and I remembered about that tonight on the way home from Boston and laughed for a full 5 minutes.

I officially give up...

Someone PLEASE tell me what I am doing wrong.

Blake still wakes up in the middle of the night most nights. And he is 8 months old. (which as a sidenote is probably why Heavenly Father sent Blake down so cute...so he doesn't get fired)

and I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (whoops, fell asleep on the keyboard) tired.



oh and while you are helping. Blake still sleeps in our closet too and Ryan's shoes have taken a permanent home in the middle of the floor. Which really makes the aforementioned nightly ritual, REALLY fun. Its like a corn maze right in our room from my bed to the closet.

AND, no can say "oh enjoy this, it will be over before you know it" because there is not much I like about getting up in the middle of the night. Alot of other things yes, but not that.

Robbie's friend Colin came to play this morning before school and since they are in the same class in kindergarten I just brought them both to school. We get into the car, Robbie jumps into the front seat like he often does and Colin immediately says "Robbie, you CANNOT sit up there, kids do not sit in the front seat". And I am thinking--Oh great, we are successfully undoing someones great parenting in a mere 5 seconds. I explain to him that Ryan let Aubrie this year when he takes her, Robbie found out about it and wanted to, etc, etc. It takes one minute to get to our school and he said about 10 things regarding Robbie sitting in the front seat in that 60 seconds but my favorite was--"Why does their dad let them sit up there... that is very inappropriate!" I told him he was right and that Robbie's dad and I would talk tonight. I'm sure glad I had Ryan to blame it on (he WAS the one that started it:))

Sheesh! I got called to the table by a 5 year old this morning. I'm glad he doesn't know that Robbie also uses the lawn mower by himself. We could quickly become the house where no one sends their kids.

Well instead of Halloween

this year, we went with a huge snow/ice storm.

Who cancels Halloween?!? We got a call (automated) from the superintendent saying schools are cancelled for a few days and that Halloween was cancelled for the town of Bedford. Can you do that? Next thing we know Christmas is going to switch dates on us.

We were one of the very few who happened to get power after a day and so we had a few families over last night for dinner/pumpkin carving/mummy wrapping/spider-web making/Ichabod Crane movie watching/donut making impromptu Halloween party. It was a lot of fun! This is the second year in a row we haven't gotten to trick or treat so our kids don't even really remember it very well. I don't get into Halloween the way I do some of the other holidays so I don't mind as much.

With a great church Trunk or Treat and carnival and two Halloween parties for Ryan and I, we had plenty of costume use.

Robbie (the shorter Spidey) and Aubrie the ninja (in black:). Everyone kept asking me where Aubrie was, even when she was right next to me. She was loving it. Their friends from school came with us and marched right along onstage for the costume parade without any hesitation. It was great!

"El Estinky"

Hallie/Little Roo boss.

And if you were wondering what Hallie will look like when she 17, Miss Allie holding her hand in this picture is it. They could have been twins as 3 yr olds.

*I'm sure we have other--much better pictures then ones on my Iphone in a yellow lit gym from far away. Have to ask Ryan about that:)