The Saunders family elves!

click on the link below and see what we can do!!
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1151308036

Choo-Choo...

Here's my little conductor having fun with his choo choo train. He got this train set last year and has had so much fun playing with it. What can I say, he's just like his daddy...fascinated with choo choo's!!

Oh, Christmas Tree...

Ryan "helping" decorate the tree.

He was having so much fun looking at all the ornaments.
Just like his Papa, measuring the tree with his tools.
Here's the finished product!!
Sunday night after our weekend in Roanoke we brought our tree inside so we could open it up and let it fall since we were going to decorate it Monday night. We have a tradition with my parents that we help decorate each others trees, so they came over for dinner Monday night and helped us decorate our tree (we returned the favor last night and helped them with their tree). Ryan was so excited to get all the decorations out and had been begging me all day to put the lights on the tree. The guys put the lights on the tree and the ladies do the rest. Ryan had a great time...unfortunately I have no pictures of Emily because she wasn't feeling well and went to bed a little early. (Found out the next day the she had another ear infection and some other sort of infection that caused red bumps all over her chest.) We put the final touches on the tree after the kids went to bed (picked up all the tinsel off the floor that Ryan dropped), and finally it was done!

Thanksgiving weekend!!

Ryan and cousin Kaitlin

Here's our Christmas tree, freshly cut!!
Ryan and daddy with the tree
Emily sitting in the car, it was too cold for her.

Ryan had a ball playing in the leaves with his cousins.

Friday morning we loaded up the car and headed to Roanoke to visit Kevin's family for the weekend. After the 4 hour drive there we were able to just relax and enjoy time with family on Friday night. Saturday morning we were up and out of the house early to go and cut down our Christmas tree. Every year we drive up into the mountains (close to Va Tech) to this Christmas tree farm to get our tree. You get to climb up the side of the mountain, pick out your tree, cut it down yourself and they wrap it up for you. We tie it to the top of the truck and bring it home. This year we even got my parents tree and brought it back for them. It was so cold, I think it was only about 24 degrees! That didn't matter to Ryan, he climbed up that hill and had a ball picking out his tree and helping cut it down and drag it to the bottom of the hill. He must have gone up and down that hill at least 4 times, and trust me it was pretty steep. Emily stayed in the car with Nanny since it was so cold, and she had her own fun staying warm and singing Christmas carols. We got all our trees and headed back to the house, it was at least an hour drive to get there. Ryan spent the rest of the day outside raking leaves with his cousins and having a blast jumping in the big pile! Saturday night we headed over to some of Kevin's friends house to have dinner and play with their kids. I don't think the kids got to bed until at least 10:00 that night. Surprisingly they did pretty well considering the late night. Sunday afternoon we headed home and the kids took good naps in the car, they were so exhausted from all the fun they had. We had a great weekend with lots more wonderful memories!!

Thanksgiving day!!

Emily wanted so badly to go outside and play.

Ryan played ball outside with his cousin Christopher.
I know it has been a while since I have blogged, but you know how things get this time of year. We have been just so busy but now things have settled down a little and I am back on the blogging scene. We spent Thanksgiving day at my aunt's house right here in town. We have always celebrated at her house with my mom's side of the family. Ryan had some cousins to play with and had so much fun playing ball with them. Emily just begged to go outside and play too and fortunately it was nice enough so we spent a lot of the day outside. It was a wonderful day and we are so thankful for all our family that live here around us and all the cousins that Ryan has to play with.

These boots were made for walking.......

It's official!!! Emily is finally walking. She's been taking a few steps for the last few weeks, and then she just took off on her own over the weekend. Now her preferred mode of transportation is walking!! A little bit of crawling here and there but she'd rather walk and even if she falls down she just gets right back up and tries again. She gets so proud of herself when she realizes what she's doing, and the cheering from me probably helps a little. Can't believe my little girl isn't a baby anymore, she looks so much bigger now that she can walk on her own.

(Jen, did you notice her outfit? It looks so cute on her...I love it!!)

Party #2!!

Here's the birthday girl.....again!!

Emily's ladybug cake....the second attempt!!

Lauren and A.J.(Kevin's cousins) and Jameson (who came to party again).
Opening presents...she's getting good at this!
Who doesn't love cake two days in a row!!
These are pictures from Emily's 2nd party that she had on Sunday with all her family. Kevin's parents came in town and his cousins from Courtland came too. Ryan was excited to have some more kids his age to play with. I decided to make a ladybug cake for the family party so Saturday night after the 1st party I got started. Well something went wrong with the icing (it was sliding of the cake) and it turned out horrible. Kevin said it (aka Fred) looked fine, but I wasn't happy with it and knew that I would have to make another. So Sunday morning after we got home from church I made cake #2, I finally finished at 2:30 and the party started at 3:00. I was so happy that cake #2 turned out exactly like I wanted! The party was wonderful and we had a great time visiting with lots of family! Although I am glad that it is all over, I had such a wonderful time throwing my sweet little girl her 1st birthday parties!!

Happy Birthday Emily!!

Here's the birthday girl!!

This past weekend we celebrated Emily's first birthday with 2 parties. Saturday we had her friends party and I think there were about 12 kids there ranging in age from 6 years old all the way down to three months old. It was lots of fun! We had make your own tacos for dinner and cupcakes and ice cream for dessert. As you can see from the picture above, Emily thoroughly enjoyed her cupcake. She enjoyed it so much that we had to take a quick bath and change her clothes. It was even nice enough outside that the boys and Erin got to go out and ride Ryan's tractor and run off some of their energy. It was a great night and Emily is so blessed to have so many wonderful friends!

Sunday was her family party which was lots of fun too! She even had 2 of her great-grandma's there to celebrate. This time there was a ladybug cake and subs to eat for dinner. I have lots more pictures, but my memory ran out on my camera so I ended up using my moms. When I get those downloaded, I will post them. It was a crazy busy weekend, but lots of fun with family and friends and hopefully lots of wonderful memories for Emily to look back at some day!

Hallelujah Harvest

Our sweet little fairy princess

Our baseball player
Our church had its annual Hallelujah Harvest so we got the kids dressed up in their costumes and headed out to have some fun. Emily was our darling fairy princess and Ryan of course was a baseball player complete with his "baseball eyes" as he calls them. We ate hot dogs, enjoyed some entertainment and did lots of trunk or treating! Ryan had a great time going around and getting lots of candy, though I did have to keep reminding him to hold out his pumpkin so they could put candy inside. He was just so enthralled by all the decorated cars and everyone in their costumes. He didn't say much as we walked around getting candy, I think it was a little overwhelming. He did enjoy eating the candy though!! I do think the highlight of his night (just like Anderson) was riding the bus over to the church. He keeps talking about that bus!! The church did an awesome job and we had a wonderful time.

Pumpkin Patch

Enjoying the hayride! Doesn't Erin look too cool!!

I found my pumpkin Mom!
Hey mom, this pumpkin is heavier than it looks!
Ryan loved chasing the goats around.
So glad that Jen and Anna made the picture!!
I am sure that everyone has already read all about our trip to the pumpkin patch on both Heather and Jen's blogs, but I still had to post my own pictures. We had a wonderful time at the Taylor farm pumpkin patch last Saturday with our great friends, the Judds and Maggiores. It wasn't your usual pumpkin picking weather (a little too warm), but it was still a great day. There was hardly anyone else there so we sort of had the run of the place. What better way to spend a gorgeous fall Saturday!!

The Fire Hat!!

Some of you requested to see a picture of me wearing the fire hat.......not sure why...... but here it is for those of you who asked!!! Don't I look so glamorous!! :) The hat was quite stinky (like smoke) so I didn't wear it too long, just long enough to take a quick picture.

A trip to the Firehouse!!

This morning my mom and I took the kids to the one of the Norfolk firehouses to see some fire trucks. My mom knows one of the firefighters and he told us we could bring Ryan up so he could see the fire trucks. He was so excited to go and was talking about the fire trucks all the way there. Well when we got there he got so shy that he didn't want to even sit in the truck unless I did it too. I was expecting a totally different reaction, I thought he would be all over the place checking everything out. I think that it was all just so overwhelming. He had never seen a fire truck that close before and it may have just been too much to take in all at once. He did enjoy seeing one of the firemen slide down the pole and he was excited when he saw the pool table they have in the firehouse. :) We got to take a tour of the firehouse and meet some of the other firemen, we got to climb in the ambulance and the fire truck and I even got to wear the fire hat (because Ryan didn't want to). Guess we'll have to just try again in a couple months, maybe Ryan will enjoy it a little more the next time!!

All boy!!

Those of you who know Ryan know how much he loves tools and "working" as he calls it. He loves to work out in the yard with daddy and it doesn't matter what it is. He will pull weeds, dig up pine straw, help plant flowers or whatever else needs to be done. The picture on the left is of him digging up the flower bed and then depositing it somewhere else around the yard. The other picture is of Ryan and my dad looking through Papa's tool bag. Papa has the best tools and so many of them to choose from. Tonight he got to play with this tool that tests to see if a battery has power. So when you put the two little wands(?) together it makes a beeping sound. Well he thought this was so cool, and sat there forever just beeping away. I hope that as the years go by he will still love to work with tools and that he is as good with his hands as his Papa is. Thank you Papa for indulging Ryan and his excitement for tools!!

Joe's Crab Shack

Saturday night we had dinner at Joe's Crab Shack with the Judd's, the Maggiore's, the Jackson's, the Nieter's, and the Williams family. I didn't realize that they had a play area outside for the kids to play on, it was perfect since we had so many little ones in our group. As you can see all the kids had a wonderful time playing outside! I think everyone made the picture except for Anna and Emily (they were with their mommies), and as usual you can see that Erin is the only girl among all the boys (or rose among a bunch of thorns). We had awesome weather so we were able to eat outside on the deck while the kids played. The moms actually got a chance to talk while the dads watched the kids playing (well, they were supposed to be watching). It was a great time had by all and we so enjoyed visiting with all our friends!

The Va. Marine Science Museum

Ryan loved watching the fish swim around the big aquarium.

Ryan wasn't so sure about this big snake.
Of course we had to take a picture in the mouth of the shark.
Last Monday Kevin and I took Ryan to the Marine Science Museum for the first time. Kevin's parents were in town so they happily agreed to stay home and watch Emily while we spent some time alone with our little boy. We have never taken him to the museum but he had a wonderful time. Unfortunately many of the exhibits were closed due to a lot of construction going on, but it was still a fun day. He wasn't too sure about the big turtles swimming around in the tank, I think he was a little scared at first when they started swimming toward him. After a few minutes he realized they couldn't get to him and he enjoyed watching them swim around. Everything to him was so exciting and it was so neat to see his face light up every time we saw something new. It has been so long since we went anywhere with just him, it reminded me how much easier it is to take only one child out somewhere. All in all, it was a nice day spent with just my boys!

It's Been a While.......

I know, I know I haven't blogged in quite some time, things have just been a little crazy around the Saunders household. The weekend after Labor Day we went to Roanoke to visit Kevin's family and to attend a wedding and a one year old's birthday party. The Friday before we left I took Ryan to the doctor because he wasn't feeling and wanted to make sure it wasn't anything major before we left for our trip. Well guess what?......he had a horrible ear infection. We got his medicine and headed out of town. Emily had been dealing with a cold for a week or so and then the Wednesday after we got back she woke up with a cough and fever so off to the doctor's we went. Guess what?......she had a double ear infection. We got her medicine and they both finished their rounds of antibiotics this past Sunday. On Monday Ryan still wasn't acting right and was complaining about his ear hurting so Tuesday morning we headed back to the doctor's only to find out that; Guess what?........he still had the ear infection and to top it all off he also had this hand, foot and mouth virus. So we got him some more medicine (for the ear infection only, there is nothing they can do for the virus). I did get Emily's ears checked that same day since I was already there and she got a clean bill of health. So, basically we have been in the house for the past 2 weeks trying to get better. Tomorrow is Ryan's last day of his antibiotics and I sure hope that he is all better. I am just so paranoid now that he still has the infection, since there is no way for me to tell if it's gone. Also, Kevin went to the doctor on Tuesday night and found out he has tonsillitis, so he was taking his own medicine. I am so tired of wiping noses, remembering to give medicine and dealing with cranky kids (and husbands). Hopefully sometime in the near future we will be able to get out and do something fun so I can blog about it. (and so I don't go crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Here's my 8 things....

1. When I was about 6 or 7 years old I took a clogging class (yes you read that right, a clogging class) at the Deep Creek rec center. Although I don't remember anything I learned, I remember really enjoying the class!

2. I HATE going to the dentist!! I love my actual dentist, just not having to get my teeth cleaned. I hate the noises from all the machines and all the scraping an poking they do on my teeth. I truly dread going, but fortunately it only has to happen twice a year.

3. Here's my fatal haircut story! When I was a sophmore in high school, I decided to cut my bangs. When I came home from school, I decided that I would cut my bangs before the game that night. I wet my bangs and cut them to what I thought would be a good length. Little did I know at that time that when your hair dries, it tends to shrink up a bit. The length was so short by the time it dried, it looked like I had no bangs. (The sad part is; I had a perm too, so the curl made them even shorter) My parents had not been home, but when my mom saw me later at the game she said that from across the gym she could tell that something was terribly wrong with my hair. I guess I wasn't cut out for giving haircuts!

4. That leads me to my next thing. I too like Heather was a cheerleader. I cheered all four years in high school. I was the captain of my squad my senior year and voted most spirited a few times. A few years after college I returned to my high school and became the varsity cheerleading coach for three years. I had a blast both as a cheerleader and as a coach!!

5. I am fascinated by old houses, buildings and even big boats I see that have been abandoned or run down over the years. I always wonder how old they are, what kind of history they had, who lived in them or why they might have been abandoned. I would love to go through and see what they look like on the inside.

6. In July of 2001 I spent a few weeks in Beijing, China teaching English to Chinese kids. I had never really thought about doing a missions trip, but the opportunity came up and everything just fell into place for me to go. It was an awesome experience and I am so glad that I was able to go and minister while teaching. By the time the few weeks were up I was so ready to come home and thankful for what I had to come home to.

7. For the longest time I have wanted to be a professional organizer. I am always trying to figure out better ways of organizing my house so that everything is where it should be. I know how good it makes me feel when everything is neat and organized, I am sure others would like to feel that way too. I just think it is so much fun! I also wouldn't mind being a cake decorater. I have had so much fun making Ryan's birthday cakes the past few years (and Emily's soon) that I would love to be able to do that for others.

8. I was born at the same hospital my mom was born at and I lived in the same house my entire life. My dad built the house a few years before I was born and my parents have never moved. The house has so many memories and is so sentimental to me, I couldn't imagine anyone else living there. It is so neat to see Ryan and Emily running through the house and yard like I used to!!

Summer or Winter?

Ryan discovered his hat and gloves from last winter in the closet yesterday and insisted on putting them on. He figured it would be a good idea to go outside and play with his beach ball while wearing these items. Now notice that he has no shorts or shoes on but he does have the hat and gloves on. It was so hot outside, but he had the best time running around the yard playing ball! When I finally was able to wrestle the hat off his head, his hair was soaked with sweat. At least he's color coordinated, right?!

A Day at the beach

ryan and his daddy in the water

the boys playing with the wheelbarrow
watching Charlotte's Web
emily loved playing with this fire truck
Sunday we spent the day with the Weissingers at Jen's parents beach house in Nags Head. We had so much fun, the weather was perfect and the kids had a great time. First we went to the beach and then spent the afternoon at the pool. It was nice to be able to do both, especially when they are right next to each other. Ryan got to ride Alex and Caleb's scooters, which I think was the highlight of the day for him. Emily took a nap and crawled all over the place. We grilled out hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner and then headed back home. Thanks Weissingers for a wonderful time!!

World of Wonders

Saturday morning we headed out to meet the Judd family at the Botanical Gardens. The boys love to go to the World of Wonders part and play in the big fountains of water. Another successful day of summer fun!!

A Weekend in Charlotte- Take 2

My friend Kimie and her sweet little boy Sam.

Emily crawling and getting into everything.

Ryan and his friend Jack in the tub after the boat ride.

Ryan loved riding Mr. JB's motorcycle (aka-scooter)

After spending Friday night visiting with Kevin's friends, we spent the rest of the weekend with some of my dear friends that I grew up with. We don't get to see each other very often, but we truly enjoy our times when we do get to be together. The weekend was filled with lots of good food, boat rides, motorcycle rides, lots of kids and wonderful times catching up. Ryan had a blast playing with some new friends and getting to do all kinds of fun stuff. He just made himself right at home and had a wonderful time. Emily had a great time just crawling all over the place, exploring and chasing after their sweet doggie. We had a wonderful time and were sad to leave but look forward to the next time we can be together. Thanks Walters family for another memorable time together!!

On our way back home we stopped by to see the Williams family. Beth was gracious enough to make dinner for us before we headed off for the rest of our ride. We enjoyed getting to visit with them and also Josiah who was staying with them for a few days. It was a very busy weekend, but filled with lots of fun times!