SNOW DAYS!

The kids have been out of school ALL WEEK!  Monday was Presidents day and Tues-Fri were snow days due to snow and below 0 weather.  I LOVE snow days.  I love having my kids at home.  I love not having to do homework or have a schedule.  I'm counting down the days to Summer break!  :)

Today we had a BIG snow storm with perfect packing snow.  The weather wasn't too cold and it was perfect for playing.  The kids played for about 4 hours outside.  I was out for a bit shoveling, but went in to make cinnamon rolls.  YUMM!  I have lots of memories of playing out in the cold and coming in to the smell of cinnamon rolls.  I had to have dental work done this week and I haven't felt well this week, so making cinnamon rolls was about my pace. 

PineWood Derby 2015

Nothing beats the pinewood derby, right?  D gets dad of the year award for his patience in helping this process of building a car.  AND  Log gets the awesomest scout award for working so hard.  I have NO clue what place he came in overall, but he was pretty happy he won 2 out of the 3 races in his heat.  :)  GO BANANA'S B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Aren't we LUCKY

Meg has a GREAT kindergarten teacher this year.  She makes so many things fun and happy!  This week Meg was star of the week.  She got to take in a poster that was all about her, her favorite toy, her favorite book, AND.... Drumroll, please!  She got to bring home LUCKY the bear to spend the week with her.  She got to take him everywhere and then put pictures in Lucky's journal to tell what they did together.  :)  So, for your view pleasure, here is Meg and LUCKY!

Making cookies

 READY for CHURCH

 Reading books! It was NEON day at school.

 Riding in the car!

 Going to the pet store.

 Going to dance!

 Eating Breakfast

 Doing writing practice

 Going to bed!

 At J's orchestra concert.

J's first Orchestra Concert!

This girl loves music. She loves to sing, play the piano, and now play the viola. She is doing a great job and progressing a lot. She loves to try new songs. We all loved watching her at her first orchestra concert and can't wait to see what the Spring concert has to offer! :)

This is J's awesome awesome friend!

Meg and J with Meg's bear lucky from school.  Lucky gets to do everything with Meg this week and she gets to report back to her class next week. :)

And here is the video for your viewing pleasure!

The Big 36!

D turns 36 today!!  :)  He is such an amazing man.  You know those LDS commercials that at the end it says, "Family.  Isn't it about... TIME?"  This is D!  He may not have a lot of time and his responsibilities are stretched, but the time he has, he makes it count.  He is always finding something 'engaging' to do with the kids that will help them learn, grow, have fun, or think.  He works so hard to provide for us and NEVER complains about it!  He is always thinking of others and is the BEST man in the world!  :)

AND..  because EVERY 36 year old wants a turtle cake!! ;)  

 We LOVE YOU D!!!!

RANDOM PHONE pics!

Here are some random phone pics from over the months.

 Father's day Cake

 Children's Museum

 Meg and Mom date for ice cream.  I didn't realize how BIG the cone was!

 Meg LOVES to rock climb!

 Logan boat racing at scouts.  They have to build a boat out of recycled material 

and blow it with a straw to see who wins.

 THIS was the first day of kindergarten for Meg.  I was all by myself for the first time in over 11 years.  It was a weird feeling and the house was SOO quiet.

 Darin likes to take pictures of himself with my phone, so I can see his smiling face :)

 This was our 12 year anniversary picture!  :)  I think we went to the museum!

 Z-man and Meg ready for school.

 The boys had a campout, so the girls did crafts and went to Ihop.  :)

Log likes to climb trees! :)

 HELLOoooo MEG!  :)

 Mom and Meg at Kings Island.

 We cleaned the garage so both cars could fit for the winter!  LAAAaaa

 Starting to get cold at the bus stop.

 Apple anyone?

 Beautiful J!

 Logan did a report on George Washington and got to dress up.  It was like a wax museum.  We would push their button and they would come alive and tell us about who they were.  Fun school project.

 Meg at chuck E Cheese for a birthday party.

 My sister moved to the neighboring state!  YEAH for sisters!

Ice Skating

Christmas break is almost over.  I'm sad about that.  I love having my kids at home.  I love not having homework.  I love doing festive things.   I haven't been feeling well.   It's been a while since I have felt well, so I don't do a lot of active things with the kids these days.  I was however able to go watch the kids ice skate today.  I'm so glad they all had such a fun time.  Hopefully by next winter I will be able to join them!  :)

CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Christmas is such a magical time of year.  It is a time that makes me happy.  Baking, shopping, pictures, smiles and laughter.  The older I get the more I am able to think about the real meaning of Christmas.  I love thinking of little baby Jesus and all that that means.  It means I get to live with my family FOREVER.  It means I can be forgiven for all the things I don't do right.  It means I have a Heavenly Father that loves me... a lot.  My little family means everything to me and THEY are a gift I get to cherish forever.  Isn't that cool?

Sooo, here is a slew of Christmas moments this year.

Making our traditional Christmas treat!

Decorating the Christmas Tree!!!

pictures to put on Christmas cards

Christmas creations--Darin won't let me call them ginger bread houses because he feels it takes all the creativity out of the experience.  :)  I love making these with the kids.  :)  I had an AWESOME frosting (glue) recipe made with egg whites.  It was super sticky--super awesome!

Christmas Sunday!  Aren't they lovely?

Can we LIVE in our Chistmas Jammies?

 

 Christmas Morning movie!  :)

This was a bit of a tough Christmas for me.  Since having my gallbladder out last year, I haven't felt well at all.  Constant nausea, dizziness, and a slew of weird things.  My body just doesn't want to function and I'm uncomfortable and struggling.  Although not feeling well, I was able to be with it enough to enjoy Christmas morning.  I love my crew!

Bell Choir

J and Lo were able to play in a bell choir for our Christmas Sunday program. They did a great job and loved participating. This was taken at one of their practices!! :)