Monday, November 29, 2010

Elliott's Escapades

Elliott's personality has really developed over the past couple weeks and we're realizing what a handful he may turn out to be. Here's just one example:It looks like he's going to be a climber! He's been climbing the stairs for at least a month, but I didn't think anything about that since Malachi climbed the stairs early but didn't really want to climb anything else. Not Elliott! He was up on that chair before I realized what was happening and then he just smiled that cute smile when I reprimanded him.More to come in the next few days!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Introducing The Pickle

Yep, this is what she wore to go shopping. Attractive isn't it?

Friday, November 26, 2010

Midnight Shopping or Bust!

Last year Megan and Mom decided to brave the midnight craziness of shopping at the outlets. All year they talked about how fun it was and kept insisting that it wasn't as crazy or busy as everyone said, so we (Becky, Jessica and I) joined them this year and met up with Kelsey, my friend, Christina, and her sister, Shelby. Here's what we learned:
Lesson #1 - Don't make fun of those "crazy" or "stupid" people who are walking from the make-shift parking lot in the rain, sleet, snow instead of taking the free shuttle. We did...then we became them. The shuttle line was really long and the traffic wasn't moving so we figured it would be faster to walk the 1/2 mile.

Lesson #2 - Wear warm clothes. Mom's "pickle" (pictures to come) was definitely warm enough but that wind was definitely frigid. Oh, and it snowed!

Lesson #3 - Wear good shoes. After the police closed off the outlet parking lot about 5 cars in front of us we had to park in the makeshift lot on the other side of the interstate. We trudged through a muddy field (that almost swallowed Meg's car!), climbed a fence, jumped a ditch full of water, walked along the interstate off-ramp and along the road and through parking lots to get to the stores.

Lesson #4 - The deals are good, but it's more about the experience. We all got some bargains, and Becky actually finished all of her Christmas shopping.

Lesson #5 - It's all about perspective - LAUGH! What could have been an absolutely miserable five hours in the middle of the night was honestly one of the most fun things I've done in a long time. The reason for that? Megan, Mom, Becky, Jessica, Kelsey, Christina and Shelby!

Who's in for next year?

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful celebration today with lots of family, food and fun. For those of you who weren't here, we missed you!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Obstacle Course

What do you do on a Sunday evening when you have an empty basement? Here's Malachi's idea:

Monday, November 15, 2010

Boys Being Boys

I definitely thought twice before putting this video up because of how rough Malachi is with Elliott at the beginning, but then decided that it was cute seeing them wrestle together. I have a feeling Malachi had better watch out...Elliott's gonna be a tough one!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Floors and Electric

Here's what we've been up to in our free time the last two weeks:
Mom and I installed laminate flooring in the basement bathroom and in the two closets I plan to use for cake supplies.
Aunt Laura and I built the stairs. (Erik pulled up all the boards from the old steps.)
Erik and a local electrician finished wiring the outlets and switches and installed lights.
And then, we got carpet!! They began yesterday and finished around lunchtime today. The boys are already loving their new place to play!

We still have a lot to do, but we're so excited to get this BIG thing off the checklist!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Friends

One of the most important things in our lives is the relationships we have. Before we moved to Ohio our friends in each of the places we lived were the closest thing we had to family. When we decided to move here we knew we'd have lots of family around, but we were worried about meeting new friends. Thankfully that worry didn't trouble us for long. We have some amazing friends!
Last weekend we celebrated Christina's birthday by getting babysitters and going out to dinner without kids! It was wonderful! And, while we're on the subject of Christina, look at Malachi and Elliott's newest friend:

This is Ed and Christina's sweet girl, Camryn. She's such a cutie and it's hard to believe she's already a month old. Watch out, Christina. Before you know it you'll be planning her birthday party!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Cross Country 2010

With the exception of one more banquet, cross country season is over for another year! Erik had a great second year as the boys' coach, but I think he's excited to have more time to spend at home with our boys now. The boys' team finished 2nd in the SVC (Paint Valley's conference), won their district and finished 8th in their region. One of his runners, Daniel, also ran in the state meet last weekend. Erik and Cheryl (the head coach/girls' coach) were even awarded district coach of the year! Great job guys!

Monday, November 8, 2010

The Zoo!

Yesterday we went to the Columbus Zoo to finish celebrating Elliott's birthday. We were joined by the entire Lloyd clan: Papaw, GranMols, Meg, Blake, Kimberly, Adeline, Kelsey, Mike, Grace and Liza. The polar bear exhibit was one of our favorites.
Aunt Meg was Elliott's favorite. She was always the one to rescue him from his stroller so he could see too.
He loved watching the elephants!
And riding on Daddy's shoulders.
Malachi liked being able to touch these animal hides.
Elliott got to play with Uncle Blaker a little too...until Adeline got jealous!
Both of the boys liked the little animal statues throughout the zoo.
I think Malachi was telling Elliott about the rhinoceros they were watching.
When planning this trip, I forgot to take into account naptime. Elliott was a trooper, but this is how he looked when we got back to the car!

What a fun day!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Happy 1st Birthday, Elliott!

Yesterday our little man turned ONE! It's hard to believe a whole year has gone by so quickly, but we really have enjoyed every moment with Elliott. As many of you who know, he is definitely one of the happiest boys ever.
We had a small family party to celebrate Elliott. We began with dinner followed by presents. Elliott was really excited to get some toys of his own! (And during his prayer Malachi thanked God for being able to help open Elliott's presents and for Elliott getting new toys that he can play with too. I'm guessing we'll be talking about sharing a lot in the next few days!)And then we had cake! Here's Elliott vs. cake:
Happy birthday to our sweet little guy. We are so blessed to be his parents!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Empty Nesters

So, I had to run down to Mom and Dad's last night to get my camera that was left there during the Youth group costume party. When I walked in this is what I saw:

Really, I don't want to know. But, WOW! I laughed a lot and then made them get up for a picture. After all, I did go down there to get my camera!

Adventure Race

CONGRATULATIONS to the Hometown Heroes!

A couple weekends ago Erik and Blake participated in an adventure race at Paint Creek State Park, which is only a few miles from our house. They had to reach various checkpoints by orienteering, paddling, trekking and biking. Now that they've recovered a bit from the 6 hour race, I think they'd agree that they had a fun time. And, they also finished in third place! Go Hometown Heroes!!