Color Run

On Saturday, we did our first family run. It was the Color Blast in San Luis. I seriously hope they do it annually because it was a ton of fun. Sadie sat this one out, but this is how nice and clean we started out.

During the "race" (I wouldn't call it an actual race, it was a fun run. They didn't keep time or anything.) they had stations set up and as you passed they threw color on you. The kids loved it. They got excited when we saw a new color station. They were about a half mile apart, just far enough to keep the kids interested.

The kids made it through without a single whine or gruff. They both had smiles on their faces the whole time.

At the end, when everyone had finished the course, we got onto the football field and threw all the extra color powder into the air. It was beautiful. (thanks Mom for all the awesome pictures!!)

Julie was trying to tell us that she got it in her mouth. We still couldn't really see through all the dust!  I have no idea where Andy was at this point.  Lost in the rainbow I guess.

But we found him.  And we were amply colored.

The kids were so funny after the color blast. They kept wanting me to take their pictures so they could see how messy they were.

This is one of my all time favorite photos. My sweet, handsome boys. That is my orange hand print on John's back.

I honestly never thought I would get back into running. I seriously never thought John would enjoy the hobby with me. And never in my wildest dreams did I think my 5 and 6 (almost 7, yikes!) year olds would say, "Mommy, we want to run with you!"  It makes me so proud of my sweet family.

Tooth Fairy (x2)

On Friday, Andy lost his first tooth! He came home from school with a tooth in a little baggie. I had no idea it was as loose as it was. He said he was eating his apple and "Kapow!" it popped out.  The tooth fairy had a crazy time finding his tooth in the tent while we were camping, but she's pretty sneaky!

Then last night at dinner I was talking to Julie and Andy kept saying, "excuse me mom, excuse me, mom?" and he had his other tooth in his hand.  2 teeth in just a few days!  These kids are growing up way too fast!

Camping

This weekend we took our first camping trip of 2014.  I got John a big new tent for Christmas and we couldn't wait to try it out.

We were lucky to have Uncle Monster and Auntie Kay there to play with us too!

First thing we did was get the tents all set up. Uncle, Sadie and Andy tested out the beds for us.

Everyone thought the camp fire was the most fun. And warm. We discovered that 40 degrees is actually really cold to be sleeping pretty much outside.

But during the day? It was amazingly beautiful. We went on a hike, then to the beach, with lots of trips around the camp ground on bikes, skateboards and running shoes.

This picture makes me feel like my kids are so lucky. They have so many people who love them so much.

Sadie is having a major growth spurt and ate pretty much all weekend....actually, we all ate pretty much all weekend. It was wonderful!

Andy is always good for a goof. He had a blast camping. I think his highlight was when the raccoon tried to steal our trash.

Julie's highlight was likely the bike riding. And getting to draw cool pictures of the camp fire.

After the first night, we all admitted that we were just too cold to stay another night. So we loaded up camp. We had dinner, lots of smores, then headed home when the kids were ready for bed.

We had a blast with these friends. We always have so much fun with them but it was great ot have some uninterrupted time. I would have to say Chris' favorite part was the skateboarding around the campsite. Kay's might have been the skunk. Kidding.

Julie had too make a sweet picture goofy of course.

This was a few smores in, so Julie was feeling extra silly!The sunglasses were to protect her eyes from the smoke. And to make her look super cool of course.

And what is the #1 sign of a great camping trip? Falling asleep sitting up in your camp chair sitting by the fire. Success.

Can't wait for our next (hopefully slightly warmer) trip!

Ice Skating

Yesterday I got off work a little early and Sadie was still at preschool. John and I wanted to do something special with the big kids. They are always so good about letting Sadie participate and not being upset that we can't do something because she is too small. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

So we decided to take them to the seasonal ice skating rink in town. It was about 65-70 degrees outside and for some reason it never occured to me that it would be colder on the ice!

Andy was a little unsure. He had legs slipping and sliding all over the place, but always had a huge smile!

Julie was much more adventurous. She loved scooting along the walls and did lap after lap.

They had buckets for them to push along, but at the end of the day, Andy enjoyed holding Dad's hand more. He did about 5 laps then was amused sitting on the sidelines and watching everyone else skate.

Julie also tried the buckets but ended up using the wall more. She skated for 2 solid hours. And was sad when our turn was up. I think that she will need to go back and skate some more.

It was great fun having some time with our big kids and fun for John and I to get to skate too. John is a way better skater than I am, but we had a blast.

Christmas Day

After a great party for Grammy, Santa found us!

All the kids woke up happy and excited.  Julie was so good about helping Sadie with her gifts.

We left their new bikes out on the porch. Andy walked right by them, but thenhe freaked when he noticed his.

Goofy boy with his marble run.

Sadie wanted to wear her new slippers but couldn't get the on over her jammies. So she stripped!

Julie got right to work on her Legos.

If you want to see a baby jump, teach her to play Perfection! So entertaining, but great for small motor skills!

Of course the kids had to try out their new bikes!

Silly Sisters!

Memere, Uncle Justin, Auntie Audrey and Lauren all came over to have Christmas as well. We had such a great time with them!

Sadie and Lauren went outside to collect the eggs. With a little help of course.

Uncle Monster and Auntie Kay stopped by and enjoyed the sunshine and some gifts. Sadie loves long boarding with Uncle. We are so lucky to have so much family around, Christmas makes that more and more clear.

Cousins in their jammies! I love all their messy hair and faces!

Christmas night was wrapped up eating left overs with Great Grandma Hazel. I was over taking pictures by that point. But it was the perfect way to finish Christmas. The kids playing with their toys, showing everything to Grandma. Then, as soon as they were in bed, John and I took down the tree and put away all the inside Christmas decoration. It always feels like a job well done when the tree is put away and the lights are down until next year. I hope your Christmas was just as merry and bright as ours.

Gammy's Birthday/Christmas Eve

Before all the festivities started this year, I wrangled the kids together to take at least one family picture! And we got one! Julie is making a goofy face, she's not upset about anything, just a goober.

Then we got one of just the kiddos.

And one silly one.

Sadie was super excited, though, I don't think she knew why!

Then Grammy, Pop-pop and Sean got here, and the kids were all excited.

Grammy got to open her gifts first since she was the birthday girl. But then the kids got to dig in. Sadie has barely stopped wearing her puppy backpack!

All 3 kids got new helmets which they desperately needed.

Andy got Legos! He is in love with Legos right now. Actually Julie is pretty into them too.

Soon, the rest of the family showed up.  The place got loud and crowded fast, just the way we like it.

Cousin Carter stole a few snuggles from his Papa amidst the chaos.

Julie with Uncle Ted and Aunt Sharron.

Sadie really wanted Carter to sit on her lap, but he is just as big as her. So Andy obliged her, and we got the sweetest picture out of it!

All the cousins cooperated much better this year and sat nicely for a picture!

Andy takes his science stuff very seriously!

Happy birthday Grammy!! I always swear I am going to take more pictures of the grown ups and every year, I don't! Maybe next year.

On a side note, I got the shirt John is wearing as a gift for him when Julie was born. I hid it in the suitcase I packed for the hospital and gave it to him after she made her appearance. I love seeing him wear it. It says "Proud Daddy" Swoon!

Sadie liked sharing her boat with Uncle Ted. I think he enjoyed her as well.

More cousin pictures. These 4 are so fun right now, all getting along and so loving.

The big sisters club!

We are lucky to have such sweet, smart, sassy, beautiful girls!

As the party wrapped up, the kids went to bed and Santa made his rounds! Happy Birthday Anne!