4th Grade Bball

Spencer just finished his 4th year of basketball. The league was desperate for coaches so Alan agreed to coach even though he would have to miss several games because they conflicted with races. He had a couple of good assistant coaches though so it worked out well. Spencer loved having his dad there and it was fun to watch him improve throughout the season! I gave up trying to contain Mason in crowded gyms after the first couple of games and just started bringing our portable dvd player and letting him watch a movie. So much more enjoyable for both of us!

First and Last Snow

We were starting to think we weren't going to get any snow this winter when we finally got a couple of skiffs in mid-February. No matter that it wasn't even enough to cover the lawn - it was still as magical and exciting as only first snows can be. Because of all of the snow we had last winter, I actually bought snow boots for both boys a few months ago. Spencer still doesn't own a coat though! These little bits of white resulted in one early release from school, one full snow-day, and one late start. Only in Oregon. ;)

Love Day

We didn't do anything huge for Valentine's Day this year. Alan did a good job of making me feel loved with roses and love notes all over the house. We had our normal fancy dinner then decorated and delivered lots of sugar cookies. The fondue we had last year was such a success that we wanted to do it again. I tweaked the recipe a tiny bit and it didn't turn out so great this year, however. We ate it for dinner, but had to throw away all of the leftover cheese sauce. We hadn't done the cookies in a few years so the boys were really excited about that.

Spencer and I made this cool Valentine's box for his class party. It's a time machine from a series of books (The Missing) he was reading.

Random February

I did slightly better at documenting our lives with pictures during February. Here are some of the random things that happened:

Mason started potty training!!! I waited a long time with him because I just didn't think he was ready. He was almost 3 1/2 when we started. I'm glad I waited though because he has done so well and it really hasn't been hard at all. With the exception of a big accident at a toy store and a large pile of poo on his bedroom floor, Mason has done great! He loves his Paw Patrol underwear and is so proud of himself. He's still wearing a diaper at night, but wakes up dry the majority of the time.

The boys beg to go outside every afternoon that the weather is half-way decent. Those few nice days keep me sane during the gloomy NW winters. Spencer plays a lot of basketball with the neighbor kids and Mason just has fun running around and bouncing from one activity to the next. He was crawling through a mud puddle on our front lawn with a truck the other day. When I asked him to get up, he stood up and tried to clean the mud off his hands by rubbing it all over his arms. haha!

Spencer got to participate in his school's spelling bee when the #1 speller from his class was out sick on the day of the bee. He's a much better speller than I am and lasted several rounds. He went out on the word "reprobate" - a word he had never heard before. Just like the geography bee though, Spencer loved the competition and had fun.

Mason got invited to his first birthday party for a little boy in his Sunbeam class. I didn't dare send him by himself, so I stayed and helped the little kids play with stomp rockets while the older kids played party games. Mason had fun with the rockets, but he is way too young for parties like that. ;)

We spent a month practicing being more kind to each other a filling a jar with fuzzies when we did a kind act. Our reward for filling the jar was a dinner out to Sweet Tomatoes. (Thanks for the gift card Caralee!)

I also took Spencer on a date to one of his favorite restaurants (Biscuit's Cafe) one Saturday afternoon. He loves breakfast food and ordered chocolate chip pancakes with a ton of whipped cream. It was good to have some one-on-one time with him and I need to take him on dates more often.

Alan broke out his handyman skills and built a Murphy bed for Mason's room! We've always had a queen bed in there for guests, but we wanted to put the space to better use without getting rid of the bed completely. The project was more work than Alan thought it would be, but it turned out really nice. I will paint or stain it once it gets warm enough to do that work with the windows open. The extra space in Mason's room is awesome!

Spencer has a couple of friends that come over to play sometimes. Legos are usually the favorite toy.

Almost non-existent January

January was a bit of a rough month for me. I always get the post-Christmas/visiting family blues after coming back home. I really do mostly like Oregon, but the gray, January rain is depressing after visiting sunny Arizona. Plus, primary kept me plenty busy. All of that resulted in not touching my real camera once and only snapping these three pictures with my phone the whole month! Sad. Here's what I remember from my least favorite month of the year. ;)

Mason became a Sunbeam at Church! Alan teaches the class above Mason's, but he got to sit with Daddy on his first day because he was a little under the weather. With a fall birthday, Mason is a young Sunbeam and the transition from nursery has been hard for him. He got used to me be there and being able to sit with him for the first month and a half. He is sad that I'm not in Primary anymore and starts each week sitting in the very back by himself. I think he eventually moves up to sit with his class though. It's gets a little better each week though and I'm sure he'll be fine soon.

After several rounds of questions in his class, Spencer was the top student and got to participate in his school's Geography Bee. Just one student from each 4th and 5th grade class got to participate. The questions were tough, but Spencer loves competition and still had a good time.

Mason and I spent a lot of time at home doing "mommy school" and housework. He helped me make granola one day. Homemade granola is his 2nd favorite breakfast, right after waffles.

Family Pics by Lindsey

Lindsey generously offered to take some family pictures for us while we were in St. Johns. We took them just before sunset on Christmas Eve and I am in love with the colors! Thanks so much Lindsey! You saved us at least $200!

And that was the end of 2017. It wasn't a year of huge events or life changing decisions, just lots of normal living. I have a quote on my fridge that says, "Enjoy the little things in life. For one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things." 2017 was a year of little things that don't seem monumental now, but I know that I will so miss these days of playing with cars, reading stories, laundry, sports games, and even the arguing when Spencer and Mason are grown. This is a special time of life and I continually remind myself to enjoy and cherish the small moments.