Got Snow.....(and a couple cute kids)

So we have been getting quite a bit more snow lately.  Yesterday it snowed like crazy. Crazy blizzard style. Seriously.  Sideways blowin' kinda snow.  When I picked the kids up from school it snowed about an inch from the time I went inside to pick them up to getting back into the car.  And I was only in the school for 10 minutes.  Here are some pics that I took this morning and last week around our house. Today we are having a gorgeous, bluebird sunny day.  Love, love, love living in Colorado.

 taken off our front porch

taken off the back deck

The front porch and deck.  Evidently, it is a must to shovel your deck here.  If not, it might buckle from the large amount of snow.  What?!?!?

Happy Shoveling!

Jennifer

Snowshoeing with my cuties....

I guess if I am going to live on top of a pile of snow, I should take advantage of it, right?

This morning we spent some time ice-skating on the pond near our house. We ate lunch at home, had some down time and then hit the trail for some hiking, winter style.

The conditions were wonderful and we took our time meandering along the trail until we reached Rainbow Lake.

Another gorgeous day in Colorado.

Once we reached the lake, the wind was beginning to pick up so we hiked around the lake and headed back down.

Have a great weekend!
Jennifer

Happy Gotcha Day, Mason.

It's been three years since Scott and I traveled all the way to Henan, China for our sweet little guy. It is amazing to me that Mason has been home for three years.  He is such a sweet blessing.  He definitely keeps us busy and on our toes. He is strong, persistent, super smart and truly adorable:)

Much Love from Momma, Daddy, Samuel, Alice and Paige

Knock, knock.

Who's there?  

The Wescotts.

The Wescotts, who?

The Michigan Wescotts are coming to visit us, that's who!!!!!

Jacob, Kelsey and Kate, 

We can't wait for you all to come visit us in the mountains!  We are super excited to show you around our new town!  Don't forget to pack your hats and gloves.  We get a lot of snow up here!

See you in March!

Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Scott, Sam, Alice, Paige and Mason

Can you hear me now?

I have been sick for about two weeks.  I think. It seems to all be blending together.  For about a week I have pretty much lost my voice (did you hear my kids collectively cheering in the background).  Today, it seems, that I am getting it back.  Still a bit squeaky but definitely better!  Now, GO GET DRESSED!  Sorry.  Just trying it out on you guys first.

Now that I am back :) I should give you a recap on our life. Yep, it is still snowing.  I hear that in the mountains it does that sort of thing until June or so.  Scott and I are good, just working a lot (at home and the stores) and keeping up with the kids. Sam just finished a very pleasant basketball season and is now on to snowboarding.  Alice is waiting patiently on the list for swim team at the rec center. She is not interested in doing anything else at this time except for practicing her swim strokes during Paige's swim lessons. I keep reminding her that she is 5th on the waiting list and may not get in this season. She wants to wait and see.  Paige is taking swim lessons and continues to be a self proclaimed backstroke expert.  Whatever she says.  She has mastered the monkey bars at school which has elevated (no pun intended) her friend status at school.  That is a very good thing.  She is not so quietly anticipating her birthday in March.  I am refusing to allow her to turn seven.  I just don't understand what happened between two and six.  Where did that time go? Mason is doing great.  He seems to thrive in any situation. He is letting his hair get a bit longer (like his bigger brother) and is cute as a button.  He is taking a gymnastics class at the rec center on Thursday morning and L.O.V.E.S it!  You should see his back bends.  The wonderful thing about his class is that the instructor is male and all the kids in the class are BOYS.  Love that.  He runs, jumps, balances, skips, somersaults forward and back for a full 45 minutes.  And then on Friday morning, he sleeps in....ahhhh.  Love that too.

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!  We are swimming in chocolate and red paper hearts over here.  The amount of chocolate is diminishing fast.....
Jennifer

Obsessed

Yep.  It sucked me in. I knew that it would happen. I didn't even try moderation.  My new best friend is Pinterest.  Have you been there?  Are you just as sucked in as me?  I might need an intervention.

If you know me, you probably know that I love to craft.  If I can make it, I will.  Soooo, much to my children's dismay, every year we make our their school valentines.  I love it.  They do too. Sometimes.  This year I found awesome ideas on Pinterest.  I have made The kids have made their valentines and they are cute this year.  Really cute, if I do say so myself.  We are still working on an idea for Mason's cards but they will include a picture of him with googly eyes.

Alice's cards were the easiest.  Sam's had the most cutting.  Paige's cards were the most time consuming by far.    I still have crayon under my nails.

I will happily admit that none of these ideas were my own and I found all of them under the DYI and craft tab on Pinterest.

Enjoy the pics.

Happy early Valentine's Day!!!

It always feels good to be (almost) done with a project. 

Love, Jennifer

He shoots......

......he scores!

excuse the blurry pic. Straight out of the phone :)

After many, many basketball games and thousands (okay, maybe fifty) shots on the basket,
Sam finally made a basket!!!!!  I may have shed a few happy tears.  We were so excited that we took the whole fam out for frozen yogurt.  I think we all deserved it.  Way to go, Sam!
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Has anyone seen the children that belong in these boots?

Ha Ha.  I found that when I take the kids out snowshoeing, by myself, it is definitely easier and warmer if I get all their snowshoes set up before we go. We put them on in the living room and then take them to the car pre-loaded.  Once we get to the trail, the kids can just slip their boots on and are ready to go.  It was Scott's idea. I hate to admit it but he came up with this fab plan.  

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Sunday morning, after church, we headed to our favorite doughnut/breakfast place in Breck and ordered up some yummy doughy goodness.  We took our treats and headed down the street to the snow sculpture competitions. The Young's were in town, so we met up with them and toured the amazing sculptures.  It was a beautiful morning with great friends. So glad that we got to spend some time with them while they were in the county!  

Hope you all had a great Monday!

Jennifer