The Fighter's

Love my Ava.  This picture sums her up perfectly.  Dressed in her favorite Buckeye gear, chess, legos...and if you look real closely...a snack to keep her going through construction and game playing.  Love her.

Except this time - no cookies involved!!!  Just 6 of my favorites, a fantastic dinner out in downtown Columbus, a couple of hotel rooms, pj's (because we decided it was too cold and we're too old to bar hop and went back to the hotel to get comfy and hang out right after dinner:-))...and lots of chatting and laughs until about 3AM!  Love these ladies!  So much fun!

No pics from snow day #4...because grandpa picked them up in the morning and took them on an adventurous day that included a drive out to their school to show them that the roads really weren't that bad (he's old school:-)),  lunch out at a local restaurant, a trip to lowes, a trip to kroger, a science experiment with snow and a bucket of water in his backyard, playing in the backyard snow and last but certainly not least - snow cones.  He has a snow cone machine and apparently - they each had 6 throughout the day - but they assured me they were topped with fresh orange juice or they just left them as plain ice... Yeah right...what's that saying..."what happens at grandma and grandpa's...stays at grandma and grandpa's"?? Thankful for my dad, his willingness to take the girls (without me asking) for a full day while I worked.  God send!  And love the memories he's making with the girls. Anyways - snow day #5 - we had to clean up the house after sn...

Snow day #3!  I had to work - no babysitter - so had to be creative.  Gave them a fun to do list.  Ava grabbed hold of it and...rebelled against number 1 (stayed in her pj's all day:-)) but led them through all the other tasks.  Honestly these snow days have been tough when they fall on work days - balancing both can leave room for plenty of guilt on the mothering side and a little bit of anxiousness, extra hours on normal days off on the work side...but  think I'm learning (slowly) to let go of those anxious and guilty feelings - knowing that I'm doing the very best that I can do - and that the girls know I love them so much.  Plus they really have been so good and cooperative - only had one conference call where Olivia busted in...declaring how hungry she was:-) 

We woke up to -40 wind chills this morning!  So cold.  This year is off to a wintery start!  The girls had another cozy snow day - and played so great together (which does not happen every day) but I'll take it!  Here's our attempt to make homemade oatmeal cream pies!  They were good but sooooo rich!

What happens when you get 12 inches of snow overnight and negative double digit wind chills?  Snow day!!  And what happens when you have creative girls who love their barbies - but also love trains and building things?  A mega long barbie train.  They were so proud of their creation (*note olivia's face in the pic below:-)) And what else do you get with 12 inches of snow, cold, lots of wind and old wooden windows?  Inside snow!  Nothing that a little bit of insulating tape couldn't take care of!

The last few years we have been sad for lack of snow.  And this year is making up for it big time and we LOVE it.  10 inches on New Years Day...and close to 12 today/tonight followed by a deep freeze coming tomorrow...wind chills close to 40 below.  Whoa!  This is how I remember my hometown growing up....lots and lots of snow (minus the sub 0 temps!!).  So we got out today to enjoy the white stuff before the big freeze comes.  And the girls already have an extended Christmas break...school already canceled for tomorrow...and I bet that may continue each day until temps rise.  Yay!  I seriously love having all my little ladies home with me.  Math and Spelling can wait a few days...right??? Ava was off to the left jumping in snow piles.  Having too much fun for a picture! Love our wintery backyard wonderland.  So thankful for this scenery right here at home! Someone tuckered out after a day of Sunday School, Benga...

Kate has a knack for fashion.  Her outfits are always so creative but coordinated so well (for the most part!).  And she can sit at her bright blue desk in the front room, drawing and coloring little fashion stencils and designs for many minutes at a time.  She loves it.  And I love seeing what she comes up with.  She has two fashionista Aunts who encourage her fashion creativity...both have great style and Aunt Lindsay even works for a popular clothing store's headquarters as a buyer (I think that's what she does:-)).  Who knows...maybe little miss Kate will follow in her footsteps.  All I know is that I'm thankful for 3 little girls who will hopefully keep me hip!  And...I just had to snap a shot of her beautiful curls today.  Her hair has taken off growing and I absolutely love her soft blond curls.  Her hair is so curly it starts curling the second she emerges from under water...sweet spirals!  Today they were a tad more re...

Getting our mammoth sized Christmas tree (we didn't realize it would be so big when we picked it out...it was tied up!)... Out the door.... Mission was eventually accomplished, with a lot of pushing and shoving through the door...and a little bit of an aftermath left for the broom and sweeper...

For NYE 2014 we ventured down to Columbus for a visit with old neighbors and friends.  We've done this every year since we moved - and I love the tradition and keeping up with some favorite families.  They are all so special to us - we ventured through a lot of life changes together (i.e. beginnings with kids, as parents) and they grew to be like family. First stop to see Katelyn's godparents - we love the Wendorfs and the girls had a ball! Next stop - our old neighbors house - but they moved!  First New Year without anyone living on the old lane!  We started in those houses with 0 kids - and now look at our bunch!  Getting so big! Kids stayed up until midnight!!!!  And were tuckered out after the big party!  Here are the girls fast asleep - and Olivia catching more winks on the drive home. And when we got to Toledo - we were getting snow!!!!  Love the white stuff!!

One of the perks of living in the same town as cousins....cousin sleep overs, breakfast, cartoons and dress up parties.  I love that these kids are as close as they are.  Ava, Kate & Olivia love their Jet, Mattingly & Collins. That is for sure.

We hosted in Toledo this year!  Lots of prep work but so worth it. And so much fun. Tried a new homemade cranberry sauce recipe from my favorite lady (The Pioneer Woman).  Love her stuff.  She really is my favorite (ask Doug).  And I will never buy the canned stuff again! Some festive head gear and fun turkey spirit.... Wednesday night at Venturas with Aunt Juli, Uncle Al, Uncle Tim, Aunt Amy & Luke.  So much fun! Turkey Trot 5K Thanksgiving morning through our neighborhood.  It was a cold, cold morning but I was so proud of Ava - she completed her first 5K! Then home for table setting and dinner preparations.  My dad smoked a turkey and I cooked one in the oven (again...Pioneer Woman's recipe)!  My mom, Aunt Amy & Aunt Juli pitched in and were HUGE helps as always.  I think this is why I never stress about having my family in for a visit...everyone loves to cook and help...and they are fantastic at it!  The...