The Great Outdoors...

OK, so it was just in our backyard but I had to think of a catchy title rather than just 'Playing in the Snow AGAIN' or 'MORE Snow.' By the way...I've heard we're in for THE BIG ONE next week. Didn't we just have a 'big one?'

I finally got the boys outside today. Drew was upset at first because I dressed him wrong. I put his gloves on BEFORE his coat... After he was done pouting he ended up having a great time. Greta enjoyed being outside with them and I ended up having to practically bribe them (with a family movie night) to come in.

Their cheeks were red, their coats were wet, and they were sweaty underneath all the layers but they had fun. What an adventure!






Just wanted everyone to know that I am blogging during the time that I should have been scrapbooking...with my friends...and the Cricut. Such is life. Tomorrow is another day...

Snow Day!!!

Wednesday Jan. 28th

Finally, after all this crazy weather, my whole family was awarded a snow day today.

We got the call from Alliance (Jonathan and Drew) at around 5:25 a.m. Springfield (Michelle) called about ten minutes (or so) later. Nice! Chris got his call from the church around 12:30 letting him know that not only were this evening's festivities canceled, but he was not expected to come in to work this afternoon! That's a half hour before he was supposed to show up for staff meeting. Woo hoo!

We spent the first half of our snow day lounging around the house. I did a couple of loads of laundry and played around online. The boys played video games, watched a movie, and played in the playroom. Chris had to take Greta to the vet for a well check and some vaccinations then he got to come home, play around online, and play some Madden. None of us showered before 1:30! Should I have admitted that???

It's been snowing/sleeting all day. We're not (I should actually say Chris is not) looking forward to venturing out to see how much snow actually needs shoveled.

We need to go to Wal-mart and we're talking about venturing out for a late lunch. Who knows?! I think the boys will eventually play outside as well...


OK so now it's around 8:30 p.m.

Chris had to grab something in the Mazda's trunk (the car that has been out in the snowy sleet all day) and ended up having to crawl through the back seat because the trunk was frozen shut. Crazy!

The boys never got to go outside today, unless I count running from our house to my parents' house and back... My mom cooked dinner for us tonight. YUM!

Hopefully I'll get them out to play tomorrow.

I got an awesome phone call around dinner time. Springfield is closed again tomorrow!!!! Woo hoo! Now if only Alliance would call off again...

I'll keep you posted!

Meanwhile, here's a few pictures of our lazy day...

Jonathan took this picture!!

Jonathan took this one too!!

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Thursday Jan. 29th

Well, we never got the call from Alliance so Jonathan tearily (is that a word?) headed off to school. I promised him that Drew and I would come in and volunteer around 1:00. That seemed to make him feel better.

Drew and I hung around the house in the morning. We played video games, baked cookies, and I finally convinced Drew to play in the playroom while I showered...

Before we knew it we had to leave for school! We had a nice time and Jonathan really appreciated our presence. We learned all about geometric shapes. I took the boys to Game Stop after school to look around then we headed home.

Unfortunately, the boys never got outside. Hmm. There's always tomorrow!

Jonathan finally got his spaghetti and meatballs tonight and he said they were awesome (woo hoo!)

It's about 9:00 p.m. and my snow days are pretty much over. I think I can handle going back to school though, because tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!

We're headed Marysville on Saturday (should have been Friday) to spend time with our awesome friends. That warrants another WOO HOO!!!

OK, better go. I've got to get prepared to go back to real life!!!

Peace

Professional Pictures

OK, So these aren't Jessi's but here they are...

The King Family Portraits from JCPenny

Staying Warm

With all the cold weather we've been experiencing, we've enjoyed snuggling close to keep warm.

OK, so Pug doesn't dig snuggling with Greta. Who would have guessed?!

I sure do get to spend my life with some handsome men! I love you guys!

Well, I've updated as much as I can. The camera is empty and I need to spend about $500 ordering prints for my scrapbook. Peace and warmth to all my faithful blog stalkers...

Michelle

May Jesus reign in your heart and shine through your life.

Blizzard!

We experienced the first blizzard of 2009 early. Crazy low temperatures and lots of snow and ice pretty much sum up the last week or so. The boys enjoyed playing outside early on but now it's too cold!

We haven't yet got a snow day. We probably would have Friday EXCEPT WE WERE ALREADY OFF! Oh well. I'm sure they'll be another time...maybe Tuesday??? Ha ha.

The boys like making snow angels. Jonathan went first then Drew decided he needed to make one too.

Now that's the face of a boy who is having a great time!

Our yard has a small hill toward the back of the property. The boys still think this hill is slightly cool to sled down. I'm sure that won't last much longer...

Dad was nice enough to plow a path for the dogs to 'go potty.' I think he was having fun using his new Christmas present.

I took this picture just because it shows how much snow we had gotten up till that point. I know, it's not very exciting!



Here's Drew's version of a snow angel. If you look closely you'll see that Drew has a kitchen utensil in his hand. We made the mistake of giving the boys 'digging utensils' to build snow forts. I have a feeling I won't see them until Spring.

As you can see, the boys had a great time playing outside. It looks like Greta didn't mind it either. Can you see how much she's growing?!

Happy Winter!

Backtracking through Fall

In my endeavor to catch up my blog I FORGOT FALL! How could I? After talking with Beth I decided the best way to correct my mistake would be a large Fall post. Enjoy!

Jonathan's Kindergarten Halloween Party

I chose to take a personal day on Halloween in order to participate in Jonathan's kindergarten festivities...

We were allowed to take Jonathan home from school to get him into his costume and feed him lunch. We decided to treat the boys to a McDonald's lunch in their costumes. The boys felt super special when all the other patrons commented on their attire.

Here is a pose down from the boys right before we headed back to school for the Halloween Party.

Mom was able to come to the party with us...hence the family picture.

Here is Drew (L) and Jonathan (R) with Jonathan's teacher (L) and student teacher (R.)

This man is a teacher at Jonathan's school. He is the tallest man I have ever seen (in real life...not on a basketball court.)

All of the students were able to participate in a Halloween Parade that led them around the block. Drew was even able to walk with the kindergartners. I think he thinks he is actually one of the students. Jonathan's teacher treats him that way too. She's awesome.

Immediately after school we headed to Marysville...

Trick or Treating in Marysville (...because the candy is better...)

Wait a second...the candy isn't better...the company is! We decided very last minute (thanks to Brooklyn) to travel down to Marysville for trick or treating. As you can see in the pictures the kids had a great time together. They ran from house to house like crazy people! They were given many complements on their matching outfits. Thanks for hosting us Hellers!

Beth, I would still love a copy of that awesome pose-down picture of the four big kids.

Raking Leaves

Because of the size of our yard (and the large trees that live on our property,) we have to rake leaves every year. It's amazing that jumping in the leaves NEVER gets old! The boys love watching their dad flip and roll into the pile then trying to do what they just saw. After a lot of hard work they were all able to enjoy some good old fashioned fun!

I tried to get some good pictures this year...You can be the judge of that...

I love this picture of Drew! I wish I could have captured one of Jonathan like this too!

Aren't these three of the most handsome guys you've ever seen?


The David Crowder Band

Every year our denomination (church) has a fall retreat for teens in Cleveland (OH.) Chris has had some psuedo-leadership roles in it for as long as I can remember. When we found out that David Crowder had agreed to come perform we knew the boys had to go (they are huge fans!) With Chris's connections we were able to secure tickets for the boys and I and even a hotel room at very discounted rates.

Unfortunately, the concert didn't start until after nine and David Crowder didn't come out until around 10:00 pm. The boys were exhausted! Drew was ready to leave even before David Crowder took the stage. I reluctantly left around 10:30 pm and headed to our hotel for the evening.

This pretty much sums up our concert experience. We might need to wait a couple of more years before we try again!

This is the band that played before The David Crowder Band...Remedy Drive.

It's unfortunate that my camera can't zoom very well. This is David Crowder.

I'm glad we went up. The boys had a great time swimming the next morning and I enjoyed getting away from the house (and my teaching responsibilities.) We were even able to go to Legacy Village that afternoon and eat at The Cheesecake Factory. I think that might be my favorite restaurant. I highly recommend Craig's Crazy Carrot Cake Cheesecake! YUMMY!

This concludes my endeavor to catch my faithful blog stalkers up on our fall activities. Thanks for reading! More to come...soon... (I don't have school tomorrow!)