Weekend Wrap

 If you need us on ANY Friday night from now until April - we'll be at soccer games. {insert eye roll} I love soccer and that Jack plays it, but I can think of about 45 others ways to spend a Friday night. Regardless - we are a soccer family...

 Josie and Nolan are good sports about giving up their movie night to watch Jack.

Saturday Tyson installed new light fixtures in our kitchen. He's handy. If you would like him to install some fixtures for you...no problem. It's just ONE year of college tuition. Let's just say - it was harder than it appeared and he will probably NEVER do it again.

Sunday we headed off to the BIG hill in Northville for some family sledding. Jack and Josie are seasoned pros...and Nolan decided it was one of his favorite things, too. Tyson was a good sport - hauling Nolan plus the sled up the giant hill a handful of times. Nolan screamed the WHOLE way down - in elation. I took him down the hill once, but I screamed in fear. Jack was being a daredevil - per usual - and smacked him face on the ground. He had a pretty nasty bloody nose...but definitely not his first, nor his last.

Sunday night we watched most of the Super Bowl game...Boo Brady. But the kids really enjoyed Lady Gaga's performance at half time. She killed it. Busy week ahead for us!

6 more weeks of Winter

Earlier this week we had 3-4 inches of snow...which meant my kids just HAD to play outside in it. I have no idea where I went wrong with parenting. But these kids think snow is FUN. 

 Somehow the swing set becomes MORE fun in the winter than it is in the summer. I don't understand.

 When she's an adult - she will believe this hill was MUCH bigger than it actually is...

 I swore this kid wouldn't last 5 min outside in the cold. Wrong. He loves it. Last one inside...

I would post a video of what Jack was doing...but it was reckless and dangerous. I let him do it anyway...and hoped the snow would break his fall without breaking his bones.

Not a joke: he really tried to come in my house with this snowball. "I pay inside with snow, mom." Not how it works, two year old. I promised him if he left it on the deck - it would still be there the next day.

And today - Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow...so I guess we will keep our snow shovel handy until mid-April or so...

SaveSave

It's SNOW...no, It's RAIN...No, It's ICE.

A few days ago we woke up to a few inches of snow. Tyson had to be at work early for a meeting - so I trusted Jack to "babysit" and ran out to shovel the driveway.

By the time school was out - the temps had melted quite a bit of the snow...but my kids still wanted to play in it. Good thing they got their fix! We've had SO much rain and now it's starting to ice. This is PURE MICHIGAN.

Nolan tried on Jack's fake glasses the other morning and thought he looked pretty smart. He's a funny kid. Ask him to tell you a knock-knock joke.

Tyson was traveling for work this week...and it was our turn to carpool for soccer. I filled the Suburban up! And also reminded myself that I'm OKAY with my 3 kids. I believe carpool is a great form of birth control. We were a walking circus.

And it's March...

Whoops - doing a TERRIBLE job at blogging. I've been a little busy. Michigan decided to recognize WINTER - just as winter was leaving...so we've had some snow days and that's always interesting.

Baseball season is underway. We dusted off the Tigers gear and we are ready to see what Detroit can do this season.

We've had some lazy days spent watching movies on the couch. Cooper isn't complaining. Such an old man.

Snow arrived - then left - then dumped on us - then left again...and, wait for it... CAME BACK last night.

Our faces say "we like it" but our hearts say "STAY AWAY SNOW!"

For the record - there is nothing cuter than a baby in a snow suit.

Nolan discovered legos. He likes them and he does a decent job using them correctly. Third child - leave them alone and they find ways to entertain themselves appropriately.

Josephine is channeling her inner "Florida retiree" with this get-up. We are heading to Naples/Sebring for Spring Break, so she's just getting a head start.

Aside from Legos - Nolan is also OBSESSED with reading books. Obviously, this is 100% fine with me. 

Jack is doing well in Kindergarten and is really enjoying making art. He's meticulous and detailed in his drawings...and he's a perfectionist. I have no idea where he got that trait...

So that's the update for half a month - that I failed to blog about. I'll be better.

Sledding

We have a small hill behind our house that is perfect for kids to sled down. Jack and Josie spent some time sledding with the neighbor kids on Sunday and had so much fun!

 He has a need for speed...

We've actually seen some sunshine lately around  here! I won't lie...it definitely makes winter days more bearable.

Snow. Seriously.

Unfortunately snow season is upon us. I used to think winter was only a few months - but then last winter was so long, I'm still scarred from it. So when snow started falling on Metro Detroit - it was everything in me not to start cussing out Mother Nature. Because, seriously.

Of course, I tried to stifle my disgust - Jack and Josie were so excited and really wanted to play outside.

15 minutes to get gear on, 10 minutes of playing in the snow, 15 minutes to get the gear off.
Lord, help me.

If you live in a state that thinks 50 degrees is cold...{ahem, Florida!} - we don't want to hear about how awful it is to throw on a sweatshirt before you leave the house. And here's a heads-up...if this snow BS continues - you may just have "Becker Party of 5" (plus two dogs) knocking on your door. Except we will have a moving truck instead of a suitcase. #truth

Indoor Snow Play

We got more fresh snow this week - and I just wasn't in the mood to go play in it. I feel like that is sending the wrong message to Mother Nature, when - in fact - I don't want her thinking we LIKE the snow. We don't. We're done with it.

I scooped up some fresh snow and brought it inside. Then I let the kids stir in some colored water. It was a lame way to play in the snow - but it held their attention for quite a while. I even had to go back for a second scoop.

And they both made snowmen - so it wasn't a total bust. We have officially started planning a trip south. I hope Florida cooperates with us. We've had a LONG winter and would appreciate some sunny skies & warm temps. AND - I think Disney is in the forecast too! Jack & Josie don't know about this yet - but I'm thinking we will have some pretty excited kiddos!

Weekend on Adams Lake

We spent the weekend in Wolcotville, Indiana on Adams Lake with our friends, the Carstens.  Tyson and Matt have been friends since they were in elementary school. We love spending time with Matt & Julia...and Jack & Josie love their boys. Matt's parents recently built a new cottage - with enough room to house 20+ (Matt has 4 siblings and there are a total of 10 grand babies!)

 Maddox, Jack, and Jace had so much fun sledding and playing on the frozen lake with their daddies.

Devin (their youngest) is 8 months old now and is ridiculously cute! He's laid back just like his brothers.  On Saturday we wasted a couple hours watching IU lose to Purdue. No one in the house was happy about that. Julia made some delicious chicken chili for us - which definitely helped.

Before bedtime we took a stroll on the lake and then headed inside for some hot cocoa. The kids all went to bed and the parents enjoyed a night by the fire.

Here is our February 2014 group shot. We took one back in October when they came to Michigan to visit us.

32

Thirty-two years ago today - I made my grand entrance (via emergency c-section in blizzard conditions). Like my own children, it seems we have an affinity for arriving in snow storms. So it was fitting that Tyson came home Wednesday with an Oreo ICE CREAM cake.

You know what's awesome? Friends who call your husband at work to remind him it may be a good idea to bring a cake home. Thanks, Brooke!

Tyson was kind of in the dog house on Wednesday. It's not really his fault - but he's traveling for work again. And this time he's in my all-time favorite place - Bloomington. (yes, I'd probably choose a trip to Bloomington over Vegas.)

And - if you're like me - you may have realized a common theme. 1) When Tyson leaves we get snow. 2) When Tyson leaves, someone celebrates a birthday.

Luckily, I had two little helpers who were eager to shovel with me. We cleared the driveway and came inside for dinner.

Tyson will be home later tonight (praying for safe driving, as I know Indiana had snow too). And he can make up his absence by getting me donuts in the morning. See - I'm really quite easy to please. Oreo ice cream cake & donuts...the keys to a 32 year old woman's heart.

Another Snow Post

Everyone I know - except Uncle Jon & our Florida Friends - is SNOWED in somewhere. Yesterday the snow started falling right after Tyson jetted off for Vegas...and it kept falling...and falling...and falling. We spent the morning coloring (Josie) and being a pain in the you-know-what (Jack).

By nap time (Josie) - I just wanted Jack outside. So he helped me shovel and then we went sledding.

Josie woke up and joined us - she wasn't impressed with the snow storm. I think it's safe to say Jack is a true Michigander, while Josie is just faking it (until she can convince her daddy to move her some place warm).

This is the view from our front window today. Tyson couldn't believe how much snow we've gotten in 24hr. Thanks to a VERY kind neighbor - our driveway is clear. And I cleared a path to our front door. We can't have anything holding up Amazon deliveries.

Snow Day! And more on the way...

We have been cooped up inside for days. Jack has a had a nasty cold and we've been going a little stir crazy. The temps were a balmy -19 yesterday, so we bundled right up and headed outside for some fresh air. I figured cold germs probably don't survive in negative temps.

 Snow angels and "snow chunk" fights.

We took a short walk and Josie led the way. She cracked me up every time she came to a patch of snow that hadn't been shoveled. Her short little toddler legs got quite the workout!

We are supposed to get another 6-12in tonight & tomorrow. To prepare - Jack and I took an early morning trip to Meijer to load up on the essentials: sled, two kid size shovels (helpers), carrots, bananas, and oreos. I swear, if we ran out of oreos during a snow storm - I'd lose it.

Snow Day

 The snow has arrived in Northville and we decided to play outside today. Josie thought it might be fun.

 Jack knew it was fun! This kid needs a snowboard - STAT.

Then Josie took a few falls into the white stuff and gave me a look like - "Are you kidding me with this S*%#???"

And then she did a lot of this. We told her to suck it up. We are in Michigan for the long haul. Better get used to the snow.

Even Tucker got to come out and play. He loves running in the snow...and getting tackled by Tyson & Jack. Such a dude.

OH - and the infamous PowerShovel made it's winter debut. Which means you should definitely review the PowerShovel video from 2008! It's always worth a watch.