latest happenings

it used to bother me that Chris and I are a little bit too hands on with projects. like, why can't we just hand a block of wood to our son and say, "here! do whatever you want, have fun, and let's see how fast it goes on race day!". but watching Charlie and Chris brainstorm, discuss aerodynamics, sand, re-sand, paint, re-paint and weigh, weigh, weigh Charlie's pinewood derby car was a good reminder to me of the importance of spending time doing things that allow us to get to know our kids at each stage of their childhood. 

Charlie was so excited!

we have a guy in our ward that has some fancy technology that allows us to not only see the time of each car crossing the finish for every race, but it also was able to then convert that into speeds of each boy's car as if they were an actual car. Charlie's car was consistently the winner! and if his was an actual car, it would've averaged 230mph!

way to go Charlie!!! you did a great job designing, sanding and painting your car buddy!

archery is in full swing and we find ourselves most Saturdays in random locations in Central Ohio for tournaments. jack is getting better and last weekend scored his personal best (at a tournament) with a 266 out of 300, with 9 bullseyes. 

we are happy to see him getting better and better and hope he will continue enjoying it.

Chris brings his binoculars along and relays each shot to us in the stands lol

we have had a lot of snow and there have been a couple forts built. this was not jack's biggest one. no, his biggest one was built on a day that was too cold for me to go out and take a picture of it hahaha, poor kid. he and Ellie worked on it for hours and were sad the following day when temps rose and the fort fell.

Ellie has a great friend that lives across the street. it was Evie's birthday at the end of January and her grandma always has a special tea party for her and a friend and their dolls. Ellie was thrilled to be invited!

Evie's stepmom, Leona, got matching dresses for the girls and even sewed matching dresses for the dolls!

we always celebrate the Super Bowl, even if we don't care for the teams playing. we celebrate because the food.

this year Chris smoked giant beef ribs, and I made 7 layer bean dip, pizza pinwheels, queso, pretzel bites and a chocolate cake (that just happened to be made from quinoa, not flour) that was deliciously decadent!

when the weather warms up we try to get outside as much as possible. Owen loved finding this frozen pond in a far corner of the yard. we spent a good hour exploring the grass and leaves frozen beneath, sending sticks skittering across the surface, and stepping on the very edges to see how far we could go before the ice gave way.

sometimes the trampoline is dry enough we can jump! sometimes its not, and the kids still jump. but Owen learned the hard way that defrosting numb fingers and toes can be excruciatingly painful. 

I spent some time with the big kids jumping a couple weeks ago while Owen was at preschool, but the big kids had the day off. we had so much fun playing gaga ball and I made it almost an hour before I needed to stop because my bladder isn't what it used to be!!!

and every once in a while, the sun peaks out and no matter what we are doing, Owen and I grab our coats and go outside to soak up every drop of the glorious sunshine!

our neighborhood is great for wildlife and we love looking at all the various tracks, especially in the snow.

the wildlife is especially active at dinnertime and we happened to see this buck (followed by many others) on night back in January. while Chris was trying to sneak a picture, he went through the garage so he wouldn't spook it. its a good thing he did because a pipe had burst! so glad we are only renting this place!!!

we spend a lot of time watching out our back windows. sometimes jack tries to sneak up on them, but it never really works. we've thrown out scraps of old produce and bread hoping to attract the deer, but so far that hasn't worked either.

Ellie got to go on a special date with Chris a few weeks ago. they went into Columbus and met uncle Marc for pizza. afterwards they went to Costco for a few things and then stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for dessert. if anyone loves cheesecake more than Chris, its Ellie!

last week at activity days we learned how to use sewing machines and made pillows!

it was chaotic, but the girls had a blast. we did a 4 piece front and an envelope back so they can make more cases at home and reuse their pillows if they want. it was a successful night!

Valentine's Day!

we got out our love note mailboxes the week before Valentine's Day for daily love notes and a little chocolate treat from mama. its one of our favorite traditions and I love that the kids race off the bus to get home and read their notes.

Chris and I don't make a big deal out of this holiday so we are very happy to skip a romantic dinner at a restaurant and do stuff as a family. the kids look forward to our valentines fondue so much! its definitely a highlight in these gloomy months leading up to spring.

our cheese fondue has been perfected!

and this year's meal was especially good because Chris surprised us all with our very favorite drink: Publix root beer!

he had a coworker spending time in Florida and paid him to buy a pack and bring it back for us. it was a fun and special surprise!

and of course, chocolate fondue is always a good idea :)

Owen loved the fact that he finally got to go to a Valentine's Day party at school, like the big kids! Owen's first valentine's party also meant that jack was getting older too. no more Valentine's Day parties for our big boy. Owen and Ellie both wanted to take in treats for their class parties, so we made frosted sugar cookies with heart sprinkles and heart shaped brownies with a white chocolate drizzle. they seemed to have been enjoyed by all.

Charlie and Ellie got to make their boxes at home and both came up with fun boxes. Charlie was very clever with his and only wanted help painting the letters.

 one of my favorite things of all time is blueberry pie! warm with vanilla ice cream is heavenly... and then cold leftovers the next day are probably my favorite thing in the whole world. Chris decided he wanted to give it a try and boy did he do a fantastic job! his crust technique/recipe was perfect!

Charlie went to an eye specialist in Columbus last week to make sure his bifocals are helping strengthen his inner eye muscles on his left eye. they are! but his prescription needs an update, so new glasses are in his near future.

while waiting for his eyes to dilate they let us walk around the hospital. they gave him sunglasses to wear if he became sensitive to light. he never was sensitive to the light, but that didn't keep him from sporting those sunglasses for 30 minutes anyways!

and last but not least...

cue the tears and sad music....

Owen wanted his hair cut.

I couldn't even go with him, it broke my heart to see those curls go.

but he's old enough to have his own opinions so it was his decision and he was ready to have "no curls!". after his haircut he said "you don't even know me now! Im not Owen now. can you give a new name?". he settled on the new name of Owen Brower, not Owen ;)