Then the snow came back

For a while I almost thought it was spring. We were at the park in shorts and t-shirts, I was running outside with the jogging stroller, things were good.

Then the snow decided to come back. Lucky Luke had a week long work trip in sunny San Francisco during the weather change. The kids and I were left to deal with this new cold strike alone.  The first wave was at least 12 inches of snow

 That Monday I drove the kids next door to the school. I felt so lazy, but bundling up 3 kiddos for a snowy walk adds at least 10 minutes to our mornings and I just didn't have the time. The rest of the days we made the snowy walk despite the pleas to take them in the warm car:

 One of the days was above 30 degrees so I bundled up the girls and took them for a run. As we made it back to the driveway, it started snowing again.

 In the past, the homeowners association would shovel our driveway and sidewalks every time it snowed. We have never needed a snow shovel. Until this week when they didn't shovel for us. I must have looked pretty odd out there shoveling the driveway with the kids toy shovel. I got most of the snow cleared before the darn thing broke.

 Trips to the park were replaced with coloring inside

 We sent Luke a birthday card to wish him happy birthday from afar

 And the girls officially took over the master bedroom. I know one day I will sleep through the night without kids elbowing and kicking me, but right now it's hard to believe they will ever leave my bed

Valentine's Day

We had a great Valentine's day. First we took the kids to Qdoba for breakfast because they were giving away BOGO burritos for a kiss. Luke and I kissed to get our free burrito, but Jack wouldn't kiss Lily. I guess he's getting too old for that. So I gave him a kiss:

And Lily kissed her daddy

It was such a beautiful day that we took the kids to a park for a while. Josie had her first experience on a swing: 

Then we dropped Jack and Lily off with my mom and Luke and I headed out on a 7 mile run. But the weather was so nice and we were feeling pretty good so we did 8 miles instead:

By then we were ready to eat! Luke cooked up some raclette:

And we all hung around

For dessert we had chocolate covered fruits: 

And Luke and I gave each other presents:

Trouble happens when the weather gets nice:

February has been an amazingly warm month! It almost feels like Spring already. I have been so excited to finally get out running again. As much as I like working out with DVD's and weights, being outside is much better: 

Once a week I will try to go to Luke's work so we can run together. It takes an incredible amount of planning to time it just right so both girls will sleep during the run and not fuss, but it is worth it. We always have a good run together and it is nice to have Luke push the stroller for a change: 

The other days, I'm on my own. Just me and the girls. I have come to depend on my hour of quiet time. The girls are so used to the routine now that they fall asleep very quickly and they will sleep for however long I run. It has been a great way to clear my mind and it actually gives me energy for the rest of my day

I have enjoyed running again so much that I signed Luke and I up for a half marathon in May. It will be the first half marathon for both of us. Now I just need the weather to stay nice so I can train!

Three wonderful kids

Before I had kids, I always thought I would have 12 kids. I don't even know where I came up with that number, but I always knew I wanted 12 kids. After Jack was born, I was pretty sure I didn't want any more. He was a colicky baby and a very difficult pregnancy. But I wanted to give him a sibling so then Lily came along. That was a much easier pregnancy and she was an easier baby for the most part... her colic only lasted 2 months. It was so fun to see the relationship between Jack and Lily. They have always played together so well and they love each other so much that I was excited when I learned we would be adding to their little clan. And Josie has been amazingly easy. The pregnancy was a breeze and she never got colic! I finally understand why people like babies. She is an amazing baby. Most of my friends comment that they have never even heard her cry. I am so happy that we have her in our family. These kiddos all love each other so much and I love seeing them grow up together

Sweet little Josie

Miss Lily is into all things "girly." She loves dressing up, shoes, jewelry and make up. She likes to sneak into my bathroom to put on my makeup:

And as it turns out, Jack has also snuck into my make up. One day I noticed his eyes looked different... he had put on my mascara!

Mr. Jack is doing great in school. He is reading books now which is so fun to see. And his French class has been great. He has made many friends. Here he is walking home with one of his best friends (Ben). I love how they hold hands walking home

Jack's newest obsession is writing notes. He writes little notes all day long. Sometimes when he's mad he'll write out his feelings, sometimes he writes love letters to the girl he likes. Here is one of his notes to the family:


And a doodling about the girls he likes:

We just ended a pottery class. For the last 5 Saturdays we took the kids to a pottery studio and made all sorts of things. The kids really liked the class but I don't think I could convince Luke to do it again:

Here are the kids and their final creations:

Lily's snowman

Jack's pumpkin

Jack's snowman. Jack even gave him
boy parts and a dirty butt. 

Jack's flower pot

Lily's hanging flower pot
that is upside down

Lily's heart dish

Jack's house

I saw some pictures of kids in coffee cups so I tried to do one of Josie

Here are Jack and Lily getting into trouble. Even though they play together nicely most of the time, there are those times when I want to send them back where they came from. This was one of those times. They decided to use all the soap to fill the bathroom sink with soap bubbles. Then they proceeded to splash and throw soapy water everywhere, flooding the bathroom. Its not very obvious in the picture, but believe me the whole bathroom floor was flooded with soapy water. 

There is truth to this: