Life with kids

The living room currently is the location of two blanket forts.  There are stuffed animals everywhere.  Crumbs on the kitchen floor are a daily occurrence. There is a pink tent taking up a big chunk of the family room downstairs.  And a family of big cats seems to be living in our bathtub!

 So it is with kids in the house.  At times all the mess and clutter get to me and it is time for a good cleaning, but there is also the time to be thankful for it all.  The days of big cats in the tub will be short lived, so I leave them and smile.  I am glad my kids can be kids and have fun.  And when toys are so nicely displayed, why not enjoy the new decorations!  I remain so grateful to have the opportunity to be a mom!

Ice fest and sleepovers!

We attended the ice fest at the river museum again this year.  And we were prepared for the snow hill this time.  We had snow gear and sleds!  There was a bit of a line at first, but Timothy and Teresa got a few fun rides down.  They also found there own parts of the hill to sled on as well.

 The weather was perfect for outside play.  Not too cold!  But it was still fun to warm up by the fire and roast some marshmallows together--not usually a winter activity for us.

 There was also a snow wall to help color and snow and ice carvings to watch.

 Timothy was very interested in the work of the ice carver.  He and Troy watched the gentleman work for a good 20 minutes.  Timothy would have stayed longer if we let him!

Teresa spent some extra time inside petting the sting rays.  She probably would have stayed there longer had we let her!

The reason to head home was to get some dinner and prepare for the first sleepover/ pajama party for the kids.  Timothy had Eagon sleep over and Teresa spent the evening at Sophie's until 10:00.  They both had a lot of fun and I would call this first experience a success!  Everyone was a bit tired the next day including Troy and myself.  It was worth it for the joy it brought to the kids.

Merry Christmas!

Well Christmas 2016 has come and gone.  It was a wonderful time of celebration and being together as family.  Many fun memories were made and we are once again grateful for our faith and the hope that celebrating Christmas brings.

 We had a nice Christmas Eve at home.  We attended church, had a yummy meal and watched A Muppet Family Christmas while enjoying Christmas cookies.  Then it was off to bed to await Christmas morning and the giving of gifts.  Timothy and Teresa were most excited to share the gifts they bought for each other.

 We all got some nice things, had fun being together, enjoyed a yummy breakfast and took it easy on Christmas Day.  Troy and I had to decide if the weather was favorable to drive to the cities.  Freezing rain was a possibility, but with warming temps, we decided we'd be okay.  It was a rainy drive, but a safe one.

 We arrived at Susie's in time for dinner.  We joined Susie, Justin and his family and Grandma Judy.  It was more good family time, a few more gifts and pretty excited kids!

Awaiting Christmas dinner...hoping it goes quickly so the presents come sooner!  Teresa, Timothy and Ari had fun playing together.

Each of our kids got an experience gift for Christmas.  Teresa got to go to the MN zoo.  Troy and Teresa bundled up so they could experience all the zoo had to offer.  The zoo was not busy and the animals were up and about.  Teresa got some great views of the big cats which was a highlight.  Timothy will get to go to a trampoline park in January

Next we made our way to Grandma Rebecca's and Grandpa Ken's.  We celebrated there and again were spoiled with some new things.  A game for Timothy.  New high heels for Teresa.

And cozy, warm slippers for me.

We had some family time with Grandma and Grandpa, and lots of time with extended family.  We saw the cousins 4 times during our stay.  That was great!  Our Christmas celebration did include out annual play.  Timothy was Joseph and Teresa was the jaguar that came with the shepherds.  Abby takes a bit of dramatic license in her production!

There was much more to our week that the pictures do not show too.  Timothy and I got to try some Pokemon go at Susie's house.  We had some family movie times.  We played some games...including my favorite holiday trivia.  Although there was not much snow, some good times were had playing on ice and sledding on ice covered slopes.  It was hard to return home after all of this.  Although being away has some challenges, overall it was a wonderful Christmas break!