Jan 21, 2012

Mud Jumpers


Yesterday we had heavy rain and wind allllll day long...

The wind blew our pool up and off the ground, leaning it up against the fence. Mitch and Sawyer went out there this morning to dismantle it, and underneath the wreckage they found a fat little frog. Fat little frog soon became the living play toy of the boys and their neighbor friend (the only kid who didn't mind picking up and tossing the poor little frog around all morning), but all that stomping around and frog-chasing on rain saturated ground soon turned the side yard into mush.

Naturally, the shovels and rakes came out to play next.

...and the ground just kept getting soggier and mushier.

Delightlful to jump into (especially when your boots sink into the ground with that satisfying sloshing sound!). It was so gooey that Sutton even lost his boot into the mud and completely walked out of it at one point! The muddy ground soon turned into a wet mud puddle...

...which was SO much more fun to jump into! Everyone hold hands and jump...1...2...3...


At this point Mitch & I looked at each other and said, "Well, at least we won't have to rototill this area as much anymore, right?" We'll be turning this section of the yard into a pumpkin and melon patch this summer, so you know...we'll just pretend we're getting a head start on things, eh?

(Those broken pool supports proved to be excellent walking sticks to help keep your balance in the slippery goo)



Oh, the clean up? It was a breeze.

Because nothing feels better in the middle of winter than a blast of freezing cold hose water. I've never seen those kids run so quickly to hop into a warm shower in their lives ;) 

Dec 31, 2011

Happy New Year!


We celebrated New Year's Eve in traditional fashion - at home with the kiddos and lots and lots of party poppers, confetti, shrieks and giggles! The boys were already sleepy after dinnertime, so they shot off their party poppers around 7:30 right before they headed off to bed.

These guys couldn't wait to get their hands on the noisemakers!

Bang! Pop! Confetti, yay!

Simon has been fighting the stomach flu and an ear infection, so he hasn't been very happy for the past few days. He just started a course of antibiotics last night, and he's still pretty crabby and discontent, but at least his fever has finally broken. At first we weren't sure about taking him outside with the loud bangs + an ear infection, but he was so thrilled to be outdoors that we decided to go for it. He started off with a few small claps and cheers as his brothers shot off the party poppers...



...and his claps and cheers soon turned into gigantic grins and shrieks of joy!
(Yes, he has confetti streamers in his hair, haha!)

This is the first time we've seen this happy smile in about four days!

I had to drag him back into the house after we were all done! He would have happily stayed outside with those noisemakers all night long! :)

Dec 28, 2011

Christmas Pics 1: Christmas Eve

Thank you so much to Uncle Kevin for taking all of these pictures! My camera is shot, so it was really nice to know that someone else was getting great pictures of our whole family that evening! :)

Austyn, Kearsten, Kari & Me

Kari & Zane

Stella

(back l-r) Austyn, Kearsten, Kari, Me, Jessica, Ginnymae (front l-r) Chelsie, Krista & Jamie

Simon, overtired and sooooo ready for bed, clinging to Daddy's legs

My parents (aka Gigi & Granddad)

Sutton, Simon & Me

We finally kept sleepy Simon entertained with Grandma Carol's phone. If you don't have the "Toddler Lock" app, I highly recommed it! I think everyone there that night downloaded it ;)

Sawyer tossing his new light up frisbee - super cool! (Thanks Auntie Deb!)

Everyone gathering in the kitchen for the traditional holiday dinner of...pizza? Not exactly our standard fare, but it was way easier and totally appreciated since I managed to overextend myself this holiday season once again! It was SO nice not to have to cook anything on Christmas Eve!

Me & Grandma Ardy

Sutton & Sawyer showing off their favorite gifts - cash and a shooting star projector for their bedroom! The star projector is awesome - I want one for my bedroom now!

Grandpa Bruce, Simon & the popular light-up frisbee

Carol, Rhonda, Krista & Ardy

Dec 20, 2011

Dovewood Court


Tonight we took the boys to one of the most popular holiday light displays in the area. We had to wait awhile for Kari & Joe to meet up with us, so we took some pictures outside of the first houses to try to distract the impatient kiddos and take their minds off the fact that it was a chilly 43 degrees out. 


Yes, one has his eyes closed and the other is still sporting the remnants of a bloody nose. Boys. Gotta love 'em!

Snuggly fleece jammies and a hoodie...that's how I roll.



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These next photos were all taken by Sawyer, who would like to share his pictures of Dovewood Court with you all. He has gotten so much better with the camera lately, and he really seems to pride himself in framing out a good shot instead of just randomly snapping away!

 











He thought it was the funniest thing that he accidentally cut off Mitch's head in this family shot.


Dec 13, 2011

Candy...It's What's for Dinner ;)