Category: February

Allison’s Famous Pictures

This is when Allison was three maybe 4. Ryan’s company was putting out some new media and asked if Allison could be the kid for the pictures about their work with different school districts. She looks adorable but she was having none of it that day. She wouldn’t smile for anything. The best they got was a silly face. Every now and then it pops up on mine or Ryan’s Facebook feed. I know it is in a picture book somewhere but I don’t think it has made it to my blog yet so I am going to put it here because she is a cutie.

  • The look on her face to me says, “You can beg me all you want to smile, I am no ones puppet.”

Guess what time it is?!

It is Valentine’s celebration at school time! It was Emilee’s turn to have me help at her class party so I went and ran a game for them. There were many cute boxes and lots of excited kids. It is cute to see them deliver all their valentines. I helped with a game called Cupids Arrow. Each kid get a straw and a bunch of q-tips. They put the q-tip in the straw then blow through the straw and try to get it in a bowl. One boy started at the game area and was not happy at it because ‘the games are always boring and the worst part of the party’. Once I explained and started the game, he ended up being the biggest fan and was hard to get to move on to the next area. Emilee opted to go with a traditional mail box for her Valentine Box that she decorated.

Handing out her candy and excited about the candy she will find in her own box when she is done. The girl has the worlds biggest sweet tooth.

Allison’s party was not at exactly the same time so I was able to stop by and hang out with her at her party for a little bit too. True to her previous endeavors when making her Valentine Box she had to go bigger then the year before. Last year is her last year to make boxes which will be sad to not see the creative ideas she comes up with, but good in that they can’t get to much bigger or she won’t be able to carry them with out help. She went with the Rooster theme like last year but created an entire scene instead of just one rooster. This poor guy is running for his like so he doesn’t get eaten by the roosters that are quickly gaining on him. The last rooster is reminding them that they are vegetarians and don’t really want to eat him. The barn door is where you put the valentines.

Allison stuck with the Rooster theme again this year.

Matthew’s Basketball

Matthew missed about half of the basketball tryouts because we left for Florida for Christmas. He was nervous he wouldn’t be able to make the team but he ended up getting put on the Junior Varsity team. He has been loving it. He has been getting better each week too. There team is 10-1 so they have had a good season. One of the games they were down by more than 15 points almost the whole game then they came back and won in triple overtime. He loved the excitement of the whole experience. The jersery’s are already made and the bigger the number the bigger the size of the jersey. His usual number he likes to be is 14 butthat jersey was to big so he had to settle for 11. He is very aware of his lack of height compared to almost everyone else on his team but he makes up with it with speed and effort. He is getting really good at darting around and stealing the ball from the other team.

  • They start each game with the National Anthem, which I love.
  • They announce the starting players so they get to run out and line up.

Emilee’s Basketball

Emilee tried basketball again this year. She played on a team with her friend Stella. Stella’s dad was the coach for the team.

She has done a really good job. You can tell that a few things have clicked for her on how to play so she enjoys it more and her skills are getting better. It is fun to watch.

The girls are still young enough that some pretty cute mistakes or distractions happen during the games too. Sometimes they get confused and shoot at the wrong basket. Another time two girls that were guarding each other decided to take a break for a minute to play patty cake together.😂😂

  • Stella and Emilee

Fabulous February

It has been snowing almost weekly this winter. That is a lot more often that usual for us. Most of them have been less than an inch but some have been a couple inches. Several of them have been the really wet snow that is good for snowman building. We have played a lot in the snow but winter is always a time to get creative about what to do indoors.

Allison has her braces on and gets to go to the dentist a lot these days to have them checked. She found a fun toy in the treasure box after her last visit.

Allison also tried her hand out at the school National Geographic Geography Bee this year. She was the representative for her class. I was proud of her for trying it. The questions were pretty hard.

Bye Bye February

Its already mid March but I wanted to bid a formal farewell to February. I’m glad it’s over, good riddance. For being the shortest month of the year, February sure felt LONG. At least the last half of the month did. This winter has had a lot more snow then usual. I think it is safe to say we are past the snow part but I’ll ‘knock on wood’ as I type this. Usually we have 2-3 snow days each winter, this year we had seven, five of those were in February.🤦‍♀️😒 February is also ‘famous’ around here for having the most days off of school. So just for fun lets do a little math. There were twenty possible days to attend school this month. Twenty minus five snow days, one holiday, and three scheduled days off of school, takes it down to 11 days of school. Mingled among those 11 days of school, each of the kids was sick for 2-3 days at different times. This added five doctor visits to our month. Adding in the regular stuff we have going on and my work schedule that I over booked this month and I felt a little more stressed and discombobulated than I usually do.

It isn’t that I don’t like the kids being home, it was nice to have snow days and a little break from the school schedule but it is hard to keep a some what constructive environment going when it is repeatedly being canceled, postponed, and rescheduled. It felt like a constant state of unknown plans which drives me crazy. I also feel like the older I get the more I notice that I start to get a little stir crazy and have the winter blues by the time February comes around. I’m just ready for some sunshine, foliage, and fresh air. The kids show signs of needing to get out and stretch their legs and burn off energy too.

  • Dad is just going about his business while Emilee dresses him up.
  • I love pictures like this
  • Awards from Grandpa Jones
  • Mrs. Pahl’s student of the month
  • Emilee named our snow man- Mrs Snowman because it is a girl.
  • Emilee wanted to make a giant snow man on our 7th snow day.
  • We smoked the escape room with 20 minutes to spare.
  • Allison’s sleep over with Hailey

Winter Festivities

This year our resident NFL team did really well. They ended up making it to the play-offs. They haven’t done that for 20 years or something like that. I don’t remember they exact statistic. This year they made it to the play-offs so Ryan took Matthew and went with a friend of his from high school. They got seats for the lower bowl on the 35 yard line. It was COLD! Like low 30’s with snow and wind. They had several layers of everything plus snow pants and boots. They stayed pretty warm except for their toes, but that didn’t stop them from having a great time. The Chiefs won too! They lost the next week, but they won the game they were at which made it even more fun.

  • Chiefs Play Off Game!
  • Chiefs Play Off game with dad.
  • Chiefs Play Off Game 2019

The girls have been taking gymnastics for a few years. A couple months ago we switched to a new gym and they had pictures recently. So I got a cute picture of each of my gymnasts.

  • Allison’s gymnastic picture
  • Emilee’s gymnastic pictures

The high school has a Saturday cheerleader camp every couple of months. Allison and her friend Carlee like to go together and dance it up together.

  • Cheer Camp
  • Cheer Camp

This is Emilee’s second year playing basketball. She has come a long way. Last year she wouldn’t run to the other end of the court. When the ball went to the other side of the court she would sit under the basket against the wall and wait until everyone came back. This year she runs the court. If she gets tired though she comes up into the bleachers and asks Ryan and I if she can be done. Matthew works on her dribbling with her during the week and she is getting better.

  • Emilee having a team huddle with her basketball team ‘The Bears’
  • Emi playing in her basketball game.

February is always an odd month. Its short anyways and there is usually teacher conferences and President’s Day which are no school days. Then there is usually snow days. So far this month thanks to ice storms we have had FOUR snow days and its only half way through the month. Nothing makes the kids quite as excited as a surprise day off of school. We try to get in some fun activities and of course lots of playing in the snow.

  • Snow day facials
  • Matthew and Carson built a snow fort.
  • Emilee and Jovee built a snowman.
  • Allison and Leah went sledding with Ross and Lauren.
  • Emilee and Jovee working on their snowman.

Allison was Ms. Coovert’s class Student of the Month. She gets a special certificate and a coupon for a free ice cream at Culver’s. She was very excited and Ryan and I were very proud of her. One of her besties Hailey was PE Student of the Month with her.

  • Allison was the Student of the Month
  • Student of the Month with Hailey

More pictures from our Winter.

  • Allison decided to use her bean bag as her pillow.
  • Emilee’s 100th day of school celebration
  • The 6th Graders went on a ski field trip.
  • I thought this was a cute picture so I just stuck it in here. 🙂

Allison’s Valentine’s Box

Allison begins planning her Valentine’s Day box several months before it is time to make it. In fact about the time Halloween ends that is the next project she starts thinking about. Last year it was a giant robot covered in aluminum foil and then colored in different colors representing slime. This year she had a very unique idea as well. My parents were visiting so she recruited my dad to help her draw it and then she painted it… pictures are worth a thousand words so I’ll let you see for yourself. She is a pretty darn good artist.

  • Allison’s Valentine’s Box
  • She went with a rooster!

Pine Wood Derby

Allison was in her second pine wood derby this year. Ryan was helping her make it and was spending time making sure the weight was good. After a while she looked at Ryan and said, “I don’t care if it is fast, I just want it to look good. I can handle it from here.” She did just that too. She painted it all white and then put yellow circles all over it and then drew different emoji faces on each circle. It was pretty stinkin’ cute. Her car wasn’t the fastest but it won the ribbon for Best In Show.

  • Allison’s Girl Scout Troop
  • Allison watching the races.

Emilee was in her first derby this year. She did a great job helping her dad form it and put the weights on. Then she painted it all by herself. She had fun watching the races with the other girls in her troop. They are all a cute little bunch.

  • Troop 2779

My Grandma and Grandpa Jones

When I was visiting DeAnna we went and saw my grandparents one of the evenings we were there. We spent a couple hours visiting with them and my Aunt Mary. My Grandma’s short term memory is not very good sometimes but she was really good while we were there. I asked her to play the piano for me which she did. I wanted to ask her to play her trumpet too but didn’t want to wear her out. She decided to do it on her own which was awesome. She is absolutely amazing on both instruments. She has played them both all around the world throughout her life. She taught me piano lessons for a little bit when I was younger. I remember I was practicing one of my songs once and she was listening in the kitchen. I hit a wrong note and she told me the wrong note I had played, the correct note I needed to play, and the correct fingering so I could play it smoother. From the kitchen!

My grandpa always has a silly poem or rhyme to tell, or a song to repeat. He read us one while we were there from an Irish song book that he thought was clever.

I had a really nice evening with them. I enjoy seeing other extended family but I was glad to get to spend some time with just them. They are wonderful people.

NOTE: The process for loading videos has changed. I am trying to figure it out but haven’t quite got it yet. Each video should be different but I think instead it is showing all six videos over and over. So…there are six different videos listed here even though it just shows one. Click on the upper left hand corner and it will let you select what video you want to watch.