Monday, March 09, 2009

big springs

on thursday each cabin took turns making a trip to big springs (about a 14 mile drive round trip). wesley and i sat this one out and enjoyed a nap instead. i figured wesley would fall alseep instantly and then i would have to juggle a little boy around while trying to drive a snowmobile.

but, owen and kevin had a good time.


i love this picture of kevin and owen.


owen taking in the scenery. there were HUGE fish, ducks, and some kind of rodent.


kevin and owen


owen in his new helmet. hilarious i tell you!
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annual snowmobile trip cont.

kevin was so ready for a vacation and always looks forward to this trip.


kevin on a snowmobile


kevin taking me for my first and only ride during the trip. i really just enjoyed watching everyone else. plus, being 22 weeks pregnant my snowpants weren't all that comfortable.


did i mention that wesley LOVED the snow?!


wes...having the time of his life!
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snowman building

god bless uncle brandon! always willing to entertain the kids. and they love him for it!


brandon and micah


brandon, owen, micah, and ogden


frosty
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annual snowmobile trip cont.

more pictures from the meadow.


jarom with his bandaged wound...which happened pre-trip.


keagen actually lost a tooth while riding on a tube...and the tooth fairy still was able to find him!


truman got the flu the second they arrived at the cabin and during the week it practically ran through their entire cabin. justin and amber were constantly doing laundry. bummer! poor cabin!


uncle brandon helped the boys build this great snowman. they were so proud.
ogden and owen
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annual snowmobile trip cont.

more pictures from our fun at the meadow.


mom


snowmobiles have a magical power on wesley. he loves them, but it doesn't take long for them to lull him to sleep. we just threw him in a tube and let him rest while we finished playing. this year kevin bought us all our own helmets. the boys look so cute in their helmets. i didn't even put my on this trip...but it did get some use from others. next year!


blake and melissa


mom and emily
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annual snowmobile trip


another successful snowmobile trip with no injuries! tuesday afternoon we packed up and headed to island park with my family for a three-night stay at The Pines. when we arrived the snow was a slushy mess but it didn't take long for it to freeze up again and for more snow to come. i think it snowed every day we were there. in fact, friday morning we woke up to about 6 inches of new snow. so much fun!

things that i LOVE about this trip:
for the four days we are there i only have to cook one meal
we eat LOTS of good food
we play lots of fun games
hot tubs
playing outside
being with my entire family
relaxing in beautiful cabins amongst beautiful scenery

this year we shared a cabin with my parents and the murdoch's. owen loved being in a cabin with melissa's four boys!

wednesday we played in the nearby meadow with the snowmobiles and sleds/tubes. this was the first and last time that i got on a snowmobile during our trip. i was just more comfortable inside this year!


wesley LOVED being outside and spent every second he could in the snow. every time we moved to a different cabin for a meal we knew we would have to TOTALLY bundle him up and plan on spending extra time outside on the way there and back. he really loved it. and he also enjoyed eating it!


elena


dad


natalie playing in the snow
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Friday, March 06, 2009

happy birthday megan!

happy birthday to my niece, megan! she turns 9 today and we were actually lucky enough to sing to her in person this morning before we all packed up and headed home from our snowmobile trip.


the hollingsworth's
megan, alex, katie holding izzy & gabby, chris, and sam

we love you megan! hope you had a great day celebrating YOU!
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Monday, March 02, 2009

happy birthday carter!

today my nephew, carter, turns 5!


jaden, carter, and owen

owen loves, loves, loves carter! and he is so excited to see him today.

happy birthday carter! we love you!
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

our skating rink

with such a large yard you would think that we would build a skating rink in the back. but, no! we like it better out our front door. for all to enjoy!





SO wishing we had rain gutters! the front of our house RARELY sees the sun (because the garage blocks it. and all the snow from the roof melts/drips right on our stairs and entry. SO DANGEROUS!

visitors: consider yourselves warned.
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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

bunk buddies

the search is FINALLY over! we have been looking at bunk beds since november and finally found what we were looking for at target.
i loved these beds because of the color, they look sturdy, affordable, and you can separate them into twin beds that are identical (it seems like with most bunk beds one of the beds looks funny/different when they are separated).

when the beds were delivered owen was going out of his mind with excitement! and as soon as kevin got home from work owen was ready to get started. he grabbed the instructions and said, "dad, i got the map! come on, we've got a job to do!"


the excited bunk buddies

the dang thing took over three hours to construct and the boys were DOG tired by the time we finished.


we are going to decorate their room with a bug theme with blue and green accents. it's hard to decide who is most excited about that...the boys or me! i found this adorable bedding at potterybarnkids.com on sale (the only way i can afford/justify buying from pottery barn).


aren't these bugs so cute?!






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happy birthday brian!

brian, our nephew, turns 4 today!



brian is fun-loving and curious. he loves to play!

happy birthday brian! we love you!
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Monday, February 23, 2009

the great pretender

wesley LOVES to dress-up and pretend. he is constantly putting buckets, bags, and hats on his head (we keep all the plastic bags away...don't worry). and sometimes he gets even more creative with his accessories!



CUTIE!
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happy birthday anna!

anna, my niece, turns SEVEN today!



anna is a little firecracker! she is so beautiful!

happy birthday anna! we hope you have a fabulous day celebrating! we love you!
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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

"dad, come tell me about my day!"



owen has created his own little tradition. the last several nights, after we have tucked him into bed, owen will say, "dad, come tell me about my day!". and who could refuse such a cute request?! not kevin! kevin will then lay down next to owen's bed and ask owen questions about his day and then owen will ask kevin to tell him a story (he usually requests a camping story...not sure why).

since kevin started his new job in december he has been working most nights until about 7pm so when he gets home it's practically bedtime for the boys...so, he loves this chance to bond with owen and owen goes to sleep adoring his dad even more (if that is even possible)!

i love these boys!
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Monday, February 02, 2009

owen...i mean wesley, the bookworm

houston, we have a problem! so...anytime wesley sees a picture of himself, or anytime we ask wesley what his name is he proudly points to himself and says..."OWEN!". he has been doing this for well over a month. should i be concerned? i was telling my parents about this and they told me when my oldest brother, jarom, was just a toddler he would tell everyone that his name was "katie" (my oldest sister) and he turned out okay. although, it did almost drive my dad out of his mind!


on a lighter note, wesley has become quite the bookworm. he has two books that he keeps on his bed and requests that i read them to him before his nap and before bedtime (love you forever and red or blue, i like you!). then, he looks at the books until he falls asleep (usually with the book covering his face). if he wakes up in the middle of the night he will come into our room holding ALL of his blankets (he sleeps with three) and both of his books and he will usually lie down by me while he looks through the books until he falls back to sleep. so cute!

today he cleared out the section where i keep some of their books and created a little reading nook. i had to grab a picture and blog about it. things i don't want to forget about our little wes.

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