Hudson is 7!

I cannot get over how much Hudson has grown up over the last year. 1st grade. Long legs. Blooming personality (and opinion to go with it : ). He is quickly growing. Too quickly.

So this year marks his 7th birthday (on Feb 5th) and also the 5th birthday he & I have shared together. Its hard to believe that Shane & I started dating when he was Finn's size. Time flies.

Finn was excited for the celebration too.

Hudson's good buddy, Sam, came over for the evening, overnight and to Fun & Stuff. They had a blast!

Caught Up

Time to get caught up. So even though the weather is breaking and grass is green - here are some fun photos from winter. We'll start with Finn's first time sledding at Grandpa Larry's. I grew up on this hill...and oddly enough so did Shane (since we were neighbors and he played with my brothers). Hudson has enjoyed it for years (he was with his mom this weekend) so it was great to finally introduce Finn.

Heading down with Papa.

At the bottom with mom. Zooming with Daddy!Sorry for the poor quality - borrowed my dad's camera for the day. I'm spoiled with my good ones!

Another storm hit and it was like living in a snow globe. Shane took the kids out in the driveway and pulled them around in the sled. They loved it - squealing and laughing the whole way. I managed to brave the storm to snap a few photos. Too cute!

Daredevil

My wild child - with daddy's keen sense of adventure. I walked over to the neighbors to say hello and as I'm walking back to our house I see this ladder (behind Shane's Tundra truck mind you...so I only see the top) with my 2 yr old son climbing to the top!! I start shouting for Shane - he's on it. Seriously - this kid has no fear. I think I got all of it for him.

He climbed all the way to the top (10' ladder) and was waving with one hand saying "Oh Hi Mommy!" while I cringed below. So once Shane laid the ladder on the ground I opted to go in and cook dinner. Wasn't more than 10 min later I see Shane holding the handle bars/seat of this mini motorbike (electric) that we have for Hudson...with my 2 yr old son on it!!

So I'm practicing breathing tonight. Big deep breaths. It WILL be ok.

God please give me the courage to accept the things I cannot change - like curious, fearless, little boys and their adreniline junky fathers.

Never-ending Winterland

My AZ friends and family...laugh as much as you want! Here is our deck 'heater' looking more like a marshmellow on a stick! The snow has been coming for a week now. Some periods light enough that Shane was able to sleep through the night (one night) and other times he was able to take a day rest. But for the most part, my husband has been gone plowing non-stop. There is no end in sight either...whew.

Although I don't mind the blizzard conditions in the evenings when Shane is home and we're able to snuggle in as a family with a nice fire, the rest of the time my cabin fever sets in and I become very restless. So I started looking at airfare today...to go somewhere, anywhere. Even feeling nauseous and fatigued...I'm willing to brave the travel to escape the grey gloom and slush. Shane loves our 'Stooges'. Usually they only make Halloween debuts, but this year we dressed them up with holiday hats and they stayed out through the year's end. I bet they're sorry!! They are waist high in the white stuff.

Hopefully we will have a few days where the freezing chill lightens and its warm enough that we can get out to sled. We braved it at my dad's on Sunday and only made it down the hill 4 times before heading in. Hardly worth getting Finn all bundled up. Poor kid just cried "outside!" when I brought him in. He LOVES to be outside...just like his mommy. I'm a fair weather girl. I loved CO because we'd have storms like this...difference...the SUN would come out and it would be beautiful again in 5 days max. The snow would remain...on the mountain tops - beaming with heavenly beauty and bright BLUE skies. Did you even notice the color of the skies in these photos??? We're looking at over 2 wks of no sun. NO SUN. : (

So I'm taking down Christmas decor, planning play dates and finding ways to get through without pulling our hairs out! Happy winter everyone.

New Year...New Room

Hudson has no idea what awaits him when he comes home. He's visiting his mom in OK for New Years. I've been putting ideas together for the last month and decided last Tuesday it's time!

You'll 'see' it as if you walked in and looked from left to right.The camel color was there...so I added the grey blue behind the bed and the red 'block' on the wall with the windows. I got some street sign posters and a new desk with supplies for our little artist.We had the monster truck bedding from before...and I didn't want to switch since we paid a small fortune for it. So this was my way of transitioning into a bigger 'boy' room on the same theme, minimal cost. : )

Finn's so excited...hope Hudson likes it as much as he does! :)