February

Lauren had a Valentine's party at school. Here she is with her cute little friend Lily. 

 We made a trip to Imagination Station. Of course Ethan loves the fire truck.

 We got together with Ricky's family to celebrate Ruth's birthday. As a bonus, we got to see the adorable twins!

 I absolutely love sleeping pictures of my kids. So precious!

 Ricky and Lauren being cute.

 Ethan got to do an art class by a friend of mine. He enjoyed it, but not as much as Lauren does.

 Our friends, The Elias family, moved to Texas. We sure do miss them. 

 And we got more snow. It didn't stop the kids from playing in it.

 Jumping on the trampoline is so much fun with snow on it.

January

January had an interesting start. The kids were supposed to go back to school on the 7th (Tuesday), but didn't make it back until the 9th, with a 2 hour delay. We have had crazy snow storms the whole month of January. The kids have been home from school 4 days with who knows how many 2 hour delays (I lost track). It makes my life interesting, because I babysit for 2 little girls everyday and the boys that I watch before and after school are here for the delays. On delay days, I have 7 kids until 10:30 and snow days, I have 6 kids all day! Plus, we had a fever/sickness that lasted about 10 days between all of the kids and Ricky. I was fortunate enough to not get it this time. Who knows if I'll be as lucky next time! The worst part of this winter is the below zero temperatures. It has been so cold, we can't even go outside! Let's just say I am getting over having Cabin Fever, which is why I haven't been on here much lately.

I started babysitting for a new family in my neighborhood in January.  It was a little rough at first, but I am getting accustom to it now. I have a almost 5 year old and a 16 month old. They are very sweet, but the older girl has an attitude that we are working on. I have them full time (Mon-Fri 7:30-5:30) which is also an adjustment for me. I will say the extra money is nice.

January 4th, we went to the Train Expo at the State Fair grounds. Ethan was in heaven! He had the best day ever! My mom and I took turns following him around as he was in sensory overload with all of the trains going everywhere!

Lauren started dance class again this semester. She wanted to do Ballet class, so we switched. She had a rough time going the first week and wouldn't let me leave the room. Last week, she told me after class that she just sat there the whole time. What am I going to do with that girl?!?!

This is how the back yard has looked almost the entire month. We had a ton of snow this year!

 The kids always want hot chocolate after thy play outside or help shovel. Fun times!

 Our mailbox has it's own little snow dome around it. (The snow is even higher now!) Dylan thought it was so much fun to climb the snow piles.

 Here is a summary of our month! Jammies and iPad (when daddy is home)

 The snow made this cool effect on the windows. I thought it was really neat.

Merry Christmas!

For Christmas Eve, we had a few friends over for appetizers and desserts. It is a fun tradition we started a few years ago. (Well, actually my mom's best friend started it when we were little and I really enjoyed it.) We read the Christmas story and sing hymns with everyone. After everyone left, the kids opened their new jammies. They loved them!

 I love this picture! So precious!

The kids had to feed the reindeer before going to bed!

I'm so glad I got a few pictures of the kids in front of the tree. The kids are getting so big! I love these memories!

Sibling love!

Christmas morning was a hit! Dylan got a remote controlled truck.

Ethan got his big firetruck!

And Lauren got a Barbie with a dog and Lalaloopsy dolls for her doll house.

We had the Sister Missionaries and the Elders over for breakfast on Christmas morning. It is another fun tradition we have. We were lucky enough to have 2 sets of missionaries this year! We had a great morning opening gifts and sharing our love. 

Around 1, we headed over to Ricky's parents' house for another Christmas! We had a yummy Christmas dinner and enjoyed watching the kids open their gifts.

I enjoyed the afternoon by snuggling with this little sweetie (Alexa)!And then Lauren wanted a turn! She loves the twins!

And I couldn't leave Olivia out! She is precious, too!

Enjoying family time!

The next morning, we headed down to my parents' house for another Christmas! (Did I mention that I love living close to our families?) Everyone was there and we had a great afternoon of eating and playing games and opening gifts.

I feel so very blessed to have such a wonderful family! I enjoyed spending the holidays with most of them and miss those who couldn't be here this year.

Santa already?!?!?

Ethan got bumped in the cheek when we were at the gym playing at the end of November. Then Lauren opened the door into his face on the other cheek. He ended up with 2 black eyes for about a week. As soon as it started to heal, he got bumped in the same spot! We ended up taking him to the doctor to make sure he didn't break anything because there is a knot under the skin. The doctor said he is fine, it just might take a few months for the bruising to go away. Poor guy might have the dimple there forever. Here is my little bruiser with his homemade snowman from joyschool. He wanted to show it off before he ate it!

For playgroup on December 3rd, we went to McCord's candies where the kids got to make a candy cane. I had Catherine that day, too and they had so much fun!

I ended up getting 2 free tickets to see Max & Ruby: The Nutcracker suite in Indy on December 8th, so Lauren and I had a date! It was really cute and just the right length. If it was any longer, she wouldn't have lasted. She is really into being a ballerina, so this was a great way to see dancers in action. The boys ended up going sledding with my mom and then we all had dinner together.

She was way excited!

December 6th, we had our church Christmas party. The kids got to see Santa and I got to hear what they wanted for Christmas! It was a great night!

Dylan came home from school one night and said, "Mom I need to ask you something and I need you to tell me the truth. Is Santa real?" It was really hard to keep a straight face, but I explained to him that Santa is real. His friend doesn't believe in Santa and Santa doesn't stop at his house! I saved him for one more year! Yeah!

Our first big snowfall

December 14th, we had a lot of snow! It was so much fun to play in!

 Lauren wanted to be buried in it!

Ethan just loves playing in the snow!

And Dylan enjoyed jumping on the trampoline in the snow!

We got out the ruler to measure it and we had over 6 inches! This was the fun snow to build a snowman, so we did in the front yard.

Winter time is so much fun!

My birthday!

Ricky decided to do "No Shave November" this year. Thankfully my birthday is the first of December and he shaved it off for me. The kids helped him shave it off and thought it was fun. I am not a fan of facial hair, so I was very happy to have it gone!

My kids are the best! I love them so much!

We got to spend my birthday in Illinois for Thanksgiving with all of my extended family this year since Thanksgiving was so late this year. It was nice and relaxing and we spent the day playing games with family. The best way to spend a birthday!

Thanksgiving

Ethan went to his best friend's, Jack, birthday party at Buccaneer Bay indoor water park on November 24th. He had a great day and I would say that it was a successful day!

Lauren's class did a little Thanksgiving program on November 26th. It was really cute and Lauren even said her part in front of everyone! I was very proud of her. Her teacher, Mrs. Salmon is on the right and has been sick and away from school, so Ms. Young, on the left, has been her substitute teacher. She adjusted better than I thought she would and it has been nice to have 2 teachers! Her poster says, "I am thankful for my Aunt Crystal." Too cute!

Thanksgiving Day we went to Ricky's parents house, which means I got to snuggle with these sweeties all day! They are getting so big and I still have a special connection with Alexa. I can get her to sleep every time!

I think Ethan was on the Ipad too much on Thanksgiving. I told him to look up for a picture or I was going to take it away and this is how he looked at me. I think he was a little tired, too. Silly boy!

Lauren was happy coloring next to her pie. I love my little sweetie!

Ricky was reading a bedtime story to the kids and I thought it was so cute. I cherish these moments with my kids.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, too!