Merry Christmas from the Whatcotts

Our family has had a great year, and we hope that your family has also. We wanted to share with you a brief review our year.

Drew turned 3 in June is absolutely full of energy. He rarely stops for a break from the time he gets up until he goes to bed. He loves cars: mostly Hummers and Corvettes. Loves to go for rides in Daddy’s Hummer, and look for more Hummers on the road. He has become our little train track builder and can build some awesome tracks with our train sets that we have. Drew is also the biggest animal lover in the family. When it is quite in the house it is almost guaranteed that he is in with the guinea pigs playing probably torturing them in his own loving way. He also started his first year of preschool this year and loves to learn.

Tyson turned 5 in October and is the family clown. It is common to see Tyson posing and making funny faces for his pictures. He loves to make people laugh and smile and is really good at it. Tyson has also learned how to play very proficiently on the computer, and that is one of his favorite things to do. He played his first year of coach pitch baseball. Because Troy was coaching he skipped T-ball and joined Miles team. Much to our amazement, he did great and really enjoyed playing with the big kids. Tyson is in his second year of preschool and loves school and is a great friend to the other kids in his group.

Miles turned 6 in March and inherited Troy’s creative genes. He loves to make invention, draw and work on projects. He loves school and looks forward to going every morning. Miles is very likable and knows everyone in the school. He takes after his Mommy and loves to read. He also played his first year of coach pitch baseball and did great. His team was undefeated for the season. He also learned to ride his bike without training wheels and loves to go riding with Mom.

Troy is as busier than ever. The down-turn in economy and slow down in pools and opened up some great opportunities. He has always had an interested in web design and designed several websites for us, and friends and has now turned it into a business. He designs websites and provides printing and design services for small, and start up businesses. He has also started an online security locks company and finds the quick process of lock sales a little refreshing to the process of pool sales. In his spare time he coached Miles and Tyson baseball team, designed us a new house and plays trains and legos with the boys.

This year Kristin took up a new hobby of bike riding. She starting riding and training to ride with her brother, Rod, in the MS150, and have just loved it. She is in two co-op groups that teach preschool to Tyson and Drew and loves to be involved in teaching her children. During the summer she started “field trip” days each week with a friend. The boys loved to see the sites of Dallas and Ft. Worth and now look forward to field trip days whenever there is a school break. In January she is going back to school to finish a few accounting classes so that she can get her CPA next year.

As a family we are all looking forward to our next move. In June we purchased some property in Aubrey, about 10 miles from our current house. Troy has designed us a new house, and is going to use his construction knowledge to oversee the construction of it as well. We are hoping to be moved up to the ranch by spring, and the boys can hardly wait. They love the open space of the ranch and ask to go there and check on it every day. We are very excited to see what new adventures our family will go on upcoming year.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Nap Buddies

Drew is our animal boy!  He loves his pets.  He is the one that gets the piggie out everyday and plays with him and he is also Xena's best buddy.  He woke up from his nap this afternoon and wanted to be held, but I couldn't because I was right in the middle of fixing dinner so I told him he had to wait for a minute.  I look down and ran over to Zena and was laying on her. 

They are best buddies.  I guess Xena is a close second to Mommy can't.

10th Day of Christmas

On the 10th day of Christmas we went to Frisco Square to watch the light show.  They have a fantastic light shoe that lasts about 4 songs.  The city hall and surrounding building are decorated.  It is one our favorite stops during the holidays.

9th Day of Christmas

On the 9th day of Christmas we are going to make and take treats to our friends and neighbors.  We got the treats made, but it got to late so we didn't get them delivered.  I guess that we will do that another night.

8th Day of Christmas

On the 8th Day of Christmas we were going to take pictures with Santa. But like a of few of the other things that we have planned - that didn't work out.

We took pictures with Santa the other night at the zoo, and because I am a cheap Mom, I told the boys that I was going to pay again for them to talk to Santa. I wish that they would just let the boys go talk to Santa and tell him what they want instead of paying for it...oh well.

Troy decided that we should go to Bass Pro Shop. The boys love to go to Bass Pro Shop and Cabala's. They call them the "dead zoo" because of all the stuffed animals that they have around the store. When we got there the middle of the store was decorated like a winter wonder land.

They had the remote control trucks out to drive.

The guns out to shot.

We got to ride the carousel.

And then Troy topped it off by taking us to Whataburger for dinner. I have to say, that I have never eaten at Whataburger. I don't like their commercial, and I don't like how their building look, so I have never wanted to eat there. Troy loves their burgers. So, I finally gave in tonight and let him take the family to dinner. Actually, the burger was good.

I love this picture of the boys. Every time we give them drinks with straws this is the view that we see. I think that it is so funny, and finally remembered to get a picture tonight so I can remember it.

7th Day of Christmas

The Relief Society in our ward gave everyone a "Silent FHE" to do with their families. We planned on doing that tonight with the boys. Basically you read from the scriptures the christmas story and sing Christmas songs. We feed the missionaries for dinner tonight and the message that they shared with us was the Christmas story from Luke 2 and then we sang a couple of Christmas of songs. So that was nice to get to do it with the elders.

That also ment that the boys didn't want to do it again with us, so instead we drove around and looked at the boys friends houses to see was decorated for Christmas.

Tyson Funny

This happened the other day when we were driving home from Miles school.

On our way home we drive pass several horse ranches.  As we passed one of the ranches there were a couple of horses out in the pasture that had on blankets.  Tyson said, "look at those horses! They are all wearing shirts!  That is so embarassing!"

I couldn't help but laugh, and now every time we see one of those horse we are going to say "look at those horses, they have shirts on, that is so embarassing!"

5th Day of Christmas

On the 5th day of Christmas we went to the Frank Buck Zoo Lights.  We have had some unseasonably cool weather here this year.  So we were bundled up, and I think that it actually made it more fun because it is making it feel like Christmas.

Radio Disney was there as entertainment.  They kids were in a hulu hoop contest, which was hiliarious to watch because none of the kids could do it.  But they got a Jonas Brothers poster so they were excited.

There was also a drawing that was going on, and Tyson's name got drawn so he got a Camp Rock t-shirt.  Troy and I were laughing because the boys haven't watched Camp Rock, and do know any of the Jonas Brother's songs, but they were sure excited about their prizes.

We got a picture with Santa.

And also got to pet the zoo's camel. 

The boys loved that they were able to see some of the animals that they don't get to see during the day because they are nocturnal.  So we saw the bobcat, bear, and owls.  Drank hot cocoa and froze our toes off, but it was fun.

6th Day of Christmas

On the 6th Day of Christmas it is St. Nick's night.  The boys put there shoes outside of their door and in the morning they each had a present in them.  Miles was dissappointed that there were not more.  I think that he was thinking it was going to be Christmas morning and lots a presents.  Maybe we will work on gratitude a little bit.

4th Day of Christmas

On the 4th day of Christmas we went to the Allen Stake Creche with Grandma and Grandpa Moffitt.  I took the boys last year and the boys loved it!  So we took Troy this year and we all really enjoyed it.  They have such a good turn out from their whole community that it is really fun to go to, and the entertainment that they had was fabulous.

3rd Day of Christmas

On the 3rd day of Christmas we did do what we were planning to do.  Troy was going to take the boys to Grapevine to watch the parade of lights while I went to our Relief Society Christmas party.  I haven't been feeling good since Thanksgiving....I think I got the flu.  I started feeling better Tuesday, and now I have a sinus infection.  So, I didn't go to my party, and Troy didn't take the boys to Grapevine.

2nd Day of Christmas

On the 2nd day of christmas we decorated our Christmas tree. 

Troy showing off the new family ornament for the year.  It is a little Xena.

Miles with ornmanent that Tyson got for him.  It is a snowman made out of baseballs.

Tyson with his ornament that Drew got for him.  It is a cow made out of a bell.

Drew with his ornament that Miles got him.  It is a video game, and Drew already broke it.  He has been playing with it like a video game.  We will see if it lasts through Christmas.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Well, at least as much as we can expect in Texas. It rained off and on all day yesterday and the temperature kept dropping so I was worried about waking up to ice and freezing rain. Instead we got snow!!

To bad that it was all gone in a couple of hours. But it was sure to fun to watch this morning. Our backyard looks empty to me in this picture we moved the swing set up to the ranch over of the weekend.

1st Day of Christmas

Troy and I have alway done something fun for the boys to start off the Christmas season. This year we could not find something that we wanted to do, so we decided to do the 24 days of Christmas. Each day we are going to do a fun activity with the boys. I think that it is going to fun, and I have had fun planning it.

Today we started off with an ornament exchange. This is a somthing that I am hoping will become a new tradition for us. The boys had a great time picking out ornaments for each other and we exchanged them at dinner.

When Troy and I got married both of our Moms gave a box a some of our old ornaments, and it has been so fun to hang them on the tree each year. I am hoping to do the thing for my boys.