Snow Days!

Last week we got dumped on. And the kids LOVED it! Of course, we had to break out all the winter gear again and go take advantage of the sledding hill not far from our house.

The kids were all outside playing in the snow when Laney woke up from her nap. I was working on a file and told her I would help her get her suit on in a minute. She came in shortly thereafter with this "suit" on saying she was ready to go.




















Luckily, her daddy knew which suit I was talking about and got her ready to go play outside. I was impressed, she lasted about 1/2 hour before coming back in!




















The boys had fun with their dad at the sledding hill. There were tons of people there, but they still got some really good runs in. I have a few videos at the bottom that show some of their successes and failures (biffs as we like to call them).

Goofy Corbin...



























And Corbin's goofy daddy...
















Here are the boys enjoying their day out! Cole, Dallen & Corbin














Cade getting some air (or after getting air anyway)















Chase
















A look UP the hill
















Dallen using his long arms for balance!

Delaney's Princess Birthday Party!

Last Saturday was Delaney's princess party. There were a few other princess friends from neighboring kingdoms who were able to attend as well. Clint (the king) put up some cool wall decorations, so it looked like we were in a grand ballroom!















































Delaney loves to dress up in her princess dresses, and had a hard time deciding which princess to be. I helped steer her to this super cute gown.


































I asked an older princess, who used to be one of my beehives, to come teach the younger princesses how to behave like a proper princess. Princess Kyra taught the girls how to curtsy, drink properly from a tea cup, wave a wand, and of course, she showered them with princess glitter as well. Princess Kyra also headed the games and showed the girls how to play Princess & The Pea (as you will see, Delaney wasn't getting the hang of it), Kiss the Frog Prince (another one Laney had a struggle with) and Princess freeze dance.

















Here are pictures of the Frog Prince and the lips. They played it just like pin the tail on the donkey.





















Here are all the princesses. Sydney, Kennedy, Karson, Kyra, Kendall, & Delaney.














Princesses Sydney, Kennedy & Delaney














This is Princess Kennedy looking as cute as Snow White ever did.



















Princess Kyra reading a princess story to the younger princesses.














Since the Royal Baker was on Spring Break, the responsibility rested on my shoulders to create a cake fit for a princess. As stated in previous posts, I'm no cake decorater, so this is the best I could come up with. I will point out that Payton & Dallen had the honor of actually making the cake and I think they did a pretty good job!














Of course, Princess Delaney loved having her princess friends over and enjoyed her cake & ice cream and opening presents. I'm not sure why she's giving us a gopher face right here...

Happy Birthday Cader!

Cade's 8th birthday was on March 12. Because of the significance of the 8th birthday, he was picked up after school on that day by Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Jay to head to Temple Square in Salt Lake. It is Jacobs tradition to take the 8 year old birthday child to see Temple Square before their baptism. Cade had a blast! He got to go with his cousin Drew (who turned 8 on Feb. 12) and they rode horses, got to go to the Draper Temple open house, Temple Square and lots of other fun stuff.

With all that said, we didn't get to celebrate with him until he got back home. For his birthday dinner he chose yellow death (mac & cheese to the rest of the world). After dinner we had his requested chocolate on chocolate cake. Cade had a good time trying to blow out the candles on his cake (see video below). And no knocks about my cake making abilities, eh?














His party is next Saturday, so he really hasn't gotten many presents yet. Ours is still in the garage, but he did get a card from Grandma Bonnie (thanks!) and new scriptures from Grandma Cindi, which he was really excited about!

My handsome nephew, Dallen



















Our pre-teen, Payton, who pretty much always looks like this lately...at least Corbin is happy!















Cade & Delaney clearly enjoyed their cake!

The Girls Love Michelle!

Last Saturday was my girlfriend, Michelle's, birthday. Another friend of mine had surgery recently and the guys he worked with rented 75 pink flamingos to put in his front yard to cheer him up when he returned home. I thought it was so clever and fun, that I stole the idea and wanted to do that for Michelle. However, I never got a call back from the youth group who rents the flamingos. So I searched and searched, but no stores in Northern CO had any for sale (for a reasonable price anyway). So I changed my game plan and went to both Big Lots and The Dollar Tree to get flower stakes instead.

I bought as many flowers as Michelle is in years (you'll have to figure it out yourself since a woman never tells their age). I also searched and searched for a garden gnome or something of that sort for under $20 but I couldn't find one. They are so dang expensive! So my brilliant husband was generous enough to offer me one of his hunting goose decoys to desecrate...I mean decorate. I even got pics of him getting the goose ready for the party (don't tell his friends)!











































After making the posters, getting the goose dressed, and loading everything into the car, I headed down to Amber's to pick her up. We also grabbed Sarah on our way over to Michelle's and finally got there close to midnight. Brooke & Renee weren't able to join us because they were both out of town.

We knocked out the yard in less than 20 minutes and I think it turned out pretty great! We also decorated the driveway with sidewalk chalk.







































The pink sign says "Happy Birthday Princess"!

















Michelle was leaving at 6 am the next morning to take Hannah to a volleyball tournament. Derek got outside first and started yelling for Michelle to get out there. She was thrilled and surprised and said it made her laugh!



I wanted to get better pictures in day light, so I went over there the next afternoon and while I was taking video, they came outside to leave for dinner.

Corbin's Choir Concert

Corbin's choir concert was last Thursday night. We got there a little later than we planned and it was standing room only. We ended up in the back corner, so it was difficult to get good pictures. It was also pretty dark in the PAC (Performing Arts Center) so these pictures are not of the greatest quality.

Of course we took all of the kids with us, which they were thrilled about...














This is Corbin, and his buddy Alec, before the show.














Walking into the PAC. Looking good, buddy!

















He looked so handsome in his 3 piece suit and he did a very good job performing. We weren't surprised to see that he was placed front and center!

They started the night singing some songs that they tapped the red sticks to.














They sang all sorts of songs but the few I got on video are the tail end of Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes and the beginning of Where is Thumbkin.

Look at what a little paint can do!

So we got this great house exactly where we wanted to be, which is why you haven't heard from me in a month. I've been busy moving! It has 5 bedrooms, is at the end of a cul-de-sac and is right next door to the clubhouse, which has a pool, playground, basketball courts, and tennis courts. So far, we LOVE it! The floor plan is very close to the floor plan of our old house in Loveland. It's spaced out really well. The backyard has a huge, gorgeous patio too!

We are living together with my sister and her 5 kids, so we got to move 2 families in! Yes, it will be an adventure! Anyhow, the problem with this house is that the colors were....well, let's just say, it was pretty much sensory overload when you walked in the front door.

Luckily, I have a hubby and in-laws that are no strangers to painting, so I could see past the color smorgasbord. Here are just the main floor "before" pics. I neglected to take pics of anything else we painted, but just use your imagination and then twist that with colors that should never go together and you'll get the idea!
Yes, that is gold combo'd with purply-pink. Don't ask why, I have absolutely no idea!

Here are the after pictures of the same walls. We also painted the Florida (patio) room, which was orange, stripped "garden mural" wallpaper in the master (it was as hideous as it sounds), painted a baby blue room and stripped the wallpaper in there too, and some other touch up places around the house. Ugh...it was a busy weekend. Thank you so much to Jay & Cheryl and Kristen's friend Brad for all their help!We didn't have the time or energy to strip the paper on the main floor, but I still have plans to do that...probably in 6 months or so.

Keep in mind that we just moved in 2 weeks ago, so yes, my house is still in shambles...no judgement about my cleaning (or lack thereof). You're just supposed to be looking at the paint!

Hair Cut

I got a hair cut. Not just any hair cut, a much shorter hair cut. I like it. Luckily, if I tire of it, my hair grows so fast, it won't take long to get back to "normal". I've also kept it at my natural color, which is a first for the last 10 years! I'll probably go more blond in the spring, but for now, I'm keeping it dark. Anyhow, here is "The Cut". It didn't turn out anything like I expected (my hair rarely behaves as it is asked to), but I think Courtnee did a fab-o job! If you are in the market for a hair cut or color or whatever, give Courtnee a call!