Merry Christmas!

We had a fabulous Christmas day. The kids woke up around 7:30am and ran into our room super excited. When we were about to head downstairs Tyce found my chapstick and I didn't notice so he hung out upstairs for a while sucking on it (his favorite thing to do, but I always take it away so he must've been super excited). Santa brought each of the boys a dinosaur and they were really happy.

Josh, my sweet tooth, was excited about his loot of candy... I love Tyce's new pengiun jammies from Grandma Morrill...

Josh's Monty T-Rex...Jackson's Big Buddy T-Rex...Grandma and Grandpa Morrill got them a Buzz and Woody doll, they kinda decided that Woody would be Jack's and Buzz would be Josh's...Grandma Morrill also made this adorable little book for Tyce with pictures of my whole family and Morrills whole family so he can become familiar with all his grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins that live across the country that he doesn't even know! :(Josh with his Buzz and his Monty...We got them a smaller Buddy and Tiny dinosaurs from Dinosaur Train...Tycee had a huge Christmas morning blow out so we had to throw him in the tub, then he was happy...When Tyce first saw his dinosaur walking he goes, "WOW WOW!" Haha, it was cute...Jackson absolutely LOVES his Woody...And Josh loves his Buzz...It was a really nice day. After we opened presents we put Tyce down for a nap and the twins just played for hours with their new toys. Parker and I had a nice Christmas as well and feel lucky to have parents that do so much for us. I'm going to use some of my Christmas money to go get my hair done this week, YAY! My mom got Parker some really nice new work shirts so he was excited about that.

This morning we grabbed some pics before church...My parents got each of us an Oregon sweatshirt (go Ducks!) and they're all SUPER cute. Tyce and I have one too but we're not in the picture. :)

I'm so sad Christmas is over. I love the anticipation. I love the music. I love the spirit. I love how everyone is happy. I love the excitement. I love thinking about Christ and his birth. I love when our nation focuses on the Savior instead of politics. Oh well, it was wonderful and now we can look forward to next year! Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Eve

Tonight we spent Christmas Eve with our friends, the Merchants. They had us and 3 other families over for a delicious dinner, adorable nativity, games, and dessert. The kids had so much fun playing together and were all so incredibly hyper!

Jack and Josh were wisemen in the nativity...

All the "actors" in the nativity...Each family was asked to perform a musical number so we sang, The Chubby Little Snowman...Jackson and Josh with their friend Yoshi...While we were packing up trying to get ready to leave we catch Tyce with this big huge chocolate covered rice krispie treat that someone had left out. He would poke it and then say, WOW! Needless to say, he was HYPER!When we came home the boys each got to open their new jammies from Grandma and Grandpa Morrill. Jackson and Josh were super excited about their new dinosaur jammies. Tyce got some adorable penguin ones but he would NOT pose for a picture. Then we got out cookies, carrots, and milk for Santa and the Reindeer!

It was a great night. Thanks to the Merchants for a fabulous night. I was worried about feeling lonely (this was my first Christmas without family in my entire life) but being with friends made it so much better. Also, Josh and Jackson have been unbelievably adorable the last couple days. Spontaneous I love you mommys and hugs all around. They are SO excited for tomorrow morning! It is so fun having kids this age! Merry Christmas!

Preschool Christmas Program

Today was the twins' preschool Christmas program and party. They were shepards and they sang so loud and so cute.

Here's Josh walking down the aisle with his sheep... Cutest little shepards I've ever seen...

Then we went to their classroom to decorate gingerbread houses and have pizza...

After the party they got to play for a little bit with their friends. It's interesting to watch them interact with their teacher and their classmates. Mrs. Morton says that Jackson has never thrown a fit or had any OCD tendencies in class. This surprised me. At home, he has melt downs a couple times a day. I'm very glad to hear he keeps it under control at school. They start doing testing in January so it will be interesting to see where they're at.

The boys are super excited for Christmas, as am I. I love seeing their sweet little excited faces when they open their presents!!! :) Merry Christmas everyone!!!

SNOW!!!

Today was the first snow of the winter season. Apparently it doesn't snow often out here (with the exception of the hugest storm ever last year) so we didn't waste any time! My parents had gotten each of the boys a new pair of nice warm snow boots for Christmas and I let them open them today so they could use them! Thanks mom and dad! I picked the boys up from preschool and they were SO excited to play in the snow. They've been out there for over an hour and are having a blast filling buckets with snow using the shovel and making snow castles.

Making snow angels..

Tyce's first time walking in snow, he liked it for a few minutes...Then decided he hated it. He hung out in the trunk of the van and watched his brothers...Joshy loved using the snow shovel...Cute guys...Jack loved eating the snow...

Now they're inside drinking hot chocolate and watching Curious George while Tyce naps!

Fun with My Parents Part 2...

My parents left bright and early this morning, I'm missing them so much already. We had a great week with them and were sad to see them go. It was fun having them here around Christmas time because we were able to do lots of Christmas type stuff. Tuesday my parents picked the twins up from preschool and took them to Great Wolf Lodge overnight. It's a hotel with a big waterpark inside it. My dad got some cute pics but I'm having a hard time getting them off his camera so that post is to come later.

Thursday we took the boys to House of Bounce. Jackson and Josh had SO much fun, and could've easily played there all day. Tyce was too small for everything so he was kinda whiney and very tired. My mom got us a pass to go back 10 times so I think I'll get a sitter for Tyce next time.

Thursday night we went to the Bull Run Festival of Lights. First we drove through the park and looked at the light display then we stopped at the little carnival. Jack has been begging daddy to go on a ferris wheel for weeks and we were happy to see that they had one there! They had so much fun on the rides. It was quite cold but there was hardley anyone there. The ride operators gave them quite a few free rides because they were so cute. :)

Waiting for the ferris wheel...Daddy and Jack on the ferris wheel...Mommy and Josh on the ferris wheel (quite the sacrifice for me to go on with him because I HATE ferris wheels)...Jack and Josh owned the Dragon Wagon, haha...Grandpa took care of Tycee and made sure he stayed warm...Friday we got a babysitter for the kids and the adults went up to the Washington DC temple and looked at the lights, did sealings, and went out to dinner. It was a really nice night to spend time together away from the kids.

Saturday we took the boys on the VRE (Virginia Railway Express) train ride with Santa. It was an hour ride and Santa came to visit. They also had a college choir singing Christmas songs. It was fun, the boys loved it. They each got a conductor's hat...Saturday night we went to the Manassas Park city parade! Haha, it was kinda lame but the boys really enjoyed it...

Gosh I'm exhausted again just thinking about all we did! We also stayed up late every night talking, eating, and playing games. That's what Barracloughs do! And I love it! Thanks SO much mom and dad for a WONDERFUL week!!! The sad thing is? I have no visitors lined up next! I am HOPING Michelle and Tegan come out in March!? Come on people, come visit!!! :)