YMCA Winter Olympics 2014

 They YMCA had a winter Olympics for kids during the Sochii Olympics.  We had been watching the Olympics on TV for almost 2 weeks so the kids were really excited to participate in their own Olympics. 

Landon was signed up for 4 events, Kadence 2 events and Kenzie just one. 

Kenzie was a little overwhelmed and decided to sit out during her event but the other 2 had a blast!

 

 

We had so much fun watching!  Good to see kids being active and having fun!  Grandpa Ken and Grandma Debbie were in town and were able to watch as well so the kids felt extra special!

Sun Dog.

I had to include this pretty picture of a Sun Dog that I took from my driveway this morning.  I first noticed it when dropping Landon off at school and had to snap a picture.  Of course I had to Google the phenomena to see exactly what it was.

A sun dog is a bright spot in the sky appearing on either side of the sun, formed by refraction of sunlight through ice crystals high in the earth's atmosphere. 

I had never seen one before and I will say it was breathtaking.  I guess it was something positive about the frigidly cold morning. 

Dancers.

Two little ballerinas.  Monkey see monkey do.  I put Kadence's hair in a bun and little sister wanted one as soon as she saw it.  She was a little disappointed that her "bun" wasn't as big as KK's and I had to explain to her that she didn't have as much hair.  I can't believe how much time we spend listening to music and dancing around the house.  It is fun to watch and participate in:)

I bought Kadence a new dance leotard and leg warmers and Aunty had bought her a new top.  She was excited to wear her new outfit to dance and looked adorable!

 

I dug out Kadence's old dance outfits from when she first started dancing and Kenzie was so excited!  She wears them around the house frequently just dancing around!  I can't wait for her to start dance class next fall! 

Sweet Siblings.

These three have spent an abundance of time together throughout this frigid winter.  They do get along pretty well for the most part.  There's the normal sibling bickering and fighting over toys but they do play well together as a whole.  I'm so glad they have each other and the bonds they have already built as siblings. 

 All 3 of them enjoying Kadence's new Barbie pool and dreaming of being in a pool. 

Taking a break to watch Rabbids Invasion-the new favorite cartoon that drives mama bonkers!

 Kenzie has a soft spot for her big brother and I think the feelings are mutual.  They have a lot of similarities in both looks and personality.  One morning on the way to school Kenzie asked Landon to hold her hand.  It was so sweet.  Then when he was off to school she says, "Mama I miss my Landy when he's at school."  Melts a Mama's heart that's for sure!

Sweet Valentines.

 

Happy Valentine's Day!  The kids had a great Valentine's Day at school with their classmates.  They loved filling out their own Valentines and they each had parties at school.  Ryan bought us girls flowers and some candy for Landon.  Our family celebrates love daily but it's still a fun day to focus on what we have in our lives and how blessed we are.   We celebrated with a family movie and some take out!

Oh...and this one had a yummy Valentine's cookie with a trip to Scheels...

Just Us.

Having three little ones can be quite challenging at times.  It is definitely the most rewarding challenge I have ever encountered in my life, by far.  My biggest challenge is dividing my time between them all when they all want attention.  I love being at home and being able to spend the time with them that I do.  How lucky am I?  I get an abundance of one-on-one time with Kenzie while Landon and Kadence are at school.  Kadence and I like to do a lot of "girly" things together so I get time with her pretty frequently as well.  I don't always get as much time with just Landon-for a few reasons.  1.  He's a boy and has "boy" interests that Ryan also enjoys (playing the iPad, wrestling, football, ect.)  2.  He's is totally laid back and can entertain himself while the girls can not.  3.  His age-he's able to be more independent.  With that said I decided him and I needed to have some time with just us.  I took him to The Lego Movie and for some supper.  It was so fun to have some time with just the two of us.  He is such a sweet, good kid.  It's amazing how easy just one child is.  I felt like I could actually focus because there weren't 3 little people with a gazillion different needs all at the same time!  Ryan took the girls to the mall to eat supper and look at puppies.  I think we all had a great night and need to do that more often! 

Silly Girls!

 These two girls spend a lot of time being silly together.  They definitely have a typical sister relationship.  When Kadence is in the mood they play together and play extremely well.  When she is not in the mood, that is an entirely different story.  Kenzie looks up to her big sister so much and wants to do everything she is doing.  The above photo cracks me up because they look so much alike! 

Kadence does quite a few puppet activities at school and also enjoys to do them at home.  Grandma Sue bought the girls a couple of adorable puppet stuffed animals for Christmas and they are sure getting their use!  I grabbed a video of the latest puppet show...

Adorable and Hilarious at the same time:)

Sioux Falls Jaunt.

We took a quick trip to Sioux Falls for the weekend with Arin and Gary and Sue.  We usually try to go sometime in Feb/March every winter.  It is a nice little way to break up the long winter months!  It was nice because we were all able to go see Rich at Sanford and all the progress he had made.  The above picture is a natural picture...what I typically get from the kiddos when I want to take a picture.  It frustrates me and cracks me up!

 

We had a jacuzzi in our room because we got one of the last rooms at the hotel.  It turned out to be quite the entertainment for the kids! 

 

We spent a lot of time hanging out and of course swimming!   The kids had a lot of fun and I was so glad to be able to get away for a weekend.  The best part of the entire weekend-our yummy Sunday brunch at The Pancake House.  Until next time Sioux Falls...