Fridays Are The Best Days

Project time with Brecken...

This smile...

These chubby little fingers....

Building a train track...

Love spending Fridays with this boy.

The rest of the crew was sure to start my day with smiles, too. They showed up in my bathroom wearing these hats and shades while doing their dance moves. I'm lucky to be surrounded by such carefree silliness :)

April Snow Showers

And just like that, playground season is on hold. We hit 9.5 - 10" in our backyard by the end of yesterday's storm. 

Since we can't make this stuff go away, I figured we should get out and enjoy it. Brecken didn't like that it was still spitting snow from the sky, so he covered up and stayed snuggled into mom and dad most of the time, but the other boys (Shawn included) were loving it :)

We stayed off the roads and explored the neighborhood forest...hopefully this is the last storm before spring arrives for good!!

Sk8ter Boy

Between Saturday's snow and Sunday's holiday, Logan had the skatepark all to himself (which is the only time he can actually skate). The 18 degree windchill didn't phase him, so I stuck it out for a good half hour before reigning him in to warm up!

It is so fun to see how each kid develops their own interests. Ryder clearly has a passion for football (stats and playing) and today Logan reminded me how much he likes skateboarding. He handled his board so well and has always had great balance. He's the kid I have to sternly remind not to do flips off furniture and not to drop in on the quarterpipes just yet! 

Playground Season

The Minnesota winters can get a little long - especially when you have three energetic boys cooped up in the house. So when we start to see signs of spring, I get pretty excited. Even if it's just a few nice days here and there, it seems like everyone is happier, everyone sleeps better, and parenting is a lot easier and in turn, more fun.

This week we had two days where we hit the 50 degree mark and it was our first time getting out to the playground. 

Everyone was so happy. They played well together, were independent, and had a ton of fun. So many giggles. Those are just the best. 

The days Brecken has been outside at daycare and out again at home in the evening, he has gone to bed really well. And that's huge for us since Shawn and I both distinctly remember Brecken's last good night of sleep was July 11th (then he transitioned to the toddler bed and discovered freedom)....

So we are all loving that playground season is back :)

Snowshoeing

We're a little behind on getting our snowshoes out this year. The snow we had from our couple big storms this year has almost vanished, but when I asked the kids if they wanted to go on a winter hike, they got all excited about using their snowshoes. I have a hard time arguing with their excitement - especially if it involves getting them outside.

So we went hiking, in snowshoes, in probably less than an inch of snow! But they giggled, stayed entertained, and I appreciated being outside with them. We heard an owl, geese, and saw deer tracks.

While we are very excited for spring, it was nice we could do this hike where everything was still frozen and absent of mud ;)

My Little Fish

Last night was Logan’s first swim lesson of the year. He was hesitant to get into the water, explaining that he was shy. I almost had to carry him over into his swim lane, but finally, he gave in. He realized he knew the other kid on his class and I think that helped. But, then he loved it!

He swam with the backpack for a short time, and then was swimming on his own!! Given, it was only from one platform to another (maybe 12’), but I was sooo proud of him! And he had the biggest smile - he was promised of himself, too. I think he’s hooked.

Can’t wait to watch my little fish swim this summer :)

STEM

With the benefits of getting older (ski trips, staying home alone, no car seat), also comes responsibility...like more homework. Thankfully, after we got into it, he actually had fun with this.

Ryder's first science fair project for STEM: