Wintertime Fun!

Lots and lots of cold temperatures and a decent amount of snow has made for lots of play and little school. I think since school has been back in session from Christmas break, we have had only one full week of school, at least one full week off (maybe 2), and the rest have been just a couple days. We are enjoying the time home with the kids, but I will admit, my house is suffering. That's okay though, I wouldn't trade this time for anything. Here are some pictures captured over the last couple of weeks.

Kenli's 3rd Birthday!

This past Friday, January 24th, we celebrated Kenli's 3rd birthday. We decided to have a small party in our home. Good thing, as I didn't realize just how quickly our home would fill. We had a Doc Mcstuffins theme, and it went quite well. I'm not sure I've ever spent so much time and effort on a birthday party in my 6 years of parenthood. Although I think it looked great and went well, it still didn't compare to all those pinterest parties you see online. I don't know how they do it....probably with a lot more money and few less kids. Nonetheless, I was pleased and I think our guest were too.

As guests arrived, they were directed to the "check in" table. They signed in and then received their own customized doctor badge and a "big book of boo-boos." Then the kids rotated between 3 different stations. The first station was to give their stuffed animal a check up and make all better. The second station was to give themselves and their friends a check up. This station was complete with physical exam forms, eye chart, and lighted x-ray table. The third station was a simple station of coloring jumbo Doc Mcstuffins coloring sheets. And of course, no doctor party is complete without making and decorating casts for the birthday girl and all her guests.

The table spread was probably the most fun putting together. We had cotton balls (marshmallows), "say ahhh" pretzel rods, Lambie tails (mini marshmallows), Stuffy's stuffing (cotton candy), "kisses for your boo-boos", "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" sauce, Chilly's drinks (pink lemonade), medicine cups (filled with pink and purple candy), and of course chips, meatballs, and brownies (in leiu of cake). The brownies were suppose to be brownie cake balls, but  due to a last minute reschedule of the party to the day before, the brownies were simply just brownies.

We finished the party with opening presents. And well, with 3 Christmas's and 2 birthdays before, Kenli has become the world's quickest present opener. She loved her presents and was thankful for all of them.

We had a great time celebrating such an incredible little girl. We loved being able to spend some time with friends and family as well. Times like this, I wish we had an unlimited supply of money and a much larger home in which we could hold the most awesome parties and invite everyone we knew. Until then, small simple parties will be our thing...which those are just as great.

Inside Snow Day

What a fun day we had today. School was canceled because of the cold weather. After having the last two weeks off because of the holidays, I was a bit worried of keeping the kids happy and entertained yet another day. At the same time, I wasn't ready for an early morning quite yet. The kids and I slept in until about 9. I was determined to come up with some fun activities so we would all keep our insanity.

We played with moon dough and play dough. I made a light table which they had fun doing a lot of activities with. We played with blocks and bears. I made delicious homemade chicken noodle soup. And we topped the night off with watching a movie all together.

Tomorrow is yet another day off with temperatures reaching in the negatives. I'm excited about another day off with no agenda. Hoping we'll have just as much fun and come Wednesday hopefully we won't have any problems getting back into the normal routine.