Nora's Birthday

Nora wanted a swim party for her birthday for most of this year. We decided to split it into two days, with cake in the evening so everyone could be there and swimming for the kids the next morning.

Less than a week before the party, she informed me she wanted a flip flop cake. After some brainstorming, we figured we could use the previous cake plan and add the flip flop decoration. Turned out so cute!

Six candles!!

Love her reactions. She has the best surprise/happy face. 

Next morning we set up and filled seven wading pools and a water table in Grandma's backyard. Given that we were expecting 11 kids between the ages of 1 and 10, we figured it was prudent to have multiple play stations. We ended up with so many pools, which was so awesome. 

I somehow didn't get a wide angle shot of all the pools, but you can see 6 of them in this picture. 

So much fun with cousins and friends. 

Everyone was more than ready for pizza when the time came. Thanks to Heather for completely taking care of lunch - I didn't realize how much help I was going to need!

So much love for this adorable and energetic little six year old. She's my kitchen helper, my snuggle buddy, and my little princess!

Zeke's 9th Birthday

Zeke's party this year was a Star Wars party. 9 candles...which works out to 3 of each color. Perfect for 3rd graders who have been working on their multiplication facts!

We invited a few friends for pizza and a movie. However, given that the kids had already seen the movie, they were much more interested in ping pong. When the grandparent, aunts & uncles, and cousins arrived later, it turned into a multi-player game of extreme ping pong -- hitting off any bounce, including other tables and walls. Zeke had a blast and noticeably improved in his return skills throughout the day.

Presents - he had eagerly been anticipating this! We gave him a bulletin board to hang his treasures on. Plus, pinned to the board was a voucher for family bowling. 

And lots of clothes. Not the most exciting part but definitely needed. This boy is growing like crazy! And he got some Star Wars shirts so he was happy. Not so happy about the tissue paper glitter migrating to his new shirts though. 

Blowing out the candles with a little cousin by his side.

Love this boy and his goofy, loving personality. He tells me jokes and makes me laugh, and he appreciates the silly jokes I bring home from work. He works hard at school and is learning so much all the time. He still loves cuddles and hugs and will sit on my lap. Happy 9th birthday Zeke!

Easter Eggs -- and Carrots

Easter has become one of my favorite holidays. I love the festivity, the traditions, and the simplicity of it all. And the springtime! There weren't any flowers yet this year, but still, you could tell spring was on the way. 

Coloring eggs. Fast and furious with these two. 

The finished product. 

Hiding eggs around the house. We came up with some great hiding spots this year. Zeke requested this one. 

This was Aaron's idea. Love it!

One of the highlights of the day was Nora combining her Easter presents from grandma. She used her new watering can to 'water' and 'grow' her Reese's Pieces carrot. So cute!

Tubing

We started off 2016 doing something new and fun together as a family - the perfect way to ring in the new year. Aaron and I have been tubing a few times before but it's been a long time. The kids have never been and were thrilled to try it out. 

All bundled up.... when we got there the temperature was exactly 0. Cold winter morning!

 We met Heather and Grandpa on the hill and went down as a group. I think this was our second run. And the last time I saw Zeke for another hour. After that he was up and down the hill as fast as he possibly could go.

Grandpa somehow managed to keep up with him. Perhaps thanks to his neon yellow snow pants!

Nora is the cutest little tuber ever. 

By the time we were finishing up the sun was warm and it was actually pretty comfortable in all of our layers. The views were beautiful. 

Aaron and Zeke heading for the fastest tubing lane for our last run. We clocked 25 mph on our way down - the record of the day. The kids can't wait to go again!

White Christmas

It snowed for practically a week before Christmas. It is amazing --- we haven't seen snow like this since we moved to this house almost 5 years ago! After days and days of snowstorms, we sure were glad to see the sun on Christmas Eve. We walked around delivering a few remaining gifts and then went for a winter walk.

My two favorite kiddos. 

New Christmas Eve pajamas from Grandma. 

Christmas morning. Nora was super excited about her Inside Out book and characters. 

The family got a Lego x-wing, and Zeke was so happy. That's what he really wanted for Christmas.

Opening presents with cousins at Grandma's. Nora got a Barbie/Princess swimming pool made out of a plastic tote.... it doubles as doll storage! 

Zeke had a very Star Wars Christmas this year. 

Nora about died waiting to open the Frozen-wrapped present. So happy when it finally was her turn! 

Veteran's Day Program

The third graders put on a wonderful program for Veteran's Day. Here they all are, looking fine. 

We were excited that Nora's kindergarten class got to come to the parent performance, since they weren't there for the performance for the students. We were sitting about 4 rows behind Nora!

Zeke told us where to sit because he was on the stage right end of the line. We got good seats this year thanks to his advice and arriving earlier than for previous years. 

Zeke volunteered for a speaking part and did great! A lot of the kids were hard to understand but I thought he did a great job of speaking slowly and clearly. 

The program was a very stirring patriotic event. The flag was brought in by older veterans and then the students invited all veterans in the audience to stand when the song for their branch of the military was sung. It was so inspiring and touching and I was filled with gratitude for living in the United States and having so many people willing to be our defenders. 

Queen and Vampire

Nora has known for a whole year what she was going to be for Halloween - she came back from trick or treating last year saying she wanted to be Elsa. 

Zeke was a little slower to decide. Eventually he decided to be a vampire. 

He also requested a bat mascot so Aaron made him a bat on a stick. 

We were so excited to be able to have costumes at school this year. Zeke has never done a costume parade before, so it was a first for both kids! Nora's class led the parade, and she managed to be first in line. She has the parade wave down. 

Zeke was harder to get pictures of because the older kids were more of a bunch than a line. But he still gave me his best vampire look. The parade was so fun and I hope they get to do it again next year. 

We had a blast trick or treating. It was a little chilly but fortunately the cold wind wasn't blowing in the evening. We even had the perfect Elsa-blue shirt to make Nora's dress a winter one! 

After trick or treating we went to Grandma's to hang out with cousins and decorate some cupcakes. It was a wonderfully festive night!

Nora's 5th Birthday Party

We kept things simple for Nora's party, given how close it was after our trip and return to school and work. We ate hot dogs and chips outside and enjoyed a lovely late summer evening with grandmas and grandpas and Aunt Heather. 

And this adorable birthday girl couldn't have been happier. 

She picked out some balloons that were our centerpieces.

And she helped me make chocolate cupcakes with pearlescent princessy sprinkles. 

And the gifts... oh she was so happy to get her Elsa and Anna dolls. Thanks Grandma Carlile and Aunt Dynna for making that happen! 

And the doll stroller from Grandma Loertscher was a wonderful surprise. She has been driving her baby doll, Anna, and Elsa around in the stroller ever since. 

It turned out to be a very Frozen party, with the princess dolls, a Frozen coloring book, Elsa apron, Frozen pajamas, and Frozen legos. Those who didn't do Frozen did Iron Man, which she was just as excited about. 

Things I love about Nora: her need to learn new things and new skills, her willingness to be my helper around the house, her interest in both dolls and cars, her love of singing and dancing, and how she is super excited about just about everything that interests her. Specifically at her 5th birthday: she can't wait for kindergarten, she loves dolls of all kinds, she is starting to draw more on her own, she reads simple sentences on her own, and she wants to build buildings when she grows up. I'm so glad she's mine!