The Jolliff Family

The temperture has really cooled down this week and we have spent the majority of our time inside. Along with two playdates this week, we have mainly colored, played basketball, and read books! Andrew enjoys coloring but doesn't enjoy sharing the crayons as much! Notice he has crayons under both hands, this is great practice for him:) Sam takes time to ensure his picture is just right and just how he wants it to turn out. Notice the tongue sticking out for concentration:) Thanks to a second trimester energy burst, I have been much more productive the last couple weeks during nap time. Using the time to clean, sort or do some work with Sam. We have lately been working on writing number and letters. He can recognize letters and make each of their sounds, but writing needs some work. He is doing a good job writing his name! Here is his name during yesterday's nap time... We have had lots of fun inside this week, but are looking forward to nicer weather to be outside again soon:...

What a fun weekend that all four of us had. On Thursday night, Hap and the two little guys headed back to Patoka for a visit while I headed to work. I had a great night at work and the guys had a fun evening visiting!! On Friday morning, my dear friend Amanda and I headed to Cincinnati for a shopping adventure. Cincinnati is only about 2 hours away and we chatted the entire time and it didn't seem like 2 hours! I learned alot about Southern culture and she learned about hypnobabies:) We arrived at Ikea for a 3 hour shopping adventure! I had never been to Ikea before and was amazed that they sell everything. From, candles to couches to anything else you never knew you needed! We are at Ikea for a bargain price before headed out for more shopping. Amanda enjoyed some meatballs while I played it safe with a Greek salad. We contained ourselves and left with one handful each (the bags cost money!) We then ventured over to Jungle Jim's International Market. Again, I was completely ...

This blog is a little of our weekend and a little of today. Hasn't the weather been beautiful outside!?! Last Friday evening my mom came over for a visit. She has not been over since January, which is a long time for her. The boys enjoyed some cuddle time and reading with Grandma before going to bed on Friday night. On Saturday, we did some shopping, some eating, some visiting, some playing and lots of sidewalk chalk drawings. Saturday evening Hap and I were invited to a banquet benefiting a small Christian school. It was a great evening and sounds like a school that is doing things to the glory of God. We are so glad we spent the evening this way! Two somebodies had there feet mixed up on Sunday afternoon. Can you tell? We were sad to see Grandma leave on Sunday afternoon and enjoyed our time. This morning, Sam started shaving:) The weather was so beautiful today. The heat is off and the windows are open. The boys enjoyed spending practically all day outside. It is ...

In an effort to clean up that sewing table and organize this place, I did four crafts during four nap times. 1. First Nap= Christmas scrapbook. Every year we get lots of Christmas picture cards. It seems like such a waste to throw them away, but I never know what to do with them. So, this year I decided to put them in a book so we can keep them and look at them from year to year. I love how it turned out! 2. Second Nap- Burp Clothes I wanted to finish up the rest of my burp clothes and get some ready for baby shower presents. I made a girl set and a boy set... which set do you think WE should keep? 3. Nap Three- Jewelry Display I have lots of costume type jewelry that I was keeping in a box but couldn't see what I had. I tended not to wear the pieces because I would forget I had them. This way, I can display them and wear them more often. I love how it turned out! 4. Nap Four- Purse I finally finished up this purse I was sewing. I had one final thing I needed to buy and ...

Today was a wild day around here !! You could say it is like a zoo, but I would say we are more like an exotic animal store. Last night, some church members house burnt down... apparently almost an entire loss. Anyway, they had 5 large fish tanks and need a place to store them until they find a new permanent residence. So, we are housing 2 fish tanks in our garage, they couldn't salvage the rest of them. Sam is pretty excited and keeps wanting to go check on the fish. This afternoon it really cooled down and started raining. Since Sam wanted to play in the dirt so badly, while Andrew was napping I made a fake dirt pile for Sam out of dried bread crumbs I had in the pantry. He had a blast and played for almost an hour in the container. When Andrew woke up some time later, we put the lid on and will save them for another rainy day. Pretty clever, if I say so myself.:) It finally cleared up and the boys played outside for a while this evening. A pile of boots by the backdo...

I have some new, fancy artwork in my house and I LOVE it (I guess I really just love the artist behind them!!!) Sam was so proud of them yesterday when I hung them on the wall and was really excited to show his daddy when he arrived home! The pictures don't do them justice, come over and see them yourself at our gallery:) Happy Friday!

Last Friday, the boys, Hap and myself loaded up in the car at 5:50am and made our way East. Since Upward is now over, it was a nice time for us to get away as a family. We decided to head to the DC area to visit Nathan and Heather. It is about a 10 hour drive and the kids did great both ways! They entertained themselves (and each other), read books, sang songs and slept. They were awesome:) Sam was excited to show Nathan and Heather the outfits he picked out for their new baby. He picked them out all by himself and was so proud. Sam quickly enjoyed Uncle Nathan's company. He wanted to practice his speech words with Nathan and have Nathan read him lots of books! Andrew finally warmed up to Twix. Poor Twix is probably still sleeping tonight after the weekend she had with our boys:) On Saturday, Heather and I went to finish up her baby registry. The little boys loaded up in backpacks and went for a hike with Hap and Nathan. They went to a battlefield and spent the day outs...

Don't mind the leftover spaghetti faces:)