WINTER COLD

It has been bitter cold here the last few weeks.  

In the single digits and with the wind chill feeling like -20's.

We are told that school is NEVER cancelled in Erie.... 

We have had two snow days and multiple 2 hour delays.  

We have spent plenty of time snuggling on the couch having "movie nights" at all hours of the day.  Monsters University and Despicable Me 2 are definitely favorites right now.  I love to hear these two laugh.  We have read stories, played legos, baked cookies, played playmobils and army men.  Colored pictures for friends.  Written stories and painted pictures to go with it.  We have had playgroups and playdates and anything else we can think of where we get together with friends.  We have organized all of the toys in the house and spent a lot of time un-organizing them again!  Thomas got a stomach bug and the common cold has made a few appearances.  Daniel has continued to wake up and make it to work.  Most days before the rest of us make it out of bed.  He is braving the cold as we speak on a winter campout with the young men in our area.  Talk about die hard! 

Here are a few other things we have been doing to keep these boys happy during these cold winter days.  

Within a short amount of time all of us have had at least one pair of pants get a hold in the knees.
Some of us have had it happen to multiple pairs of pants.
It must be all of that sliding down the grocery store aisles that did them in!
Because the pants still fit and I wasn't about to replace pants for everyone at the exact same time we decided to fix them up and make monster pants.
WE LOVE THEM.

 We love going to the BAYHAWKS games and even went to the Burger King Classic.  I am pretty sure the boys like the snacks they con their dad into getting more than the actual games, and watching the break dancers and clutch bounce in his blowup suit might tie for second.

 Seriously is there anything cuter than warm pajama snuggles, sleepy eyes, food on the face and a best buddy to play pbskids on the computer with.  These two think not.

Even with the frigid temps we have bundled up a few times and climbed mountains of heaping snow, made angelic snow angels and found deer tracks on our winter explorations.  We even try to use the cold temps to our benefit and make colorful ice globes.  This is something that we have loved doing year after year and when the sun finally shines it makes the colors so vibrant and fun.  A cheerful addition to a snowy and cold day.

What better way to get our energy out than to 'bucking bronco" on the hippity hops.  All the professionals trains this way!  They are very serious about this cowboy thing, can you see it in their eyes?

EMOTIONS

While our computer was out of commission our pictures were tucked away on a hard drive.  On the top shelf of our closet.  That meant a lot of the evidence of our memories,  all of our marriage and the boys lives, was tucked away on a hard drive.  On the top shelf of our closet.

We were so excited to take those memories down off of the shelf and dust them off.  We have spent hours as a family sitting around the computer watching video after video of little Thomas saying "infinity and bleeee-ond" and Lewis dancing and trying so very hard to do somersaults.  We laughed when Lewis would tackle Thomas and we smiled when Thomas would rub Lew's baby belly like a good big brother.  

With those dusted off memories so many emotions came back.  
GOOD and OVERWHELMING.

Good emotions.  I love being a mom.  I love being a mom to my two sweet boys.  They are hilarious.  We have a lot of funny memories together.  I love chubby baby hands and chubby baby bottoms.  White onsies are the best on babies.  Life was simple and Joyful.  How did my babies grow so fast?  Man we are lucky to have this kind of love in our lives.  

Overwhelming emotions.  Those were long days with nothing to break it up.  I worked really hard at enjoying the present. How did we do it sometimes.  I miss my babies.   When did my babies grow up?  How did the time go so fast?  Did I do enough?  Overwhelming.  

As I lay in bed thinking of all of the emotions.  Processing through the good and the overwhelming and trying to figure out how I can have both emotions at the same time?

I don't have the answers.  I am still trying to process it all.  But, the one conclusion I have come to is this.  Life is hard but LOVE makes it worth it.  Even when times seemed so overwhelming and tough I look back and MISS those days because of the sweet men I had to love.  Who I am lucky enough to still love.

Today....I am trying to not miss my babies from the past. (those curls and that belly get me every time)  BUT instead I am really truly loving and enjoying them now. (those cowboy hats and muscles kill me!) Who knows in a few years I will probably look back on these years and have all of the same feelings I do now.  

A BIG DAY

Dear Lewis.
Today you grew up and went to preschool for the first time.
WHAT?  I can't believe that you are old enough to do that.
You have been asking daily for four months when you get to go.
This morning when I said it was time, you said "No, not today mom.  I will go tomorrow."
You got a new hair cut for the big day.
You wore your special Christmas clothes.
We brushed your teeth and "made" your hair so it was slick.
You were extra excited about using your backpack.  We had to empty out some of the random toys that you like to carry around in it.  A truck.  A guy.  Your mail.  A book.  A stuffed animal pig.
We took a few pictures to document the day.  You think it is really funny to move right when I take the picture.  They are mostly blurry.
You gave brother a big hug and told him that you would miss him.
You were very timid and quiet when we first walked into the classroom.  You wouldn't let go of my hand and ducked your head anytime that someone talked to you.
We found your cubby.
We found a toy ball maze. (the same one you would play with last year when we would pick up brother)
You found some friends and a teachers hand that you could hold and you forgot about momma.
I watched you do a sink/float activity.  When they asked everyone to raise their hands you would raise both every single time.  So sweet.
I whispered in your ear that I needed to leave and would be right back to get you.  You said "ok, momma."  Then turned back to your activity without a second thought.

I am so proud of you.
I am excited for you to have something that is all your own.

The first thing you told me when I picked you up, was that you had donuts, M & M's, and a small thing for dinner.  I think they won your heart!  I hope that other snack times don't disappoint.
I am glad day one was a success.
I love you more everyday my three year old preschool boy!
xox- Momma

All things NEW

I have been sitting here for an hour reading old blogposts, eating guacamole with blue corn chips and trying to figure out how to get in the groove again.

It has been over a year since I have written on this lovely little blog of mine.  

We had some computer problems and I have genuinely missed keeping this up to date.  

Daniel surprised me with a new computer for Christmas and has asked me everyday since if I have written on the blog.  

I guess I will take the hint.

No better time to start than the New Year right?

2013 was a great year in the Packer household

Lewis. Lew.  Lewie.-  Spent his days playing with trains and dressing up as a superhero.  He can sit for hours playing with his "guys" and making fighting sounds.  This kid has a great imagination.  Just ask him about his dreams and you will see!  He potty trained!  He is ridiculously determined.  He loves wearing shorts and a t-shirt.  It is a fight to get him into anything else.  He usually ends up wearing them under his normal clothes. He had his 3rd birthday bash, but he will tell you that he turned 5.  We had a party with friends at the park and cookies.  A favorite of his!  He is hilarious.  Loves to joke and make people laugh.  He is sweet as pie unless you get him mad and then he will let you know.  He likes to dance.  Loves playing basketball and going to Bayhawk games.  Got a bike and a scooter in the summer and is a wild man on both.  He took swimming lessons this summer and loves the water.  He has a sweet tooth.  He loved flying on the airplanes to visit his friends Ty and Brady in Idaho.  If he is ever missing he will be found on our bed with the iPad watching a show.  He is very adventurous and brave.  When sledding he wanted to go alone.  When at the swimming pool he wanted to go down the big slides alone.  Playing in the snow he wants to jump off the deck alone.  Lewis changed this year from our little toddler to a full grown little boy!  

Thomas.  T-man.-  Finished up his first year of preschool.  He loved his teachers Ms. Amy and Ms.  Kelsey and was sad to leave his friends behind.  He spends most of his time drawing, coloring, playing legos and dressing up like a superhero.  He can be found wrestling his dad and brother in his bedroom and doing "tricks" around the house.  He very rarely sits still.  He asks question after question and none of the answers we give him seem to be enough.  He loves riding his bike and scooter during the summer time.  He turned 5 and had a movie night party with his friends. He also took swimming lessons and became quite the swimmer.  He is a little more timid at first until he gets comfortable and then he becomes very brave and adventurous.  He started fishing this year.  He didn't have much luck catching any fish just his own leg.  He loves climbing trees and hiding in them even more.  He surprised all of us by riding his first sheep at the Jackson Hole Rodeo this summer. Thanks Uncle Nick.  He fell in love with the break dancers at the Bayhawks games and came up with his own routine to perform at the ward talent show.  He did it flawlessly even with the stomach flu.  He is quite the helper around the house and has taken on many chores that he does all by himself.  He started Kindergarten and his teachers name is Mrs.  Becker.  He is very social at school and is one smart cookie.

Daniel.  Big Daddy.-  Has really loved his job and is really getting into the swing of things.  He has become quite the frequent flyer with his travels and enjoys all of the good food he gets to eat.  Not to mention he loves watching basketball in the hotel!   He is the boys number one fan and their number one role model.  They want to be just like him!  There is always a fight over who gets to sit by dad at the dinner table.  I often smell his cologne on the boys, see his watches on their wrists and Thomas has picked up the habit of tucking in his shirts, just so he can be like dad.  This year Daniel hiked table rock with his dad, brother and nephew.  He started running during his lunch breaks.  He is learning to love the snow and started to build a fort in the back yard with the boys.  He stays busy with work and scouting and wrestling the boys at home.  He does a great job keeping our cars cleaned on the weekends and makes mad chinese food for us every sunday after church.  He went to his first NFL game in Cleveland.  Go Browns.   He picked up many admirers when we caroled at the nursing home this Christmas while he serenaded us on his guitar and he stole the show at the ward talent show singing "I'm a believer."  Swoon worthy.

Sadie.  Momma.-  I stayed busy keeping up with all of the shenanigans of my 3 men.  I managed to break a washing machine and my dryer this year.  It must be the dirty clothes from all of the fun adventures we are having!  I started doing turbofire again and have enjoyed doing something for myself.  I ran my first 5k in 6 years and I finished under my goal time.  It was the snowflake 5k down on Presque Isle.  I have an exercise group with friends and love walking at Penn State during the summer time.  I was surprised by Daniel with my first massage on my birthday.  I love adventures and keep the boys busy all year round.  We took a weekend getaway to Pittsburgh in the spring and went to the Museum of Natural History.  The boys took me on a mothers day trip to see the church sites in Palmyra.  We visited the finger lakes and ate at a crepe cafe.  In the summer we loved going to the beach, the swimming pool and the park.  We loved going to the zoo this year and watching the monkeys for hours.  We took a trip to Idaho, Utah, Montana and Wyoming for 3 weeks and packed it full of everything fun.  It was the perfect trip full of love, food, family and great memories.  We came home exhausted in the best way possible.  I got all of us razor scooters for our birthdays.  Thats right.  ALL OF US.  I may have been having so much fun that I forgot how old I am getting and my knee still bares the scar.  It was a crazy year sending Thomas off to school and I can't believe how quiet our home is without him.  Actually I can believe it, I just don't like it.

We feel so blessed and happy to be sharing this life and these adventures with one another.  We have loved living in this beautiful part of the country and exploring so many fun things together.  We also realize that because we live so far away from so many family members and friends that they don't get to be a part of our lives and we don't love that.   We miss you all dearly and we hope that by starting this blog again that we can help stay connected with all of you that mean so much to us!