Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?

Yes, the Frozen craze has taken over our household too and we're not ashamed!!

The Month Long Sickness

 Never have I more despised cold and flu season as I do this year. We average 2 doctor visits per kid, per year. One well check and one sick visit.

  So far, in the past 30 days, we have gone 4 times! 4 TIMES!! That's four times in the waiting rooms surrounded by sniffles and coughs and goodness knows what else, 4 times of being weighed and measured and inspected, 4 times of dropping off and picking up prescriptions

 . We have fought pink eye, ear infections, bronchitis and pneumonia. Both kids have done multiple rounds of antibiotics, I have done more laundry and used more Clorox wipes than in the past 6 months combined.
Spring felt like it was just around the corner, but now it seems like an eternity!

 Fortunately, Ethan will be out of school for 2 weeks  at the end of the month and we're out of here!! Give all the germs time to die off, all the kids in class time to heal, and a much needed vacation!!

We did manage to celebrate a birthday during all this crazy sickness though... Here's a pic of the party animals (neither were actually party animals that night though)

What's That Smell?

Could it be? Is that a hint of Spring??? I hope so, we are ready for some outdoor activity on more than a weekly basis. Parks, sandboxes, fishing, SUNSHINE!!
Today was a gorgeous day, I think our blood thickened after all the cold weather we've been having. We used part of the day to do some exploring and have a picnic at Rock Ledge Ranch where they've got some chickens, some horses and a whole lot of ducks!

Such a nice change of pace. We've been stuck inside, between the frigid temperatures, snow and, oh yes, double ear and eye infections. That's right, pink eye!!! EWW! Ethan's first sick days and I didn't have to call him in due to 2 snow days! The kids got on antibiotics before any pain from their ears could even set in. The hardest was them waking up with their eyes gunked shut. Michael and I must have washed our hands at least every 5 minutes.The sunshine will do us good, I'm hoping we see at least a few more days of it.

This is 6

I'm going to enjoy it, I hope he does too.

Mini Runners

Today was a pretty momentous occasion. Ethan and Lucy ran their first races! One of the local running clubs hosts a few series of races, including the "fall series" ( you may remember Mike running these back when Ethan was just a baby). During the fall series they also have a kids series that races at the same location, just a shorter distance. 
 I mentioned the races to Ethan and he was completely on board. He spent a few days training with his dad and then spoiled with new running shoes by his papa. And then it was race day!

Lucy only agreed to participate when she learned that her friend Aubrey would be running too

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Official running pose

Waiting for their fans (aka Grandma, Papa and Auntie)

 Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of Lucy's race. She preformed exactly as I had predicted, super excited till they said go and then freaked out. BUT she ran with her daddy and finished!!

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 Then it was the 4-5 year old's turn

Starting line, he's in there somewhere

Couldn't ask for a better view

Almost at the finish!!

And, of course, snacks for the finishers

This was, technically, the third race of the series, even though it was our first. The fourth and final is in 2 weeks, each race is a little bit longer than the last to build their endurance. We are all very much hoping to participate in that one. We couldn't be prouder of the kiddos, especially Ethan, he was committed to the training and didn't give up when racing. Who knows, maybe he takes after papa even more than we thought...

Fall Leaves

I have to admit, fall is not my favorite season. I love spring and summer when there's new life, the weather's hot and we can go on vacation!!
 BUT...
I do appreciate fall, it's just too short. The leaves changing color, the air turning crisp, the excitement of the pending holidays building. Oh and the sun sets earlier so bedtime can be adjusted accordingly.
This weekend we had just enough fallen leaves to rake into a pile and then smash through!

She is such a helper

First jump!

It is a beautiful season