Snow Day!

The weather was pretty yucky and rained pretty much all of yesterday and into the evening.  That turned to ice and it began snowing around 3:30 am today.  We woke up to a blanket of white this morning.  Landon knew immediately when he woke up and came in excited as ever to tell us to wake up and come look out the window at the snow.  They were all excited about the snow and begging to play outside so we told them they could go outside after we got home from church.  It was pretty cold with a brutal wind so I knew that it was probably going to take longer to get them all dressed than they would actually spend outside but thankfully Ryan reminded me that it didn't matter because they were so excited.  So we bundled them all up and they were off to help Ryan shovel.

 Kenzie thought playing outside was the best thing ever.  She looked so adorable in her snow pants and her hat over her eyes that I just couldn't stop taking pictures of her!

Kadence rarely gets cold outside and had a blast.  She is just a flash of pink and I love it.  The funny thing was that she was wearing snow pants and shoes that were 2 sizes too small for her (we went shopping for some boots and snow pants this afternoon for the poor girl.)

 So.Much.Fun.

 They were out longer than I would have guessed and came inside looking adorable with the cutest little rosy cheeks.  Nothing a little hot cocoa doesn't cure...

The first of many treks outside to play in the snow!

NDSU/SDSU Game!

Ryan and I were fortunate enough to go to the Bison/Jackrabbit football game.  This town is absolutely insane about the Bison so it was pretty fun.  Ryan's boss gave him 2 of his tickets and they were awesome seats!  I forgot to snap photos with my phone unfortunately.  The seats were at the 40 yard line 3rd row up right behind the SDSU bench.  The seats were so phenomenal that I never lost interest! It was a great game with the Bison winning just 20-17.  Ryan wore his blue SDSU shirt and I kid you not he was the only person in the entire section without green and yellow.  He stuck out like a sore thumb!  Some people we knew that were at the game texted him and said they could see him because he was sticking out so much and they were clear across the stadium!

Landon had a family project for school last week where he had to "disguise" a turkey.  Ryan came up with the idea to disguise the turkey as a Jackrabbit.  It actually turned out pretty cute and Landon was excited about sharing it with his class.  Although, he kept saying NDSU instead of SDSU which was driving his dad insane!  I'm guessing this disguised turkey is also driving a lot of people insane on the wall at school since this town is so obsessed with the Bison!

Ryan and I met up with some friends after the game and ended up having a great date day away from the children!  They were at home and did awesome with a new babysitter...I think they were actually a little disappointed when we came home!

Happy Hat Day Friday!

Today was Hat Day for Kadence's school today! She was so excited to wear her hat that she was asking if it were time to go all morning.  It was a fun way to kick off the weekend!

 This little girl probably has more fashion sense than I do at age 4.  I think I may have some problems when it comes to shopping when she gets a bit older.  I was cracking up because these were the poses she was giving me when all I asked was to take a picture of her.  She has such a fun little personality already.

Kenzie had to get in the picture of course.  It was adorable she was looking at Kadence and trying to pose just like her.

Then she gave me her gymnastics "Ta-Da!"  What a ham! Have a good weekend! :)

Pretty Girl.

This little girl had a big big day today.  She has been having some separation anxiety for a couple months and the school drop off has been painful.  I actually went and talked to a children's counselor about the anxiety.  I have had 2 meetings with her one with Kadence and one without.  The meetings have gone extremely well and we have changed some ways in dealing with Kadence that appear to be working.  She has not referred us to anyone and thinks Kadence is just experiencing some attention-seeking behaviors.  This makes me feel so much better!

Today when I dropped Kadence off at school we had NO TEARS.  She was just as proud of herself as I was!  Kenzie and I made a trip to get the new Tinker Bell movie after the drop off to have a surprise for her when I picked her up.  Kadence was happy and still proud of herself.  She is such a sweet, smart little girl and I just don't want her to struggle anymore!  I hope the new behavior continues!  Love this little princess so so much.

6.

I say this all the time and I am going to say it again.  I can't believe my boy is 6 years old.  The time just keeps going faster and faster.  This little boy is the sweetest little boy ever.  He has the biggest heart in the world and the biggest brown eyes ever.  His smile literally lights up my day.  We started out his birthday day with a birthday donut.  Landon was very happy and excited to have his first "school" birthday.

Landon wanted to wear his Vikings outfit from Aunty for his birthday.  When he came home from school he was wearing his birthday crown and was ecstatic to show me his little birthday trinkets from his teacher.  He brought treats to school and could hardly talk to me he was so excited to say he got to pass them out himself.  Landon was excited when his birthday balloons from Grandma and Grandpa arrived literally 10 minutes after he walked in the door.  I let him pick what he wanted for dinner and he chose: grilled cheese, apples, and carrots.  He's pretty easy to please! I made them dinosaur shaped because I felt bad he was having grilled cheese for his birthday dinner-even though it was what he picked.

Life is good!

A couple things I want to remember about my little buddy that have happened recently.  First off, he doesn't like it when his friends get picked on and he is confident enough to step in and try to stop the people doing it.  He knows right from wrong and is so sure of himself that he doesn't cower to those who may not.  I pray everyday that this trait sticks.  I am so proud of him.  On a less serious note, I think he thinks he is pretty tough.  Anyone who knows Landon knows his love for playing rough.  One night while he was supposed to be getting in the shower, I walked in to my bedroom (he was going to shower in our bathroom) and he was standing buck naked in front of the mirror flexing his muscles.  Hilarious.  I could not do anything but bust out laughing.  Then a couple nights later when he was supposed to be getting in the shower, I again walked into my bedroom to see him doing naked pushups on the floor.  Yes you read right naked pushups.  Again, I could do nothing but laugh hysterically.  Where do they learn these things?!  This guy is getting quite the personality and a great sense of humor!

Happy Birthday Landon Gary.  Love you to the moon and back sweet boy!

Cloquet Family Visit.

My parents and my sister and her family came for the weekend to celebrate Landon's birthday.  It was fun to have everyone here and we had a great weekend.  The kids had so much fun playing with each other and were all so good.  I can't believe how fast these little munchkins are growing up!  I just want to say that it is not getting any easier to take a group photo!  But how cute are these guys with their Vikings shirts?

Landon Gary: 6

Annabelle: 5 1/2

Kadence: 4 1/2

AJ: 4 1/2

Kenzie Marie: 23 months

The guys!

Grandma and Grandpa hanging out with the kiddos.

Fun times!  Thanks for all the fun guys!  Love you!

Birthday Bash!

We had our very first "kid" birthday party for Landon this year.  I have been putting this off for a couple years but Landon had been invited to a few parties this summer/fall so he asked if he could have one.  We had a Transformers themed pool party at the Govenor's Inn in Casselton.  It turned out to be a great birthday party and I think everyone had  a good time!

 Landon invited four of his little friends: TJ, Axel, Sawyer, Caleb and his cousins Annabelle and AJ.

 These little boys all played together so well and were so good!

 My mom and dad came to the party to help with all the kids and I was sure glad to have some extra eyes.

Kadence and Annabelle had a great time at the party, too!  They played a ton!

The hotel had a water slide and a big pool as well as a little kid play pool.  All the kids had a blast!  Jill and Mom helped me keep a head count so we knew all the kids were safe.  It was a bit overwhelming at first but after I relaxed a little the boys also seemed to group together a little better.

This little party girl had a blast as well.  She never asked to get in the water and I figured Ryan and Curt had enough to deal with with all the kids in the water.  She was totally fine with hanging out and drinking pop.  Once Aunty Jill started giving her pop Kenzie was convinced that this was the best party ever.  She hadn't ever had pop and thought it was pretty awesome.  I was just glad she never got a bellyache!

 The kids were all excited for the cupcakes!  I had made them for the party with Grandma June's frosting and they were SO tasty.  They looked pretty good, too!

 Landon got some awesome gifts!  After lots of swimming, pizza, cupcakes, presents, and the arcade I think it was safe to say we had a great party!