Is It Spring Yet?

I am so ready for this:

How about you??

self portrait

you see the resemblence, right??

Bus Stop

Here in eastern Iowa, we just survived our first major storm of the season. My kids had been anxiously awaiting a dumping of snow that would provide them endless hours of outdoor fun. The storm started Tuesday afternoon and continued on through Wednesday, and the plows were even called off the roads because conditions were just so bad. 12+ inches of snow made for a LOT of roads to clear, and we didn't see a plow until 6pm Wed night. Our street was paralyzed and no one could escape ;) which made for a fun day of just hanging out at home, because we physically couldn't GET anywhere.

Fast forward to Thursday morning...a balmy -25 degrees (with windchill) and a 2 hour delay for the start of school meant the kids were ready to go attack those snow piles. Beacuse the bus stop is right outside my door, this is what I saw this morning:

Picture Hater

"Hey Drew. I'm gonna take some pics for the blog because grandma says she needs some new ones."

"Whatever."

Hair Cut

Military Man

My little guy is obsessed with all things military.

Veteran's Day started it off really. In school they talked about the freedoms that our soldiers have given us, and his teacher was passionate and proud to talk about the selfless act of serving.

Since then, there are almost daily questions to dad wondering what the military was like.

What are the guns like?

Where do you live when you are fighting in the war?

How do you know when the war starts?

How do you know who won?

And my favorite- do you get points when you shoot someone?

Not sure if this obsession will ever turn into a reality, especially since the last time he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up he said either a basketball player...or a mall cop.

Until then, he'll have fun playing *army* on his days off.

I was told this music stand makes the PERFECT machine gun

Cooking Girl

Maddi wanted a play kitchen for Christmas but since #1) She has already had one in the past, #2) I don't know where to put one, and #3) I just didn't really want to get her one, we decided to get her some cooking sets. They are for *real* cooking, baking, and decorating, but the utensils are kid sized and more user friendly. I knew that after opening this gift, she would want to bake right away, so I made sure we had a brownie mix on hand for just such an occasion. Here are the results:

Christmas 2010

Another beautiful Christmas was had this year...snow on Christmas Eve, a quaint but meaningful service at church, making mini pizzas for Christmas Eve dinner and then opening pj's, Christmas morning gift opening, Christmas dinner at my house with family (and I didn't even have to cook!), and then the day after Christmas spent with more family. It sure goes fast, but all the preparation and last minute craziness sure make it all worth it! Lars' shirt reads, "I am pretty much one of the best people I know." Seems fitting...
Boston Celtics warm-up

Even Dakota got a treat!
Drew and his PS3
Lars and his iPod Touch and Maddi and her new AG Doll.

*Snow*boarding

The initial thoughts my kids had when they heard the first snowfall of the season was supposed to bring 1-3" were all about snowboarding. They couldn't wait to wake up Saturday morning to a fresh heap of powder to bust through.

However, Saturday morning did not show up with much more than a trace of snow, as the storm stayed north.

*Sigh*

What to do? Be creative! Lars dutifully spent hours outside playing and devising a way to work the system all in the name of snowboarding. Doesn't sound like Lars, right? (insert dripping sarcasm here)

This morning before school, they were ready to get out and do some riding before the bus came, and you can see the fruits of his labor, as he loaded up boxes of snow and dumped them in a path for the snowboard to ride down.

Oh, and don't forget the ramps either...

Nutcracker

This year, Maddi got to take part in her dance studio's first ever production of the Nutcracker!

There were two shows, each about an hour long, with a silent auction in between.

Each show had the girls perform excerpts of the original ballet, and needed to be of small enough stature that it could be held at the dance studio. The owner of the studio put it on as a fundraiser for a place called *The Spot* in Iowa City, which is a place where high risk youth can come and hang out in a Christ centered atmosphere. It serves kids in grades K-12, most of whom are economically challenged. All proceeds went to buy Christmas gifts for these kids. It raised several thousand dollars which is amazing!

Maddi debuted as a mouse, and thoroughly enjoyed her role. Her favorite part was dragging the Mouse Queen off the stage at the end of the Battle Scene. Not sure if they are going to be doing this every year or not, but what a great way to start off the holiday season!

trying to show off the tail

Christmas Photos-Take 231

Ok, so I get that my kids (ok, boys) don't love having their photos taken, but don't you think they could cut me some slack for the Christmas card at least?

I had grand visions of a family photo this year, but the weekend I wanted to do it, Drew was not feeling well.

Moving on to option 2 had me just snapping photos of the kids myself and creating my online photo sans parents. Fine. No one wants to really see Jamie and I anyway, right?

And how hard could it be to convince my boys that for a mere 3 minutes they needed to wear a collared shirt and t.r.y. to act normal.

Apparently, I ask too much...

I Can See Clearly Now...

Well folks, it was just a matter of time.

I was in third grade, Jamie was in fourth.

Drew is in fifth.

And here he is...

and here is Drew's sophisticated look...

Happy *Belated* Halloween

OOPS! Forgot to post Halloween pics for this year...