Mean Mug 2015

He's still got it.

Fun in the snow

I took the boys sledding at the park hill.  I knew it was a big hill - I've walked up and down it, but it is a SERIOUS sledding hill.  I wasn't prepared I guess for how fast and big it was to sled on.  I only caught Will after he had already gone down a portion of it because I was half way down it - at the place where Dane wanted to start from.  It was huge.  I went once from the middle, which was enough for me.  Will went twice from the top, and Dane went once from the middle.  I imagine they will enjoy it more in a few years.  There were older kids there and a couple of them were snowboarding! 

And then of course Dada hooked us up with some sledding fun.  This is Will. 

Finally Winter!

I love the Midwest.  I love ALL of the seasons, and when one is over I'm ready for the next.  I love hot summers and snowy winters, and every bit of spring and fall.  So far this winter had been a dud in my book.  We hadn't even been able to get out our snow gear - the boys have been so disappointed.  I had almost given up on this winter and was getting spring fever.  But finally - we got some good stuff!  Cold weather and now we have about 8-10" of snow.  Monday was Presidents Day so the boys were out of school.  Tuesday and Wednesday were snow days and Thursday and Friday they had 2-hr. delays.

Here are some pictures of our fun.

Luke salvaged this netting and made the boys the coolest fort.

Archie was enjoying this "jungle" and attacking the boys when they passed by.

 Big Dog loves the snow and catching snowballs.

 

Wills 2 front teeth are coming in so quickly!  It's really amazing how fast they are coming in.

BFFs

Reesy and my mom and Chuck's dog Brinkley are such good friends. They love each other!   So cute.

Valentine's Day

This adorable picture came home from school with Dane. What a sweet sweet Valentine gift. 

My Littlest Love

Every night for homework, along with another assignment, Will has a page full of words he has to practice.  They change each week.  One of his words this week is "barn".  Tonight we were going over his words.  He read barn and then looked up at me very seriously and asked: "Was I born in a barn?"  I laughed and said no, silly!  He said well Daddy told me I was.

Will's Writing

Here are a couple of things Will has written at school lately.  This one was 2 sentences: 

I want a two hour delay.

I open the pantry door.

I wash my hands before eating. 

(I have noticed with his writing sometimes he will get distracted - and I see it here.  On the last sentence, he was writing the word "hands" and got the end of hands "the ds" and the "be" in before, mixed up.  Sometimes he will mix two words together and I think this is an example of that happening.  

For this assignment, they wrote sentences about themselves and then their classmates had to guess who was who. The 2nd sentence says: I like watermelon.  :)

He's doing a great job!!

My big boy playing this year :)

Basketball

Tonight at practice Dane is feeling the need to dribble while hopping on one foot. Just him. Nobody else.

Basketball 2015

The boys are both playing basketball this winter.  The Y started a new 4&5s league so Dane got to play for the first time this year too.  It is ADORABLE.  These were at Dane's first game - and the kids were just as excited with the wrist bands they got to wear as they were to play the game.  Each player wears a certain colored wrist band that matches a player on the opposite team so they know who they're supposed to guard.  They spent ample time matching their bands, clashing them, pretending to shoot Spiderman webs from them, etc.  The poor ref was working so hard scooting them in the correct direction, reminding them to dribble, literally guiding their little shoulders to where they should stand and go.  It was much like herding cats..and SO cute.  Some players would go and hide, others got distracted and completely forgot what they were there to do.  Dane did awesome.  He made 2 baskets and had a great time.  By the 2nd game things went much more smoothly and it seemed like they were beginning to understand more about how the game works.  It will be so fun to watch them all learn and progress as the season goes on.  

Dane making his first basket!

The YMCA is a really great organization for kids to start off playing sports.  They focus on "pillars" like respect, honesty, teamwork, responsibility, etc.   They play one night each week and for the first 30 minutes they practice.  (one team on each end of the court) Then they all gather in the center circle and talk about the pillars and have a prayer before playing a game against the other team for the last 30 minutes.  The first night during circle the referee asked the kids to raise their hand if they had ever heard the word respect.  All their little hands shot up....excepts Dane's.  Luke and I looked at each other like ...what?! Why isn't he raising his hand??  As we both controlled our urges to shout out to him to raise his hand!  He most certainly knows that word and what it means!  Then he asked who knew about the word responsibility?  Nope, not Dane.  Honesty? Nope.  Teamwork?? Nope!  

haha..Oh Dane.. 

100th Day of School

I thought this was absolutely hilarious. For Will's 100th day of school they wrote stories about what they think they'll be doing when they're 100. Then his teacher, Mrs. Baker, took a picture of them and age progressed them. How funny! And it's even better that his 2 front teeth are missing. Love it!!

My new artwork. :)