Winter 2015/2016 marked a very cold winter. We didn't get a lot of snow storms, but when we did, we got dumped on. We had a few ginormous storms that left some amazing sledding for us to do. The kids had their fair share of snow days off of school. We enjoyed every minute of it out in the sun and snow.
Sledding with friends is the best way to spend a winter day.
The snow was so deep we had a hard time walking through it to get to the top of the hill. It was up to Xavier's waist. (Right before this Tim spent the majority of the morning digging us out of all the snow along with many of our neighbors.)
A few flops down the hill. Gavin was still smiling though.
Reid loved every minute of his sledding experience. All he could do was giggle and say again, again.
Justin, Ashton, Josh, and Julia joined in the fun.
Xavier's favorite winter snack- snow.
Tim was able to build a pretty awesome sledding track off the back of our deck. The boys had a blast going down this over and over and over. They didn't ask me to take them sledding. All they had to do was open the back door and they had their own private sledding track.
They even built some igloo type thing....Peek-a-boo.
On another sledding adventure Andrew, Justin, Ashton, Lillian, and Daniel practiced their sledding tricks.
Reid loved the bulldozer sled that Ashton brought.
Our neighbor, Randy, built the biggest and coolest snowman in the neighborhood! He was our very own life-sized Frosty.
100th day of school celebrations for the boys were exciting this year. Gavin got to design a cape with 100 of the same thing on it. We created a race car cape. The edge was duct taped to make a road and the cars were placed on the road. We made a giant race car for the middle with the letter G on it.
Xavier had to dress up like he was 100 years old. He even spoke like an old man. It was hilarious. He took his part very seriously.
Xavier's class aged a lot in 100 days of 3rd grade!
This year was an exciting year for Xavier because it was his first Blue and Gold Banquet. I had been ridiculously sick a couple days before with a super high fever, chills, and couldn't even get off the couch I was so lethargic. But I didn't want Xavier to miss this night he had been looking forward to all week so I pushed through so he could be there. They had a carnival theme and every kid had to come up with a game. Xavier named his Lucky Ducky Pond. The kid had to pick two ducks with the same number on the bottom. If they got a match they'd get to pick a prize from the basket.
Another game was this bean bag toss. Pretty spooky looking.
Xavier completed his first year of scout requirements and moved on to Bear! We are proud of all his hard work this year and his enthusiasm for scouting.
Gavin, Jacob, Hayden, Sebastian, and Xavier enjoying their cake.
Soon after the Blue and Gold Banquet was the long anticipated Pinewood Derby. Instead of just making one car, Tim and I helped make 3. If the oldest gets to make a car it's only fair if the younger two get to make a car right? Of course I added way more work to our plate than I needed to, but knowing it would make my kids year to have them all do one we did it!
Gavin's car
Xavier's car. He designed it himself. It was fashioned after a shark and he named it BLUE STEEL.
Reid was the most enthusiastic......He loved his green car with flames on it.
All the boys took turns racing every car and then at the end there was a head to head race with the brothers.
Gavin's car was the winner! I had to laugh because he is the one who loves cars the most. I was so happy to see the big smile on his face when his car beat his BIG brother's.
After everyone had time to race the awards were handed out. Every person received some sort of ribbon.
Gavin was so excited to receive a ribbon!
To celebrate the refreshments were car themed. Apple cars.
Candy cars--that was our contribution
Veggie cars
Spare tires (oreos) and axle rods (pretzel rods)
Plus a refueling station (water bottles)
All in all the boys had a blast at their first Pinewood Derby. We are looking forward to doing them again next year.
Basketball brought some new challenges for this mommy. I was plenty used to soccer fields and baseball fields that had plenty of open space for my busy boys to run and play while the other was in a game. Basketball was a different story. There is no open space, only bleachers. So I had to get creative to keep them busy and not running on the court. Gavin loved to color so I found many busy books to keep him occupied. Matchbox cars also came in handy. Snacks, snacks, and more snacks.
When all else failed, we made silly faces and took pictures......Pure desperation on my part to keep them happy.
Reid has become an expert cheerleader for his brothers!
Xavier's favorite Scout field trip was to the Nazareth Fire Department. We got a super thorough tour of EVERYTHING these guys do. They showed us all of their rescue vehicles, turned lights on, put the ladder up on the truck, turned on the sirens. They showed them how they put on all their gear.
They talked about all the tools they use to help rescue people.
The kids even got to sit in the fire truck.
Look at those happy faces. Maybe one of my boys will be a firefighter some day.
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