Happy Birthday Daddy!

Shawn is lucky enough to get his birthday off of work as a paid holiday. I thought it was pretty awesome that he chose to spend this day off taking Ryder skiing. It was also awesome that the ski resort lets you ski free on your birthday (and 5 year olds ski free)! Top that with the warm weather we've been having (40?!) and you've got a pretty epic day for a 5 year old and a dad who lives for this kind of stuff.

Ryder couldn't stop talking about the 'XGames run' (run with mildly banked edges), his turning, watching other skiers hit the box and 'do railslides', the fries and hot chocolate in the chalet, going to the House Boardshop and bringing home a ton of stickers....sounded like a pretty fun day :) And they went on 17 runs!! Sounds like Shawn had a pretty good time, too :)

When I [finally] got home, we celebrated with a hearty dose of chocolate:

Happy Birthday, Shawn!!

Fridays

I know I always post about Fridays with the boys, but after 2 1/2 years, I still completely cherish this time with them.

Today we spent much of the morning at our nature center. Dress up, puppet shows, watching squirrels with binoculars, 'I Spy' with the wall art...

(Side note: Ryder was extatic to dress himself today...he has complained that I always dress him in 'handsome clothes' and he likes to wear 'cool sports clothes' some of the time.)

I also love that on Fridays, the good camera comes out (although, most of these are with the ever so handy iPhone)...

As does the good coffee...

And the good smiles come out - with a little help from homemade cookies! :)

Happy Friday!!

Art

Ryder - you are five and you love to draw. You love to draw things from XGames (halfpipes, jumps, skateboarders, etc), surfing and anything sports related. As you draw,  you provide enthusiastic commentary for all the action that is happening on paper.

Today you came home from daycare having drawn daddy and mommy skiing / snowboarding through the trees! 

I always loved to draw, too. I remember being little and laying by my nightlite drawing while I was supposed to be asleep...

Keep it up buddy - I love to see your imagination on paper.

Naptime

Logan is still napping for around 2 hours every afternoon, but it's not always easy getting him down! Today, he took his bed apart (shifted / took out some slat supports) and flipped his mattress slippery side up...and made a slide!

It was so hard not to laugh! I had to snap a quick pic before lecturing him that naptime is for resting, not playing.

Thankfully, he listened this time :)

Winter is in Full Force!!

When it is as cold as it has been, it can be hard to remember why we live in this crazy place! Thankfully, our friends hosted a winter play day to help remind us how fun winter can be.

Logan and Ryder had a ton of fun on the sledding hill...

'Snowmobiling'

Logan demonstrating his lack of fear...with just about anything...

Logan's very first run with a snowboard ;) This kid loves board sports...

Winter bonfire...

And ice skating (Ry & Autumn) - Ry's second time. 

Big thanks to the Pedersons...we needed this reminder!!

On the days where it really is just too cold, we've gone running at the local dome (specifically to burn energy before bedtime!)...

And we frequent the Mall of America - Tucci for mom and dad, rides for the kiddos. Win, win!

Winter Hike

Even though the boys are thrilled just staying inside and playing with all their new toys, we thought we should take advantage of this little warm up (20 degrees) and get outside. We have also been wanting to explore this new trail by our house.

Logan was trying to make his usual silly face, but his mittens made it hard...he had to settle for this one :)

We stumbled across a sweet fort!

Inevitably, someone always needs a little help getting back to the car ;)

Looking forward to checking out the rest of the trail - maybe with our snowshoes when we get a little more snow.

Happy 2015!!

We had such a fun, chill celebration at a cabin with a ton of great friends - with 15 kids age 5 and under!! And it was super relaxing! All the little ones played so well together. 

The little ones being spoiled in huge recliners watching a movie on the big screen :)

Parents being spoiled this morning with hours of chill time while the kids were all off playing together.

Cheers to the start of a memorable 2015!