Babci's Birthday!

Babci turned another year older over a week ago (I am very behind!)  We joined her for cake and ice cream as well as a bit of play time!

Cake is served..

Cora's baby had to sit to have cake too.. it is very difficult to eat cake and hold a baby you know!  Here she is asking to have her cake cut up.

Cole wasted no time digging in to his tasty treat

Caden wants a DS for his birthday.  When he does various "good" things he gets a DS point, he needs to get 30 by his birthday, March 9th, in order to get one... he currently has 11.  If he is not nice or not a good listener he can also get points taken away.  I have use this to my advantage... he did not want his picture taken, here I told him if he looked at the camera he would get a DS point... what will I do after his birthday comes?!

The kids love the fishing game at Grammy's.  It really is quite tricky!  Cole wanted Babci to hold his hand to help him.  It was a great afternoon!  The kids had so much fun playing with her, I am so happy they will have these great memories when they get older!

Snowshoeing...

The boys got snowshoes for Christmas.. and love them!   We took them to the Derry Rail Bed last weekend, someday this portion of the rail bed will be paved over and joined to our beloved Windham Rail Trail, but for now it is just a trail in the woods.  As we were getting out of the car three snowmobiles drove through packing down the snow.  (Side note: when the kids get older I so want some!  the kids were highly entertained as they flew over the snowbank, literally!)  At first I was annoyed that they packed down the snow, but then Rob drew to my attention that if they hadn't the boys would have tired very quick.. and there was plenty of deep snow to trample through on either side when they felt adventurous.  Also after walking through some deep snow with Cora on my back I was very thankful for those kind snowmobilers!! 

Rob took first shift with Cora... I got her when we turned around.

Cole has a bad habit of licking his lips.. sorry not just his lips, you'd think he was a puppy as he laps around his mouth with his tongue!

Cole walks to the beat of his own drum.. I hung back with him.. the others waited for us every once in awhile to catch up.

Miss Cora sat in the lap of luxury.. although she wanted to get out and walk just about the entire way.

Making their own trail...

  

Cole didn't want to be in our picture so we had to tackle him!

Caden loves to eat snow.. you can see his snow "crumbs" on his neck warmer!

Waiting for us to walk back to him to walk together...

.. ahead of telling us to hurry up!

Cole started getting "tired".. this is his new thing, really it is code for I want you to hold my hand... since once you hold hands he is perfectly fine...  I sure don't mind, because before you know it they won't be caught dead holding hands with their Mom.

Dad goes away.. we play!

Rob went away for a boys only Foxwoods adventure, so we were left to our own devices!  We had a fun playdate with the Sevins minus the ring leader of the Foxwoods trip... and then they went home.  I've come to learn that in order for the kids not to become crazed and completely drive me nuts you have to keep them busy with activities.  So first we did a craft...  Caden loves to pick out crafts from a book he has, so we made dye dipped snowflakes out of coffee filters.  Fitting with all the snow we've had!

Cole has a bit of trouble cutting still, he likes Caden to hold the paper for him while he mans the scissors.. he can't quite do both for some reason.

.. and then we dipped

  

Our masterpieces!  But once they dried you could barely see the colors.. I guess we needed a few more drops of food coloring.

Unfolding... but once they were dry and unfolded we never did hang them up.. another activity for another day.

After snowflakes we made Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies!  And in our opinion, they were pretty ultimate!  I think the kids favorite part is getting to lick the tools.

Sharing?! What is up with that!!? They almost look like angels!

Oh Cora, you make me smile! Yes I know we shouldn't let the kids sit on the table, but for some reason it is the most popular spot in the house. 

Yum-O!

And when she thought I wasn't looking she was sneaking dough on her finger... and licking it off

.. then when I really wasn't looking, and taking cookies out of the oven, I look over and they've moved the bench to get to the bowl on the counter to sneak more samples of the batter.. smart kids! teamwork!

And then we enjoyed the ooey gooey deliciousness.. nothing like a warm fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookie!

Caden walked around the table in circles trying to avoid me and the camera.. you can't escape me!  Will they never learn!?

Our Royal Family...

Once upon a time King Daddy got the flu over the weekend.  Queen Mommy had to keep the kids occupied so that the King could get lots of sleep to feel better.  They went sledding lots, and luckily the royal family had been saving various rolls and other supplies to build a castle after Caden had found the idea in one of his craft books.. they were just waiting for a package to arrive that would give them a box the right size so that they could complete their project.. luckily Queen Mommy loves to shop, and one came at the most convenient time!

Their fortress was strong with a great wooden drawbridge..

Princess Ivy visited from across the land for afternoon tea!  But got very frightened when the evil troll brothers banged on the box with their swords (in their defense they didn't actually know Ivy was in there, she had snuck in when we weren't looking!)

When they weren't being trolls..the royal brothers manned the operation...

We had a large cast of characters guarding the grounds... my favorite was R2D2 (or R2-1 as Cole refers to him)

Luke Skywalker watched from the roof..

There was a Princess locked in the tower of her own home by the evil witch.  A spell was cast and no matter how hard anyone tried they could not get her out... Caden suggested she grow her hair like Rapunzel.

The enemy (me) rode in by night... but the Royal brothers played and played and protected the palace with all their good.

.. and eventually after lots of play, the Ogre sister awoke from her nap and the castle was demolished, unfortunately I did not capture the aftermath... but it was fun while it lasted!

The End