Snow angels

It seems silly posting this now as the snow is melting, but just over a week ago, we had some of the most prime snow cover Illinois ground. It was wet and heavy--perfect for play. It was also above 20 degrees, which means my kids will last longer than 5 minutes outside--again, perfect for play. We couldn't pass this chance up, so we called over a friend (Katelyn Pocock) and seized the day! The girls were so cute and having so much fun. I had to grab my new favorite toy (my new Nikon D3000) and capture these angelic faces. I love pictures of kids in the snow. I love the colors of the coats, the bright hats, scarves, and mittens, the pink noses and cheeks all against the natural white background. Hallelujah! I had so much fun being the photographer, while the girls had fun being girls. I love how they bounced between being daredevils, sculptors, and princesses.

Emma is so photogenic! This is my favorite shot of the day. Isn't she gorgeous!?!

After making another snow angel, she is still smiling even though there's snow caked in her hair.
Happy with a stick--This she gets from her brothers. I'll never understand the power and draw a stick can hold.

Showing off 2 of the 7 snowmen we made. Correction--Katelyn made a snowbunny. I loved watching the progression of understanding as I showed them how to make the first snowmen and then to watch them do it on their own. They just need a few more muscles and inches in order to lift and stack those heavy balls of snow onto each other.

Every snowman needs a carrot nose!!!

And so do little girls, I guess.

Of course, Lizzie loved making the girls cry as she ate her way through various noses. That grin of hers is one of mischief. :)

Angels we have heard on ...

Isn't this sweet?!

They did so great taking turns giving pushes, sharing sleds, etc.

Cutie-patooties

Their masterpiece!

Emma's turn

I do have to say something about this hat. My talented sister, Mandi, made this hat with a matching scarf for Emma when she was a baby. It reminds me of the Jan Brett book, The Hat, because it keeps growing along with her and seems to have housed some animals while we weren't looking. I just laugh at her when she puts it on and it nearly covers her face like a ski- mask. At least I haven't had to buy her a new one! This is definitely a one-size-fits-all!

Thanks, Mandi!

My ballerina

Emma has been expressing an interest in ballet for quite some time and even asked for ballet lessons for Christmas. I found an introductory class at the YMCA for 6 weeks. PERFECT! She had a wonderful time. The last day, since only Emma and 1 other girl showed up, the instructors let Lizzie participate in the "Freeze Dance" game. They called her "Dancy-pants" and gave her a certificate and sticker like the big girls. Sweet! I will say that Emma was not a natural, but I am curious what the next interest will be. It was fun seeing her in her cute tu-tus and leotard. She makes a beautiful ballerina.

Valentine's Day

Nothing says Love and Romance like face-painting, right? Well, for some funny reason, we always have the Blue & Gold Banquet the Friday night of Valentine's Day weekend. This year because it is Scouting's 100th birthday, we had a birthday theme with balloons, games, and even face-painting.


Aren't these 2 lovely? Carter was first to become bearded. Funny, ha-ha. But Emma's shocked me! She had a blast running around the church getting all of the reactions from the adults.
We always have a cupcake contest. My boys decided on us making the scout fleur-de-lis. Nice. This was my attempt.

We had heart-shaped pancakes with cinnamon sprinkles in them. I also found a recipe for homemade cinnamon syrup that was delicious. Plus, the red cinnamon sprinkles made it pink, so that made it even MORE special--especially for the girls. Mom made many points that morning.

Our church begins at 1:00pm, so to constructively use their time, the kids pulled out Twister and had a blast! I love hearing their giggles!

Here are my sweethearts all dressed and ready for church.

I figured out how to make hearts in Emma's hair. She had hearts 3 different ways for 3 different days. So fun!

Yep. This was the extent of our Valentine's Day. Between scouting, baptisms, swim meets, a birthday party, and Steve preparing a talk for church, there was no time for dates or much else. We had plenty of candy to keep us sweet and sassy for the whole weekend. Monday for President's Day, Steve took a few hours off and we got a cute girl to babysit Emma and Lizzie so that we could take the boys to see The Lightning Thief. We've all had to read these because the boys are LOVING them, and the books have to be read before the movies are seen in our house. Even Grandpa and Grandma have been persuaded to join us in the quest to see how Percy Jackson saves the world.

Eat our bubbles!

Our winter swimming season is coming to an end...but not as soon as it did last year. These boys of mine are having some amazing successes. Braxton has dropped as much as 18 seconds off of his times in a few months (This is actually the story attached to the picture above. He's telling Evan and Evan gives him a great reaction.); Evan has dropped 12 seconds off of his 100 Breast time to where he has qualified for the Junior Olympics also known as the ISI State Championship!!!! He is hoping to qualify in the 50 Breast as well. Carter has been chosen to swim in the Gold Conference Championship because he is in the top 3 in over 3 events on his 8 & under team. He received 3 2nd place medals at the last meet! These kids can beat me now--undeniable. I really love this sport because of the focus on not just winning, but on improving your personal best. Plus, I am in awe as I look at these long lean bodies of my 3 baby boys. They are definitely not so little anymore! Steve and I are so proud of them! We can't believe they are competing at Regionals and State. Steve's motto to the boys is, "Leave it all in the pool." And they are definitely doing that.

OK. The next 2 pictures deserve their story. As proud as we are of what they can do in the pool. We are prouder of who they were even out of the pool. Braxton was not ready when the buzzer sounded and was adjusting his goggles. This EASILY delayed him 4-5 seconds, which is huge in these races. He was clearly in last place. You would never know it, though, by watching his brothers cheer him on. Looking through teary eyes, Steve captured this moment as Evan and Carter were telling Braxton that he was #1 and to "keep going" during his race. This was Steve's and my medal for the race as parents. A tender moment that is worth more than any time-drop or ribbon-that's for sure.

Evan's 100 Breast-my jr olympian

Braxton and the 100 Butterfly

Evan is always happy at meets--unless he's DQd.

Evan's keeping himself busy. Ironic that he's doing that "birdcall" when you cup your hands together and blow. I remember my brothers figuring it out and them doing it non-stop for a few weeks. Yep! I have had to live through it yet another time. Boys will be boys.
Carter is the man. I can't wait to hear how Gold Conference goes! Go, Carter!

Connor's Baptism

My nephew, Connor Alleman, was baptized on February 6, 2010. Even though we were there for less than 36 hours, we had a great time as always. My parents as well as Connor's other grandparents also came for his special day. For a cold day in Minnesota, we had a beautiful meeting. The kids, afterwards, had a blast eating, swimming, and playing. We're so sad they're moving to Arizona as it will make these quick gatherings much more difficult, but we wish them luck and all the best in a warmer climate. They've definitely paid their dues at Mayo.

Groundhog's Day

Groundhog Day happened to fall on election day. With the schools being used as polling places, we got yet another day off of school. So...off to the free museum we went with some friends. We decided on the Field Museum of Natural History. Sue, the dinosaur is always a hit! Plus, this year we got our own archeologist to give us a 30 minutes lesson on dinosaurs, birds, and reptiles and their relationships. He was terrific! This is something you don't get on free days in the summer. Lizzie loves elephants and thought these were great because they don't move, make noises, or stink. :)

In the picture below, the kids thought the tar was quite interesting. Don't ask me how, but Emma was turning and pumping it so much that she actually got some on her hands...and wiped them on her jeans, of course!

Braxton wanted to see how he compared with a thigh bone. Evan was always ready for a photo opportunity. He cracked me up. He is this photogenic in every picture on this day!

Emma loved the noise that we think parasaurolophus makes.

Alyssa Stradling didn't quite know what to think of the whole day. She's always pondering deep thoughts--or at least wants to look like she is. I love this cutie!

This is a bed the Egyptians typically used. Every child has to try it out. This was Lizzie's turn.

Carter and Andrew were caught having way too much fun in this section of the museum. Is this even allowed?

My cute barnacles...

Emma and Hailey looking cute as usual.

As soon as we returned home, the kids ran to get their pj's on to go to a "Backwards day" at another friend's home. We had breakfast for dinner and the kids watched movies while we moms chatted. Fun! Fun! I guess I'm grateful for days off of school, too.

Tye-Dye

We seem to have numerous days off in this school district...so I have to come up with lots of "Boredom Busters." This summer we had made a list of all the things we wanted to do and the only thing that left unchecked was tye-dye. I have never done it myself, so it was an adventure. However, we made some fun t-shirts and the kids had a good time. They're looking forward to doing it again--and, I guess, I am too. :) You'll see one of the finished results in my soon-to-follow posts at the Field Museum. I can tell the suspense is immense.