Nat goes Rollerskating!

Natalie's best friend turned 6 and had a rollerskating birthday party. Natalie was super excited about the idea but got very nervous once we got the skates (and also upset because they were brown and ugly).

It took a while and she insisted that mommy get some skates too, but by the end of the 2 hour party, she was skating alone with the PVC helper thing. And then right before the party ended, she even wanted to ditch the PVC thing and only hold onto one of mommy's hands.

I have a feeling we will be back soon to skate again...

Baby Weightlifting

Eloise, in her Supergirl onesie and zebra print pants, found my small hand weights on the floor in our room the other day. And she hasn't stopped playing with them since.

Mommycation and Mr. Mom

Mommy had an old friend from high school come visit and they planned a get-away from the kids at a resort in town. They were able to catch up and pickup right where they left off after not having seen each other or speaking to each other for 15 years. They did some hiking, shopping, brunching, sleeping-in, got pedicures, ate hot meals without bibs or screaming and mostly just enjoyed the weather and hanging out together.

Meanwhile, back at the fort, Daddy had everything under control. He and the two girls went to a birthday party, went to the park, visited the Butterfly Wonderland and stopped by to hang out and play games with Grandpa Larry and Gramma Judy.

Baked Bean Shovel

Ever since Natalie grew out of this and graduated to a fork/spoon, I know Grandpa Huxter has been secretly looking forward to this stage...

Beep Beeping our way through Basha's

Yes, I am now that mom with the obnoxiously large grocery cart that has the plastic car/truck built on to the front to make it even more obscene. But you know what, these smiles are worth it to me.

Hump Day Happy Meals at the Park

Last year when daddy was traveling so often for work, mommy had to get a little creative with evening meals and general entertainment. So we started picking Natalie up from school a little early on Wednesdays, going to McDonald's and getting a Happy Meal and then stopping to eat in the park on the way home.

It was so much fun that we continued the tradition through the winter on days when the weather is nice enough to not need a jacket.

Cupid's Naughty Chair

Valentine's Day is not a holiday I would typically decorate around the house for, but now that we have this seasonal naughty chair, I just couldn't resist...

It pays for your dog to poop!

Daddy happened to mention that he was going to pickup dog poop, "unless someone else wants to do it and earn $3..."

That was all he needed to say.

Natalie instantly jumped up and volunteered. Within minutes, she was armed and ready to pickup poop. And she did. She even double bagged it and put it in the big garbage can.

Kimbersucklewood Driveway Fun

When you look at our neighborhood from the outside, it is really nothing special. It is well kept but it is just like every other suburban neighborhood: a bunch of beige-ish cookie cutter houses located too close together with concrete block wall fences to keep all the yards segregated.

But when you look at it from the inside, it is amazing. We have established a small group of about 10 houses that, if it weren't for the neighborhood, might not be friends. But because we are neighbors, we are friends. We are an extended family. We are a community of grown-ups/parents who are trying to do the best we can for ourselves, our kids and each other.

For instance, here we are (minus a few) on a chilly Friday night standing in our driveway drinking a few beers and playing an impromptu game of Cards Against Humanity on top of two recycling bins while our kids are inside watching a movie, eating popcorn and likely jumping on the couch.

For this sense of community that we've all inadvertently created for ourselves and for our kids, I am grateful. We are lucky. We are happy. And we will not be the first ones to move.

Eloise invents Skootketball!

And this is how it's played...

https://youtu.be/-Kpq5TMoBgk

Auntie's Artwork

For Christmas this year, Auntie Adrienne surprised us by painting a canvas for each of the girls and one for Scott and I to share. I hung the girls paintings up first and they look absolutely AMAZING.

Family paintings for Eloise's room: Auntie's in the middle, Katie's on left, Natalie's on right.

A sea of Flamingos for Natalie

 Katie's is not hung up quite yet and ours is hung but I don't have a picture of it.

2015 Annual Hayes Family Ski Trip

Another year means another successful Hayes family ski trip. Gus was allowed to join us for the first time ever this year. And we were able to break in our new truck with a snowstorm before we even got out of Arizona.

A few hours later...

 Stopped at 3 Rivers Brewery in Farmington, New Mexico, you know, to go potty.

Day 1 on the mountain. Natalie goes to ski school and Katie skis with the grown-ups. Mommy is back at the house playing with Eloise and Gus, or maybe going to a brewery for lunch.

 

Day 2 on the mountain: Auntie stays home with Eloise and Gus. Katie switches to snowboarding and takes a group lesson. Natalie goes to ski school and is super proud of herself. She asked Mommy to take this photo and send to Miss Jill (her super amazing pre-school teacher). Mommy hits the mountain with Daddy. Natalie melted down just before lunch and that was that. So Natalie and Mommy went to a brewery and shared a cheese burger. Daddy stayed and boarded with Katie.

 

We only had a little snow on the back patio table at the house...

Day 3 on the mountain: Natalie self-destructed. Daddy sold his lift ticket in the parking lot. Auntie and Katie stayed on the mountain. Daddy and Natalie met Mommy and Eloise for lunch... at a brewery.

We had lots of fun snowplay at the house... Gus was in love with the snow and would've played fetch all day every day. He made friends with a dog down the street and they had a few mid-day playdates in the street.

Mr. Jason made us a snow tunnel. Auntie was the only grown-up willing to try to wiggle through it.

 

 

 

New Years Eve on the mountain. Auntie volunteered to stay home with Katie (under the weather), Natalie (melted down too many times on the mountain so she was done) and Eloise. Daddy and Mommy got to enjoy a day together - ironically celebrating the anniversary of their engagement 8 years prior while on the mounatin in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Lucky for us, it snowed 15" the night before.

New Years Day on the mountain: Daddy and Katie went alone. Mommy, Auntie, Natalie and Eloise stayed home to play and went to lunch... at a brewery.

 

 

Driving home is always the hardest part.