February 2nd

February 2nd is a big day in our house.  Not only is it Wally's birthday, but it is also Groundhog's Day, which Luke probably knows more about than the average 4 year old.  What made this February 2nd even more special is that we woke up to some snow on the ground! 

Luke was so excited that it had snowed and he told Wally, "You even get to shovel on your birthday!".  Just what Wally wanted to do on his birthday :)













After some shoveling and playing outside, we decided to give sledding a try at an awesome hill nearby!  We weren't sure how long the kids would last, but they actually did really good and loved it (until of course, there was a little tumble and some snow got in their face and hands - then it was over!).

All smiles the first time up the hill.  After that, there was a lot of "Can you carry me?"


Heading down for the first time!  He loved it!


Riding solo!


Back up we go!


Now, let me say the first time the kids came down together, I was freaking out.  I was at the bottom and was expecting Luke to come by himself and Paige to ride with Wally.  Leave it to Daddy to do something I wouldn't dare try!  I was at the bottom yelling to Wally, "Are you serious???"  But, they loved it.  The video is full of giggles!

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As we were driving back from sledding, I said, "Good thing it snowed so we could go sledding on Daddy's birthday.".  And in true 4-year old fashion, Luke said, "And shovel!".  I hope 14-year old Luke loves to shovel just as much!

After sledding, we had lunch and naps and finished off Daddy's birthday celebration with church and some dinner. 

Here are some phone pics of our day!






You can't help but laugh at this picture!



Happy 32 Daddy!  We love you!

(I think I am back to blogging hopefully more regularly!  First of all, I have had no time.  Secondly, I ran out of space on Photobucket which I use to store my photos and upload them to the blog so I needed to find an alternative that was just as easy and I finally did!)

Our Little Performer

Both of our kids love to sing and dance.  Yesterday Paige put on a little show for us - enjoy! 

Oh and don't mind her outfit and socks and hair - that's how we usually roll on lazy Sundays!

And there may be some overlapping in the 2 videos.  I took the video on my phone and it was too long to email so I had to make it 2.

Insta-Thursday

Helping herself

Practicing our sight words everyday

Cuddles

Sibling love

Paige the hair stylist

Deep thoughts with Aunt Carly

Starved Rock

Sweet cousins

Fi loves her big cousin

Sweetness

Crazy hair day

Birthday Cupcakes courtesy of Life's Sweeter Side

Darth Vader :)

Wordless Wednesday {How Paige Eats an Oreo}

Puzzles

Both of my kids LOVE puzzles!  Here are a few pics of our puzzle fun one day!

Life These Days

(Some updates and catching up on pictures)

Life has been good for us these last few months, but I have to say I have been majorly stressed out at work, which unfortunately carries over into my home life as well.  We had a retirement in my department in November and up until about a week ago, I was performing the duties of both that job and my own, which was on top of just a busy time of year for me at work anyways.  Not to mention they decided to remodel the Accounting office so I have been completely out of sorts and have files in the hallway and other offices - it has just been crazy!  But, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel as I have moved into my new office and we have hired someone for the open position.  I actually feel some relief and am planning on getting my work schedule back to normal.  Thank goodness!

Wally got some great news this past week - he is moving up from being the freshman baseball coach to the assistant varsity (pitching) coach.  He has been waiting for this move for a few years and we are both very excited that he finally was given the opportunity.  Being a pitching coach is what he has always wanted and I am excited for him to share all of the knowledge that he has with the kids without the stress of dealing with parents and tryouts.  I have a feeling the kids and I will be spending a lot of time at the baseball field this Spring (and let's face it, it is much more exciting to watch Varsity baseball than freshman games). 

Luke just received a fantastic report card from preschool.  He is doing everything and more that is expected of him.  We are so proud of him!  They have started learning some sight words at school so we are practicing those at home everyday.  We taped the flashcards of the words they have learned so far on our kitchen cabinets and are making sentences.  It is crazy to think that him reading to us isn't too far off!

We are looking forward to our annual waterpark trip coming up this month and to the planning of my sister's wedding over the next couple of months.  She is getting married at the end of August at Starved Rock!

Musher Mania

Early in January we headed out to Musher Mania which is held at the reservoir near us. Wally & Luke went last year when the ground was full of snow and it was cold. This year was quite the opposite, but we still had fun.  Even without snow, we were able to watch the dogs run, Luke got to try snow-shoeing, and pulling the sled like the dogs.  We enjoyed some s'mores and got to pet the dogs (Luke loved this, but Paige was a little nervous.)  This is a fun and free activity that we are hoping to get to every year if we can!