Winter Fun

Eli loves a good snow. I hold in my secret despite of cold weather as he could play outside in snow in ANY degree weather. I don't want to rain on his parade. :) The weather prediction turned out to be accurate the second week of December and we had a beautiful five inches of snow, perfect for sledding. Most of the kids' snow gear from last year still fit and Marc had thought to buy us some plastic sleds a few days before the snow. We were all set for a day of sledding!

 Up the hill they go

 And back down they came!

Eli wiped out pretty hard a few times but kept at it for quite awhile!

Marc ended up carrying Hailey up and down the hill for most of the morning because she was so slow. He was quite sore the next day! She of course loved the extra pampering. :)

We were so glad some of our friends joined us at the park. After the kids were finished sledding, we played in the snow and made a big snowman.

We didn't bring any supplies to decorate him, so we just used leaves and sticks on the ground. He looked a little plain so I decided to add some leaves for hair. :)

 Our beautiful snow angel!

We all stayed pretty warm but were happy to enjoy some hot chocolate on the ride home. Then, while the kids napped I made us some chicken and dumplings just like Memaw's. This was my first time to make my own broth from cooking the whole raw chicken. It was really rich and yummy. Comfort food is an essential for me after braving a cold day in the snow!

Memaw's Chicken and Dumplings

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tbs. Crisco shortening

1 egg

5 Tbs. water

2 Tbs. chicken broth

1 whole chicken or hen, boiled until tender, remove from broth.and debone. Reserve chicken meat and broth. (can substitute meat with a cooked rotisserie chicken and 2 qts. canned chicken broth)

Stir flour and salt. Cut in Crisco with a fork and add egg, water, and broth. Mix together. Place dough on floured surface and roll out using a rolling pin. May add flour as needed to roll smoothly without sticking. Cut in strips and let dry for 10-15 min. Have broth boiling. Pat strips slightly as you pull them apart, one at a time dropping them in the broth. Add chicken pieces back to the pot. Stir, cover, and reduce heat. Cook slowly for 30 min. Serves 4-6.

Thanksgiving 2013

This was our year to be in Arkansas for Thanksgiving. We were happy that it worked out for my mom's side of the family to come to my parents house, too! Now that everyone is married, there are lots of schedules with parents and in-laws that get juggled around. But we made it happen this year! And the result was lots of fun for the kids and adults.

Before any trip, I make sure and get caught up on all our laundry so we come home to empty baskets. Isaac is not so helpful with this part of the packing. :)

Now that we have conquered Hailey's car sickness, our road trips aren't so bad. The kids do amazingly well on this 8-9 hr. journey and Marc and I enjoy the break in the car.

Though we are always ready to get out of the car by the end!

Watch out! Bailey's in the mix now!

Pictures from Thanksgiving Day...

 Isaac loved his first taste of turkey. He gobbled it up!

After Thanksgiving, we headed to Fayetteville to look at the lights on the square. There was fun music, fresh popcorn, and the kids even took a carriage ride with Nana and Papa D. Papa D got suckered into buying light-up swords for all the kids. :) They loved them!

Isaac was worn out and fast asleep by the time we got home.

Enjoying some last bit of loving before our van headed home to Illinois.

Bailey's sweet little arm was tucked around her cuz. Too cute.

How old am I??

I can't keep track of my age these days. It must be a sign I am getting older. For the past few years as my birthday approaches, I have had to ask Marc to confirm my age. I think because Marc is nine months older than me, I am always thinking I am a year older than I am. This year I turned 32 (and yes, I had to just ask Marc how old I am before I could type that. I am not even kidding about this problem! You would think I could just do the math.). Our kids love birthdays! The birthdays in our little family are evenly spaced out so there is always a birthday on the horizon to keep them anticipating.

The kids were very excited for a flower delivery sent from my parents

Marc wanted to bake something with the kids this year for my birthday. He took them to the store and let them pick out what they were going to make. Then they went to work in the kitchen and I was NOT allowed in. At times, it sounded as though Marc could use some help, but he managed to pull it off! The kids had a blast and I was elated to find out I was getting to eat green and purple rainbow sprinkle cupcakes for my birthday, Eli and Hailey's favorite colors. :) Haha!

 And of course they picked out the white icing with rainbow sprinkles mixed in! Love these little ones. :)

After dinner and dessert, Marc sent me to the couch to relax while he cleaned up the kitchen and the cupcake mess. I think I understand now why El's preschool teacher requested any baked goods OTHER than cupcakes for the children's birthdays. :)

What a fun birthday! What will year 33 bring???

Halloween 2013

We nearly missed the cut-off for carving a pumpkin this year with the busyness of life. I'm glad we finally "carved" out the time because we had so much fun. Eli still doesn't like to touch the insides of the pumpkin. :)

I might say this every year, but I love the pumpkin carving kit Marc and I bought our first year of marriage. I found it on sale after Halloween at Restoration Hardware. I don't know if they still carry them anymore, but it has been so useful and durable. It is fun to have something familiar to bring out year after year. :)

 Gotta keep those seeds. They taste yummy toasted!

 The finished product

This Halloween was a wet and cold one! We had to change plans from a family gathering at Marc's aunt's house to an indoor church festival where we could be out of the rain. The festival was held at a shopping mall so we were still able to do a little trick-or-treating at each of the shops that were participating.

Eli and Hailey both picked out their costumes by themselves this year which was fun for them and me!

There were tons of fun games to play at the festival and, of course, a candy treat at the end of each one.

Isaac had a lot of sights to take in!

Mama Reenie and Papa were able to come over to Peoria for a little bit to see the kids all dressed up. Eli and Hailey loved showing them their costumes!

We finished off the night with dinner at Flat Top Grill since kids ate free that night! What a fun night! I thoroughly enjoyed ransacking the kids' candy after they went to bed. :) Happy Halloween!