White Everywhere!

We got dumped on yesterday; we were even mentioned on the Today Show this morning. Today the snow has stopped and the sun is out so we decided it was a snow play day! There were angels to be made.

Group photo.

Emma buried herself in the snow.

Tucker to the rescue.

The sled was brought out of course.

The kids discovered they could jump off this wall; something they can't do when the snow isn't there to cushion their fall.

More sledding.

Olivia has news too...she has officially stopped sucking her thumb. It's been almost 2 whole weeks now! YEAH...don't you think her teeth look beautiful?

I'm nearing the end of my 2 week vacation with the kids...sad...I've been having lots of fun and not looking forward to going back to work next Monday. Oh well...

Here's a fun little video of our sledding. Our neighbor was nice enough to plow a small track for us; Marc worked all night restoring the city's power. He worked 26 hours straight. Poor guy...he's so tired!

Group Photos

The completed snow fort! Isn't it awesome? We had to do a group photo in front of that for sure!

I thought this one was cute too.

Grami got all of the kids matching PJs. She wanted her grandkid picture...so cute. I know there is probably a way for me to remove Tracy's hand and camera...I'll figure it out later though :-)

We bought all the kids these adorable blankets from Cabela's for Christmas. Sophie and Marcus have the Whitetail, Olivia and Ceci have the Puppy and Emma has the Bear. They were also a hit. Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Morning

Elle arrived later on Christmas Eve so on Christmas Morning we tried to get a picture of all the kids...

Marcus wasn't very cooperative though; oh well...we'll try again later :-)

Santa did well this year. All the kids got Pillow Pets...those were a hit! Marcus got "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and LOVES it! He runs around the house singing "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch". It is so cute!

Emma got lots of cool gifts too but I think her favorite was her Easy Bake Oven that Grami and Poppi gave her. She ran up to me and said "Mommy, I got my own oven to make my own cookies!" Emma's dream for sure! She definitely has a sweet tooth!

Marcus got this cool horse from Grami and Poppi too.

It was a hit with all the cousins. Gia looks like such a big girl.

Santa also brought a microphone and guitar for the kids. Olivia latched on to that right away. She is a singing fool! I'll have to post a video soon so you can see.

Christmas Eve

The kids decorated a paper plate for Santa's cookies...

Cookies were placed on the pretty plate...

Milk, Cookies and carrots for the reindeer (except Blitzen...we heard he doesn't like carrots so Sophie put out string cheese for him) were placed by the fireplace...

and a Christmas story was read by Grami...we are ready for Santa!

Snow!

The weather was beautiful on Friday so the kids took advantage of it. Marcus tried his hardest to knock down the snowman that his cousins built before we got there. He did not have success though.

Uncle Wes decided to build a snow fort and recruited some little helpers.

They were busy little bees.

Even Marcus was a little helper.

There were a few light snacks along the way...

It was hard work after all!

Finally the kids decided to take a little break for some sledding!

Opps...they lost one!

The sled was being pulled by Poppi and his tractor. So fun!

Marcus' turn. He was inside at first but when he saw Poppi on the tractor and wanted to be out there immediately. Unfortunately we were slow in getting his gear on and Poppi put the tractor away before Marcus could get out there. Marcus was in tears. But Poppi saved the day by starting her up again! The result was this great smile on Marcus' face.

Sophie even got to drive!

After sledding the kids went to check out the progress of the snow fort! WOW! Look at that fort!

There's already a door!

And a window...anyone in there?

Yep! Olivia gives this fort a "thumbs up!" It's not quite done; Uncle Wes worked hard all day...stay tuned for the finished product in a separate post!

The kids had a ton of fun outside...it was perfect play snow!

Kid Friendly

We got to Grami and Poppi's house Thursday afternoon. The kids immediately checked out all the decorations. Grami just loves it when the kids play with her decorations. Marcus dug right in...

He thought they were pretty cool and fun to play with.

Gia thought the decorations were pretty cool too.

Look at that sweet face...such innocence :-)

Christmas Begins...

Nana and Papa brought their presents the weekend of Marcus' birthday so the kids have been waiting a while to open them. We decided to open them Weds night so the kids would have new toys to occupy their time while I packed on Thursday. They were so excited. Emma ripped into all her presents quickly. She got lots of new clothes and great toys. The best part was the Strawberry Shortcake dolls and house...those were a hit!

Marcus got all kinds of Thomas the Train sets that connect together to make a big village. He was super excited!

Olivia's presents were similar to Emma's and once again were a big hit! The kids had a blast playing with their new toys on Thursday and I got everything packed quickly with few interruptions. A great start to the Christmas fun.