Winter Wonderland...

WOWZA'S!!!
I know that our blog gets neglected from time to time...
but this is ridiculous!!
I even had to stop and think hard about what my password was to our blog...after three attempts,
I got it!

I was foolish enough to think that since Had was starting preschool that I may actually have a free minute every now and again to blog...
WRONG!!!
It seems that something always comes in the way...
I am not complaining...so please don't misinterpret.
I have filled what would have been my 'free-time' with some pretty great things.
To be discussed later...

Anyhow, over the past few days, we residents of Western Washington have found ourselves in the midst of a winter storm
(snow-pocolypse, snow-magedon, ice-a-palooza, you get the idea)
and it has created some beautiful scenery for us to enjoy.
It also erased anything on our schedule (besides Jas's work) and provided us some un-planned time to spend with friends.

Our school district called it the night before that school would be canceled the following day (sidenote: it hadn't even started snowing yet when they canceled school-something Jas still scratches his head at; canceling school because it's supposed to snow?).

So I called A's friend, Rags momma, to see if Rags could stay the night. You should have seen the look on A's face when we walked in the door. She was so excited.

After staying up far past their bed time,
they woke bright and early to see if it had in fact snowed.
IT HAD!!
They bundled up and got ready to go play...
They had a blast!
I'll cut to the chase and get to some pictures already:
These are from our 1st 'Snow Day.'

After much warning from A and Rags to NOT EAT yellow snow...Had just couldn't wait any longer to try some of the white stuff.
Rags is such a sweet girl...and her family is incredible.
And she is super cute to boot.
Oh...our girl!
I love how her front teeth are slightly too big for her face...said with a mother's love.
Hoping these two remain friends throughout their school career...and beyond.

They were in the same kindergarten class last year and this year were seperated into different first grades...but hopefully next year, they'll be together again.
I think of the friendship that I have with a most special gal that I went Kindergarten thru Graduation with...and we are still close and are 'Auntie's' to each others girls...and I hope this for these two also. A few hours later, Rags mom and dad showed up to take her home...
Mom in her Volvo...
and dad on his quad.
You can only imagine the giggles that these three let out as they were being pulled along
(at a safe speed).

They kept coming up with fun new scenerios to play out and pretend to be while being pulled.
A was supplying the 'rooster' tail, since they were going too slow to create their own.
I love this picture! I just wish you could see the smile on Had's face.

Had got tired of being the 'cream filling,'
stuck in the middle...
...and talked her way into the driver's seat.
A wanted to 'fly.'

The only regret I had, was that Jas' job keeps him super busy during times of extreme weather, and he missed our day-o-snow.
He worked VERY LONG HOURS the last few days...
and now that I think about it...
I think that my motivation for blogging our last few days is to share with him what we did while he was so hard at work.

Hopefully, there will be more blog posts to follow...

Some 'Had' Time

So here we are...
3 weeks into A's career as a first grader...
and I'll be honest...
it's not been easy on her.
She has all of the sudden become resistant to wanting to go to school...
I have many theories that {may} play a part of this...
and I have eliminated the following reasons after some
"Momma Detective" work.
Her teacher is {FABULOUS}...
She has LOTS 'n LOTS of friends in class...
She is a very smart girl and doesn't struggle academically...
She has been getting 11-12 hours of sleep a night...
The following reasons have been suggested to me:
Her summer was full of unstructured play time that is hard to readjust to a structured schedule...
She has never been away from me for more than 3 hours on a regular basis
{school's now 6.5 hours long}...
Maybe she knows that she's missing out on all of the fun that Had and I are having.
Now the first two could very well be legitimate reasons behind her anxiety...
but I know that the last is not.
"How do I know this, you ask?"
She has NOOOO idea how much fun that Had and I are having these days...
cause we don't tell her :-)
{if she knew what she was missing...the resistance would be unbearable}.
I was blessed to have 3 years of absolute quality one-on-one time with our 'A' before the addition of Had to our family...
So now, it's my turn to get my one-on-one time with Had...
and we are loving it!!!
For instance, last week, after dropping A off at school...
we headed up to a fun, new doughnut shop about 15 minutes away.
We invited 3 other momma's with kiddo's not yet in school to join us.
We started here:

I'm kicking myself that I didn't take a picture of ALL of the possible doughnut options that Legendary Doughnuts has to offer.
{guess we'll have to go back}

After some serious deliberating,
Had opted for a Cookies 'n Cream doughnut
and I opted for the Caramel Cinnamon Doughnut. Had was is sugar-high heaven...

'Momma...do I have something on my face?'
Our new friend, Miss M finally settled on a original Chocolate Bar.
Here's is M's momma, Amy.
I only wish I could have video recorded her reaction to her first bite of her
'Oprah' doughnut.
Maple bar with strips of bacon on top.
Now I don't due Maple...at all!!!
...but her {borderline inappropriate} response for this little gem, may have me ordering one next time...
or at least stealing a bite of hers.
How handsome is this little man?
He is so stinkin' cute!!!
Funny connection...
his dad and I taught together...
way back when I was a teacher...
and they only live 3 streets over
and one of his older sister's is in A's class.
It's wonderful...because they are a phenomenal family!!!
After we had inhaled our doughnuts...
we took the kiddos to a 'new' park in a large housing community near the doughnut shop.
The kiddo's were so excited to get to run around like monkey's on 'new' toys.

Had had climbed up to the top of 'her' tower and had crowned herself the 'princess.'

To know me...
is to know that I DO NOT CONDONE
the whole 'princess' thang.

In fact, I try and discourage it as much as possible...

leave it to this feisty lady to go 'gung-ho' into it.

Miss M was really excited to test out her balance on this thing.

She quickly learned that if she took a minute to smile at me...
it threw off her balance...
she quickly 're-focused' herself and kept herself composed and balanced. After they had 'tried out' all of the new toys...
it was time to head over to the large, lush, green, grassy hill to get their
'roll-on.'
It was trickier than I think they had anticipated.
But with a little practice...
they soon figured it out.
Moments later...
Little Man decided that he needed a 'break.'
This expression makes me laugh...
I'll give you one guess as to 'what' he was doo-ing.
Had talked Miss Amy into spinning her.

I'm not sure who had more fun 'spinning.'

Now, after 8 days of some REALLY great
mom and Had time...
it was time for Had to start her school career.
Preschool...that is!!!
"Had...turn the page...that one's blank!"

"There...that's better."
I'm in a little shock that the last three years have gone by so fast...
She loved that it was FINALLY time for her
First Day of School Photo Shoot.
OHHH...this girl!!!
P.S. Did you forget that genetically your head is WAY TO BIG to hide behind a tree.

Here she is...
SO EAGER to go to school.
And I got to join her for her first day
{it was only an hour long and just helped the kiddo's get acquainted with their new school, new friends and new routine}

There is a special reason as to why I am so THRILLED to have my girls attend this preschool...
It was founded by my very own Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Harris.
Unfortunately, she passed away last fall...and is missed dearly by the hundreds and hundreds of students that she had.
But she was wise enough to train and teach her daughter the in's and out's of her success as a teacher and so the legacy continues.

In just the hour we were there...Had got a lot done...

She had a few calls to catch up on up in 'the loft.'
She got to know 'Cherokee...'
...completed a puzzle or two.
...and was so EXCITED to be a part of 'circle-time.'
"One-Two-Three..."
{sidenote-look at those high-lights....lucky dog!!!}
Here she goes...

First day...all by herself"Bye Mom!!!"

Flash-Forward two VERY fast hours...

and she was ready to come home.I am so overly-excited for the memories that our two girls will be making in school this year...
it's hard to let them go...
but it's so fun watching them grow
{and really what fun would it be if I kept them all to myself?}
I want to share them with the World...
because they will leave it a better place for having been in it.

It's a First...

Ladies and Gentlemen...

It's a first...
born...
grandchild...
granddaughter...
niece...
great-niece...
{among other things}
...but most importantly...
today she became a
First-Grader!!!

That's right...
she went to bed technically still a kindergartner...
but overnight she magically transformed into a
First-Grader!!!

Of course this meant that we had to have a super quick impromptu photo session in the front yard!!!
{It's a momma's prerogative...}
And this momma expects a few smiles on cue...

Leave it to Had to make these
'on demand smiles'
uniquely all her own.

Oh my precious girls...{my mother in law called a few days back and said she'd had a dream that we were having our 4th girl...Sorry J, I think these two are about all I can handle}

Our dear neighbor, Bri took a similar shot to this one last year...
except I was in it...
but, due to baby, I didn't want to bother her...
turns out she would have been more than willing...
{we may be reenacting it tomorrow}

Instead,
Jas and I took turns being the photog.

I am not sure that it is physically possible for this girl to walk
ANYWHERE!!!
She pretty much sprinted the whole way.And at each intersection she would turn back and run to us...
this provided me with a few more great photo opps.

{Getting a little tired of my requests for
'on-demand smiles.'}

My heart leaps at the sight of this gorgeous little beauty.
Being her momma makes me so happy...
and I am Blessed and humbled that God trusts me and her daddy to raise her.

You know what you do when 'on-demand smiles' are no longer happening???
You start taking pictures of their shoes!
HA HA HA

We are such a Converse Family...

Can't help it...
they are comfortable and cozy...
affordable and go with just about outfit...
and if they don't...
you just go and get the color that matches...so they do.

Of course Had had to have equal photo opportunities.

I think that Converse should use this picture in their Target print ads...
You think???
I think it screams
Fall and Back-to-School

After we rounded the corner...
we came across A's friend,
'Abbra-Cadabbra'
and her sister and dad.
Of course this meant that I had to lag behind for a few more
photos.
{I didn't mind}

Almost there...
making the last cross before being at school!!!

Do you love the EMPTY stroller?
We thought that Had would want to 'stroll' in it...
we were WRONG!
However, it did provide a safe place for my
Caramel Macchiato.

As I was trying to get a shot of A and her girls...
another parent 'stole' their attention and they all turned.
But you know what?
I like this one better.
A little more original and fun!

And you can't tell whose eyes were opened or closed.

After trying 4 times to get one with all of their eyes open,
I gave up and settled on this one.Not sure if this look says,
'I have butterflies about first grade...'
or
'Mom...seriously...enough pictures already!!!'

Off she goes...
officially starting her first day of first grade!!!
I am so proud of her
and so excited for what the year ahead will hold for her.Oopsy...
speaking of which...
I gotta go wake up Had so we can walk to go get her.
Man-Oh-Man
did this day fly by?

I'll post later about the fun that Miss Had and I had.