Patterson Top Ten 2008

Our family does a top 10 list every year on our Christmas card. We really have a lot of fun with it. I thought I would post it to share with our local friends, and those we don't send a Christmas card to. Sorry if I don't send you a card...if you send us one, you will be on the list forever :)

Top 10 things that happened to the Patterson family in 2008…

10. For the first time ever we have a “Top 10” that doesn’t include something about a new baby.
9. We bought season tickets to Silver Dollar City and discovered that you can have a lot of fun close to home. Abbott now eats all his vegetables in order to fulfill his dream of being tall enough to ride the Barn Swing.
8. Anna started preschool and dance class. She is the most beautiful (but not necessarily the most graceful) ballerina.
7. Abbott lost his first teeth…and Adeline finally got some.
6. Aiden turned 8 and was baptized! He also started piano lessons and Cub Scouts (and his Den Leader is a babe!)
5. Aubrey became a Den Leader, a runner and a blogger…check us out at Patterson-A-Team.blogspot.com
4. Our sweet, tiny Adeline has earned a reputation as a bully at the gym childcare…at home we call her “mean-streak”.
3. Aiden and Abbott were the coolest Transformers for Halloween. See #5 to watch them transform!
2. Aaron started a new job at Walmart and now drives a shiny, black Silverado. He was not too sad about losing the Nestle mini-van. The rest of the family, however, is still mourning the loss of the free chocolate.
1. Aaron and Aubrey will celebrate their 10 year anniversary on December 31st…somewhere in the Caribbean!

Family Pictures

There is only one time a year that I wish I had fewer kids. Family pictures. I mean really...what are the chances of taking a picture where all four kids look good? Last year I had to choose one with Adeline crying.

Overall, I think we did pretty good this year. We decided to take it ourselves, which worked out well due to Adeline's strange hatred of photographers.

We went to the waterfall at Tanyard Creek, which is beautiful! I drug my sister and her husband along to take the pictures, and I snapped some of them.

Here a few of the best pictures.









Adeline was done at this point...she is literally JUMPING out of my arms! At least she isn't crying...


And the winner is...

What is a tradition?

I love traditions...ESPECIALLY Christmas traditions.

We have to listen to Harry Connick, jr. belt out Christmas carols as we decorate our tree.

We have to act out the Nativity (with costumes) the week before Christmas (for Family Home Evening). We have to make gingerbread houses two weeks before Christmas (for FHE).

We have traditions for wrapping presents, decorating, baking, and the list goes on. We have a new tradition that we started last year with a blanket that each member of the family takes turns sleeping with.

Some traditions evolve on their own, and some get started on purpose (like the blanket). But what really defines a tradition?

I was having a conversation with Aaron about a certain gift that we were going to give. (I'm going to be vague on purpose here.) Aaron suggested that we do EXACTLY what we did last year. B-O-R-I-N-G!

We couldn't possibly do exactly what we did last year...unless...we do it EVERY year. Then it would be a TRADITION!

I wish I could post a picture of his face as he tried to sort it out.

Aaron: "Sooo...if we do it two years in a row...it's horribly boring. If we do it every year...it's a great tradition?"

Aubrey: Yep!

Try to picture that look that says my-wife-is-seriously-crazy-or-from-a-different-planet. Poor guy...I think after 10 years of marriage he thought he was starting to figure me out!

Well, here is a little video of our tree decorating...we did it two weeks ago...I haven't been a very diligent poster lately!

Twilight Trailer Spoof

This made me laugh so hard that I cried. I had to share :)

Happy Twilight Day!

It's no secret that I am a huge Twilight fan. I am so excited that the movie is finally here! I went to see the first showing (1:00) today. We arrived at the theater about a half hour early (with tickets in hand) at the exact same time as two school buses! Seriously, the Pea Ridge School District bused their kids to Twilight. High School wasn't that cool when I was there.

So we hurried into the theater to nab seats before the swarm of teeny-boppers got off the bus.

I am not making this up...we seriously got scolded for running by the lady taking the tickets!

For the record, we weren't actually running...we were walking briskly.

So I'm guessing we looked like a couple of over-excited 16 year olds. I suppose I should take that as a compliment! I guess she didn't expect a 29 year old to come to the theater with "Twilight" across her chest.

We were like giddy teenagers sitting in the theater, and we weren't disappointed. The movie was great. There were a few parts that weren't perfect, but I'm not going to spoil anything (although you pretty much know what happens)! I'll give my full review after you have all had time to go see it :)

I really love the story of how this movie came to be. When I first became a fan of the books, I read on Stephenie Meyer's website that there was going to be a movie. I was SO excited. Well, the rights to a movie had been purchased, but there was no actual movie planned. I was hopeful.

I noticed that it was going to be an MTV movie. MTV made a modern version of Wuthering Heights that I like, so I thought this would be about the same speed.

Then one day I read on the website (yes I was on there too frequently) that the movie was not going to happen. Paramount (who owns MTV Films) decided that it wasn't going to make the movie after all.

Not popular enough? Not a good enough story?

Fast forward a bit, and a tiny studio named Summit bought the rights. They took a gamble, and it paid off. Big time.

I just love stories like that. You've got to take a chance. And now we finally have our movie!

Here is me and my sister before we went out to dinner. Notice it's "twilight" outside! I wore my Twilight shirt all day to celebrate Twilight Day!

Anna the Adorable Dancer

A couple times a year Anna's dancing school allows the parents go inside the room to watch the class. This is much more fun than watching through the window! They do ballet, tap and tumbling, and it is adorable (and hilarious!).

On her dot and ready to go!

 

Here is a clip of ballet. The girl not doing anything is her friend Tia. Never a dull moment!

Waiting for her turn to leap.

 

Headstand! Thanks Miss Megan!

 

Time for tap!

 

Anna takes her tapping very seriously!

Daddy Daughter Date

Aaron took Anna on their first official daddy-daughter date. I just LOVE taking our kids on dates. It's our chance to spoil them one-on-one every once in a while.

Aaron took the spoiling thing very seriously with Anna. I'm a little concerned that this girl has her daddy wrapped around her little finger.

They started off at Sephora. He took her there to get a makeover (HELLO...I'd like a makeover!) She LOVES being pampered, and apparently the ladies at Sephora did a great job of making her feel like a princess. Daddy painted her fingernails (A different color on each hand...mom would never have allowed that).

 

She left with sparkly lip gloss and cotton candy perfume.

 

Next stop was Claire's for some clip-on earings (I really thought he got her ears peirced...that would NOT have gone over well). Aren't they cute? I was so proud of Aaron for taking pictures!

 

They hung out at Build-a-Bear for a while (and somehow he made it out of there without buying her anything!) And then picked out a yummy cookie (with sprinkles, of course!) and ate it by the fountain.

 

They had a wonderful date...and now I am expecting him to take ME on a date that fun!

My first 5K

I like to run. That is something that I NEVER would have thought I would say! Six weeks ago I decided (along with a few wonderful friends)that I would run my first 5K. We kept each other motivated, and had a lot of fun working up to 3miles.

We ran the Healthy Living 5K at the Pea Ridge National Military Park. Here is a picture of the soldiers. They started the race by firing a canon! It was really loud!




Here is a before picture. It was SO COLD out there...about 34 degrees.


And we're off...


The race was great. My biggest problem was a little yapping dog that was at my heels. I was so annoyed that this lady let her dog go so far out in front of her that his nose kept touching my heels. I tried to cross to the other side, but she let him follow me! That made it hard to stay in my zone, but eventually I was able to leave her in my dust :)

Here is my wonderful family that met me at the finish line...even though they were freezing!

 

We did it!

Me, Kjerstin, Nicole, Stacie and Diane...Linsey was so fast, she got away!

My goal for the race was to run the whole thing...no walking. And I did it! That made me feel great. So even though I may never be a fast runner...I'm a runner.

The Coolest Transformers Ever!

Yes, I know that it has been over a week since Halloween. I usually post video clips that I take with my camera. Sadly, my camera is broken. I had to use the video camera, and I have finally figured it out!

I promise it is worth the wait!

You are about to see my boys as the coolest (and cutest) Transformers ever! (I suppose I am a little biased!)



Eight rolls of Duct Tape - $32
Headlights that really light up - $6
Having your kids think you're the coolest mom ever - PRICELESS

I estimate that it took 25 hours of blood, sweat and tears to complete both costumes. (Seriously, when I am using a box cutter, there is blood involved.)

So what are we going to be next year...?


Thursday night we went to the school for the Costume Carnival. The Transformers were a hit! The boys eventually got tired of transforming for everyone and posing for pictures, but they had a blast!

Here are a few other pictures of our Halloween fun.

We started off with trick-or-treating at dad's new office - Wal-Mart. Then we went to Sonic for the free hot dogs and soda. The kids enjoyed their hot dogs in the back of dad's truck.


Adeline had quite the sucker collection. She wanted them ALL! We tried to take them away for a picture...no way!


All four of my cuties...it was NOT easy to get this picture!


My two beautiful fairies!


Abbott was such a ham! He really got into the part!


Trick-or-treating was so much fun! The boys got into "vehicle" mode while Anna knocked on the door. After they answered the door, the boys jumped up (transformed) and said "trick-or-treat!". It was a blast and everyone LOVED it!


What good looking Autobots!

Pumpkin Patch

I LOVE fall! I love crisp mornings and sunny afternoons. I love warm sweaters and apple pie. I love changing leaves and two weeks off school. I love Halloween and Thanksgiving. And I really, really love our annual trip to the pumpkin patch!

As I sit here writing this I am wondering why I love taking my kiddos to the pumpkin patch. Is it the smelly animals or the muddy shoes? The overpriced pumpkins or the drive to the middle of nowhere?

All of the above! I love letting letting everyone loose to go find their perfect pumpkin! And I love that it is a tradition to meet grandma, cousin Lexi, and Aunt Brittany for the hunt! It is convenient that Lexi's birthday falls close to Halloween so we can always do both in the same weekend.

I could hardly keep up with Adeline as she ran around the place. I got her to sit still for half a second for this picture.

 

She picked her pumpkin. It's almost as big as she is!

 

Anna tried really hard to find a pumpkin she liked. I think she examined every pumpkin there. Unfortunately, every pumpkin had a flaw. She was interested in the green ones still attached to the vine, and was disappointed when I told her she couldn't take those.

 

She ended up choosing two tiny gourds instead of a pumpkin. We told her she couldn't carve them, but she couldn't be swayed. She loves her little gourds. Anna definitely marches to the beat of her own drum!

 

Abbott likes BIG pumpkins. Mom vetoed his first choice. When you are paying by the pound, you have to have some limits :)



Not bad for a second choice...and still pretty big!



A little help from brother!



Aiden had the hardest time choosing. He's such a perfectionist! He hunted and hunted!



Looks good!

Silver Dollar City

We had such a great time at Silver Dollar City this weekend. We bought season passes because we weren't going on a family vacation this year (because the vacation $ went to mom and dad's cruise!!!). SDC is no Disney World, but I never could have guessed how much fun our family would have there! Disney is one week and it's over...we have been to SDC five times (and we'll go again at Christmas!).

It has really become a special place for us. It's just us, with no interruptions. We aren't rushed or stressed, we just make our way around the park hitting our favorites and trying a few new things along the way.

They have the BEST frozen lemonade. We all love it, especially Adeline who hogs it all!

This month they have it decorated for fall. I loved the decorations, so I made the kids pose for quite a few pictures!

 

 

Waiting for the boys...pretending to ride!



My boys rode the Powder Keg for the first time (that's a big roller coaster!) Abbott got off and said "Let's do it again!" Aiden got off and said "I'm never doing that again!" They are so different...and I love them both!

 

It kind of looks like she's poll dancing...


I took the girls on the butterfly ride. Adeline liked it at first...but quickly decided that it was way too high! In this picture you can see that she is trying to climb out of the bug and I am holding her down. I don't see big roller coasters in her future...

 

What a crew!



We will be getting season passes again next year, even if we do go on a vacation. It is a two hour drive to our favorite family togetherness time. You can't beat that! And as a bonus...Abbott is insisting on eating more vegetables so he will be tall enough to go on the Barn Swing next year...whatever works!