Winter is for Baking

Our family appreciates the cooler weather, especially because it means the oven can get turned on to bake goodies.  It's a little difficult to run the oven when it's already an oven outside (summer time is not for cookies at our house).  So, Mom baked up a batch of Oatmeal bread, complete with mini loaves!  The kids thought these were awesome ways to make tiny little sandwiches.

And then it was time for our Blue & Gold banquet.  Instead of buying cupcakes and a cake, we made one for the Pack.  So satisfying!

A Family of Miners

John received a Smithsonian rock collection kit for his birthday and, boy, was he excited!  It involved hammers, chisels, rocks flying, and dirt falling to the floor.  Thank goodness he was wearing his safety goggles.

The kids all wanted to help him get his precious stones from the block of glued sand.  They were more than a little helpful when a tiny stone appeared.  Everyone wanted in on the action.  John was a good sport and let them watch.

If a tool was going unused, Joe took the opportunity to pick up a fallen chunk of sand and start his own mining campaign.  I think we have a family of interested rock hounds.

A Post About Jason

Just thought that since he's 6.5 months old, maybe he should get a little recognition for the cool stuff he's learning.  Jason's already starting to crawl!  He kinda skipped the rolling back to front thing; so we'll be working on that.  But one of Mom's favorite things is his "OOOOHHH" face!

He's so cute with this look!  I think Mommy was starting to think she missed seeing this on Jason.  All of the other babies had their "Oooooh" face when they were just learning to sit up and smile.  But this is so fun too!

He's starting to play with toys and do things independently.  But he loves it when other play with him too!  Kelsey and Joe have been great with him when he gets a little fussy and Mommy needs to work (ie make dinner).  We are blessed to have such great helpers!

Keep growing, Jason Man Man!

Bubble Bath!

Have you ever wanted to sit in a tub filled with bubbles like they have in the movies?  I think we emptied 1/3 of a bottle of bubbles into the tub to create some pure joy and happiness for the kids!  The kids went from using the bubbles as punching gloves to being Daddy (it used to be Santa Claus' beard...but since Daddy's got an awesome beard...well, it just makes sense!).

Jason couldn't quite figure out the bubbles, but he was having fun watching them splash around.

It's a bit of a challenge to get six kids to fit in the tub.  Thank goodness some of them were patient enough to wait their turn.  Everyone got a chance to play with the awesome bubbles.

There were many giggles coming from the bathroom this night!  Love the beards, kids!

Remember that White Stuff?

The ice storm that hit us a few days ago made the kids excited again!  They love seeing white stuff (ice, snow, etc).  It doesn't matter what it's final form.  But the drivers around here were definitely worried about driving on semi slippery roads.  Well, it canceled schools (twice now) and the kids were able to gather some "snow" and laugh at all the dirty icicles.

Wasn't like a Utah storm or a midwest storm but it's enough to make the kids happy.  And that's enough for me.

Hockey and the National Anthem

The older kids have been enjoying going to the local ice hockey team with Daddy on special "dates with Dad."  It started back in October when we got a couple free tickets to a Stars game.  Since then, we've gotten a few more free or discounted tickets and had an enjoyable evening of memories.

John got the opportunity to sing the National Anthem with a group of kids from his elementary school.  He was super nervous but also excited.  He got to sing to the first soldout crowd in the center!  Awesome job, John!