May is always a crazy month. The weather is finally beautiful, school is ending and everyone is excited to just play! Here’s what the kids did.

Lindsay participated in a track meet with all of the second graders. She ran in the 50m and the 100m and she won 3rd place in the 100m. She was so super excited! She didn’t think she was going to do well because her foot was really bothering her, but she powered through and did great!
50m


100m

Logan decided one day that his tractor needed to be washed. He was just going to use the hose so when I told him I could get the real car wash soap out he was stoked! He was so cute out there washing his tractor. He really is too big for it now but he refuses to accept that and still loves to ride it.

We had s’mores one night for FHE. It’s always a good night for s’mores. It about gave me a heart attack having Ryan that close to fire, but we all came out with no burns. He was actually very careful, I was proud of him.



Logan can blow fire.

Made faces in the car



And just plain being cute

The Dance Festival at school. Lindsay danced to Lolipop and Logan danced to Rockin’ Robin.
Lindsay with her friends Sabrina and Macie.

Logan and his friend Kason.

Lindsay was in the 2nd grade talent show and did great and made it into the entire school talent show. She was nervous but did great! She took 3 hula hoops with her and just did whatever came to mind. She did a great job!

Grandma and Grandpa Madsen have lived in Utah for over a year now, but every time they just pop on over it still throws me for a loop that they live close enough to do that. They came over last month to give Lindsay a very special present. Lindsay is super interested in family history and loves to hear stories about her ancestors. My dad decided to make her a fan chart of her genealogy. It goes back 9 generations and it’s amazing! She has loved it and sat with my dad for a half an hour just looking at the names and the dates and finding similarities between my side and Jeff’s side. Jeff and I may or may not be cousins. Aren’t we all though? While they looked at the chart my mom had brought the comics from the Sunday paper with her to read with Logan. This was totally new to Logan because we don’t get the paper and he loved it! He kept the comics and the whole paper for about two weeks. Now when we go over to their house they both look for the paper hoping to find some more comics. We love having them close!

My neighbor, Sheryl, who works at the school, called me today to tell me something about Logan that made me cry. Logan has a little boy in his class who is autistic. Logan doesn’t know that and I just found that out, but it explains some things that Logan tells me about him. His name is Andrew and he is about 5 inches taller than Logan. He is high functioning which makes him too smart for the special ed classes, but it can make him being in a regular class difficult sometimes. His teacher, Mrs. Milner, is wonderful though and handles it all like it’s no big deal. This past Wednesday they had an earthquake drill. Logan had been wondering for weeks when they were going to do another one so when he came home from school and told me they had one he was so ecstatic! But he didn’t say much about it. Well, when Sheryl called today she said that Mrs. Milner had been meaning to tell me this, but just kept forgetting. I only pick Logan up on Friday for our carpool so I don’t see her very often. Anyway, I guess during the earthquake drill, Andrew was really scared and Logan went over and sat next to him under their table and patted his back and comforted him. Then when it was time to go outside to line up and make sure everyone was okay, Logan held Andrew’s hand and got him to where he needed to be. He did all of that without being asked to do so. I started crying as Sheryl was telling me all of that and was so incredibly proud of Logan. The other day I sent a picture to the family email (on both sides) of Logan reading Ryan a bedtime story.

My dad wrote back and said that he doesn’t think Logan has a mean bone in his body and I think he’s right. When it comes to other people, especially younger ones, Logan is so gentle. When I told him about what Sheryl had told me and how proud of him I was, he told me that Andrew never likes any of the drills and this time he wanted to help Andrew. Oh, my sweet little man! He has an incredible heart and is such an amazing big brother. He has never, not once, gotten mad at Ryan, even if Ryan has hit him or kicked him or broken his stuff. I am so blessed to be his mom and I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do next. We love you Logan!

As I was laying in bed last night, unable to sleep, I was thinking about all the things I wanted to remember about Ryan. He turned 22 months old last week. Wow. He’ll be 2 in no time at all. Where did it all go??? Logan and I watched our home videos for about an hour this afternoon, including many of Ryan when he was teeny tiny. Oh man, that baby was cute!!! Because of the experiences that I’ve had, I’m pretty sure Ryan is my last baby and I have thoroughly enjoyed him. I enjoyed Lindsay and Logan, but life was more stressful when they were babies. Lindsay was my first and when Logan was a baby, Lindsay was still so little that I was busy, busy, busy all day doing things for both of them. I’ve been able to sit back and watch more with Ryan and I have loved it!

Ryan must have his presence known to everyone in the room when he enters. He says a big “Hi” when he comes into a room, or if you come back from the other room. It’s a very low, husky HI and I love it.

He knows his schedule pretty well these days. He knows that when he wakes up it’s time for milk and as soon as you sit him on the couch he asks for his milk. He has been drinking whole milk, but just this week I switched him to 2% milk. I still microwave it, we’re down to 20 seconds now, just to take the chill off of it. Since Jeff and I have been doing Insanity in the mornings, Ryan will come down after he drinks his milk and hang out with us. Sometimes he’ll even try to do it with us. It’s super cute watching an almost two year old do a power jack!

Ryan has never been much of a breakfast eater, which is different for me since both Lindsay and Logan LOVE breakfast food. He’ll usually eat a little yogurt and MAYBE some banana slices. Sometimes he’ll have a snack before lunch, but a lot of days he’s fine until lunch. The kid lasts longer than me. 🙂

Ryan is such a good listener…when he wants to be. I can ask him to get me a diaper and lay down and most of the time he’ll do just that. Other times he makes a game of it and I have to pretend to be lost and he comes and finds me. It’s been this way for 6 months and it still hasn’t gotten old. He LOVES wipes. He loves to wipe his face and only his face. Not sure why.

He can climb up into his booster seat at the table and buckle himself in. He can eat with a fork and a spoon, but when he doesn’t want to anymore he hands me the fork and says, “Here doh.”

He rarely signs anymore except for when he’s all done eating. When he’s done, he’ll sit there waving his arms and saying, “DONE! DONE! DONE!” over and over and over again until you begin to unbuckle him.

He is talking so much and everyday it’s something new. My new favorite phrase is, “Ooh hel me?” (you help me?) It’s so adorable! He also yells STOP! at the top of his lungs if he wants Lindsay or Logan to quit what they’re doing. They aren’t always quick to listen. :/

When he wants to play with my phone he picks it up, looks at me and says, “Tank you.” It’s hard to say no to that.

When it’s around lunch time and I walk over to unlock the front door he says, “Logy??” because he knows it’s time for Logan to come home. He loves having chicken nuggets for lunch. He insists on having ketchup on his plate, but he NEVER dips his nuggets in it.

When you ask him if he wants to watch Mickey or Thomas, he’ll nod his head up and down while he answers you.

He says “bankie” instead of ‘mimi’ now and he loves to wrap it around his neck. It looks so comfy.

He knows what the ‘funny show’ is (AFV) and will sit and watch it for almost the whole time. His favorite videos are the ones with animals in them.

He can climb up almost anything now. He can climb up the ladder to the swing set, to the little slide and to the trampoline. He can come down the ladder to the trampoline and the other day he walked down the stairs on his feet, very slowly and very carefully, like a great big boy. I was so surprised and so proud of him!

He knows almost all of his letters (mostly due to Starfall on my phone), and we’re working on teaching him how to spell his name. To the tune of YMCA.

He goes to a little music class on Thursday mornings and he LOVES it. He gets so excited in the morning when I tell him we’re going and he yells, “Cass! Cass!” He still loves to dance, especially when we all dance to ‘Thriftshop’.

He is getting so good at sharing and taking turns, or at least understanding that that’s what we do. Last Sunday me, Ryan, Lindsay and Logan were playing with three footballs and every time he handed one to one of us he would say, “sharing”. He’s so smart. And when Lindsay and Logan are practicing their piano he asks me constantly, “MY turn?” That one he does still sign, too.

He loves candy more than cake and ice cream. M&M’s are still his favorite and he calls them M’s.

He says some of the sweetest prayers. His favorite book to read right now is ‘Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site”. He loves trains, but he is showing more and more interest in trucks and tractors. Thank goodness!!! Whenever we see one while we’re driving he points it out and gets super excited. Not as excited as he does if he sees a bus. He knows where all the buses are on our way to and from school and gets excited when he sees them.

He says “teef” when he wants to brush his teeth and usually does a good job while getting them brushed.

He knows the difference between shoes and boots. He loves wearing his angry birds beanie.

He’ll do just about everything Lindsay and Logan do, which sometimes gets him hurt, like when he jumps on our bed and falls off onto his back. Oops. Thank goodness God made little kids tough.

He says “mon” for “come on” and it’s the cutest thing when he says it when he’s concerned, like when we weren’t getting on the airplane to AZ and he knew we were supposed to. “Mon! Pane! Mon!” SO CUTE!

He gets incredibly excited when Jeff comes home from work, yelling “DADDY! DADDY! DADDY!” and gives him a big hug.

If I say I’m going to go take a shower or go potty, his response is, “I tum.” (I come.)

If he asks us for something and we say no, he says, “Pease?” And if we say no again he says, “PEASE?”

He says “I you” for I love you. When you ask him how he is or if he slept good he says “dood”.

If Ryan is in a situation he isn’t quite sure about, he’ll come over and sit by me and put his hand on my leg. It’s one of my favorite things.

He says “oopie” for “oopsie”.

Needless to say, we think this little dude is pretty cute and we’re all so happy he’s in our family. We love you, Ryan!

We went to California again this year for Spring Break and had a lovely time!

We drove this time. ALL of us. Ryan and I haven’t done the drive since he was 2 months old, and even though he likes the car a whole lot more than he used to, I was still nervous. We were going to drive all day Saturday, but when we found out it was an Emmy weekend, we drove to state line on Friday and finished the rest of Saturday. Ryan really did do great, but it was a constant thing to keep him occupied. We bought some headphones for him, thinking he would keep them on to watch Mickey and Baby Einstein, but he kept taking them off. Oh well. He did super well on the drive home and we actually made it home in 8 1/2 hours! Wow!

While we were in CA we had a lot to do. Jeff went to two Dodgers games, one with his brother, Chris, his Uncle Jimmy, and some friends. The second one he went with Lindsay and Logan. Ryan and I skipped out on the games this time. It’s probably for the best since we’re going to 4 games this June. We can only expect so much out of the little guy. The first game was the season opener for the Dodgers and they had a surprise guest come out to throw the first pitch…Sandy Koufax!!! Jeff said he teared up a little seeing him out there. I can only imagine! When he told me that I wished that Ryan and I had gone since Ryan is named after him. Kershaw pitched an amazing game and even had a homerun. It was a great game! Once they got home then they watched it again on TV. These boys make me smile.

The first few days we were there I had a head cold, so Monday was rough while Jeff was at the game. I had done Insanity with Jeff that morning and it took me until about 3 in the afternoon to feel slightly normal and not like my head was going to explode. My head did NOT like Shaun T. that day. After that I decided to take Tuesday off from Shaun and it was a good rest because by Wednesday I felt much better. But despite the head cold, I still walked the kids down to the park to play and along the way we saw lots of rolly pollies and snails. It was so cute to watch Ryan discover all these new things.

The kids spent a lot of time making tunnels and dirt pies in the dirt. They also discovered the hose was faster than filling up cups in the house. They got soaking wet!

Gotta love those Robin Eggs you get for Easter. They make beautiful lipstick!

On Wednesday we drove up to see Grandma and Grandpa Bocker. I can’t even bring myself to call them ‘my grandparents’ anymore because Jeff has known them almost as long as he knew his Grandma Snider, and he has such an amazing relationship with them. They aren’t just mine anymore. It’s always so fun visiting with them. Lindsay and Logan, and even Ryan, know who they are and we all look forward to our visits. Before they open the door we remind the kids to give them big, but gentle, loves. Grandma and Grandpa love our kids and I’m so grateful that they get to have a real relationship with them. This visit was different than the others because Jeff brought a new computer for them. Their old computer was from the 90’s and super slow. With the help of my parents we got them an iMac. MUCH better. It didn’t take Grandma very long to get the hang of it and now she’s a pro. While Jeff was explaining things to her, the kids and I were in the other room watching Tom and Jerry with Grandpa. Ryan fell asleep in the chair. It’ll happen when you wake up at 5:30 in the morning. 🙂

My Grandpa loves Tom and Jerry and has for as long as I can remember. I love that he laughs at all the same things the kids do. After we got the computer hooked up we went to lunch at IHOP, one of our favorite places to go with them. We had given them a gift card to there for Christmas and Grandma wrote back and told me she’d save it for when we came to visit. After that we went back to their house for just a few minutes, then gave loves and headed off to Disneyland. As we were driving away Jeff and I were telling each other things that Grandma had told us. My Grandma isn’t very open about her future after Grandpa, but this trip she actually told Jeff quite a few things about her plans. She also told me that her goal is to make it to either Lindsay’s mission farewell or her wedding. If Lindsay goes on a mission that will make her 94 years old. She can totally do it! We’ve got longevity in our genes! I sure love those two!

We spent Wednesday afternoon and Thursday at Disneyland. We had booked a room at the Paradise Pier Hotel, but on Wednesday morning they called and asked us if we’d like to upgrade to the Grand Californian for the same price. Uh, yeah! So, that was a really nice surprise because we love it there. It’s our home away from home! Disneyland in April was CRAZY. We usually go the first week in December and the difference was amazing. We still had an amazing time though. We didn’t even attempt Cars Land and decided to save that again for December. Ryan did great in the lines and loved all the rides. Lindsay was feeling adventurous and went on California Screamin’…twice! The second time she went with me and by half way through the ride she was giggling. She LOVED it even though she says she wasn’t sure about it. Silly girl. Logan could live on that ride and never get tired of it. Joy spent Wednesday with us and that was really fun to have her there with us. Thursday morning we got in an hour early for Magic Morning and got most everything done by 10 o’clock. We stayed until 4:30 after the parade and then we went home. Ryan surprised us all and took a 2 1/2 hour nap in the stroller, a first for him. Not nearly as long as Logan’s 4 hour nap that one year, but it was much needed and he was happy the whole time.




Lindsay and Logan after playing for an hour on Tom’s Island. Logan is sweaty enough to spike his hair up and Lindsay looks exhausted. Love it!

On Wednesday when we first got there, Lindsay and I rode the carousel with him and when we got off, Buzz was right there! Ryan’s face was so cute when he saw him and he was so patient waiting in line. I love the picture I got of him with Buzz.

He might like Buzz more than Mickey. We did discover that the regular parade stinks compared to the Christmas one. I was bummed that we had waited for it. The kids enjoyed it so it was all worth it. We love Disneyland and we can’t wait to go again!

The rest of the week we just hung out and enjoyed time with family. We always enjoy our trips to CA!

We were in California for Easter this year, which I realized both of Ryan’s Easter’s so far have been in California, and we had a lovely time. I hadn’t really planned on what the kids would wear, and when I was at Walmart the day before we left, I saw these two suits for the boys and fell in love with them. Don’t they look so handsome!?! I woke up feeling awful with a head cold and ended up coming home after sacrament meeting, but Jeff and the kids stayed and each kid had fun in their respective classes. Logan wasn’t too sure about the whole thing, but since Grandma is in the Primary Presidency he went in with her and then later decided to go to class. Ryan went right into Nursery and didn’t seem to know that it was different. We had a relaxing afternoon. I took a long, much needed nap, and the kids watched the first Lord of the Rings movie with Emmy. For dinner we had yummy ham, potato salad, jello and green beans. Ryan had ham and banana slices. The rest of the banana was sitting on the table next to my plate, and after he had gotten down from his chair, he walked over and as he was grabbing for the banana said, “Ooh ooh ooh aah aah.” It was so adorable!!! We all had a great big laugh and he started laughing, too.

I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that He lives and that He loves me. I’m so grateful that we have a special day to remember those things.

At the Elementary School the kids go to, they give out awards to one kid in each class every month who they think represent the theme for that month. The theme for March was “Confidence to Take Action” and Mrs. Milner immediately thought of Logan. She called me the Friday before the assembly and told me that Logan is so good at being nice to others, even if they aren’t being nice to him or being mean to others. He isn’t afraid to do what he is supposed to be doing and is a good example to his classmates. I found out that there is an autistic little boy in his class who I know Logan struggles with, but Mrs. Milner specially told me that Logan has been helping this little boy more and more. I am so incredibly proud of Logan! He strives to do what is right and wants others to be happy and I am so proud of him for having the courage to do things that may not be easy sometimes. I feel blessed that our kids get to go to this amazing school. I have had nothing but great experiences with every teacher they have had so far and hope the rest of our time there will be just as amazing.

Ryan HAD to go see Logan before we could sit down. That little boy thinks his big brother is pretty cool!

There are over 800 kids in this school. Do you see Logan amidst all the Kindergartners?

Walking up after getting his name called. He was pretty excited about the whole thing!

I love that smile. That’s how I smiled as a kid.

Way to go Logan!!!

Today Lindsay stood on the scale and it said 60.2 lbs. After over a year and a half of struggles for her she is now within one pound of where she was when she got sick. I am so happy! SHE is so happy! It was kind of funny that it happened on the day she was drinking her last Pedia Sure drink, like it was meant to be. She has grown a few inches in that time so she still looks skinny, but it is refreshing to know that it’s a HEALTHY skinny. We’ve tried really hard not to focus on the weight part of things this past year and a half, but on being healthy, and I hope it rubbed off the right way on her. I pray that this means the end of this trial for her and that we can finally move on.

Yay for 60!

I love being a dad. It is the most rewarding thing I have ever done. And one of the highlights of my time as a father happened last week, when Logan and I celebrated his sixth birthday by taking a road trip to Arizona to spend a week watching Spring Training baseball and just being together. That kid is so blasted fun, and I know it was a week that neither of us will ever forget.

On Sunday, the day after his birthday, we hopped in the car right after church and started our road trip — aka, the “carty” (because it’s a party in the car). That drive was when I started to realize that I don’t just like being with Logan because I’m his dad, I genuinely enjoy his company and think he is just one of the funnest people in the world. This picture sums up the drive pretty nicely (it’s a little blurry because I was, ya know, driving a car at the time):

In case you can’t tell, he’s watching a movie on the iPad, holding an orange soda in his left hand and a bottle of water in his right hand, and drinking a cup of root beer he has wedged between his arm and his chest. Oh, and he’s wearing one of my shirts because he was cold.

The two of us went to four games together: Angels vs. A’s in Phoenix on Monday, Dodgers vs. Padres in Peoria on Tuesday, Team Mexico vs. Dodgers in Glendale on Wednesday, and Rangers vs. Dodgers in Glendale on Thursday. The Tuesday game was the only one we stayed for all nine innings, because that was the only day that some clouds gave us some respite from the sun. The other days, we generally lasted six or seven innings.

Because Spring Training tickets are a lot more affordable than regular season tickets, we splurged and bought front-row seats for all four games. The coolest was the game against the Padres, where we sat behind home plate and ended up about ten feet from the Dodgers’ on-deck circle. Logan thought it was pretty cool to be that close to Matt Kemp (and Logan’s daddy might have liked it, too).

After every game, we would head back to the hotel, get our swim trunks on, and spend some time in the swimming pool. Then we’d go to dinner somewhere fun, and wrap up the evening with a trip to the hotel gym and then some homework.

Some other highlights of our time together:

On Monday, one of the security guards working on the field came over and gave Logan a game ball. He said one of the A’s’ players had asked him to give it to Logan because he could tell Logan was going to be a great baseball player.

All four games, we sat next to really nice people who treated Logan like a prince. The first game, I ran out of cash (not knowing that the concessions stands at Phoenix Municipal Stadium don’t take cards), and a cool older man from Seattle took Logan upstairs to get some ice cream. It was one of MANY ice cream treats Logan had that week.

Logan has his first several Dodger Dogs.

Logan had a blast playing photographer at the games, and he actually took some pretty great pictures.

The dude got a kick out of the fact that there’s a Major Leaguer named Logan:

Breakfast at Denny’s most mornings is every kid’s dream, I think. (Not pictured: the root beer I got in trouble for letting him drink for breakfast):

Logan also got his first Dodger hat and a couple Dodger shirts:

The players were cool, but we were less than 100 feet from Vin Scully!

On our fourth day, Logan finally got his first autograph, from Dodgers’ first-base coach (and former second baseman) Davey Lopes:

On Friday, Beth and the other two kids flew into town for a quick weekend visit. That night, we went to Chase Field for the United States’ first game of the World Baseball Classic, taking on the same Mexico team we had seen play the Dodgers a couple days earlier. It was basically a home game for Mexico — I’d estimate that 80% of the fans were rooting for the Mexican team — but it was a very fun environment to watch a game. There was a guy in the stands who is apparently famous, but I have no idea who he was. I just know that a ton of Mexican fans were getting their pictures taken with him. Here he is:

I used the panorama feature on my phone to take a picture of the stadium:

Then we spent Saturday visiting with cousins:

Sunday morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, did a little more visiting, and then headed home. Logan and I drove again (and I only got pulled over once!), and Beth and the other two kiddos flew home.

It was an amazing week, and like I said, it was one that neither Logan nor I will ever forget. I am so blessed to be his daddy, and I am so thankful that he and I got to share this experience.

What??? How is that even possible?? How is it that my little man who still loves to pretend to be a puppy, and still loves to cuddle, and still loves blankies be 6 already? Time is a cruel thing, yet such a happy thing.

Logan has always been a joy to have around. He lives to play with friends, to be outside, to ride his bike, and to play with Lindsay and Ryan. He loves Kindergarten and has made lots of new friends there. He loves his teacher, Mrs. Milner, and she absolutely adores him. She told us once that if she could have an entire class of Logan’s she’d be a teacher forever.

He has one of the most genuine smiles and he only uses it when he’s genuinely happy. I love how his eyes smile when his mouth does. I love his giggle. I love that when you help him wash his feet in the tub he laughs and laughs because it tickles so much. I love how much he loves being a big brother to Ryan, but also loves being a “little” brother to Lindsay. He is quickly catching up to her in height. He has become an excellent reader and I’m so proud of him for all of his hard work to get to this point.

For his birthday this year we played laser tag in our backyard. On New Year’s Eve, we went to the Provo Mall with Grandma and Grandpa Madsen for this party thing and they had laser tag there. Logan and Lindsay really enjoyed playing it and so I grabbed one of their cards when we walked away. I went to the website and saw that they bring the laser tag to you, wherever you want to play. I asked Logan if he’d want to do that for his birthday and he said, “YES!!!” So, I set it all up and we were all set.

He invited 10 friends, so there were 12 with him and Lindsay. The guy, named Josh, brought some pop-up tents to set up as obstacles to hide behind and things and they got started. He brought all different kinds of guns, explained the rules, and let them loose. It was fun to watch them running around the yard shooting at each other. Logan had a blast and that’s all that matters. Afterwards we opened presents and had cake. Grandma Snider was here visiting for the weekend to see little Summer so she got to be here for the party. Grandma and Grandpa Madsen stopped by at the end of the party for cake. We loved having all three of them here with us.

The day was spent being together and celebrating Logan’s day. The weather was perfect. Everything was perfect. We love you so much Logan!

A license plate for his bike.

New game for his DS.

Reading his card from G-ma and G-pa Madsen.

Bow and arrows from Lindsay. This has been a huge hit!

His first real baseball bat. The look on his face says it all!

Pitching machine!!

A net to catch the balls that he hits and feeds them back into the pitching machine.


















A batting helmet and gloves from Hannah to complete the look!

I got some some glow sticks to stick in the cake to be lasers. I thought it was super cool!

We got an email from Lindsay’s teacher, Mrs. Clegg a few weeks ago informing us that she had been chosen to receive the Student of the Month Award for February. The theme was Heroes and Mrs. Clegg said that Lindsay is most definitely one. She got this award two years ago in Kindergarten for her bake sale. We were proud of her then and we are proud of her now. She is an amazing girl with a big heart and she very much deserves this award. It was a total surprise to her. Mrs. Clegg didn’t want her to know about it until it came time for it at the assembly. She was shocked and oh so cute up there with her award.

In the last picture, the kid standing in front of Lindsay who is more in focus is in Logan’s Kindergarten class. He is at least 4-5 inches taller than Logan. The two kids next to him are both in Kindergarten, too. He is crazy tall!

We are so proud of you Lindsay Lou! We love you!

This happens constantly at our house and I. LOVE. IT.

I don’t consider myself to be a very crafty, cutesy mom. I don’t have cute things planned for Dr. Suess’s birthday, or for St. Patrick’s Day. I try to do fun things with my kids and make things special and I hope they enjoy it.

The past couple of years I keep hearing about ladies doing ’14 Days of Love’ for their kids or their husbands. I always thought that it was a cute idea, but totally not worth it. This year, however, I really wanted to do it. I don’t know why. Maybe I was feeling ambitious or maybe I just wanted to do something extra special for them this year. I don’t know. But I went to work on Google to get some ideas of things to give them. I didn’t want everyday to be candy so I had to Google A LOT to find non-candy ideas (I’m not THAT creative to come up with them on my own). I even had to find different things for the kids because there are things that Lindsay can’t eat, or Ryan can’t eat, or Logan doesn’t like, so after I finally found all the ones I wanted, I got to work putting them together.

And I have to admit, I had a great time putting them together! I picked a cute font, printed them in color and glued the little sayings on colored paper. It was a lot of fun.

But mostly I enjoyed giving them to the kids and to Jeff. Hannah was here for a few of them so I was able to give them to her as well which wasn’t weird in the least because I love that little girl so much! Ryan didn’t really understand what they were for, but he enjoyed each one I gave him. He was sick during it so he missed a day or two, but he didn’t seem to mind. After a couple of days, Lindsay and Logan started to look forward to what they were going to get. Sometimes it would be something for breakfast, sometimes something with their lunch, or it would be on the kitchen table when they least expected it. So fun.

I really enjoyed giving them to Jeffy. Some of them were so cheesy, but that didn’t matter. It felt so wonderful to do something nice and thoughtful for him. I had to find things to give him that he could enjoy, what with him not eating much candy these days. My favorites for him were the dancing together, going out to lunch, and giving him the 10 reasons I love him.

I enjoyed this so much I may just have to keep doing it every year from now on. 🙂

Pink heart pancakes for breakfast on Valentine’s Day.

We’ve had a great winter so far. Not like last year where we hardly got any snow. This year we’ve gotten lots to play in!

Our snowman we built on Christmas Eve just barely melted on like February 10th. It was awesome. On January 29th and 30th, we got two really awesome snow storms that dumped about 8″ one day and at least 12″ the other. It reminded me of when I was 10 and it snowed and snowed and snowed and by the time it was all over, the snow was up to my chest. In other words, AWESOME. Jeffy and I took turns shoveling the driveway. I have to admit, I have a secret love of shoveling the driveway. I ended up shoveling most of it both days, but that was only because Jeffy helped PUSH a BUS out of our neighbors driveway. It had slid in the snow and got all catywumpus in their driveway and drove over their trash cans. It wasn’t pretty, but Jeffy went over and helped push it a ways so that he could shovel underneath the tires so that it could get some traction. He’s such a stud!

We were lucky enough to have sweet Hannah Banana staying with us during this time and they all had a blast playing together outside. Nathan from next door was over as well. They made snow houses in the big piles of snow that I had shoveled off of the driveway. At first they were trying to make a tunnel through the big pile, but they got distracted and decided houses would be more fun. They were out there for a couple of hours each day working on them and just playing. Ryan followed all of us around and helped me shovel the driveway with his little shovel. So. Much. FUN!

He is one cute dude to take pictures of. You never know what kind of face you’re going to get. This particular day he was sporting some amazing bed head. 🙂