Minnesota....

Our family got to drive to Minnesota this year for a wedding of an old family friend (congrats Dale and Sarah!). So my sister and her dog and our family decided we wanted to go. We had an amazing trip. We drove at night (we left at around 7:00 in the evening and drove straight through it is a 13 hour trip without stops and we made it to Minnesota by noon the next day. It was a great trip hardly any issues at all. It was a beautiful time. The country was GORGEOUS! My children loved hearing about the states as we drove through them (MO, IL, WI, MN). It was a fun time. The kids got to dip their toes (it was FREEZING so no swimming) into Lake Superior. And swim at the resort pool and hang out in a cabin. We had a wonderful time. We hiked and played on playgrounds. Really a fun time. Some pictures.

We are talking about trying to go back again because it was soooo beautiful!

Karate Kontinues....

In May we also had another karate awards ceremony! Leanna and Hudson really do love karate but we have decided to take a break over the summer. But we will continue in the fall. They really are doing well and love learning all they can! It is great for Hudson as it has taught him how to focus a little more. For Leanna the lessons are different... karate isn't something she gets easily she has to work hard and even then doesn't always get it. She is learning perfectionism isn't an option. They both earned the Green/Black belt this semester. Some pictures...

So proud of them!!!

Last Day of School...

Leanna is now a second grader and Hudson will start Kindergarten in the fall! WOW!!! A picture from the first day of school:

And now the last day of school:

My oh my how big they have gotten. WOW!

Hudson's Preschool Graduation

Hudson attended Good Shepherd Lutheran Preschool all last year. He went three days a week and it was great for him! His very best friend Craig was there too and they had a fun time hanging out together 3 days a week. It also worked out for me because Craig's wonderful momma agreed to drive Hudson to and from for me since Nolan had to be at school 28 miles away at the same time!!! They did a very sweet graduation program and here are a few pictures from that night.

A New Haircut

My boys has been trying to convince me for MONTHS to let him get "a Daddy haircut". I have held him off until now. "A Daddy haircut" is a buzz cut. It is short. It is REALLY short. It made me very nervous for several reasons...

1. What if he has a funky shaped head under all that hair? I mean that would be just tragic.

2. What if Hudson hated it? It isn't like we can just braid it a new way or put in a pretty bow until it grows out. You know what I mean?

I forgot about the circus!!!!

How do you forget about the circus??? We went to the circus back in March and I completely forgot to blog about it! It is one of our most favorite days in the whole wide world. We absolutely get psyched and the kids just love it. Josh's Uncle Jim and the lovely Aunt Jane always make it such a fun day for the kids! I will let some pictures speak for themselves!

Leanna's favorite act at the circus: The quick change artist OR the tightrope walkers/acrobats. Hudson's favorite act at the circus: The motorcycle cage (are we shocked?). Nolan's favorite act at the circus: I like the monkey's. There you have it folks! We are so thankful for the Shriner's who do such an amazing job every year. We also want to thank Aunt Jane and Uncle Jim for always treating the kids to such an amazing day! It really is something we look forward to all year!

A new Cousin...

My small people got a new cousin! Josh's sister had baby Eli James Michael Hungate. He was born on the 26th! He is awfully cute. The kids were so excited to meet him. It did take quite awhile for the small guy to get up to the room. We had a lot of sitting around a hospital room. The one of them all laughing together is probably one of my all time favorite photos of them so far. They were all equally smitten with the little guy as you can tell. It was fun getting to see them so excited about a little one.

So congratulations to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law and big brother Ian on the newest addition!

The day I was "The Best Mom Ever"

It doesn't happen often... but every so often the skies part and the sun shines down and a rainbow of unicorn sparkles appear and I am "the best mom ever". I love hearing those words.

Today provided me with the opportunity to just hang out.

First Leanna and I scurried out of the house this morning to FINALLY buy her paint. It was great. She ended up choosing purple! What a great choice.

Then we headed home to grab the boys and let Josh head out for a tux fitting and lunch with his best friend and other groomsmen. So I snagged my boys and the 4 of us headed out for a delicious lunch at IHOP. No pictures sadly but it was fun and everyone behaved so awesomely.

All of a sudden on the way home I decided to detour to the park. It was such a beautiful day! We had a great time!





And then we ended our day with a trip to Lowe's, purchasing some items for the new house and we decided to head to the new house to work on a few things.




It really was a GREAT day. I am beat.

Night!

Snow Fun!

We haven't had a great winter involving snow so far at all. My kids have been super bummed about this. So I knew when they woke up to those snow flakes and a couple of inches on the ground I knew I was in for a significant amount of time outside!

So we got all bundled up...(there are so many layers here!)


gathered our gumption (okay maybe this was just momma's problem)and went to play outside...


They had so much fun... cleaning off cars and throwing snowballs. Making snow angels...this one was Nolan's First!


Hudson was under attack here...

All in all we played outside for about an hour and a half! Way longer than I ever imagined they would hang it was soooo cold! But we laughed and enjoyed so for me the memories were worth it.

You're a Mean One...Mr. Grinch.

I forgot to post about how I got the kids matching Grinch Shirts on black Friday. I decided instead of giving them to them for Christmas, I would give them as one of there days for the Advent Calendar instead.

They look so cute in their matching shirts and hats!

At Night at the Fox

Aunt Jessica always gives the kids a choice for their birthday and Christmas gifts, the can choose an experience or presents. This year their choice was they could have presents or go and see Beauty and the Beast at the Fox, and both of my small people chose to go see Beauty and the Beast. Their very good friends chose to go as well. It was such a fun night. I got to get 3 little girls and one handsome man ready to go to the show.





They all came back and said it was a wonderful time and that they enjoyed everything about the show. It was a great experience and fun time for all.

A Mouse's Tale

Our church did the cutest Christmas Program this year. It was called a Mouse's Tale. Leanna was an adorable Julie Mouse and Hudson had the cutest little role as Darryl the Donkey! It was all about the animals in the stable and their story about the night baby Jesus was born. Truly a fun and funny and heartwarming little story. Our friends were shepherds and Cory the dancing Camel and some truly funny sheep.

Some pictures from the play. With the stipulation these pictures aren't the greatest and I am so thankful I videotaped this play. It was so funny and so sweet.





The kids worked so hard on this play and did a truly wonderful job. I am so thankful for my small people who were so excited to do this play with family and friends.

Hudson's PreSchool Program!

I love watching my boy sing I must say. His preschool play for Christmas was so much fun and they all did such a great job!

Some pictures of the fun event!


These kids were so cute! They did such an amazing job.


Of course I had to take a picture of me and my boy! Our favorite pictures somehow always end up being the silly face ones.


He was so serious when he was singing. It was fun to watch my normally all over the place boy stand so very tall and still and concentrate on making sure he did it right.


Hudson and his classmates all worked really hard and did a great job!
It was a great way to end our week and start really getting into the Christmas spirit.