Play Dough Day

Sunday and Monday brought us a lot of blowing snow. It was crazy. The kids were super disappointed that they finally had enough snow to get a snow day....but since it was President's Day, they were off anyway. They are really getting ripped off this winter. Poor kids.



Anyway, we treated it just like a snow day anyway. We made play dough.



The kids played Iron Chef: Play Dough.









Jake came over too. I forgot to mention that earlier. We love Jake. He made lasagna roll ups. He loves them.



And Daniel HAD to wear Alyssa's toy necklace. HAD to. Now you're all going to see what I have to put up with sometimes. And by the way, this was not just to keep the necklace away from Alyssa...which is usually his motivation. He made an ice cream sundae, play dough style.



I made cupcakes for the kids. Aren't they cute? If you don't think so that is okay.




And I made some pretty fancy hot chocolate cups. Just for the record, I will never do this again. You would think that soft peppermint candy would be easily breakable. It's not. Now you know.

Winter Festival 2011

We used to call it the snow ball, but this year the kids called it White Out. Nicko and Stephanie went together and they were so cute.


Nicko learned that you do not wait for the girl to tell you to buy flowers...


...you wait for Mom to tell you to buy flowers. I think he missed the point. But in the end it all worked out.

Daniel

Daniel is getting ready for something special. He was asked to perform with the orchestra in a special performance. He played his tuba and performed Sinfonietta (Mod 1): Return of the Monarchs with one of the orchestras. It was a great honor to be asked and Daniel really enjoyed the experience.



He got to wear a tuxedo for the performance and it was all rather exciting.



I only have one complaint. This is what we saw of Daniel during the concert. I was not too excited about the photo opps that I missed.



Good job Daniel. Just next time could you please arrange to sit on the other side of the stage so we can see you while you are performing? Thank you. XOXO

Super Bowl XLV

Living in Michigan for a few decades never gave us the thrill of having our home team go to the Super Bowl. So this was such a fun and new experience for us. Being so close to Green Bay put us right in the heart of Packer Fever.

Joel, Daniel, and Nicko actually got to go to a game. Nicko and Joel were given tickets for the day after Christmas and Daniel got to go with our neighbor. Anyway, being at Lambeau field just added to the excitement for them.

Right after the Super Bowl win, people were beeping their horns as they drove by. There are fireworks going off across the lake. The local news is doing a 90 minute recap of local events, player interviews, plans for next year and just overall pride in the Packers win.

Here are a few pictures from our Super Bowl XLV party in the living room.

• Packer veggies.
  

• Mini Packer cupcakes.
  

• Morgan made a friend, Maggie. Don't they look cute?

December 2010

December was a busy month. Here are a few pictures to get you all caught up with us.

Just in time for the holidays, we got a new microwave. Who needs TV when you have a new kitchen appliance?



We decorated the house inside and out for Christmas.







I made this!



Alyssa's Christmas concert.



We made gingerbread angels and snowmen cookies to decorate a tree during a weekend blizzard. We made a huge mess in the kitchen.





We waited for the gingerbread to bake.



We decorated the snowmen and angels.





We waited for them to dry.




We hung them up and they smelled so good. They still smelled rich and spicy when we took the tree down.





We went to Wisconsin Dells for a weekend of water park fun and relaxation.


We hung out with our good friends and had lots of fun with them.



We played outside. This is Alyssa's six inch tall snow man. I think he is so adorable.



We had hot chocolate with our friends after playing outside with our friends.





We made and ate some of our favorite 'Holiday Only' foods.



Our traditional Christmas breakfast, creme brulee french toast.



We had a rocking awesome New Year's Eve party with good friends and even more food.



BTW - Hedbanz is a great group game to play. The kids got a huge kick out of the fact that I could not figure out that I was a parrot!



And finally we toasted to a happy and healthy New Year. Note the time on the clock. We toasted a bit early. Happy New Year!

Marching Band Concert 2010

Last week we had a blast at Daniel and Nicko's Marching Band Concert. It is our favorite band event of the year for sure. Daniel got a special introduction from his band director. Daniel has only been playing the tuba for six weeks and apparently doing a great job.





One of the things we love about this concert is the audience participation factor. We were told to jump up and yell HEY on the count of three. The kids loved it.




This concert is so fun, it puts everyone in a good mood...even teenagers! :-)