Emmett's 4th Birthday!

We wrapped up Emmett's fourth birthday tonight after celebrating it in a few different stages.  Emmett was so excited about this birthday and has been counting down the days until his birthday party and his actual birthday for several days.  He was so excited about everything--the balloons, the cake, the presents, the gifts, the preschool treats, the dinner at McDonald's, etc.  He is at such a fun age and his enthusiasm about everything is so contagious and fun to watch.  I am so grateful that we were blessed with this special boy four years ago and am so grateful for all of the joy, laughter, and happiness that he has brought to our family.  Here is a blow-by-blow of Emmett's 4th birthday celebrations from the last few days...

Since Ella had gymnastics practice on Emmett's actual birthday and my parents love the opportunity to attend a grandchild's birthday on a weekend night without rush hour traffic, we opted to have his party on Sunday, January. 8th.  Emmett did not mind opening up his gifts a few days early!  Here is my sweet boy posing with his gifts before the party began.

We enjoyed a dinner of pork chops, mac 'n chees, broccoli, rolls, deviled eggs, Caeser salad, and fruit punch.  Emmett was so excited to eat in the dining room on the special, red plate.

The gang ready to eat dinner!  Unfortunately, my dad had to cancel last minute due to a health issue, so my mom came alone.  Emmett did have the chance to talk to him over the phone before dinner while sitting on his stool patiently waiting at the dining table.  After explaining to my dad that his real birthday was in a few days, he happily informed him that he would just "sit here and wait for four days."  We all thought that this comment was so funny as we all know that would never happen!

After dinner, Emmett was able to open up his gifts.  He was so excited!  Here he is opening up a gift wrapped like a large candy...

that was really a pail of bath tub crayons and paint inside!

Emmett tearing out the tissue of a gift bag that had a soft pair of Spiderman pajamas and bathrobe inside.

Emmett was so excited about his super soft Spiderman jammies and robe that he totally hugged them like they were a blanket.  It was so funny!

Emmett's biggest gift of all was a scooter that comes with two wheels in front which makes it easier to balance on and ride.  He was so excited that he immediately began riding it around the house.

Emmett opening up grandma's gift of a new outfit and books.

Emmett currently loves watching a few different shows on Disney Plus and one of his favorite shows is called "Puppy Dog Pals."  As a result, I made a cake and ordered balloons that were from this show.  Emmett was so excited about his cake and the fact that his name was on it!

Getting ready to sing "Happy Birthday" to Emmett!

Blowing out his candles!

The birthday boy posing with Ella and Logan before eating his cake.

Emmett munching away!

On Tuesday, January 10th, Emmett brought homemade sugar cookies with blue frosting and sprinkles to share with his classmates in his preschool class.  Here he is getting ready to head inside the Lutheran church before school carrying his Tupperware container of cookies.

On Wednesday, January 11th, we started off Emmett's actual birthday with our traditional breakfast of waffles with whipped cream, strawberries, and sprinkles.

After swim lessons, we went and picked up Emmett's good friend, Luke, to take him to play at the bouncy house place in the mall.  The boys had a good time playing together for an hour.

Emmett and Luke.

I then took the boys to the food court to eat lunch and a little cake that I had purchased the day before.  The boys liked it so much that they each ate two pieces!

After dropping Luke off, we came home for nap time.  I then took the three other children to McDonald's for dinner which is a rare treat since we usually only eat dinner at this restaurant when we are out of town.  We then drove to Lia's theater to watch their company cast put on a shortened version of Peter Pan.  We got there early and had front row seats and Emmett loved watching every minute of it!  Unfortunately, Ella had gymnastics and had to miss the entire evening which made her so sad.  She probably asked me twenty different times if she could skip practice to come with us.

Emmett enjoying his chocolate milk on his real birthday evening!  We love you, Emmy Bems!  Thanks for being the cutest, funnest, and funniest 4-year old boy we could have ever asked for.  We love you so much!

The Start of Logan's Basketball Season

After Logan wrapped up his 4th grade basketball season last March, I promised him that he would be done playing basketball forever after not having the best of seasons.  Although he really enjoyed being on a team with all boys from his school and really enjoyed the practices, the games were a bit more intense than his pace and left him feeling discouraged afterwards since he had very few opportunities to handle and shoot the ball.  However, after learning this fall that his beloved soccer coach was moving back to coach in the parks and rec league, I immediately signed Logan up to play another season since I though he would love being on Coach Ben's team with two of his best friends, Bennett and Benton.  Unfortunately, I learned soon afterwards that this assumption was incorrect as Logan still did not want to play basketball even with his favorite coach at the helm and his good friends at his side.  So, sadly, I sent Logan off to his first practice last month very upset and unhappy with me.  Although he has always come home from practice with a smile on his face, Logan has never admitted to me that he has had any fun and he was very cranky this morning when Ron drove him to his first game early for warm ups.  I then joined Ron with the rest of the kids for the first 3/4 of Logan's game before Lia and I had to slip out a few minutes early so that she could get to her to auditions for the 101 Dalmatians play on time.  Although I knew that Logan was not happy about being there, I was impressed with how hard he was trying on the court.  He ran fast, guarded his opponent, and went for the rebounds every time he was near the basket and, even though he never made a basket, he handled the ball several times and gave this first game his all.  And although I have have promised Logan over and over that I will neve register him for basketball again, I am still grateful for the chance it gives him twice a week to get out of the house and exercise and be with friends during the wettest, darkest, and dreariest time of the year around here!

Logan guarding his opponent who has the ball.

Logan running to block the ball.

Dribbling away while being guarded.

Logan running down the court.

Trying to stop the pass.

Logan dribbling around the key.

Our Winter Trip to Priest Lake

The kids and I just returned home from a five day getaway to Priest Lake for our annual winter trip with the rest of my family.  Since Ron opted to stay home this year for some peace and quiet, I was required to find a way to get my family there since my van is not equipped for winter travel over Snoqualmie Pass and the compact snow and icy roads that usually exist the last 1.5 hours drive to Priest Lake.  Luckily, my brother had a pair of studded, snow tires that he wasn't using and loaned them to me to put on my car for the trip.  This was the perfect solution as my van barely slid at all over the icy roads on the final stretch to the cabin.  We left on December 28th and returned on January 1st.  Besides Lia getting sick with the flu two of the three days there, the kids and I had a great time playing and sledding in the two to three feet of snow and being with the rest of my family which was 24 in all!  Although driving there and back was a bit of a stress for me, I am grateful that I was able to provide a way for my children to bond with their cousins and be a part of this family tradition.

Callie celebrated her 19th birthday (what?!) the evening that we arrived at the cabin.  Here she is blowing out the candles on her ice cream sundae after dinner was over.

We then enjoyed watching all of the cousins participate in their annual gift exchange.  Here is Lia opening up a box full of Pura Vida bracelets from Callie.

Logan got an awesome moon lamp from Trenton.

Ella received a beautiful, AGD outfit for her new doll, Samantha, from Sarah.

Emmett opening up a Lego Duplo Train set from Riley.

Ella enjoyed being wrapped up tightly in blanket thanks to the mad skills of Uncle Eric.

As always, the kids enjoyed watching PBS Kids every morning while we were at the cabin.  Here is everyone, plus Trenton, sharing a blanket on the couch.

Although the kids and I enjoyed a morning and afternoon sledding session all three days there, I took the majority of the pictures on our first morning.  Since this was the only day that Lia was healthy and able to go outside and play with us, this was a lucky break.  Here is the traditional family photo that I got Hannah to take of us.

The Hartland fam, minus papa, in the snow.

Due to the icy layer underneath the compacted snow layer, the sledding was the fastest it has ever been in all of our years at Priest Lake.  The kids and I had a great time going on run after run down the hill.  Here is Emmett heading down the hill with Kelsey.

Lia hanging out with Sarah on the side of the road.

The three younger kids all enjoyed going down the new ski skooter that they got for Christmas.  Ella and Emmett both did such an amazing job sliding down the hill on it!

I enjoyed going on several runs with Emmett either in my lap or on my back.  He was absolutely fearless this year!

As always, all of my kids loved eating the snow whenever they wanted to.  I don't know why they love doing this so much!  Here is a darling picture Spencer took of Ella munching away!

Lia getting ready to head down the hill with Emmett on her lap.

Lia and Emmy sliding down the hill with Ella in front of them.

We walked down the hill to play in the neighbor's perfectly untouched snow on their tennis court which is an annual tradition for kids and me.  Unfortunately, the snow was so hard and crunchy this year that it didn't make for the funnest of play.  Emmett did have a great time scooting around on the court though.

Callie and Lia hanging out on the snow-covered tennis court.

Emmet was a total pro on the ski skooter and could make it down the long sledding hill with only one or two falls.  It was amazing to watch him figure this thing out!

Emmett an Ella (on Trenton's ski skooter) heading down the hill together.

I joined the boys down on the snowy beach another morning to throw snowballs in the water.  Here is Emmett getting ready to throw one in!

Trenton and Logan dug an elaborate set of tunnels in the snow bank on the beach.  Here they are standing in front of their masterpiece.

All three boys lined up in a row with the frigid water behind them.  It's hard to believe that we were happily swimming in that water only four months ago!