Life Lately

Photo dump time!!! Cabin fever is setting in, but we are very thankful for the January thaw we've had!

I painted stripes on the entryway wall.....still not 100% sold on this, but will keep it this way for now. 

Stella (back row, next to the cheerleader wearing a maroon/white jacket) participated in a Dowling cheer clinic a few weeks ago between the girl and boys varsity basketball games. She really enjoyed it!

She's in the back row, the one on one foot. 

The next morning was the BIG Pinewood Derby Day! I have no pics of P's car racing. The race started at 9,  Stella and I didn't get there until 10. Right when the first part was over. The top half moved on to the second part.......Porter's car did NOT make the cut! His car may have been slow, but it did win top prize for wackiest!! He was sooooo proud/excited!

Pig riding a piece of bacon. I live in a house full of bacon lovers! Eek!!

Last Sunday I hosted Stella's book clubs meeting, so Mike met up with Jeff and Eric so get out of the house they went to an indoor go cart place and then out for dinner. Their night sounds more exciting than mine. Ha!!

Last week was Catholic schools week, on Wednesday the kids got out of school very early (11:30) because all of the teachers from the local Catholic schools go to mass/workshop together. The weather was pretty great for Iowa in January (50's!), so we met up with friends at the zoo!

This monkey was HILARIOUS!!!! Kept us entertained for a long time!

Stella and her little buddy Grant! He LOVES her and she LOVES him!!

Mixed up a batch of Scotcharoos over the weekend. Nom, nom, nom. 

P wore his Hawkeye necklace from Nana and Papa to school last week on Spirit Day Wear. 

P showing off his wax sticks creation at dinner last Friday before his basketball game. Stella was at a birthday party. Funny side note, we ran into our priest at Jethro's that night. :-)

Photo collage of the Daddy/Daughter Dance. Next year will be Stella's last year! Waaahhhhhh!!

Showing off her face painting when she got home. 

The next morning we woke up to a Winter Wonderland. Simply BEAUTIFUL!!!! 

Playtime in the snow!

Rex decided to stay inside and keep warm and take a long nap. 

They play outside in the snow with the neighbors for hours after school. Rosy red cheeks! 

Just an update about nothing.......

Our update for the past few weeks. Last week the stomach bug worked its way through our house, but Stella managed to miss it and Porter only got sick once. Poor Mike had it the worst. 

These first 2 pics uploaded out of order. We had a "snow day", but not really a snow day,school was cancelled due to extreme bitter cold temps. The kids were actually delightful that day and played very well together. We did go to LifeTime to swim and shoot hoops and swung through Chick-Fil-A for a late lunch, but for the most part they played at home and didn't rely on electronics! They made a house out of a big box for the origami frogs they had made. It was equipped with a zip line and all sorts of other features! Love it! They created the house I the kitchen, but we moved it to the guest room to be out of the way. 

They love playing bball on the mini hoop they received for Christmas. 

Stella and I finally did her Jamberry nails last Sunday afternoon. By the time she left for school on Monday morning only 2 nails were still "intact", I'm sure it was "operator error" (aka, MY FAULT!)

Loving this January thaw!!! Stella and he'd snowman!

Friday we met up with friends at Brenton Skating Plaza. Absolutely amazing weather for us, in the 50's!! Our kids have worn shorts all weekend! We are read for Spring!

Note to self, do not wear leggings again until I've shed at least 10 more pounds. YIKES!!!

Stella and Ally.... besties!!

Christmas 2014

December has come and gone. We made a lot of memories and feel blessed beyond measure to have had the opportunity to see so many family and friends during the holiday season. 

Here is most of December in a l-o-n-g nutshell!

Love that Stellie still loves to sleep with her beloved "Vada Bear!" (she also likes to sleep in the guest room a lot and is gunning BIG time for that to be her room! Maybe in a couple of years....???

Decorating gingerbread houses

We hosted our annual Christmas party for my moms group. I don't see these wonderful families as much as I'd like, now that the kids are older. Most of them do belong to my gym, so it's sooooo nice running into them there and in the summertime being able to hook up at the pool with the kiddos. But I definitely don't see them nearly as much as I did when the kids were little. Here are the girls passing gifts for the grab bag. Didn't get any other pics! 

Rex helping me wrap gifts that were being sent to family in AZ! 

Porter had his Christmas concert. It was a Bethlehem theme.....P was a camel! 

Trying to get a shot of him. He's in the 2nd row on the end. The 3 wise men are behind him! :-)

We started Christmas break off with a stay at a nearby hotel. 

Porter found a huge Afro to wear at a neighbor Christmas party. 

Stella was at a cookie exchange party and I had P, Eric and EJ. We went to the nearby grocery store to see Santas sleigh and real live reindeer. 

On the 23rd we finally stopped to see Jolly Ole St. Nick!

We began making cut-out sugar cookies for Santa!

Prepping for Christmas sure makes one tired!!!

Christmas eve we decorated the cookies. 

The cookies they choose to leave out for SC!

The kids exchanged gifts from each other that morning. Stella received a large Beenie Boos from P.  Porter received a Chicago Bears shirt from S and put a brick in the box to throw him off! :-)

Christmas morning! Stella received a stuffed animal with magnets in its hands and feet.... It was at the top of her list! 

Porter received a North Face coat..... Had been asking for one for months!

They received great things from Grandpa and Grandma and were so happy to try out Porters new scooter and Stella's new rollerblades from them!

The 26th we traveled to MA to celebrate with my fam. Mom had planned a bunch of Minute to Win It games for everyone to play. So much fun!

Mom had has Christmas poppers on our dinner plates. Sara and Wes had matching crowns in theirs!

So did Mike and Dad,

Annual reading of T'was the Night Before Christmas. Now the grandkids read it to Nana and Papa. 

Opening gifts from the cousins. 

Pics that P took from his iPad. Hannah is wearing Vadas pj's that looks like a dog.  LOL!

Cute! 

Night out at Lefty's!!

The kids received stilts for Christmas to share. HUGE hit!!

They also each got a bean bag chair for their room. Porter LOVES his Guiness Book of World Records from Nana and Papa. He reads it daily!

Celebrating Uncle Kens bday and NYE on Beaver Ave!

So happy to have Grandma Linda spend a few days with us. The kids loved playing Jenga with her one afternoon.