Monday, December 31, 2012
It's a Girl!
December 17 was our appointment for the level 2 ultrasound. We took all the kids for the news and they behaved great. It's a girl:)
Due May 17, this little lady will share a room with R. R is very excited and ready for her room-mate!
Bryce's New York Trip
Bryce got accepted to present at a convention in New York City early in
December. This opportunity was awesome! We are so thankful for P/A
Marsh that sponsored B so he could go. He flew up Saturday evening and
returned Monday night. I'll just sum up his trip with some photos |
| B's friend Daniel |
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| dinner |
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| hotel |
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| hotel room |
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| time square |
We Wish you a Merry Christmas....
Our small group has been working on a service project once a month since October. Kristen/Vic set up the first one and then Sara/Andrew. Our month was December so we decided to Christmas Carol at Turnberry.
B contacted Melanie to set up the date and time. Thursday at 6pm was decided and all except the Caldwells could make it (they were sick).
I made break-n-bake cookies with some hot chocolate for the evening (but we should have made coffee) and we met our friends at 6:00. Bryce made a packet of sheet music and words for us to have so we could sing as a group. About18 of the folks from Turnberry showed up to participate and all of them at cookies. Hardly anyone had any hot chocolate (again, should have made coffee). The kids ran around and sang some of the songs they knew and I believe we sang Rudolph twice because all the kids enjoyed that one. We were there for about an hour, but really enjoyed our time. We look forward to our next meeting with our friends from Turnberry.
B contacted Melanie to set up the date and time. Thursday at 6pm was decided and all except the Caldwells could make it (they were sick).
I made break-n-bake cookies with some hot chocolate for the evening (but we should have made coffee) and we met our friends at 6:00. Bryce made a packet of sheet music and words for us to have so we could sing as a group. About18 of the folks from Turnberry showed up to participate and all of them at cookies. Hardly anyone had any hot chocolate (again, should have made coffee). The kids ran around and sang some of the songs they knew and I believe we sang Rudolph twice because all the kids enjoyed that one. We were there for about an hour, but really enjoyed our time. We look forward to our next meeting with our friends from Turnberry.
December Date Night
The Daniel's hosted December date night and it was on the 14th. B and I decided we would use that night to celebrate our 7 year anniversary (on a Monday). We talked about different places to eat and things to do, but we decided on dessert at The Melting Pot (yummy). We got our kids ready to go and dropped them off around 5:30 at Andrew and Sara's house.
After leaving the kids, we talked about our plans and realized we hadn't left anytime to eat dinner. We were going to have to rush to TMP for dessert without eating food, so we changed our plans last minute. Instead, we headed to the Olive Garden in Wake Forest, for a full meal. We love their salad and breadsticks so I was very excited. We didn't quite make it though:(
When we got to the parking lot, I started to not feel good and told B he had pull over quickly. He didn't understand what I was saying so he brought me to the front to drop me off....I was like 'no no the back now!' So he drove around to the back and put the van in park just in enough time for me to open the door and puke outside. I had caught the stomach bug (Abe had it earlier that week) and knew that I wouldn't be able to eat for a day or so:( After I got it all out, I felt much better but so much for our date night. We ended up going to blockbuster to rent MIB3 and then B went through the drive thru at Taco Bell for his dinner. I had some ginger ale to help settle my stomach. We had fun being together though and the kids had a blast at the Daniel house.
After leaving the kids, we talked about our plans and realized we hadn't left anytime to eat dinner. We were going to have to rush to TMP for dessert without eating food, so we changed our plans last minute. Instead, we headed to the Olive Garden in Wake Forest, for a full meal. We love their salad and breadsticks so I was very excited. We didn't quite make it though:(
When we got to the parking lot, I started to not feel good and told B he had pull over quickly. He didn't understand what I was saying so he brought me to the front to drop me off....I was like 'no no the back now!' So he drove around to the back and put the van in park just in enough time for me to open the door and puke outside. I had caught the stomach bug (Abe had it earlier that week) and knew that I wouldn't be able to eat for a day or so:( After I got it all out, I felt much better but so much for our date night. We ended up going to blockbuster to rent MIB3 and then B went through the drive thru at Taco Bell for his dinner. I had some ginger ale to help settle my stomach. We had fun being together though and the kids had a blast at the Daniel house.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Decorating for Christmas
Our tradition has been to decorate the house and tree for Christmas the Friday after Thanksgiving. Since my parents were in town, they got to help a little, but we finished most of it, after they left. The tree was a group effort, while I mostly decorated the mantel and B took care of the outside lights. I love how our little home looks all decorated!
Tattoos
My dad, Tata, is really good about sending the kids mail about once a month. Last month their letters had stickers in them and this month, A's had spiderman tattoos! They were such a hit and when we put them on the kids, it was awesome seeing their reactions. Here's some pics of the fun:)
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| Such a proud moment |
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| I love these kids! Thanks Tata & Nana |
Thanksgiving 2012
We had a great Thanksgiving with my family this year. We might not have as many pictures to show but a week full of stories and fun. I'll start with the Sunday before Thanksgiving when my mom and Chuck arrived...
November 18: My mom and Chuck arrived around 12:30 when we got back from church. They left Mississippi Saturday morning and stayed the night in Spartanburg, SC. We were so excited about their visit. After they got here, it was lunch time and we watched a little Carolina football. The kids took their naps and the adults just chatted. After nap time, we all went to Wal-mart to get some groceries for the week and for Thanksgiving and then home for dinner.
November 19: My parents were going to stay home with the kids while B and I went to work. Since we had to get up so early, we let my parents have our bedroom and we slept on the sofas. It wasn't bad at all. After work, my parents were taking us out to eat for my birthday:) I wanted to go to Milton's and we met our church friends there also. We had 24+ people there and it was a great time. Jen picked me up a special cupcake and everyone sang Happy Birthday to me. Very sweet!
November 20: Last day of work for me and B while my parents watched the kids again. We got home from work early because A was going to try his first gymnastics class at 3:30. R goes at 4:30, but her class is full. The only way for A to take a class, was going to be a different day or at 3:30. Since this was a trial and my parents were in town, we thought this was the best time. All 7 of us went to Youngs Gym and watched A. He did pretty good for just being 3 and being new. R and W sat with us and waited. When A was done, it was R's turn. Since W had already been there for an hour, B & I took A and W home while my parents waited with R. We had quesadillas for dinner and then watched Brave.
November 21: B and I both had off the rest of the week:) Our morning was just relaxing with breakfast and playtime. W had a check-up at 10:15 am for his ear infection and then for his flu shot. We all went to the doctor, but I'm the only one who went back with W. His ear was all better and he got his 18 month shots, plus his flu vaccine. Our goal that day was to get a new mattress and my parents wanted to take R/A to see Wreck it Ralph at 4:10. Those 2 things were our only plans. Well after W's doctor appointment, we were all hungry so we stopped at Mimi's Cafe for lunch. We love their dill pickles as well as other stuff there. Our lunch took forever and seems like 2 hours long. After lunch we headed to Sam's to look for a mattress. The mattress that we have is the same mattress that my mom bought when she bought the bedroom furniture for me 18 years ago. Needless to say, it was worn. We found a mattress and box-spring from Sam's that we liked and my parents got it for us. Bryce tied it to the top of the van with some twine that Sam's gave us and we were on our way home. It was maybe 1:45 is about this time I believe and as we were driving down capital blvd, the twine popped and our mattress and box-spring flew off the top of the car into the middle of the street. One SUV drove over the mattress and it got stuck under the car so she dragged it over to the side of the road. Another truck was able to stop before running over the box-spring and B jumped out to get it out of the middle of the road. It was horrible. I called Nicole to see if Justin could come help us out with his truck and he was on his way. I drove the van to meet up with the woman who had the mattress stuck under her car and by the time I had gotten there, it was out. It was all torn up and ruined though. She wanted our information just in case her car was messed up. I couldn't blame her, so I gave her B's name and number. I was just so upset that not 10 minutes earlier, my parents just paid a lot of money for this set. We were trying to figure out where to dump it because it was obviously no good, and we didn't think Sam's would take it back since it was our fault that it popped off the roof! But my mom called anyways, and sure enough, they said "bring it back and we'll exchange it". Can you believe that? We will be Sam's Club members for life now! Justin, B, and my mom took the set back to Sam's for a new set. Chuck and I took the kids home for naps. It was 3 pm by the time we got home, and now the chance for a movie was pretty much ruined:( However, after we got the new set inside and fixed up, my parents took a short nap. When they woke up, they still wanted to take the kids to the movies at 7:30. B and I thought it was a great idea and they would be fine. I posted our old mattress set on craigslist for free and we had someone come pick it up later that evening. What started out as a horrible day, ended on a good note.
November 22: Thanksgiving! So again, we took it easy that morning and started most of the cooking. B worked on the turkey while I made a couple of casseroles. My mom made mash potatoes and stuffing also. The Gillams were coming over and K was bringing a fried turkey! We were going to have so much food. I'm just going to post pictures from this day instead of trying to recount everything. I know we watched the parade, ate, napped, and ate some more!
November 18: My mom and Chuck arrived around 12:30 when we got back from church. They left Mississippi Saturday morning and stayed the night in Spartanburg, SC. We were so excited about their visit. After they got here, it was lunch time and we watched a little Carolina football. The kids took their naps and the adults just chatted. After nap time, we all went to Wal-mart to get some groceries for the week and for Thanksgiving and then home for dinner.
November 19: My parents were going to stay home with the kids while B and I went to work. Since we had to get up so early, we let my parents have our bedroom and we slept on the sofas. It wasn't bad at all. After work, my parents were taking us out to eat for my birthday:) I wanted to go to Milton's and we met our church friends there also. We had 24+ people there and it was a great time. Jen picked me up a special cupcake and everyone sang Happy Birthday to me. Very sweet!
November 20: Last day of work for me and B while my parents watched the kids again. We got home from work early because A was going to try his first gymnastics class at 3:30. R goes at 4:30, but her class is full. The only way for A to take a class, was going to be a different day or at 3:30. Since this was a trial and my parents were in town, we thought this was the best time. All 7 of us went to Youngs Gym and watched A. He did pretty good for just being 3 and being new. R and W sat with us and waited. When A was done, it was R's turn. Since W had already been there for an hour, B & I took A and W home while my parents waited with R. We had quesadillas for dinner and then watched Brave.
November 21: B and I both had off the rest of the week:) Our morning was just relaxing with breakfast and playtime. W had a check-up at 10:15 am for his ear infection and then for his flu shot. We all went to the doctor, but I'm the only one who went back with W. His ear was all better and he got his 18 month shots, plus his flu vaccine. Our goal that day was to get a new mattress and my parents wanted to take R/A to see Wreck it Ralph at 4:10. Those 2 things were our only plans. Well after W's doctor appointment, we were all hungry so we stopped at Mimi's Cafe for lunch. We love their dill pickles as well as other stuff there. Our lunch took forever and seems like 2 hours long. After lunch we headed to Sam's to look for a mattress. The mattress that we have is the same mattress that my mom bought when she bought the bedroom furniture for me 18 years ago. Needless to say, it was worn. We found a mattress and box-spring from Sam's that we liked and my parents got it for us. Bryce tied it to the top of the van with some twine that Sam's gave us and we were on our way home. It was maybe 1:45 is about this time I believe and as we were driving down capital blvd, the twine popped and our mattress and box-spring flew off the top of the car into the middle of the street. One SUV drove over the mattress and it got stuck under the car so she dragged it over to the side of the road. Another truck was able to stop before running over the box-spring and B jumped out to get it out of the middle of the road. It was horrible. I called Nicole to see if Justin could come help us out with his truck and he was on his way. I drove the van to meet up with the woman who had the mattress stuck under her car and by the time I had gotten there, it was out. It was all torn up and ruined though. She wanted our information just in case her car was messed up. I couldn't blame her, so I gave her B's name and number. I was just so upset that not 10 minutes earlier, my parents just paid a lot of money for this set. We were trying to figure out where to dump it because it was obviously no good, and we didn't think Sam's would take it back since it was our fault that it popped off the roof! But my mom called anyways, and sure enough, they said "bring it back and we'll exchange it". Can you believe that? We will be Sam's Club members for life now! Justin, B, and my mom took the set back to Sam's for a new set. Chuck and I took the kids home for naps. It was 3 pm by the time we got home, and now the chance for a movie was pretty much ruined:( However, after we got the new set inside and fixed up, my parents took a short nap. When they woke up, they still wanted to take the kids to the movies at 7:30. B and I thought it was a great idea and they would be fine. I posted our old mattress set on craigslist for free and we had someone come pick it up later that evening. What started out as a horrible day, ended on a good note.
November 22: Thanksgiving! So again, we took it easy that morning and started most of the cooking. B worked on the turkey while I made a couple of casseroles. My mom made mash potatoes and stuffing also. The Gillams were coming over and K was bringing a fried turkey! We were going to have so much food. I'm just going to post pictures from this day instead of trying to recount everything. I know we watched the parade, ate, napped, and ate some more!
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| B's turkey |
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| Keith's turkey |
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| Gram with grand-kids |
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| puzzle time |
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| Gram and Granddad |
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| BFF's |
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| The Hantla Clan Thanksgiving 2012 |
Hand-me-downs
I don't think I had a lot of hand-me-downs because I was the only girl and I'm sure between my aunt and my grandmother, I probably had lots of nice, new clothes.
My daughter isn't as lucky. Although she's the first-born, and the only girl, pretty much all her clothes are hand-me-downs from consignment sales. That's just what we've decided to do for most clothing. One item though isn't from a consignment sale and it's actually a hand-me-down from me! This jacket is from Guam from my Grandmalupe and I used to wear it when I was a little girl. It fits R great and she loves wearing it too. Very sweet:)
It might be hard to see but my name is stitched on the side and R loves the fact that it used to be my jacket. Most of her hand-me-downs are from strangers, but it's nice that my mom kept my jacket for my daughter one day!
My daughter isn't as lucky. Although she's the first-born, and the only girl, pretty much all her clothes are hand-me-downs from consignment sales. That's just what we've decided to do for most clothing. One item though isn't from a consignment sale and it's actually a hand-me-down from me! This jacket is from Guam from my Grandmalupe and I used to wear it when I was a little girl. It fits R great and she loves wearing it too. Very sweet:)
Sleepy Kids
Our kids don't always take a nap for MP during daycare. When they don't, we can tell!
Exhibit A
And sometimes we can't resist a little parent fun!
After posting this video to Facebook, my dad said that looked like something he would have done when I was little. Some people might think it's mean, but the kids never knew and when I showed R this video, she thought it was great!
Exhibit A
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| W (18 months) R (4 years 3 months) A (3 years 1 month) |
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Halloween 2012
Our family's tradition for Halloween for the past 4 years has been to join the Caldwells along with other church friends for an evening of food, fun, and candy!
Nicole cooks mac & cheese, hotdogs, peas, and usually cookies or something. The Foss family & Gillams usually attend as well as some of the Caldwell family. We take pictures of all the kids dressed up and its very cute!
This year we decided to be the Incredibles for Halloween. Since W is still little, it was good timing for us to try this. Next year we'll have to many kids:) We purchased red shirts and foam for masks. The kids all got red sweatpants and undies that we intended to dye black.
After working several nights, they were finally done. The kids' undies didn't really turn black like we thought. They are grey, but we still put the outfit together and it turned out really cute!
I'm not sure what we will do next year. It's a lot of fun going to the Caldwell's house, but R did ask if we could trick-or-treat in our neighborhood sometime. I guess we have a year to decide. Happy Halloween!
Nicole cooks mac & cheese, hotdogs, peas, and usually cookies or something. The Foss family & Gillams usually attend as well as some of the Caldwell family. We take pictures of all the kids dressed up and its very cute!
This year we decided to be the Incredibles for Halloween. Since W is still little, it was good timing for us to try this. Next year we'll have to many kids:) We purchased red shirts and foam for masks. The kids all got red sweatpants and undies that we intended to dye black.
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| Baby Jack Jack |
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| The Incredibles at WFRMS |
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| Getting ready for trick-or-treating |
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| After trick-or-treating |
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| Some of the kids about to trick-or-treat |
Pumpkin Carvings
B is really creative. He's got that artsy side to him like drawing and painting. We got 4 pumpkins when we went to the pumpkin patch with AJE and after lots of discussion, we finally decided on what he would carve in the pumpkins.
The first pumpkin was the adult pumpkin and we compromised on a Saints design. I love it!
Rin's pumpkin was interesting. She wanted Aladin's lamp and we just thought that was too weird. B found a good picture of Snow White so R accepted his suggestion. This one is my personal favorite of the 4.
The first pumpkin was the adult pumpkin and we compromised on a Saints design. I love it!
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| Who Dat!
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The second one was A's pick and at first he wanted Iron Man. B looked up designs, but couldn't find one that he liked. A's second choice was Spiderman so that's what B did for him. I think it looks really cool!
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| Snow White and an apple |
Our 4th pumpkin turned into our family announcement pumpkin. B used some trickery :)
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| BK (Bryce & Katie) |
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| RAW? (Rin Abe Wes ?) |
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| ? |
Yes, that's right. Due May 2013 with our fourth little Hantla. We're very excited of course. We've known since the end of September but have kept in on the DL for a while. I had a few people ask me since they knew this was our season of trying to have a baby due at the end of school. We will find out the sex in about another 5 weeks. I'm currently 13 weeks along and feeling good. I had some sick evenings and lots of tired days over the past 7 weeks, but I'm finally coming out of that stage. When I lay flat, my belly pouches out in my lower abdomen now and it's firming up. Yep, the Hantla Clan is expanding!
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