Snow Time!

Several weeks ago, we actually got a decent little snowstorm and the snow stuck around for several days. It was right before my Dad and Kathy came to visit and the kids and Brian had a great time playing in the snow, (of course there was no school!) sledding and building snowmen.

Merry Christmas!

We had an awesome Christmas this year. The kids are at such a great age and were really into their presents and seemed truly grateful for what they got. It felt magical. We spent most of the day playing with their presents, but also found time to watch Elf for the first time as a family. I loved that even though I've seen that movie a million times, it was completely different to watch it with them. We also had our traditional fondue meal.
We went to church on Christmas Eve and Cameron fell asleep and missed the candle-lighting part. I have never seen him so completely knocked out! Luckily he woke up happy and couldn't wait to leave the cookies out for Santa.

Asleep at church, but quickly up and ready to leave out treats for Santa!

 Easy Bake Oven & PJ Mask Headquarters from Santa!

 My favorite moment on Christmas. Minds blown!

 An Elsa dress for Violet Anna!

 What's in the big bag? YOXO!

 Building blocks and a chapter book!

Yummy fondue in our pj's! Best. Christmas. Ever. 

Big Little Skiers!

On Friday we packed up the car and drove to the mountains for Addy to have her first ever ski lesson.  I wasn't sure how she would like it, but at least she was excited on the way there which was a good sign. She went right into the class with the teacher and looked very excited. I didn't want to be a distraction to her during the lesson so I didn't watch much, but what I saw looked good.
When the lesson was over her teacher told me she did a wonderful job for a first-time skier. She understood how to turn and stop. I wasn't sure if she would still want to ski after a 2 hour lesson but she was unstoppable! She went up the magic carpet ride at least another 15 times and did a great job going down the bunny hill. We were so proud of her, she looked so confident out there!
While Addy was in her lesson, Cameron and I played in the snow and he even tried skiing with some strap-on skis from a friend. They were a little small so they kept falling off, but he did a pretty good job and was definitely interested in learning more. I think it won't be long when Brian won't be headed to the mountains by himself because we have a couple of little skiers on on hands!

here is a video of each kid!

We're getting eggs now... Just like we used to

About a week ago, Brian went outside to clean out the chicken coop, per his usual routine, and he was shocked to find an egg in the coop! We had sort of given up on getting any eggs until the spring but it turns out Potpie is not going to let a little cold weather stop her. It was the coldest day of the year (yes, even below freezing) when she laid her first egg and we've had one a day ever since! The kids are super excited, but no one is more proud than Brian. We've enjoyed the eggs and they do taste better when you know how much time and care went into them. Congrats to Potpie and Farmer Brian for taking such good care of his girls.

Last Birthday Post...

By the time Cameron's actual birthday came, it felt like we had already celebrated it several times (because we had!) We still made it special and he got to open more presents on the morning of his birthday and have pancakes (his favorite). Since Cameron's birthday is so close to Christmas, the practical side of me always wants to get him things he actually needs vs. stuff he wants. This year 2 of his presents were clothes and a bicycle helmet. Needless to say he wasn't too psyched on either. When he opened the bag of clothes he immediately threw them over his shoulder and said, "these are terrible." When I finally got him to try on one of the shirts the best he could offer was "this isn't too terrible."
Thank goodness he had some awesome Dinosaur gifts from Chuck and Robin that really hit the spot and made up for my "terrible" choices.
The day after his birthday he also got to celebrate it at school with a little party. I think Cameron successfully celebrated turning four!

This is his "getting-clothes-for-a-gift-is-terrible" face

 One last celebration for the birthday boy at school, topped off with a birthday crown!

Relax

Between the presents and parties we had to find time to just relax with Papa and Kathy. They, of course, got to read lots of stories to the kids, including Papa's favorite, "I had trouble getting to Solla-Sollew" and Papa, Kathy and Cameron even managed to snuggle up on the couch to take a nap. We had to keep warm after riding the trolley! We even spotted an elf on the way.

Celebrate!

In addition to celebrating Cameron's birthday, we got to celebrate an early Christmas with Papa and Kathy in town! The kids of course went crazy for the gifts and we had a great time playing with everything. We successfully assembled, tried on or played with every gift that was received! We learned that the kids tell very creative stories, Cameron is extremely good at HeadBandz, both kids are better at Legos than Papa, but he is better at Simon (actually Kathy wins that award!)
It's hard to believe there are still more presents for the kids to get! It feels like Christmas presents should be spread throughout the entire year.

Happy Birthday Cameron!

Cameron was pretty lucky this year because not only were Papa & Kathy in town for his party, but he got to have it at Pump It Up! He had an absolute blast. There were tons of things to jump on and play with and the kids (and parents!) had a great time. Cameron was especially spoiled with great gifts and got his request for a Seahawks (with Spiderman candles!) cake.
Of course, no party would be complete without some sort of meltdown. After an awesome time jumping and playing and eating pizza and cake and opening presents, Cameron started crying because he saw another party that had balloons and he didn't have any. Poor poor child! Maybe next year I'll save the party money and just fill his room with balloons!