Cooped up

This has honestly been the worst winter I can remember, so far we've had about one week of somewhat "springish" weather right before Easter, and now we're back to winter.  Yet another full blown blizzard today, yay!  Jaymes has definitely had cabin fever, as have the rest of us!  The other day, it was actually nice (meaning the sun was shining, temp was around 30) so we decided to stop by the zoo and pick up a family pass for the summer.  Jaymes absolutely loved it, and has been talking about going to the zoo ever since.

 

I made this rainbow rice box (thanks to Pinterest) a while back, and it has been a life saver on days like today.  He loves it, and can spend a good amount of time digging around in it.

 

I'm not good at using my camera's settings yet, but I tried this shot to make motion appear stopped, it worked pretty good with the rice falling! 

 

Today

I guess a new camera was the motivation I needed to start blogging again!  Today was yet another cold, snowy, "roads too icy to go anywhere" kind of day.  It's getting pretty old . . .  Isabella managed to spend a good part of the day outside building a "house" out of snow, so at least someone is still enjoying this weather! 

 

I didn't want to even set foot outside, so I just opened the door a crack and snapped this from a long way away.

 



 

There was a time when I was against all video games, and I still am not a huge fan of most, but . . . I have to say I love the Wii!  We got it for a family gift for Christmas.  It gets Isabella (and us) moving! It's been a lot of fun for her this winter, especially on super cold days where she couldn't go outside and burn off any energy! 

 

Following in his big sister's footsteps!  Jaymes is a big fan of his blanky, it's usually not too far from him.

 

I'm not sure why, but I really like this picture of Isabella.

 

 

Being silly!

Be prepared

for lots of pictures!  I was just telling Monte the other day how I would someday like a new camera, one that took more professional quality photos.  Two days later, the Amazon Deal of the Day happened to pop up on my facebook newsfeed (their deals of the day are never on my newsfeed!).  It just so happened that their deal of the day was the Sony Nex-F3 camera that was around 40% off if you ordered that day!  Since my birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks, Monte said that could be my birthday present.  I am so excited about this camera!  So far I've really only used the automatic settings, I can't wait to read more, and figure this thing out better!

 

This was taken today, our cold weather and snow is REALLY getting depressing.  :(  We got 14 inches of snow last night, and Isabella has her second snow day of the week today.

 

 

Her beloved doll.

 

This picture doesn't exactly scream "Spring"!

 

Being goofy, look how grown up she's getting!

Sweet Girl

Well, I've considered giving up the blog, but I just can't do it.  Maybe someday I'll get back to posting regularly.  I've had tons of posts written up in my head, if that counts!  :)  So for now my posts are few and far between, but maybe one day I'll decide to get back into it. 

 

I took this picture of Isabella today, and I just love it!  Her smiles have been awfully "cheesy" as of late, and here I caught a genuine smile, I think that's why I love it so much.  I don't think I've even posted on here about our cat.  We got him as a tiny kitten last June, and he turns one this month.  As you can see, he's not so tiny anymore!  His name is Simba, and the kids absolutely adore him (and I admit, I do too).  It's been great having a pet for the kids, and seeing how well Isabella takes care of him!

 



It's been a while!

Obviously it's been too long since I've posted!  This was the view out our window this morning, a little different weather than the pictures in my last post!!  Monte worked for 3 hours to get our driveway cleared out this morning, we got Isabella to school just in time for her late start.

 

Family Pics

In August, my whole family spent the weekend together to celebrate my parents' 40th anniversary.  My sister, brother, and my gift to my parents was getting family pictures taken.  It's nice to update our family picture on our wall, which was taken when Jaymes was only three months old.  He's grown just a little since then!

 

I had the photographer take some pictures of just Jaymes since he had just had his second (!) birthday that week.

My whole family!  Four little boys UNDER the age of three!  Honestly, it was a disaster, and I am amazed we got a good picture!  The almost three year old refused to be in the majority of the pictures, another little nephew was just SO not happy the whole time, and Jaymes was scared to sit on Grandpa's lap during the grandparents/grandkids photo!

 The three granddaughters, all the same age!  They are the best of friends!

 I love this picture of all the grandkids! 

Out of the mouth of a five year old

Last night Isabella and I were talking about how God gives everyone different talents.  She told me that she thought God made me a "good cook, good cookie baker, good singer, good at playing piano, good at teaching piano, and good at taking care of people."  I asked her what she thought God made Daddy good at, her response - "Um (long pause), he's good at backing the vehicles out of the garage."

I couldn't help but laugh, but then I helped her come up with some more, because Daddy's good at lots of other things, too!