February in a nutshell

Yes, we are still alive. I'm sorry I haven't been that great about blogging lately; now that I've started working, every-other Sunday is now tied up. Regardless, I've just been lazy. But, here we go - my attempt to catch y'all up on our happenings. On President's day, we went on an adventure to the Children's Museum. It was a zoo, but the kids had a great time. They loved the fire truck. . .

and the "Food Mart"

And helped dad with his hard hat in the construction zone

Lookin' cute

Ellie couldn't believe that we let her have scissors. She spent a lot of time cutting.

And Connor made a "sculpture" that "unfortunately" got left there . ;)

During Connor's mid-winter break from preschool, the weather was beautiful. A couple of other preschool moms and myself all took our kids to the zoo. They loved the animals, but enjoyed finding sticks and places to climb on even more.

Jake took the kids to the park one Saturday morning while I was sleeping after a night shift. Ellie insisted on taking her butterfly wings. Diva.

The Student Union building here had a free family bowling night- on Monday- so we went. It was a blast. Ellie threw the ball a couple of times, but mostly enjoyed sitting on the ball return and eating popcorn with her friend Sarah

Action shot

Showing his best bowling pose

We woke up to this on Thursday morning. Needless to say, with our previous experience with Seattle snowstorms, we didn't go out to do the errands we'd originally planned on. Instead, we bundled up and went outside.

The kids loved eating snow, making snow angels, having a snowball fight with mom, and then coming inside for hot chocolate. I enjoyed the day with my kids.

We started some seeds yesterday. Connor was convinced that there would be plants when he woke up this morning. I think he was a little disappointed to find out it would take awhile. It'll be a fun ongoing project for the kids and I.

Today in Relief Society we had a lesson on "Enjoying the Journey." I really needed this lesson today. Ellie had an accident in Sacrament meeting, and I had to take her home to change her. I wasn't happy. The theme of the lesson was about enjoying life now. I love my kids, but I must confess that I often find myself longing for the day when they are a little more self-sufficient. I realized today that that will in fact happen, whether I'm ready or not. I decided that 10 years from now I don't want to be looking back on these days now- accidents and all- and reflecting on how I didn't enjoy them. Tonight, Connor came up to me and said, "Mom, lets lay on the couch and say how much we love you-chother." What mom could resist? It was a wonderful night, and I'm sure one I'll reflect back on with smiles. I guess the point of all this is to encourage you - and myself- to enjoy the journey. It takes the same amount of time either way. :)