jumpin jammin

dahlia's classmate had a birthday party at this play place called jumpin jammin. it was pretty fun. she loved it. i was exhausted when the party was over because dahlia wanted me to climb through the net maze and go on all the slides with her. it was just the two of us and i was really missing mason and connor. if she had her brothers there i could have just sat and watched them play. i liked the slides though.

family snow trip

we just got back from our annual trip to the snow. we were lucky again and got to stay at the cabin that my sister's boss owns. it is so nice to not have to rent one. we left saturday afternoon and stayed until monday afternoon. it is only about a two hour drive from our house so we had time to play in the snow on saturday before it got dark. we had all these plans about leaving early in the morning but i didn't finish packing in time so it was almost noon when we finally got on the road. you think i would know by now not to wait until the morning of the trip to start packing.

the cabin is nice and big. we stayed there with my three sisters, ray, and their kids. there was 6 adults and 6 kids in all. we got the downstairs den with a sofa bed and everybody else stayed upstairs in the two bedrooms. the kids wanted to go sledding right away so we did that first. we went back to the same place as last year only to find a big sign that said "no snow play." i was so bummed. we played there anyway though. we only had about an hour before it would start to get dark so we decided to risk getting caught. rebels. i was worried though. i don't like to break the rules. i hate to get in trouble. i am the person who usually follows the rules and then that one time that i don't, i get busted. we were lucky this time though and no one caught us. christina was making fun of us being so paranoid.

the next day we decided to find a legitimate place to go sledding so we could stay for a while. this took a bit but we finally found an information center that told us where to go. there was definitely not as much snow this year as the previous years. it was warmer out and the snow was a bit slushy in places. we hiked a bit up a hill to find a nice secluded place to sled. it was great. we were really the only ones around. the kids were so funny sledding. they were all so brave this year. they all wanted to go down by themselves. connor even went down the hill by himself. at one point christina got on a sled with four kids piled on top and they all went down together. we even got susan to go sledding. she said she hadn't gone since she was a child. of course we also made a snowman and snow angels. the usual stuff.

the last day we had breakfast and decided to go on a walk around the lake before heading home. there wasn't any snow around the lake. it was a really pretty day. i really enjoyed our little walk. the kids all searched for the perfect pine cone to take home as their treasure and then we said goodbye to the lake and headed home.

happy valentines

today is valentines. since it is our gym class day we got to spend the day with jen and her kids. ray took the day off work so he could come to. they are such a sweet family. always doing things together. they were nice and cooked dinner at my house while i waited for mason's class to finish.

we had yummy lemon shrimp dinner and chocolate cake for dessert. i bought a traditional heart shaped box of chocolates from see's for miles and the kids. i also got another one for jen and ray's family. i have never bought one before. i loved the retro idea of it. such a classic. dahlia picked out some pretty red tulips for her daddy. so sweet. the kids and i had homemade cards for everyone as is our tradition.

we had such a nice evening. too bad tomorrow is school. it would be nice to sleep in.

bird party

our friend's daughter turned five this weekend so we went to her birthday party. miles skipped work to go with me. yay. i thought i would have to take the kids by myself.

dahlia was cute and did all the crafts including one where you make a birds nest and decorate a felt bird that goes in it. she made hers so pretty.

the boys mostly stayed inside the house playing with their son's massive lego collection. he has huge plastic bins filled with legos and a train table filled with more legos. they were in heaven. it was hard to convince them to go downstairs to sing happy birthday. we had a nice time at the party and were super happy to get to spend a saturday with miles. too bad that means he will have to work tomorrow.

picking flowers

it seems all i do now is drive my kids back and forth from school and after school activities. i have become a chauffeur. i really don't mind though. i love to be with them all day. i am not one of moms that drive through and picks up or drops off their kid. i am the one that parks super far away and walks to the school. there is a bunch of us that stand out front and wait for the kids to come out. i like this ritual. it seems more personal than driving by. i also need the exercise so it is good for me to walk everyday. i wish i could walk from my house but we live pretty far from the school and there are a lot of hills. i should try it one day though. i wonder how long it would take.

dahlia and connor get bored waiting for mason to get out of class so they play on the grass and dahlia picks flowers. i should apologize to anyone who lives near the school and is wondering where all their flowers have gone. my little girl cannot resist picking a flower and taking it home. we have little vases filled with wild flowers all over the kitchen. of course i don't let her take flowers from someone's garden but i figure the grass in front of the school is ok. they are wild flowers. they need to be loved on my kitchen table.

nature collection

dahlia had fun collecting a variety of nature treasures at a friends house. such a pretty display.

mud soup

we had an unusually warm february day today. dahlia and connor decided that it was a great day to make mud soup. they put on their play clothes and i turned on the hose for them. they love to make a swamp in the dirt by the garage and play in it. i figure it is pretty harmless and who could resist two crazy happy kids jumping in muddy puddles? i am happy to see them outside again after it has been so cold and we have been playing inside most of the time.

connor was cracking me up. after they filled their swamp with water he ran inside to get his bathtub boat. he was driving his boat through the mud soup. dahlia got a spoon and i saw her taste it. eww! of course all the fun had to end with early baths and hot cocoa after the sun went down and it got super cold again.