Mason and Check Mate

I finally remembered to take my camera to Mason's basketball game. There are only 2 games left in the season. He played a great game, probably played extra hard bc his grandparents were watching ;)

#12 in black

After he scores, he always ducks his head down, does a subtle hand pumping and sprints down the court to play defense. It's pretty cute and it's his signature celebration move.

 He also participated in the Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby this weekend. I love his smile!

 His car, "check mate" is the 3rd car from the left.

 These 2 pics are funny. His car tied one of the races which has never happened before.

Check Mate did pretty great and finished 3rd in the whole Derby.

 He placed 1st for his den. Ryan is his biggest fan ;)

 Mason's den

It was fun cheering for Mason this weekend.

A Journey

Everyday God reminds me how far she has come. A huge blessing because in the the nitty gritty, I get easily overwhelmed with the road we have ahead.

 

Flashback: Sweet baby SO SCARED of bath time. 

Now, it's one of her first questions of the day, "Bath night?" And even though she asks me every other hour (not exaggerating) b/c she is hopeful I'll say yes, I patiently say "yes." And if it's not bath night, she is happy with "brush your teeth and jammies." Oh girlie, we are so glad we get to be your momma and daddy to bath you and put you to bed each night.

Family Fun

We took another road trip this weekend. After the older 2's basketball games we headed to my parent's mountain house. I couldn't resist taking a pic of her. The only time she is not moving ;)

 

On Sunday a majority of us went skiing. Ryan was only out there for about an hr. He is young enough to be considered free and my dad had OLD used skis, so he played around a bit.

EJ and I haven't been on the slopes together for a long time! It was fun to reminisce about our dating days, back when we rocked snow boards. It's too hard to help new skiiers on snowboards. I haven't skied in SO long that I was nervous, but it was just like riding a bike, phew!

I barely went down any runs with my sister, but she was there :)
I did a lot of checking on the boys in their lessons, or "teaching" Ryan. My body is so out of shape that it's probably just as well, or I might not have been walking today ;)

Owen in the bright orange, made some major progress this year. It's his 3rd time, Mason's first. EJ enjoyed having Owen on the slopes with him.

My dad graciously paid for the boys. He has always loved skiing, I learned when I was 5! He is pretty determined to get the boys out there. They don't seem to mind and we are grateful for his generosity.

Ryan rocking the too-long-vintage skis for about an hour. 

The rest of the time he hung out with Grandma, Avery and Trip at the house.

We returned home right before the super bowl. EJ quickly got to work on dinner. Philly Cheese Steaks (his idea) and Owen was pretty pumped.

Owen got our "party" set-up in the living room.

 It wasn't a fancy party, but the sandwiches were yummy!

We were all a little disappointed at the outcome of the game, but it was a great ending to a fun weekend.

1st Snow

Someone was a wee bit excited to see the snow. Did you forget something, Avery? Brrr!!

 Just enough snow for some rides down our hill. Good thing we don't care too much about our grass ;)

 Not much for snowman building.

Leafboarding, it's the newest fade

After a 4 day weekend, this momma was glad to be back in a routine today!

Together At Last

Remember how our New Year's Eve plans came to a smashing halt when Owen got a stomach bug? Well, this past weekend we made up for lost time. The Cassada clan hosted our noisy bunch for the weekend and Sunday night we drove off with full, happy hearts.

The kids watched a movie after a delicious (grilled) pizza dinner while the adults chatted ;)

Sunday morning, we all went to church together and then enjoyed an afternoon of random activities: games, nail painting, basketball and wii. Courtney and I went for a walk by ourselves!!

Avery was pretty clingy to me, but thankfully Bailey was close by and always willing to play. I was thrilled for the break.

The Cassada's got a fire pit for Christmas and pulled out all the stops for us. Roasted marshmallows and hotdogs for the kids' dinner. After the kids ate, the adults enjoyed a yummy ham dinner (INSIDE) while the kids played!

 A neighbor joined making it 11 kids. Cause what's one more?

 Such sweet memories made.

 Still the cutest pair.

I love this girl. She blesses my heart. Her walk with the Lord and her love for Him and her family humbles me. I am grateful for the time we had together sharing our hearts.

Youngs and Ayers we missed you!