Baking with Hunter

A bit overdue, but I found these pictures of Hunter and me making sugar cookies.

 He really is a big help in the baking department and really enjoys it. 

 Who wouldn't like being the taste tester and dough roller?

 These cookies were for Mark's work and the boys enjoyed delivering them around the office. 

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

4 cute boys in a tub.

 This bath time was performed assembly-line style. They were happy but there wasn't much wiggle room!

Saturday in Girdwood

 We spent a Saturday going to Girdwood to X-country ski the trails. The drive was beautiful and sunny but the trails were shady and  icy! We had a nice time anyways. 

 Bennett spent most of the time being pulled by dad. 

 Hunter got out as much as possible to ski. It was a lot more uphill than we expected and the downhills were extremely icy, therefore Mark spent a lot of time pulling 100+ lbs up and down the trail. Good thing he's amazing at that!

It was a nice way to spend time as a family. We ran errands all the way home and filled the van to the brim, Family Saturday mission accomplished. 

Future Olympian?

This was on clearance at Target recently and this is the photo we snapped to ask Dad if it was a good idea.

Dad said yes and we now have a snowboard bum on our hands.

Thankfully he only had about 6 balls left in his ball jar to be able to actually ride it and not just stare at it and pet  it :) 

You can bet he was extra anxious to help out around here!

Pretzel Factory

A few months ago I bought a Groupon for a trip to Auntie Anne's Pretzels. I was not sure of what it would include but was excited none the less. We invited a few friends to go along and join us since the Groupon said a group of 10. 

It started with the "History of the Pretzel" along with colorful pictures. The kids were all very interested in participating in the story by holding up their card. Then they reviewed each of the jobs at the store. 

Followed by some pretzel samples, a big hit!

Then we had this huge bowl of dough to practice with. It was so beautiful I got sad to see it all wasted, but it was sure fun. 

Roll into a long snake, make a smiley face, twist 2x, and push the feet in. 

Some turned out better than others :)

Then it was time to try it out for real. 

Step 1: wash your hands and put on gloves

Step 2: Construct your Pretzel

Step 3: Choose Cinnamon & sugar or Salty and Bake

Step 4: Enjoy your awesome creation fresh out of the oven. 

I would do this again in a heartbeat!

 It also included an at-home kit for making a batch of pretzels. We did this for FHE the following week. The story of the first pretzel dates back to a priest who would make pretzels that looked like folded arms to reward children for their prayers. Easy application to saying our prayers. I was so impressed as Hunter taught Mark exactly how to make a pretzel like they taught us. Success!

Distraction

Some days when I need the boys out from under my feet I will give Hunter and Bennett a task with the promise of taking pictures of it when they are done. This was the boys creation one day recently. 

Hunter told me what each part was and how he constructed it. 

Bennett didn't want to be left out.

Despite being so darn cute Bennett typically equals disaster for anything that Hunter builds. 

This is how Hunter feels about Bennett tearing down half of his creation in one fail swoop. 

And this is how Bennett feels about it! Oh the life of a little brother. 

Some Friends to Sleep With

Bennett has a daily routine. When I go to put him down for a nap he wants a few extra friends to come along. 

In addition to his monkey, bear, cow, and Snoopy dog he grabs Hunter's Charlie Brown, Woodstock, and Light in the Night.  As if the former in not enough. 

He cuddles in surrounded by all the friends, and his binky, and doesn't move. After nap time he rips of the binky and throws it into bed and  returns the friends to Hunter's bed before he leaves the room. He has never once asked for these extra  friends to sleep with him at night because he knows they are for Hunter. Silly boy!