birthday surprise

thanks tim for all the fun birthday surprises -
including this picture!

and i'm not sure why josie looks so glum.

you'd think she was the one on her way to 40!!!

gag gift...

...or the coolest thing 4 kids have ever seen??

a christmas wish

ryan: mom i wish i had mechanical hands like luke skywalker

***

ryan, how does your brain work and

when did luke have mechanical hands??

1 donut, please

i always get a donut for ryan & josie to share

when we get groceries.

the other day we're in the check out lane

and i told the girl that we had one donut -

even though it was pretty obvious from their faces!

ryan: mom, we had 2 donuts!

me: no, i just split it into 2 pieces

ryan: NUT UHH MOM. WE HAD 2 DONUTS!! {getting louder & louder}

this went on and on.

ryan could not be convinced.

the checkout girl gave me the "are you trying to scam me" look.

i ignored ryan, paid for our groceries {& 1 donut} and left.

so the point of this story is that 2 things need to change...

meijer needs to give out free donuts for kids

AND

fractions need to be discussed in preschool

{or at least in spiderman cartoon - which is all ryan watches}

their memories

all of these pictures could really have their own post,
but i figured they are all about the same thing -
holiday traditions
so why not one big post??

the fact that i have exams and have ignored this blog
is so not the reason for this big post - HA HA

what kid doesn't love decorating the tree??
as you can see some kids dress {or undress} for the occasion.

and after a rough tree topping last year,
garrett was pretty excited that it was finally his year!

we also got smart and decided that whoever tops the tree
also gets the 2 other coveted jobs:
setting up the nativity set and putting the first ornament on the advent tree.

ryan is pretty geeked for next year!

and josie, well she doesn't get chronological order,
so we just distract her with candy :)

speaking of candy & advent trees
{and my favorite christmas countdown placemats}...

and finally, somewhat out of holiday order
and because they taste good no matter when you make them -
our turkey cookies...

the holiday are about family and doing things together.

i love that they ask to do the same things year after year.

i love that these will be part of their memories.
and these will hopefully overshadow the crazy memories
they gather along the way - ha ha!!!

where's the snow??

this is SO different than our picture last year
well except for the coats - ha ha!
{ok, maybe ryan's coat is getting too small}

but we had the same fun adventure getting it...

hayride to the trees -

driven by santa {josie's favorite part} -

selecting the perfect tree -

and finally dragging the tree back to santa's wagon -

and now for the fun and warmer part...

{don't let the lack of snow fool you - IT WAS COLD!}

ps - do you like the color of boots garrett picked?
well at least they won't get mixed up at school!

thanksgiving {2010}

thanksgiving is about celebrating with family.last year we celebrated with the lees & this year with the vogels.
these pictures capture just a fraction of what i am thankful for this year...
the fun of having cousins

a big family & a cool husband{both often humor me when i ask for a group photo - ha ha}

and these 4 babies

happy thanksgiving!

one little, two little, three little...

...indians AND pilgrims!

to get in the thanksgiving spirit,

both boys had fall programs.

first up was ryan's class where had some yummy treats

that the kids made for us.

plus we got to hang out with a few of ryan's favorite buddies.

{some pictures might be a little embarassing when they get in high school}

next we had garrett's indian pow-wow.
all month they've been learning about michigan indians.
each kid chose an indian name and their teacher
has called them that name all month long - it's too funny.

meet rising son and a few of his friends...

it might look like garrett goes to an all boys school -
but if you look closely you'll see a few girls who will
be VERY popular when a 6th grade dance rolls around - ha ha!

{and you will also see a teacher who deserves a HUGE christmas gift!}

time at art museum...with very few pictures

this past weekend we had fun checking outthe princess diana exhibit at the art museum.
the only problem was they were super strick about pictures.the ONLY picture that we could photograph was the little sign.of course, i found this out AFTER i took the picture of olivia in front of the wall :)
so no real pictures in the exhibit - but it was definitely fabulous!olivia loved the room full of dresses and i loved reading all the little known facts.we both loved seeing her wedding dress up close - wow!it definitely took puffy sleeves to a whole new level :)

the only other thing we could photograph at the museum
was {drum roll please} the winner of art prize!

it was absolutely amazing.
one man and lots & lots of pencils.
i can barely draw a stick person, so it was mind boggling to me!

hand me downs

who knew that one day

i would be loving "hand me downs"

as much as i do today???

God is good!