Fun Up North

We made our annual trip to MN earlier this month. Sean had a great 2 year old birthday party, celebrating with his cousins. I made a truck cake because he can not get enough of pointing out different type of trucks on the road. So after spending so many hours in the car on the way to MInnesota it was on my mind.

Memorable Memorial Day

A really fun trip to the smokies on Memorial Day. We shared a cabin with the Wideners and had a blast. Some of us did crazy, rigorous hikes while the rest of us took advantage of the awesome sales at the outlet mall. Everyone did go on a hike together the first Saturday morning and we all had a fun time at the pool. Sean, especially finally figured out that the pool could be a great place to play with a beach ball. We were sad to see the weekend end!


What a smile, Mira!


We must realize he is out numbered here. A big sister influence and a girl friend with a purse.



Insects are very interesting on a nature walk but so are snacks. We had a nice walk before the heat, before the rain the first morning we arrived. At the half way point was the Williams sister's (not Venus and Sereena) house and at the start and end was the historic school house where they attended and taught.

Croc Squad

Here are the kids sporting their new crocs. Ella's are courtesy of my friend Darrell who has grandchildren of the same age. We all celebrated with a croc squad party. Last year we had ice cream sundaes and stomped around outside in the mud. This year it was waaaaaay to hot for that so indoor scoops of ice cream were in order.

Trip to the Smokies

We just had a weekend getaway to the Smokies. We stayed in our favorite Christmas hotel again. Ella had milk and cookies with Santa while Sean crashed due to missing his nap. It was just warm enough for a hike and mini golf. The next day we gave up and went to the aquarium. But this is okay because Sean looooves animals and had never seen fish quite this big.

More Snow Days!

Every week we are getting hit with snow and because our temperatures hover around freezing, ice ensues. Well, that means the buses can't pick up the kids and school is closed. We have not had a full week of school since the Christmas holiday. I heard this is all accounted for in the school year but my daughter is getting quite ansy with all this holiday time. I hope this does not happen every year!

Blessed with Hair

Old cut (looks like a bowl) vs new cut, now he looks like a little boy! I found a hairdresser who knows how to cut my kids hair correctly. She had surgery the last time the kids needed a haircut. This time I made sure to book her and it made all the difference in the world.

Snow!?

It finally snowed here for the first time this winter and the half inch stuck. Ella was so excited as you would expect. Sean did not know what the stuff was but had fun touching it and figuring out what had invaded his world. Fortunately, we did not have to worry about clearing the half inch of snow from our driveway and sidewalk. We had a willing volunteer and a handy sized shovel to do the job for us. (Notice how stylish we look while we perfectly clear the sidewalk in front of the house.)

Snoball

A rigorous 3 weeks of selling cookies has come to a close. Ella and Keith celebrated by attending a father-daughter dance. No mothers were allowed. Apparently, fun was had by dancing to various favorites such as the YMCA, the hokey pokey, the chicken dance, etc. Also, they served powered donut holes and powered oreos to feed the dancers. Sean and I stayed home in our pjs. He conked out half way through our party.