February snowstorm

We had a great snowstorm on February 19 and 20, 2011. It started snowing about noon on Saturday and barely stopped until about 5 PM on Sunday. We didn't even go to church on Sunday because we were afraid we wouldn't make it back up to our house. It was a beautiful storm. The boys had a great time going in and out of the house to play in the snow and drinking hot chocolate. Today, it being President's Day, Chad had the day off. We bought a big innertube from Big O and took the boys sledding. They had a blast. I mostly watched but did head down a hill once or twice. We did some sledding in the North Forty subdivision by our house and then down a hill behind our house on our property. The boys would have gone sledding all day if we let them but Brad was in town with his girlfriend Amanda so we had to get cleaned up to meet them for lunch.

(Barry watching us sled and licking the snow)

(The boys looking down the sled run we made at North Forth)

(The boys ready to head down the North Forth sled run)

(Grant climbing up the steep embankment to the top of the North Forth sled run instead of taking the longer less steep route)

(Chad and Cole taking the easier but longer route back to the top of the sled run)

(Chad solo sledding down the hill in our backyard)

(Cole discovered the joys of eating snow during this storm. I've made a concerted effort to teach him the importance of avoiding yellow and brown snow.)

(Grant trying a solo, belly run down the hill in our backyard)

(If Grant does it then so must Cole. Both boys belly sledding down the hill in our backyard)

(Grant and Cole ready to make their last run of the day)

Our cute boys

Here are some random, cute pictures of the boys.

(This is Cole at the park riding a duck)

(Cole was pretending to take a nap on this cardboard box in the garage while we were cleaning out the garage one Saturday)

(Cole loves to empty the Play-Doh canister and put it on his head. He thinks it's hilarious)

(Here's our cute Granty smiling sweetly for the camera)

(Here's our little Cole smiling sweetly for the camera)

(I opened my eyes at about 7 AM one morning to see Grant walking down the stairs from his bedroom in this costume. Both boys are very into dressing like superheros)

(We took Chad lunch one Saturday at the VA but he was too busy to eat with us. I took the boys out to a picnic table to eat. Grant thought it was too cold sitting at the table so he crawedl underneath. Of course, Cole followed suit and they both ate their Subway sandwiches under the table, rather than at it.)

Family Night at the Coyotes game

On January 17, 2011, we took the boys and Shelli to a Coyotes hockey game. It was a family night so we got four tickets, four hot dogs and four sodas for $99. They were also giving out Coyotes backpacks to the first 500 or so kids through the door. This was Grant's second hockey game and Cole's first. They were more excited about the food than the game overall but Grant did enjoy watching parts of the game. There was disappointment over no cotton candy or real ice cream to be purchased but dippin' dots helped resolve some of that. The boys both loved their new backpacks. Grant takes his to preschool on Tuesdays with his lunchbox in it and we use Cole's for library day on Fridays.

What do you do with a dead Christmas tree?

You chop it up, burn it then roast some marshmallows.

Grant's First Basketball Season

Grant is almost done with his first year of YBL basketball through the YMCA. He is absolutely loving this sport. In the fall, he was in a class called Itty-Bitty Sports Class, which included a few weeks of basketball. It was disastrous. He cried almost the whole time. He did not like the ball coming at his face and he was very frustrated that he could not dribble. So...when it was time for YBL ball we were a little worried about how he would do. He's turned out to be a different kid. Grant loves the sport, has no fear of the ball hitting him, has learned to dribble the ball (with his left hand surprisingly), aggressively goes after rebounds and is a great shot. He gives practices and games his full energy and never complains about being tired, even when he has a double header Saturday. He has become the teams high scorer (although in truth score is not kept at the games for his age level).

(Grant at opening ceremonies for basketball with his team)

(Grant going for the ball during a game)

(Grant lined up with his team to get colored wristbands so he knows who to guard on the other team)

(Grant taking some warm up shots before his game)

(Grant with some teammates, Jordan and Katie, taking some warm up shots)

(Grant's awesome shot mid-air before it goes into the hoop)