Here's a photo of my little fashionista. We went to Nordstrom with Jenny to have the fancy Communion dress fitted and altered before the big day. She had to dress for the shopping occasion. Afterward, we had lunch with Jenny and Grandma Millie at the Nordstrom Cafe. Megan sure loves these fancy outings.
In early April, we had a girl scout outing at "May I Have This Dance" a studio that's really close to our house. The girls learned a Bollywood number and a hip hop routine. Their instructor was super cute and energetic. They loved it:
QAS had an Easter Egg Hunt on the Saturday of Easter weekend. Here's Megan with Rita and Sarah:
And Jake with his buddy, Joe:
The hunt was super crazy with a ton of kids. Apparently, Jake had to give Joe some of his eggs because another kid had taken Joe's when he fell and they spilled out of his basket. Jake decided that kid was a "bully". He stood up for his friend and shared his spoils. Proud mom moment.
Later that day, Onna and Tom had their family over and had an unexpected visit from the Easter Bunny. Notice the short sleeves. Yes, spring was pretty awesome this year.
We colored eggs that night and they turned out pretty good.
When Megan was going to bed, she was a little concerned about a bunny hopping around too close to her. She asked me to leave a note for him:
(She's not really a fan of the tooth fairy either. We have to leave her teeth downstairs on the counter).
We spent Easter Sunday at Jenny and Flip's house. The pool was open and it felt like a summer party. The weather was absolutely beautiful.
Here's a quick Jake and Dad photo:
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
April
Saturday, June 16, 2012
March
We had a great March this year. The weather was unseasonably warm, so we were able to get out and enjoy some early sunshine! Jake has recently discovered Wii, so he would actually prefer to play video games than go outside, but once out there he's just fine. When he's playing his Lego Star Wars or Lego Batman on Wii, I can feed him almost anything. We sample new fruits and veggies and he just opens his mouth while I feed him. It's hilarious.
We had been working on finishing our workout room in the basement. We took a trip to Sports Authority one Saturday to check out some equipment. Afterward, we took the kids to Pizza Hut and decided to let them eat there. We typically prefer to take it to go, since it takes so long. But, really, they couldn't have been happier.
When I take the kids with me to Target (I try to avoid that as much as possible), Jake insists upon looking at toys and then taking photos of stuff that he likes with my phone, so that I have a running list of stuff to buy for him. Inspired by his Lego Star Wars for Wii, he took a liking to these light sabers.
It's a rare morning when they're both eating breakfast and getting along before school. On this particular day, Megan was reading to Jake while they ate. I had to snap a photo. It doesn't happen very often.
Jake experienced his first Shamrock Shake this year. Since the weather was so warm, I was inspired to buy shakes and he decided that this was pretty darn good.
Occasionally, we'll have movie night. When we do, they insist that I make popcorn, followed by watching the movie while eating and laying on the floor.
As I mentioned before, March was exceptionally warm. On St. Patrick's Day it was in the low 80's. We took out the hose and made a water slide.
It was so nice to be able to go to the park without coats (even in the evening!):
We had the Roeder girls over for a playdate on the 18th. Still warm!
And a few funny stories to wrap this up. I got my hair cut in March on a day when the kids were in school When I picked up Jake, he said "Mom, you look different. Your neck is longer."
I bought the kids some wings from Jewel and they were eating them in the car on the way home. One of them asked about a particular part of the wing and after I explained it, Megan stopped and said, "Wait. You mean a chicken wing is really a chicken's wing?" An enlightening moment for her.
And one of our funnier moments.....Jake came into our room when he woke up early one morning. He stood by the side of my bed and passed gas. He said, "Did you hear that? It's the fart alarm. Time to get up." He started to make a habit of that. One weekend morning, we were already up, but he laughed and said, "Ha ha, there's the fart alarm again. That never gets old".
Oh, and this has nothing to do with kids, but I had a nice lakefront 20 mile run with Brenda Barrera (who was in from Virginia) and Leah Drew (who recently left for London). It was my last long run before the Boston Marathon. Shared with good company.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Oh Wait....more February!
I snapped this pic of my little fashionista on the way into Nordstrom when we were out shopping for a Communion ensemble with Aunt Jenny. Megan certainly loved the idea of a personal shopper. Oh no!
I had to make sure she knows the value of a hard day's work, so I made her cook dinner for the family the next day:
(not really - she wanted to make it)
And, that's all for February.
More February
Megan had Fun and Games Day at school at the end of February. One of the moms who volunteered was nice enough to snap a photo and send it to me. She's here with her friends, Sarah, Logan and Kiersten.
Also in February was Jen & Ben's 80's party. We went with Jenny & Flip and Lisa & Matt. Here are a few photos of the gals (notice the wine cooler):
We made it back up to the cottage before the end of the month and got the ice skates onto the lake. Unfortunately, the lake was pretty bumpy and that didn't work out so well.
One of our last notable activities for February was our big Girl Scout Cookie "Site Sale". Our girls took turns selling cookies at Happy Foods to raise money for our trip to White Pines. Here are some of the salespeople in action:
And the last story worth mentioning......in February, Scott had surgery and was recovering at home when we paid him a visit to help him get milk, etc. that he couldn't carry. On the way there, I was reminding the kids to not be crazy (as they normally are with Scott). I said, "Scott just had surgery so we're going over there to...." and Jake finished my sentence ...."save his life?". Yes....to save his life. That kid is so funny.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
February
It's the end of April and I'm writing about February. Geesh. We spent a little time up at the cottage. This was a really mild winter, so the lake was frozen, but not as thick as usual. The kids slid around on the bumpy ice in some areas.
And they threw big rocks into another area that was relatively thin:
They love the freedom of Wisconsin, where they can just run around and explore. Fortunately, Mr. Junge doesn't mind them taking over his yard:
Maybe it's his wildlife that is so intriguing:
Monday, March 19, 2012
January
Over Christmas break, we went ice skating at the Rosemont Ice Rink. We met Sarah and Linda. It was pretty crowded, but fortunately it wasn't super cold. This photo was taken during a Zamboni break - which was exciting in itself. This was also Jake's first time on skates - he did pretty well! We made it around 3 times!
We didn't get a whole lot of snow this winter, but they did have a few days to play in it.
And we made it out sledding one Friday night - we pretty much had the hill to ourselves. Darin would push us down the hill, while I held on to Jake's sled. I tried to get fancy on our last run and give him a push to make him go a little further. Unfortunately, I just pushed him over and he faceplanted. Sorry, Jake. He was pretty mad.
We said good-bye to the big castle that Darin made out of cardboard. It wouldn't fit through any doors, so it made it a little tough to play with. It was pretty cool, though. Here's one last look:
I took the girl scouts up to the Vernon Hills Regional Service Center for a day of "Kitchen Science". They made their own ice cream, bath salts and mud masks. They had a hard time getting that mud mask off - most of them had pretty red faces after trying to scrub it off!
And last but not least.....Megan started taking guitar classes at the Old Town School of Folk Music. She seems to really enjoy herself - she also has a great teacher who makes it really fun for her. Doesn't she look like a natural?
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Christmas
Christmas was fun this year. Jenny and Flip hosted Christmas Eve. Since I am typically the one behind the camera, I made a special point to get into some of these pictures this year. So, here is my tribute to myself.....
And, one with Scott:
Jake loves toys and was really excited about gifts this year. And, he was especially excited to have such a big box! This happened to be Mario Kart for Wii:
And here's our family pic from that night. I had a better option where everyone was smiling, but unfortunately it was a little out of focus. Rats.
Christmas morning was fun. Jake was excited to get Ultimate Kevin. Although, in hind sight, he sure hasn't played with that toy all that much. I hope Santa's elves didn't have to search all over the world and over-pay for a toy that is no longer made. But, I guess, that's one happy kid for that moment.
This was an American Girl Christmas for Megan. And she loves to play with that stuff regularly. This is happiness:
My dad and Ruth, Brian, Damien and Ada, and Scott came over later in the day for dinner. Megan and Jake always have a nice time playing with their cousins.
Here's Jake and Damien being boys:
All in all, a happy holiday.
