The Long (Fun) Weekend

The long weekend of Valentine’s Day and Presidents day seemed to sneak up on me this year. I was so focused on getting things ready for Big A’s School that I didn’t make any real fun plans for us as a family. However as luck would have it we ended up having a wonderful holiday thanks to fast dialing fingers!

First off I had signed up the Kids for a Valentines themed Lowes “Build and Grow” making picture frames. As we were getting ready Big A promptly told me he is “a big boy now!” and “Too old for making things!” Begrudgingly we got him out the door and of course he had a great time and was super proud of what he’d built, (he was not the littlest kid there by a long shot!) I have the hardest time getting that boy out to do stuff lately. When we actually get to the activity he usually has a blast, it’s just getting him out.

Then for Valentines I had spotted a deal on easy “chocolate fondue” by Bakers chocolate. So I picked up some marshmallows and strawberries and put out a “romantic” dessert spread. It took me all of 2 minutes to get together and A and a LOVED it! Halfway through though little a went to the kitchen and came back with a spoon. I said  “No, sweetie you need to use the fork so you don’t drop the strawberries.” She replied “Oh mommy, I’m gonna just eat the chocolate with it!” Ha Ha

The big excitement came Friday night as I was doing dishes and listening to the radio (107.9 The End) (while everyone else was downstairs playing video games … sigh… a mothers life!) they had a “be the 10^th caller…. Contest so I grabbed the phone and I Won! It was for a family 4 pack of tickets to the Local Hockey team The Grizzlies! The tickets were for an early game on Monday, perfect for our little ones. The seats were fantastic, the game was exciting and kids were on the Jumbo Tron… what more could you ask for? A perfect cap to our long weekend!

(I have not received any kind of endorsement from anyone for this post)

Snow Much Fun!

Last year Utah had a crazy warm winter. Jeff only had to fire up the snow blower twice the whole season. This year I think we are making up for lost flurries! We have been socked in with snow and it looks as if there's no end in sight! Jeff has literally snow blown twice...in one day this year! 

 

But with all the white stuff comes endless possibilities for cold, frosty creations. You can guess what my crazy Star Wars obsessed clan created (Jeff was the master mind!) A Snow BB8! Here he is in full glory!

 

We are enjoying a very white winter here in Utah and fondly remembering our fun in the sun in Florida.

My Little Pilgrims

 One of my Favorite Thanksgiving traditions is to dress up A and a and take some pics of my cute pilgrims. I worry this is the last year Big A is going to let me do a "Pilgrims" photo shoot. I decided to go all out this year and do it at Gardner Village. Big A kind of freaked out "I look like  DORK!" I assured him that is was Sunday and Gardner Village was closed so no one would be around. I did not tell him I planned on plastering the pics around the house and on line. The resulting pics turned out TOO cute and the Pilgrim pieces from last year still fit so no sewing for Momma this year (yea!) I hope next year Big A will think it's ironically cool and do it again but alas I don't think too man 8-year-olds get ironically cool....

Big A is Lucky 7!

Big A is now officially a 7 year old. I say this every year but seriously, how is this possible? My little boy is growing up so fast it is crazy. In just the last year the changes in him are astounding. He is such a bright, funny, kind, playful, thoughtful little guy. I am truly the lucky one, this "7" is my Boy!

A thank you to FotoFly photography for once again giving me outstanding birthday shots of A!

A-Maze-ing times at the Crazy Corn Maze!

We decided that this was the year that we would venture into the fall fun of a Corn Maze. We thought A and a were both old enough to have a fun time in a maze. Having watched “survivor” since birth they are both totally familiar with the idea of a maze and were totally excited about tackling the challenge.

We decided to give the “Crazy Corn Maze” in West Jordan (8800 South 4000 West) a try for our first maze. It seemed like a good size. Big enough to be a challenge but not crazy huge like some in the valley. The Maze was done in the shape of a jester this year and you were given a basic map at the start as well as a “corn” trivia sheet. The trivia was numbered 1-10 and coincided with markers throughout the maze. The trivia was a true/false that gave you hints on going left or right as you went along. A took immediate control of the map and was our unofficial leader. It was great though he and little a conferred on which way to go, working as a great team (no fights!) The size was perfect, it took us a little over an hour to complete the maze; long enough to make it worthwhile but not overly long and complicated to bore or frustrate the kids.

It was a fantastic family outing that A and a gave “ten thumbs up” (highest marks in our house!)

You can score a coupon for the Crazy Corn Maze here:

http://www.utahmaze.com/coupon.html

 

Our Little Ballerina

Our little A is such a character. At three she is so sharp and on the ball. She is ready for action and always wanting to do, go, see. We decided to put her in a Ballet class and see how she would do. We weren’t sure at three how it would go but it has been WONDERFUL! The teacher is perfect! She has stretches and warm ups that are like games, just right for a 3 year old. Our favorite is “Hello toes (flex feet), good bye toes (point feet).  She is so patient and kind with the girls. Little A loves it and asks almost every day if it is “Dance Class Day.”

 It’s also nice for her to have something that is hers. We were explaining to Big A about how he doesn’t have school on the weekends just like Mommy and daddy don’t have work and little A piped in, “Ummm, what about dance class? Do I have dance class on weekends?” So cute that she has “her thing” now too!