Staying warm.

Up until a few days ago, we were stuck in the dead of the winter.  Several inches of snow on the ground, below freezing temps with windchills in the negatives, and Scott in the full-swing of coaching basketball.  I'm no stranger to winter weather, nor am I to being left Saturday mornings with the kids while Scott goes off to coach.  As they get older, this routine gets easier.  No babies, no breastfeeding or bottles, and no diapers.  I'm one happy camper.

Despite the deep freeze, we kept ourselves busy.  First up was the annual "boys night out" to the Monster Jam at Ford Field.  This year Evan was old enough to attend, so we bought a second pair of headphones and decked the boys out!

Pops splurged this year and bought Pit Passes that allowed the boys to be down in the arena right in front of the big trucks before the show.  Lucky them!

Next up was a trip to the Plymouth Ice Festival sans kids.  The in-laws kept the boys on Sunday since bad weather was in the forecast for Monday morning, so we got lucky with a day off from the kids!  Scott and I went to the ice festival and out to dinner at one of our favorite stomping grounds, Herman's.

Despite having all the snow, we kept the kids inside.  Our mission was to keep Evan as healthy as possible with his upcoming ear tube surgery.  Friday rolled around this past week and Evan was as healthy as could be.  The surgery went extremely smooth.  Considering our experience last time, this was a huge blessing!  In fact, he was feeling so good he wanted to go outside in the snow with the warmer temps.  I couldn't say no to that!

While the snow wasn't packing snow, we still managed to have fun!

Evan did much better in the snow this year than last.  It's a tough job walking around in boots and snowpants in deep snow!

Of course, the next day the weather was even warmer and started to melt and become packing snow.  We bundled up again and went out with just enough time before sunset to make a snowman.

In an effort to enjoy the last "warm" day, we fought with some drizzling rain and went to the zoo.  It was great!  The kids didn't get wet at all considering they had a nice canopy on the stroller and the animals were active and playful with us around.

The weather is going back to normal January temps, but no worries.  With ice skating, play dates, our anniversary date night, and Bailey's birthday on the schedule for the next two weeks, I know we'll keep busy indoors.  2015 is off to a great start!

A cold day at home

One of the joys of my job is getting that phone call saying we don't have school because of inclement weather or temperatures.  There's nothing more exciting than getting a random day off to enjoy at home with my family.  Unfortunately, Scott wasn't as lucky.  His school was still open.  The boys were supposed to go to daycare, but I wanted to keep them home with me.

Because it was bone chilling outside, we stayed warm inside in our pajamas all day.  From playing with cloud dough and trains, to watching cartoons, we did it all.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Best of 2014!

Happy 2015!  Wow, 2015.  It's been 15 years since the new Millennium.  Seems like it was just yesterday that everyone was panicking about the Millennium and buying their "end of the world" supplies at the stores.  It's been 7 years since Scott proposed.  Turning around to give him a kiss as the ball dropped, he stood holding a ring!  It's been 5 years since I anxiously awaited a positive pregnancy test just after the new year.

This time of year always holds a special place in my heart.  I'm more reflective, taking the time to look back on all we accomplished in one year.  And I'm optimistic, knowing that this will be our best year yet.  I spent two hours a few nights ago making our 2014 family yearbook and was astounded at how well 2014 treated us.  We are truly blessed with good health, wonderful opportunities, and a million pictures to capture all of that.

Here's our top moments in 2014:
January:

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

December:

It's been an amazing year with our family and friends!  I can't wait to see what 2015 brings us!  With Disney in June, it's going to be a magical year!