Justin was scheduled to travel the day after his birthday, which made him very concerned that he’d only have one day to enjoy his cake, instead of the whole weekend to nibble on the leftovers. So the weekend before his birthday, I found him whipping up a chocolate cake in the kitchen.  This was round one of his bday and he loved tasting chocolate cake everyday up until his birthday.

On his actual birthday I felt some freedom with the cake flavor, since he already had his favorite (chocolate cake, chocolate frosting).  I made my first attempt at a carrot cake.  It turned out delicious (thanks to pinterest) and unfortunately for my waistline I was the one who nibbled on it all weekend when Justin was out of town.

On both occasions, we enjoyed a quiet evening at home, one of Justin’s favorite things to do.

Happy Birthday, Justin/Dad!  We love you bunches!

I’ve been MIA in the blog-o-sphere lately and I don’t even have any good excuses.  To ease me back in, here’s a look at what we’ve been doing this winter.

It’s been the most bizarre winter we’ve experienced.  We’ve had record highs and many pleasant days, which means lots of time spent outside. No cabin fever this winter!

Truman would swing all day if we let him!

Archer loves to climb to the top of the playset in our backyard. Probably just to keep me on my toes.

Playing with silly string on New Year's Day.

I know the kids are enjoying their time playing outside, but they are still wishing for some substantial snow (and canceled school days).  We’ve gotten some snow a couple times and the kids were thrilled.  They were quick to enjoy the snow for the short time it stayed.

Winter isn’t officially over yet, so we’re not totally in the clear.  But I certainly wouldn’t be sad if Spring came early and we just declared this the wimpiest winter in history.

When it rains heavily, we get a huge puddle in our driveway.  The boys couldn’t be happier!

“First let’s stomp and splash.”

“Ooh, I have an idea!”

“We love the rain!”

At school a boy who sits near Sophie was frequently disturbing her. We talked about what she could do to fix the problem, like asking him to stop or telling the teacher.  She told me she had already tried telling the boy to stop, but he wouldn’t. Finally, Sophie came up with the idea to write a note to her teacher. She felt that with a note, no one would over-hear her discuss the problem with her teacher.

*names were removed to provide anonymity for those involved*

For those unable to translate, her note reads, “Dear Teacher, so-and-so is bothering me when I am at my seat, he makes annoying noises on purpose. He also laughs at my shirts with dogs and cats on them and makes fun of me. Can you move so-and-so somewhere else sometime soon? Your friend, Sophie”

She delivered the note to her teacher and the next day the boy was moved to a different seat.  I’m so proud of Sophie for handling this problem herself and I love that she signed the note “your friend”.

Such a sweet girl that is growing up way too fast!

A couple of years ago after she mentioned wanting to learn how to roller skate, I found a great pair of roller skates at the local thrift store for only $2.  At the time they were a couple sizes too big, but now they are a perfect fit. Paired with the knee and elbow pads and new helmet she got for her birthday, she was all set to give the skates a try.

With the mild weather this winter, it was no problem to head outside and give them a try. At first she wouldn’t let go of me or Justin.  Then we tried using a broom handle to scoot her around.  Finally, the best option was pushing her back and forth between Justin and I.  She’s still getting the hang of it. When she tries to make herself go, she ends up just staying in one place or rolling backwards. She’s working on it.

While we were outside, Truman had fun zipping around on his bike.