February Highlights

 Just horsin' around.  Some day Nate is going to suffer serious injury. 

 Ben's Valentines Day box.  He wanted a shark so we all combined efforts for this finished project.  It turned out pretty well but he didn't win the prize. ;(

 Sarah loves lip gloss, lip stick and makeup.  While we have been buying her lip gloss she still uses marker for lipstick.  Yikes!

 

What can I say.  Aren't these boys so cute.  Dave loves learning how to play ball. 

And the vacuum.  It's become a problem.  Dave insists on doing the vacuuming by himself. That means 1 inch of square space gets vacuumed.  HAHAHa

Ice Skating...Boy, that's a lot of work!

 We have to make it ice skating at least once a year.  This year we tried out the Olympic Oval.  It was super fun. 

 Thank goodness for the walkers.  They are so helpful and make the chore of going around the oval with a kiddo mildly less back breaking.  :)

Dave was a little young for ice skating so he and I just wandered.  Maybe not as fun...and he really wanted to go skating but he'll just have to wait.  Maybe next time.

Staying Home Sick

Emily stayed home sick today.  I don't know about other moms...but for me...a lot of times, the kids are sick until about 10am.  Then suddenly, they are ready to play.  :)  Well, I can't say I complained too much when Emily stayed home.  She kept Sarah happily entertained making a nice comfy bed right on the kitchen table.  Comfortable?  Probably not.  Happy.  Absolutely. 

Lego Mania

Legos have become very popular at our house and the girls are great as using them as another creative outlet.  This is a house they built recently including all sorts of rooms and specially designed furniture.  They really do amaze me. 

A new closet organizer for me. :)

Nathan is very multi talented.  So, when I decided the week before Christmas all I wanted was a nice closet organizing system, he took it to heart.  He built me this awesome center piece with shelves and drawers.  It works like a dream.  So glad this hot handy man is mine.  :)

Sledding

 Good Times can always be had when we hit the hills for sledding.  For some reason I wasn't very big on pics this day...but we did have fun.  The babies got cold...it was a bit windy, so we spent some time watching movies in the van.  But, the strong stayed strong. 

Ben did venture off a more dangerous spot.  Nate said that in his mind he knew it was trouble before Ben even went off toward the jump.  Ben did get a minor injury but he survived.  We were still glad we went. 

Christmas Day

 Christmas Day!  Well, what can be said.  We had a good time.  The kids all got some nice presents.  Emily - a bike, Rachel - a skateboard, Ben - Ski and Golf fun.  Sarah - ummm...she got a bunch of less expensive stuff.  Dave - a big car ramp and a scooter.  One of the super fun things about this year was that my mom and dad have been staying in their motor home in our drive way.  :)  So, they came in and enjoyed Christmas morning with us.  I haven't had a Christmas morning with my parents for a long time.  It was great.

 The kids were very good at helping Dave open his presents.  LOL.

 We got these kid kayaks.  We can't wait to use them in the spring...but for now they sit in our garage waiting for their day to come.  :)  Dave and Sarah enjoyed pretending.  Dave was a bit dangerous with the paddles though. 

 Grandpa is one of Dave's new best friends.  He took to shaking Grandpa's hand while they were here and learned how to say Grandpa...which made my Dad very happy. :)

 After staying in our jammies all day we decided it was time for some outdoor fun.  O.K. Ben decided it was time...he wanted to try out some of his new ski clothes  So, the Baxter family snowball fight began.  They had some good fun out there beating each other down.  I hid...ummm...I mean, I protected Dave. :) And took some pics. 

 Dad and Emily made a pretty good team.  Rachel and Ben teamed up...and Sarah floated back and forth. 

 It was a great day.  I am always glad for the memories.  Having a family is pure joy sometimes.  I am very humbled and grateful to have the privelage of raising these kids.  :)   Merry Christmas to all.  :)