Its about time for an update wouldn't you say...

First a funny story from Mason this week...

We were talking about Valentine's Day and how many Valentines 

we needed to buy for all the kids at school. 

Ellie said, "Oh and mom I want to get two Valentines for the tutors I have that help in my class."

 All of a sudden Mason said, "What?!" 

and seemed quite astonished at what Ellie had said.  

He then said, "What is a tutor mom?" 

I had Ellie explain what the tutors do in her class.  After Mason listened and soaked it in he seemed relieved.
 

He said, "Oh good.  I thought tutors were people who just tooted and tooted and tooted." 

Pretty funny - Such innocence! I was glad we could clear that up for a very confused little six year old!

 Little 100 year old man Mason
He just celebrated 100 days of school and dressed up like a little old man.
He really enjoyed wearing the fake glasses, and I enjoyed all the cuteness!

Here's some pictures from the last two months... 

 This was taken in our back yard right before Christmas

 We FINALLY got a dog! Lilly was looking for a home and since we've always told the kids

we would get a dog someday, we finally did it!

She's an outside dog (I wouldn't be able to do it any other way - I'm too much of a clean freak!)

I've always thought having a pet is a good way to teach kids about responsibility, chores, and respecting all life. 

 I'm happy to say that in our situation, I was totally right! 

Lilly has been a great addition to the family!

We had a great Christmas. We stayed home this year and didn't do any traveling.

Kinda nice actually. Grandma Bradshaw surprised us and we got to 

spend a little bit of one on one time with her, which we really enjoyed!

(I just wish I would have taken a picture!)

 

 About a week before Christmas my parents invited us and some of my other

family to an amazing dinner at their house.  We sure had a great time!

Christmas morning ... running up to see what Santa brought!

 

 Mason looking a little less than enthusiastic with his new book!

Ellie was happy for her books. We usually have one gift of books or a learning/science toy.

Good news is - its now February and the race track is still working!

Ellie got three pillows from Santa that she decorated herself with little pieces of material. 

She really had fun with it. She had two of them finished by the end of the day!

We had sooo much fun at the monthly scout activity in December. 

We arrived to find that Sis. Crystal (the Den leader) had made about 60 or more of these gingerbread houses.  

The kids got to decorate their own houses with candy and frosting!

I was AMAZED at her generosity and dedication to scouts!

It was a great experience and so much fun!

I loved having the kids home for a nice Christmas break. 

We tried to make the most of the Christmas holiday.

Sledding, movie nights at home, playing together with new toys,

sleeping in, playing in the snow and with Lilly. 

 Mason had an eventful Christmas break - he had his 3rd eye surgery and hopefully his last! (Tear duct laser surgery).  He also turned 6 which was a really fun celebration but also sad for me because my youngest is growing up WAY too fast!

 Note to self -- remember to clean kids faces before pictures. He has pizza all over his face and so do the other kids! 

We played pin the nose on the pumpkin!

 Sledding at Ucon pit (about 10 minutes from our house!)

 Mason is pretty much fearless when it comes to sledding! Even after a bloody nose, he didn't seem too worried about having fun and going down the hill!

Our winter wonderland backyard! I love the snow even though I'm starting to look

forward to spring!

Every cub scout lives for the Pine Wood Derby! 
Oscar definitely enjoyed the whole car making process and racing against his friends!

 He sanded and sanded and sanded.

 He picked out the design on google and wanted to put a Lego warrior inside. 
We added weight on the back to increase the speed!
Dad was a HUGE help of course in putting this all together. 
 

  Ta...da... he did really well this year and was in the top 5 overall!

  We've had some great times here at the Bradshaw house the 
past couple of months! We look forward to what the next few months bring!