"Winter"/ Early Spring 2012

"Winter" is in quotation marks as this has been the mildest winter we have ever had in Oklahoma. Only one small snowfall and the temps have been pretty warm, considering what we're used to. We made the most of it and spent as much time outdoors as possible!!

Here is a glimpse of our Jan- March Jankowski experiences:

We spent Matt's 35th birthday Jan 7, 2012 in Spring Branch, TX at Grammy & Grandpa's. Enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon watching Matt paddle a new-to-him solo canoe on the San Marcos river. George and Abigail loved getting to see their Daddy go down the rapids up close!


Snack time!
Look at that form!

Future paddler?

On the morning of his 35th birthday, Matt ran a 25K Trail Run in Bandera, TX. "Harder than any marathon I've done" he said. We awaited his arrival home and had a little surprise for him!!

WAR!!!!!
I'm defeated!!!

With Grammy & Grandpa

Fam photo...

What a huge accomplishment! We are so blessed that Matthew has given himself and us the birthday present of dedication to this health and wellness for his 35th year and beyond!

Looking forward to Matt's favorite chocolate sheet cake recipe!

Thunder UP!!


We put our backyard fire pit to use this winter and experimented with LOTS of different kinds of marshmallows! Mint Chocolate is still our favorite! Yum!

Grammy & Grandpa were in Oklahoma house hunting and we took advantage of a sunny day to hike at Lake Thunderbird.

King & Queen of the Hill!

And we HAD to introduce them to our beloved s'mores!


Happy 76th birthday Pop (Jan 2012)! A rice neck pillow and Ensure for you! Ha!!


Mother/ Daughter PJ Party at McFarlin MUMC, March 2012:

Abigail loves Miss Hannah!

All made up with Reese..

Ms. Amanda and Ms. Stephanie help Ashlyn and Abigail with their handprints.

Decorating cookies with Grammy.

Painting Nana's nails....Nana is brave! ;)

Watching a Veggie Tales movie about being beautiful with what God gives us...sharing popcorn with Ashlyn.

Celebrating Bill & Debbie's move to Oklahoma in Feb/March with a winter's hike at Elk Mountain in the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge.

Grandpa, Pop, Matt, George, Abigail, & Carrie

Borrowing a little shade for snacktime...


Cresting the summit!!

Posing with Pop!

Abs & Daddy

What a sight!



Uncle Robert, Aunt Nee Nee, and Rebagrace came down for a visit in mid-March! We loved having them here and it seemed as no time had passed since we were all together last. Love our Leekowski visits!!

Having fun at the park with Grandpa Bill!

Robert's brother Michael and his kids Mason and Kara drove to OK for a quick visit with the Lees.

What a busy winter!! Loved every minute of it! Watch for more pics to come!

Stories that I don't want to forget...

~ Driving around town are some of our best conversations. We were picking up Girl Scout cookies from a friend's house and they wanted to learn about girl/boy scouts. When I explained that our friend Reese was a "Daisy" girl scout, Abigail said that it reminded her of Daisy Duck. Then she asked, "What are the boy scouts called, Goofies?"

~ Again, driving around town, Abs asked what God's last name was and George answered "Holy Spirit". Ha!

~Saying goodbye to our beloved neighbor and G&A's adoptive grandparent Mark Lambert has been gut-wrenching. If I ever wondered if the kiddos understand death, I think these two illustrations sum it up.

After we told Abigail that Pa Mark was dying in the hospital, she quietly sobbed in a way I have only seen a few times. After the tears slowed, she said so sweetly, "Mama, what is Nana Millie going to do? She will be so lonely." Ugh.

George shows his feelings differently than his sister. He made a card for me to take to Mark in the hospital and when I questioned his choice to glue two strips of paper to either side of the card, he replied "those are the wings for the card; it's a flying card that will go to Heaven with Pa Mark." Wow.

Later, he wanted to talk about Pa Mark and expressed his sadness. He asked if we could put flowers on his grave to say goodbye (our family did this nearly a year ago when we buried Oma). Before, I had hesitation of taking them to the funeral, but this clearly shows that attending will help him to have closure with his Pa Mark.

To end with a funny story...
~ Me to Abigail as she chooses her clothes for the day, already dressed in her dance costume: "I'm thinking you need to put on..."(pause for contemplation of something to cover her legs)
Abigail: "High heels?"
Oie.

Going backwards into Fall...

Glimpses of this past fall activities...couldn't let the memories slip away unrecognized...they were too fun!

Love our little Cleveland County Fair.

Petting Zoo, George holding a baby chick.
Abs with a sweet baby bunny.
George with the much handled bunny.

They still love fire trucks!
Miss Dare-devil...front row, no hands!

Mr. Brave rode this all by himself, go George!!
Nascar "Don Deere" Tractors!


Making homemade pizzas and sporting their cool new aprons...thanks Aunt Nay Nay!

Both George & Abigail played soccer this Fall on the YMCA Blue Jays team. George loved having his sissy on the team and Abigail...well, let's just say that she played so she could eat team snacks!

Time out Hugs with favorite twin friends Asher & Cache.
George steals the ball!
This was Abigail's preferred spot during soccer games!
But she rallied and got in the middle of the mix!
This is hilarious as she would sometimes only play if she could be Coach Matt's "helper." She liked being in a position of "power." Boy, are we in trouble! ha!
Scrambling with friend/teammate Jake Chapman.
We had the longest drought and hottest Summer on Oklahoma records. So when this wet stuff fell from the sky, George was super excited to put on his new rainboots and use his Spiderman birthday umbrella! It was barely a trickle...we had to search for puddles to jump in.
TEXAS/ OU weekend!!! Grammy & Grandpa came up to watch the game with us! Definitely a house divided....

George & Abigail went on their first field trip with their preschool to McFarlin's Pumpkin Patch and had snacks and story time. They got to pick a pumpkin and paint it back at preschool. What fun with their Pumpkin Shell friends!


Last soccer game of the Fall season. George gave Coach Matt a high-five after scoring his first goal!! Yay George!

Dancing a little jig mid-field.

Our cheering section...sweet friends Travis, Suzanne, Campbell & Hudson Brown, Daddy, Casey & Leah Wall- Pollan, and Nana and Pop.
Lovin' on her Pop.
Nana came out shortly after her shoulder surgery to root for her two favorite soccer players.
Lining up for congratulating the other team.
Sideline wrestling with A&C.
Proud Abigail to receive her medal.
And Happy Mr. George to receive his medal.
YMCA Blue Jays Fall 2011.

George & Abs had a blast at their buddy Hudson's 4th bday party. I caught these two off sneaking a peek at the birthday loot!
Riding Rowdy! They loved the horses.
One of our favorite things to do in the fall is go to TG Farms. They have cool slides & hay rolls to climb on, a petting zoo, hayride, & pumpkin patch. And Abigail had to wear her Halloween socks.
The Pollans came with us, and the kids loved feeding the animals.

Yes, George has a thing for tractors.
"Mommy, it's Snoofy!"

More fall pics to come later....