Sledding Fun

Yesterday afternoon, Jon and I took the kids out sledding.  Sadly this is the first time this season we got sledding. We had a BLAST!  The kids tried out their new Ski Helmets that they got for Christmas in preparation for our upcoming downhill ski trip.  The good news is that they LOVED them and did not complain at all about having to wear the new helmets. 

Jon spent most of the time using his new camera to catch some fun shots.  I have to admit that he really did get some great shots and the camera works awesome. 

K was the brave one going down the hill head first and backwards and LOVING it.  Our friends the Bolands joined us for some of the sledding fun and E and their little girl M would go down the hill and laugh and laugh and laugh when they got done.

A was a little more timid and spent some time at the bottom hanging out with Jon.  I smile at her because that is exactly how I was when I was a little girl.  She did manage to get down the hill a few times though and she really enjoyed it. 

After our big sledding event, we came back to our house for some fun with our Triplet Family friends.  It was a post holiday party and we had some great food and conversation. Such fun people to hang out with and truly know the road we have been down with our kids. 
Overall, it was a truly great day and so much fun to hang out with the kids and enjoy sledding with them. 

We look forward to more sledding in the near future. 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Balance Beam Pros

Weekend with Gran and Gramps

The Girls Performing

The Girls Biggest Fan

This past weekend, we had the joy of hosting Grandma and Grandpa Erickson.  We were all thrilled they could come because we had not seen them for 3 months.  It was a weekend full of activity as Jon dived into painting Little Ms. E bedroom and Grandma Carol and myself along with E picked out new fabric for her window seat and valance.  Needless to say, the room is complete and it turned out great.  Next, we will move onto Lil Ms A's bedroom.

The Biggest Fan Snacking on Ice Cream!

Friday night, Jon and I had a meeting at church so the kids stayed home with Grandma and Grandpa and watched the movie Annie.  They loved it and they keep asking me to sing that song again...The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there will be sun.....Ha!  

Love this pic of the girls

The girls had another dance performance this past weekend. They LOVE to dance and it was a fun event.  K on the other hand was less than thrilled he had to go and "watch" another performance but I assured him that soon enough we would all be going to watch him play basketball.  So fun to have all these activities for the kids.

Warming Up!

The Girls All Smiles

Sunday night Jon's Aunt and Uncle invited all of us over for dinner.  It was so nice of them to host us and feed all of us.
Sadly today, Grandma and Grandpa headed back home but we have plans to see them again soon.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Hog Pile

Happy New Years 2011

Wordless Wednesday ~ We Believe

A Magical Night at the Theater

Getting ready to go to the show!

Last week to kick off our Christmas celebrations, we went to the theater with Grandma and Grandpa A, Uncle Bern and Aunt Lorretta (visiting all the way from Atlanta), Uncle T, and Jane.  We saw Joesph and the Amazing Techicolor Dreamcoat and it was simply AMAZING!  We all enjoyed it and the kids loved it and watched it intently through the entire production. 

Grandma Mary and Mommy with their favorite little guy

After the show it was snowing and so beautiful in the park.

Before the show we met at a restaurant close to the Theater for a fantastic meal and some awesome conversation.  It was truly one of the best Christmas presents that the Erickson 5 got this year.  The kids are still talking about the show. 
It was a beautiful setting with the park across the street all lighted up and the snow was falling.  The wonder of the season filled our hearts and minds and we were all feeling the spirit within us.  Such a beautiful world we live in with and we are so blessed with awesome family and friends.  God is good, very very very good! 

Check out that Nut Cracker

A and E all Smiles

K in his Santa Hat

The setting was beautiful.

The Erickson Five

Merry Christmas

Oh What A Joyful Season

Starlight Joy Christmas 5x7 folded card

Personalized Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Wordless Wednesday ~ A Girl and Her Cat

Change of Plans

This weekend was a whirlwind for us again.  We had every intention to leave town to celebrate the Holidays a little early with Jon's side of the family.  However, K was struck with the stomach bug that has been going around.  We thought he was all better and we woke up Saturday morning loaded the car, the girls were in the truck with the their movie going and K went into the bathroom and threw up again.  At this point we had to surrender to the fact that we just could not make it out of town.  We were all disappointed and so sad we could not go to celebrate with family.  This season has been a little different with all the snow storms and cancellations that we have been experiencing.  I did enjoy church this morning with the awesome music and great message.  I think I am finally starting to catch the spirit of the season. 

Tonight we ended our weekend well with hosting my family for a Sunday night dinner.  The kids loved entertaining in their own home and loved hanging out with their Grandma and Grandpa, Jane, and of course the beloved Uncle T.  As you can see in the pics above, they were all giving Uncle T a workout. 

Double Booked

E ready for the show

A ready for her show

This past week, we had our first encounter of kids activities overlapping.  Thank goodness we were both in town to shuffle the kids to where they needed to be.  I do have to say it was hard to miss one of the scheduled events.  We let the kids decided how to break up the parents for these events.  It turned out that Jon took the girls to their dance show and I took Kendrick to his Basketball half time performance.  I was lucky enough to have Grandma Mary join us for our adventure. I know this is not the last time that we will be double booked for events.  It all turned out great and the kids loved to talk about their events with each other when we were all excited to hear about the other event.  Below are some pictures to capture our fun double booked night. 

E practicing for the half time performance

The Dance

The Basketball show

Wordless Wednesday ~ Dexter and his Lovey

Evidence of a Hearty Lifestyle

Yes, that is snow 1/4 the way up our sliding glass door!

This past weekend we had a doozie of a snow storm.  It was pretty exciting and a whole lot of fun to be stranded in our house for at least 24 hours or more.  All activities were canceled, we could not even make it to church on Sunday morning.  The kids had fun playing in it and Jon has fun cleaning it up.  I had fun watching from the windows while trying to keep the kids entertained, the Christmas Cookies baking, and all the items on the Christmas To Do List in check.  This storm was even a little bit of an eye opener for all of us here in the North! 

The Grill is buried! 

I love the day after a big storm when the sun is out and all the snow is glistening.  However, I do not love the below zero temps.  The past few days the commute to work has been outrageous and Jon and I often ask ourselves WHY DO WE LIVE HERE? !!!  However, I love it.  I love the four seasons and there is always something to look forward too.  Living up here in the North is not for the weak but only for the Hearty! 

This is the view out of the office window at work! 

It is going to be a long winter and by March/April I may be ready to pull my hair out but for now I look forward to a White Christmas.  These past few weekends and being "snowed" in have given me a lot of time to enjoy my family.  Thankfully Jon has been home for all of the storms which makes the snow clean up really easy for me.  There is a lot of snow on the ground and even more on the way but to look at the positive...all the more to ski on, build with, make forts out of, and just plan make the trees and world pretty. 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Ready for School

Christmas Cookie Fun

A and Grandpa Al

E loving the decorating

K Loved it Too

This past weekend we had our annual Christmas Cookie fun at Grandma Mary's house.  The kids and Grandpa Al spent some time decorating Grandma Mary's famous roll out cookies. 

K being silly with the Brown Sprinkles

Uncle T with the Girls

Daddy Taking Cooking Lessons

It was a fun afternoon with lots of frosting, sprinkles, and of course don't forget the Christmas music. 
Tis the Season to be Jolly....fa la la la la la la la la!

Wordless Wednesday ~ My Project Guy