Week of FUN

This week there is no work allowed. No school days being marked off the calendar. It is the Week of FUN.  A.K.A. Trying to cram in as much summer fun as possible into five days because you've been home bound for the last five weeks waiting for a baby to be born.  Obviously we are also taking things easy but we are still getting out.

One last swim in the pool before it officially closes.

Lunch at the pool.

Ladybug got to enjoy one pool day on the outside.  She could barely contain her excitement as you can see.

While Lovebird has not shown a hint of jealousy she has been waking up in the middle of the night.  This was actually happening pre-baby too.  Thankfully it's not every night and after a few minutes of cuddles she will go back to bed easily.

Lovebird got to go on her first daddy date.  Technically you normally have to wait until you turn two but becoming a big sister is a reason to break that rule.

Beach Time

As you can see Ladybug was just as excited about her first beach trip as she was her first pool trip.

The kids found a great "hole" that someone else had dug.

I'm sure there will be many more pictures of this week to come!

Decking the Halls

"You need to put all the same color in the same group. See?!?!?!"

"I so got this."

"Daddy I don't think you are doing this right. Let me just get up there and I can show you the proper tree assembling techniques."

Pictures of the finished product coming soon!

Balloon Time

Super Bowl Fun

So we normally don't watch the Super Bowl and if we do it's only for the commercials. The only team we follow is Green Bay because if we don't my dad will not speak to us. Yes, my family is the REAL kind of packer fans. Not the kind of fans that only watch and wear green and yellow when the team is looking good but the kind who are die hards to the end. When I was little I used to get my dad and my grandpa going when I would say I liked the Lions merely for the fact they had pretty blue uniforms. So because Green Bay made it to the Super Bowl we would most definitely be watching. Despite the adults in the house not feeling well we still had a great time.

The kids were all decked out in their Packer gear. Cheeseheads included.

Is this not the cutest cheerleader ever? We were elated the Packers won and of course it was in usual Green Bay fashion of a nail biter to the end. They can't do it any other way. Those true Packer fans know exactly what I'm talking about. I almost let the kids have Monday off of school because the Packers winning the Super Bowl is equivalent to a National holiday in my family!

Pressing On

So one of my other goals for 2010 was to stay up with my blogging. I'm failing miserably. Instead I've been pouring all my energy into getting back in the Word, training up my kids, educating my kids, being a wife, and keeping a home. So I guess blogging should fall behind those things. That 90 day Bible Study I'm doing is teaching me a lot. Not because of my victories but because of my failures with it. OK so it will probably end up being more like a 6 month Bible study but I'm pressing on and I'm seeing some priorities that have to be put back in order. Well this last month has definitely not lacked fun times.

Here are the cupcakes that I made for Groundhogs day. They were a pain but the kids loved them so they were worth it. We had an indoor BBQ to help forget that winter was here for a little while longer.

Co-op is back in session and the kids and I are loving it as usual. Here is a picture of the first morning before we left. H was not quite sure as you can see but she has done amazing so far. It's amazing how much she changed in that two month break. She now looks forward to going to see friends.

We are all ready for spring. Winter naps are pretty good though.

So it's not much but it is a wee little pony tail. I think it's awfully cute!

So our family is not a winter family. We are a "lay on the beach every day, all day" kind of family. We've talked about taking up skiing so we could have a winter activity to look forward to. It sounds like fun......if it didn't involve cold and snow. The older kids are wanting to learn so I guess I'll have to suck it up one of these days. One Family Night we decided that we were going to shovel and do some sledding on our hill.

H was all set to go.

Exactly 10 minutes later she was back inside. I guess she didn't realize that shoveling and sledding involved cold and snow. She spent the rest of the evening watching out the front window with her snack. Did I mention it took me 15 minutes to get her all bundled up?

L wasn't completely sold on the idea either.

Some of us spent more time sledding than shoveling. In B's defense, he does shovel for me on his own quite often.

We made Valentine's for friends.

Who we spent an afternoon with. It was filled with laughter, playing, pizza, and sweet goodies.

Despite feeling so sick of winter I'm telling myself that this is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it......and have a little fun at the same time.

Family Night: Fiesta!!!

Finding things to do for winter Family Nights is always harder. L had been asking to do a pinata for a long time so that gave me the idea for a Fiesta Night.

We still have quite a few sombreros from a VBS a while back so the kids had fun getting in costume. We had enchiladas, bean salsa, and chips for dinner.

The new furniture hadn't arrived yet so we had a big, open spot in the family room. The kids took turns from littlest to oldest with the bat.

Of course daddy liked to make the toucan jump much more when B's turn came around. B still had some good hits though. Thankfully the treats inside came out just a few at a time which gave all the kids a chance to be successful.

H was very concerned about her new pet toucan and kept trying to feed it the treats that had fallen out. She is still by far my biggest animal lover!

Family Night: Farm Fun

I can't believe this family night happened over a month ago!!! It seems like it was just yesterday we were rushing around the house trying to make it to the farm before it closed. This was a very spontaneous trip. We usually always go to this farm instead of trick or treating. We don't celebrate Halloween but we wanted to find some kind of alternative that 1.)Really was an alternative, and 2.) Would be a ton of fun! This is definitely it! Unfortunately the forecast for the day of Halloween was rainy, cold, and rainy. The Tuesday before was absolutely gorgeous though. So after gymnastics we ran home and rushed around to get ready.

This was the new favorite! The big jumping pillow was a great addition to the farm and was most definitely a load of fun! While I was taking a pic of B above I can not stop laughing at L in the background. Unfortunately I didn't get her expression but I can imagine that big smile on her face as she was bounced up in the air by big brother.

Can you tell that L was having a great time?!?!

Then it was off to the hay and corn playground. B loves this part.

H on the other hand thought they were all crazy.

Here was H's favorite part. The barn!!! She loved petting the horsey and looking at the chickens and bunnies.

Here L is testing out her driving skills.

B enjoyed the pedal cars again this year. L tried so hard to ride one of these but her legs were just a tad to short. On her one lap around I think J had to run out and give her a push about five times. L was very frustrated that she couldn't ride again. Then it was back to the.........

JUMPING PILLOW!!! H couldn't climb up the side of it but she loved sitting on the edge while the other kids bounced her up and down. Well I think she would've if she had wanted to but it made her a little nervous.

Oh and if for any reason they stopped jumping she would let them know that it was unacceptable.

Instilling a Sense of Adventure

Oh I'm missing our weekly beach nights! It's always hard to find fun activities to do through the winter for Family Night. What can I say, we're beach bums all the way!!! So our last beach night was quite an adventure. We had heard of a beach where we could take Mosheh with us. It took us FOREVER to find it but it was worth it. We thought we found it only to climb up this STEEP sand dune and find woods on the other side. We were looking for the lake!

I wish I could have snapped a picture of J and Mosheh running down the dune. I was laughing too hard. Sand was flying everywhere.

We drove around a little more and we found it. Just to see a beautiful sunset. I think this was one of the prettiest Lake Michigan beaches I've seen.

Yes we have become those people who like to take their dog with them places. If he's with us he can't be getting on the couch at home. That's another post.

The waves were huge! We let the kids go in up to their ankles.

It was REALLY cold but that never stops the kids on beach day.

Mosheh worked on his tan.

I hope our kids are liking when we go on adventures. Any time we are lost or going to do something new we call it an "Adventure". I hope my kids will learn that God takes us on "Adventures" in life and how we respond to them is up to us. L is always up for an adventure(as long as she's rested). B loves our adventures too but he sometimes has reservations when it pushes him out of his comfort zone. He likes to feel in control. I have no idea where he gets that from!