So Much Snow!

This winter has been so snowy!  At one point we had about 2 feet of snow on the ground!  It has been super cold too.  I took some pictures a few weeks ago, but that really doesn't even show all of it, because it snowed again after that!  I know it is only February, and it is supposed to be cold and snowy, but I think I will be happy to see the warmer temps this Spring!
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Lot of snow in my front yard!

View across the street

From a few weeks ago - but it was Rachel's first time playing in the snow!

My snowy house!

Father Daughter Date Night

Tonight was the Father/Daughter dance at Emmy's school.  But then they decided not to go to the dance - they just went out on a date night instead.  :)  Emmy got dressed up, looking super pretty.  They went to dinner and had a fun time!

Merry Christmas!

We had a really nice Christmas!  Lots of family, lots of gifts, lots of yummy food!  Ray's sister and her family stayed with us for the week.  The kids had a lot of fun with their cousins - they spent a lot of time playing together.  We made gingerbread houses, cookies, went to visit Santa, visited the park downtown with all the Christmas lights.  Christmas morning, Ray's other sister, her husband, and Ray's mom joined us - crazy piles of gifts were opened, and a delicious breakfast was eaten.  Later in the day, my parents and sister came over for another round of gifts and food.  As usual, the kids got a LOT of presents!  I have a lot of photos to share!

Making gingerbread houses with my niece, Sophia

Visiting Santa - Rachel wasn't too happy!

Our tree!

Emmy and Sophia at Bronson Park

Family shot!

Christmas morning

Christmas morning craziness!

Luke, opening gifts

Daddy helping Rachel open her presents

Love my kiddos  :)

Emmy loved the picture from Aunt Stevie

Rachel and her cousin Julian, playing with new toys

Happy Birthday Aiden!

Our little guy has turned 4!  Aiden had a very fun birthday - we had a party for him with friend from his play group at our house.  We had a great lunch, cupcakes, and of course, presents!  Aiden is such a sweet boy!  He likes to play the Wii with Luke, still loves cars, tractors, and trains, but he has also started to like some of the things that Luke is in to - like Transformers, Power Rangers, Lego Ninjago, and Ninja Turtles.  He loves to play with his friend Logan, who I babysit for a few days a week, and they get along really well.  Aiden is learning a lot in preschool - he brings home awesome art projects and pictures every week.  He is finally learning his letters and numbers.  He is still a little shy, and he loves to snuggle with me.  We love you Aiden!  I hope you had a wonderful birthday!!

The birthday boy!

Birthday lunch with friends

Opening gifts!

Emmy's Christmas Concert

Whew!  It has been a busy month already!  Tonight was Emmy's school Christmas concert.  She looked beautiful!  She and her class did a great job on their songs, and Emmy had another speaking line, just like she did last year - she said "Make sure you make that light shine through".  Love it!

Emmy (in the middle) with her classmates

Action shot!

Just before she said her "line"  ;)

Luke's New Glasses!

Our little Lukey Bear got his new glasses!  He looks so handsome!  :)

Christmas Party

Last night was Ray's work Christmas party, which is a pretty big deal!  :)  We got dressed up and headed out, and had a great time!  Our friends Nick and Stefanie were also there, since Nick and Ray work together, and the 4 of us had a blast.  We had a lot of drinks, great food, and stayed out way too late!  I am paying for it the next day, but it was worth it!  So much fun, and looking forward to next year's party!

Ready for our night out!

Photo booth fun.  We love our friends!

Getting our Christmas Tree!

One of my favorite things about being back in Michigan is that we get to go cut down our own Christmas tree.  Not that we couldn't do it down South - it is just different here!  This year, we met my parents and sister at the Tree Farm and we got our trees together.

Luke is ready to find our tree!

Me and my sweet Goober

On the hay ride, out to where the trees are!

Our family photo  :)

Our tree, strapped on to our van!  Let Christmas begin!

Great Wolf Lodge

This past weekend, we went up to Traverse City and stayed at Great Wolf Lodge with friends of ours - we had a great time!  Rachel stayed behind with Ray's sister for the night, so we were able to play with the older kids.  We got there early in the afternoon on Friday and immediately headed to the water park.  Such a cool place!  They have several different water slides of various sizes, pools, a lazy river, hot tub, and a great place for younger kids, like Aiden, to play.  Our good friends, Stefanie and Nick, and their 3 year old daughter went along with us, and then one of our other friends joined us later as well.  In the evening, the kids put on their PJ's and went to the lobby for Story Time, which was pretty neat.  We spent all morning Saturday playing in the water park again, before we took off around 2:00 to get lunch and head home.  I would love to go back again!

Luke's 7th Birthday!

Luke is turning 7!  Can't believe how big he is now!  He may be getting big, but he is still one of the sweetest kids I know.  He is so kind to his younger siblings, he is Aiden's best friend!  He is funny and has the best laugh.  He draws amazing pictures, usually things like ninjas and Star Wars characters.  He is doing so awesome in school, and is reading at a 3rd grade level (he is in 1st!).  Luke is just a friendly kid who gets along with everyone and is fun to hang out with.  He loves video games, Legos, and macaroni and cheese (some things never change!).
We had a big birthday party for him at our house with all of his friends.  It was a video game themed party.  We had a couple of Wii's set up with various games, and he and his friends took turns playing the different games.  They all had a lot of fun!
Happy birthday Lukey!  We are so proud of you and love you to pieces!!

My Mario themed cookies

And Starman cupcakes!  Love how they turned out!

Happy birthday Luke!

Cupcakes at the party

All of Luke's friends

Happy birthday sweet boy!