Noah's bike

A few weeks ago Jared took Noah's training wheels off his bike. This was not the first time we had attempted this particular skill, in fact we have tried this several times with bad results. By bad results I mean full on temper tantrum, crying, and screaming; it was not fun. This time was completely different. Within 5 minutes of Jared removing the training wheels Noah was riding his bike like a pro. I took this video just 30 minutes after his first attempted (this time).

Karate

For the past two years Noah has been participating in karate at our YMCA, he recently moved up to the older kids class and was able to get his black gi.

Riley is also now participating in the younger kids class. She was so excited to finally be able to wear the gi's just like "her boys". She is by far the smallest kid in class, but don't tell her.

Here are a couple of pictures of my little karate peeps.

Snow

The kids were out of school for most of last week due to snow in our area. The kids were able to play in the snow during the first good snow of winter, but due to my surgery the day of the snow, this was my first sledding time with the kids this winter. Actually, it's the first real time we were able to do any sledding as the kids are just now old enough to really enjoy going sledding.

We made the most of the snow days and went sledding on Monday and twice on Tuesday. We were also able to make snow cream with the kids (their first). Here are a few pictures of our adventures last week.

4

It's hard to believe, but it's true; Riley our baby girl is 4 today!!!! She has been a huge blessing in our lives and I can't imagine life without her.

She is full of joy and laughter and has a ready smile for everyone. Riley loves to sing and can be heard daily making up songs. She also loves to color and will spend hours with some paper and crayons drawing and "writing". There is nothing she does not think she can do and she has spent her life doing whatever her boys are doing. This has helped make her fearless and advanced beyond her size.

We like to joke that she is a whole lot of personality in a tiny body, but it's really true. She is a joy to be around, full of life and love, always ready with a hug, and not afraid to stand up for herself. She truly has been a joy these past four years and I can't wait to see what the future holds for her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY my sweet Riley!!!!!!

Halloween

We took the kids trick-or-treating for the first time this year. This is the first year we have lived in a neighborhood with kids and trick-or-treaters. They loved every minute of it and you would not believe how much candy is now in this house.

Here are a couple of pictures of my adorable trick-or-treaters. In case you can't tell; Riley is Cinderella, Seth is Ben 10, and Noah is HeatBlast (one of the Ben 10 aliens). Can you tell what cartoon is most popular at our house?

The other girls in the picture are the next door neighbors and the kids best buddies in the neighborhood. The jack-0-lantern's are the kids and we put them on the brush pile during trick-or-treating. They looked great with the candles lit, but wouldn't show up very well in the picture.

Sleeping

A couple of weeks ago we went to a family get together with Jared's family. The kids had a great time fishing, eating, and running around. While we were saying goodbye and getting ready to leave we found Noah like this. He slept for about 30 minutes like this without falling off the couch or sliding to the floor. I think he was a little tired.

Dancing

Dance has officially started in our house. After 2 years of asking to take dance class, Riley is finally old enough to participate in the dance classes at the Y.

Her favorite part of the class is ballet, but she also loves wearing her "snappers" (her name for her tap shoes).