The Past Few Weeks

We've had a bit of Spring and winter all rolled into the past few weeks.

Grace went bike riding while Anne and James splashed around.

I love having James!  He wanted to go sledding, but realized that mud wasn't good for sledding so he opted to go boating in the neighbor's large puddle.

  Edwin read the girls Treasure Island for bed time for the month of January. Then Grace attended a Pirate Birthday party at the Children's Museum.  She came home with an eye-patch and hat which were worn every night during bedtime stories with dad.  The girls then watch Treasure Planet with the neighbors and before I knew it I was making Pirate skirts one Sunday afternoon.

We built Pirate Cove when the snow and cold returned.  James found his pirate costume and joined in with the adventures and fun.

I finished all 90 blocks....none are the same.  Now I'm working on the sashing and I hope to have the quilt top finished before baby arrives.

Like I said before the weather is crazy and we had snow again.  Anne and James and I had a snowball fight while Edwin and Grace made bread for dinner. 

We also made a little snowman.

For Valentine's Day this year we had heart shaped pancakes for breakfast.  Heart jelly sandwiches for lunch.

And we enjoyed a lovely bouquet of flowers.

The Lilies bloomed later in the week and we have been happy with the colors and lovely things Heavenly Father makes.

James learned how to make a towel look like a dead chicken.

Anne is back to wearing Super Power hats.

James has taken up jamming on the guitar.

And when things got crazy with the neighbors the other night we turned everyone into pigs.

Tape doesn't stick well on a running nose...but sick or not, James was not going to be left out of the fun and off the camera.

Pictures and Stuff

My parents came to visit for a week after Christmas.  This is one of the few pictures we actually took.

We spent two days in Nauvoo, and we enjoyed sleeping in a log cabin with lots of beds and bunkbeds.

Most of the time at home was spent watching movies while Grandma and I sewed 360 flying geese blocks for Grace's quilt (more about that project in a few months).

We battled the stomach flu the whole vacation which is typical for our Christmas.  However, we did make it to a few parks, looked at a few quirky places in Iowa and mostly played at home.

Grandma and Grandpa left early in the morning and we woke the girls up to say good-bye.

Grace received a crystal growing kit for Christmas so here she is with her dad and Anne concocting science experiments.

This year we decided to "work for family dates".  The girls help with more chores around the house.  Instead of earning treats and toys we put our money in Family Date Jar and once a month we go on a family date.

 

We decided to go miniture golfing for our January Family Date.

Edwin also took us on a geo-caching trip through the bird reservation and we hiked through the trees on off-beaten trails to find this little treasure.

It's hard to tell it's winter around here some days.  James, Edwin and our neighbor, Dave took the remote control cars out for a drive one afternoon.

Grace was thrilled the snow finally arrived.  We have a small hill in the front yard she sleds down every day after school.

Occassionally Anne joins in the outdoor fun too.

I made too many gingerbread cookies this year.  So whenever we have friends over for a playdate....we decorate cookies.

Someone once asked me why I don't decorate....well...most of my decoations get incorporated into children's attire or games.  Decorating will just have to wait a few year.

One of Grace's classmates has spent the majority of her Kindergarten year in the hospital fighting Lukemia. 

Grace asked me to make some hats.  Thanks to a dear sister in our ward I was given a pattern and whipped these up in no time at all.

Since the snow wasn't conducive to making snowmen, Grace and I sculpted a turtle and she went outside the sprayed the turtle green.

This week Grace sewed together her very first project. Grace sat at the sewing machine by herself and with little supervision was able to stitch together the sideseams.  This pillowcase is a gift she's giving to her best friend as a birthday present.  She sure felt grown up sewing by herself and completing a project.

It's nice to gain independance.

Florida Winter

James and Anne love to watch the city workers busy in our neighborhood.

Several times in the fall they come and vacuum up the leaves so I don't have to bag them....just rake 'em to the curb and the city will vacuum 'em, mulch 'em, and send 'em to the compost. 

This is by far my favorite city service.

Because the kids are waving and treat the men like celebraties they do an excellent job cleaning my curbs and keeping things nice and tidy.

We had a brief snowfall in December, it lasted a few days before the 50 and 60 degree weather arrived.  Anne was excited to find tracks in the snow.

 

All those snow clothes made me realize how small my little girl really is.

Kindergarten is a wonderful time.

The snow came last week, but I doubt it will linger too long with the rapidly rising temps.  We've been at the park tons this winter.  Crazy weather we're having.

Where are the Christmas Cards?

Once again I have neglected to send Christmas cards.  That was not my intention last year when I purchased hundreds of cards I was planning to send, but alas I have failed. 

You will not be getting a card from us this year....but then again I'm four weeks late posting pictures on the blog.  So, this is what you get for now....old pictures on the blog.

Enjoy!

Grace turned six years old.  She's all girl.  Jewelry, belts, boots, accessories, nail polish and stick on ear rings are a few of her simple delights.  She loved her sleeping bag and we enjoy family campouts in the living room on the occassional Friday night now that everyone has their own bag.

For Thanksgiving we drove to Colorado (a 13 hour drive) for the weekend.  Anne enjoyed snuggling the baby.

James occassionally played nicely with the his cousins.  Katelyn was mildly terrified of him by the end of our trip.

Edwin and his brothers, Daniel and Ben, took the kids geo-caching.  They found lots of loot.

One of the treasures we brought home was a Startrek ship.  We drove to Riverside, IA (which is officially declared the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk) and buried the treasure in another geo-cache nearby.  What an adventure. 

So now it's a week away from Christmas and we are busy preparing for the festivities and the arrival of our family.  You probably won't hear from us for a while.

Have a Merry Christmas! 



Curlers

We finally found some sponge rollers and we all think they are fabulous. 

James likes to curl his hair too. 

 He's having such a difficult time being a boy in this house full of girls.

Missing

Look What Grace is Missing

It's been about 8 weeks of "loose tooth" syndrome at our house.

Today was the final day.  It's Grace's first tooth and we are excited to try to catch the toothfairy tonight while she is sleeping!

Ah, the joys of childhood!

Grace- My Quiet Delight

Some things in life are just beyond words.  Watching my baby girl grow is one of them.

She's always been a bit shy.  However, I've noticed lately when the camera comes out so does her inner diva.  Some days I wonder if I'm going to survive her adolence because I'm getting a run for my money and she's only five.  With that said, I must confess that she is the fashion police for modesty.  It is a lovely quality to have when we are shopping for clothes and she says, "No, I like this dress, but it shows my arms here and that's not modest."  Grace loves rules, guidelines, and stability.  It's a glorious time in life.

This summer was about overcoming challenges.  Grace proceeded to tell all the kids she could ride a two wheel bike.  So like any good parents, we had  her prove it.  We took the training wheels off, tossed them in the trash can and had her ride alone.  This was a bit more difficult than Grace initially thought. She pleaded to have her training wheels back on, but we refused. After marginal success in the park, and many hours of patient persistance she learned to ride all alone.

We went on our first official date out.  The kids and I went to a dinner and paino concert sponsered by Grace's teacher, Grethe and Louis.  It was a spectacular evening.

Piano lessons are met with a frustrating pull between quitting because it's harder than anticipated and fighting through to achieve.  So far Grace has proven to be a person with goals and is willing to work until she accomplishes them great success. After two years of piano lessons she wants to begin violin lessons.  We will see where that takes us when two years comes along.

As parents it difficult to release control and allow our children to make their own choices.  Grace absolutely wanted to cut her hair chin length.  She would look adorable, I know.  But for a girl who likes to tuck her hair behind her ears and wear ponytails we weren't willing to let her go that drastically short yet.  Our hairdresser and neighbor did the honors and chopped the old hair off for school.

Nothing made her feel like a school kid more than a haircut by a "real haircutter".  Anne can't wait until she gets to go to kindergarten and cut her hair off too.  Thankfully we compromised at the shoulders because Grace is ready to grow her hair out again.  This length has helped Grace learn how to take care of her own hair, wash it, rinse it, comb it.  This was another great feat in our summer of surprises.

The first day of school.

Waiting for mom at the end of the day.

I was glad to see she enjoyed school.  There were no tears for anyone which was great.  And best of all, SHE LOVES TO COME HOME!!! 

We love having Grace come home....it is one of the great joys in our day.