We love us some snow days!

Yes! It finally snowed!!! LaLa and Dandy got the kids snowbibs for Christmas and the kids actually got to use them!

I hate ice skating!!!

Downtown LR had an outdoor ice rink for the holiday season. So I thought it would be a great fun family activity for us to all do together. HA! HA! HA! Let's just say that it was a great thigh workout for me! :) As soon as Benjamin got his skates on, he "ran" straight onto the ice without us and fell flat on his tushy, which meant that Drew had stay off the ice the rest of the time trying to console Benjamin. ME and I, on the other hand, made our way around the rink...one time...in about 20 minutes...and after about a dozen falls for us both.

And we're off! To have some fun, right?

The look of innocence before we headed off on our journey.

The look of a stylish skater.

Ready. Set. Fall!

 

This look was what I had to look at the enitre time I was on the rink with ME. You know that Drew had fun!

OK, so I guess skating a complete fail. But at least I made a memory with my family, right? OK, a bad/funny memory! I think my most favorite part of it was watching ME literally walk away stomping her feet and saying "I DO NOT LIKE ICE SKATING!!!" :) Maybe a few more years before we go do that again.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS BREAK!!!

I love Christmas Break for so many reasons!!! The best one of all, though, is getting to spend some much needed time with my 2 favorite little people!

I got to finish last-minute Christmas decorations with my cute helpers. Didn't they do a great job on the gingerbread house? Can you see all of the fingerprints on the icing? ME loved licking the icing! Ha!

Benjamin "graduated" to a "big boy bed" this week! We converted his crib to a toddler bed. Knock on wood,  but so far he's done really well with the switch!

ME loved getting to strut her stuff in her new monogrammed robe! I think she wore it every night during Christmas break.

 

And, of course, we had to get some time in with Jesus every now and then. I love that ME still loves to play with her nativity scene and that Benjamin now loves to play with it too!

The weather was so nice this week that we got to play outside a lot. ME learned how to swing all by herself, so I got to just enjoy watching her swing.

 

There's nothing better than getting to see the look of a sweet, smiling face!
I'm sure you're wondering where Benjamin is in these pictures...he was busy just running around in the leaves...never staying still!

We love Christmas Vacay!

Here's one of the many reasons that I love being out of school...getting to watch my kids make messes...er...uh...create masterpieces and having fun!

New York @ Christmas

Drew and I just got back from New York. Although it was a fast trip, we still had a great time getting to hang out with Drew's dad.

If you squint, you can see Lady Liberty.

This city just amazes me! It's sooooo crowded!!!!

Of course, Drew and I did a little shopping while we were there. I love how all of the storefronts are decorated for Christmas.

Drew was able to get Letterman tickets for us and his dad. It's always so neat to see how everything works behind the scenes! The night that we went, they just got finished taping with Tom Hanks (aww man!), but we got to see Jude Law instead.

We had to show off our VIP tickets to get to sit in the balcony. I promise...it sounds cooler than the actual seats were. But all in all, it's still so neat to get to see it all!


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I think I just may have the next "Lego Master" in my class this year. I mean this guy eats/breathes/sleeps/and wears all things LEGOS! So I had to take a few pictures inside of FAO Schwarz for him. I can't wait to be able to say that I taught this Lego-mind!

 

After the Letterman show, we walked around the city to take in the night life. And I got to see the Rockefeller Tree!!! Absolutely BREATHTAKING!!! Period.

Our purpose for even going to NYC was for a wedding in Conneticut. Mike headed to CT a few hours before we were ready to go, so we stayed in NYC and shopped around. We opted to take the train out of Grand Central Station later on Friday. I can't believe that the trains still run! We hung out in Grand Central long enough for me to start picturing all of the people that have come and gone in that amazing place! Of course, the hopeless romantic that I am, I pictured proposals being made way back when. :)

The wedding was a blast, even though we really didn't know anyone! However, everyone seemed to know all about our children and how "exceptional" they are thanks to one proud Daddy Mike. Ha!

As I already said, the New York state of mind is just amazing. We had a great time, but I am looking forward to catching up on my sleep. Oh wait...I have a two-year-old and four-year-old...I don't know what sleep is. Ha!

Let it snow, let it snow...let it stop!

For Central Arkansas, we had a lot of snow at the beginning of this year! And it was a lot of fun to be stuck at home with the best playmates ever (although it means that I'm school for an entire extra week in the summer)!!! It was so much easier to enjoy it, too, now that both of the kids can move around in the snow by themselves.

This was the first night it snowed in January. It came down in no time! Benjamin had no interest in getting all that gear on until he realized what was in store for him outside.

ME loved it, too, until she realized how hard it was to see while it was snowing. My little Diva had no interest in getting wet! Note to self...must invest in snowgear for next snowstorm!

I was glad that Drew even got to be snowed in with us for a few days (that should give you an idea of how much snow we actually got since Drew's company closed!) so we could all play in the fluff!

We had a lot of indoor time with each other and all eating etiquette went out the doors! Painting with frozen blueberries was a fun, messy hit! Don't try this in public!

It was so fun watching Benjamin trying to walk knee-deep in the snow and falling after almost every step. But he never gave up!

Who says that sliding is only for warm, sunny days?

This was another reason that I enjoyed having Drew home during the Snow Days. I'm terrible at building snowmen!

But do you see any snowman? ME wasn't impressed with her daddy's snowbuilding skills either. ;)

This was Benjamin's face every time we got dressed to go outside because he hates being confined (which I guess he felt from his snow gear) and then he gave the same face whenever we had to come back inside. To stay in or go out? That was the question for this momma when having to hear him scream. :(

We made several bowls of snow ice cream. ME loved helping me make it as well as eat it! I just wish I could remember why she was making this face! I promise that she loved the ice cream though!

I just love his expression!

Do you see the snowman? What? You don't? Look real hard at the clump of snow in the center of the picture. An original snowman built by yours truly and then kicked by ME.

You wouldn't believe the speed a slide gets when wet!

Don't worry! We still tended to the yard while it snowed.

Every time it snows, I can't wait to watch Dixie frolic in the snow. There's just something about watching the excitement/curiosity of a dog in the snow!

More indoor time. Benjamin has adopted ME's love for Dora as well as her Dora backpack. He insisted on wearing it while watching his little Hispanic explorer.

Can you tell that we had a few too many days of being stuck at home and could get away with almost anything? I think ME has a future career possibility as a makeup artist! It took two days to get this off!

Baby, it's cold outside! (Part 3)

I know this was sooo last month, but I am finally able to blog with few interruptions right now. And man, it feels so good to be able to blog!

Anyway, we were snowed in for a few days the first week of February. For a kid and mom, that's great because we get to play together. But for a teacher, it stinks because it just means you have to make up those days at the end of the school year...boo! But I had fun being at home with my favorite two little people and my four-legged friend.

"Look, Mommy...more snow!"

"Dear God, thank you for letting me stay at home today and play with my mommy! Amen!"

"What? Did someone say we get to sleep in? I'll take care of that!"

Dixie didn't quite know what to think about the piles of snow this time. She mainly stayed near the deck.

We finally got to try our hand at building a snowman! The previous week, it started to rain and the snow turned to slush when we were able to try building one. This time, the top layer of snow was frozen, so you had to dig for the good snow.

ME didn't care what kind of snow she had. She loved building her snowman! The finished product...I know you're impressed!

ME saw the leaf pile and thought she needed to "sweep, sweep" the snow because she thought the snow was dirty. Helen, your hearth broom is such a hit!This is what a 2-year-old looks like when she's told she has to come inside for a little bit to thaw out. Notice the empty milk jug thrown on the floor after her little tantrum. :) Luckily, this was short lived, thanks to Dora and Diego!