Around the house in Dec

He wanted to get all dressed up in his kilt and play his bagpipes on the porch.

Cooking on the new propane stove again. We love this thing!

Emily beautiful apple pie. She's an artsy baker! The best kind.

Baking and decorating sugar cookies just because it's fun.

Her pretty flower.

Paw print Ben Ben.

So excited about her Tangled lego set. She may have gotten a few gifts around Benjamin's birthday too. Those grandma's and aunts love to spoil them all.

 

Benjamin turns 4!

This boy had a great birthday and loved all the presents people sent. This leaf blower may have been his favorite though! He fell asleep on the couch downstairs hugging it! He made a list and decided who needed to get him what. He wanted Carolyn to get him the leaf blower and for Nonna and Pop to get him the matching weed eater. He knows just how to get what he wants! And it's funny that he's such a boy with all his lawn equiptment!

One afternoon he and Emily went to the grocery store with me. We were on our way back when I spotted this beauty! Of course I had to turn around. The guy was so nice to let us take a tour of the Mystery Machine and of course Ben Ben thought it was the best thing ever! The guy even gave him some Scooby snacks!

He's officially 4!!! 

We had a Scooby-tastic birthday set up. It was another weird event in this weird year unfortunately. We would normally have had a big shigdig, but with the world's craziness and the fact that we moved it was just the 6 of us that partied this year. People mailed gifts and he didn't seem to mind that it was just us. He had a great day with all his favorites!

Blueberry muffins for breakfast!

Presents to open!

The Mystery Machine tent was a big hit!

Emily baked him a yummy cake!

He kept telling me that he loves birthdays! Me too buddy, me too!

Chicken and french fries for dinner!

Hard to believe he's really been here with us for 4 years now. He's a smart, cute little addition and we just love his fun personality. He loves all things Scooby-Doo, tractors, tools, camping, playing outside, snow, eating and apparently birthdays! Happy birthday Benjamin!

 

SNOW!

It's snowy and VERY cold outside. We are warm and cozy inside though! This furnace is amazing. This was first thing in the morning so the house stayed warm overnight. We don't get up in the middle of the night to add logs to the fire so this really is awesome to wake up to. The old house would have been freezing! Of course Perry started another fire and the house got a lot warmer for the rest of the day!

This time we got some real snow! There were anywhere from 4 to 6 inches in most places. To say they were excited was an understatement. Unfortunately they didn't realize just how cold it was out there. I think the high was only 25 that day and it sure felt like it. It was really pretty though!

It's getting warmer. Well inside it is!

They wanted to go out ASAP!

Inside break for some wine, movies, naps, popcorn and to warm up!

Back at it again! This girl is warm in her snow bibs. Plus they're super cute!

Ben Ben needs some snow bibs. This poor kid was soaked. He had to go back in for more layers.

Snow angel! This is what she's wanted to do with snow since we moved up here!

We improvised with a lid to a metal box Perry had for a sled. It kind of worked, well enough for the littles, but we're gonna need to get some real sleds some time soon! Especially if this is the normal kind of snow we're gonna get here.

The goats didn't seem to mind too much.