Happy 3rd Birthday Brother

 Happy 3rd Birthday Mister, Buddy, Brother...

Yep - he survived! He made it to 3 (ha,ha,ha...)  

We are choosing to call the this next year the "Terrific Three's" instead of what I have heard from most parents of boys in their 3's. I'm sure we'll have our phases of good and bad choices... no matter what - this little man cracks me up.  He gives the deepest, most heart felt hugs and then will pull away and make some crazy face and sound.  He's perfected the art of annoying his sister and yet can be her best friend 5 seconds later.  He still loves to snuggle after a nap and pancakes are his favorite food. 

In fact, we had some friends over for a pancakes, sausage links and fruit salad for dinner tonight. Along with presents and cupcakes of course!  The kids all had a great time playing, while the adults enjoyed each others company and March Madness of course! (Wisconsin in the Final 4 -YAHOO!!)

Brother loved his cupcake

and Mama and Papa loved an easy bedtime - he was so tired.  He did such a great job of sharing his new toys and just had a great time with friends.  

In other news... sorry we missed a few weeks...

This was Sister and I after spring break.  We came down with a stomach bug and missed going back to school for a few days.  It was a bummer too, because our friend from Cordova was visiting. Thankfully she did not end up sick and the sickies didn't last long.

And we were back to enjoying this amazing spring we are having!!  

 As we enter Holy Week - I can't help to be so thankful for the many blessings in my life.  I pray and hope that each of you are able to find something to celebrate each and every day. 

~ Much Love ~

Momma Staycation - Hatcher Pass

Hatcher Pass - March 2015

This Momma treated herself to a little staycation during spring break this year and traveled to Hatcher Pass with a longtime and dear friend. Yes, no children, no husband... just fresh mountain air and friendship.   This trip is exactly what I needed mid-week of spring break. We left Tuesday evening and returned Thursday morning. With Hatcher Pass only 45 minute drive, it was the perfect little get away.

  We were greeted Wednesday morning with moose having their breakfast outside our cabin.

After the moose cleared out, we bundled up and headed up the mountain.  We started at the top, snowshoeing around Independence Mine.  It was amazing.

We could have spent all day up here - the sunshine, cold mountain air, and miles and fresh snow.

But, we headed down the mountain and hiked the Gold Mint trail for about an hour and half. Afterwards, we found ourselves content and ready for some food!

The trip was exactly what I hoped for. Time to find me again and reconnect with my dear friend. I'm so blessed by our friendship and also by my amazing husband who took on the kiddos so momma could get away.  I feel refreshed and ready to tackle the remainder of the school year. 
1 more quarter to go!

It was also nice to come home to this...

The dog and cat images are part of the paper, but Sister wrote the letter herself with Papa helping her spell the word 'dear.' My heart is definitely full.  

Glasses

Glasses? How would one even know where to start with a 4 1/2 year old needing glasses.  Well, we were actually at our pediatrician's office for Brother and his asthma when the doctor looked over and asked if we had had Sister's eyes checked recently. Her left eye lid has been lower since birth, but she passed her vision screening at 1 years old so we never thought more of it.  When she's tired or not feeling well, her lid droops noticeably.  The doctor told us to just make sure the lid wasn't covering her pupil.  So, that got me thinking and at home I started asking Sister questions about what she could see and not see.  She flat out said, "Momma, my eyes don't work very well. They never have."  Needless to say, we scheduled the appointment. 

She did great - even with having to have her eyes dilated - sure wore her out though.  

Turns out - she needed glasses.  She has difficulty seeing far away and astigmatism in both eyes.  Our doctor was great and recommended only doing half the prescription, since her vision is still developing and to revisit in 4 to 6 months.   She loves her new glasses and has said that she can see so much better now. 

In other news- we are kicking off our spring break!  My students were exhausted Thursday afternoon, so we had a game day justified by social emotional learning standards of course!  

  And our first order of business for spring break, was to get outside and play in the Thursday afternoon sunshine! We hardly have any snow, in fact they had to bring in 500 truck loads of snow for the ceremonial start of the Iditarod today(Saturday).  Crazy weather - 41 degrees and rain today.  We are looking forward to our spring break.  Papa will be starting to coach track and field - throwing events this week and Momma has a little girls trip planned mid-week.  We also look forward to our friend from Cordova coming in for a visit towards the end of the week. Promises to be a busy week - but thankful to be able to have quality time with friends and family.