New Years at the Cabin

 This past Monday, the kiddos and I headed up to my parents' cabin to spend New Years with everyone. Unfortunatly, Boss worked Monday so we missed having him there but it was still a fun day.

We headed out at 6am to make it in time for breakfast with everyone which ended up being a bad idea. As soon as I started driving through the mountains, we hit a thick patch of fog AND it started snowing really hard. My sisters claim that it's too dramatic to call what I drove through a blizzard so we decided the better word is vortex. The snow was coming right at my windshield and we ended up driving 25 mph through the mountains because nothing was plowed and the roads were covered in snow. SCARY!!!

But as you can tell from the fact that I am here writing this story, we lived through this event and made it in time for breakfast.

The kids were really excited to see their cousins and even though this picture has horrible quality, I had to add it. They all rode around on that fire truck throughout the day and loved it.

After breakfast, the plan was to head up to the rim to play in the snow but since it had snowed more than I've ever seen at the cabin, we decided the kids would have just as much fun playing outside around the cabin.

 Spidey was enthralled with the "no", which on an unrelated note made us all realize he has a hard time pronouncing "s" if a consonant is the next letter in the word.
For example: snow "no", scared "cared", stop "top", spot "pot".
The funniest part is that my child who is OBSESSED with tattling right now was running around the house saying, "Sammy is throwing 'no' balls at the house!!!" We were all laughing since it sounded like he was saying there were NO balls being thrown which is ironic since that would be a good thing.

 Can you tell he was happy?

 Uncle Chris' son kept throwing 'no'balls at him so finally, Chris tackled him to the ground in the snow. Of course, Spidey loved that.

 Petey came out in mismatched gloves and 'no'boots that actually fit me but that's what happens when you only go see the snow once or twice a year.

 Isn't her sweater the cutest? I was pretty proud. I found it at Dillards last week. It was originally $50 but I bought it for $15.

 Spidey likes to explore and got stuck down a small hill so Uncle Chris helped him climb back up.

 There's Uncle Chris' son at it again. He loved throwing 'no'balls at everyone.

 Uncle Jp made a little sledding pathway for the kids and they had a blast with it.

 Petey learned that snow is ice and it tastes good.

 One of the uncles had to be at the end of the tiny hill when the kids were sledding so they didn't run into the trees.

 Jp made the kids' day by grabbing the sled rope and running around the yard really fast.

 Here is a video of him running around with them.


That video also introduces the next two pictures...

Petey learned that it is just easier to lick the snow right off the ground.

So naturally, she taught George to do the same thing...

Wilbur Force got in on the sledding action.

Uncle Chris' oldest son tried out the sled as well.

And so did Aunt Candace. She loved it.

After a while, Petey was ready to be done and begged to go inside and warm up. Can you see the pain in her smile? Sh was freezing! It was probably all of that snow she ate.

Spidey ventured out behind the house to find more snow. I had a hard time following him back there because my feet kept sinking.

Then we brought everyone inside to warm up, drink hot chocolate and watch a movie.

Of course, this is where Candace stayed most of the day.

Bug was all smiles for me that afternoon.

George had fun trying to get him to smile.

I can hardly stand how cute that kid is.

Sorry, Andrea, you said this picture was hot so I added it just for you.

This is what the rest of the room looked like as I was taking pictures of Bugsy.

The two besties.

Bugsy fell asleep on his moms legs. Even sleeping he is adorable!

 Mini G, all wrapped up and warm.

 

The next day, we were ready to leave and since it had snowed again, my car was "covered".

Yes, if you live in the snow, this isn't "covered" but it was more than I've ever seen. It was also the first time I've had to brush/scrape snow off of my car to be able to drive.

There were icicles under my car.

I learned the hard way that when scraping snow off of your car with a broom, make sure NOT to hit a tree branch right above you. Snow will dump all over you...

I got to spend some time with Mini G while her parents packed up their car to leave also.

Since the kids didn't stay up to ring in the new year with us, they loved wearing the hats and tiaras the next morning.

It was a great new years and I am so grateful to my family for putting up with me and my wild children.

New Years Eve

The day after Fatty and Katie were married, we headed up to my parents cabin, where we planned to spend the next 4 days.
The kids were so excited because there was a little bit of snow on the ground. This was the only snow we got to see and play in while we were there and it was the perfect amount.

The kids got to feel it, play in it, throw it and nobody got too dirty or wet. Perfect!Spidey sure was happy and gave me a smile to prove it. Friday afternoon, my parents, sister and family, and my hubby and Petey all went on a walk. I stayed at the cabin with Spidey and my little sister, Candace. Spidey had such a fun time because it was the first time I let him play our Kinect. There is a fun bubble game that he loved to play, where he just popped a bunch of bubbles on the screen. Very appropriate for a 2 year old. :)

That night, the kids were really cranky and we had not gotten a lot of sleep the night before so Boss and I were cranky as well. We ended up leaving the cabin after dinner so our kids could sleep in their own beds and we could get a better nights sleep too. The next morning, New Years Eve, Spidey woke up and threw up all over me. We were going to have a fun day but decided to let him rest and see how things went. We put the kids on our bed and turned Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (their favorite) on the computer. Thank you, Youtube!

About an hour later, my little boy was all smiles and giggles and the kids were playing so well. I find it hilarious that Petey is willing to push her brother around in his Tonka truck. They both think it's funny.
After the kids seemed happy, we gae Spidey a full meal, which he ate quickly and never threw up so we decided to head to the park for some fresh air. This was Petey's first time riding her new bike to the park and she did great! Spidey actually fell over on his bike a minute after this picture was taken and refused to ride it. So Boss gave him a shoulder ride and I carried his scooter to the park. Boss is such a fun dad and plays with the kids at the park way more than I do. I love this picture of my boys.Add in this cute little girl and you've got my 3 favorite people, all in the same picture! :)On the way home, Boss "helped" Spidey ride his scooter home by pushing him the entire way. :) Don't worry, our house is the second house down the street from the park.
That night, our family was invited to a party but because of Spidey's possible sickness and Boss having his brother over, Petey and I went by ourselves. And we had a blast!
There was a bounce house for the kids, tons of yummy Mexican food, a pinata, karaoke, lots of confetti throwing, and fireworks!Petey was so busy picking up candy from the pinata that she didn't even notice the confetti flying everywhere and covering her head. Once she realized what we were doing, she joined in on the fun. Confetti everywhere!This was probably my favorite part of the night and I feel bad for Leyla and the clean up she's had to do at her house since then. It was seriously everywhere and we all tracked it when we came inside. Petey was so excited and wanted to show me her bag of candy.And I was so proud of her for being brave and holding a sparkler. Last year, she wouldn't touch them. :)
I'm glad we got to have a fun New Years Eve. We came home at 10:30, I put Petey to bed, and then I stayed up til midnight with my brother in law and husband. :)
Stay tuned. Tomorrow, I plan to blog my 2012 goals and words.