Richards Family of 4

new blog site...

2011-01-13T19:25:00.000-06:00

ok blogger friends and family.....

i now have a new, brand spanking new, blog!! it is so cute :)

if you would like to continue following in the adventures of our "little" family email me at bnrklr@gmail.com and i will send you the new blog address...

look forward to hearing from you guys soon!!

2011-01-02T15:18:00.002-06:00

check below the new year post for our christmas adventures...yes, my ocd self was trying to keep it in order :)

new...

2011-01-01T19:44:00.000-06:00

...stay tuned for new adventures in blogging....think new blog, new blog address, new layout.....oh i can hardly wait!!....i feel i have been in a *blogging rut* lately and need to snap out of it....i'm hoping a little freshness to enter this new year will help....more info coming soon :)

our christmas adventures....

2010-12-30T12:26:00.002-06:00

....started christmas eve eve :)

(i decided before switching over to the new blog i wanted to finish out the year with this blog....you know, with the hopes of actually having this printed out one day into a book....hopes, hopes!...so i finally got my act together and went through the pics!)

the cousins came up to spend the night so we started some of our christmas eve stuff early....but first, brett had to crank up the new fire pit...LOVE it!!....what a fun thing to have....the kids wanted to roast marshmellows...all i could muster up were the minis...oh well, they loved it and that was all that matters!

next up....baking cookies!!

umm....i think it is safe to say that brother enjoyed baking cookies!

the kiddos getting ready for bed...

...but first a snack!....chocolate truffles or more affectionately known as doo-doo balls in our family :)

christmas eve morning....what a fun day we have in store!!

first up.....decorating ornaments...

then outside for some playtime and of course, brett had to fire it up again!

...some adult craft time too!..

yup, it's all about the experience...right?!?

pin the hat on the santa that sissy thought of and aunt lisa created....AWESOME!

and the winner is....

the mommas were pooped by this point (oh yeah, there was also lots of cooking going on during all this too!) so we put the dads in charge of the gingerbread house....interesting, very interesting!

well....ummm....yeah, there just aren't words....

time to decorate the cookies!!

sisterly love :)

...and now the traditional christmas eve, in front of the tree pics...

after everyone left we relaxed for a few moments and then got ready for church....thank you self timer, thank you!

oh my goodness....i LOVE these christmas babes!

almost ready for bed!!

writing our letters to santa...and leaving the cookies & milk!

...the adventure continues

2010-12-30T11:18:00.000-06:00

...christmas morning!

and the BEST part of the entire holiday was when sis was giving us our christmas morning hugs she exclaimed, so excited, Happy Birthday Jesus!.....melt . my . heart...

and when it is too cold outside to try out the new bike?!?!....just ride it around the house :)

sis and her new love....she even took it to the bathroom with her!

our traditional christmas breakfast....

monkey bread & hot chocolate (coffee for me!)

...yum-o!

Christmas at Grams with all the Aunts, Uncles & Cousins!!

Christmas Kids!

he's a jolly ol' elf...

donner & blitzen...

we LOVE our pillow pets!!

these are HILARIOUS!!....goggles from his new despicable me movie...awesome, just awesome :)

as dinner was finishing up i looked out the windows to find a *winter wonderland* starting...our first white christmas!!....what an AMAZING end to an AMAZING day :)

...brother was too worried about sissy's snowball to look at the camera!

the next day we came home to welcome mimi, pops & uncle blake for another round of christmas!! it was so, so fun to have them at our home and being able to host them....i got lots of good cooking in too :)

the kids waiting patiently for brother's big reveal...

his john deere gator!!!

thanks again mimi & pops for coming to visit us!!

new toys...

2010-12-28T18:08:00.000-06:00

....for the adults & kids!!

this christmas brought many, many blessings for our family....and we are still having so much fun *playing* with them all....so much fun that i have been ignoring my blogging....i will get back on track soon :)

here are a few of our "toys" in action....

for myself a new lens for my camera ~ whoohoo!!...

for brett a flip camera ~ awesome!!....

for brother his new *tractor* ~ he is in awe!!.....

and i have created a monster with sis ~ a real digital camera!!

these below were taken with my new zoom lens...

(oh and yes, sis lost TWO more teeth over the holidays!!)

and below is a *movie* from brett's camera....look for more videos around the blog now that we have a flip camera!!.....go to bottom of blog to mute the music player before playing!....p.s. ~ no children were harmed in the making of this video :)

Merry Christmas....

2010-12-25T06:53:00.002-06:00

...from our home to yours!!

(the kids last night before bed!)

We Wish You All A Very Merry Christmas!!

and from us to you....The Christmas Story....because this is one story that NEVER gets old!

Luke 2:1-20

1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

cutest christmas program....

2010-12-24T07:11:00.002-06:00

...ever!!

wednesday big man had his last day of pre-school for the holiday break and they entertained us with the most adorable program!

his class sang *old saint nicholas* to the tune of *old mac donald*....too precious!!

he did great with singing and doing the hand movements!

after the program we visited his room, gathered his things and then went to meet the special guest!

oh but first a quick pic with his pre-school love!!

and here he is.....santa came to visit!!

brother man talked & talked telling him all his wishes.....santa said at the end he was glad he has his tape recorder going!!

and our most favorite......mrs. sandy!!

richards' christmas...

2010-12-23T07:17:00.000-06:00

sunday, after a morning of hanging around the house, we traveled over to mamaw & papaw richards' house for a yummy lunch....seeing as they live in the same neighborhood as mimi & pops the kids decided they wanted to ride over in the gator....what a fun way to deliver presents!

once the kids got there they went straight to work sweeping off the back patio....such little helpers!

uncle marty and his nephews...

such cuties!!.....if i do say so myself :)

we love you papaw!

and we love you too mamaw!

...oh and i bet you all can tell where the kids beautiful blue eyes came from :)

uncle marty showing blake how it's done!

being silly with pops before we opened presents!

a few more photo ops!

we had such a wonderful busy weekend in georgia visiting with everyone....can't wait to see everyone again soon!

westbrooks' christmas....

2010-12-22T09:38:00.000-06:00

after the pink pig saturday we continued with the atlanta traditions and grabbed some to-go from the varisty...the kids loved their F.O. and i love their onion rings!....though i think brett's tummy wasn't loving it later :)

oh and these two cuties above?!?!

introducing caroline & nicholas....the kids *touchable* elves at mimi's house :) they accompanied us all weekend in our adventures...

and next on our list was the westbrooks christmas at tumbleweeds saturday evening!

the kids loved mamaw's antlers so of course they had to try them on too!

mamaw and her newest great grand on her first christmas!!

sweet girls!!

precious boys!!

proud, proud grandparents!

dancing with aunt cinda!!

we love cici!!

more proud grandparents!!

our children are so blessed...

truly blessed...

and our attempt at a group shot of all the cousins...

not too bad considering the amount of kids!

pink pig...

2010-12-21T19:47:00.000-06:00

this past weekend was full of family fun! in good ol' richards' fashion we crammed as much stuff as possible into two days.....hey, it's all about the experience right?!?....friday night when we got to georgia we met mimi & pops for dinner and then hit the magical nights of lights at lake lanier....it has been several years since we have been and the kids loved it!....saturday morning we were up bright & early to head down to atlanta to ride the pink pig!

the pink pig has been a tradition in our family since miss priss was born.....but actually brett's dad even rode the original pink pig when he was young....we love a family tradition so we always have to *hit the pig* over the holidays!

but let me say, it is all about the strategy when going to see the pig!!....

ideally, you would go during the week when the crowds aren't so bad....we don't have that luxury so we have devised the perfect plan for the pig!

....arrive first thing saturday morning about 30 minutes before it opens....stand in line for tickets (we were third this year!) and scope out the line for the actual ride ~ yes it is two lines!....if you notice the ride line building, send at least one family member over to *save a spot*....we ended up 4th in that line!....needless to say within one hour we had stood in line, bought tickets, rode pig twice, bought our souvenir pin and were in the car heading home....sweet!!...and yes, there is this small part of me that gets such a kick out of beating the system :)

the ride is actually in a huge tent in the macy's parking lot so it is a bit chilly!!

first ride with mimi!!

second ride with momma!!

and yes, the kids can stay on and the other adult switch...that is great!

so this year since the kids are bigger i rode behind them and snapped some pics throughout the ride....so neat!!

see you next year priscilla!!

class party....

2010-12-19T16:22:00.000-06:00

friday was miss priss' class holiday party....and what an awesome party it was!!!

the made handprint reindeer....

had a YUMMY snack of *santa's beard milkshake* and goodie mix...

made a precious reindeer puppet...

such cute girls!!!

and even an ornament for the tree...

love my sweet girl!!

and her sweet teacher...

and to end the party the boys & girls split up to have a book swap....they listened to a poem and passed the books to the right & left....cute, cute idea!

field trip....

2010-12-18T13:15:00.001-06:00

wednesday was field trip day for miss priss.....The Nutcracker Ballet.....and for the occasion she wanted curls...lots & lots of curls....

and boy did she ever get them!!

as a matter of fact, this is tame to what it first looked like....think shirley temple on steroids....big ol' fro all over her head!.....note to self ~ do NOT use the smaller sponge rollers....oops, who knew?!?! not i for sure....i spend HOURS straightening my hair so i am not really great on making curls.....after a few tears and a lot of brushing this was the final beautiful product....

i had the honor of being able to chaperone this field trip and took on the momma role for several sweeties including this one below....i know hers would do the same for me!...actually she does, usually a couple times a week :)

beautiful girls ready for the ballet!!

hey momma reid, look at what a great pic your sweet girl took!?!....

it snowed during the play and intermission....the kids loved it!!

so i thought i would snap a few pics without my flash....not too bad...

i hate to admit it but this was my first time to see the entire ballet....i loved it!!....and i think sissy did too, she says she wants to come back every year :) though one handsome little boy next to me was *over it* at intermission....he first asked when they were going to start talking ~ yeah buddy, they're not!...and then he thought intermission was the end ~ nope, not so soon kiddo.....and finally halfway through the sugar plum fairy he looks at me in distress and asks if it is over yer ~ almost, sweet child, almost!.....7 year old boys & ballet not a great combo but i think is awesome for all children to have the opportunity to be exposed to such beauty!

as soon as we got back we snapped a quick group shot....man, these kids & teachers are experts at getting set for a pic!!

such a wonderful day!

small town christmas.....

2010-12-16T21:46:00.000-06:00

last weekend we got together with the cousins to enjoy a small town christmas!.....this has been a yearly tradition for my family since i was a little girl....the christmas on the coosa celebration!

the day consists of lots of arts & crafts, entertainment, yummy food, the street parade and more! at night there is a boat parade and fireworks but we don't usually make it to that part....but we should!

we snacked on everything imaginable.....let's see, there was ~ nachos, funnel cake, hot dogs, doritos, polish dogs, camp stew, bbq ribs, fried oreos, boiled peanuts & cotton candy...just to name a few!

and when the doritos aren't enough, let's try to shove some funnel cake in our mouth!

thank goodness eating like this doesn't come around very often....i would be the size of a house, it is all too good to resist!!

yes, brother did stop eating eventually.....he thoroughly enjoyed each and every bite :)

everyone getting ready for the parade...

gotta love the firetrucks!!

lots of great floats....

our favorite boy scout & cheerleader.....gabe & evie!!

and of course, the end to all good christmas parades....santa claus!!

grammy and her gang after a fun-filled day!!

author's breakfast...

2010-12-14T07:30:00.001-06:00

miss priss and her classmates were able to show off their writing and reading skills to us last week....such a sweet morning....each child chose a piece to read us...too cute!

here she is getting ready....that thing around her neck is a microphone the teachers can wear throughout the school day for the students to hear them better....

she chose her "Run Turkey Run" story....precious!

her turkey was dressed like a zebra so she sent him to the zoo to hide from the farmer!

hamming it up during the class photo...

time to show me her writing portfolio.....she did a great job reading me the pieces!

time for a little breakfast snack :)

my sweet girl!!

the author and a few of her friends....

again, such a fun morning!!

and i love any opportunity to see her shine in the classroom :)

christmas fun...

2010-12-11T19:44:00.001-06:00

...with the reid's!!

so a week ago....yes, i am that behind in my blogging!!....we joined the reid family for a night of family christmas fun ~ it was a blast :) dinner, cookies, crafts, pjs, movies & more...

cookie time....we had flour everywhere!! but what's the fun if you can't make a mess :)

one of the crafts.....even the dads helped out with this one!

oh the best part.....decorating and eating the cookies!! and mama reid's homemade icing was great!

change into our pjs...moms too!!....and then nail time :)

how cute are they?!?!

cuddle up for movie time....and we even snuck in some hot chocolate too!!

what a great night!!

thanks again reids for having us :)

outtakes...part two...

2010-12-10T21:16:00.001-06:00

ok, so here are the second half of the outtakes...i think they speak for themselves!

i mean really....what was he doing?!?!....thank goodness daddy was there to help out :)

ya think he had to potty!?!?!

and then he started to pee....yup, time to go!!

thanks for dealing with my obnoxious amount of pics....just have to capture all the memories, however i can!

our little artist....

2010-12-09T07:17:00.003-06:00

....and she got to show off last night!!

miss priss has been taking art lessons at a local music & arts academy since august.....she has loved it!! we are so proud of her....and she was very excited to show off her work at her very first art show last night!

below are a few of the pieces she created...beautiful, just beautiful!

i just love that her angel has a side pony-tail....too cute!!

brother was so proud of his sissy too!...

miss priss and her great art teacher!!!....

her fellow artists and friends....such sweet girls :)

such a fun night!!

the music students also performed, they did a great job :)

outtakes....part one...

2010-12-08T07:04:00.001-06:00

....finally!!

and i maybe the only person that finds these hilarious...and that's ok because this blog is my reminder of all things silly with my kids :)

now, seeing as these are outtakes and all, they are not edited by any means...just straight out of the camera...i'm just sayin'...

could this pic below get more priceless!?!?!...

who tooted?!?!...hilarious!...could not stop laughing!

remember all that candy i said i bribed them with?!?!....here it is :)

miss priss....so prim & proper....and then there's her brother!

honestly, what do you think brother is scheming below?!?!...

more scheming....

part two coming soon....just for my own good :)

tree huntin'....

2010-12-07T06:39:00.000-06:00

saturday morning we arose bright and early to head north and chop down our tree....since mimi was in town we drug her along for the adventure...

...big man has the cousin eddie look down pat...hilarious!

our chariot for the ride around the tree farm...brother LOVED the big tractor!

brett's shirt says it best....."it's all about the experience!"

this tree farm is great...it is our second year and will not be the last!

here's ~~clark~~ brett....he's on a mission!!...

really!?!? who gave this crazy boy the saw?!?!

the kids loved finding just their size trees....so cute :)

here they go....on a hunt for the perfect tree!!

my precious christmas tree huntin' babes!!

brother loves anything with wheels...

thanks mimi for joining us on our hunt!

here it is....our perfect tree!!

time to chop down our tree...

all that hard work made for some really thirsty workers....

thanks honey for trotting us all over the entire christmas farm and finding our beautiful tree!!....love ya :)

a visitor for lunch....

2010-12-06T19:47:00.000-06:00

....mimi!

brett and i had a christmas party friday night so mimi came over early to spend some time with the kiddos....it was neat to surprise miss priss for lunch!

and of course we had to pick a sweet friend to eat with us too!!

after lunch miss priss had a little shopping to do at her school christmas village....i made sure to keep a good distance because i wanted her to shop for the family alone....it is always so fun to see what she picks out for us!!

such the serious shopper :)

it's beginning to look a lot like...

2010-12-03T07:24:00.004-06:00

...christmas!!

so, remember those other shots from the botanical gardens i have been talking about?!?!? well here they are....precious, precious children if i do say so myself :)

now these were taken on our trip to the botanical gardens in november...so keep in mind, there were two *wardrobe changes* and multiple locations for these pics....whew, worn out when we were done!! but man was it worth it!!

the pic above would have been so perfect if big man's expression was a tad bit ....umm, better, for lack of a better word :) .... honestly though, who can blame him!?!?! he is only 3 1/2 and his mother was torturing him.....ahem, yeah right!! he was well fed in candy :)

i snapped this last pic right before brother man peed on himself....yup, that's right...in the gardens a tee-teeing he went...oh well, live and learn but we got some really great shots and the kids are not scarred forever....we hope :)

now remember, they are kids and just 6 & 3 at that...so you know there will be out takes....oh, just wait!! they are hilarious!!

the rest of the story....

2010-12-01T19:00:00.000-06:00

friday after thanksgiving was filled with shopping & football....though it did not end well for most of my family!

saturday there was no rest for the weary and off to the movies we went!!

we have been waiting for this movie since this summer!! i think i was just as excited as the kids :)

all settled in with our popcorn and drinks!

and here it is.....

Tangled!!!! ..... so . stinkin . cute!

and no, i did not have my flash on disturbing people.....but it was neat seeing what kind of pics i could get! such a great movie....i'm ready to see it again :)

saturday night we ended the weekend festivities with a birthday party for my brother....

the *old man* was turning 40 (yesterday actually!!) and we couldn't let this milestone pass without a celebration....we started off with the kids singing to him...

and then it was off for some adult time & yummy dinner with some of his friends....

such a fun night!! .... great way to end a great weekend :)

catch up....

2010-11-30T21:53:00.000-06:00

ok, let's play a little catch up for a moment.....

after returning from georgia we still had two days of work/school before the official thanksgiving holidays...by the way, have i ever told you how awesome it is to have two thanksgiving dinners in a week?!?! spread out nicely so you aren't sick of it...sweet!!...anyhoo, last monday at school miss priss had her feast...

nothing like a story with a bunch of pilgrims & indians to get it kicked off!

and i must thank my sweet friend for taking all these pics for me...i had the opportunity to work that day ~ and seeing as those days are few and far between i jumped on it! more on that later :) .... daddy gladly picked up the parental duties and helped out...

such a cute little meal :)

pretty pilgrims!

so after one more day of *normalcy* we packed up and headed south for thanksgiving with grammy's gang!

...precious book and then a good nights sleep to "help" with cooking....

...kinda figured they couldn't go wrong with the relish tray!

...keeping busy while we finish up the cooking!

so thankful for these two!!

all the *young* kids for a sweet pic.....and of course a silly one too!!

and here is beautiful morgan ~ you know, the 16 year old & too cool to take a pic with the kids routine...

ahhh, turkey time!!

after a wonderful meal it was back outside and time to run-off some energy....the kids have a blast at grams because she has alot of open space for them to roam...

a little girl time....they were so cute "braiding" each others hair!....and then morgan hooked them all up with some awesome hairdos :)

grammy and her gang!

and of course the weekend didn't stop there but i will spare you and post the continuation later :)

my boys...

2010-11-24T10:30:00.000-06:00

big chief & little chief

....to those of you who knew my hubby growing up you will appreciate that more! which is why we had to have that shirt when we saw it :)

gotta love a nickname that stays with you forever! even when we head back to brett's hometown we still run into people that call him chief....i love it!

well, we are heading south for thanksgiving with my family! look for a big post soon :)

Happy Thanksgiving to All My Dear Family & Friends!!! Hope You All Have an Amazing Day :)