The Snow Mountain

Winter is here! But it's been so mild that the boys have played outside after school for about an hour each day. They love this snow hill off to the side of the church parking lot.

 They usually have some friends join them but we are almost ALWAYS the last ones there! 

 They love running up the hill and jumping off or sliding down. I'm amazed that this one hill has given them hours and hours of entertainment! 

 Sweet brothers! 

Hot blooded. I know it's been "warm" but shorts and no jacket?? They insist they are warm enough!

 Beautiful! 

Days like these I wish we had a mud room!

And nothing like finishing off the afternoon with some hot cocoa!

November Happenings

Personal pan pizzas from Pizza hut for reading!

Carter LOVES playing football. He plays every day during recess and always wants to play after school. Here he is playing in 20 degree weather in the rain!

We played LOTS of board games lately. Winter is coming!

Costumes! How many pictures do I have like this?? It never gets old to me:)

White t-shirts. Washable markers. A frequent activity in our house!

Playing football at the park. A favorite fall weekend activity. And how fun that we could do it into November.

"Hey mom, can we put all of the pillows and blankets on the floor to make a fort?" I came in later to find they also used ALL of their clothes. Ahhhhhh!

Boys and guns and swords. 

Turkey bingo for a school fundraiser. Cooper won!!! We went home with a full Thanksgiving dinner!

We went to the Union on a Friday night for Pakistan Night. The international center features a different country each month and puts on a presentation with dances, etc. and then serves a meal. This was the first time we brought the boys and they really enjoyed it! Then Tim gave them a tour of the Union including his office storage space.

A short weekend with the Dahls! The kids play so well together. They even did a little Christmas caroling for us!

Raking in November with a shirt off? You bet! We got up to 60 degrees one weekend!!

And then there was snow.

Sometimes mom just needs it a little quiet around here!

Our friends opened up their running store in town. The boys think it is a pretty sweet place to hang out!

Thankful List 2015

Here is this year's addition of the Spark Family Thankful List! We try to do this every year and it's fun to see what the boys come up with!

1. My birthday-pool party, friends and Mario cake (Carter)

2. Easter-egg hunts and God dying on the cross. But I really like Easter egg hunts (Cooper)

3. Road trip to Colorado-sharing a room with my brothers and seeing friends (Crosby)

4. Bonding over American Ninja Warrior (Tim)

5. Family sports-kickball, soccer, football, etc. (Casey)

6. Learning to ride a bike (Cooper)

7. Playdates with Mason (Crosby)

8. School with Isaac and Channing (Cooper)

9. Trip to Mexico (Casey)

10. Bathroom project completed! (Tim)

Thanksgiving Weekend at the Cabin

What a weekend!! We had such a sweet time with the Carrolls over Thanksgiving!

Sibling time! We stayed up so late the first night catching up. I love these two!!

 The cousins played SO WELL together!! It is such a blessing that they enjoy each other so much!

 I had the idea to take the kids sledding. There wasn't much snow and it was SO fast. Cooper and Sawyer went down and sped right off the cliff down to the beach. It was terrifying to watch. Thankfully the only injury was some scrapes to Coopers face. 

 We had beautiful weather for being outside! 

 Dave introduced us to the game of Rummikub. Carter particularly liked it and probably played it about 50 times!

Carter LOVES playing the Wii. And he is SO intense when he bowls!

 

 Dave and Christy made an obstacle course for the kids! So fun! 

 Best buds!

 Playing Heads Up with the fam. Lots of laughs!

And my highlight of the weekend...playing music with my family!