Snow Days!

We got hit by a blizzard that dumped over 16 inches of snow over the course of 3 days. The boys were home from school on Tuesday and Wednesday and had SO MUCH FUN playing outside!

 We played over at Tyson's house for a couple of hours. Ava had fun with Taryn. 

 Thankfully Tim was in town and operated the snow blower for countless hours. 

 When we were inside the boys found lots to do to entertain themselves:) 

But the definitely preferred to be outside:)

Mimi and Gramps Come to Town

Being that we didn't come down for Thanksgiving and hadn't seen them in a while, Mimi and Gramps made the long trek up to GF.

 When they arrived, we realized that Gramps and I were reading the SAME BOOK!

 Lots of quality time reading and hanging out.

 When the kids went to bed we played Code Names!

 Gingerbread house making with Mimi! Mimes had a bunch of crafts for the boys to do! 

 UND Women's Bball Game!!

Gramps and I took the boys to a game. The girls came from behind and won a great game against San Fransisco. Cros was a little tired but they all enjoyed it and got to say hi to some players after the game! 

Bible story with Gramps. Ava was needing big time attention all weekend but overall it was a great visit!!

Thanksgiving in Grand Forks

When we started talking about Thanksgiving weekend, Tim said he didn't want to drive anywhere and I said I had no energy to host. Sooooo, we stayed in Grand Forks and were planning on just doing a casual dinner with the 6 of us. Some friends from church, Erin and Dan Quinlan invited us over for dinner so we ended up getting a full feast and enjoying some friends!

 Macy's Day Parade...we were all in our pjs most of the day! 

 Games and randomness:) 

 The kids had SO MUCH ENERGY this weekend. Wowza. Thankfully it hadn't snowed much or gotten too cold so we could be outside for some of it. 

 At the Quinlans!

 Our annual Thankful List!

1. Friends and Family (Carter)

2. Soccer, football, basketball and baseball (Cooper)

3. Church, Sunday School and Awana (Crosby)

4. Ava (Casey)

5. Our summer in NJ (Tim)

6. Macy's Day Parade (Carter)

7. My birthday pool party with friends (Cooper)

8. Dogs and snow (Crosby)

9. Walking the boys to school (Casey)

10. Soccer in the backyard (Tim) 

 We finished the weekend out at the Grand Forks Holiday Parade. Brrr was it ever cold!!!

Crosby's Fall Update 2016

Selfies with mom. We are getting a lot of time together this fall!!

Crosby talked about his upcoming gymnastics lessons ALL SUMMER LONG. He has a weekly class and has met some friends but as of last week he is ready to retire:)

 Crosby learned to ride a bike this fall. Took him about 10 minutes!! 

 We've been doing some home school pre-school. It's been a bit more challenging since Ava joined our family but we still try when we can.

 We've started going to a coffee shop during Ava's visitations. 

 Cros loves to help out around the house...with anything from cleaning to cooking to outdoor chores. He is amazing!! 

 We go on adventures together during the day...from errands to bowling at Scheels to walking around the neighborhood. He's good company! 

This fall Crosby said that he wanted to play soccer because of the cleats. We told him he could wear cleats even if he didn't play soccer. He quickly decided to NOT play soccer but get the cleats:) 

 Quick trip to the mall with Cros...

Cros: "I think I might like a watch for my birthday."

Me: "That's a fun idea! But those ones are for men."

Cros: "Mom, I. Am. A. Man."

 Super America

 From fall to winter...My smiley boy! 

Crosbyisms from the past couple of months:

-While at our leader's retreat before school started we were on a hike in the woods at a State Park. Crosby got behind us and when I turned around he had met some people out hiking. He was holding a girls hand that he just met:)

-He says "pecause" instead of because. He calls the remote control the "mote control".

-"Dad don't grab my leg elbows!" (knees)

-After his first gymnastic lesson Crosby said, "I can't wait for the brothers to get home from school so I can show them all of my tricks!"

-Me: "Crosby you are a great helper!"

Cros: "I know. Especially when it comes to cleaning. I LOVE to clean!!"