I’m finishing up our holiday fun today with what we did on New Years Eve and the days after.  Here are some pictures of our fun.

On New Years Eve we went bowling.  Hailey had never been bowling before and she was really excited to try it out.  See her cute little bowling shoes?

Hailey hanging out waiting for her turn.  (My brother Matt took this picture.)

Hailey getting ready to bowl. 

Hailey had a lot of fun bowling.  She did have one little mishap when she tried to take off down the lane to get her ball.  I didn’t expect her to do it so I wasn’t ready to catch her.  And as you know those lanes are very slippery.  So she slipped and fell backwards hitting her head on the floor.  She was fine after a few minutes and really enjoyed the rest of the bowling (and did not try to run after her ball again).

After bowling we spent New Years Eve at my parents house playing games, eating and talking.  Except for Rich- he hadn’t been feeling well since the afternoon and by the evening time the stomach bug had hit him full force.  For some reason I didn’t get any pictures of our New Years Eve but we did have a great time (except for Rich being sick).

In the morning Hailey helped Uncle Matt make some of his famous pancakes and we enjoyed a big breakfast.

Later on Hailey and Aunt Ellie made some cookies that they found in Hailey’s new cookbook she got for Christmas.

Decorating the cookies (which were really cute and yummy!)

The next day Hailey and Pa did a little sled riding.

The first time down the hill- I think Hailey looks a little nervous.

Looks like they had fun!

Back up the hill to do it again.

I love the expression on her face in this one.

We had lots of fun while visiting with everyone over Christmas vacation.  We can’t wait to see everyone again!

The day after Christmas we headed out of town to visit our family.  We had Christmas with my side of the family on Saturday.  Here are a few pictures of the fun:

I know it’s a little out of focus, but I have to take what I can get with Brooke.  She hates having her picture taken just as much as I do.  So even though it’s out of focus I can still see her face!

All of the excitement was a bit much for Dottie.  She had to take a break from opening her presents for quick nap.

Hailey is modeling her new apron.

The aftermath of opening the gifts, just a little mess to clean up.  See me on the couch?  Don’t I look great?  It’s not my fault- remember I was sick.

Hailey and Aunt Ellie had lots of fun playing in Hailey’s new Rose Petal Cottage.

Hailey posing for a quick picture before church on Sunday.

We celebrated Christmas with Rich’s side of the family on Tuesday but I didn’t bring my camera with me.  What kind of blogger doesn’t have her camera at all times?  A bad one.  So- sorry I don’t have any pictures from there to share.  But here is one of Hailey playing with one of her gifts she got from Nana and Grandpa (Rich’s parents).

Hailey loves to clean with her vacuum- she gets it out every day and cleans up the house.

That’s it for my Christmas pictures.  I’ll be back with a few pictures from our New Years celebration.

I know my posting lately has not been like it usually is.  I’ve been busy and not having much time to use my computer lately.  If I’m not posting here- make sure you check out Our Crafts ~N~ Things to see what Hailey and I have been up to, I’ve been posting there every day.

Anyhoo- last weekend was an absolute blast.  We were able to spend the weekend at my parents house with my cousin Beka and her hubby and their daughter, and my parents of course.  When Beka and I were younger we had lots and lots of fun together.  As we’ve gotten older, married and now have our own kids it’s so hard to get together.  It seems like we only see each other during the holidays and at weddings when it’s too busy to really have time to chat.  So, when Beka had the idea that we spend a weekend together I was thrilled!

We arrived at my parents house on Friday night.  My dads job was having a family night- so he took all of us to that.

Hailey loved the bouncy fun things they had.

This is Beka’s daughter- Anika looking cute as can be while we were eating some of the yummy food.

There were some fun cars to see- and Rich wanted to pose with Herbie.

Saturday we spent most of the day hanging out at my parents house- talking and letting Hailey and Anika “play” together.  The “playing” consisted of Hailey trying to make sure she kept all of her toys away from Anika.  Since Anika is a year younger than Hailey- she is still in the stage where doesn’t really care.  But we definitely have some work to do with Hailey on learning how to share toys.

Anyhoo- Beka bought the girls adorable matching outfits and we tried to get them to cooperate and pose for a picture.

Aren’t they cute?  Now if only we could get them to smile.  (The mark on Hailey’s arm is her tattoo from Friday night)

I think they’re sharing a special cousin moment here, while enjoying their crackers and refusing to cooperate with their mothers for a picture involving smiling.

Awww- a nice little hug.

And some fun together in the pool.

It was a fun weekend seeing my parents and Beka, Bill and Anika.  We have to do it again soon!

I finally had a few minutes to upload some pictures of our vacation. After we spent a few days at my parents house (and I got to meet Pam) Rich, Hailey, my parents and I packed up the car to head to visit Mike, Matt and Ellie.

We packed just a few things. Actually now that I look at that- most of that stuff was for me, Rich and Hailey. Where is all of my parents stuff?

The car ride was 8 hours, so we made several stops to keep Hailey happy. And she did excellent. There may have been a couple instances of whining but she did so good. This is during one of our stops. Hailey and my dad are watching some trucks go by.

While we were driving Rich saw this van with an AC unit in the back. So we had to slow way down so that I could take pictures of it. Rich thought it was pretty funny.

During our visit we took a nice walk so that Hailey could check out some cows. She had never seen cows in real life so she was pretty excited to check them out.

Later we went on a picnic right next to a duck pond. Hailey loved feeding the ducks with her Aunt Ellie.

We saw this while we were at the duck pond. I have no idea what it is. Does anyone know?

Ellie had saved a big box for Hailey and together they made a house. Check out my Our Crafts ~N~ Things blog to see pictures of them making the house.

Rich and Matt after a game of golf.

We had a great time at a nearby park- Hailey loved all of the special attention she got from her Aunt Ellie!

The fireflies were out all over the place as we were getting ready to leave the park. If you look near the top of left of the picture you can see the firefly that Hailey and “Pa” are looking at.

Even though Mike’s birthday isn’t until August we decided to celebrate it while we were all together. Hailey loved helping Uncle Mike celebrate.

Meet my adorable little nephews- Tuxedo and Penguin. Hailey loved the kitties… as long as they stayed away from her box house.

Hailey helping Uncle Matt play a song on his guitar.

Hailey saying goodbye to Penguin and Tuxedo. She was leaning in to give them hugs but they both got out of the way pretty quickly.

We had a very nice time being with all of my family. Thanks again to Matt and Ellie and to Mike for hosting!