Visits with Santa

We went to visit Santa at the Bass Pro Shop's Santa's Wonderland on Tuesday night. The kids had fun playing with the remote control car, race car track, and the Red Rider B B gun. Maddie was very willing and excited to go and talk with Santa, but Nathan on the other hand did not want much to do with him. We heard Santa took over 700 pictures with kids on last Saturday, so glad we went on Tuesday night. We had about a 10 minute wait, which was not bad at all!

Tucker showing Nathan had to use the B B gun, he did pretty good. Thank goodness it was only a laser gun!
Nathan LOVED playing with this remote control race track. He has the biggest smile on his face here, but it is kinda difficult to see. It is so PRECIOUS!!!

Maddie had a lot of fun, too. She laughed and giggled the whole time.

This is the closest Nathan would get to Santa Claus. He said, "I not go and see him."

Maddie is grinning from ear to ear. She told Santa that she wanted a Wowee Alive Wolf (which is actually a husky) and that her little brother wanted a choo-choo train. She takes such good care of Nathan, always looking out for him!

Today, we went over to the local coffee shop in Bon Aqua to try this whole Santa experience one more time. Maddie said, "Mama, I have already told Santa what I wanted." I proceeded to tell her that I wanted to try to get a picture of Nathan with Santa and she was ok with that. DRUM ROLL........Here is Nathan with Maddie sitting on Santa's lap! I told him that Santa would not hurt him and that he loved little kids. So, he said right before he sat on his lap, "Mama, Santa not hurt me....he likes little boys!" I was so proud of him!

This is the BEST Santa EVER! He spent about 3-4 minutes talking to them and asking them what they wanted for Christmas. He also told them that his favorite cookies are chocolate chip....so there want be any mix ups on Christmas Eve.

Santa giving my two precious children a nice Christmas Hug! Thanks Santa and we are looking forward to your visit on Christmas Eve!

Maddie's Tooth!

Maddie has had a loose tooth for the past 1 1/2 weeks. She has been jiggling it and being very protective of it. I was sure it was going to come out at school. When she came home yesterday, her tooth was raised and was very loose, but she would not let me pull it (I don't blame her, but I was very excited). This morning, she brought me her tooth when she got up and here was our conversation:

Me: "Maddie, what is this?"
Maddie: "Mama, it's my tooth!"
Me: "When did this happen and how?"
Maddie: "It happened in the dark when I went to the bathroom. I twisted it like my Daddy
said and it came out."
Me: "You got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and you pulled it! Why
didn't you come and tell me?!?"
Maddie: "I wanted to wait until morning, you were sleeping. I put it on my table by my bed."
Me: "I am so proud of you and it looks like the Tooth Fairy will be coming tonight."
Maddie: She smiled and giggled!

Allen Christmas @ the Hobbs' House

On Saturday, we celebrated Christmas with my family. My sister, her family, and my mom came to our house for dinner and to exchange presents. My sister and her family are going to spend the Holidays in Florida, so we had to have Christmas early. We had a great meal and some good quality family time.

The kids by the Christmas Tree (Sydney, Maddie, Nathan, Gracie, and Elliott)
Maddie opening her present. We sure hope Santa brings the Wii we have asked for. If not, we'll have to take these games back. :(

Nathan trying to get into his present....

This game is so fun. You shoot these cans and bottles off of a log with a laser gun and they fall off, pretty cool. Also, we hope Santa brings a Thomas Wooden Train set, too!

Elliott got some accessories for his Thomas train set. He was very excited!

Sydney and Gracie are asking for Nintendo DS's, so we hope Santa brings them so they will have something to play these games on as well!

The grandkids with Gran.

We are getting into the Christmas spirit around here and looking forward to the big day! Happy Holidays!

Christmas Cookies and Church Program

On December 6th, the kids and I went to Aunt Kara's house and made Christmas cookies with the Cox girls, Granny, Granny Bev, and Jessica. We had a great time and the kids really enjoyed decorating the cookies, especially Nathan.

Maddie ready to make some delicious cookies
A picture with my little cookie bakers

Nathan putting way too many sprinkles on the these cookies. Too much is too much, but he was having a great time!

Audrey and Maddie

I am trying to clean these cookies off a little before baking them, what a challenge!

Hallie and Maddie (too much sugar)

Later that night, we went to the church for the Children's Christmas Program. Ruby and Nathan were stars. The theme was "Angels, We have Heard on High." All of the kids did a great job and Mrs. Penny (the choir director) is so good at leading them and teaching them the songs. We are very lucky to have her at our church.

My little Angel

Audrey is the Angel with the tye-dyed headband.

Hallie and Maddie

Ruby and Nathan were too busy trying to put the stage props back together and keeping things in line. This white stage cover fell over several times and they put it back up, then knocked it down again, etc. Then, Mrs. Penny finally put it away!

Maddie looks so "angelic" here singing. She is such a sweetheart!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Thanksgiving

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas is quickly approaching. This time of year always seems to make people think of the things they are thankful for. These are just a few things I am thankful for: my husband, my children, our health, a very close and devoted support system, and our jobs and home. Have you thought of the things you are most thankful for this year?

Here is a quick run down of our Thanksgiving. This is a picture of Maddie's Tom Turkey from school that we had to disguise so he would not be eaten on Thanksgiving Day. We decided to have Tom go to the beach and hide away in the sand and sun.

Maddie with her drum and Indian vest she made at school. She was so excited and proud of her artwork.

On Tuesday night, we went to my sister's and had a nice Thanksgiving meal with her and her family. It was nice to spend some time together and play with my nieces and nephew. It is hard to believe how quickly they are growing up.

Then on Thanksgiving Day, we went to Susan and Jimmy's house. Of course, Susan out did herself again this year and we all stuffed ourselves. As you can see in this picture, Tucker came prepared with his shirt untucked.

A picture of the Cox and Hobbs kids on Thanksgiving Day.

We have one more dinner scheduled for tomorrow at Tucker's mother's house. It will be another nice meal with some great family time. I am so thankful that I do not have to work tomorrow. I have spent the last 3 days on call/working and I am looking forward to spending the rest of the Holiday weekend with my family. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Halloween 2009

We had a great Halloween! On Saturday morning, we woke up and went out for breakfast. Then, we came home and carved our pumpkin. I had found several templates on the computer and Maddie picked out a cat. Then, I decided to roast the pumpkin seeds, which were actually really good. Unfortunately, they were a lot of work for such a little reward. But, everyone has enjoyed them. Later that afternoon, we rested and then the kids got dressed and ready for an evening of trick-or-treating with the cousins. We went to our usual stops and then ended the night at Nana's house with chili, hot dogs, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Halloween was a huge success this year and the kids had a blast! After, trick-or-treating, all 5 grand kids spent the night with Granny and Poppy; now that is SCARY!!!!!

Maddie cleaning the pumpkin out. She did a great job, while Nathan watched and tried to keep from vomiting! He was so funny....he kept gagging and would not even touch the insides!
The bat and Hansel

The cutest bat in the world!

Nathan was saying "cheese" very enthusiastically!

My handsome Hansel

The kids posing with our finished masterpiece

Nathan, Granny, and Maddie

Hallie (Bunnacula), Poppy, Audrey (vampire), Nathan (Hansel), Granny, Ruby (Gretel), and Maddie (a bat).The grand kids with Granny

Hansel and Gretel

The Hobbs Crew

Me-Me and the kids along with Alice in Wonderland ( aka: Aunt Kara)

Spooking Susan

Gracie and the gang

Sam posing with the gang. Nathan was getting quite tired of pictures by this time.The Richardson's and the Macy's.......so hilarious!

Nathan making Daddy "scream"

My Maddie-pie

Finally, our last stop of the evening.......Nana's house!!

We hope all of you had a great Halloween....until next year!