OLYMPIC COLORS DAY

You might recall that last summer when the Olympics were going on in Rio, we did a little bit of our own celebrating here in Ohio.  We spent two weeks sporting our red, white, and blue and cheering on Team USA. 

And it was awesome!

But apparently I did not do a good enough job explaining things to the girls, because this year, when 4th of July rolled around, Brinlee was simultaneously very excited, and very confused about why decorations with "the olympic colors" (the American flag) were up all over the place!

I spent several days trying to clear up some of her confusion there... so far it hasn't stuck.

We'll keep working on that.

But in any case, our 4th of July/Olympic Colors Day was amazing! 

We actually did two whole days of celebrating.  Columbus did their downtown Red, White, and Boom firework show on Monday night, which was convenient! Tim had the 4th off, but did not have the 5th, so it worked out just perfect to do our late night partying on the 3rd.

We decided to bike down there....

Whoever thought that was a good idea was crazy.

It was me, OK? I thought it would be a good idea.  I'm crazy! Heaven knows I don't regularly exercise, so why I thought a 20 mile round trip bike ride was a good thing to jump into cold turkey I'm not really sure.  But we did it!

And it actually was a lot of fun.  I would consider doing it again next year for sure!

Besides, it was a great way to break in this awesome new bike trailer we just barely bought for a sweet deal on Craigslist. Woot!

While the girls and I waited for daddy to get home we got ourselves all dressed up, and took a few (read: took a ton!) of pictures, of course.  Just look at these stinking cute little patriotic peanuts!

We timed things just right.  By the time Tim got home and we got down there and found a spot to sit, we only had about an hour to kill before the show got started.
We went ahead and filled that hour with treats.
Cotton candy to be exact.

Brinlee had never had cotton candy before, but somehow she knew what it was, and she knew she wanted some.  She talked daddy into getting some, and she did love it! Just like she knew she would.

McKenna was actually afraid of the cotton candy and wouldn't eat any.
Funny little girl.
She stayed entertained playing Uno.

Oh the magic!  The show this year definitely didn't disappoint!
I don't know why we always go back and forth about whether or not we want to go down for this.  We're always really glad we did!

And then that 10 mile trip home...
I did survive though! As did the exhausted little ladies, thanks to Peter Pan on the iPad.

The next morning for the real 4th of July, we found a parade to go to.
I kind of love parades!  It turns out Tim is not a big fan of them though.
But he agreed to one anyway!  What a guy.

And then a BBQ for lunch and backyard pool day!

Since we had been running out the door to catch my parade we didn't have time for the breakfast I had planned. But it's becoming a tradition, and we didn't want to skip it. So, breakfast for dinner!

And then finish off the evening with backyard sparklers.

Perfect!

These dirty little feet say it all:

We had a fabulous time celebrating our wonderful country, and feeling so blessed and so grateful for all the sacrifices that have been made over the years so that we can have all of the freedoms and comforts we enjoy every day!  It really is amazing.

God bless America!

MARCH 17th

March 17th...

...The day you can cram spinach into everything your kids eat,

and they think it's awesome!!!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE

"Christmas time is here!

Happiness and cheer!

Fun for all, that children call, their favorite time of year!"

This year for Christmas our little family stayed at our own little home and did our own little thing.  

It was kind of a bummer to not see any grandmas or grandpas or cousins.  But it was also kind of nice to start a few traditions of our own and enjoy some festivities here.  And enjoy them we did! Brinlee and I put together a December "to do" list and once daddy was done with finals, we stayed pretty busy and had a lot of fun crossing things off and soaking up our "favorite time of year"! 

Shall we take a look?

Decorate the Tree: Check!

Once the tree was up it became the favorite place in the house. Because honestly, who doesn't love hanging out under there? It's magical! Unfortunately our busy girls loved it maybe a little too much?  All month I watched the tree get progressively more bare and would find ornaments stashed with the toys all over the house.

Go see Christmas lights: Check!

We went to zoo lights! Columbus zoo is amazing all year round, but in the winter it really shines.  Literally.  They decorate the whole zoo with more lights than I have ever seen.  Pictures don't do it justice, it was beautiful!  But it was also freezing cold.  Thank goodness our little ones are good little troopers. And thank goodness for hot cocoa!

Make a Christmas Craft: Check!
The girls and I cut and colored and glued all month I think.  So fun!  But I also had a ladies night Christmas craft night and made a candy Christmas tree.  It was fun!  But word for the wise, it's not the best decoration to have when you have little candy-loving busy bodies at home...

Have a red and green dinner: Check!

Have a living room sleepover: Check!

Watch a Christmas movie: Check!

(The girls thought Elf was ok, but they both LOVED The Polar Express!)  

Make and share a Christmas Treat: Check!
Our whole month was full of yummy goodies.  The highlight items though would have to be cinnamon rolls, sugar cookies, chips and homemade salsas, and homemade rolls and honey butter! Brinlee was particularly excited about the cookies... but was most willing to share the rolls.

Help Light the World: Check!
String Popcorn: Check!
We had a lot of fun working on the church's Light the World goals.  I got some cheap tags and had the girls help be the ones to decide what we could do for each day's goal.  Then, when we did it we would write it on a tag and hang it on our tree.  It was kind of fun to watch our tree fill up! And the girls were surprisingly into it!
Also, I let Brinlee string some popcorn.  She loved it!  But that one little string there is as much as she could sit still for  :)

Write letters to Santa: Check!

Make Gingerbread Houses: Check!

Mmm... ok, more like "Eat a lot of frosting and candy! Oh... and maybe put a couple on my graham crackers too".  There, now that's a check mark.  It really is amazing those houses actually got any decor at all! And that our children didn't get terrible stomach aches.

Play a Christmas Game: Check!
Christmas BINGO - Always a classic!

Go for a relaxing walk or two?: Check!

Believe it or not, I actually did not think to put this one on a December "to-do" list.  But had I known that we would be seeing zero snow and some surprisingly gorgeous weather, I may have included it.  In any case, it happened.  And it happened with a new stroller!  Our old one bit the dust so Tim worked his Craigslist magic and found us this fancy jogging stroller.  So far it has only seen any jogging from Tim, I'm more of the walking type.  But we really like it.  And it's purple, so the girls love it!

Have a candlelight Christmas Eve Dinner: Check!

Act out the Nativity: Check!

Well, we tried anyway... Classic attempt. Every family home video collection needs one like this.

Dinner was amazing though!

Christmas morning was magical! All month our front porch was flooded with packages from our amazing family, and when we finally got to take a peek at it all we felt completely spoiled! We were very well taken care of and got some awesome stuff!  Thank you grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles.  You are amazing and made these 4 people here in Ohio feel very blessed, and VERY loved! We love you all!

I know I've said it before, and I will gladly say it a thousand times more.  I am SO grateful for the Christmas season and what it means for us.  I taught the Christmas lesson this year for the young women and felt really kind of overwhelmed with a new appreciation and love for what the message really means.  It truly is wonderful that our Savior was born, and that He then lived, and died, and lives again now, for us, and for our eternal happiness.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.  And the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor,
the Mighty God,
the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace"

Oh how I love him!

*This Christmas was brought to you by the Letter A and the Number 2!
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