Snow Day

 

I love that sweet sound of my phone ringing at 4:30am to tell me that we have a snow day! I get as excited about snow days as I did when I was in elementary school. A day off is a day off! We were laying in bed this morning when all of the sudden our house alarm went off. Aubrin came running in our room like a bolt of lightning. She and Jackson had opened the back door to check and see if the snow was good enough to make a snowman. Jackson was really apologetic and a bit nervous that the police were going to come and our little lady was hysterical. After a few minutes everyone regrouped and was fine.
We were outside snowman making by 9:00am. The kids were both excited they could finally use their snowman kits that grandma and grandpa gave them for Christmas. The snow was really heavy and wet...which I thought would work in our favor, but the our snow people fell apart quickly. Oh well!
Later in the morning the kids wanted to go to the library to check out new books. Jackson is on a Junie B. Jones kick. UGH!!! I do not like those books at all. So we went in hopes to find other books to love. Now that Jackson is reading and loving it, the choices of books for him to read is so exciting to him. Aubrin too is becoming a reader:) She is reading very simple books, but still very exciting. 40 books later we were on our way home! 

 For the rest of the afternoon we watched a movie, played games, colored and just relaxed. For dinner we went to Buffalo Wild Wings. Every Wednesday is kids night. They have a lady that does face painting and balloon animals. It was pretty busy, so we got in line right away after we ordered to get the kids face painted. 45 minutes later it was our turn. Jackson hoped right up in the seat and said he wanted two block M's (Really????) He loved them. Then it was Aubrin's turn. Did I mention that we stood in line for 45 minutes. 45 minutes that we were pretty solid that Aubrin was getting Hello Kitty on her face. I'm not sure if she got nervous or what , but she started crying and said that she didn't know what her choices were and ..... 45 minutes!!!!!! So I told gave her choices again of what she could have. I told her I was going to count to 5 and she needed to decide or we were going to sit down. There were so many people waiting. Needless to say, we headed back to the table with a clean face:( Maybe next time. She was sad, but got over it quickly once her ice cream was delivered.
I never like to wish time away. I like to enjoy where I am and what I am doing right now. Although, I will say, after today, I am really looking forward to summer vacation when we are all home together:)

Valentine's Day

Over the past couple of weeks we have been busy getting ready for Valentine's Day. Jackson and Aubrin both decided what they wanted to do for their friends at school. Of course Jackson had to have a baseball theme and Aubrin wanted something with Marshmallows...mission accomplished!
I love morning surprises for the kids! When they woke up on Valentine's Day I had the table decorated with a few little gifts for them. We had a special breakfast before starting our school days. Jackson had an ice cream party at school to celebrate Love Day!
That evening Todd made a delish dinner with heart shaped pasta and even surprised the kids and ordered a special ice cream cake.
On Friday, Aubrin had her Happy Hearts party. Todd and I could not go, so Julia took her. Aubrin had a great time with her friends and very proud to pass out her valentine's. 
 Going along with the valentine's theme, we had Caryn's wedding shower today. It was a love theme:)
It was a perfect afternoon celebrating Caryn and Ted. We are so excited for their wedding in April!

Tiger Cubs

Over the past month Jackson has been pretty busy with several different outings with the Tiger Cubs. One of the ideas of Tiger Cubs is to expose the boys to many different experiences that they can share together. 
A few weeks ago the boys visited the Waterford Fire Station. They were so excited to have a pizza party there and get a tour of the station. Aidan's dad is a firefighter in Waterford, so we got the deluxe tour!!!! The boys were able to see where all the firefighters sleep, eat and do all of their work. The boys were also able to climb on the trucks and try on all of the gear. Some of the firefighters were there eating dinner and talked to the boys about their day to day life as a firefighter. It was a great experience for the boys.
One of the biggest events for the Tiger Cubs is the Pinewood Derby. Each boy gets a block of wood and they have to cut it, sand it and design it so it meets the standards given. Jackson asked my dad to help him with his car. Jackson decided that he wanted a flat car with a Detroit Tigers design. My dad cut and glued the car and Jackson sanded it. Then they spent time painting and taping and painting again. It was tricky to make sure the car didn't weigh over five ounces and the weight was distributed equally...good thing for grandpa!!!!
The day of the Derby Jackson was so excited. Although he didn't win, he had a great time and was excited to cheer on his friends. Jackson is already thinking about his design for next year:)
Last night Jackson had the opportunity to carry the flags at the Lakeland High School varsity basketball game. The six boys took their job very seriously carrying the (heavy) flags and holding them. Jackson was so nervous knowing that so many people were watching him. Especially many of the staff members from Todd's school...he was very serious as you can tell from the picture. After we stayed to watch the game with the rest of the boys.
 I thought when we signed Jackson up for Tiger Cubs it would be something we do here and there...was I wrong!!! It is a lot of work. Jackson and I spend a lot of time at home working on activities, reading and going to Den and Pack meetings. It's a lot of work, but Jackson seems to be enjoying himself...and that's what matters.