ISU takes down Houston (in Jan. 2024)

This was a snow day..... but ISU was playing Houston at Hilton that night. So we thought long and hard about it and decided to give it a shot. Ryan said the roads were not bad coming home from work, but it was bitter cold. We made it :) Addison got a program and loved reading the stats. 

Students were on break so we got their seats through Junior Cyclone Club. The kids were pretty pumped! 

Just like a college girl - ha! 

Below zero outside, but we still needed a clone cone! He loves ice cream cones. 

Looks like trouble! 

Cy plopped down next to us!! The kids loved it. We don't usually get Cy to our seats - ha! 

 It was such a fun game!! Houston was ranked #1 in the big 12 I believe and it was our first conference game. Cyclones were cookin' (as Nolan would say) and we saw some awesome dunks. And a big win! It was a great night and I'm glad we went! 

Snow Day

This kid needed a haircut! His long hair and hockey shirt were a good match though. 

We got a system going.... Ryan does the bottom with a razor and I do the top with scissors (Ryan has the easier job)

Snow Day! We got dumped on, the kids were excited (and so was I since I didn't have to leave home). 

Addison got herself dressed for the snow day. Grumpy Branch. 

Mason wanted to be Poppy then.... we sent this picture to Ryan. He was not impressed with their choices. Ha! 

Daycare was open but we kept Mason home so that I didn't have to go out (brrr) and the two kids could play together. They played games, wii, basketball, etc. We love snow days :) 

Getting dressed to go outside, trying out the warm socks Parker gave us - ha! 

Trying to get bundled up to go outside, lots of work.... But they did have fun outside! 
 

Cy and another birthday

Showing Dad all the 90% off items we got from Hobby Lobby for next Christmas! 

She lost another tooth! 

She got a t-shirt at the T-Shirt toss! She was so excited. 

Our buddy Cy

Telling Cy Horns Down

Cake for Ryan's birthday, complete with some trick candles. 

They wanted to match with their whale shirts.

Hickory Park for Ryan's birthday..... had to send this picture to Landon, Hugh, & Conner. 

 Complete with ice cream :) 

This is how I found them watching TV after school one day - ha! Figured I better capture this memory as they might not always like each other this much! Ha! 

Addison had been trying to get her hair in a towel like I do. She did it! 

"Take my picture with a puppy on my shoulder" 

Movie & New Year's

We went to the new Trolls movie as a family the day after Christmas. Bought last minute tickets so we were in the front row. Addison took her new popcorn tubs and we had to dish out the popcorn into their bucket. 

Addison is helping to get ready for the Lents family to come to our house. 

The picture Addison drew on her new pad. 

We met Reagan & Reid at Center Grove for the the holiday land. The kids had so much fun running through there together! 

They were so excited to decorate cookies. 

At the Lents Christmas, Erica had cookie decorating kits for the kids that she had gotten at work. It was a huge hit with my kids! 11 months later and they still talk about decorating cookies at Erica's with the frosting and sprinkles. 

We had no plans for our 10 year anniversary but the kids wanted to celebrate, so we went to Hickory Park and ordered a peanut butter malt. 

Then went home for a game night. 

Addison had a goal of staying up until midnight. We watched the countdown shows and were lucky enough to see Hardy sing Truck Bed. So we kept rewinding it to watch it again and again! 

Watching the countdown..... 

Happy New Year!! This girl had zero issues staying up until midnight! She was pretty excited. 

Sent this picture to Grandpa & Grandma to prove she stayed up for the new year. Ha! Clock says 12:01. 

And stayed up a little longer to play another game. Ha! She loved staying up for the new year and it was pretty fun for us too. We had a good night! 

 

Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas!! Look at that big pile of presents Santa left! 

Opening the stockings..... Addison was way more excited for the gum than she was the undies - ha! 

Excited for the stocking gifts :) 

Patiently taking pictures for mom before tearing into the gifts! 

Santa brought a baler! 

Paw Patrol tower and Lego Friends

Doing the Hatchimals - using the tiny bottle to squirt water into the egg to watch it hatch! 

Her super soft wearable blanket. 

Helping Dad put together the Paw Patrol tower. It's a big one! 

Using Mason's new Grinch waffle maker for breakfast! 

Santa brought all the things! 

Getting some farm work done on Christmas Day. 

The tower is done! They loved putting it together and also playing with it :) 

Oh yea, and the box was fun too!! But what I didn't capture on camera was them both in the box, then it falling over and them hitting their heads on the floor (oops....) I did think about it when Ryan backed away... but thought I could take a picture fast enough. Which I did, but Ryan didn't step back in fast enough to catch them. Ha! 

A little monopoly junior. 

Using their new popcorn buckets which watching a Christmas movie on the couch. And I've paid for this over and over again..... we have a strict "no eating in the living room" rule but we made an exception for this ONE TIME. Note the blanket on the couch in case they spilled. Mason STILL mentions this (just last weekend) when I said no to eating on the couch. UGH. Haha! 

Christmas movies and cuddles! It was a wonderful Christmas.... can't wait till this year! 

Addison's note to Santa:

Dear Santa Clase

You are nise. I readed how to cech a elf. and I do not want to cech you or my elf. Becuse you haft to go to everyone's house to give presins.