Merry Christmas

The Varney Boys

(lt to rt) Ethan, Grant, Regan, & Ian

From our family to yours. We hope y'all have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year. Here are some pictures that I took for our Christmas cards. 

Love,

Sam, Kayce, Ethan, Ian, Grant, & Regan

Grant Russell Varney

Regan Samuel Varney

Ian, Regan, & Ethan (Grant was having a melt down during this picture)

Ian Michaele Varney

Ethan Franklin Varney

School Project

In school the twins have been studying about Maryland Indians. So their teacher decided that making them do a project would be good for them. She decided that a diorama would be a great project for 4th graders. So off to Wal-Mart we went to get all the stuff for Ethan and Ian's project. They wanted some play-do for the house they were building and of course we just need brown, black and green. Did they have those colors in individual packaging, of course not! So we had to buy the mini package that had 10 different colors in them and I had to buy two, one for each. Then it was on to the craft sticks, glue, and construction paper. Ethan and Ian worked really hard on their diorama. I do have to say that their projects turned out pretty good and Grant even joined in on the fun! They both got A's on the diorama. But I do have to say that I am glad that it over....for now... I am sure there are plenty more projects to come!

Ethan putting his long house together

Ian writing his description

Grant doing his own diorama

Working hard

Bang on the drums all day

On Friday Grant and Regan disappeared from living room area. So I go upstairs and find them in the twins room. They both know that they are not supposed to be in there (there are too many little toys that Regan will put in his mouth). So there they are sitting in the floor with Ian's drum pad and sticks. I finally got them out of there but we had to bring the drum pad down so they could play me some music. It was very cute!! Here are some pictures on them making some music. (Ian was not too happy when he got home and his drum pad and sticks were in the living room).   :) 

New tricks

Like I said before, Grant is just like his Momma! He taught himself something new. The other day I was in the hanging up the Christmas wreaths and Grant yelled, "Hey Ma, look." So I look over at him and this is what I saw.

Yes, you are seeing that right, he taught himself how to do a handstand. I was so proud of him! Sure he has seen his Momma do handstand ALOT. And he has been doing "donkey kicks" for a long time. But he has never done a handstand by himself on the wall and I have never done a handstand on the wall like that. I guess I need to look into putting him in gymnastics. I have been meaning to find a gym for him for a year now but we have just been so busy. I think he would really enjoy it. Especially since he LOVES to do flips off the couch and ottoman, does forward rolls all the time, and now likes to do handstands on my walls. Here are a couple more pictures of him doing a handstand.

Java Junkies

Regan has let us know that he LOVES coffee. He loves it hot, cold, frozen, however he can get his hands on it. I even caught him drinking it from a cup at our friends house that she left on the side table when she went to the kitchen to get something. I bought a frappuccino one day while we were in the bookstore and he screamed, I mean really screamed until I gave it to him. He drank the whole thing. Every time I tried to take a drink he screamed again. He is just a JAVA JUNKIE! And of course since Regan was drinking coffee, Grant saw that I had the camera out and had to do what Regan was doing so I would take his picture. I tell you, Grant is a little ham!! Enjoy!

Regan stealing his Daddy's coffee

Yumm this is gooood

Grant stealing some coffee too

Thanksgiving

I hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We had a great day! It was just Sam and me and the boys. A nice quite family dinner. Grant was feeling better and loved the "gobble gobble" as he called the turkey. Regan and Ethan and Ian also enjoyed all the food and family time. The twins loved their Chocolate pie that I made, it is Nonna's recipe that I have finally started making right.

My mom's chocolate pie is one of my FAVORITE deserts of all time. When I was still living at home mom taught me how to make it, I would have to say, I did a pretty good job on it. Then once I moved out and started living on my own, I always made it atleast once a year but something just seemed off. I think every time I made it, I would say something to Sam like, "Wow, it really is sweet. I really don't remember it being this sweet." So almost two years ago when my mom came up for Regan's birth, she asked me what I wanted for my birthday cake. I said chocolate pie. And she asked if I had the recipe handy and of course I did. She started reading it and all of sudden goes, "No, Kayce it doesn't have sweetened milk in it. It is supposed to be PET milk." So for over 10 years I had been making it with sweetened milk instead of evaporated milk. So in the Thanksgiving spirit, I am very thankful that my mom came up for a visit and finally figured out what was wrong with my chocolate pie! It taste so much better! And I think this year's chocolate pie was the best yet!!

Here are a couple of pictures of Grant and Regan wearing Grant's "Gobble Gobble" hat from school.

Grant Russell

Regan Samuel

Praying

Sorry there are no pictures this update! It has been a little crazy around here. Grant has been sick since Friday, the whole nine yards. So sorry if I haven't been able to return phone calls or answer emails as quickly as I normally do, I have been cleaning up puke! I thought he was going to be able to go to school today but he didn't. Yesterday he was doing so good. I was able to get a little food down him and some water and gatorade. All was fine until I left for the gym just before he went to bed. He did it again, this time Sam had to clean it up! So I kept him home from school today and so far he has been good. I am keeping my fingers, toes, everything crossed.

 Tonight the twins have an indoor soccer game. Keep everything crossed for them too! The last two teams we have played have been select club teams. Our team is kids thrown together from two different soccer clubs, all but a few have never played together before. Tonight is a new team that I am not familiar with, so hopefully they are a team more on our level. It hasn't really bothered the twins not winning but I think it is starting to get to some of our players. On one positive note, Ethan has become a good little goalie. And hopefully playing indoor soccer will help even more. I really don't like my kids playing that position but it is something he really enjoys so I guess I have no say in it really. As long as he likes it and tries his hardest, I am a proud Momma! Ian is also improving. He likes to be goalie but not as much as Ethan. He mostly plays forward. I think half back is more his speed though. I guess time will tell. They both seem to really enjoy soccer. I am happy with that! They are on the same team, same practice time, same game time which equals less running time for me!!

Regan is doing great too. He is trying to talk a little more and climbing a lot more. He is a sneaky little fellow! The other day someone left one of the stools in the kitchen and Regan decided to climb not only on the stool but up on the stove. I look over and there he his dancing up on the stove. :) He LOVES to dance. I have been trying to get a video of him dancing but it seems that every time I try he doesn't want to or when he is dancing I don't have my camera.

Lastly, I just wanted to wish you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving. Y'all will all be in our thoughts and prayers. And I can't go with out saying, GIG'EM AGGIES. I know it is a long shot but a true Aggie has to believe!!!! BTHO t.u.

Reading

The twins have to read every night partly for school and partly because they enjoy it. The past few nights Grant and Regan have been joining them on the couch in the sun room. It is so cute to see all four of them on the couch reading, I just had to capture it. 

Ian, Grant, Regan and Ethan

Boys being silly.

Ian, Grant and Ethan

Monkey See Monkey Do

Here is Grant and Regan being silly. Regan is at the age where he does EVERYTHING that the older boys do. Here Grant was acting like he was upset, so Regan decided he would do the same thing. MONKEY SEE MONKEY DO! This was on Friday before we left for the state soccer finals.

State Finals

This past Friday, November 14th, the Boonsboro Boys Soccer Team was in the state finals. I thought the twins would learn a little bit and enjoy watching the varsity team play soccer. So as soon as the kids got off the bus we went to our neighbors house to pick them up and then went on to Baltimore to watch the game. All the boys enjoyed the game even though it misted through the whole game. Boonsboro lost 3-1 but came in 2 in the state! I think that is a great thing for our soccer community. Here are some pictures before we left.

Grant & Ethan Boonsboro #1

Regan and Ethan Boonsboro #1

Ian

Tournament

November 8 the twins had their final soccer game(s) for the fall season. They were in Fall Frederick Tournament. Although the tournament didn't go our way, the boys played great! And Grant and Regan did great through the 3 games and 5 1/2 hours we were there! Ian is #14 and Ethan is #15.

Opps that one went by a little fast!

about to score

Ethan in the goal, Ian protecting the goal

nice save Ethan

Our Weekends

Here is a peek into what are weekends are all about. It is filled with soccer. I have taken pictures at two of Ethan and Ian's games. One was at the beginning of the season, Sept. 19, and the others were taken last weekend, Nov. 1st. Ethan is number 15 and Ian is 14. In the first game, Ian was goalie for most of the game, so he is in the red pennie. The 2nd game is Ethan doing a throw in. After the Nov. 1st game we had our team party so the rest are the pictures from that. We hiked up to the 1st Washington Monument on the Appalachian Trail and had a pizza party. The kids had a great time!!

Ian actually saved this!!

Regan and Grant were WIPED out