Happy Valentine's Day!

KK-

Happy Valentine's Day!  I'm thinking about you as you head off for a romantic & busy weekend with your Valentine in some cold weather.  I hope to hear all about it. 

Back at the ranch, we are enjoying our kids as our Valentine's this year.  Here are the Valentine's they handed out to their friends.  (Big thanks to Pinterest & Family Fun)

This morning I had a little gift wrapped for them on their breakfast plates.  There was a simple hand written card that said "We love you Troy! We are so proud of you.  You make us so happy.  Love, Mom & Dad."  T Bear read the note several times while he ate his breakfast.  When he was finished eating he ran off, found  a pencil and starting "scribbling" on his card.  Then he ran back and handed it to me to read.  Here were his changes:

"I We love you Troy  Mome! I We are so proud of you.  You make us me so happy. Love, Mom & Dad  Troy."

Pretty Clever.

They have been eating candy all day. This is a picture of them opening a package from Miga & Poppa. Little Grizzly wanted in on all the chocolate too. 

Finally we LOVE the msuic from Frozen.  Thanks to facebook we found this video.  Then we realized my sweet little cousin is IN this video.  We love it even more and are slightly jealous.  Watch, sing along and dance!

Much love,

-Miss T

PS - These are the cards I gave to Big D this year. Kind of funny.

O Canada Sisters!

How fun is it that sisters took Gold and Silver in the Women's Moguls competition?

LOVE IT!

What is even better is that their older sister was there competing too.  Unbelievable.  From what I can tell they are seriously just happy to be there together and are supportive of each other regardless of the outcome.  

That is how sisters should be (or ski!).

A Winter Wonderland Treat

KK,

Starting last Thursday it began to snow.  Beautiful snow.  It actually stuck to the ground and turned our world into a Winter Wonderland.  Oregon usually doesn't get much snow, so this was a treat.  And gradually we have accumulated around 8 inches.  

With this much snow the world has shut down here.  First, school was canceled = SNOW DAY!  And then everything else was canceled: sporting events, conferences, work, and even church.  

We have spend the last three days playing in the snow, drinking hot chocolate, listening to the Frozen soundtrack, sitting around the fire playing games and watching the Olympics.  I don't care how many times we have to put on gloves and hats and boots, it has been truly magical.  It is like time has FROZEN as well.  

-Miss T

"Let's go bury the car in snow!!!!"

Little Grizzly watching all the fun.

Big D built them a sweet hill in the front yard.  It attracted several neighborhood kids.

Cub said, "I'm pretending my beach shovel is a snow shovel."

Little Gizzly liked the snow until he touched it. (That is green marker on his upper lip.  He ate a marker today - oops!)

*Post Edit:  I typed this up and then went to eat dinner.  Before I sound like we have "perfect" family, I wanted to be honest and clarify that not EVERY minute of our snow days has been magical.   There has been plenty of the boys arguing, doing housework, etc.  Admittedly the snow has helped keep our spirits up, which I feel very grateful for.

Babysitting Co-op

KK-

As you know, I started a babysitting co-op here in OR.  It is very similar to the one I was part of in Seattle.  Today was my shift.  I had 6 extra bodies at my house today and I thought we should do something FUN!

Why not make a music video to capture the craziness of children?



*And yes, Cub does know that he is wearing a Captain America costume, not Ironman.

We had a lot of fun and it only took less than an hour to throw together once we took the shots.

Isn't childhood great?

-Miss T

Left behind. Brown bag tradition.

Dear Miss T,

No one likes to be left behind, and especially not for trips. You just feel like you are missing something great when you get left behind for a trip (because you are). Sometimes it is just the pits to be left alone, and it is always the pits to miss someone you love and have them be far away. 

Mom and Dad knew all of these things, but they also knew that for their sanity and happiness they would need to leave us kids behind and go on trips. So they did. I remember one particular trip, they started a tradition to ease our pain. They left us to gallavant about England, and I remember crying the night before they left because I was going to miss them so much. This is pre-trip pain. Can't be helped much. But then Mom showed me a surprise in her room. 

A brown bag line up! 

For each day that they would be gone there was a labeled brown bag. She told me that after school each day we could open the bag for that day. Suddenly I had something to look forward to each day she was gone. And something to prove that she remembered me. The things in the bags were just little things, like after school snacks or popcorn to eat with a movie that night. But it made it so much easier to be left behind. 

Fast forward to yesterday. I went to visit our sister in law ATown. Our brother had left for four days and she was going to be alone. I walked in and saw a happy site. A brown bag line up!

Isn't that pretty cute and sweet of our brother. It just makes the pain of being left behind not so bad. :) I know you did this for your boys too when you went to Japan. I know I will do it for Baby J one day too. 

Here's to the simple happiness inside a brown bag. 

Love kk

Matchy Matchy

Dear Miss T,

This happened tonight. I got a text from L-Fo that her daughter, Baby M (born just days ago!), was wearing a little nightie that she knew Baby J had. So of course I go change Baby J into the same little nightie and send a picture. 

Is it ok that we are planning on them being best friends? I mean I know everyone needs to pick their own friends, but I feel like this one can't be optional. ;) 

What do you think Miss T?

Love KK

New Year's Day

Dear Miss T,

Oh how I wish I was serenading you with High School Musical Wii kareoke...

 And that you were snuggled up with Baby J on the couch right now.

Wasn't it great when that happened on New Year's Day?

Love, KK