A hard day's work...

It snowed!!! Only a couple of inches, but if it had snowed this much in Tucson, the town would have for sure been shut down for at least a couple of days. So now that we are Tucsonans, a couple of inches is worth making a big deal about.

I bundled Ezra up in his snowsuit so that we could play outside. He wasn't the biggest fan of his snowsuit...I think it had something to do with the fact that he could hardly walk or move his arms...







...Followed by a hard day's play...

My mom and I took Ezra to Chuck E. Cheese (his first time...). At first he was totally content just running around and watching other kids, and sitting on the "rides" without them even having a token in them to make them move.


...and even playing on the indoor playground...


However, then the inevitable happened. I decided to let him put a token in one of the rides....


It wasn't that he then wanted to have all the rides "on"...its that he became obsessed with putting the tokens in. He didn't even wanted to ride the rides, he just wanted to insert the tokens and then pretty much let other kids take a free ride.

I then learned to sneakily put the token in myself, and he became more interested in the game itself. Especially the "ball games".

Luckily for me and my mom, he was a big fan of skee ball (my all-time favorite arcade game)!! He didn't like throwing the balls, just watching them roll down once we put the token in...and then handing them to us.

He also loved basketball, football, and baseball...




I almost just concluded this with, "Chuck E. Cheese, where a kid can be a kid!", but then I realized that that's the wrong slogan...oops!

A day at the cabin...

On NYE we went up to the cabin. No snow there either. But, soo much to do!

Ezra helped Papa put out corn for the deer...


...and scattered apples for the deer to find...



...turns out some deer like to be hand-fed...


...swinging solo...


...and tandem...


...planting bulbs with grandma (the benefits of a mild winter)...


...and petting the horses at the cafe nearby...



**this just in**
My dad has some motion censor cameras at the cabin, and he got this one of the deer eating the apples that Ezra scattered for them to find...

swimming in michigan in december...

...indoors that is...

Christmas in Michigan...

Christmas in Michigan looks a lot like this...

Puzzles...

(me, Emma, and my dad)


Family...

(Lydia, Roger, and Nik)


(Barb and my Grandpa Echelbarger)


And, games!

(Ezra and Lizzy)


...we also added to Catch Phrase to the gaming mix this year...I highly recommend it for diverse age game playing (we had 7 year olds to 60 year olds playing).

I'm still dreaming of a white michigan...

The morning after we arrived in Michigan, I woke before both of my boys and ducked out for a run. Little did I know at the time that it would be a run in the snow!! I was one happy runner out there with white stuff in my hair.

I returned home to see this...

...they too were quite excited about the snow!

We warmed up by the fire with tea and the often requested as of late "cocoa" in hand...


That afternoon my sister's family came over and the ladies made sugary treats, while the gentlemen went to the movies...


It's been a nice Christmas with family here...though I'm still praying for more snow! :)

The Cabin

We spent more time at the cabin this trip than we have in past years. I loved spending the night in our little loft (totally reminds me of Little House on the Prairie even though it actually has stairs instead of a ladder), waking up and eating breakfast outside, spending all day until bedtime playing in the yard, woods, and creek, sitting by the campfire in the evening (and watching Ezra walk around it from afar with his hand out saying "hot hot hot").

Blowing bubbles...


Eating a piece of watermelon bigger than his head...


Bathing in the creek...


...and by hose (the creek water was wayyy to cold to wash his sticky hair with)


getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. :(


A late night trip to the outhouse...

At last...

Heidi and I hadn't seen each other in 8 years! I dated her brother when I was in college and we became fast friends then. A few years ago she found me on facebook...we swapped our blog addresses...and have been keeping in touch via the blog world since. Blogs are great...I feel like I knew her daughters even before I met them...I knew stories about them, funny things they've said, etc...basically, everyone should have a blog so that I can keep up on your lives as well. Actually, don't do that. I don't have time to read any more blogs. But, if you do...I'll find the time I suppose. :)

Anyway...

We met half way (she lives on the east side of the state and my parents live on the west side) in Lansing at the Potter Park Zoo*. We received free admission to the zoo because of our Tucson zoo membership (score!) and then had a picnic and (the big hit among kiddos) playground time.






I love Sasha's expression in this photo. :)

It was a great visit...I felt like we picked up right where we left off. We have tons in common and I wish we could see each other more often!!

*Zoo might be a generous term given to this collection of animals...as, there are only about 8 animals there: otters, bald eagles, spider monkeys, goats, penguins, fish, peacocks, and various other birds. But, it is very walkable, and signs say that rhinos are coming! :)

bikes, parks, and big boy pants!

Ryan and Ezra went for some crazy rides on the big wheel on my parents' deck...




And he also just happens to be showing off his new 'big boy underoos'...and I just happen to think they look adorable on him. :)




Jumping on the trampoline...


The park!




The Abby outtakes...

Lake Michigan...

Really, what is a trip to Michigan without a visit to the greatest of lakes??

Brown's Clearing Survivor Games

(Please take no offense that I didn't tell anyone except for one friend that I hadn't seen in 8 years that I was going to Michigan. With having just been there a month ago, I wanted to make this more of a family time trip.) Muchas Gracias por your understanding. :)

We just returned from 10 days in Michigan with the familia! On our flight home there were 2 rows of kids behind us. Both rows had some major screaming children. Which, sadly meant Ezra didn't nap for as long as he probably could have, but on the positive side, it also meant that not many people realized Ezra was a screamer as well. :)

The day we flew in, we drove straight to my parents cabin for the 5th Annual Brown's Clearing Survivor Games. Some of the family arrived on Friday and spent a couple of nights sleeping at the cabin as well. And then everyone else arrived on Saturday for "the games".

This year the games were divided into 3 groups. The Young'uns, School Age, and Tweens/Teens. Some of the activities included: parachute games, scavenger hunt, bb guns, sling shots, water fight, water balloon toss, pie eating contest, gunny sack race, etc. It was fun...and the kiddos loved it (so did the adults...who, speaking for myself, ate wayyy more food-blueberries in particular, than I really had room for, but they were Michigan blueberries, so I had to indulge).

Water Balloon Toss (Ryan stood in so everyone would have a partner)


Water fight--boys vs. girls...










BB Gun...


Sling Shot...


Pie Eating Contest...


The Pie Eating Champion!!


Fun at the creek (or crick depending on where you are from)...








Just chillin'...

my nephew, Roger...


Ryan and our niece, Lizzy...


Haleigh (niece) and my dad...


Roger and Nichole (my sister)


Jammin...
Ryan and Lydia (niece)


Ryan and Ezra


Thanks for organizing a fun weekend Dad!