Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Playing in the Sun!


Hadleigh is looking so grown up these days! Maybe it's because she is growing like a weed, or maybe it's those shoes!!??!!


There is a little basketball court behind our house that the girls think is the best thing ever and once of their favorite places to run around. Maybe it's because the ground is still soggy from the snow and rain. 





Dance dance dance!




Taryn rides her scooter almost everyday. It's basically attached to her. Actually, one day she decided to switch and try her bike out again. Within a few seconds she was saying it was moving too slow and didn't want to ride it anymore. Guess she's over training wheels (though she can't ride without them just yet) So she's sticking with the scooter for now :) And I love that. 



Cutie patootie posing the camera!

This series of shots below makes me giggle. Taryn asked me to take her picture with her scooter (or course) and then the following happened….


Taryn - not quite ready. Hadleigh's trying to squat for the picture?!?


Hadleigh's face!!!!!!





Taryn's not so sure about the picture anymore



And Taryn's ready to take off….



Hadleigh "Where did Taryn go?!"

Friday, March 20, 2015

Turning 27 years old for her, what's ahead, and nothing like some quality time to refresh the soul.



Every few years I have my birthday on a Sunday, which is Fast Sunday (the first sunday of the month) where we go without food or drink for a period of time. So that means that birthday breakfasts get tricky. We usually celebrate a little with presents in the morning and then the "birthday" celebration is continued after church with dinner and dessert. 
This Sunday birthday was interesting because church was canceled due to the freezing rain we were having!! So we stayed home for most of the day, Tyson and Taryn helped prepare dinner and my birthday pizookie and we relaxed. It was just what we needed. March has proven to be a crazy month for us with lots of big decisions ahead. With Tyson taking his class on Saturdays from 10am -6pm, it's like another work day for him. My work is picking up and so all of this is making for little time together as a family of four and lots of really tired days. We try to maximize our time as a family when we can get it, so my Sunday birthday with church canceled was a great way for us to get in a bunch of time together. We ventured out quickly to our friends a few times during the day. That's where the picture below comes into play. 


 It was cold cold cold. The freezing ice left a good layer of ice on our car. Us girls waited in the car while our knight in shining armor de-iced the car so we could drive a short ways to see friends. He is the best!


Saturday date night!
We visited a little bakery in Alexandria for a little sweet treat and hot chocolate :)

I did get to continue my birthday celebration a week later when Tyson had to work from home due to technical issues at work. We enjoyed lunch at an AMAZING burger place. Like- we're pretty sure we've found THE best burgers ever. Holy Cow. That's what it's called. I mean, when you come here to visit, you will die after eating these burgers!!! And their sweet potato fries with a marshmallow dipping sauce- (WHAT??!!!!!!) It's SOOOO good.

I was talking with a friend this past week about how proud I am of Tyson. He is always looking for ways to better himself spiritually, physically, and mentally. He challenges himself and pushes his limits until he achieves a new level. He is such an inspiration to me. So we may have little time together as a family now, but I know what we are sacrificing now (with his work & classes and my work) will provide great experiences for us in the future. Sacrifices now bring future blessings. I love that we've worked so hard these past few months to better our communication, utilize our family time to the last drop, and how through all this, we've grown so much closer as a family of four. It's pretty amazing, really. But don't worry….there are a ton of not so amazing moments that make us question what we've put on our plates. Like a text I sent Tyson recently saying that we were stretched too thin. But then, we get our naps, get some good food in our bellies, spend quality time together, play a lot and then things seem to balance out.

So these next few weeks should be fun, full of changes, and lots of new adventures! 




Thursday, March 19, 2015

In her own little corner


One day I walked into the front room and said, "Where's Hadleigh?" 
It didn't take long for me to find her little set up she had made all by herself on the side of the couch. She usually curls up on her spot with a good book. And sometimes, a little snack too. 



Taryn is always close by to join in on the fun!





I just love hearing her "read" to herself. We have a few books about dogs and it's so cute to hear her "read" and then stop to make a little "wroof " sound every time she sees a doggie. 
I love her own little corner and how see loves to read!

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Their two girl music band


Measuring cups, cooking spoons and chopsticks make great drums and drum sticks!




These girls are practicing to play a duet ;)

Friday, March 13, 2015

The last of the snow (I hope!)


On the last snow day (maybe if I say it, it will come true- oh I sure hope so!!!!) Tyson worked from home so Taryn and I went outside during Hadleigh's nap time. We spent forever outside. We threw so many snowballs, built a snowman, and walked around while Taryn tried to eat as much snow as possible. It was beautiful.

She was licking it off the railing. I told her her tongue would get stuck! ;)






Her poses crack me up! She totally went up to this tree, leaned on it and smiled. Funny girl!




The freshly fallen snow is so so beautiful. 




Meet Olaf (named by Taryn) Once it was done, she wanted to smash it but I convinced her to let Daddy and Hadleigh come outside when Hadleigh woke up to see it. 





With our snow boots, snow gloves and big snow jackets, this winter has been quite enjoyable! But now I'm soaking up the sun on my skin and the 60+ degree weather. Don't go anywhere, ok sunshine?! Thanks. 




Thursday, March 12, 2015

She can throw a mean snow ball :)


Taryn has such a good aim! 
She can throw snow ball after snowball and never tire of it! When were out in the snow, she will always say, "Mom, don't throw a snow ball at me!"
as she smiles and runs ahead. I've gotten some good throws in there too and she loves it! :)





We've been trying to enjoy the snow while it lasts because we know it will be leaving soon. We've been sledding, built an awesome snowman which Taryn named "Olaf" or course, and thrown many snowballs. Hadleigh is learning to appreciate the snow and tries to pick it up every once in awhile.

But don't worry- Taryn now has proper gloves. I felt like such a bad mom with my make shift gloves. Thankfully she has some legit pink (of course!) gloves that keep her hands even warmer than the ones I made for her in the beginning of the snow fall.


I was certain she was going to fall over but she balanced herself so well, even with that giant scarf on (which kept her SO WARM!)


Making snow angels is a must every time we go out








Taryn over riding her scooter everyday! 




One of our snowmen. Taryn asked me to bring a carrot outside with us one day so we could put it on a snowman. We forgo about the carrot but we still made out little snowman.


Leopard pants, fake glasses and scooter. This girl is set for the day!




Taryn thinks it's hilarious to shake the trees and watch the snow fall down around her. "I'm making it snow!"


The candian geese love to munch on grass across the street from where we live. Their honks are so loud and always remind me of family :)




Taryn was afraid to keep sledding on her birthday (she only went three times!) but we gave sledding another go a few weeks later and she loved it. Turns out she was scared of how big the hill was the first time ;) So we spent a good portion of our afternoon sledding down this little hill by our house. 


When we can't go outside, we play inside with one of Taryn's birthday gifts. Kinetic sand! It has been a huge hit over here for both Hadleigh and Taryn. I LOVE kinetic sand!!!!



Taryn's snowman!

I think the snow days are over but we did get plenty of play time in it!