Beautiful!

How can I be angry that I had to get up early today for work when this is what the sky looks like?

Sammy's party at Spinning Wheels!

We were invited to celebrate Sammy's 10th birthday with her at Spinning Wheels and we were all excited to be a part of it.  I was shocked at how well Lincoln did skating.  Kaylee on the other hand is like me and she HATES it but enjoyed watching him as well.  It amazed me that they had not updated the place since I was in Jr High and it was weird looking at the place from a parents eyes instead of a teenagers.

The birthday girl!

It didnt take long and he was skating my himself!

He was very proud!

Some of the clan!

NOT a resolution!

I am not into the whole New Years resolution fad.  However, as a family we have decided to dedicate this year to becoming more healthy.  We ARE getting a gym membership and are going to have to work together to make this work.   I know it is a total cliche but I figure if we don't call it a resolution we are not " One of Those"!

Here's too a Healthy and Happy NEW YEAR!

Snowmade Ice Cream!!

Yes, you read that correctly!  Ice Cream made out of SNOW!  Kaylee felt very proud when she came up with the clever name of 'Snowmade Ice Cream' instead of my boring 'Homemade Ice Cream'.  This has seriously became my new favorite snack and I am pretty sure she loves it just as much. Matt is a lover of ice cream but he seems to be enjoying this too.  Lincoln loves gathering the snow but hardly eats any of it.  Ice cream has always affected him in a crazy way.  He is not able to sit still or contain himself for long once he starts eating it and snowmade ice cream is no different!

The recipe we use, GENIUS!!

Snowmageddon 2014

On Sunday January 5th, the kids got the most snow they have ever seen.  Matt measured and we got roughly 12 inches.  During this winter storm the temperatures dropped to as low as -18.  Kaylee no longer cares for snow though and she does not enjoy sledding anymore because all she does is face-plant in the snow.  She had been off school for two weeks this time for Christmas break so she was not excited for school to be delayed even longer. She ended up getting a 3 week long winter break due to all the snow. Lincoln however loves it and his eyes light up with the excitement of being able to go sleigh riding and make snow angels.  This time I think he was a little gun shy because the last time it snowed I accidentally made him face-plant in the snow.  Hmm maybe I'm the issue??

The perfect snow angel!

                                                   

We all took a snow day on Monday but then we decided we should go in on Tuesday.  I was very thankful Matt was kind enough to drive me in to work.  These are a few pictures of our excursion that morning.

This is Hwy 55 and it was pretty much like this all the way in.

There was one somewhat clear lane and it felt like you were driving on a gravel road.

My office parking lot.

Since we knew this storm was coming we went to Wal-Mart along with every other person in our town to stock up.  I knew the kids would be home and need things for lunch so we decided we had no choice.  By the time we got there the store was cleaned out.  The only eggs they had left were some fancy eggs that were $5 a dozen.  We got the last loaf of bread and we had slim pickens with the chips.  We managed to get everything we needed though and felt like we were prepared for whatever was to come.  That is until the next morning when there was already 8 inches of snow on the ground and we realized we were out of toilet paper!!  EPIC FAIL!  After Matt took Lincoln sledding he was nice enough to walk to Dollar General to help us girls out.  Husband and Dad of the Year right there!!!  I am not sure how he was hot when he got back considering it was 18 degrees outside but he was a sweaty mess!

Its a New Year!

Well it is 2014!  I am really excited about this blog this year.  I have tried to take all the pictures I'm suppose to as a parent but I just have them all stored on my computer and very few printed.  I have every intention of putting them in scrap books some day but as for now this is going to be my new plan.  I wanted to start by saying a little about us!

I have been working at Cigna for almost 13 years.  I never thought that working in health insurance is what I would do for a living but here I am and I am finally deciding to let this be my career.  I have found peace with my job in the last few years and have embraced it and have taken the steps to be the best that I can be.  I'm hoping to be able to start working from home during the first quarter and I have been dreaming about that for years.  It would help my family tremendously and I am excited to see how much it changed our family.

Matt got a new job with DNT in Aug of 2012.  We didn't realize it at the time but it was a blessing in disguise.  His old job was sucking the life out of him little by little and it was affecting everything around him.  He is back to his old self and is now also available more at home.  He is a tech again and at first that was hard for me since I felt like we were moving up with him being a supervisor but we are in a better place and he is with a better company and I feel good about what will come with DNT.

Kaylee is a teenager now!!  She is in Jr High now and is doing very well.  During the school weeks she spends more time at sporting events than at home.  She is not into playing the sports but she is a champ at socializing.  I am so happy that she is willing to go out and enjoy being a teenager and I am proud that I have a great daughter that can be trusted to do so.  I am also thankful for Matt because he is the one that take the girls and runs them around constantly.  He picks her friends up and takes them home and runs them everywhere they need to go.  They all secretly love him but act like they don't.  They also get the to see him at school since he is there working on the copiers and they LOVE that!!

Lincoln is 4 and I cant even begin to describe how much joy he brings to us.  Since he is 4 we sometimes have a hard time seeing that though all the whining and arguing but then he makes us laugh and we forget it all!!  He is in preschool and he is doing a lot better this year.  He is starting to show more interest in learning things and he is more willing to try.  He love playing with cars and trucks and his teacher has found ways this year to incorporate that for him which has been a huge blessing.  He really is the light of our day.  He says things every single day that shock us and make us love him even more.  He is rotten yet sweet and caring and we wouldn't have it any other way!