10 in. of snow....say what?

Wow, two big snow storms for one winter. This time we got around 10 in. of snow.





A week later, the "S" word is in the forecast again. The first stuff hasn't melt yet. We can't get anymore snow. Sure enough we got around 4-5in. Who is counting anymore?


Brandon and Nicholas watching the start of snow storm #3!




Adam built this snow slide for the kids. They had a blast going down it.

In between the two snow storms I did manage to take the kids to the children's museum.

Christmas!

Wow, Christmas is a very busy time for us, but it is so much fun! We don't celebrate just one Christmas around here, we always tend to celebrate four...whew! Our first Christmas began at our house when Adam's parents arrived into town. The big hit were the marshmallow shooters. I actually just found a marshmallow today. :) They are a lot of fun, but those little marshmallows end up EVERYWHERE!




We also made our traditional sugar cookies with the kids for Santa. The kids always have a blast decorating the cookies. This year, I decided to have one child decorate one tray of cookies at a time. It went a lot of smoother and little less mess. You know me, I don't like messes.





The kids woke up Christmas morning and had a second Christmas at our house. They opened their stockings in their jammies. We had a quick change, waited for Adam's family to arrive at our house and opened away. Zachary was really excited because we showed him which presents were from Santa and he wanted to open those first. What a guy! Lindsay was excited because she got a new pink car seat from Santa. This present was for Lindsay and us. Adam and I got tired of reaching in the back of the van to help her buckle up. Yay, for big girl seats. Nicholas has my OCD, so he was busy unwrapping and picking up every body's trash. He is such a sweetheart and a big help.






Saturday after Christmas we went to my Grandmother's house to open presents there with my Mom's side of the family. We do it the old fashion way where everybody opens one present at a time, so it does take a while. We decided to wait until after Christmas this year since Adam's family was only in town for a few short days. Plus, we didn't want to feel rushed.





We spent our last Christmas at Sarah's house with my Dad, Debbie, and C.J. (our step-sister's son). This Christmas was just as good as the first three. We were very proud of Debbie this year because she didn't go overboard on the gift giving. It isn't about how much we give, but spending some quality time with family. Way to go, Debbie!




I am sad to say that all of the Christmas decorations are put away and we are back to "normal living." I hope you guys had a blessed Christmas and remembered that the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ, is the true reason of the season.

Dec. is crazy busy but super fun!

I have been meaning to post so much, but can't seem to find the time. Earlier this month we went on a tacky light tour with my Mom and her clients. Hey, we are one of her clients too. She is a realator and helped us find our first home. Pretty soon (it better be soon) we will be using her expertise again to find a bigger home. The kids had a lot of fun and Zachary is still talking about eating on the bus and watching movies.



Nicholas is too busy looking at the lights to smile at the camera!


Jacob, our ten year old nephew, had a Christmas program at his school. We took the gang to see him sing. He did such a great job. He even had a speaking part and did awesome. Way to go Jacob!



After Jacob's concert Adam took the kids home and I went out to spend some quality time with "the girls." I am sad that I missed this moment, but was glad that Adam had the camera. Adam spotted the coke truck with Santa. Adam found out that there are only 5 Santa coke trucks and they got to see one. What an awesome moment for the kids.




Speaking of Santa, we took the kids to the mall to see him again but this time to tell him what they want. They have made their lists months ago. We don't go out and buy our kids random toys throughout the year. They need to wait for Christmas or their Birthdays. You can call us mean, but they have way too much anyways and it is so easy to say, "put it on your list." Their outfits came from Adam's parents this year. The boys looked so grown up and Lindsay just loves her "Santa dress." Once Adam scannes the picture of the kids sitting on Santa's lap, I will post it.



In our house, you can't celebrate Christmas until the gingerbread house is made. I think the kids did a really good job this year. What do you think? Nicholas was more interested in eating the candy, then helping. I think he may have my sweet tooth.




It is rare that VA sees snow, but this week we got 9 in. in our area. I will admit that it is pretty to watch fall, but I am not a big fan to go out and play in it. Adam and I have been buddling the kids up (a 30 min. task) to take them out to play. Nicholas is a lot like me and does not like the cold. He cried the first morning we took him out because he couldn't walk in it. By evening, the snow had settled some and he could walk on top of it without sinking too much. Lindsay and Zachary could probably stay out all day and play. I wish snowboats and snow pants weren't so expensive because I would buy them some each year. However, sometimes we see snow and sometimes we don't. I had bought the kids gloves for Christmas so they got that present a little early. Adam informed that fleece gloves were not good snow gloves and to not buy them again. I wasn't thinking snow though, I was thinking warmth. Now Adam is in charge of buying the kids gloves. :)

Let the fun begin!

I have been wanting to set up our Christmas decorations since Halloween. I honestly would have done so if we weren't planning a late costume party for the kids. However, if you read my last post that was not meant to be and the party was canceled. Finally, we had a free weekend and we were able to decorate our home. The kids had a blast helping me decorate the tree this year. I always get a little uptight though when the glass ornaments come out. I am fearful that one of the kids is going to drop one, step on it, and then we will have to dig glass from their foot (no fun). Well, guess who dropped the only ornament and broke it? Yep, that would be me. I couldn't believe it. I am glad I didn't step on it though.

Not meant to be...

Over the Halloween weekend our family was hit with the swine flu. I was heartbroken for my kids because their costumes have been hung in their closets and staring at them since Sept. We don't take the kids trick or treating, we take them to the fall festival at our church. There they receive a bunch of candy and play a bunch of games. I enjoy it a lot more. We didn't tell the kids that they missed the fall festival until after it was over. They are still too little to keep up with the days and the time, luckily. Once we told the kids they were really upset. However, I told them that we would have our own fall festival in our backyard. Each child was able to invite two friends. I have the goody bags filled, the games planned out, the food bought and mother nature decided that it should rain for 3 straight days. Well, our house barely holds enough room for our family of five, so I knew we couldn't move the party inside. Plus, where would we play the games? I haven't had the heart to tell the kids that now their party is going to have to be canceled because our backyard looks like a swamp. I might have the kids dress up in their costumes anyway and have them eat a Halloween cupcake.


We did have all the kids put their costumes on last Friday at my Grandmother's house.

So Sweet...

Yesterday was a beautiful Fall day, so I decided to take the kids outside for a bit. I know the cold weather is coming soon and fast and outdoor play will soon be vanished from our routine for a few months. Zachary immediatly found a dandelion and picked it from our yard. He came running to me and said, "this is for you Mommy because you are so sweet." If I could have melted into a puddle, I probably would have. He is my strong willed child and we tend to battle it out quit a bit. It has nothing to do with me being strong willed myself, I promise. :)

Pumpkin Patch!

This year we decided to drive to Ashland Berry Farm due to the fact that Chesterfield Berry Farm, the patch that we have been taking the kids since Zachary was born, raised their admission price to $12.00 per person and that doesn't even include pumpkins. It was kind of sad to take the kids to a new place, but we fell in love and will go back next year. We probably picked the worst weekend to go because it had rained the previous day and it was really cold. However, this was the only Sat. in October that we could go due to other commitments, so we packed our lunch and headed out the door. Becca brought Brandon and Jakob and Sarah brought her two kids, Kayla and Jacob. Nicholas was the cutest because he kept calling all of the pumpkins "balls". We had a blast slopping around in the mud picking our pumpkins out. We were able to get 8 pumpkins for the price of $20.00. Now you can't beat that! :)

















You can pick as many pumpkins as you like for $20.00 as long as one person can carry them and take three steps. Adam did awesome!



Our pumpkins with the kid's muddy shoes. We had a great time.