Valentine's Craft

Hailey and I had so much fun making special Valentine's cards this year. Part of the fun was going to the craft store and picking out fun, sparkly paper, pretty glitter and ink pads. We created cute little creatures with the kids fingerprints and then added a lot of glitter! We borrowed this idea from a friend and loved it! My mom enjoyed helping with the cards too. The glitter was fun, but I am reminded why I love glitter glue pens- a lot less messy!


Drew enjoyed making a few as well.


Here are some of the cards the kids created.

Sledding & Skating

We had a lot of outdoor time this weekend. Saturday we enjoyed some time sledding with friends and had a great time. Sunday we were in Brighton for a birthday party at my sister's house, who lives on a lake. The kids ended up going out on the lake ice skating. My brother-in-law and nieces play hockey on the ice a lot so they had a section of the ice cleared and to my surprise, had extra skates for my kids. Hailey and Drew were quite excited to try this out and the funny thing is that they have been asking me lately to go ice skating. Drew insisted on "playing hockey", so he was hauling around hockey sticks while I held him up. It was quite exhausting, but a fun experience. The only down side is that I didn't get any photos. Maybe next time.

The Blizzard of 2011

The much talked about blizzard was pretty insane. The amounts of snow we got in such a short amount of time were quite extreme. Our driveway had about 2 feet, the neighbors was closer to 3 feet (due to drifting) and the snow drifts in our yard were close to 4 feet high.

Hailey and Reese (neighbor) having so much fun in the snow.

Yup, that's Drew. He just keeps pluggin' along.

Playing in the fort with the neighbors.

Drifts in the backyard.

Crazy drifting on the side of the house.

Trying to dig out the neighbors.

Great Wolfe Lodge

We took the kids to Great Wolfe Lodge in Traverse City. We had such a great time. The kids loved the lazy river. Hailey really enjoyed going down the double tubes with Dan or I. Drew also enjoyed the little kids slides. I was so proud of Hailey for trying some slides that she was nervous about and she discovered they were a lot of fun. She definitely likes to do things on her own time when she is good and ready!

Such Imaginations

Hailey and Drew love to dress up and put on shows. We have a beautiful princess and a Diego. It's quite entertaining.




Drew trying to imitate Hailey by holding up his pants. This made us laugh so hard! It doesn't help that these Diego pants are the funniest looking things!

Christmas Time

Hailey and Drew had fun decorating a gingerbread house.



The preschool Christmas celebration at church. Hailey and Ellie were quite excited to be angels together.

Hailey and Drew swimming at an indoor pool after one of the extended family Christmas parties. An annual tradition.


I couldn't believe how fast Drew tore through his presents.

We had a lot of fun this Christmas season and are truly blessed.

Lenderinks Tree Farm

Our annual trip to Lenderinks Tree Farm to cut down our family Christmas tree. We started this tradition when we were first married and look forward to it every year. The kids love it. It's so fun to find our tree, cut it down, ride the tractor and of course drink hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows.

Sitting by the fire after cutting down the tree.

Who needs hot chocolate? I'm quite happy with the marshmallows.