Norcross Adventures

2011 In Review: Part 1

2012-01-03T20:23:00.000-08:00

2011 came and went in a blur. It was a combination of being busy with 3 active kids and filling our schedule with too many good things. I was never able to keep up with the blog throughout the year, so in an attempt to evaluate retrospectively and not neglect the year completely, I've picked out a few pictures from each month that highlight our adventures and indicate where we find joy as a family.

January: The year began where 2010 left off. Tyler was in the middle of 1st grade, Laynie was in 2 preschools (5 half-days a week) and Josie and Ava were either home with me or at PWS with me 2 days a week.

January: Our small group's child dedication. This event was the culmination of this small group and it was awesome to hear each family's mission statement and intentions of glorifying Christ as a family. Love these families and miss seeing them regularly.

February: Laynie lost her first tooth 3 days before her 5th birthday!

February: Laynie celebrated her 5th birthday with friends at Acrofit.

February: Jason took Laynie to the Father/Daughter dance in League City with a group of other Dads/Daughters. Laynie had a blast getting her nails done and her hair curled. They rode to the dance in a limo, what a treat! Should be a fun tradition since both Laynie and Jason have birthdays in February and Laynie is definitely a Daddy's girl :).

February: Ty's first Pinewood Derby with Cubscouts! These were the 2 "Tiger" themed cars and they both added a Lego car driver. Looking forward to this year for a new design!

March: Laynie's "Rodeo Day" at Happy Harbour Preschool. Such a cutie! I still haven't made it to the Houston Rodeo, maybe this year!

March: Playing at Clear Lake Park. The kids love to pile into the car and drive to a fun park, especially if we bring a picnic!

March: Picking strawberries at Froberg's with friends! This was our first year to pick strawberries and it was so much fun! I actually made strawberry jam! I'm looking forward to going back this year and getting more delicious strawberries!

March: Celebrating Josie's 2nd Birthday at The Chocolate Bar in Houston. Pretty sure Josie wasn't feeling that well during this trip, and I probably had a big part in choosing the location :). Yum!

March: Camping at Brazos Bend with friends! Love giving the kids time outdoors to explore, slow down, play in the dirt and hang with friends.

March: Brazos Bend. Taking a hike!

March: Laynie and Maya at the Kennedy Dance Theatre Gym Meet. They had so much fun being in class together, especially carpooling back and forth to dance! This event allows them to highlight their tumbling skills.

April: Whenever the weather is nice, the kids love to be in the sandbox. I love seeing them out there together!

April: After church, we celebrated Easter at La Brisa with Jason's brother, Ryan and his wife, Heather. There was an unexpected easter egg hunt while we were there and the kids had a lot of fun. There were even dollar coins in some of the eggs! Thankful to have family in Sugarland!

April: Ty was awarded his Tiger badge this night. Cubscouts has become a great activity for Jason and Ty to enjoy together. Ty loves learning new skills, including: archery, shooting bb guns, conservation and service with a group of friends.

April: We have neighbors who love to fish and they were able to catch a large mouth bass in the lake right by our house!

May: Field Day at Mossman!

May: Mother's Day Tea at Laynie's preschool, a special day saved for the 4-year old classes at Happy Harbour.

May: Camping at Huntsville State Park. Josie was determined to ride a bike there. Love her sweet determination!

May: Huntsville. One more quick trip to the lake resulted in Laynie and Melissa splashing and getting their clothes soaked! It was too cute to stop! Josie was in on the action too!

May: Huntsville. The boys tried fishing, but no luck.

May: Alaska! What a whirlwind trip. Jason had a work conference in Anchorage and I got to fly out for a quick weekend to join him and experience Alaska! This was our first dinner at Glacier Brewhouse and this was the best salmon! Yum!

May: Alaska! On the way to our Glacier cruise. Beautiful scenery.

May: Alaska! The view from our tour bus, which was called "The Magic Bus"...ha! Unbelievable views!

May: Alaska! Another pic on the way to the glacier cruise. The weather was perfect, comfortably cold. The glacier cruise itself was amazing, but my digital camera's battery died. Sad, ridiculous technology fail!

May: Alaska! This pic doesn't do it justice, but this was my favorite breakfast place, Snow City Cafe. Most delicious breakfasts and super fabulous espresso drinks. I could probably live there, or do dishes for free food/coffee? Little coffee shops with ambiance are my weak spot, for sure.

May: PeeWee School Graduation! Wow, big children's ESV Bible in tow, Laynie is a preschool graduate!

May: Happy Harbour Graduation! Laynie and her bff, Melissa had 2 super fun years at Happy Harbour together.

June: This picture sums up how Laynie feels about baking. She loves mixing, measuring, pouring, and tasting!

June: Last day of 1st grade. What? When did that happen? We all went to celebrate in the heat with popsicles, of course.

June: Kennedy Dance Theatre's dance recital. Laynie and Maya looked so sweet in their costumes and they danced to I Feel Pretty from the Westside Story.

June: Saying goodbye to Ava. We had Ava with us 5 days a week for a little over a year. Josie and her were sweet little buddies! I'm so thankful that we had the opportunity to love and play with Ava. Watching her also allowed us to get back on track financially. She was definitely a blessing.

June: Mo Ranch. This was our 4th year at Mo Ranch and I can still barely believe it. The kids have a blast playing with friends, going to their vbs-style classes, and swimming in the Guadalupe River. We have fun hanging with friends, enjoying God's beauty, teaching preschoolers through stories, songs and crafts and enjoying the blessing of a week together as a family!

June: Riding with Josie! This pic represents the brief training I did for my 2nd Tri for Freedom Triathlon, held in Pearland. I trained less for this one, but my road bike upgrade (not pictured) made up for the difference and I shaved about ten minutes off my previous year's time. I wouldn't call myself a good swimmer, biker or runner, but I enjoy the challenge and the motivation of training for a goal.

To be continued...(July-December)

Laynie's Preschool Graduations!

2011-07-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

Laynie and her bestie, Melissa, enjoying their lip gloss at the end of year picnic for Happy Harbour.

On the big screen during graduation! I think they asked the "what do you want to be when you grow up..." question on the day a policeman came to visit their classroom :).

Posing with the giant graduation puppy inflatable!

Proud big brother who also graduated from Happy Harbour, 2 years earlier.

Our sweet preschool graduate!

This is Laynie at her PeeWeeSchool graduation holding her new bible, a graduation gift!

Celebrating afterwards with yummy frozen yogurt!

Hard to believe our Laynie Bug will be starting kindergarten in the Fall!

Time + Inspiration = She's Crafty

2010-11-27T20:09:00.000-08:00

This week, I have had so much fun getting crafty! I am mostly a crafty wannabe...I love the idea of it, but rarely have the time, energy, resources,etc...to pull it off. Thanks to the ideas in this blog: http://www.kellehampton.com/2010/11/craftastic.html, I was inspired to make time. Her ideas were simple, and her background music makes me happy...reminds me of older days, not sure why. So off to Hobby Lobby I went with the kids.

First project: Thanksgiving Turkey Placecards
The kids had a lot of fun with these, helping glue faces, eyes, beak, waddles, and feathers of course. Oh, and they are cinnamon-scented pinecones, so they smell delicious!

7 Turkeys ready to go for our Feast!

A closeup shot. We're packing these puppies up and saving them for next year!

Second project: Felt flower
These are super easy and only require 1 sheet of felt and a hot glue gun. These came from a different blog.
http://shadandlizzie.blogspot.com/2010/08/felt-flower-headband-tutorial.html
These are so easy and you can make them in a bajillion of colors. You can attach them to anything to spice it up. Laynie loves her new headband...but of course, she already lost it. We're still looking. You can't see from my picture, but we glued a red jewel in the middle as well, making it extra fabulous to my easy-to-please 4 year old!

Third project: Babylegs!
I saw these silly knee high socks at Target and couldn't resist. Why is there a whole section of knee-high socks at Target anyway...who wears those??? These take me about ten minutes to make. Right up my alley.

My deliciously sweet Josie, modeling her new babylegs. She actually kept them on happily, even napped in them!

Fourth Project: Christmas banner
This idea comes from the first blog I mentioned. She made a "Thankful" banner that inspired me. Hobby Lobby had limited options for fabric, so I went with what I could find as 3 kids were slowly descending into meltdowns! I thought about running to Joanne's "real quick"...but the kids impending meltdowns deterred me. This project stretched my crafty brain. It required multiple steps, lots of measuring and cutting....and instead of gluing everything, I chose to sew most everything except the letters. But I had so much fun watching this come together! I wasn't sure where I was going to hang it when I made it, but if I had known, I would have made the letters blue and the stars red...because the red does not pop nearly as well against the red well. Oh well. Finishing this project was a big step for me. It says "Joy to the World" if you can't see it.

We ended the evening with a cozy fire, watching Polar Express with the big kids. So much to be thankful for. And yay Christmas time!

Thanksgiving Week Memories

2010-11-26T21:16:00.000-08:00

Josie swinging at the new park on 518. I love her sweet, ridiculous smile!

Beautiful November park weather

2nd day at the same park. This time with donuts (and baby Hippo)! It is vacation :).

Ty has been into making paper airplanes this week. Using his Klutz paper airplane design book, he created 3 himself and has been testing/racing/aiming and competing them, sometimes for points. He even designed his own "windsock" out of cardstock and crate paper streamers to determine the wind direction outside. He is so silly....and smart :).

3 silly kids and 2 big dogs = craziness and fun :)

Josie has decided that if eating involves a utensil, she must be in control of it. Laynie was helping and encouraging Josie with her yogurt and they were both pretty proud of their success.

Thanksgiving feast with Ryan and Heather. All of the food was delcicious and the kids had a great time with their Aunt and Uncle visiting! Jason was the mastermind behind the turkey and continues to come up with creative ways to use the turkey...his first turkey and dumpling soup, turkey and broccoli quiche and more to come. Yum!

Mancala has been the game of the week! Ty has been playing mancala at school and we had an old board in the garage, so after bringing it in, it has become a hit! Even Ty and Laynie can play together...it's great! (until Laynie loses, but she's getting better :)).

This is one of Josie's many crazy moves lately. She has officially become a climber. She has no interest in toys right now, she only wants to climb the chairs at the table or climb onto the couch and over onto the end table. She is pretty much a constant source of craziness and sillyness!

That's all for now! Next post will include some of the fun crafts we've done this week! Happy Thanksgiving!

Wiley

2010-11-20T19:13:00.000-08:00

Wiley was such a special pet, he bridges so many memories. After dating for 6 months in high school, Jason asked my mom if he could get me a kitty for a present...who does that?! Surprisingly, she said yes! He came home from the local SPCA around September of 1994. The first couple of pics are hilarious to look back at, but I love them. I love that Jason has been a part of my life for so long. It is such a blessing that he got to know my mom before she passed away. Wiley was there from our senior year in high school, through college, through our early years of marriage moving from Davis to Mountian View to Sunnyvale to San Jose...and finally to Texas! All 3 of our kids have loved him. (Although Ty has recently announced that he doesn't really like cats because according to him, cats somehow open his door at night and sneak into his room. That would weird me out too, I suppose.) :)

Jason with Wiley in my bedroom. Our senior year in high school. Gotta love the posters on the wall :).

Wiley was just a few months old here. And yes, overalls were totally cool then ;).

The date is wrong in the corner of the pic. I think this is around 1998/9 (our senior year in college) when Wiley was living at my Dad's house.

Wiley at our apartment the year after we got married.

Wow, my hubby is hot! :) This is yesterday, saying goodbyes :(.

Cuddling my sweet Wiley.

Sweet Wiley Woodles. We will all miss you around here.

Dewberry Farm

2010-10-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we drove over to Dewberry Farm for some old fashioned fun! It has been 5 years since our last trip and Ty was not even 2 years old then. When Groupon had a half off deal, we couldn't pass it up! It was pretty crowded and hotter than we expected, but the kids had a blast doing things that you don't find most places.

Tyler on the rolling slide.

Laynie and Daddy on the rolling slide. It's super bumpy!

Laynie, Daddy and Josie, and Tyler riding the "black mamba", it's like a giant swing!

L, T and J sitting on top of a giant hay bale.

Getting ready to ride the cow train...I jumped in with Laynie :).

On the cow train!

My little pumpkin.

This was after waiting in a really, really long line for bbq in the hot sun. Delirious?!

Corn maze!

These were make your own snow cones. They give you a cup with ice and then you enter the "flavor shack" and can pull about 20 different spigots of snow cone flavor. Laynie chose a little bit of every flavor, except root beer :).

Good old fashioned duck races...the water pump pushed the ducks along!

Laynie's turn!

On the wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch.

The end of a fun day at the pumpkin patch.

The kids also loved playing in Fort DewHickey, a huge climbing structure, cheering on the pig races, swinging from rope swings off of hay bales, and visiting the animals in the barn. This is one of those trips that is super fun and the kids definitely did not want to leave, but it's on our "once every five years or so" list. With an hour travel time each way, the crowds and the heat, it is not for the faint of heart! But, where else can you bump down a roller slide, get lost in a corn maze, swing on the black mamba, ride a cow train, rope swing from hay bales, etc.???!!! Fun Fall memories!

11 years (16 really) of adventuring :)

2010-08-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to drop off the kiddos with some super friends who offered to watch all 3 while we celebrated our 11th anniversary in Galveston! Yay!

In front of the Villa B&B. The lady who owns/runs this place does it all on her own! And she cooks a delicious 3-course breakfast :).

We were all excited that we found this beach in East Galveston, it looks just like a beach approach in California, the green vegetation with a path to the beautiful beach. Unfortunately, halfway down the trail, we were swarmed by mosquitos and had to run. We snuck a peak at the beach, snapped a quick pic (below) and ran back to the car with about a dozen bites. Nice.

I am so grateful to be married to this man who loves God, me and his children deeply. We started dating as juniors in highschool and never looked back. It is amazing to see how God has grown us and changed us in the last 16 years. God has been faithful when we have been scared, disobedient, grieving, apathetic (to name a few). In the last 6 months, God has continued to stretch us through our finances. We have been prioritizing our needs (mostly wants) for years and by God's grace we are learning how wasteful, excessive, tragic the "American dream" is. We are learning about the joy and freedom of giving and giving freely. We have so very far to go, but God is working (pounding) on our hearts...and we are so thankful.

Mo Ranch 2010

2010-07-24T11:51:00.001-07:00

Mo Ranch has quickly become the highlight of our summer! It is a week of family camp and we are blessed to be there with great friends.

Ty and Laynie getting ready to canoe up the river. Jason and I have lots of room for improvement in the rowing department :).

Family pic!

Jason, Ty and Laynie going down the rapids in the Guadalupe River. It's the perfect spot to be adventurous and enjoy God's creation!

A glimpse of the river.

Love this picture :). Crystal was giving Josie the "good stuff," including bbq brisket, and Josie was a fan for sure! Ha!

Josie did great in her floatie in the river!

Ty and Josie on the last day, while we packed up the cars.

Laynie's Dance Recital

2010-07-22T22:03:00.001-07:00

Laynie LOVED her first dance recital. Of course, it was all about the costume and the makeup. She danced a tap dance to Gitchey, Gitchey, Goo from Phineas and Ferb. It was so fun to see her filled with so much joy as she got to dress up, dance and perform. And she loved to watch the other dance performances, she was truly mesmerized by them. God has blessed us with a girly girl through and through :). And if you knew me, you know that she didn't get it from me!

Ty's Kindergarten Luau/Last day of school!

2010-07-22T21:07:00.001-07:00

Okay, this is ridiculous, but I've fallen way behind on blogging (again), so I'm going to do a few catch-up posts! Stay tuned!

Posing before school

Tyler receiving his Mossman Knight of the Year award in his class from Ms. Colby. He's such a sweetie, we're so proud of him!

Squeeeeeeeeze!

The best attempt at a picture of all 3!

Ty with his teacher, Ms. Colby. She was such a perfect fit for him, super loving, organized, lots of fun, and had a song for just about everything! Watching him learn to read this year was so cool!

Can't believe we'll have a 1st grader next year. Well, in just about a month! Wow!

Easter Fun!!!

2010-04-06T08:40:00.001-07:00

Papa (my dad) is in town for Easter! And boy have the kids been keeping him busy! On Saturday, we walked over to our neighborhood park/pool for an easter egg hunt. The eggs went fast, but the kids had a great time seeing their friends and playing at the park afterwards.

Josie's cuddling with Papa.

After the neighborhood easter egg hunt, we came home and dyed some eggs. The kids love this tradition. We use ours for an outdoor easter egg hunt on Easter day, but don't eat them afterwards. Jason and I are both weirded out by eating eggs that have changed colors :). Our kids do love hard boiled eggs though, especially when they get to slice them in the egg slicer!

They each colored a dozen eggs with our help.

After church Sunday morning, and an indoor egg hunt, we went out to lunch with my dad to Texas Roadhouse. We had planned on going to Red River, but they were closed! But, Roadhouse saved the day with no crowds, peanuts, and good meat!

Tyler brought his new Woody and Buzz lego people along to play.

Trying to take a pic of all 3 is a challenge! They are all looking up as Jason and my dad are standing above, clapping and encouraging them to smile :).

This is more realistic, everybody doing something different!

green

2010-03-29T20:20:00.001-07:00

These pics are from St. Patrick's Day. Just 3 sweet kids wearing green, trying to avoid being pinched by leprechauns :).

Josie's 1st Birthday!

2010-03-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

My sweet baby girl turned One! It's hard to believe...feels like this year has gone by so fast! She has such a sweet, curious spirit. She has 8 teeth, including 3 molars. She's a great sleeper, loves cheerios and goldfish, but is not a fan of other finger foods...yet. She pulls up on anything, is walking while she pushes her baby stroller, but crawling is her preferred mode of transportation. She signs for "milk" and "all done". She plays peek-a-boo with her bath towel. She makes really cute babbling sounds, like "a tuckatuckatuckatuckatucka". And after having Laynie, I've got to say that the fact that Josie does not have breath-holding spells is a blessing beyond measure. It is so fun to watch her explore her environment without worrying about her passing out. Exhale. But I do have to keep an eye on the dog food/water, 'cause Josie is a fan :).

She is sporting her tutu, "j" onesie and baby legs, all made by me! And she looks pretty darn cute if I do say so myself. :). I'm usually more of a crafty wannabe, so it's pretty cool to actually make something myself!

She thought being bumped up and down in the bounce house was pretty awesome.

It was a bunny party 'cause she's our little bunny. And, it's really convenient to find bunny-themed decorations in March!

This picture shows her sweet curiousity.

Love you Josie girl.

children's museum

2010-03-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

We love the Children's Museum! Josie has been playing and exploring in the Tot Spot, and the big kids came to visit her!

I love the expression on Ty's face!

Sweet, sweet curious girl, melts my heart.

Catching a moment with Buggy :).

I love it when Josie whips out her "toothy" smile!

Ty and Laynie were cheering Josie on as she crawled.

More music time!

Driving the car like a big girl.

Dr. Seuss

2010-03-09T10:11:00.000-08:00

This pic captures all of Ty's silly personality :).

sewing projects!

2010-02-27T16:06:00.002-08:00

I can't even believe I am sewing things...It's so fun! My mom was a great sewer and she always encouraged me to learn when I was younger, but I was never interested....until now! I got my first sewing machine for Christmas, a very simple, begginer's sewing machine. And in January/February, I took a 6 week sewing course through Scarlette's Sewing School in Clear Lake. We learned to sew a pair of pajama pants which causes you to learn various skills as you go. I didn't even know what a bobbin was before I started this class! We learned how to thread our machine, how to sew a straight line, and we learned how to use a serger. I have a TON to learn, but am now able to do some simple projects on my own!

Laynie is actually wearing a pair of "babylegs" that I made, they fit her perfectly as leg warmers for when she goes to dance!

Here is my first applique project for Josie! The onesie looks tiny, but it's actually size 18m. I was a little intimidated by this one because it required ironing (no, I don't iron much.) But it turned out really cute and I'm excited to make more of these with different shapes and fabrics! (And, I ironed a shirt for Jason while I was at it, maybe ironing isn't so bad after all!)

Here is Josie playing in her babylegs. They are just a tad bit tight around her sweet, squishy thighs, but she'll grow into them :).

I would post a pic of my pajama pants, but they're not quite finished. I ran into a little snafoo during my last class. Instead of trimming 3 inches off of each pant leg to hem, I accidentally trimmed 6 inches off of one leg and zero off the other. You live, you learn! So now they will have a funky cuff at the bottom since I had to reattach the fabric. And I will have to finish up the pants during a makeup class!

I have definitely learned that sewing and perfectionism do not go hand in hand. It is so much better to just try it, take a risk and most often, you won't even notice if a stitch is crooked (or if you have to reattach something!) Sewing is teaching me to let go and not worry if it's perfect, something I should do a lot more of!

Repurposed crayon bits

2010-02-22T07:02:00.000-08:00

This is a fun, easy craft! If you have accumulated crayons that are worn down or broken, you can repurpose them into cute crayon shapes. First, we had to peel all of the paper off of the crayon bits (not the fun part.) Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

Then we put all of the crayon bits into a ziploc bag and smashed them to pieces.

We used a silicone baking pan which worked perfectly. Laynie scooped the crayon bits into the molds until they were about 1/3 full. The more you put in, the thicker the crayon will be. Then we put them into the oven for about 12 minutes (or until melted).

This is how they looked when we took them out of the oven. Let them dry on the counter until they are hard to the touch on top (can't remember how long this took.) The dark crayon colors really overpower, so use them sparingly if possible (unless you have boys!) But when you pop them out, the front of the crayon is much more colorful.

Voila! Fun heart-shaped crayons that color in a bunch of different colors! We had originally intended to give these out to her friends for Valentine's Day (as a non-candy alternative), but ran out of time. Maybe next year!

fun times

2010-02-10T06:47:00.000-08:00

Here is the triple-tier chocolate cake I mentioned on facebook. Jason and the kids made it from a 9x13 pan...it's from a Williams Sonoma kids recipe book. Yum! The best part is always making and decorating it though. I love Laynie's tight squeeze on Ty :).

This would be super spy time in the closet. Laynie was calling herself Super Spy Mom...with a dress, butterfly wings, ring and sunglasses...awesome. Ty had his super spy pocket watch.

This would be Josie's long locks at 10 months! She has such a beautiful little head of hair!

Josie is visiting Ty while he does homework :). I love watching her explore. I'm pretty sure I never let Laynie pull up on the tile...she was way too clumsy/dramatic. But Josie is sure-footed and knows how to lower herself down carefully. Such a relief!

Laynie is sporting her candy necklace that she made with the Candy Jewel Factory, even the necklace is edible!

California highlights - yes, from November

2010-01-18T21:11:00.000-08:00

I was tempted to just move on from these pics, since I posted many of them on my Facebook anyway, but there were so many great memories from this trip, that I felt compelled to share some of my favorites! This was trip was awesome, I think T and L were at a great age to travel, we stayed at 5 different locations over the 12 day trip and they remained enthusiastic the entire time and Josie was still little enough to go with the flow :). Here's a recap of our trip.

This pic was taken at LegoLand, it's not a great representation of where we were, but it is a great picture of their joy! This was taken right after a water ride where Jason, T & L were shooting canons of water at other riders. They loved it.

This picture was taken in "MiniLand". The entire scene behind T is made out of Legos. We weren't sure the kids would love this section of LegoLand, but T was enamored by it. It was pretty amazing.

This was taken in San Clemente at an adorable little crepe shop. Sharing a nutella crepe with Laynie was a fabulous way to start the day :). And we were there with some of our favorite friends that we hardly ever get to see. Aimee, if y'all had been there, our trip would have been perfect! I guess I'll have to look forward to blogging about our trip to Kauai one day!

This is Sandy & Clay. I went to school with Sandy in elementary, junior high, high school, college and credential school. Crazy! And we certainly do have stories to tell :). But I am so thankful for her friendship and I'm so glad we've gotten to know Clay...he is an awesome guy, I wish we were all closer!

Here is Raffi and Alli and their daughter! Jason and I met Raffi our freshman year in college and we've been friends ever since. So many fun college memories and I'm also so thankful for our friendship with them. I wish we kept in better touch, but I always know we are just a phone call away :).

This is pretty sweet, a beautiful beach day in Southern California with surfers in the backround. At least he wasn't pressing me over his head!

Laynie is always ready for fun...as long as her silky is close by :).

I finally took my first airplane ride with my dad! It was awesome, super smooth and a beautiful view. What was I waiting for?! I may have been inadvertently scarred by watching La Bamba in 6th grade. I'm learning to let go of previous misconceptions. And I'm so glad I did!

My dad lives in the country and the kids love to go on tractor rides. They got to take turns, one time with Papa in the seat and the other time being pulled in the wagon. The best part was when we got to the next house past his field, the neighbors came outside and invited us all in for cookies! Then we got back in the tractor and rode home :).

These are Ty's cousins, my brother's daughters...beautiful and lots of fun!

Jason popped Josie onto my dad's shoulders. I love the facial expressions in this picture, caught in an impromptu moment! (click on the pic!)

Tyler and his cousin, my sister's son, playing on the deck at my Aunt's house on Thanksgiving Day...beautiful view!

This is my brother and Josie, again, love the facial expressions :).

Love, love, love this pic. We've been known as the 3 Musketeers since high school. Sandy, me and Jamie. We've gone to school with Jamie since junior high and we played softball and volleyball together for 6 years! Love these girls! I miss hanging out with these girls weekly for coffee. And I wish I lived close enough to share Trader Joe's with you both!!!

What can I say...Laynie is pouring a bag of leaves on her head for fun. She's great. I wish I could bottle up her giddy joy.

The kiddos with Nana and Nina. Boy do the kids have fun at their house. Making gak, baking cakes, leaf piles, air hockey, movie nights and adventures galore!

Ty and Laynie with their cousin at Apple Hill, a beautiful place in the foothills that is devoted to little shops that sell a variety of apple products. We all shared slices of fresh apple pie and the kids enjoyed chocolate covered apple slices. And did I mention that there were beautiful trees and mountains surrounding us?! I miss those views.

And finally, me and my sister at Apple Hill. It was a perfectly crisp Fall day in California.

And yes, by the end of this trip, I was trying to convince Jason to look for jobs in California, and looking at the real estate around Sacramento. It is beautiful there and the majority of our family is there, along with many meaningful friendships.
I never thought I would be calling Texas home, especially after 5 years! But thankfully we are surrounded by an amazing community of friends here who have become like family to us. We are thankful to be right where we are.

Time to catch up!

2010-01-17T20:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, time to get caught up! The kids are going through some distinct stages right now, so here's an update of what they're up to!

Josie is pulling up on everything! She's just starting to think about moving her feet as she pulls up too...exciting! Her smile is THE sweetest thing :). And yep, her hair rocks! Right now, she's sick with a yucky cough and fever, so we're praying she gets well soon.

Laynie is living in the world of princesses, dress-up, fairies and dance. Every day for the last 2 weeks she changes out of her original outfit into dress-up clothes and asks "May I have this dance?" She wants to dance all day long, mostly with someone. Last week she was putting on my chapstick and said to me, "Doesn't this make my lips look like honey?" Seriously, I assure you I have never said that! Then she put lip gloss on her cheeks and said, "Now my cheeks look like roses!". Wow. Where does she come up with that?!

Here is a preview of Tyler's science fair project. Tyler is loving kindergarten, reading more day by day and trying not to have his brain swallowed up by the Wii. He is loving Super Mario Brothers and I'm pretty sure he's constantly thinking about his next "level".

This is a picture of our minivan on the way to the Clear Lake dog park. Josie is most likely chillin' in her carseat, Laynie is sucking her thumb, holding onto silky and wearing a crown, Finny is looking out the window and Tyler is playing his DS. Yep, that's our family!

Another classic family shot. Jason and Ty are playing the wii together (both intently), Laynie is having a snack and making faces at the camera, Finny is trying to eat Laynie's snack and Josie is hanging out, playing with the cord.

And finally, 2 sweet pics of Josie exploring at the Tot Spot in the Children's Museum. She is so fun, one sweet smile from her and I'm melted. I'm so thankful that God has blessed us with this sweet girl!

Josie, Laynie & Ty @ 8 months

2009-11-13T20:04:00.001-08:00

All of these pictures were taken within one week of Josie, Laynie and Tyler turning 8 months old, give or take. I wish I knew how to post the pics side by side, but I would have to say that Josie and Tyler resemble each other the most. What do you think?

Josie definitely wins for most chubs and most hair!

Laynie is rocking her beautiful blue eyes!

And Tyler is showing off his California roots, cheering for the Giants at Pac Bell Park!

My sweet babers

2009-11-12T19:30:00.000-08:00

This little girl just melts my heart every day. She is pure sweetness. And thankfully her big brother and big sister think so too :). She is on the go, slowly and steadily crawling towards the things she wants. We can't believe that she will be able to go anywhere she wants to soon, sure makes you think about the bottom two feet of your house differently! She is at such a fun stage, playing with things with such curiosity, trying new foods and trying to figure out how to get around. She is just one month away from the age when Laynie had her first breath-holding spell, and we are praying that Josie will have nothing of the sort! Laynie's breath-holding spells caused us to protect her and shelter her from so much exploration because it seemed anything might trigger her. I am so looking forward to Josie crawling, cruising, walking and toddling around without any of those concerns!

Love, love, love her.

This stacking toy is her current favorite.

Laynie with her typical crazy smiley eyes :).

Josie with a pony tail.

October fun

2009-10-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I posted pics of the rest of the family!

Ty and Laynie at the Kemah Boardwalk

Tyler, Josie and Laynie arriving at a local trunk-or-treat festival. Cinderella's wig didn't stay on for much longer...

Sweet Josie...she's such a good sport :).

Daddy and Cinderella

Daddy and Jango Fett

3 sweet kids in the pumpkin patch!

Mommy lovin' on her baby Unicorn :).

Josie's latest tricks

2009-10-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

For some reason, Josie hasn't been interested in sitting up on her own. But these pictures show that she is getting better! She is super at "roley-poleying" around the floor and is starting to get up on her knees to rock back and forth. And today, when I latched her on to the basket (see the 3rd pic), she stood up all on her own! Way to go Josie! Whether she's rolling around, or trying to sit or stand, she's almost always smiling! Sweet girl!

Josie is 6 months old!

2009-09-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

I'm way behind on blogging...and I wanted to catch up by posting Tyler and Laynie's first days of school, but I think I'm going to move on :). I'm not a fan of going out of chronological order, but I may sneak in a few school pics when I get a chance!

Josie is 6 months old and she continues to be sweet and delicious! Really, she is just full of joy and is growing so quickly! Ty and Laynie love her to pieces. She is eating like a champ, fruits and veggies, rice cereal and oatmeal. She is roley poley all over the floor (usually only to her left), and she is working on sitting up. Here are a few pics of her...full of smiles!

Hanging out in her bumbo

Playing in her exersaucer

Being sweet in her playmat

The girls and their "silkies" :)

Sweet sisters!

Celebrating 10 years and more!

2009-07-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

Today is our 10 year anniversary! Jason and I actually started dating our junior year in highschool. We both went to UCDavis for college and graduated in June '99. We were married 3 weeks after graduation! Here are a few pics, looking back over the years :).

Senior Prom - May '95

Wedding day in Granite Bay, CA! - July 10, 1999

After the wedding in San Francisco

First anniversary in Lake Tahoe - July 2000

On a road trip to Iowa with friends...in front of the Grand Tetons (and pregnant with Tyler) - 2003

On a Mexican Riviera cruise with Tyler @ Cabo San Lucas - May 2003

And then we were 4! - February 2006

At Uncle Ryan's wedding - February 2009

And then we were 5! - March 2009

Look who found her thumb...just like big sis :).

2009-06-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure it's official...Josie is a thumb sucker, just like her big sister :).

Josie in her bouncer at 3 1/2 months

Josie in the swing at 3 1/2 months

Big sister Laynie at 4 months

First visit from the tooth fairy

2009-06-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, while we were at Mo Ranch, Tyler discovered he had a loose tooth! He was having a hard time eating corn on the cob because his tooth hurt. And lo and behold, he had a wiggly tooth! After dinner on Wednesday night, his wiggly tooth was hanging on by a thread. On Thursday morning, Tyler gave it the final tug!

Before bed on Thursday evening, Tyler found a "care package" from the tooth fairy on his pillow. It was a box set called Tooth Fairy Time by Susan Magsamen. It included a book about teeth, taking care of teeth, and the tooth fairy. It also included a pillow in the shape of a tooth with a little pocket for him to put his tooth in. He loved it! It also includes 4 charts to record 4 sets of lost teeth which makes it a great family tooth fairy kit. The tooth fairy was able to find his tooth without a problem during the night!

His loose tooth, hanging on by a thread

I missed the actual moment, but he finally pulled it out by himself.

When he smiles, you can barely tell it's missing.

But when he opens his mouth a little, there it is, a missing tooth!

MO Ranch

2009-06-20T19:16:00.001-07:00

MO Ranch is such a blessing for our family.

This is what Josie does...smile! She is such a sweet baby. She eats, she plays, she sleeps. And for several days in a row now, she has been sleeping through the night. Like 9-10 hours straight. She is such a joy and she did so well in the MO Ranch nursery...as far as I know!

Laynie had a great time at MO Ranch, playing with her friends and "exploring". Sometimes she likes bugs, and sometimes, not-so-much. She particularly enjoyed sampling what the cafeteria had to offer...as in a little bit of this and a little bit of that. And she loved having ice cream after lunch and dinner...her dream come true :).

Tyler impressed us this year with his water skills. He went down the "rapids" for the first time this year by himself, without a swim vest, and he LOVED it! He couldn't wait to go back to the river every day. He had a blast exploring the river and playing with friends.

A family picture on the last day. With a baby in tow, we spent most of our free time "dividing and conquering." That usually meant J and Ty were at the river while me and the girls :) napped in the room...not a bad deal. I did get to go to the river one day with Ty and Laynie and it was so fun to watch them swim and play.

Love these two kiddos. Such sweet, silly, different personalities. Such a joy to watch them grow! And such a blessing to be able to spend the week in Texas Hill Country surrounded by other families doing the same!

Tyler's t-ball game

2009-06-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

Tyler finished his t-ball season on Saturday. He enjoyed playing with several of his buddies from school. He's always a good sport, but never overly enthusiastic about chasing balls. But he has a good time, and of course, loves having snack at the end :). After his last game, they had a pizza party, and we brought "baseball" cupcakes. And now we are on to new endeavors. He'll do swim lessons in July, which he loves, and he's starting karate through the YMCA next week. We'll see how that goes, at the moment, he has been inspired by Kung Fu Panda!

Super Sidewalk Paint

2009-05-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

We checked a book out from the library called The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions and it is full of easy "concoctions" for the kids to make. Today, we made super sidewalk paint, and the kids loved it. There are only 3 ingredients: cornstarch, water, and food coloring. It makes kind of a soupy liquid, and when you paint it on the sidewalk, it dries just like chalk. And after a while, the colors get even more vibrant. I'll put the recipe at the end in case you want to try it!

Mixing the water and cornstarch

Ready to go paint

Working on his name

Having fun!

Super Sidewalk Paint

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup water

6-8 drops food coloring

1. Mix cornstarch and cold water together in a small plastic bowl/container.

2. Add food coloring and stir.

3. Repeat this process to create different colors of Super Sidewalk Paint. (Can easily be washed away with water.)

4. Have fun!

Creative puppets!

2009-05-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

Tyler and Laynie recently rented a craft video from the library and they loved it. One of the crafts was making your own puppets. Well, today they decided to make their own puppets. They got out all of their own art supplies: crayons, paper, scissors, glue and tape. After cautioning them to make good choices with their art supplies, I went into the kitchen and let them do their creating unmonitored (a risky choice for sure!) I could see them both coloring and Tyler was busy cutting out different shapes. Next thing I know, he emerges with the coolest puppet and the most creative "puppet" system. He created the entire thing by himself...I love it!

Tyler and Laynie getting started on their puppet design.

The front of Tyler's puppet. The blue stripes are suspenders, according to Ty. He cut, colored, glued and taped everything by himself!

Tyler's innovative "puppet" system. He cut out rectangular strips and taped them to the puppet so that he could hold it up. So cool!

Laynie never completed a puppet, but she had fun creating anyway!

Since they had such a great time I have been inspired to reorganize and improve their art supplies. I've also been inspired by a book I'm reading, "The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections". Great for a summer time project!

3 Blessings

2009-05-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful that God has blessed me with 3 sweet children and a loving husband to share life with. Wishing a happy mother's day to all you mommy's!

Gotta love those cheeks!

2009-05-04T12:28:00.001-07:00

I've been trying to capture this sweet smile for a couple of weeks now and finally caught it today! Josie is such a sweetie. She is sleeping great at night and takes great naps in the day...I'm trying to enjoy that while it lasts! When she's awake, she likes to play in her little jungle gym, making music with her feet by wiggling the chimes. Most of the time, she is very easy-going, especially when she is toted all around town for her big brother and big sister's activities! She also likes to snuggle with her mommy, a great excuse for me to take a nap!

This picture is a little dark, but shows Josie happily playing in her jungle gym :).

Papa's visit!

2009-04-28T13:49:00.001-07:00

Papa (my dad) came to visit us for a week from California! Here are a few pics from the visit :).

Holding and meeting baby Josie for the first time!

Laynie is "making" ice cream scoops for Papa at the park...one of her specialties ;).

Papa discovered that Tyler is quite the Lego enthusiast! He is constantly building, taking apart and rebuilding his projects. Papa got him a new airplane creator set and two brick separators. Tyler was so excited!

Papa, Tyler and Laynie posing in the wind in front of the U.S.S. Texas.

Papa reading bedtime stories.

Papa and his Norcross grandkids!

The latest family of 5 pic! Tyler loves to hold Josie, he's so sweet with her.

What's for dinner?

2009-04-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

Seriously?! Finny has officially become a counter surfer. Over the weekend he consumed two muffins and almost an entire loaf of banana nut bread (thankfully the recipe made two loaves!) Usually I don't encourage his behavior by stopping to take a picture, but had to capture the moment. Two of his favorite things (besides going on walks) include sneaking food off the counter and chasing the cats. As if I'm not busy enough with two preschoolers and a newborn! Oh well, we love our pets and enjoy the silliness and especially the cuddles that they bring to our lives :).

California visitors

2009-04-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

My sister (Aunt Carmen) and her son Hayden came to visit Josie and the rest of us! Hayden is one year older than Tyler and they have a blast together. It was fabulous having them here, help with mornings (so Jason could go to work and I could sleep in), playtime and adventures in the day, and wonderful help with dinner and bedtime! We had a great visit!

This lego helicopter was a gift from Aunt Carm...Tyler and Hayden built it the night they arrived! And they worked like champs together!

Tyler and Hayden in Laynie's big bed. The cousins got to have a sleepover everynight! And Hayden often read the bedtime stories, amazing!

Josie loves her Auntie Carm and cousin Hayden!

The boys had a blast playing drums upstairs, they had several drum "performances"!

The gang :)

Aunt Carm helping Princess Laynie get ready for bed :).

Jocelyn Eloise

2009-04-14T15:01:00.000-07:00

Jocelyn (Josie) Eloise Norcross was born on March 12, 2009! Delivery went very smoothly, was induced around 10:30am and she arrived at 4:26pm. The epidural was fabulous, as usual! She was 7lbs. 10oz. and 19in. long at birth. She is a beautiful baby girl, with a full head of hair :). What a blessing!

Cuddling with mommy

Family of 5!

Swaddled up with daddy

Laynie and Tyler are so excited!

Josie holding Ty's finger, precious!

Sweet Laynie sneaking in cuddles with mommy :)

Getting ready to go home!

Proud daddy enjoying his new bundle!

What sweet kiddos we have!

Rodeo Day

2009-04-05T12:46:00.000-07:00

Tyler and Laynie celebrated Rodeo Day at their preschool.

All dressed up for the rodeo! If you look closely, Tyler was Sheriff Tyler. And I bought Laynie's cute pillowcase dress at Belle's and Beau's resale and boutique shop in League City. It sure makes me wish I could sew!

Laynie is showing her jalapeno tattoo and rodeo handkerchief.

Tyler is milking a cow!

Laynie was posing for her cowgirl pic.

Tyler is barrel racing with his horsey!

Edible landscape...

2009-04-03T13:38:00.001-07:00

Well, we're not quite there yet, but Jason has a vision of creating an edible landscape in our backyard, and slowly but surely, it is coming to fruition! We (okay Jason and the kids) just planted our spring/summer crop. We already have bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, and chives growing. Corn has sprouted, and some other things have sprouted too (I'll have to check with J to find out what they are!) Thankfully our citrus trees didn't die in the snowfall, so we have a meyer lemon, and two orange varieties blooming, along with an avocado and fig tree. We hope to plant blueberry vines in the backyard eventually. My favorite crop is our winter sugar snap pea vines because our kids will eat them right off the vine and they are delicious! It's all been kind of a trial and error process, we have not had success with broccoli and cauliflower. But we've had great success with lettuce varieties and the sugar snap peas. Our tomatoes like to grow, but we're still trying to figure out how to keep the tomato horn worms away. It is a lot of fun for the kids and a pretty cost-effective way to have fresh, organic veggies!

This pic is hilarious, because that's classic Finny. About to chomp the carrot that Laynie is holding. I'm attributing that to him still being a puppy (17 months old.) And I'm hopeful that he won't always try to eat every little thing that isn't tied down. Good thing he's cute!

This one is so sweet. Laynie was so proud of this gigantic carrot! Unfortunately it had grown so big, it didn't taste very good. But it sure looked good!

Uncle Ryan's wedding!

2009-04-02T13:34:00.000-07:00

Introducing Ryan and Heather Norcross (or Uncle Ryan and Aunt Heather in our household!) They had a beautiful, intimate ceremony at Heather's Granny's house in Richmond, TX. Tyler and Laynie had the honor of being ring bearer and flower girl, respectively!

We are so happy for Ryan and Heather and blessed to have a new member of the family!

Laynie's 3rd Birthday!

2009-04-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Laynie's 3rd birthday Dora style!

Laynie is such a joy! She is beautiful, silly and sweet! She has contagious giggles and fills our hearts with joy! She loves her family, loves to play with her brother, loves her pets (Finny, Wiley, Peaches and Cloudy), her silky, and her soft baby :). Happy Birthday Laynie!!!

Bangs

2009-02-04T08:17:00.000-08:00

So I debated whether or not to cut Laynie's bangs...and finally gave in. They were getting longer, almost long enough to pull back in a ponytail, but almost every day, she prefers to wear her hair down, which means in her face (and usually caked with food!) I think they turned out pretty cute! So, here are some before and after pics...

Before

After

Posing with her favorite kitty, Peaches. (And no hair in her eyes!)

Now it's Finny's turn to get his bangs cut!

And one of my sweet, handsome Tyler...munching on mini-muffins :)

winter veggies

2009-01-16T19:06:00.000-08:00

Jason and Laynie brought in our dinner veggies tonight, from our own garden! We have several varieties of fresh lettuce growing, sugar snap peas (which are delicious right off the vine), carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, and chives. It's so convenient, and fresh to have veggies growing in the garden! Jason built 3 "square foot gardens" in our backyard, and we continue to try new things each season.

ebelskivers and legos...christmas goodies

2009-01-06T16:34:00.000-08:00

Ebelskivers were a childhood Christmas Eve tradition. My mom would make a huge batch of them for Christmas Eve dinner, and I mean huge. What could be better than a round pancake ball/doughnut dipped in sugar and or jam...for dinner? Even better was that we would compete to see who could eat the most! Delicious! Well, for Christmas, I got my first Ebelskiver pan and Jason kindly broke it in by cooking a delicious batch of "cinnamon-bun filled pancakes", a Williams Sonoma recipe. They were quite tasty, and I'm pretty sure our kids have a new favorite breakfast (or dinner) food!

Jason in action!

Ty and Laynie enjoying their ebelskiver breakfast.

Legos are also a new addition at our house. Tyler has become quite the little builder. He loves to look at the directions and put them together piece by piece. We are quite impressed :). He started with little Creator sets that had approximately 70-80 pieces. But for Christmas, he received a lego fire station that had 600 pieces and he built it within two days! He built 99% of it all by himself, with the slightest help from Daddy.

Tyler and his fully constructed lego fire station...600 pieces in all!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T18:18:00.000-08:00

Hi friends and family!

It's 2009, and we are joining the blog world! Mostly, we'll be sharing pictures and stories of our family adventures.

We are very thankful for a healthy 2008, particularly in contrast to 2007! And we look forward to 2009 with the wedding of Jason's brother, Ryan, in February, and the due date of our third child, Jocelyn Eloise Norcross (Josie), in mid-March.

Here are a few pics of the 2008 holidays.

Tyler and Laynie playing in the snow in our front yard!

Tyler blowing out the candles on his Kung Fu Panda cupcakes at his 5th birthday party.

Laynie waiting for the Christmas train in Alvin.

Laynie looking sweet on Christmas Eve.

Tyler leaving out cookies and milk for Santa.

We look forward to keeping up with y'all in 2009!