And it snowed and snowed, then snowed some more...Blizzard of 2015

     Okay, I'll say it straight out....I am not the greatest fan of the cold and the white stuff....BUT, these guys make it soooo fun it leaves you with no choice.  They absolutely love the snow and prancing around , throwing it in the air, climbing around in it, making forts and of course, sledding. 

                           Baby Erin came over for a little bit of snow fun.  I knew she would.  Oh and by the way, I can only call her Baby Erin in front of select people so its a habit I have to break....rrr

Snuggle time

       Remember those days before you had children and used to think that once you had kids they would quietly sit still on your lap and you would get to enjoy time with them while they adoringly,  leaned on you???  Yeah,well guess what,  it don't happen often after they start to walk....but when it does, its pretty cool.  This little guy sat next to me on the couch and read two chapters from his book out loud.  Then he snuggled up and put his arm around me and quietly just laid there.......He didn't really fall asleep and neither did I but it was a cool moment

Winter Kids

     I love that these kids love the snowy weather.  We have snow and you can be sure they'll be outside jumping around in it.....Sunday we went up North for the day and Jackie wanted to go out onto the ice and see what was up with the Ice Fishing houses.....He couldnt wait to get out there...I actually wanted to see it too...Theres something scary about walking on ice though

School Bus

     There are certain memories that I file away from these tender years that I know will stay with me for as long as I live.  I remember leaving for work with Jimmy being in the window and waving to me goodbye, Laura coming out to get a quarter from me while I'm in my car leaving in the morning, Catherine running from around the living room table into the living room to jump up on me for our good morning launch with Jack doing the same.  The one constant thing for all of them has been our time spent at the bus stop in the morning.  After leaving the house, we spend the time at the bus stop playing 'tennis ball'.  which includes a mixture of ground balls, pop-ups and throwing accuracy games.  Those accuracy games are important for Daddy because otherwise they make me run all over for errant throws.....but when the bus comes I get my hugs and kisses before they go to school.....and Jackie tilts his head so I can kiss his forehead.  My little Catherine gets on the bus, hurries to her seat and gives me a smile, waves to me and returns the blown kisses.  Its such a simple thing but it makes me start my day off right.  Jackie is in the second grade and has two and a half years left before he walks to school.  I'll have to find something else to do in the morning then.

Christmas

yes folks, its the clapper.  I cant quite imagine what Santa Claus must have been thinking when he saw the clapper on their list.  Jack has wanted it ever since he saw it for the first time on TV.  The top picture is the weird folks from WWE, the Wyatt's are a group that i believe is from deliverance.  Real freaky.  The kids go nuts every monday and Friday and they are glued to the TV.  Its never quiet around here, especially during wrestling.

     Cat got her gymnastics bars from Santa....there goes Daddy's room that we just did over.  Jimmy got all his crazy Xbox games from Santa

  Laura enjoying all her weird gifts including a bacon bread bowl gift.....as seen on TV of course.

Christmas Eve

Poor Santa

     Poor Santa Claus....what he has to endure through the holiday season.....

We never posted for thanksgiving......2014

Oh yes, we did have a thanksgiving dinner...and what a dinner it was.  Aunt Jo had us all over her new place and there was only limited damage.  The food was spectacular..not that it isn't always, but for some reason, this years grub seemed that much better.

 

                      Just remember, its all about the cranberry sauce,...but only the real kind, with ridges in it

Cutting down our tree

     Its a wonderful new holiday tradition that we join the cousins cutting down our Christmas Tree.  This years tree was collectively picked out by the younger ones.  Its not the most beautiful tree by looks but because of its history its awesome.  We all parked near the entrance shack and loaded up in the rear of Jamie's pickup truck.  What memories riding around in the back of the pickup.  Imagine riding to and from the beach...or anywhere for that matter in the back of a pickup, sometimes standing.  One quick stop and we could have flown for a while.  ahhhhh, the memories.

     Each kid had the chance to get into the snow and take a turn at the saw.  Down it came.....such fun...though its scary to have Jackie handling anything that sharp isn't it.

They are growing up....

      The new pictures arrived and its hard to believe the little buggahs are getting so big.  Every day I look at them they all seem to get just a little bit taller.  Jimmy is oh so close to being as tall as I am.  He's just a hair under me, even though he says he's taller but I know its only a month or two away.  The pictures came out great....such smiley little buggahs

Swim meet 11/16/14

Second gal closest to you is that competitor Laura going for gold.  She had a great swim meet this weekend.

Its Snowing!!!!

     I don't know if I can do this justice.   Sunday morning I had intended on sleeping in just a little bit and the kids were supposed to be nice and leave me alone.  I had taken some medications the last couple of days and we were gonna just let it run its course for the final day before work.  Mom was at work and Nana was supposed to come pick the kids up early to bring them to church or breakfast or something.   Nana didn't make the call for church and Laura had slept over Kara's house.  When what to my wondering ears did occur but one miniature Jackie exploding in wonderment at the sight of the first snowflakes of the season.  All I could hear was LETS GO, LETS GO CATHERINE, ERIN.....the hustle and bustle of little feet running around furiously and excited voices continue on and on and finally I gave in and went outside with them.  Really, how couldn't I !!!  There is a place inside my chest that just gets so heavy when the kids do such fun things like that.  This is what I want the kids to do, get out and have some fun, not be afraid of the cold, or rain and I definitely don't want them to sit their asses on the couch all day and watch WWE re-runs.  I absolutely love that they want to go outside and play.  That's what snow should be all about...and even better, it was their idea!! 
     On this day, they played hockey (with full goalie uniforms) and they also went out in the back yard and played on the swingset (in the snow, or what passed for flurries).   I don't know if my words did it justice, or if maybe its not a big deal, but I think these kids are so cool!!!  We ended up finishing the morning with nana at the diner and the kids went over nana's for the day.

Laura playing football....flag

     Laura and Erin's team made it all the way to the championship game, losing on the absolute last play of the game.  It was raining, it was cold and it was slippery....but what a fun game it was to watch.  Its one of those times where you have a renewed spirit of youth sports when you see it all done right.  There was no bitching and moaning from the sidelines, the refs didn't think they were the show and the parents (for the most part) just shut their mouths unless they were cheering on the teams.  It was a back and forth game and the kids were loving it.  Erin and Laura could be heard with an occasional growl.  They were the only two gals on the team.  I was very proud of them, especially how much fun they managed to have....

                                                 Erin giving us a growl

                                                Showing off the hardware!!!

Halloween 2014

 

      Yes,  Well, its one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time..haha.    I got the costume from a friend and didn't really do much research into seeing if it fit before I went out with the kids.....to be truthful, who cares anyway......we had a great night with great weather.  Umple loved his costume and I think Jack and Catherine make great cops and Mario.  The other kids were very good also. 

 

 

      Joey came over and joined us for the candy walk along with Catherine Q. and Erin.