Aubrey's birthday

This was one of those years when the birthday got stretched out--family party, friend party, and real birthday on three different days. For her family party she requested "baby shower" food, which to her meant Costco turkey roll-ups and croissant sandwiches, so that's what we did. :-) Mini raspberry cheesecakes were her dessert of choice. 

For her friend party she had three friends over to spend the night, and they did an art project cousin Maggie had told us about and coached us through. It turned out great, and the girls loved doing it. 

Aubrey's 13th Birthday

Happiest of birthdays to our Aubrey Ann! She’s 13 today, bringing our teenager total in this house to three. We’ve called her our mini teenager for years, and now it’s finally official. It’s been quite a year, and she’s handled it with grace and a smile. She’s always had a bright, quick smile, and she brings light, sparkle, and fun wherever she goes. She’s grown so much this year, several inches taller, and has grown in her faith, too. I’m thankful for the gift God gave us in her 13 years ago.

Can't resist sharing a few more of my favorites of the birthday girl over the years.

Snow Storm '21

It's been 12 years since we've had this much snow here. Aubrey was a baby then! The kids were absolutely thrilled. It all started on Thursday with wintry mix and snow, and when we woke up Friday morning, we had three inches or so. It started snowing again Friday afternoon, and the kids went out and played in it during their lunch break. None of the kids had too much school work on Friday, as teachers seemed to understand the importance of the snow day. :-) It was pretty windy, and the sleet/snow pelted their faces, but they didn't seem to mind. Grant and Aubrey helped me make Valentine's cookies in between snow sessions. They all played out in it again later after school, too. 

By Saturday morning, though, we had a ton of snow! I don't know what the official count was, but we had two feet of snow on our deck, up against our slider. Our porch was completely covered!  We were all shocked by the amount of snow. 

Saturday was a true snow day, complete with lots of friends and neighbors sledding down our hill, and a crew of kids and friends at our house to warm up with hot chocolate and apple cider. Our dryer worked overtime, drying out wet snow gear. We made four boxes of mac and cheese and raided our frig to feed the crew, then went back out for more fun. Joel had a big group of friends get dropped off to sled in the afternoon. They had a blast! Greg was feeling good enough to come out and play, too, with breaks on the side. The Langleys spent the day with with us, and Kevin, too, had to pace himself, as he is just finally regaining strength and energy from COVID and pneumonia. It was great to have a day of fun. Most of the crew headed home later that afternoon, but Joel had three friends come back to our house, and they stayed and spent the night. Kari had Kylee spend the night, too.  They played outside all afternoon, having snow fights and eating snow ice cream. It was a party at our house. We made a huge batch of waffles and ham and eggs for a big breakfast for dinner, and then they went out for a night sledding adventure after dinner. 

While we were thrilled with the snow, our hearts were heavy with an undercurrent of sadness, as Greg's Aunt Sue went home to be with the Lord early Saturday morning. Strange to be having all kinds of snow fun, mingled with sadness for the Thom family and Mom M., along with relief that Aunt Sue was no longer suffering. 

Sunday we woke up to another couple inches of snow and throughout the day freezing rain coated everything with a layer of ice. Greg, Kari, and I worked hard shoveling the Roupp's driveway next door. They have been in Arizona since before the snowstorm, and their housesitter couldn't make it because of the weather, so Kari has been on pet duty, and we've helped, too. Greg had to dig a path out the back slider so their dog, Samson, could go out. They come back tomorrow night, and we wanted them to be able to park their car in their driveway and get to their garage without a huge slushy mess. We got our workout in, for sure! Kari and Joel shoveled part of our driveway, with the goal of making an ice cave in the snow drift. Joel finished it up after Kari got picked up for a sleepover at Katelin's. 

It's been an amazing weekend of fun, play, and some work. It felt good to be hosting people in our home again. I've missed that this last year. I was glad I had over-bought hot cocoa at Costco and glad we had lots of food on hand. :-) It's suppposed to warm up in the next day, so the snow fun will likely quickly turn to messy slush and then be gone. We enjoyed it to the fullest! 

Friday

A little before-school Curious George in front of the fire for our teenagers on this wintry day. :-)

Saturday

Colby and Joel made a tunnel through a snow drift by the sledding hill.

hard to tell in the photo, but they're eating the snow ice cream they made

There were a few more pairs of boots out in the garage and on the boot dryer, too! 

Sunday

Sunday evening--between a quarter and a half an inch of ice covered everything and made the snow shiny.

still have a bunch of snow on our deck