Merry Christmas!!!

We are anxiously awaiting Santa's visit in the Tyndall household.

Merry Christmas!!!

How To Assemble a Train...

We started to take the girls to a workshop that Lowe’s Home Improvement puts on most Saturday mornings in late October. It has been a great activity for the girls, and I am happy to expose them to building and creating new things. The program is really great. You just go online and make a reservation for your children to attend the FREE workshop at your local “Lowe’s” and show up on Saturday morning. They give all of the kids an apron and goggles that they get to keep, and then they earn a badge for each project that they complete.

These pictures are from our first session...

Taylor carefully "reading" the directions.

Daddy helpying asseble a bat...

At the beginning of December they started building a three piece train. Stuart’s sister and I took her little boy Regi and my girls to the first session of the train assembly by ourselves because Stuart was out of town on a “guys” weekend.

The first few times we went to these workshops I would just depend on copying Stuart as he moved along with whatever project we were doing. So this was the first time that I really had to figure out the directions out on my own. I would get the nail started and then let the girls pound it in. We managed to finish both the girls train piece, I did however at one point need to get a really long nail through the entire piece for them and ended up nailing the whole caboose to the table. One of the dads kindly came to my rescue by prying it out of the table with his pocket knife. At this point I really felt like the “girl” in the hardware store. Oh, I also switched a piece around that would cause the caboose not to connect to the other pieces, and the same man that helped me out looked at me like I was “The girl” in the hardware store and said, “Don’t worry that’s what string is for.” Stuart apparently didn’t agree with his “string fix” and switched around the pieces for me he got home from his weekend away.

The train pieces come with stickers, but I thought they needed the girls special touch, so I let them paint all the pieces once assembled. They finished them up this past weekend and I think they turned out great!

Taylor

Molly

These trains just might be my favorite Christmas decoration this year!!!

The Elf on the Shelf

This year we started a new family tradition by introducing Molly and Taylor to “The Elf on the Shelf.” I have heard a lot of great things about this little story and wanted to start it last year, but that just didn’t happen. So, we were so lucky when a brown package showed up at our doorstep a couple of weeks ago with our very own elf inside.

The doorbell rang shortly after I got home from work and the girls went running to the door. I picked up the package and let them know that it was a special delivery for Molly and Taylor, and that it had come all the way from the North Pole.

When we opened up the box they could not wait to get their hands on the little elf. However, the book explains the elf will lose his magic of traveling to and from the North Pole every night to report all the good things that Molly and Taylor are doing if they touch the elf. So, they have done great job with keeping their hands off the elf.

One of the first things the book instructed us to do was to name our elf. The girls are quite imaginative, and started throwing out all different kinds of names that did not make much since to us. No normal names like Freddy, Bob, or Sam were suggested. No, no…the name process went a little more like this..

Molly: “Let’s name him Lala.”

Taylor: “Let’s name him Yokee.”

Molly: “Let’s name him Dadee.”

Taylor: “Let’s name him Christmas….delay…Crap.”

Yes you read that last suggestion correctly.

In the banter of going back and forth of what to name our new friend, Taylor suggested to name our sweet little elf “Christmas Crap.”

Stuart kind of liked the name, but I suggested that we could come up with something a little better. Ha-ha. Of course Taylor just threw this name out there, and does not even know that “crap” is an ugly word, but we sure did get a good laugh out of it.

The girls finally agreed that we should name our elf “Pingo.”

Molly was a little doubtful at first. She looked at me and kind of laughed after we read the book and asked if he was really real. The first morning that they woke up and realized that “Pingo” was in a new spot she looked and me and said, “Mommy, you were right. He is real!”

They have had so much fun looking for the elf every morning, and they crack up at all the silly spots that he ends up settling.

I am so glad that we started this new tradition!!!

Halloween Weekend!!!

Stuart and I started off Halloween Weekend by sending the girls off to Mimi and Papa's and then we headed to a Halloween Party on Friday night. We just love the excuse to dress up every year, and to get together with our friends that we don't see often enough.

I love Stuart's super cheesy smile in this picture!

Just so you know...Stuart is a cock roach and I am Rosie the Riveter.

Unfortunately I only got a few pictures at the party...

Wayne as a Razorback!


Kim as a Solder and Lindsey as the "Progressive Insurance" girl...She is so creative!

Grant and Marissa were just Scary!!!

I hate it when you can't tell who is under the costume! It freaks me out a little.

We took the girls around our neighborhood on Sunday night. I think it was the shortest trick-or-treating run I have ever experienced. One walk around our neighborhood and they were ready to head to the house to get into their candy.

Our little twitches...

Taylor

Molly

We had so much fun with the girls this Halloween.

Is it to early to start listening to Christmas music???

Pumpkin Patch Birthday Bash

A few weeks ago we celebrated Molly and Taylor’s 5th birthday out at a local pumpkin patch.

The weather was absolutely perfect and the people that ran the farm were so nice. I am seriously considering having a pumpkin patch birthday party for them every year! I think everyone, including the “grown up’s” had a great time!

There was so much to do that I of course took on the role as crazy coordinator mom. I’m so thankful that my friends and family can find the humor in my demanding and bossy personality when thrown into these situations….haha.

We kicked off the party with potato sack races…

The kiddo's went first...

And then the "grown up's" had to give it a try!


After the sack races the little one’s got to ride in these little buckets…

Molly and Shepherd

Cadey and Eleanor

Reggie and Taylor

Abby and Austin

Mason

When they finished their ride we ventured over to the cutouts for some animal shot’s…

Zoe and Colby

Three little pigs...Stuart with his mom and sister!

Reggie, Austin, and Taylor

We took a group hayride….

Austin and Shepherd "heckling" the farmer driving the tractor!

And then we headed over to the table for some cupcakes and juice.

"Happy Birthday Dear Taylor!"

"Happy Birthday Dear Molly!"

Stuart's Mamaw sat back and watched all of the fun!

The kid’s got to each pick a pumpkin to take home with them. I cannot remember that last time that I was in a pumpkin patch! I probably wasn’t much older than Molly and Taylor.

Molly showing off her pumpkin...

We have been friends with all the families in this picture since college. I look at it and realize how much things have changed in the past 12 years, and I feel so blessed that we are all still friends, and now our children are friends!

Thank you guy’s for coming out to celebrate Molly and Taylor’s 5th birthday!

FIVE & EIGHT

This week Molly and Taylor turned FIVE years old!!!

I cannot believe how fast the past five years have gone by. You girls are getting so big and I just love you to pieces!!!

Here are the birthday girl’s posing with our newest Halloween decoration

before we headed off to dinner.

Isn't he cute!?!?

His face is made out of a goard...

Stuart and I also celebrated EIGHT years of marriage this week. Molly and Taylor decided that they wanted to crash our third anniversary five years ago, so October 5th is a pretty

special day at the Tyndall house!

Happy Anniversary Spouse!

I also love you to pieces!!!

My parents came up to help us Celebrate by taking us out for a GREAT dinner at Copeland’s...

We had Molly and Taylor’s birthday party out at a pumpkin patch last weekend, and it was the BEST PARTY EVER!!!

I will post some pumpkin patch pics very soon!

Windows, Drapes, and Blinds...Oh my!!!

One of the many tasks on our, “to do” list is to paint all of the woodwork in our house white. I’ve wanted to do this ever since we moved in, and last weekend we decided to tackle 5 windows. I have already painted two window’s in the girls room and one in the bathroom, so I new it was going to be a chore.

I cleaned and taped on Thursday afternoon and then Stuart and I started painting at 9 a.m. on Friday morning. It took 1 coat of oil based primer that does not require sanding, and then 2 coats of kilz and 1 top coat of the paint. We had to stop around 2:30 p.m. to pick up the girls from school, but we were able to finish it up in about an hour after we got back to the house.

Kitchen Window Before

and after...

Dining Room Picture before...

and after...

On Saturday we hung the drapes in the dining room, and put in 2 inch wood blinds in the kitchen. I really like the way it turned out! We still need to paint the windows in the living room, but Stuart went ahead and hung the drapes. I cannot believe what a difference window treatments will do to a house.

Hopefully, this new little update will motivate us to keep picking away at it!!!