Instagram

It's been a while since I've had an Instagram dump.  You can tell we're busy when I take fewer pictures and am quieter on my blog.  January has been a whirlwind and I'm not sorry to see it end.  Between working extra hours in a super stressful work environment (post security-breach), the ridiculously cold weather that closed school 5 days in January (three time in one week), Evan's neck/shoulder ache that sent him to the ER and had him out of commission much of January, sickness in our house, car troubles, and more snow than I've ever shoveled in my life, I'm ready to move on to February.  We're just that much closer to spring.  :)

My menu planning buddy:

Carter's writer's workshop paper about missing Grandpa when he left school on Veteran's Day.  He loves his Grandpa so much!

Silly faces on the iPad:

Playing outside and finding HUGE icicles:

School's out again, so we headed to the movies!

Being creative on another no-school day - Carter came to work with me for the day and Evan brought Ryan over to my office at the end of the day as well.  They loved the bus rides!

Dinner out for Evan's birthday at Buffalo Wild Wings.  He received a siren, birthday crown, and free drink, all while having his birthday announced over the intercom. 

Higher snowbanks than I ever remember having.  I'm ready for this winter to be done!

Hands in the air!

Happy Birthday, Evan!

We celebrated Evan's birthday tonight with dinner at the boys' favorite restaurant - Buffalo Wild Wings.  After dinner, we came home for cake and Evan opened his cards and gift.  It was a nice, relaxing evening for us.  Just what we needed.  School was closed again today, so each of us brought a boy with us to work - Evan brought Ryan and I brought Carter.  They kept it interesting, but they behaved very well, it worked to keep them apart - no fighting.  :)

Happy Birthday to the best husband, best friend, and best supporter a girl could ask for.  We are truly blessed!  Love you, Babes!

No School Days

School has been cancelled for the boys for the past 2 days due to the extremely cold weather.  We are admittedly getting a little stir crazy.  I am trying to work from home, but they are proving to be challenging today.  To get them out for just a bit, we went on the back patio and shot boiling water out of their super soakers and blew bubbles, which turned into frozen balls.  It got a few of the wiggles out at least.  :)  We also ordered our season passes for Bunker Beach water park - we're dreaming of warmer weather.  Or, at least Christmas break to be over so the boys can go back to school.  They've been home since December 20!  Longest break ever!!!!

Jewelry

I made a few pieces of jewelry yesterday.  I go back to work on Monday (after being off for 2 weeks) and I will cover for my jobshare partner's 3 week Hawaii vacation, working full-time.  I won't be able to work on jewelry until the end of January, so I took advantage of a quiet afternoon to get a few orders done.

I received this note yesterday after she received her necklace:  "I cried when I got home and looked at my necklace!  Love it!  Thank you so much!"

Made my day! :)

Instagram | Phone Pics

Time for another Instagram and phone pics update:

Kyle fishing on Lake of the Woods:

New canvas print and vinyl in my master bathroom (we just re-did our master bath in December, and these were the finishing touches):

New canvas prints and vinyl in our living room - the canvases are our family photo for the past 4 years.  Starting in the lower left corner with 2010 and clockwise to our most recent photo in 2013:

Sand and seashells in the master bath have me dreaming of much warmer weather than we are having here in MN:

New address sign in our foyer - the picture doesn't do it justice - I love the way it turned out!

Eating out at BDubs for New Year's Eve, one of the boys' favorites!

New coat rack for the boys' jackets, backpacks, and lunch bags in the laundry/mud room.  I couldn't find one that was exactly what I wanted, so I made my own (with a little help from Evan) by cutting, sanding, painting, and varnishing a piece of trim board and adding 4 hooks.  According to Ryan "it's about time".  Maybe now their things will finally make it off the floor (I can only hope).

Growth chart ruler Evan and I made on New Year's Day.  It has all of the boys measurements on it.  LOVE IT!

Tubing with my boys at Elm Creek today.  It was very cold, but we had a blast:

Ryan beat us up the lift every time (shocker).  This is how we would find him at the top - relaxing in his tube...