Here we go again

I have had a couple of people recently lament the fact that it has been such a long time since I've updated our blog.  All I have to say is...I blame social media!  No but seriously, Facebook and Instagram are where I post updates, pictures, etc. these days.  But I have decided to give this blog another shot, especially for those family and friends who are not on social media.  I'm not promising that I will be perfect, but I will try and post once a week or so, or at least when something exciting (birthday, vacation, etc) happens in our family.  For now, please enjoy these photos of some of our recent happenings.

Visit to Indianapolis Children's Museum
At the end of Christmas vacation, we spent a couple of days in Indianapolis.  The first day we hung out with my friend Eve and her family at the children's museum.  It got mixed reviews from our kids, but overall I think everyone had a good time. 

Apparently Sarah's favorite exhibit was Ancient Egypt/archaeology.   She had a lot of fun digging and learning about mummies. 

Learning how to make cheese

The minute that Sarah learned there was an indoor carousel she was dying to ride it.  I tried getting a picture of everyone actually on it, but my picture-taking skills weren't fast enough to get anything but a blur.

Pretending to be an astronaut

Family Picture Fun
We decided to take our own family pictures this year.  We've done so in the past with varying degrees of success.  I would say these didn't turn out too bad, but I think we will definitely use a professional next time.

Birthdays, Baptisms, and More

The first part of the year is an exciting time for our girls because they both have birthdays to celebrate.  First up is Sarah, who turned 4 this year.  She was born right before Valentine's Day, so it seemed fitting to throw a very pink, girly, Valentine's Day themed party....with a bunch of boys.  I invited a couple of girls as well, but neither of them could come, and the rest of Sarah's friends are boys.  But they seemed to have fun anyway.

Each game was a classic with a twist.  This was "Duck, Duck, Goose" renamed "Heart, Heart, Cupid"

 

This game was "Hot Potato" or "Pass the Potato" which didn't actually get renamed, but we used a plush heart toy

Bill had the brilliant idea to blow up a bunch of balloons, which kept kids occupied and happy on a couple of different occasions throughout the party

Sarah wanted a pinata, and thankfully her aunt Susan had made a princess one a few years ago for her daughter that she gladly let us take off her hands :-)

Sarah is our girly girl and loves the color pink.  So she got a very pink cake with strawberries and colorful sprinkles.

Next up was Kayla's 8th birthday in March.  She decided to do the same thing that Will did for his birthday, so she invited a few friends over for pizza and a movie.  Having a bunch of 8-10 year old girls was a bit crazy, but everyone seemed to have fun in the end.  Unfortunately I only got a couple of pictures cause we were banned from the movie room.

Opening presents

Kayla said she wanted a rainbow cake, and I loved how this turned out

 

A few days after her birthday Kayla and I went on our next Mommy/daughter date.  We were both so excited to see the live action Beauty and the Beast movie.  The original movie came out when I was not much older than Kayla is now, so it was so neat to share this experience with her.  It was a very fun movie and we both had a great time.

 

In addition to having a fun birthday party, Kayla had a second celebration about a month later.  In our church a child can be baptized when they turn 8 years old, and we are proud of Kayla for making that decision.  It was a wonderful weekend with friends, family, food and lots of fun.  Bill's parents drove from Idaho to be with us, and one of my best friends drove over from Indiana to spend the day with us as well.  It was a busy, full, special day, and we all enjoyed it.

 

What's been going on

It's been quite a busy couple of months.  Here's a quick recap -

WILL'S BIRTHDAY

Every year I seem to be in denial that my children - and I - are getting older.  I still can't believe that I am old enough to have an 11 year old.  I started the tradition when he was really young to do a friend party every year, which is something that I tend to regret, especially when one of the kids wants something elaborate.  Thankfully Will took it easy on us this year.  All he wanted to do was have a few friends over for pizza and a movie.  Totally easy!  So 4 or 5 of his good friends from school and/or church came over and invaded the back living room for a couple of hours.

After the movie they had cake and ice cream and opened presents. 

Will said he wanted a Ninjago cake - this is what I came up with, which he wasn't super happy with but it was the best I could do with my minimal cake decorating knowledge.

WILL'S SCOUT ADVANCEMENT

Because Will turned 11, he is no longer in Cub Scouts and has moved up to Boy Scouts.  He wouldn't sit still long enough for us to get a picture of him alone with his awards at his last pack meeting, so here's a picture of him with his awesome Cubmaster.

HALLOWEEN

Normally I'm not a big fan of Halloween.  I don't see much point in celebrating a day where we have to spend a bunch of money on costumes and candy.  But this year was a little more fun cause Bill and I decided to dress up.  Will was the Grim Reaper, Kayla was a vampire, Sarah was Sophia the First for the second year in a row, and Bill and I were a honey bee and her honey :)

Will wanted me to include this picture of him with his candy.  I think he had over 200 pieces by the end of the night.  We apparently live in a very generous neighborhood.

  

MOMMY/DAUGHTER AND MOMMY/SON DATES

I stole this idea from my brother-in-law, who has done it with each of his kids.  Basically, each child gets to go out with me by themselves every 3 months.  We started back in September or October, and so far we've gone to see a movie, gone out to eat, and gone to the mall to see Santa Clause and ride a carousel.  They've been so much fun so far, and I'm really excited to continue.

CHRISTMAS

This year's Christmas was WONDERFUL!  And that's all thanks to my amazing husband.  For my Christmas present this year he sent me off to Utah BY MYSELF for 5 days while he held down the fort.  I got to stay with my mom and sister, watch movies and eat yummy food; I got treated to a haircut; I got to go to my dad's Christmas concert; I got to see some extended family I wasn't expecting to see; I got to see the lights at Temple Square; basically I got to have a blast!  It was a little hard being away from Bill and the kids during that time, but I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to go back West for a bit.

Of course, the fun didn't end there.  When I got back to Illinois it was time to enjoy being with Bill's side of the family.  His parents came out for Christmas, so we packed in as much fun as we could in a week and a half.  We went bowling, swimming, Grandma and Grandpa took various kids on special dates, Bill and I got to go on a date, and of course we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day all together playing games, eating food, and celebrating the Savior.

  

 Our Christmas Eve dinner was a shepherd's feast.  We had lamb, dates, raisins, bean soup, bread, and fruit.  I think the kids enjoyed sitting on the floor to eat.

 Christmas Eve program, with a number of musical performances and a short nativity play

 

 We played a bunch of Minute to Win It games at Bill's brother's house after Christmas dinner.  I think the adults had almost as much fun as the kids did. 

And to top off a wonderful Christmas vacation, this past weekend we drove over to Indiana to visit with my friend Eve for a whole day.  She and I have been friends since we were in junior high, so I was thrilled when I found out that she and her family were moving only about 3 hours away from us.  Unfortunately her husband had to work all day, but we still had a wonderful time with Eve and her two adorable little boys Abe and Jamie.  The kids were worried that they would be bored the whole time, cause her boys are so much younger than our kids, but by the end of the day everyone was getting along really well and we all had so much fun.  

Bill was Jamie's buddy the whole day, it was so cute to see them together

Eve helping everyone pick out which picture they want to use to make Shrinky Dinks.

 

Top picture - 1998(?)

Bottom picture - 2016

Both of us are doing our best to age gracefully :-)

 

It's hard to believe that we managed to pack in that much fun in just a couple of months.  2016 was a pretty great year for our family, and we are all looking forward to what 2017 has to offer.