Winter Break Skiing

When Evy turned 5 Scott started taking her skiing. This is Evy's 4th year and something she looks forward to all year long. They typically only get the chance to go once, but Evy would like to go about 30 times per year! Charlie turned 5 this year so we have been warming her up to the idea for about a month. She was not so enthusiastic but finally decided she would give it a try. 

Ready for ski school.

Scott said it was a little more difficult this year since he had to manage two different skill levels. Evy is over the bunny hill and wanted to move on to some more difficult hills. She rode the ski lift by herself for the first time while Scott and Charlie followed behind. 

Like a pro!

I know Evy likes skiing but I think she likes the lunch break just as much. Scott lets them pick out whatever they want....hot dogs, cookies, starburst, french fries, lemonades and cheese curds. 

Charlie got the hang of things quickly and did a great job!

Will and I spent the day cuddled up at home. Can't wait until Will is 5 and he can go along. Does that mean I will get a day at home alone????

Christmas

Christmas Eve. Will did not want to participate in the picture unless I was holding him. I think this is the best shot we were able to get. 

We told Evy that she had to stay in bed until 7 a.m. She said she snuck out to the tree to see all of the gifts and then went back to bed. She was at my bedside at 7:01. I continue to be impressed with her self control. 

Charlie likes to sleep and had to be woken up for Christmas festivities! We also had to wake Will up.

Santa brought the girls Calico Critters playsets.

Will got a tractor and spent the entire morning loading boxes around the house.

The girls each got lego sets from Grammy Sherry and Papa Dick and spent most of the day working on their new sets.

We spent the entire day at home and capped the day off with a special dinner in the dining room, complete with fancy cups and candle sticks! I was clearly to lazy or too busy to take many pictures.

Family Christmas

I didn't end up with a single photo from Christmas on either side of our family. I do this often and then just steal the photos from my mom's camera. Thank goodness someone remembers to take pictures! 

Play Farm with Me

Will has dragged out about 45 different cars and trucks, 25 different horses and 3 barns. He likes to play farm, but he likes it even more when someone else plays farm with him. "Play farm with me!" "Play farm with me?" 

Fun Date Night

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is going to the Nutcracker. This was the 4th or 5th year that the girls and I have gone. This year Scott went with us for the first time! We had dinner downtown at a nice restaurant with fancy dessert and then enjoyed the show! Will stayed at home with a babysitter. 

First Snow

The kids were so excited for the first snow. They played outside twice which means there were two rounds of soaking wet snow gear to dry!

Gingerbread House Making

Each year Scott spends the first weekend in December deer hunting with his Dad. So, I try to come up with activities to keep these crazy kids occupied. We kicked off the weekend with gingerbread house making. Evy had a very particular vision for how the house should look and she was the lead architect. Charlie really wanted to put the candy on the house and kept spilling it all over the floor. Will mostly just wanted to eat the candy. I need to remember to buy extra candy next year as I think eating the candy is the highlight for all three of them. 

They were not going to let the extra frosting go to waste!