Cabin at last

We have been dying to get down to the Cabin.

It's been too long!

Ranger made himself right at home

B drew some pictures

and I was telling lots of stories.

We made the most out of the weather

the next morning.

Dad was busy working on making the

garage big enough for the new boat,

so Mom took all of us on an Adventure.

4-wheelers were involved, of course

I'm getting pretty good at this thing!

(well, I may have had my first crash--

this thing turns sharp if you pull just right...)

But we loaded back up

and set off down the road!

Mom and I rode in the Ranger

We built a teepee

and threw a lot of rocks!

The next day,

a snowstorm blew in.

We decided to wait it out

before driving home.

But waiting it out

didn't mean

waiting INSIDE...

Frolicking!

We set out on a snow hike

All bundled up

and ready for action!

We sure love it down here!!!

More hooky...

Well, who would have guessed 

we'd get to make a Preschool Day

a Stay Home Day again so soon?

Mom took us to the library

to get some books

and it happened to be story time.

We checked out the legos

and got to be part of the show

It was pretty fun

It got even cooler for me.

The very next day,

I got to go to work with Mom.

I was a "control" for a new

developmental test they are trying out

at Children's Mercy.

Needless to say,

I blew them away.

Because I worked so hard

(there were questions for almost an hour!),

I earned a cool toy--

these frog dominos!

And I got to eat in the HUGE cafeteria

with Mom.

Preschool Days turned into Stay Home Days

are the BEST!

A Rock 'n' Roll Band

Look out world!

We can cover Shinedown

like no one else!

We're going to be BIG!

Playing hooky

Well, 

we were on our way to preschool

when Dad suggested instead of coffee

we stop for donuts AND coffee

Next thing you know,

we were having so much fun,

Mom decided to just stay home from work

and play with us for a day.

We hit the library...

and the stomach bug hit B.

So Beckett had to stay on the couch

with Dad's care

while Mom and I ventured to school

to have lunch with the Bigs.

To say I thought I was big

would be an understatement.

Hopefully next "hooky" day

will go better for B.

Happy Birthday, GiGi!

We got to celebrate Grandma GiGi's birthday

with TWO kids of pie...

pizza and French Silk!

Happy 66th, Grandma!

Winter swim season take 2

We are pretty psyched

Gaters swim team has started up again.

Here's Wes,

about to swim his first relay of the year

He's definitely faster than last year

Here's me in my first relay

Me and my teammate,

waiting on our relay to finish...

Did I mention my teammate 

is my cousin Austin? 

This is going to be a pretty awesome season!

Jack's new favorite place

My class took a trip

to the Truman Library.

Ever since I was

President Truman for our 3rd grade

Wax Museum,

I've had a special fondness for him.

Now I'm OBSESSED with the library.

I can tell you all sorts of facts about

Mr. Truman and his life.

I encourage my family to go visit.

Often.

Mom says she supposes

there are worse things to be 

excited about!

A very GREAT Christmas!

Grandma Phyllis and Papa Kim

got us a weekend at Great Wolf Lodge

for Christmas this year.

We've been so excited,

we've been trying to pack our bags for weeks.

THE DAY IS FINALLY HERE!

We put on our ears

Checked into our room

and made a beeline for the pool

There was a lot of fun to be had.

We floated in the lazy river

We did the lilly pads

and the "hot pool" (everyone's favorite). 

We did a lot of slides too--

even Tucker went down the 2 HUGE slides

we was tall enough for!

(although the yellow slide was very dark

and we're not sure he'll ever go on

ANY yellow slide again...)

After hours of swimming,

we had some dinner,

and then headed to what was probably

our favorite part this time...

the arcade.

There were lots of games to play.

Tucker and I rocked out the zombie game.

Jack hit the jackpot with the hammer game

(and had enough tickets to buy

a little something for everyone

at the store)

There was this funny hotdog truck

that Tucker was obsessed with

and everyone thought the duck mobile

was funny

I took Tucker for a spin on the motorcycles

and beat Dad at air hockey

Needless to say,

we had a blast.

There were a lot of tears

when it was time to head home.

We're already planning our next

memory-making trip...

St. Louis, anyone?

Dad's obsession come true...

Why are we ringing this bell?

Because we bought a new boat...

Seats 10,

big swimming platform,

no lower unit to break off on stumps

under the water,

plenty of room for all our water toys.

Yep.

A dream come true.

Winter warriors

We've always wondered

why people would be so crazy

as to go running when the temps

are below freezing.

We learned that tiring out a puppy

sometimes takes drastic measures.

We'll also do just about anything

to get the most steps

on our Fitbits.

3 miles, done.
Brrr!