Me & My Five Guys: 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Blizzard of 2013

When the weather man predicts snow for us, most of the time we don't pay any attention. It usually brings 2-3 inches and it's not that big of a deal. Several years ago, that was a big deal, but living with Cory for almost 14 years I am getting braver in the snow. It really isn't bad if you take things slow. So when the forecast calls for white stuff, I want it to be REAL and dump a load on us and that is what happened this year!

Church was canceled February 23rd and we were expecting it to start then, but it wasn't bad. During the night it came and school was canceled Thursday and Friday. It was around 6 inches I think and plenty to play in. Saturday was warmer and sunny so it melted off some and we got out of the house. Two snow days and this Momma was going crazy!

Then came the big one. Sunday night we anticipated another storm, they were forecasting 18-24 inches and we weren't buying it. We woke up Monday to easily a foot and it kept coming...it was CRAZY! You know that is a TON of snow for us when Cory says he hasn't seen that much snow in a LONG time.

The boys had a blast playing in it all throughout the day and Cory was home Monday and Tuesday, so he played too.

My cute little snow men!

Crosby kept saying Momma I can't walk, then laughing his head off. He loved it as long as his hands were dry!

Carter and Cole making snow angels.

The crazy snow shoveler. All day Monday he shoveled. The driveway at least three times, the trampoline twice, the back porch, just about anything he could.

Kanga was LOVING this stuff. She was running around in it every chance we let her.

Jack on the other hand, was showing his age and never made it off the porch. I'm pretty sure he went to the bathroom on the back porch because he didn't want to get in the deep stuff!

Caden spent most of the afternoon Monday making a snow tunnel.

Tuesday morning after it finally stopped snowing we went out to check the depth. At the end of the driveway you can see how deep it was on Crosby.

Proof that Momma got out in it.

Cole was loving the deep deep snow!

Mimi built a snow man and Carter, Cole and I helped a bit.

Max, Sam, Emily, and Carter worked to make Caden's tunnel a series of tunnels!

Cory just had to be adventurous and try the Range Rover out. He made it on our driveway no problem because he shoveled all day Monday. But once he got to the end, he was stuck. He spent another 20-30 minutes shoveling out to get to the tracks another car had made then he was ok.

School was out for 3 more days but we survived and had a great time! I

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Oscar Party

I was invited to an Oscar Party this year and we were asked to dress up as stars for the red carpet. This is not usually my thing, but I have so much fun with this group of ladies, I couldn't resist. So I borrowed a dress and attempted to do my hair and off I went.

I was all dolled up ready to go.

Jennifer and I ready to celebrate.

Jennifer photoshopped us on the real red carpet. How fun!

The whole crew: Angela, Gloria, Jennifer, Me, Susan, Brenda, Amy, and Sarah. We were fabulous!

This was a fun night and a much needed break for this tired Momma. Especially since a blizzard was coming! Stay tuned!

Saturday, February 23, 2013

K'Nex Exhibit

Afer the first snowfall of 6-8 inches and two days of no school, they forecasted another one on Monday. We had to get out of the house for a bit. Saturday was warmer and nicer, so we went to lunch, a movie, and the K'Nex exhibit at our local museum.

Caden was in awe of all the sets and also a little inspired. He came home and got out one of Cory's sets and started working. Since the storm came and we were out more days, he had plenty of time to work on it!

Caden at the museum

Caden's creation at home

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was the usual candy and craziness at our house again this year. This is not my favorite holiday and I think that is why I dread it each year. I tried to have a little fun with the kids cards for their classes. They turned out pretty well, even though it took a lot of time, the boys liked them.

I loved Caden's...so fitting for him!

Of course the strawberries and chocolate were on sale, so I thought I would get fancy one night for dessert. These were HUGE hit with the entire crew!

Carter and Cole got the same cards. There were 4 different designs, thank you Pinterest. My superhero loving boys thought they were great though!

Cory saved the day and had a surprise waiting for me at church Wednesday night. The strangest roses I have ever seen, but still pretty cool!

On Thursday I headed up to the ECC because I was in charge of Carter's class party. I got snacks covered, made up a BINGO game with candy hearts (again thank you Pinterest), and got goodie bags together. We had a quick little party, but I think that all the kids had a great time.

Here are a couple of pics of Carter and his buddies at school. He and Mason were all smiles, and of course we had to get another picture with Cameron. So cute!

Valentine's Day was fun for all the boys and they got lots of candy to eat. Dentist must just love this day!

Friday, February 8, 2013

February iPhone Photos

I did a little better towards the end of the month taking pictures with my real camera, but as I looked back at these iPhone photos, I just had to document them all. My boys do some funny, silly, cute stuff that I want to remember.

Cole loves Kevin from Home Alone, how scary is that? Since he has the longest hair in the herd, it made from some perfect Kevin hair one night after bath.

Carter finished his first real chapter book and hasn't looked back since. This boy is only in Kindergarten and reading books Caden read as a first grader. He can't get enough books! His appetite for reading is amazing!

One night I decided to be a fun mom at dinner time. I made letter pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes, and multi colored eggs. It was all yummy and the boys had a great time choosing what they wanted to eat. The meal actually was consumed with no fussing and lots of compliments. That is a blessing!

These two are more and more alike each day. They love to pair up and do things, this particular night they were chilling watching a quick cartoon. So cute!

We got a snow that caused the boys to miss a couple of days of school (6-8 inches). So they built their first snowman on their own! They were pretty proud!

One evening after AWANA I received a text from a friend with this picture in it. Carter apparently got up in front of all the Sparks (K-2nd) and recited all the books in the New Testament. Go Carter!

During the snow storms, Crosby went missing...we found him playing in his closet. Cute, silly, boy!

Towards the end of the month, I actually took more pics so stay tuned!

Monday, February 4, 2013

Missing Teeth

In one crazy weekend at our house, we had three teeth go missing. The tooth fairy is losing her change ever so quickly here at the Reid's. Carter started the madness with his dead tooth. It had been loose for a bit, but was getting looser by the minute and he wanted it out. So since it was dead, we could yank on it a little more than usual. He was thrilled to have it out!

Later in that same weekend, Carter demanded we check out his other loose front tooth. I think he eventually wiggled this one out on his own. Two teeth in one weekend. He was pretty proud little boy!

Caden didn't want to be outdone by his little brother. But since his tooth infection before Christmas, he was a little scared about having us pull on his tooth. After some prodding, he finally let us work on it a little. I say us, but really it is Daddy doing all the pulling. I don't pull teeth :) But it finally came out and he was excited.

So the tooth fairy was out three teeth's worth of money for the weekend. Crazy but fun!

Thursday, January 31, 2013

January on the iPhone

During the month of January, I took absolutely no pictures with my real camera. I am not sure what we were doing all month, but we were busy. We had a sweet little girl around 7 months living with us until mid January. Caden finished basketball on Saturdays during January. We got back into our school and church routines. Each child had a few activities at their school I was a part of. We were just busy doing life. So for this month, I have several pictures from my iPhone that sum up the month.

We are planning a trip to Brazil in June of 2014, so we began the process of learning Portuguese with Rosetta Stone. I am sold on this program. The kids are doing great with it!

One night while bathing Crosby alone in the hall bath, I realized that he really isn't all that little any more. My little boy is becoming a big boy and there are no other little boys to follow him.

Cole has this reaction a few days a week to just the general flow of the day.

Once Cole got to the letter M at his preschool. they had Muffins with Moms Day! Crosby and I had fun enjoying muffins with Cole that day. We ate muffins and made a moose.

One morning at home (Cole doesn't go to school on Tuesday or Thursday) we made some playdough. I wanted to experiment with a recipe I found in my Sunday School curriculum. The recipe was called Winter Playdough and called for glitter and paint. So I didn't color the dough this time and added lots of white and silver glitter and some white paint! It turned out great. The boys loved it and so did my AWANA kids and my Sunday School kids! My Grammy would be proud!

Caden finished up the second half of his basketball season. His team had a great season and won all but one game! He had fun learning more of the game and how to play with others on a team instead of just a game in the driveway with Dad!

January 1st we started reading The Story Bible. If you aren't familiar with that, it is the Bible in more of a Story format. It's NIV translation. Google it and check it out. They have kid versions, teen versions, bible studies to go with it, etc. It was hard to get the younger boys to focus for long stretches but the important part is that we are sitting together as a family EACH night to read God's word together, discuss it, apply it to our lives, and pray together, AS A FAMILY! It is life changing!

Also in January, also at Cole's school, I was able to be a sponsor on a field trip. We loaded all teh kiddos up and took them to WHS to a Stephen Fite concert. The theme was pirates and my boys LOVED it! Cole acted like he wasn't having fun, but he did. Crosby woke up REALLY early that day, so he fell asleep a few songs into the show, but he had fun too!

One afternoon after our little girl went home, I spent some time chilling with my boys. They missed their Momma a bit and so I ignored my chores and this particular day, I layed in the recliner and watched a movie with Cole.

Cole continued his love affair with popscicles into the winter months. This boy could eat a popsicle EVERY day if we would let him.

That sums up our month. I am trying to do better, really I am...just be patient with me :)