SNOW DAY!!!!

We went last Saturday to play in the snow and had a BLAST!!!! Things didn't quite go according to plans, but it all worked out.

We had our eyes on the weather report all week and it was supposed to be clear. Alas, it was absolutely not clear. We didn't have snow chains, which were required for the Sno-Park we had planned (and pre- payed!) to go to. So we decided to double back onto the chain- free I-80 and get off at the bustling roadside Shell station, where everyone else and their Mom's were all playing too! It was okay, I think there could have been an entire towns' worth of people there and there still would have been truckloads of snow to spare. The recent storms had left more snow then I ever could have dreamed of seeing in one place. It truly was beautiful and awesome... and a little scary.

I didn't take a ton of pics... it was annoying having to take my gloves off every time I wanted to snap a shot... but here is a selection of my favorites.


These poor trees were SO weighed down with snow. They looked so droopy and sad!
It sort of looked like an icing factory had exploded, the way the snow was coating the trees.





MaryEllen and Emmett were definitely the snow lovers. I think they both could have stayed all day and wouldn't have gotten sick of it. Poor Henry. He had fun, but he doesn't like his face to get wet, so you can see how that would be a problem. Plus, he didn't get the concept of gloves. He kept taking them off and then getting mad that his hands were cold. So adorably frustrating.





Aren't those boots the cutest?! Thanks to all of or friends who loaned us their gear! We were all so cozy! No one complained about being cold at all. (Well, except for Henry, but that was just his hands.)





This was the last run of the day for MaryEllen and Brian. Henry had been ready to go for a while, so he's the one you hear crying in the background.

The wrong side

Most days Henry is a pretty happy boy after waking up from nap.

This was not one of those days.

A very good example

I walked into MaryEllen's room the other day and found this on her wall. She had been playing quietly for a long time and it turns out she was cutting pictures out of the Friend magazine to do a little redecorating.
This was definitely one of those moments where I felt like we must be doing something right as parents!


She used Barbie stickers to put them up... kind of funny to see a picture of Christ held up with a picture of a pink high heel. Whatever works!

Under the influence of a very powerful gabba.

I know I've mentioned it before... but I once again have to give a shout out to my buddy DJ Lance Rock. Who else could get my into everything, crawls at the speed of light baby to sit like this for 2o minutes at a time?

Brian's updated pics

Here is Brian's most recent progress from P90X. He insisted this time that I post them, because he didn't think the last ones were all that impressive.








This one's definitely my favorite... awesome pose.


So strong, but oh so gentle. I sure do love this guy!

Christmas

Overall, we had a good Christmas this year, but it was definitely a challenging week. Our kids were SUPER sick from just before Christmas until just after New Year's, so we couldn't focus completely on the holidays, we had to focus on getting the kids well.

It started 2 days before Christmas with Emmett. He had a fever around 102 for a day or so before then, so I took him into the doctor, who of course could see nothing wrong except the fever. (waste of a $10 copay!) She said to just keep an eye on him.

We spent Christmas eve with my family and had a fabulous time eating, opening presents and celebrating Elliot's 6th birthday, but my mind was on Emmett the whole time... he was still hot and not acting himself at all. He seemed okay that night when I put him to bed, but I checked on him at 2 am (which is when I went to bed! I had to stay up and finish making his stocking!) and he was BURNING UP! I took his temperature and he was up to 104.7!!! I was so scared, but thankfully Brian was home with me and together we worked on getting his temp down and spoke with the doctor on the phone, who said we would be better off keeping him at home and giving him cool baths and medicine than taking him in to the ER. We both stayed up with him literally all night. His fever finally broke at about 4:30 am.

Needless to say, at 6:00 when Henry and MaryEllen woke up, neither of us were in very good shape. We opened presents and stockings, which I barely remember, and I went back to bed. About 3 hours later Brian and I switched off and he went to bed, while I tried to make the house presentable for his family who were coming for dinner and presents. I decided as I walked around in a stupor, just barely conscious, that there was no way I could make the complicated dinner I had planned... so, much to my dismay, we had pizza for dinner on Christmas.

Over the next few days MaryEllen and Henry each got the dreaded fever, and on top of that they had raspy coughs, which leads us to believe they had some kind of nasty flu. But neither of them got as bad as Emmett that night. It is SUCH a relief that they are all healthy now and everything is back to normal, and shockingly, I NEVER GOT IT!!! YAY!!!!

I didn't take very many pictures, but I did get a few good ones.


I was given the honor of making Elliots birthday cake this year, and since he is crazy for Super Mario Bros. I had no choice but to do a Mario theme. The one thing its' missing? Mario. I had intended to buy a figurine for the top, but after searching for a week, I couldn't find one anywhere!



MaryEllen and her Gingerbread house. Thanks Grandma Pepe!


All he wanted for Christmas was a sword... and he got one in his stocking! Thanks Santa!


the opening frenzy!



ME got a cleaning set... hope she can take a hint!


A Diego doodle pro for our budding artist.


The baby loved all of his noisy presents!


The kids and I made Brian this "Daddy of 3" shirt on Zazzle.com. Thanks Makana for the idea! We made them for all of the grandparents, too, and they were a huge hit!


Santa brought Henry this awesome Lightning McQueen Big Wheel!


Clara got a huge candy cane shaped rawhide. She could barely lift it off the ground!


Henry got this huge Hershey bar in his stocking. I had intended to give it to him in little bits, but I turned around one day and this is what I saw. At least he sat at the table!

There were no pictures of my presents, but once again Brian outdid himself. He got me a spa day at the Arden hills Country Club and a Cuisinart electric fondue pot. Does my man spoil me or what?!!! Love you Goose!!!!