"Snow" much fun!

Well we had our first big snow storm of the year today!  Mason's afternoon Pre-K was cancelled and Colton got out of school an hour early.  I am lucky to work from home, so the only commuting I had to do was picking them up from school/daycare!  And as soon as school and work was done we headed outside to have some fun in the fresh white stuff! Colton has his best friend come over to play (I swear Mitchell is like my 3rd child) and my nephew was also spending the night with us so his mom and dad could work (yup snowstorm means busy busy busy for their Tow Company)!  I got the kids and myself all bundled up (that is a lot of work) and we headed outside to play in the snow and shovel the driveway! 

I decided to run back in the house and grab my good camera for a few photos and I am so happy I did.  I love winter photos, everything is so clean and crisp!  Here are some of my favorite photos of our fun with the Groundhogs Day Blizzard of 2016!

 

I ended up shoveling the driveway 3 times to keep up with the falling snow!  I headed out at 9pm to clear it for the last time before bed, Mason was already sleeping and I put Colton was in charge of his little cousin while I was outside.  I got the driveway and steps cleared in his over a half hour and came back into to find this.  Colton is such a great kid!

Polar Cubs Camp 2016

Colton and I spent the day at Polar Cubs Camp and we had a fabulous time!  The weather was perfect, upper 30's!!  We enjoyed so many fun activities including building a survival shelter in the woods, throwing Tomahawks, Sled Chutes and Tubing, Council Campfire, Mushroom Ball, friendly games of "Knock it Off" and Broomball!  We enjoyed a delicious camp lunch of burgers and waffle fries in the mess hall (for any who have been to a Scout camp you know what I mean by delicious, I mean you are starving so you would be willing to eat just about anything that they serve you)!  I had so much fun with the other parents in our pack, we truly have such a great group of parents and we know how to make an 7 hour day of Winter Camp one full of laughter and good times!  I really do enjoy attending this events with Colton.  When I am 80 and struggling to get around without assistance these are the memories I will look back and know that I lived a great life and that my boys and I enjoyed so many awesome adventures together!

 

Five

Five years ago today I was blessed to become a mom to another son!  It is a day I will never forget.  My heart doubled in size the day Mason was born.  I really do think he was the missing piece, he completed my life.  I already had one son but now he was a big brother thanks to this amazing new addition to our family!  Mason has developed into such an amazing kid.  He is so outgoing, loves going to school, has such a passion to learn, he is very caring and above all his a high energy, crazy, bounce off the walls and keep mom on her toes kind of boy!  He has no fear, always willing to try to new things and do anything and everything that his big brother is doing.  He is incredibly smart, he soaks in everything and even comes up with stuff on his own that just makes me look at him in awe!  He loves to build legos, is newly obsessed with Star Wars, he still loves playing with his trains and he above all he loves to snuggle up on the couch with his mama and watch cartoons or movies!  I hope Mason will want to snuggle and be my baby for many more years to come.  I still struggle to accept that is 5 years old, I still remember that moment that he was placed on my chest for the first time and here we are with him being so independent!  I love you to the moon and back Mason! 

 

Perfect Winter Weekend

So the past couple weeks have been terribly cold and we haven't really done much because well the air was just painful.  This weekend was a perfect Minnesota Winter weather weekend and the boys and I made the most of it! 

Friday night we met their cousins and Auntie Melissa at a local community center for a couple hours of water fun.  The boys had a great time swimming, hitting the water slides and jumping off the high dive over and over again!  We even had a couple firsts for the boys.... Colton jumped off a high dive for the first time and Mason went down a big body slide all by himself for the first time (he was finally tall enough)!  The boys were exhausted after 2 hours of swimming and all three of us were in bed by 9:30.

Saturday we started the morning with me getting a haircut (it was finally time to get rid of all the damage/split ends) and the boys spent a little time with their Grandma.  Then we decided to enjoy a little ice fishing as the weather was so nice.  We even took Colton's best friend Mitchell with us this time.  We didn't can't any fish but we still had a lot of fun.    On the way home from the lake Colton convince me that Mitchell needed to sleep over, couldn't argue with him at all.  We headed home and decided to grill out for dinner!  Yup, that's right, I grilled us some amazing steaks in January!  

 Sunday morning we woke up and enjoyed a big breakfast together and then it was off to church/Sunday School.  Afterwards we hit Sam's Club to order Mason's birthday cake and then made another stop to get Mason's hair cut.  Once home I did a quick photo shoot with Mason (he turns 5 in two days so I had to get in a little photo shoot)!  And then it was time to get on our winter gear and head over the fire hall for some sledding and snowboarding.  We were at the hill for over an hour, the weather was just too perfect to go back indoors.  Colton is getting quite good at snowboarding and he makes it look easy that I thought I would give it a try... ha, I was quickly reminded that I am way too old to be doing that!

We ended our night with dinner and finished up Mason's first research project.  Yup, he is in Pre-K and they had to do a research project on the animal of their choice.  Mason and I are now experts on Komodo Dragons in case you every need some information on that animal. 

This was truly such a great weekend.  I got to spend every minute of it with my boys and we weren't rushed or stressed to do anything.  We just did what we wanted when we wanted!  I wish every weekend could be like this, sometimes like gets so crazy so when I get a weekend that isn't completely booked up and we can just make last minute plans I get excited cause that is how life should be - so much more fun when you aren't always rushing to the next big event!

Ice Fishing

I took the boys ice fishing last weekend and they loved it!  This was a first time for both of them and a first time for me in a long long time (I used to go with my Dad when I was little but haven't been in about 25 years)!  As we started the long walk out to the ice house the boys had plenty of questions, they really just didn't know what to expect.  Once we got into the nice warm ice shack and got them each sitting on a bucket by their own hole they were more than ready to catch some fish.  Colton caught a Crappie all on his own within about 10 minutes of dropping in his line, he was so proud!  Mason didn't do quite as well but did eventually catch one with some help from me.  And then he was ready for snacks, fishing can be boring when you are 4 years old.  They lasted just over an hour for our first trip which I thought was pretty good.  And they both have been asking when we get to go again so I guess that means they liked it! 

Happy New Year!!

Well 2015 is over.  It was a year of change, a year of growing, a year of acceptance and a year to embrace what is and not try to worry about the things out of my control!  As the end of the year approached I was trying to decide if I should go out and celebrate or stay home and ring in the New Year with my boys.  Well you guessed it, I decided to say Goodbye to 2015 and hello to 2016 with those who mean the most to me!  Both my sisters joined me, my niece and nephews were here, my parents stopped by for a while, two of my friends who have been for me the last year like I could never have imagined (they are the parents of one of Colton's best friends and have quickly become amazing friends of mine as well) and their kids joined in the fun too and Clint came over to witness the craziness that is my family!  We enjoyed snacks, drinks, party favors and of course the noisy streamers at the midnight countdown!!  It was the best way for me to say Goodbye to 2015, I was surrounded by those who really made a difference in me getting through 2015 and the same people that I know will be by my side for the good times to come in 2016!  Happy New Year Everyone!

 Of course we had to have a Sparkling Cider Toast to end the night!  This kids really do make life a lot more fun and this New Years Eve Celebration was no different!  Love them!

Recap of 2015

At the beginning of 2015 I wrote a post with some things I wanted to accomplish throughout the year.  Here is the post if you missed it and are dying to read it:  Goals for 2015

I thought it might be fun to go back and see if I was able to accomplish any of the items on my list!

*  Weight!  Ha, don't we all have this as a goal every year!  I did not hit my goal weight however I was able to maintain the weight I was at which honestly is just fine with me too!  I do not have a washboard stomach but I do feel comfortable in a bikini again and I don't hate clothes shopping as much as I used to so I am happy!

*  Staying Healthy.  My goal was to run a couple 5k's and eventually work my way up to a 10k.   Well I never did get that 10k done in 2015 however I did run several other races.  Colton and I did the Color Run race with my sister in law and nephews. I ran the Coco's Heart Doggie Day 5K, ran a 5K while on vacation in San Diego and ended with the Hale to the Bird 5k on Thanksgiving morning.  So 4 races in 2015, I am happy with that and hope to keep it up in 2016!

* Disconnect more!  Yah, that didn't really happen.  I am addicted to my phone and feel lost without it but will continue to try to disconnect and just enjoy the moments more this next year!

* Camping.  We accomplished this one!  The boys and I went camping (tent camping) at Itasca State Park in September.  They loved it so I know I plan to do plenty more of these kinds of getaways!  My sister got us a Minnesota State Park Passport book for Christmas, every time you visit a State Park you get a stamp to prove you were there and then you can fill in the dates and things that you did on your visit!  I am excited for us to starting filling up our passport this next year!

* Get organized!  Well I did plenty of this in 2015 but still plenty to do in our home.  I swear it is a long process but we are taking it one room at a time!

* Photos!  Yup, didnt happen! I still havent made Mason's Photo books!  I really need to get going on this but at this point I am 5 years behind so it seems very overwhelming!

*  Travel.  I had a great year of travel.  We went to Dauphin Island, New Orleans, Las Vegas, San Diego and attended We Fest for the first time which I will consider as travel as it was an amazing weekend!!

* Landscaping.  I did get a lot of work done in the yard this year, mostly the backyard.  I am hoping to finish it up in 2016.

* Accept my life!  I think I did a great job of this in 2015!  When the year started I didn't feel like I had any control over anything.  But now as I get ready to say goodbye to this year I feel like I am exactly where I am supposed to be in life.  We are all on a path through life and while we might think we are in the drivers seat we are not, life takes unexpected turns and sometimes hit dead ends but if we are able to hold on tight and endure the ride we find out that the road takes us to exactly where we needed to be.   I have such amazing friends, a family that I know will always be there for me and two boys who I swear are the the best things that have ever happened to me.  I have accepted the changes in my life, I am okay with what is happening and to be honest I am looking forward to the divorce being finalized and the closing date on the mortgage so I can put all this paperwork and stress behind me and I can truly just move on with the future and enjoy the rest of the ride! 

Good Bye 2015.  You were a year of great pain, lots of tears, plenty of confusion, lots of fun, so many moments of laughter, amazing new adventures and you brought some new people into my life who I am excited to go into 2016 with.  This is not a year I will look back on with hate but I year I will look back at and say "I got through it, life is good and I have plenty of life to live so bring it on"!