Mattie's Fun Night at School

We took the kiddos to Mattie's school Fun Night this past Saturday. They had a lot of fun seeing all their friends, playing games & activities and eating junk food :) The first game they played was The Cake Walk. Ryan ended up winning...lucky #9! He didn't get an actual cake (thank goodness) but he did get to choose a snack to take home. Mattie stopped in one of the classrooms to get a 'Guitar' painted on her face. They did a really nice job with it! From there they wanted to go to the cafeteria and get some cotton candy. Then we went to the gym where they both wanted to shoot basketballs for a prize.

Kobe Man's First Birthday!!

We went to my nephew's First Birthday Party yesterday at Pump It Up and had so much fun!! Can't believe he is already one!! Ryan had so much fun playing with all the kids and Mattie stayed close to Kobe for most of the party. She helped him get around in all of the jumpy things. He absolutely loved all the balloons - as soon as he saw one he would lift his hand and point :) He is such a doll :)!!!

Grandma Bryant's Birthday

The kiddos and I went over to my Grandma Bryant's house this past Saturday since it was her birthday. The kids bought her a small rose plant and some treats. Of course they helped her enjoy the treats too :)

Dinner with 'My Besties'

So, last weekend I had dinner at Latin King with some of my best friends!! We had originally set the date to get together and go dress shopping for Morgan who is getting married soon but she already found 'The Dress'. We had a really fun time catching up!! We stayed at the restaurant for almost three hours chatting :)

Mattie as 'Artist of the Month'

I am so proud of Mattie's artwork that got her recognized as one of the January 'Artists of the Month' at her school!!! This is the first time she has been recognized for her artwork so she is very excited and proud of it :)!!!

New Year's Eve Wedding Event

We went to Matt's cousins wedding (Amanda Mullin) over New Year's Eve weekend which was held at the Lotus Moments Event Center. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception! I didn't even know the building existed! It was a lot of fun getting together with the family. I wish I would have been able to get a picture with the Bride but she was of course too busy!!

Shawn's Retirement Party

Shawn retired from the City of Des Moines a couple of weeks ago so he invited us to attend his work party and then afterwards we all went to Bass Pro Shops for dinner and bowling. His work party was fun and it was pretty neat to see how many of his co-workers showed up to wish him good luck! Bowling was a blast! The kids had a lot of fun and the food and drinks were great :)

Christmas Day with the Constables

We went over to Tracy and Angie's house later in the day on Christmas. It was so nice to be able to relax most of the day on Christmas before heading anywhere else!

We had a wonderful dinner and then sat around and chatted until it was time to open presents. The kids do a gift exchange with Taylor and Alyssa and the adults do an exchange as well. Mattie got her Hawkeye pillow pet she had wanted so badly and Ryan got a lego set which he loved from his Uncle Jeff and Aunt Tammy! It kept him very occupied!!

Christmas Morning!!

The kiddos were sleepy heads this year - they didn't wake up until about 8:30! We did have a very long day Christmas Eve though. The kids were very excited to see that Santa had made it to our house.

Some of the things Mattie got were some new clothes, a FurReal kitten, hand sanitizers, pajamas and some nail polish. Ryan got a basketball hoop, a race car track, legos, pajamas and some candy!!

Christmas Eve at The Constables

Another yearly tradition is going over to Matt's parents house for dinner and presents! We always have such a fun time!! Matt's brother and Lauren were there along with Virginia's mom Nadine. The kids just love seeing all the presents under Grandpa & Grandma's tree :) Dinner was great - Shawn made some lasagna and then he made chocolate pies for dessert.

Mattie couldn't wait to open presents, and kept trying to rush everyone through dinner! The kids got some great presents. Mattie got some new pajamas, jeans, phone minutes and some nice Okoboji gear! Ryan got some Okoboji gear as well, a giant activity pad and some new clothes.

 

Christmas Stop at Grandpa & Grandma Bryant's House

After my Grandma Char's house we stopped at my Grandpa & Grandma Bryant's house so they could see the kiddos and so we could drop off some goodies I had made for them. My grandma loves my roll-ups so I knew I had to take some to her along with some cookies!!

My grandma got Mattie a pretty pink purse and Ryan a remote control car. I found myself playing with the car the next day after the kids opened all of their gifts from Santa :) I guess we're never too old to play with toys!

The kiddos were a little tired at this point!

Christmas at Grandma Char's House

Christmas at Grandma Char's house was a lot of fun as usual! There was a lot of good food!! Most of the family made it there around the same time so it was great seeing some of my cousins and aunts/uncles I hadn't seen in awhile. The kids got some cute pajamas from Grandma. She also got Mattie a bead set which she loved and Ryan a new Nerf gun which he has been using on Mattie and her friends. :) Matt and I got new pillows which we can definitely use!!