It Snowed!

team work on the sledding hill
snow angel!

Let me just go ahead and take care of this driveway

still something not quite right about that hill!

snowman!

ready, set, go!

Mr. Snowwoman in all her glory

maybe the neighbors didn't need their lawn shoveled after all

oh just look at those rosy cheeks!

wahoooo!

at it again!

I mean of course Shelby and I had to try it too!

hey, buddy.

Last time it snowed it just didn't quite cut it, but this time we got to pull out the snowsuits and everything! We did it all, sledding, shoveling, snow angels, and a snowman, er, I mean snow-woman. We had a great time and I was happy even Shelby got to play with us. I mean, you know those high schoolers, they only do fun stuff against their will! ;) Most of it has already melted today and hopefully spring is right around the corner. This was the perfect amount for a little fun and a happy farewell!

Tub Time!

I haven't taken any tub pictures in a while and although now that the kids are older, they are also harder to share, I had to share just a few! Sophia is still into taking baths as opposed to showers and Leo is definitely not into the shower either so they are still thrown into the tub together. It is time efficient, but it is certainly not noise, water, or craziness efficient! ;) They love it though, so we just prepare ourselves for the mayhem we call bath time. One of Sophia's favorite toys, in and out of the tub, is Turtleous (pictured above). It has come to our attention recently that Turtleous is a baby and should not be thrown into the tub on her own because she cannot swim.

Happy Birthday, Cooper!

The birthday boy smiling over the Valentine big cousin Sophia made!
I wanted to include a few pictures of Lara's decor b/c she is a party planner after my own heart! Everything was tied into a theme, owls, and I love it! The food was all labeled super cute and there were pictures of the birthday boy everywhere! The party favors were suckers and bags of birdseed...adorable! And since it snowed here today it was perfect!

each table had a little tree with hanging pics of Cooper too!

this kid really does love his chocolate

love this picture...my red clad cuties!

whoooo, tissue paper!

his birthday cake!

Cooper and his daddy, Uncle Tom

cake time!

Sophia and Leo's little cousin, Cooper, turned one last week! Yay! He surprised everyone by coming a couple of months early and Lara was very ill when he arrived and had to be hospitalized, so we were all even mor thankful for this big day of celebration! But it's been a pretty fantastic year as they are both in excellent health now and he's growing up so big and strong! His party was owl themed and my kids always love a party, so we had a good time! Happy birthday, Coop!

Making Valentines

Leo went free style with the celery

while Sophia perfected the rose technique

a close up of the finished product

Mommy, be mine?

can you tell he enjoyed licking the bowl?!

heart shaped brownies for everyone!

decorating with candy hearts, M&Ms and frosting

some of us chose to just eat the frosting from the bowl

the next day? more Valentines of course!

So I busted out my bag of Valentine craft supplies the other day and I survived! ;) Now that Leo is a little older, craft time is way better! He still makes a giant mess but at least his goal now is to actually create crafts whereas before it was mostly to seek and destroy whatever craft and/or supplies Sophia was using. This is better. I saw this adorable idea to use a celery stem as a flower stamp so we tried it out and they turned out really cute. I will definitely hang on to this idea! They also used some doilies and stickers and even Shelby joined in the fun. For a special treat we made heart shaped brownies to decorate, I even found raspberry chocolate M&Ms...yum! Sophia has her school party today and I'm sure we'll have Valentine themed activities and treats tomorrow! I already made some chocolate strawberry muffins for her teachers and managed to keep a few extra for us!

Football with Dad

Super Snacks for a Super Bowl!

This picture just cracks me up...he was waiting to be found

here I am!!

snuggles with her Papi

I don't care too much about the Super Bowl, well really football in general, but of course it's like a national holiday for Charlie, so I bent the rules and let the kids eat dinner in front of the TV with Daddy. We had quite a feast of pizza, chips and queso and cookies! The only part I really care about, the commercials, I still didn't really get to see because I was running after the kids and tending to the kitchen, but at least I've seen a few in reruns!

Cruise Pics

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So I should probably start with a giant shout-out to our families because without them we could have never done this! They are so amazing and we are truly so thankful that they are willing to help so that Charlie and I can get a little time away! We were able to join some friends for another cruise this year. This time it was only 5 days and we sailed to Jamaica and Grand Cayman (out of Miami) on Celebrity. The cruise is organized by someone from our running club*, and I really do use that term loosely, so there are runners (called Hashers) from all over the US who come as part of our group. All in all there were about 25 of us, but we mostly hung with our close friends from KC.

The kids did the first half of the week with Sue and Anne and the second half of the week with my mom and Stacy. The kids were so, so, SO excited about their "stay-cation" and were not sad one little bit when we left! In fact, as soon as we dropped Sophia and Leo off at Sue's on Thursday night, Sue closed the door as we were pulling out of the driveway and Sophia turns to her and says, "let the spoiling begin, Grandma!" Too funny! We called and checked in every day but they were both plucky and content.

On our end, we stayed in Miami the night before our cruise and ran with the Miami branch of our group. We boarded the ship on Saturday afternoon and loved our room! We even got a fruit basket and champagne! Ooh lala! We sailed the first day, then hit Jamaica and hashed with them on the second. They were kind enough to drive down from Kingston, a 3 hour drive, and set up a trail for us and cook us lunch on the beach. The next day we went to Grand Cayman where our good friend Shelly turned 50. We did a party bus to the distillery and a local brewery, a jerk chicken place, a local bar and then back to the ship. The last day was a sea day and I loved laying out! The weather was mostly gorgeous and any excuse I can have to lay in the sun I'll take it! We stayed in Miami one final night before arriving home this past Friday. It was a great time and I am so thankful I was able to connect with my hubby again! We both needed some time away! Thanks a million to our awesome family and friends who were able to lend a hand and make it happen! We love you!!!

* Here's a little bit of basic info about our running group for those of you who may be unfamiliar...it's called the Hash House Harriers and each run is really a trail set by the leader called a Hare. The Hare leaves flour marks (hashes)for the pack to find and follow. Sometimes the hare tries to be tricky, but certain marks mean certain things. At the end we usually drink some beer and sing some songs. There are Hash Groups in all kinds of cities all of over the world.

Better Late than Never

time for presents!

Baby!

Lauren and Aubrey enjoy dessert

Traditionally we get together with Jill and her family for a Christmas celebration. This year it was a little late! :) Between the holidays and various other issues and sicknesses we just didn't get together until this weekend, but what better way to stretch out those presents, right?! We had dinner and the kids played and I actually didn't take many pictures at all. They all loved their brownie sundaes for desserts and were very patient in waiting until after dinner to open presents! Sophia got a sparkly pink Caboodle that she loves and Leo has been carrying around his Dapper Dan doll all week!