Cavs in the Finals (4.4 years and 2.85 years)

The post season with the Cavs has been a lot of fun.  Austin and Sydney has really enjoyed it too. The Cavs being in the finals was awesome and exhausting.  All the home games did not start until 9pm.  A few away games started at 8 pm.  We took the kids to the watch parties.  It was a great opportunity for them to see the finals without the cost and really late nights.

The Cavs do a great job with the watch parties.  We really enjoy Fred McLeod and Austin Carr doing the commentary.  The kids get to get their hair painted and a Cavs tattoo.  The love all the snacks they get.  The snacks really help them be able to watch the entire game.  I find it amazing that a 2 and 4 year old can watch the entire game.  They have never watched an entire movie at one sitting yet but they can watch the Cavs game.

During the timeouts, the entertainment at the Q is just like regular games.  The have the T-Shirt toss.  Brian was holding Austin and a t-shirt was thrown right at Austin.  Brian was nervous if Austin was going to be able to catch it himself.  This was Austin's opportunity to get it.  If he dropped it, likely someone would get it.  Luckily Austin caught it himself.  He was so proud.  And so were we!

The watch party ended up going into overtime.  Austin started to fall asleep a little bit but Sydney was still pretty awake.  Brian told Austin if they won, he would be able to give strangers high fives.  Austin was really excited about that.  The Cavs ended up winning and Austin and Brian went all over the Q giving people high fives!

Brian and I went to all the home finals games ourselves.  Luckily our neighbor was able to watch the kids.  Since the games were so late, it worked out well for everyone.  The kids had fun with her and her kids.  

We were really sad the Cavs did not win the finals.  But given the injuries to Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, it was impressive they made it so far.  It's great to live in Cleveland and be able to experience this. It was great family memories.  We can't wait to see what next year brings!

Our local library has a summer time reading program.  I read to the kids for at least 20 minutes a day and then the kids color in a clock.  Then each week, they get a prize, a popsicle, and a coupon for food somewhere.  The kids really love doing this.  They enjoy reading and picking out their books.  Now when I take the kids to the doctors I bring lots of library books.  We just sit and lobby or room just reading the books.  They are so good.  Before when I didn't have anything for them to do they would torment each other, scream or run around.  Now we just sit there and read.  It makes me so happy!  I'm so grateful for our great library and getting the kids to enjoy reading so much.

Last summer, we we were so desperate to get Austin to poop in the potty we got Austin a fireman's pole for his swing set.  Brian told him as soon as he did that they would put it up.  Well that never happened until Thanksgiving.  Since it was cold outside and he just did it because he wanted too not because of the fireman's pole, it was never put up.  Austin loves fireman poles at the parks.  Brian decided to put it up for him.  Austin loved helping put it up.  He also loves being able to play on it.  Sydney can't go down herself yet but Austin definitely can.  Kids still enjoy their swing set.  It's nice when I am making dinner that they can play on it and I can see them.  It was a lot of work to make but so glad Brian did that!

Also this year, Austin decided he wanted to grow some plants and/or flowers.  I was planning on getting a pot from the store and letting him do that.  Brian thought, "why don't we just make them a garden?"  Brian built them a garden on the side of the house.  He also made sure that the deer and rabbits won't be able to get in.  It has a door with a lock.  It's amazing.  It's a large garden that the kids planted corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, green beans, tomatoes, cucumber, and carrots.  They had fun with that. Hopefully we will actually grow something.  I don't have a green thumb so we'll see what happens.

We also took the kids strawberry picking twice.  They loved apple picking so much we decided to try strawberry picking.  The loved it too!  It is cool to get fresh fruit and watch them pick their own.

Hello Spring and Welcome Summer

The month of May is already over, I cannot believe it!  We have been so busy enjoying this beautiful spring I didn't have time to blog.  Spring came on suddenly this year and it became hot quick.  It was awesome!  We love the seasons of the year but when the warm weather finally comes it's amazing!

My mom went to Alaska for the month of May to visit with Aunt Betty.  The kids miss her.  We still have been visiting Papa every week.  He has come along to some of our activities too.  The kids enjoy the Sunday breakfasts at their house.  They get pancakes, eggs, chocolate milk, and donuts.  What could be better?  Since the weather has been nice, we have been walking to the park after breakfast.  Austin and Sydney really like walking Gizmo.  He's a great dog for that.  He never pulls them and everyone enjoys their walk.

I had a great Mother's day!  Their school also does muffins with mom.  It's great they do that but I always feel horrible because it's difficult for me to go. I get to work between 7-7:30 am.  Brian always takes them to school.  I talked with Austin about the muffins with mom since he understands. We decided to buy our own muffins at home and have them together. I am so glad it worked out.  The school does a nice job making gifts for us.  Austin made a key chain with his fingerprint on it and Sydney has a picture of her in a frame holding flowers.  They were both very cute.  Brian made me a photo book of the past year of pictures with just me and the kids.  It's always great to look at those pictures nicely in a book.

We went to a Cavs watch party on Mother's day.  Lebron James hit a buzzer beater to win the game against Chicago.  It was quite exciting and everyone went crazy.  The Cavs do a great job with the watch parties.  Austin and Sydney like them too.  They have become huge Cavs fans.  They can watch the entire games now.  They need a lot of snacks to entertain them but they do sit in their seats.  At the watch parties, Austin caught a t-shirt all by himself they were throwing out too.  He was so proud!

The Cavs post season run has been unbelievable.  We are so excited about it.  Brian and I have went to all the home games.  Austin and Sydney went to 2-3 playoff games and numerous watch parties.  They really likes it.  Because of the price of tickets and it being crowded we had to sit separate with the kids at the home games.  We realized the kids act better when they are separate though.  It's great the Cavs are going to the NBA finals.  We are really hoping for a championship this year.  The kids would love to go to the parade!

In May, we went to see Thomas the Train.  The weather wasn't the best but it didn't rain.  We arrived early so we could get the kids picture with Thomas.  Then they jumped in the bouncy houses for a while. Kaitlyn's family joined us on Thomas.  My dad came too however he couldn't go on the train because I didn't have enough tickets and couldn't get more on the same train.  He was okay with that.  He got to watch the people while we rode the train.  After our Thomas adventure we went to McDonald's for lunch.  The kids were excited about that.

On Memorial Day weekend, we went to the zoo for kids day. It was extremely busy however the kids had fun.  They enjoy the zoo.  Brian does not get to go often.  It was a nice family morning there.  We left the zoo because we were planning on buying a camper.  Unfortunately the camper did not work out.  Brian and I were bummed but we believe everything happens for a reason. It's not our time to have a camper.  We are planning on buying one next year.  Brian needs to get a bigger vehicle first to be able to pull it,

On Memorial day, Austin had a friend's birthday party.  It was really nice because they invited Sydney.  It was at a local park.  Spider-man even showed up.  The party was great.  Everyone had a great time.  I really like the kids childcare school.  We have met some great people and the kids have learned a lot.  I am so lucky to be able to work part time to allow the kids to go to school while I can continue my career.  I am truly grateful.  It has been the best for our family to have the best of both worlds of staying home versus working.

Austin and Sydney did tot soccer though our rec center this month.  It was every Tuesday night.  It was nice because it was the first year that Sydney could play too. They had fun with it.  Austin did a great job participating.  He did what he was told and didn't need us to be right with him like last year.  It was refreshing to see.

Austin now completely buckle his 5 point car seat now by himself in a timely manner.  It's great. He buckles himself while I buckle Sydney.

Cavs Playoffs and Atlanta 4.25 years and 2.75 years)

The Cavs are in the playoffs for the first time since Austin was born.  This is a new adventure for us.  Last time they were in the playoffs, basketball was our second job.  We were at every playoff game and almost all watch parties.  We never missed a game.  This time it's a little different.  While we are fortunate to still have tickets to each game it's different watching them.  For being 2 and 4 years old, Austin and Sydney do great.  But they still need "things" during the game.

Since we have taken them to about 10 games throughout the season, they know exactly what to expect during the games.  They really like going and it's great we can bring them with us.  They have been to two playoff games so far.  During the playoffs, we have to sit apart and it works out better.  We have 2 season tickets and Brian bought 2 more as a playoff pack so we have 4 seats to all playoff games.  When they are sitting next to each other, they touch one another and get in trouble.  When they are just with one of us, they are fabulous.

We really hope the Cavs go all the way this year.  Being the kids to the parade would be awesome.  However if they don't it will be okay because Ausin and Sydney will keep us busy.  We won't have too much time to dwell on it.

A few weeks ago, we traveled to Atlanta to visit Brian's family.  We flew down on Saturday morning.  While at the gate, they said our plane had mechanical problems and would be delayed.  Then they got a new plane quickly but there were storms in Atlanta and we could not take off.  It was very nice of them to allow us to deplane and re board.  That was great with the kids.  Even though they travel great the less then on the plane the better.  Finally after a 2 hour delay, we were headed to Atlanta.

It was nice because Melissa, Camden, and Graham came to Atlanta to visit too.  It was the first time meeting Graham.  He's such a cutie and a fabulous baby.  He has awesome hair.  We got to spend all Saturday afternoon with everyone.  It was great seeing everyone.  Jim lives on a lake house about 2 hours from Atlanta.  We all stayed there for the night.  We went out of his boat.  The kids enjoyed it.  We had dinner. Then the kids made smores for the first time on a campfire.

On Sunday, we hung out on the lake most of the day.  They Austin and Sydney went tubing with Daddy for the first time.  It was behind the pontoon boat so it never went that fast.  Austin absolutely loved it.  Sydney liked it too but wasn't so sure at times.   We stopped at a playroom off the beach.  It was cool to dock the boat on the beach.  Austin had to pee and there were no bathrooms.  It was also the first time he learned to pee on a tree.  Luckily he did not like it too much and doesn't really want to do it again.

We had such a great time in Atlanta visiting everyone.  We don't get to see them often.  We hope to maybe go back next year.  It makes us miss Brian's Dad.  We have to believe things would be so much different if he was still here.  It really sucks for Brian that he doesn't have any immediate family near by.

We also visited the dentist last week for a check up.  The kids did a good job.  Best of all, no one had any cavities.  It's great the kids like the dentist  Austin and Sydney have all their teeth.  The average age of loosing baby teeth is 6.  I'm sad to think that is not far off for Austin.  Sydney's teeth are well aligned right now.  Let's hope the permanent teeth are also like that.

Happy Easter (4 years and 2.5 years)

Our daycare has developed a PTO again.  I think it's a great way to be involved in the school.  I feel it's important for me to be involved. I like getting to know more of the teachers and planning fun activities for the kids.  We organized a school dance.  It was supposed to be for Valentine's Day but the day it was scheduled it was a snow day so it was rescheduled for the end of March.

Brian took pictures at the dance for all the families.  Pictures are very important to us.  Brian does a really great job taking pictures.  Austin likes to be like his daddy and he had "his" camera around his neck and helped take pictures too.  It's an older camera Brian doesn't use anymore, but it still is a $500 DSLR camera so Austin looks quite legit holding it.  He understands he needs to be careful with it and always wear the strap.  The kids had fun dancing around.  When it was over, Austin said he wanted to do it again.  That makes it all worth it!

Our city did not have a community Easter egg hunt this year.  However Kaitlyn's family did and invited us over.  Austin and Sydney loved collecting the eggs.  At first, Sydney did not know what to do.  Then she got the hang of it loved it.  Austin collected the most but we evened it out in the end.

An outlet mall had an Easter egg hunt.  Kids went into stores and collected eggs.  They had fun doing that.  They would run to the store.  They also had an Easter bunny outside for pictures. We stood in line for the Easter bunny.  Kids in front of us were scared of him but Austin and Sydney ran up to him and got their picture with him.  It's great that are not scared of him.  It was cold that day but everyone still had fun!

On Easter morning the kids woke up and went to find their Easter baskets.  Austin found his basket first under the slide.  Then Austin helped Sydney find her basket on the coat rack.  Then after it warmed up a little bit they went outside and found eggs and some outside toys of Pogo stick, chalk, and a T-ball set.  After dinner, we went down to my parents for dinner.  They got Easter baskets there too.  The kids had a great Easter.

Lake Farm Park has a spring program for little kids.  I took them for a half day program with my local mommy group.  The kids could have milked a cow but they were too scared.  They learned about spring and planted a plant.  They saw baby animals.  We had a packed lunch there too.  After it was over they played in the inside playground.  It was a neat educational program.

We had some opportunities to go to Sky Zone too.  I took them one day for an hour and Brian took them there too for an hour another day.  Austin liked playing basketball.  Sydney enjoyed jumping on the trampolines.  They burned a lot of energy and were tired afterwards.

We also took the kids to the IX Center indoor amusement park.  It was really good for them.  They had several rides they could both ride.  It's interesting because there is only a certain window they both can ride the rides before they are too big.  Austin and Sydney had a great time there.  I am so happy we took them.

All about Austin and Sydney

This blog post I am going talk about Austin and Sydney.

Austin is now 4 years old.  He likes playing with wooden train tracks in the house.  He really enjoys his computer and playing ABC Mouse and Reading Eggs.  He enjoys that his computer has a password that he can type in himself.

His favorite books are Pete the Cats and truck books from the library.  He really enjoys library time every week and picking out his own books.  We have even started getting letter boxes from the library each week.  They usually check out 20-25 books a week now.  On days I am off with them, we read around 20-30 minutes a day.

Austin's favorite color is green and he tells us that.  Before now, we have just assumed what his favorite color is but now he tells us.  Austin likes to play basketball.  He can shoot the ball pretty well for a 4 year old.  He has good form.  He enjoys putting his Cavs jersey and playing the Austin and Sydney Cavaliers.

Austin likes to cook.  He can pour ingredients in the bowl and mix them around.  He likes making cookies, banana bread, and dinners.

Austin favorite foods are cereal in the morning.  He likes to eat it on the couch while watching his Kindle. For lunch he likes ham sandwiches with mayo, chicken nuggets, peanut butter and jelly or hot dogs.  For dinners he like pasta, chicken, meatloaf, and sometimes sloppy joes.  He use to really like sloppy joes but now not as much.  He also likes sweets especially ice cream!

When he talks everyone can easily understands him.  He likes to say,"I was thinking we should..." when he wants to do something.  They had a babysitter the other day and he was able to help show and explain how everything works at our house.  He asks lots of questions and always wants to know why.  He remembers our cruise and trips to Disney because he will make references to them.  He has a very good memory.  He loves to travel.  He really enjoys riding on airplanes.  It's been over a month since our last plane and he says it's been so long since our last plane ride.

When putting him to bed he asked, "Mommy will i grow tonight"?  I said "I don't know".  He said, "yes mommy each night I grow and get a little bit bigger".  And he is completely right.  It makes me sad.  He will never be were he was today.  Each day is truly a gift.  I am loving where they are right now.  They are so awesome!

Sydney is 2.5 years old.  She loves to do everything Austin is doing. But she definitely has her own personality and it's her way or no way. She communicates very well for 2.5 years old.  She talks in complete sentences and 95% of the time we can understand her.  Austin understands her 99% of time.  If we don't understand her we ask Austin.  

She knows the days of the week and can count to 10 in English and Spanish. She loves Dora and between Dora and school she is learning some Spanish.  She loves to say “I’m going to do it”.  She usually remembers better things short term than Austin or at least she expresses it more.  If I ask what the stories were about during story time at dinner Sydney usually tells us but Austin does not.  She knows the days of the weeks from the days of the week song.  She is learning the months of the year. 

Sydney has always loved books.  When she is sad, books comfort her.  She loves being read too.  She likes reading books to herself too.  She doesn't know how to read but she will make a humming sound while looking at all the pages.  Her favorite books are Dora the Explorer, Pete the Cat, and Strawberry Shortcake.  She doesn't like going to nap or bed because she always wants more books. 

Sydney loves to play outside.  She likes to ride her small pink tricycle.  I bought it last year on my mommy website.  This year I thought it would be too small but it works perfect for her.  She loves it.  She pedals as fast and she can.  It’s really the cutest thing!  She also loves to play in the sand.  They have a little sand table and can play on it for a long time.  She likes driving the cozy coup too.  We have a swing in the front yard and she loves to swing.  She really likes it when Daddy does a “Daddy underdog”. She loves to swim.  She is only 1 swim class level behind Austin.  She is not afraid of the water.  She would swim everyday if she could.  

Sydney eats about the same things as Austin.  However she does not like sauce on her noodles and that includes macaroni and cheese.  She likes just plain noodles.  She likes hot dogs more than Austin.  She likes to eat peas whereas Austin likes to eat carrots.  They both love corn.  She likes to eat strawberries, grapes, cantaloupe, and watermelon.  They both love “oranges from the cupboard” (canned mandarin oranges).   She likes mommy cereal which is frosted shredded wheat.  She prefers her cereal with milk whereas Austin likes his dry. 

She has an opinion on what she wears.  If she does not like it, she will not wear it.  She also loves to wear her sunglasses upside down even when she is going to sleep. When going to sleep she likes to hand someone's hand, have her sunglasses on upside down, and hold her princess light that projects onto the ceiling. 

She refuses to nap for us sometimes.  It takes her a long time to fall asleep.  She is like her Daddy.  She likes to sleep in and gets up closer to 8 am when we let her.  She goes to bed a little before 10 pm.  She is always the more difficult one to get to sleep.  She usually wants mommy to put her to bed and Austin usually wants daddy.  Sometimes we switch but if they both agree we keep it as is to keep them happy.  When we travel, Austin and Sydney sleep in the same bed on the floor.  

Sydney weighs 25 pounds and almost 36 inches tall.  Austin is 40 inches tall and weighs 40 pounds.  Sydney always seems so lite but really is not after we carry her for a while.  We rarely use our stroller now only for traveling or at the zoo.  When we walk around the block in the evenings the kids ride their bikes.  It’s good exercise for them.  We like to keep them as active.  It's good for everyone.  

Visit to Dallas (4 years and 2.5 years old)

My nephew Nick got married and we were invited to the wedding.  My parents drove down to Dallas and spent a week there before the wedding.  We flew down Wednesday night.  We did not arrive until midnight our time.  Sydney fell asleep on the plane however Austin did not.  They travel so great on planes now.  All the really need is their Kindles and they are good to go.  I do pack stickers and books to play with too but they mostly use the Kindle.  We don't let them watch TV or use their Kindles much at home (less than 30 minutes a day on average) so they really like getting to use them more when we travel.

Once the plane landed Austin and Brian went to the rental car company to get our rental car and get the car seats installed.  We brought our car seats and the umbrella double stroller.  Brian has a very nice way to carry the car seats though the airport.  After we got our rental car we went to our hotel to get some sleep.  By this time, Austin was asleep but Sydney was awake.  It took her a while to finally go back to bed.

On Thursday, we spent the day at Donnie and Cheri's house.  Everyone came over for breakfast.  The kids played at the park for a while.  The weather was only in the 60's with scattered rain so that was a bummer.  Then we did not go to the rehearsal dinner so we went to Whataburger with Dean.  I figured it would be too much with the kids and Whataburger worked out fine for us.

Friday was the wedding.  We took the kids to a local mall Friday morning to burn some energy before the wedding.  Since the weather wasn't good, they could not play outside.  They ran around the mall then we went back to Donnie and Cheri's house to get ready for the wedding.  The kids fell asleep in the car while driving to the wedding which worked out perfectly.  It's not easy to get them to take a nap in their beds while traveling.  It's easier for everyone if they sleep in the car during naps when we are not home.

Unfortunately it was raining and Nick and Courtney could not have their wedding outside like they were hoping.  However it was a very nice wedding.  Courtney looked beautiful.  It stopped raining right before the ceremony inside.  Austin and Sydney enjoyed playing in the back outside.  Brian spent a lot of time out there with them.  Austin really enjoyed dancing.  He was going strong until about 10 pm.  Then we left and went home to go to bed.

On Saturday, Brian and I took the kids to a bounce house for little kids called Coo Coos.  They had so much fun there!  The played there for about 2 hours just running from bounce house to bounce house.  It also has a train for the little kids to ride.  I highly recommend it for younger kids.  After that, we went back to Donnie's for a cook out with the entire family.  It was great seeing everyone.

Austin really enjoyed raking leaves at Donnie's house.  He filled 3 full bags.  Cheri got them lots of toys to play with too that they really enjoyed too.  It was nice especially since they could not play outside too much.

On Sunday, we went to see Dennis' truck.  Austin loved that!  Sydney was a little scared but went in the back with Austin.  After seeing the truck, we went to the Science and Children's Museum.  That was also very cool for them.  Donnie, Dennis, and Dean went with us.  Towards the end of the day, they decided to go home since it wasn't as much fun for them as it was for the kids.  We let the kids play basically until the place closed.  They even got to play outside for a while at the end too.

Then we went and got dinner.  Austin wanted pizza so we stopped at a Pizza Hut and Taco Bell combo.  After dinner, we checked into our hotel.  Then we promised Austin ice cream all trip and we never got it so we went and did that.  Austin really enjoys ice cream.  Sydney really enjoys eating the toppings to ice cream.  After ice cream, Brian returned the rental car while I stayed at the hotel with the kids and got them ready for bed.

Our flight was early so we got up early for the airport.  They did really great.  We ate breakfast at the airport and flew home.  Brian had to travel to Denver that day too for work.  We flew from Dallas, Brian drove home got his car and then went back to the airport.  At the airport, he found out his flight was cancelled.  They re-booked him on a flight from Akron so he drove down there for the flight.

While Brian was gone the kids were great.  I tried to relax and let things be what they were going to be.  I knew I had to do it all but it was okay.  We really had a great time together.  They went to bed fairly easily which is the hardest part.  The kids like us to lay with them until they fall asleep so that's difficult when there is only one of us and two of them but I would put the one to bed who was more tired and it worked very well.  They were both asleep by 9:45 pm every night.  They really helped me around the house.  I was glad it was an uneventful trip.  We were glad when Brian returned home.

Austin says some funny things these days.  He comes up with them on his own.  When Brian asks him to do something he likes to say Aye Aye Captain.  While traveling in Dallas, Brian asked Austin to push an elevator button and with an elevator full of people he said "Aye Aye Captain".  It was very funny.  He also calls whipped cream "wooden cream".  Austin rarely has a tantrum now.  When he gets mad he will sometimes scream for a few seconds but once reminded to use his words he does.  Austin understands what is going on and usually complies with any requests (but it just may take a few reminders).

Scars, illnesses, and maybe Spring? (4 years and 2.5 years)

Austin's scar is still not healed from when he fell on the playground in September.  The ends look great however in the middle has a red raised area.  A zit appearing thing appeared.  It looked terrible.  I took him to see the plastic surgeon.  Our surgeon is relocating however he offered to do surgery before he left.  Because it looked so bad, we scheduled surgery for Friday.  He did not want to do it in the office because of his age and prior experience with stitches.

Then on Tuesday night after seeing the doctor during bath time the "zit" broke open on it's own.  It opened again Wednesday morning.  Brian put a band aid on it and Austin went to school.  It looked much better Wednesday and Thursday morning.  I called and talked to the doctor.  He still feels there is something in there but he said there is no rush to "clean it out" so I cancelled surgery.  It continues to look better and Brian and I are grateful we did not put him though surgery.  Hopefully it will finally heal on it's own (update: it turned out it did!).

This winter we have been surprisingly healthy.  It has been so nice however Sydney got a GI virus.  It started Saturday night with vomiting.  Then the next day it was diarrhea.  She would be up a lot during the night too.  Since Sydney is a "big girl" she refuses to wear diapers and always wears underwear except at night.  That includes when she is having a lot of diarrhea.  Brian and I both tried to convince her to wear a diaper because she was sick but she adamantly refused.  She made it too the potty most of the time but there were a few accidents.  She continued to have diarrhea and was unable to attend school on Wednesday and Thursday.  That was difficult for Brian and I but Brian stayed home in the morning and I came home at noon.  It wasn't ideal but we had to do it.

Unfortunately around 11 pm on Wednesday, Austin started with diarrhea.  He was really good at getting to the potty.  It didn't seem to bother him too  much.  But he had diarrhea until Saturday.  We were worried because we had plans to go to Great Wolf Lodge on Sunday with our friends.  Brian had to stay home with them on Thursday.  By Friday they were pretty much better and they both went to school.  We were so happy they were better in time for Great Wolf Lodge.

On Sunday we drove up to Great Wolf Lodge for the night.  This winter has been so cold it was so nice to go somewhere warm for the day and night.  The kids love the water so it was perfect for them.  When we got there it was so busy.  I took the kids to the pool while Brian and Lisa stood in line to check into our rooms.  Sydney was a little hesitant as first going down the big slides but after a few times she was ready to go.  She always wanted someone with her though either Austin or Daddy/Mommy.  They played in the water until dinner time.  For dinner we ran out to Wendy's.  After dinner they played in the pools and slides until it closed at 9 pm.

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel with our friends.  Then after breakfast we let Austin and Sydney play in the water park for an hour until we had to drive home.  Brian needed to be at work so we left by 10 am to get home.  We had a lot of fun at the water park.  February is a great time to go since there is not much else to do around here then.

The next week on Sunday Austin came down with a 102 fever.  The next day he developed cold symptoms.  Luckily he was better by Wednesday.  However Brian and Sydney got it.  They were really tired with cough and chest congestion.  When I picked Sydney up from school on Wednesday she was lying on the small couch in her classroom.  I knew she was now really sick too.  Brian and Sydney had to stay home on Thursday again.  We were doing so well this winter without any illnesses however we had 2 illnesses in 2 week's time.  The kids got over it pretty quickly however it has taken Brian a lot longer to get better.

This winter we have had snow on the ground since early January.  It has never warmed up enough for the snow to melt.  Just this week, we can see grass again.  The kids (with our help) built a large snowman in our front yard in mid January.  It just melted this week.  When we would walk back to the swing set, the snow would be up to my knees.  It was crazy how much and how long we've had snow.  Spring is finally coming.  It has warmed up into the 40's (which that feels like 60's to us).  Over the past week the snow has slowly melted.

However before the snow melted the one thing Austin wanted to do was build an igloo.  So Brian and Austin took a bucket and made like snow bricks to make an igloo out of his massive snow pile by the driveway (Brian tries to snowblow the driveway into one massive pile for the kids to play on).  Austin really liked it.  He wanted to do it because of the book Alaska's 3 Little Pigs. In the story the third little pig builds an igloo and the bear can't get him.  Austin enjoys that story.  Austin got his request before winter was over to build an igloo and he enjoyed playing with it for a day until it fell apart.  Fortunately no bears came to test his igloo.