Happy Birthday, Evelyn!

We celebrated Evelyn's birthday today with lunch at her house. Here she is...holding Aubrey!

Grandpa Pat and Aubrey...

Gavin and Olivia were watching Evelyn open her presents. Gavin encouraged Aubrey to swat Olivia in the face with the plastic cucumber...what fun!

Evelyn opening her presents...with some help from Whittney, Aleigha, and Olivia.

Aubrey was looking out the window...chattering away.

She saw something outside and talked about it.

Aunt Megan made these beautiful fruit pizzas. They were delicious!

Evelyn after she blew out her candles! She blew them out one at a time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EVELYN!

A Timed Event

While the guys were waiting for supper this evening, they had a contest. One of them would spin the top while the other one ran the timer on Dad's phone.

Whittney wanted a turn too... Her tongue sticking out was definitely a help.

Thunderstorm With Snow

While the girls and I were putting away their clothes this evening, we heard rain falling. Before long, the rain was mixed with thunder...then lightning! The amazing part was the snow on the ground.

What a sight...a thunderstorm with snow on the ground!

Another Snow Day...

This morning we awoke to more snow...although it seems impossible. Nathan's truck shows the snow that fell last night...

A Snack????

Today, while I was working on lunch, Aleigha snuck some cheese...three pieces to be exact.

Not sure if hiding was her way of making sure we didn't notice the missing cheese...

Another Snow Day

Today we started with a 2-hour delay, but both school closed. The kids were begging to go to Joyce's house. I called and she was happy to have them. She suggested I bundle them up and send them over when they were ready. Here they are...ready to walk over to Joyce's!

Max thought he wanted to go too...we had to put him inside so he didn't follow the kids!

A Secret Admirer

Gavin may not be so happy that I am sharing this, but while going through his Valentine bag of cards and treats two weeks ago, this was found. He and Whittney are trying to find clue to let them know who could have wrote this letter and put it in Gavin's Valentine bag at school...Nathan and I think it is a riot. Judging by the handwriting, we are thinking it was not from a 9 year old girl...

Walking Home From Joyce's

When the kids were getting ready to head home, Joyce called to let me know. Here they are coming through the yard.

A great day for a walk...

Pudding Cups

For supper, the girls wanted to make pudding in cups. Here they are...hard at work.

Another messipe...

Pageant/Talent Show

This morning the kids were excited they didn't have school again, but they wanted to go to Joyce's house. I just can't justify taking the kids to the sitter when I am home. Instead of staying home and playing all day alone, I called Aunt Megan. Olivia and Evelyn came over. Gavin called Cameron and he was able to spend the day with us too. What a fun day full of activities and adventures!

Olivia and Whittney put on a pageant for all of us to watch!

More of the pageant...

Here is the tent Whittney built yesterday. The kids ate their lunch Monday. Today it served nicely as the "backstage" to the events!

The boys wanted a turn on stage.

Cameron was riding on a pillow. Gavin was riding on a magnifying lens (I think it was the closest object he could find).

Next the boys went downstairs to play the Wii while the girls got their nails painted. Then it was time for lunch.

Fun In the Snow

The boys wanted to go out to play tag in the snow. At first, the girls were not interested in going, but they changed their minds. In this picture, they were using the sidewalk as an ice skating rink. They dusted it off and slid around.

Evelyn and Aleigha sliding down the hill!

Olivia and Whittney made a fabulous path down on their first trip. They put the little girls on their tracks and gave them a push. The little girls went down, down, down, down...

More snow...

Evelyn and Aleigha skating on the sidewalk.

More Snow!

Yesterday we were home from school because there was rain and freezing rain on Sunday. It snowed Monday most of the day, so this morning the roads were not suitable for driving to school. This is a picture of the trees along our driveway.

Plenty of snow!

Playing with Marbles

We ended up separating the girls from the boys. While the boys were playing upstairs in Gavin's room, the girls were downstairs playing marbles. They made this fabulous creation!

What a wonderful day of fun we had today!

Our Company

My cousin, her husband, and their four children came to stay with us for the weekend. They arrived Friday around 5PM and left Sunday around 1PM. It was an amazing weekend filled with smiles, giggles, and laughter.

Brad and Monica also have a blog. You can click on "SixShadles" on the side of this blog to see their pictures from the weekend. I did "borrow" some of their pictures. I don't think they will mind.

Thank you to Brad, Monica, Haley, Tyler, Chloe, and Blake for a fabulous weekend! We hope to see you soon!

Baking

This morning, Monica made Monkey Bread for breakfast. The left over bread dough was put to good use by the kids. Whittney, Chloe, and Aleigha made creations with sprinkles.

We baked the dough and here were the results! Whittney and Chloe's are on the left. Aleigha's are on the right.

Saturday Morning Basketball

This morning Whittney and Gavin both had basketball games. The Shadles were good sports and went along to watch. Here are Whittney, Mataya, Morgan, and Brittany after their game.

Here are the girls, with Cadence on the floor...sporting their medals!
Great job, ladies!
After Whittney's game, we walked to the front gym to watch Gavin's game. All of the kids got Ring Pops. It was Blake's first experience with a Ring Pop. We think he enjoyed it!

Playing Around

After the basketball games, we came home and made lunch. While Monica was standing with Blake by the counter, Blake reached down and grabbed some cheese puffs. He is a riot! We enjoyed his humor!

Aleigha is having her own target practice with Haley...and Tyler's air soft gun.

Aleigha was aiming for the rock across the driveway.

Bow Shooting Range...

Nathan and Brad were outside shooting bows. The draw length of Nathan's bow was too long for Brad, so he shot my bow. It wasn't long and he was talking about purchasing one for himself.

Monica had a turn. Nathan explained a few things to her...

Then Brad explained a few things to her...

Then Brad helped her get all set up...

She pulled back....and shot! ...and hit the target!!!! She seemed a little surprised.