Fingerpaint Frenzy

In an effort to find fun things to do indoors this winter, I bought the kids fingerpaints. Why didn't someone stop me? Seriously. I knew it would be a lot of work and really messy, but I thought the kids would love it so I put my OCDness aside for one afternoon. Well... one of them loved it. Can you guess which one?


Yep, you're right. It wasn't her. She HATED it. I thought she was over her "I don't like to get dirty" phase, but I guess not. She humored me for about 2 seconds and then freaked out about the paint on her hands. So... no pictures of Reese painting. I'll be sure to offer Miss Priss a paintbrush next time.

Tucker loved it of course. After all, he eats dirt, rubs food in his hair, and likes to suck on his big toe. He's all boy and thoroughly enjoys getting dirty.

Yes... he has it on his head, in his hair, all over his mouth, etc., etc., etc.

Here's his masterpiece. Who knows... he could be the next Picasso.

No... I love you!

Just an early Valentine's Day present from Reese...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The other night, we went to eat with Brian and Jen and Reese went around and told everyone at the table she loved them. Melt your heart!
Tucker doesn't say "I love you" yet but I'm really hoping he doesn't start. He says "Yeah, yeah" everytime we tell him we love him and I totally adore it. I guess that's how the cool guys say "I love you". At least we'll have a code for when he's in middle school and too embarassed to tell me he loves me.

Beware...

The gross factor on this post is pretty high... so get ready.

I'll start by saying that boys are gross. I think they're just programmed that way. It's not something they're taught or they fall into because of peer pressure. They are just G-R-O-S-S. (No offense to all the great boys in my life. I love you and it's nothing personal.) Anyway, I was first reminded how gross boys are when I had to search some lockers in our Varsity Football Locker Room recently. I won't get into how totally disgusting it was, but I felt like I needed a shower when I was finished.

Anyway, I was reminded of their grossness again today... and this time by Tucker. I'll start by saying he either 1.) has a little stomach bug, or 2.) the lasagna we had for dinner last night isn't agreeing with him. Are you ready for this horror story...

During nap time today Tucker decided to take off his pants. This is something he's started doing in the middle of the night too. Some mornings he has one leg in and one leg out, and some mornings he's naked as a jay bird. I guess we need to go back to footed pajamas, but I digress.

So... first, he took off his pants. And then, he took off his diaper. Unfortunately, the diaper was full of last night's lasagna and he thought it would be great fun to use it as finger paint. He painted the sheets, the crib, himself... anything within reach. He had it in his hair, under his fingernails, on his shirt... all over. Can you imagine walking into this nightmare?! Neither can I. And I can honestly say that I am SO glad I didn't have to. Of course, I was totally mortified when the babysitter told us what happened. But I do have to admit, I'm SO glad it happened at her house rather than mine.

See, I told you boys are gross. Poor Nana Cheryl... I think I'll take her some duct tape and rubber gloves tomorrow.

I've Been Busy

I'm a crafter... love to make things and be creative. Unfortunately, I don't have near enough time to indulge. I scrapbook when I can and I'm enjoying my new SCAL software for my Cricut. I wasn't totally sold on it at first b/c I couldn't get it to work right. Surprise, surprise. I've told you before, I'm technologically cursed. It's working great now though and I've already made a layout with it. I'm super pumped that I don't ever have to buy another Cricut cartrige again. I've found some great blogs and websites that have free clip art and fonts and I'm loving it!


I know what you're thinking... and yes, I'm just now finishing layouts from this summer. I told you, I don't get to do it as often as I'd like. Anyway... I love the sun, water splashes, and swirls on this one. This SCAL thing is going to be great!

Because I don't have enough hobbies, and I have way too much free time on my hands, I decided to start sewing. Chris got me a sewing machine for Christmas and I made my first project. I have like 4 babies showers this month so I decided to start easy... burp towels. Don't look too closely, I'm not seamstress yet! I've already given several away, but here are a few more that I made....


Not too shabby for my first go around. My diaper bag has seen better days, so that's my next project. I'll let you know how it goes.

Picnic by the Pond

We had a break in the sub zero degree weather and a day off from school so we packed a picnic and headed to the ranch. I think that's what we're calling it... the ranch. Farm just seems to country for me. Anyway, we decided to spend the day picnicking and playing; just enjoying the sunny day. I wasn't sure if this would be forced family fun or not, but I was willing to give it a go. Anything to get out of the house in the winter!

Here's a picture of the pond that will someday house many fish just waiting to be caught.

The kids were really great. They actually sat and ate lunch with us. The last picnic we attempted involved lots of chasing and bribing.

After lunch, we went for a walk. You don't realize how big 25 acres is until you walk around on it. We did lots of exploring... the kids just wandered around checking everything out.

Tucker picked the grass and tried to eat rocks. Surprise surprise.

It was fun to watch Chris with Tucker... I know he can't wait for us to move out there so he can teach Tucker to ride, hunt and fish.

Reese totally surprised me. I used to say she was an "inside girl" because she cried anytime we were out in the sun. That has totally changed and she absolutely loves to run and play outside now. She pretty much walked the entire 25 acres. Those little legs were working hard. She wanted to check everything out on her own and wasn't afraid to make her way through the waste high grass.

After our walk we learned how to "skip" rocks. This really consisted of Reese and Tucker throwing rocks in the water. In hind sight, I'm thinking it probably wasn't a good idea to teach them to throw rocks.

Reese has a pretty good arm though... for a girl.

Then we played a little soccer. They are pretty good actually... we might have to get them into a league next year. Did I mention how much I loathe soccer?? I would rather watch golf. Boring. I don't know if I'll be able to handle putting them in soccer. We may have to wait for t-ball or something.

Look at that form. I'm telling you... she's pretty, but she's sporty too. Watch out.

There's a big grove of oak trees at the front of the property and Reese and Tucker had a blast hiding and jumping out to scare each other.

We can't wait for them to get to play like this all the time. Playing in the backyard just isn't the same. They were so happy... and totally pooped when we got done.

We're excited about moving our family out west. Hopefully the house will sell this spring so we can get going on things. Until then, we'll enjoy spending days just playing outdoors. Here are a few more pictures of the land. Everything is pretty brown right now... but just imagine it all green.

It will be such a peaceful, beautiful place to raise our family. Exciting times are ahead for the Tims!

Snow Much Fun

The day after Christmas, we were supposed to head to Oklahoma City for the Tims/Olson Family Christmas. Unfortunately, the 15 inches of snow they got prevented us from going. We waited a couple days and then went to play in the snow.

Tucker was pretty good on the 4 wheeler. Dad can't wait until he can buy him a real one!


Ella, Macie, and Owen shoveling snow.

Reese would have hung up here for hours if I would have let her. She's going to love roller coasters like her mommy.

Lisa, Owen and Tyson having a little snow ball fight.

Reese looks like she's trying to hitch a ride.... guess her car's stuck in the snow.

Reese and Hallie just hanging out.

It was fun to get to play in the snow while we were there. Unfortunately, the Kansas bunch didn't get to come because of the crazy blizzard they were having. But it was good to get to see the OKC gang and the Chicago crew.

Each year we try to get a picture of all the kids. All the cousins are having babies and the group just keeps growing and growing. We weren't very successful this year... mostly thanks to my kids. Again, they are the uncooperative ones when it comes to pictures. Pretty crazy group... and this isn't even all of them.

Here are just a few pictures of everyone hanging out at Lisa's.

Jen, Kaylie and Ella.

Chris and Ella.

Lisa, Ava and Jamie.


Marilyn (Nana) and Ava.

Emmy, Grammy and Tucker.

This wraps up my Christmas posts. What a month! Seems like December gets busier every year. I wouldn't have it any other way though. We were blessed to get to see over 65 family members this Christmas!!

More Christmas Pics

On Christmas day (afternoon) went to Brian and Jen's to have Christmas with the rest of the Tims' family. We had a yummy Christmas dinner and then two separate gift exchanges. The adults exchanged gift while all the kids napped and then the fun really began. Things can get a bit crazy with 5 kids under the age of 3 unwrapping presents at the same time! I hate that we didn't all get a picture together. We were just all too busy corralling our kids I guess.


Reese is way into baby dolls right now and loved the baby that Grammy gave her. She crocheted clothes for her... too cute.


Grammy was busy this year... she made each of the kids these little vests and hats. Tucker just needs a rifle over his shoulder and he'll be ready for some bear hunting.


They also got chef hats and aprons (which will come in handy when we bake cookies for valentines day pretty soon). Reese wasn't being a very good sport. Good thing Tucker didn't mind modeling everything for us.


The kids also got their first nativity set. They'll enjoy having their own to put in their room every year.


Tucker loved his truck that dances to "Shake Shake Shake." I totally can't get that song out of my head.


After opening her new baby, Reese wasn't interested in the other gifts. She just wanted to play mama!


The tea set was a big hit. We pretend to have cookies and tea all the time.



Grandpa Tims made the kids a really fun Teeter-Totter for Christmas. They love to play on it. As you can see in this picture, Reese thinks it's pretty funny to slide off and let Tucker fall to the floor.

It was a fun (and totally exhausting) Christmas this year. The kids were totally spoiled and their toys are taking over our house. If we weren't selling the house, I'm pretty sure we'd turn one of the extra bedrooms into a play room.