Nathan's Birthday--Family Celebration

A few more pictures from our little family celebration.

One of the most fun gifts for Nathan's birthday...both in the opening and in the playing since...was a "dress-ups kit" for he and Joshua. Now they can instantly become:
Firemen

Pirates

Army Guys!

(I got almost everything from our local dollar store. Sewed vests from clearance Halloween fabric.)

Nathan turns 5!

I can hardly believe that my boy is 5 years old! (Although sometimes I can hardly believe I've only been a mother for 5 years!) =) We had a great time celebrating Nathan's birthday at the end of January. Below are a few pictures from the celebration.

The decorations

The activities for his "Hot Wheels" party included:
Playing slot cars

Decorating "Stop Light" bags

Pin the car on the racetrack

Treasure hunt--Find the "spare tires"


Racing like a race car (complete with racing number and exhaust pipe for each)

And a race car cake! Courtesy of Greg!

Happy Birthday Nathan!

A Glimpse of Spring

Recently it warmed up just enough to try a quick venture to the park. (This means I'm sure it might have been above freezing.) =) It was so nice for all of us to get out in the fresh air and renew our "hope" that spring will come!

A Sad Time in Our Family

Hope to get back to blogging soon. But, just wanted to let you know that our nephew, my brother John's son, Kevyns, passed away about a week and a half ago. We recently returned from being with the family at his funeral in South Carolina. Greg has posted his obituary on his blog. (See sidebar under family. Greg--Living LDS)

Kevyns' passing and the time spent with family during the last week have been life-changing for both Greg and I. We truly miss Kevyns and our hearts are with John and Valerie and Elodie during this difficult time.

Package from Grandma Franson

This week we got a great package from Grandma Franson. So fun and well-thought out! Thanks, Grandma, for sending us a party-in-a-box on a week we really needed it! See below for the cute ideas.



1. "The Day the Snowmen Stood Still"--see cute craft with cotton balls, googly eyes, etc.

2. "The Sound of Snowmen"--Sing the song and do the actions to 'Once there was a Snowman'.

3. "Snowman Story"--Read 'A Snowman Just Named Bob'.

4. "Beauty and the Snowmen"--Make snowmen out of carmel popcorn balls. (Mom being the Beauty.)

5. "Robosnowmen"--Build a real snowman outside when it snows. If you want, make him robot-style.

6. "Monty Python's Search for the Snowman"--Take turns hiding a little stuffed snowman somewhere in the house and let the other go find him, like hide and seek. (My boys favorite of them all!)

7. "Snowmen Wars"--Have an indoor snowball fight with giant marshmallows.

Fire and Ice Festival

After spending most of the day "spring cleaning" several closets and our basement. (Maybe it's more like baby "nesting".) We decided to we better get out and have some fun!

Our downtown here (we live just blocks from) puts on free events frequently. This weekend was the "Fire and Ice Festival". The temperatures were in the 'teens'...but we still had a great time.

Attractions included: ice sculptures in front of most main businesses, a "warming station" where people roasted marshmallows over a fire, a toboggan run down one of the steep side streets, a temporary ice skating rink just off of main street, and then at 8 p.m. there were fireworks!

Toboggan run

We have had our eye on a "diner" on main street. So, we stopped in tonight for some hot chocolate. It had old music playing and a long, curvy counter where we all sat on bar stools.


Joshua pretty much put the straw in his mouth and never took it out. While we pushed him around in the stroller he just sipped and sipped. We figured he must have run out by the time we made it to the car...but he managed to have enough to sip all the way home and finish at our kitchen table! Our little ice cube with the warm tummy! He knew better than the rest of us how to do it right!

CARS!!

Because Greg's Dad worked for Chrysler and his Grandpa Franson also worked for a car company, there is nothing that makes me feel more "Franson" than going to the auto show! We had a great day together looking at and sitting in cars and collecting posters and booklets for the boys to study and love for days to come!

Visit from Grandma Rogers

We finished off December in a great way with a visit from Grandma Rogers. I'm trying a new "thing" by posting a slideshow of pictures from the visit under our family's pictures on the sidebar. Thanks for all the great new memories made, Grandma Rogers!

Picture taken at the Chrysler Museum.

More Christmas Catch-Up

Aren't they a loveable pair?!

Nathan's Preschool Christmas Party