Thanks Grandpa!

Grandpa, Thanks for the $5! It has brought much happiness. Check out my cool new Lightning McQueen shades! I still can't quite figure out how to get them on right.
Yo Grandpa- Thanks for the cool Tinkerbell shades. I'll sale you some shoes anytime, but only if you sleep with them like I do with my new sunglasses.
These are our serious shots.
I had to do a serious shot too because Colton wouldn't cooperate.
Check ya later.

Nice Enough to Play Outside

Oh how we have missed the playground!
I have not missed the sand, but Lydia has.
The bike! Wow was he ever glad to be back in that seat! (Lydia is trying to teach him how to pedal- rather than just scoot.)
I love being outside! This photo captures the true Lydia. What you see here is what you get.

Championships!

Mike is playing in the championships for his league in intramural basketball. He did well tonight and his team will move onto the next round!
He made this basket! Whoo Hoo!

Fun day at the Museum

Can I just say it is AWESOME living an hour away from the biggest children's museum in the world? This was our family fun day for February. Where else can you see two dinosaurs peeking into a building?
Where can you go fishing without a permit?
Where can you work at an animal rescue center without a license?

Where can you chase trains that run along the ceiling over and over and over?
Where can you dig for dinosaurs?
Where can you ride a carousal?
Where can you meet Dora?
And wave hello with Diego.
And when else will Mom let you sit in the front seat and drive?
Only at the Children's Museum!
Whew! It was a fun and tiring day!

Frosty is dead

For those of you who voted in our poll about Frosty's death, I relate the sad news that Frosty is no more. He could not stand the 40 degree weather. (Literally) Though we are sad for the loss of Frosty, BRING ON THE SUNSHINE!

Arrgghh Matey

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A pirates life for me! With the new year, I want to do a Family Fun Day once every month. For January, we went to Buckaneer Bay- a splash park attached to a local hotel. As you can see, there is a pirate theme. Water slides, tunnels, cannons that shoot water, treasure chests that dump water, and even alligators that shoot even more water. If you like water or pirates, this is your place. We happen to like both, so we had a grand time.
Colton was cold for the first half of our visit, but by the end he thought the water slide was fun.
Lydia went down the pirate ship slides tirelessly, but there was one slide that wrapped around the outside of the building that you had to be 48" tall for. Lydia was excited because she was 'almost tall enough' ha ha. I don't think she is going to grow quite as fast as she thinks. Mike and I enjoyed the big slide though. The best part was the big splash Mike made at the end. Very cool to a 4 and 2-year-old.
The hot tub wasn't left out. It was Colton's base camp for quite awhile.

It was a great family fun day. The water was shallow enough for the kids to touch throughout the pool, so we didn't worry about them too much, which was nice. Can't wait to do this again next year.

Oh what do you do in the wintertime . . .

Oh what do you do in the wintertime
When all the world is cold?
Do you play in the snow?
Or suffer from boredom untold?

The Midwest got hit by a large snowstorm last week. We didn't go out much- and it wasn't always an option either. But we did try to fight our boredom. Here are some things we have done recently. Maybe it will give you some ideas so you can fight cabin fever as well!
We have run the humidifier and used up a lot of tissues. Who doesn't do this during the winter?
We play dress up. (He asked to put the dress on and secretly I was excited just so I could have this photo hanging over his head for the rest of his life!)
It was warm enough to go outside.
We love swinging.
The kids love books.
I love books. Thank goodness for public libraries!
Mike loves sleeping.
Who doesn't have laundry?
And the dishes never end, even if school is closed.
This is Frosty- Lydia's pride and joy. He's actually been around for several weeks and is frozen solid. Any guesses on how much longer his life span is?
Movies!


We have been doing many crafts. Colton's parking garage made from a cereal box and 4 toilet paper tubes.
Balloons really are a marvelous invention!
A chick in a nest. Made from an egg carton.
A Dragon for Chinese New Year. Made from the rest of the egg carton.
Finger paint and any other kind of painting.
A heart valentine. This is string dipped into a cornstarch glue and molded into a heart shaped cookie cutter. This was a very messy craft and we will never do it again! yuck!
A hooded towel for a friend's baby shower. It was nice to do a little sewing one afternoon, but of all our crafts and activities, this one wore on my patience the most. ALL of the settings on my sewing machine were changed throughout the course of this project. It worked out well though because Lydia changed my stitch and I actually liked on the one she selected better than the one I had been using.
When there is nothing else to do- make treats! Not only is it entertaining for the kids, the tasty results are enjoyed for several days!