Snowmageddon 2015

The weather the past two weeks has been crazy!  I was just thinking last month what a mild winter we have had and then we got slammed with two weeks of ice, snow and freezing temperatures.  We have now missed three days of school and I'm hoping this is going to be the last round of winter storms for this year. 

 

The kids have loved getting a taste of what a real winter looks like and have made lots of memories playing in the ice/snow.  The first two days we only had ice.  The kids looked out the window and saw our neighbors Grace and Luke sliding down our hill in a raft, so they quickly got dressed in whatever they could find and raced outside.  They only lasted about 15 minutes before they wanted to come in and sit by the fire to warm up!

Three days later, our next round of winter weather blew in, but this time we got "real" snow (as Parker called it!).  It started while we were at school so I checked the kids out of class when I left at noon and we headed home to play in the snow.  The kids loved getting to make snow angels and throw some snowballs at each other, but the snow wouldn't stick enough to make a snowman. 

Eden's favorite part was eating the snow!

Today we are out of school for our third day and the kids have had a lot of fun playing with our neighbors in the snow.  They got to sled down the neighbors hill and even made a very small snowman. 

I'm glad that the kids finally got to experience some snow.  We have not had snow since Lily was a newborn and I know they've enjoyed getting to play and have fun with their friends in the snow.  I hope this is the last of the winter weather.  I'm definitely ready for some sunnier and warmer temperatures around here, especially since spring break starts next week!

Valentine's Day 2015

I hated that I couldn't be with the kids on Valentine's Day this year, but I knew my mom would make it a special day for them.  On Friday night, Emily and the kids came over for dinner and they all got to make their own heart-shaped pizza. 

They also decorated Valentine's cookies that Granna and Lily had made earlier in the day and made a special Valentine's Day hat!

On Saturday morning, the kids went to breakfast with Grandma and Papa and the got to go out to their house to play for the afternoon.  Before they left, Granna gave them a Valentine surprise from me and Cory.

On Sunday morning, Parker woke up with the stomach bug.  When Granna and the girls went to Kroger to get him some crackers and Gatorade, they were offered a FREE Valentine's balloon.  Of course they chose the biggest balloons in the store!

Every morning while we were gone on our trip, Granna made a special breakfast for the kids, including heart shaped cinnamon rolls, heart shaped muffins, and heart shaped pancakes.  She spoils them for sure!

I was sad to be away from the kids over Valentine's Day but I don't think they missed us one little bit!  I am so thankful that my parents are willing to watch them for a few day so Cory and I can get away. 

Valentine's Day Parties

Another thing we missed while we were gone were the kid's Valentine's Day parties at school.  I hated being away for so many special events but since Dr. Ranelle chooses the dates of our trip, I had no control over what we missed.  Luckily, Granna stepped up and did a great job filling my shoes while I was gone! 

 

Lily had a small party in her preschool class.  Due to lack of room in her classroom, parents are not invited to the party, so we got a few pics of her before she left for school.  She was so excited about passing out her valentines to her friends!

And of course she had to have a picture with one of her best friends...Brinkley!  She loves that dog so much!

Parker's party was the one that I was most stressed about missing because I am room mother.  Luckily, Mrs. Humphreys likes to keep her parties pretty low key and I was able to do most of the planning before I left.  Parker's class was reading books about Clifford the Big Red Dog so we made that the theme of the party.  We served puppy chow and dog bone cookies and had Big Red soda to drink.  Instead of plates, each child got a dog bowl with their name on it!  It was a simple but fun party and my mom said the kids had a lot of fun!

Mrs. Humphreys surprised her class with drinks from Sonic on the morning of the party!  Parker got a root beer to drink throughout the day!

I asked a friend of mine to make the dog bone cookies for our party and she decided to go above and beyond what I asked for.  She also made these adorable Clifford cookies in addition to the dog bones!  SO CUTE!!

Eden's party was pretty low key too!  We made her a kitty cat box for her valentines that turned out very cute!  She loved looking at all the valentines from her friends!

How many hearts can she stack up before they fall down?!?!

I am so thankful for my mom for helping with all three Valentine's Day parties while we were gone!  I know they all had a great time celebrating with their friends at school!

AWANA Derby Car Races

While we were in Beaver Creek, the kids were staying busy back at home.  This girl was busy winning her very first trophy at the AWANA derby car race.

I was quite disappointed when I found out that the derby car races were going to be while we were on our trip. This is such a fun night for our AWANA kids!  At first, I thought we would just skip this year's race but Parker and Eden were so upset about not getting to race a car that we went ahead and let them make one.  I'll admit that we didn't spend as much time and effort as we did last year and did not expect either one of our cars to perform well.  Imagine our surprise when my mom texted us and told us that Eden's car kept winning and winning!  Parker's car lost quickly but we were so proud of the way that he cheered Eden on!  He was just as excited about her winning and it didn't even seem to bother him that his car lost.  Eden ended up getting 3rd place which earned her a trophy!  She was so excited and could not wait to show us her trophy when we got back from our trip!

The Cubbies don't make their own derby cars but race Matchbox cars instead.  Lily chose Holly Shiftwell to race this year.

The winners!

Enjoying a snack with Mrs. Suellen!

I know this picture is small but if you look closely, you can see Parker (on the left) cheering on Eden's car! (This race was the top four cars and Eden's is the one on the far right.)

As much as we hated to miss the races, we were so proud of both Eden and Parker on how they performed that night.  Next year our goal will be to get both kids to place in the top 5!