Snow Day - Finally!

Monday we had a pleasant surprise! We woke up to the ground covered in snow! The kids already had off due to President's day so we knew we could enjoy the fresh covering. The ground was completely covered at our house, you could barely see the grass, unusual for this area. We bundled up and headed out at 8 a.m.! Pete and the kids built two beautiful (might be questioned) snow people. I think by the time they had finished the back yard was void of snow but we sure did get some great sized snowmen!



Poor snowman - he only lived for about 2 minutes - those are boys for you!!!

Valentine's Day Sweethearts!

Aside from a nasty stomach virus in our home we had a sweet Valentine's day. Benjamin lost his first tooth on Valentine's Day - one month before his 7th Birthday. Lots of sweets for my sweeties!

Worn out making her Conversation Heart Ipod Valentines for her 23 friends!
Valentine mailboxes for bus drivers and teachers! We stuffed them with chocolate, special pens and pencils and post it pads and some other goodies!

Opening Valentine package from Grandma and Papa!

Benjamin's Feller's Cake

Benjamin and Pete recently attended the Blue and Gold Banquet for Scouting where Benjamin won the top award for his very creative "Feller's Cake". Father and son had to create a cake completely out of edible items with some sort of a scouting theme. Benjamin came up with "Camp Out River" and he and Pete went to work in the kitchen! I was not allowed to participate - even in cleanup. Benjamin won the top award - "Judge's Choice". He was ecstatic. He was also given his Bobcat Badge!

A Little Birthday Excursion!

I am so late catching up on my blog but didn't really want to miss out on the highlight of the last couple of weeks. The five of us flew down to visit my parents and brother in sunny Florida. We took the kids out of school on Wednesday and we flew direct to Tampa. For those of you who may not know, Southwest has some of the greatest non-stop, inexpensive flights to Florida. This was William's first time flying and really Benjamin's first time since he doesn't remember the three times he flew before the age of six months old. Sophia claims she remembers but at the age of 2 I think she remembers because of the stories and pictures. She has more frequent flyer miles before the age of two than most adults do to this day. Seattle to Tampa is a long journey. The kids did fabulous on the flight - it was SO much easier than driving 16 hours! We had an amazing visit with my parents and brother. I spent time shopping (of course), at the beach, walking at the preserve, eating my brother's fabulous cooking and an unforgettable day at Busch Gardens. We couldn't have picked a better day to go to Busch Gardens. The weather was incredible, sunny and warm, and it was almost as if they closed the park for our family! No lines, no waiting for anything! A perfect day!! Benjamin couldn't get enough of the Scorpion Rollercoaster and Sophia enjoyed the Cheetah Chase. Me?, I just took pictures. 450 of them over the course of a few days to be exact. The kids would have been content for the few days just playing in my parent's back yard. They found numerous lizards and explored for hours. We love visiting them! Thanks Grandma, Papa and Uncle Jamie for a fabulous vacation and celebration of my Birthday!! Uncle Jamie and Sophia walking at the Robinson Preserve.