Snow Days

I have not been inspired to be on the blog. Chalk it up to the cold weather. I think I am supposed to be hibernating, but my children wont' let me ;) Last week was a doozy. Monday was a holiday and the forecast was calling for snow. I don't usually get caught up in the madness but EJ urged me to go since I normally go to the store on Mon anyway and we needed quite a few things. So did the rest of our county!

 I am so glad I did because I didn't leave the house again until Thurs.

 

We got 6 inches of fluffy snow. The kids were out of school ALL week. 

 

It was great snow for sledding and building. 

Avery and Ryan didn't last long outside on the first day, but the second day was great.

 

By Thursday we all needed a change in scenery. It's tough finding a decent priced outing with our age range. Despite having gone recently, we went bowling. And then I treated them to lunch out. A place they all like ;) They were awesome and I couldn't have been happier. What a treat!

 

If only Daddy could have joined us!

  

Friday, our church had mercy on the exhausted parents and opened the gym for free play for a few hours. The boys were happy and Avery settled in as we were leaving :(

All in all, it was a great 5 days with my kiddos. EJ was good to jump right in when he got home from work, assuming that I'd had my fill. Smart man! Our weekend was packed. More on that later.

So LOVED

We were all pretty excited about their valentines this year. Each of our boys are SO different and I love how that is reflected in this picture. Mason's were Minecraft printables (free) from pinterest. Owen made his own scratch cards with jokes that he found on a website. Scratch card recipe was super easy and also found on pinterest. Ryan's love for puppies and foam pieces, inspired his cards and we found a tutorial on pinterest, of course. Avery was feeling the love Friday morning and rubbed daddy's back, he beamed :)

 We had some friends come over to play on Valentine's day.

So Loved, yes I am. I thought my quiet request might be overlooked (with all the other voices in our home) but he heard and ordered this shirt.

The kids received "movie" themed valentines this year. Popcorn, candy and a movie at home.

 Mini pizzas for dinner

 After the kids went to bed, EJ and I enjoyed a quiet evening with an extra special dessert. YUM!

And lest you think our house was perfectly filled with love, I didn't take pictures of the bickering, screaming, fighting, bloody nose, and tears. Thankful that Jesus covers all that with his perfect love!

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.