The.Best.Weekend.Ever.

Okay...maybe not the best ever, but it was really nice. And not nice in the way where we did a really extravagant fun thing. Nice in the way we didn't! So let me start from the beginning...get ready for too many pictures as usual.

Friday was a day Tate had been looking forward to for quite some time. My mom, aka Grandma Sandy, was coming to volunteer at his preschool. If I had planned better I would have sent the camera so the teacher could have taken a picture of them, but of course I didn't. So you'll just have to imagine. He talked about it all weekend, so I'm guessing they had a good time! Then my mom stayed with the kids in the afternoon so Eric, who was off of work for the afternoon, and I could run a few errands without kids. The kids loved this as much as we did because they haven't seen Grandma much lately...I don't know who is busier, us or Grandma! She is still busy being a mom to my sister Kasey who is a senior this year.

Then Friday night, Frosty was on tv, and the kids were VERY into it...After the kids went to sleep we did something we haven't done in over 6 months. Eric and I watched a movie while sitting on the couch! The few movies we have watched together in the past months have involved a lot of cutting, printing, gluing, punching, etc. It was so nice.

Saturday we were a bit nervous for. Earlier in the summer Eric's parents took Tate to a show called Walking with Dinosaurs. Saturday was Avery's turn to spend a day with Grandma and Grandpa. I was only nervous because I knew this wouldn't make Tate happy at all...not that I can't handle it, its just that it wasn't going to be pleasant. We hadn't told either one of them where she was going, or THAT she was going, for that matter, just to shorten the amount of time we had to hear whining. But thankfully, although he admitted he "was a little jealous at first, Mom, but I settled down now" (for those of you who don't know my son, he has the vocabulary of a 40 year old instead of a 4 year old...which is hilarious at times and frustrating at times...man he can put up a well thought out fight!)

He ended up having just as good of time as Avery did because the temp warmed up into the 30s on Saturday, so he finally got to go out and make a snowman...And this one I have to add because I think its hilarious our dog, Wrigley, had to pose with the snowman, too. Good old Wriggs...

Here are a few pics from Avery's trip to Disney on Ice with Grams and Gramps...
She was not too smiley for the pictures, but Grandma and Grandpa said she loved it until the very end when she got a little tired. She is still carrying her Ariel light up princess wand and wearing her Lilo and Stitch lei.

After the show, we met them and Eric's sister and family at Chuck E. Cheese. Now let me say that this is not my favorite place...or at least I didn't think so. The only other time I've been there was when I went with our preschool friends and I just had Tate and Avery. Going at it alone in the chaos of all the kids and games and such was a bit much. This time we stayed for 2 1/2 hours and I must say we all had a great time. There were more adults than kids, which helped! Here are my niece Addie and Tate on one of many "rides" that day...Okay...this is already waaaaaaaaay too long so I'll try to speed it up and not write so much! Saturday night we watched Horton Hears a Who! as a family...movie number two for the weekend!

Sunday morning we were asked to be the family that lit the advent wreath in front of church. The kids love feeling so important walking up in front of everyone, and Eric did a great job reading his part. I managed to light the candles without tipping the whole thing over and starting the church on fire.

Sunday afternoon was designated for cookie baking...which ended up being a good thing since the temperature dropped to the negatives and the snow came with bad wind, too. NOT a day to be outside. Let me just say baking cookies with a 2 and 4 year old is a blast, but very time consuming! It took the entire afternoon and into the evening. And before you look at the pictures, it would help to mention that I am of the philosophy that to learn and have fun, the kids should do it themselves. Mess happens. With that said, the cookies...
Eric and I made a second batch of cookies that had been a little less "fingered" after the kids went to bed and watched Christmas Vacation...movie number 3 of the weekend while we rolled, cut, and baked. My husband is a little too much like Clark W. Griswold to even mention, so we have to watch it every year.

Missing from all the talk this weekend was little Beckett. He was here the whole time, but spending lots of time indoors with me or Eric and AWAY from the cookies! He did, however, enjoy a few of them once they were baked...
I hope you all had a great weekend! The temps here as I write this is -9 degrees and with the wind chill feels like -16 according to AccuWeather.com. The high today was -1. Stay warm!