Presidents' Day

The Willis crew came up for the weekend. Scott & I hadn't seen them in almost a year, and our kids very much needed to meet their adorable son, Burton.

We played games, sliced insane amounts of vegetables & cheese & bread, vowed to never bowl in Boise again after two hilariously bad experiences, went to dinner instead, lounged, laughed, learned all about Mario & whales, and caught up.

Thanks for visiting, guys! It was so good to see you again.

Valentine's Day 2013

The kids woke up to their valentines from Scott & me-- chocolates and secret messages. They eagerly decoded (and eventually had a proper breakfast):

 

Their day was a whirlwind of school parties, crafts, valentines, candy, and games.

Travis' valentine for us:

Libby's "gift" for me:

 

Benjamin's valentine box we made for school:

Scott left for work at 5:45 in the morning (as usual) and had a long day due to meetings. Knowing that, we opted to keep it simple-- which suits our style better, anyway-- by enjoying a relaxing evening together once the little ones went to bed. 

My valentines are the best. But I may be a smidge biased.

Jack-o-lantern Travis

Let's go back to last summer.

Benjamin & Travis were roughhousing-- as boys do-- when Travis fell off the couch. He came up with a bloody mouth and a slightly wiggly tooth.

X-rays showed a hairline fracture at the root of his tooth. His dentist explained that it could take up to a year to heal and that the tooth would probably look grayish (from bruising) in the meantime.

At Travis' regular checkup in December, his x-rays looked the same as before. Dr. Higer gave us a rundown of emergency scenarios but told us she'd most likely see us again in 6 months.

One of those scenarios came up this week. Dr. Higer decided to extract Travis' tooth. He handled the procedure like a champ and had everyone laughing.

Waiting for the the medicine to kick in:

New smile (for the next 2+ years):

Benjamin's 7th birthday

Our 7-year-old had three days of fun!

On Friday, we brought chocolate cupcakes to school to celebrate with Jamin's class. 

Saturday was Jamin's Ninja Turtle party.

The kids ate pizza, played games,

 

 

goofed around,

and ended with fruit pizza (because Ninja Turtles love pizza).

Sunday-- Benjamin's actual birthday-- we kept it simple with family. He requested an ice cream sandwich cake:

We're so thankful for Jamin and had a wonderful time celebrating with him.

Jamin turns 7

Benjamin is 7 today!

He loves tetherball, Angry birds, football, baseball, PE, math, art, dogs, fruit of any kind, Mario Brothers (mostly Yoshi), Ninja Turtles (mostly Michelangelo), legos, and all things nerf.

Jamin surprises us daily with his quick mind and playful spirit. He is a thoughtful friend and brother who would live outside if he could; winter becomes sheer torture for him.

We adore this tenacious, goofy boy.

Happy 7th birthday, Benjamin!

(Sort of) Snow days

Two weeks ago, every school district in the valley was given a snow day. Every school district that is, except ours. 

The local charter school had a snow day. So did Travis' preschool. 

In honesty, we didn't have that much snow (Idaho usually keeps school open for many inches more); the cancellations came from slick roads and wind.

Benjamin felt understandably bummed as he left for school after watching the news with me that morning. 

Travis & Libby declared it Pirate Day.

 

Weeks of frigid weather followed. We woke up to negative temperatures and sometimes reached double digits as the day's high. Frozen fog sure looks pretty, but it hurts. Brrr!

Last night, a new storm moved in and brought the weather up to a balmy 20 degrees. With it came a little snow and quite a bit of ice. Once again, many districts in the area closed school today... but not Kuna. 

Just Libby stayed home today. We made it a girls' morning and had a princess tea party

and played cowgirls

before skidding our way across the ice to get Travis. Oy.

 Spring, you're welcome to come any time you want.

Winter break

The last week of winter break brought snow,

lots of indoor play time (thanks to single-digit days),

and two visits from the Tooth Fairy.

 While the break was relaxing, the boys got stircrazy and anxious to see their friends by the end.

(Plus they really love school... even if a certain 6-year-old says otherwise sometimes.)