Winter Festival at the Warner Robbins AFB

The Sassers had such a fun day on Saturday!!  A cooooooold day spent outside, but the kids finally got to wear their puffy jackets this season.  

We had already planned to visit the Warner Robbins Air Force Museum, and found out mid-week that they were hosting a Winter Festival on Saturday.  Perfect timing!  Although we planned to stay home all January and keep things low-key, we can only handle so much downtown at the new house.  :) Plus, Warner Robbins is only 50 miles away so not really a "trip".  

The festival included snow tubes, horseback riding bouncy houses, ziplines, super heroes, and lots of food vendors.  Kudos to the planners for making sure the littles could have as much fun as the big kids.  JB had a BLAST!  He must have gone down the "snow" hill about 20 times by himself (and the bigger one with Daddy just as many times).

He also loved the horse-back riding, and looked so calm and confident on top of the horse. Proud of my little guy (he can be timid around new things.)

It irritated Sissy that she could not yet mount a horse (maybe next year, little girl). She did try to the snow tubing with me and was not impressed.  

Did I mention it was cold?  Like 50 degrees with high winds.  We escaped into the museum several times to warm up, but a separate trip for just the exhibits is warranted in the near future.  Would be a good trip with our Gran Gran.

After the festival events, we meandered over to the playground where the kids asked to swing until their poor hands froze.  

By 11:30 we had departed to find real food. None of the restaurants we wanted to try were open on Saturdays (guessing because they are only open for the Base), but we finally found a Mexican restaurant that was yuuuuuuuummy.  We also saw lots of  Greek, Vietnamese, Korean, and Indian places.  Gotta love a city that boasts lots of ethnic food.  I miss that in our small little town!  

I love days like this!!!  And excited I got to experience a new Georgia town (my first time to WR).  I see lots more Middle GA exploring this Spring.  

Sweet Enda Girl - 5 Years Old!!

This vizsla of ours.... she's FIVE YEARS OLD, y'all!  That's 35 years old in Dog Years.(Coincidentally, Enda and I turn the same "age" this year, sort of funny).

Although she has calmed so much this year (in terms of her energy), Enda is increasingly more high maintenance and neurotic as she ages.  She firmly believes this household should revolve around her and her needs, and is in the middle of everything.  She's highly offended if she's not included in any and all car trips (even trips to Kroger), and needs us at her immediate disposal to open doors, rub her haunches, and serve her food.  Around 9PM she makes it known that she's ready for bed and starts whining if we don't start towards the bedroom.  Enda still has no sense of personal space and lives up to the Velcro stereotype for her breed.

Now, because we love Enda way more than people should love an animal, we tolerate (and really enable) these traits of hers.  And, in return, she gives us more love and affection than I thought canines were capable of.  She's even better with the kids these days, which is good news since little Maryn (the red-headed sister she most resembles) is obsessed with her.

JB is really into birthdays, so naturally we threw a party for her.  The kids picked her out new toy, wrapped it, and gave it to her this morning. Enda was so excited.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!

A Family that Cooks Together...

Unless y'all want to hear about contract negotiations, end user testing, or James' and my busy travel schedule, nothing too much to report on the blog.  We've purposefully tried to make January a low-key month of lazy family time, free of weekend excursions or commitments.  It's been nice!  

One thing we've done more of lately is cooking with the kiddos.  Both are very enthusiastic about helping us prepare food.  James is a pro at making waffles in the new waffle iron (which I admittedly told my parents we didn't need, but they got us one anyway and it's been a super big hit.)  Maryn likes to watch the iron and tell us when it's ready (i.e. when the light turns green).

JB and I like to bake desserts and snacks after Sissy goes to bed.  Last night we made these Milk and Cereal Bars - super tasty!  They are slightly healthier than rice crispie treats (as long as you don't eat half the pan like I did.)  JB doesn't understand why he can't eat them for breakfast (um, loads of marshmallow sugar goodness.)

Maryn still continues to be my fantastic little eater, devouring anything I put on her plate and eating a wide variety of food.  JB has gotten pickier and pickier.  Last night I got brave enough to say "this is what's for dinner.  It is this or nothing until breakfast".  He was able to hold out until 8PM when he finally realized MAMA MEANS BUSINESS.  

He ate about half the plate before he declared that he "DID NOT LIKE THIS".  Because he fulfilled his end of the bargain (trying it), I rewarded him with some bread and apple butter. 

I'm not sure if that is the right parental move.  Probably need to read a book on how to win the dinner time battle (any suggestions?)

What to Do When It's Freezing Outside?

It was a very brisk, cold 20s this weekend, which we are not used to in these parts of the country. It even snowed for a minute or two! So what do you do with a weekend in barely survivable temps??

First, we (and by "we" this includes the muchkins) make banana bread. Because it warms the soul.

We build "spaceship bouncy houses" with our magnatiles in front of the fire.

We also hit up REAL bouncy houses at an indoor gym to burn off some energy!!

After naps (because cold air makes us sleepy) we naturally need cold ice cream.

Oh, and Mama gets crazy with a colder, "winter" color with her hair!

You also do crazy things in the cold, like take BOTH toddlers to Kroger. It naturally required balloons and in-cart snacks.

You wear house shoes in the cold. Even if they are 5 sizes too big (and your big brother's).

And you climb on your Mama lots and lots of times!!

It's also a good time to whip out new Christmas presents, such as your snazzy new slow cooker and nifty air fryer.

It's the perfect time to whip out our fuzzy-wuzzy sleepsacks, too!

And it's the PERFECT time to catch a movie (The Imitation Games and Spotlight) while crocheting by the fire.

Kiddos do weird things in the cold, like get up at 5am (well, that's normal for JB), climb into bed with their lazy Mama at 730am, then snooze till 9!

Parents do crazy things like think "I wonder if I could potty-train my 16 month old...?"

(The cold air has definitely affected our brain!!)

Here's hoping everyone stayed safe and warm this weekend!! We enjoyed all these "cold weather" adventures. But we're happy to see those 70 degree temps creeping back in the forecast by midweek!

Christmas Time!

What a whirlwind Christmas week we just experienced!  (Well, really Christmas Season!)  I kept planning out a big post with lots of pictures to document the fun and excitement, but the new year is fast approaching now over and I've got to just get something down on paper.  And whatever pics I can manage to upload (unedited, unfiltered, unorganized).  New Year's Resolution is to get this old blog back on track (and print it - don't I say that every single year!?)

First, JB's little school had a couple of Christmas events that warmed our hearts and put big smiles on our faces.  He had a Christmas party one Friday which Maryn and I attended.  So stinkin' cute.  (Sissy is soooooo ready for school!)

The school also had a Christmas Program the next Friday, and JB's class wore elf hats (for the first few minutes, at least) and sang "Baby Jesus"*. Can I brag on the little man for a bit? JB knew every single word to the two verse song, and now sings it for every blessing at dinnertime.  He did GREAT.

(JB did so well during his song, but quickly became bored with sitting up there for the others' songs. Fortunately my dad sat up front taking pictures and convinced him to stay put/got these funny pictures.)

My parents got to attend the Christmas program because they were here for 13 days!!  So much fun!! Ms. Leron came for Christmas, so the children enjoyed all of their grandparents under one roof.  How special is that?

We spent Christmas Eve visiting neighbors and resting (as we spent Christmas Eve Eve in the ER with JB - he is fine, but suffered from a case of epididymitis.  Won't go into details for his privacy, of course!)  Christmas Eve services at our church were so lovely.  That evening we put out reindeer food and cookies for Santa!  Snowflake (our Elf on the Shelf) had left the children matching PJs for Christmas and, hello, so adorable.

Santa (plus the g-parents and other friends and family) spoiled the kids again this year!  JB got a trampoline, a helicopter and some bear slippers from Santa, and Maryn received her very own chair, some bunny slippers, and an educational toy that beautifully coordinated with the colors in her room. So snazzy, that Santa!

Okay, get ready for picture overload!  I'm pulling from both mine and my dad's cameras here.

I had the privilege of cooking Christmas dinner WHICH I ABSOLUTELY ADORED!!!  Everyone kept saying they felt bad that I cooked so much, but no one understood that cooking for others is a Merry Christmas to me!  James used a reverse sear method on a beef tenderloin, and I made white acre peas, a salad, and cornbread sausage dressing. Not to brag, but James says it's the best dressing he ever had.  Southern Living, FTW.

A lovely Christmas!  Our first one in the new house in our new little town.  We are so blessed to have spent it with our family, celebrating Christmas and the birth of our Lord and Savior.

* Baby Jesus, Baby Jesus

Please don't cry, Please don't cry!

Don't you know we love you, Don't you know we love you,

Very much, Very Much.

Baby Jesus, Baby Jesus,

Born to Us, Born to Us!

You came down to save us, You came down to save us,

Amen. Amen.