Things To Do

This winter weather is beginning to eat at me. I'm wanting to get out more and enjoy some warmer weather. I think my babes are beginning to feel the same way. So I've been asking friends and family, scouring pintrest, and rummaging through the house in hunt of fun indoor activities. Some of these we do often, others were new to us, but all have been fun. The kids have taken to each new idea Mommy has had. They may not sit for an hour and play but a good effort has been put forth by them and me.

Here are some ideas that may can help you and your sweet honey's with cabin fever.

A really cheap thing to do is playdough. Rylan sometimes enjoys it and will play for about 5-10 minutes. Maybe it was that Reesey and I both sat and played with him this time, but it lasted a good 30-45 minutes. I was surprised at how much Reesy loved it too.

Reese 15 months, Rylan 3 1/2, and me 29.........fun for all ages!

I put this together for Rylan. Not so much Reese because I know my girl and she would have just eaten the stickers. GiGi and Great Papa sent these stickers to Rylan for Valentine's. So I got four pieces of paper taped them together, and drew a road on it. Easy cheap fun. Rylan put the stickers all over the road. Next time I think I'm going to see if he would like to draw trees and houses.

This is something we love to do outside but it is still too cold. So why not lock Duncan and Winston up and bring the picnic indoors. This was fun, and Daddy was surprised when he came home to a picnic lunch.

This was another cheap and easy way to have fun with both the babes at the same time (I have a hard time combining their play). I filled up a washtub from Target with pinto beans. Both of the kids loved this, we played for at least 30 minutes, probably more. We buried cars, our hands, our feet. We spooned beans into cups. We measured cups to see which was the fullest and which was the least full. We got old spice jars and filled them up to use as shakers. This was easy and fun, something we will do again.

Another thing we did this last weekend that is always a hit for my babes is the Science Spectrum. We loaded up this last weekend and went to Lubbock. We enjoy all there is to do at the Science Spectrum, especially when Uncle Kolby and Ms. Brittney join us!

If you have other cabin fever ideas please share them with us.

Belated Valentine's

Some may say I'm silly, but I really don't care. I will tell you with all honesty that Valentine's may be my favorite holiday! 9 years ago my sweet man proposed to me on Valentine's. It is a day that I will forever remember and hold so very dear to my heart. So that is why I love this holiday.

This year Tyson was on call on Valentine's so nothing too romantic for us, but we made the best of it family style. Plus, we have VERY AWESOME and SWEET friends who have offered to watch the babes so we can have a romantic dinner together (#loveyoudearfriend).

I of course saw this on pintrest and loved it for Rylan's MDO teachers. It was easy and perfect for the Godly women who teach at our MDO here.

I always try to do something for the sweet women at Tyson's clinic on holiday's. This year Rylan and I made them muffins for breakfast. The tag on them reads, "Happy Valentine's Day Sweet Muffin ~ Love, Rylan & Reese.

We also made one for Daddy, we just changed up the words a bit. Stud instead of sweet, and we added Mommy's name.

For breakfast this is what I made those that I love so dearly.

The finished product.

Here is our littlest sweet, the girl we adore.

Here is our bigger sweet, the little man that makes us smile.

No pictures of me and my Valentine, maybe on date-night!

Organizing All Those Christmas Cards

While browsing Pintrest I came across a great way to keep all those Christmas cards organized by year. I had just been storing them in a Ziploc labeled by year. When I saw this I immediately pinned and then printed it off for all of our Christmas cards. I printed them on cardstock, laminated them, cut them down to size, punched a hole, and put all the cards on a ring by year. I found the cover for my cards on this website http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/2012/12/uheart-organizing-christmas-card-books.html

This woman has a lot of great organizing ideas, I use her site from time to time. I hope this can help you too.

I had saved up cards for the last three years. There were different styles of covers but in my crazy mind they should all match. I even made a few extras for the next two years.

Here is a closer look.

Time With Family and Friends

Last weekend Tyson, me and the kids flew to Houston for a little getaway. We went to celebrate Pete's (Tyson's Uncle) 80th birthday. We decided to get in some friend time too. Our dear friends Brian and Allison had a baby girl that we hadn't gotten to meet yet. We love that we have family and friends that live so close, we were able to see both (but still not all of them this visit :<). Getting out of town for a few days was what this Purdy clan needed.

Luckily Nana and Papaw were on our departing flight from Lubbock to Houston. The kids loved having them there and they really enjoyed the toys Nana brought for the plane.

As soon as we got to Galveston we began eating. We miss seafood and so we indulged as much as we could. We met Nana and Papaw at one of our favorite spots in Galveson, there we had oysters on the half shell, bisque and gumbo. That night we went to celebrate our cousin Skyler's birthday, there we had delicious ceviche.

Rylan saw the beach and the water and he immediately wanted to go walk the beach. Our boy is a water loving kid. Sister liked the sand, but the water touching her feet she wasn't real sure of. I just love this picture.

Our dear friends Brian and Allison came to Galveston to watch our babies while we went to Pete's Party. I was elated to see them and finally meet sweet Elizabeth Rose. She reminds me so much of her brother when he was a baby, I love it when siblings resemble each other. I can't believe she was almost three months old when I finally got to hold her, tears swelled up in my eyes at the sight of her sweet little face. Reesey loved her and was very gentle and sweet.

The Man of the Hour

Pete had the night of his life, we roasted and toasted him. It was an event that was classy, fun, and unforgettable. It was our honor to be a part of this evening celebrating Pete's 80 years.

The Purdy clan that evening. I love this picture it takes me back about 7 years ago. We have a picture very similar from the day's of the Beta's. Now between the two boys to my right and my left there are four children. My how time flies by.

Me and my man. It was nice to get all dressed up and walk on the arm of my handsome husband all evening. Thank you Brian and Allison for watching our babies and letting us have an evening together, we owe you BIG.

Rylan and Trey were so cute together. They played very well together, and they were in full force the whole weekend. We decided to make a day just about our boys. So we took them to the Rainforest Cafe. This was a great idea Allison, they loved it. The thunderstorms, the animals, and the atmosphere kept them entertained the whole meal.

After the Rainforest Cafe we went to the Aquarium at Moody Gardens. This was a big hit for both boys and Reesey. The boys ran from one exhibit to the next, but I do believe the seals and the penguins were the favorites of the day. Reesey loved it as much as they did, she walked around the whole place squealing with excitement. Sweet Elizabeth napped and got carried around the whole time.

I loved seeing our girls together. Reesey 14 months and Elizabeth almost 3 months. I can't wait to see them play together the way their big brothers do.

The boys were full of energy and excitement. They didn't stop playing until bedtime.

This was a perfect, speedy, fun getaway for the Purdy's.