Newsense of Today

Crazy - I started a new business!!!

2010-06-10T11:24:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say that I started a new business and have had great feedback and have been busy trying to get this all going.

Here is my web address check me out!!

www.simple-trends.com

Olympics 2010

2010-02-14T20:41:00.001-08:00

We had a great Valentine's Weekend.

We were lucky enough to have Papa and Nana babysit all afternoon and evening on Saturday and Doughnut and I were able to do a little shopping and have a relaxing meal out! We really enjoyed our time and the kids had a blast. The kids went to the movies and then enjoyed being with Nana and Papa. I am lucky to have a GREAT VALENTINE to share the weekend with!

On Sunday, Valentine's day, we had a pajama day. We all slept in (does not happen here as we are usually at church) but today we let them sleep in.

We are really excited for the Olympics and we made a score board to watch how many medals the USA will take. We spent quite a big of time cutting out medals, snow flakes for our boarder, and finding out we already had 4 medals. We had to color the silver ones as we did not have gray paper but the other colors were as close as we could get. (We did not plan this, it just happened.) Ice Cream stayed with the project the whole time (usually he hates crafts) and Candy was in her glory. We are excited to see our chart fill up in the next two week. We think our medals might be too large and we will overlap by the end.

Valentine's

2010-02-14T20:24:00.001-08:00

We have been missing for MONTHS!! I know and if you are still looking for us we are still around. We have been busy but I have also found other things to do with this time. (Found facebook and that takes most of the computer time.)

We thought we would try and get back to posting a little. We made some fun Valentine's again this year. The kids each picked what they wanted to make out of a magazine and they turned out GREAT!!

Ice Cream made a space ship with google eyes. It said, "You're Out of this World." I was able to attend his class party and the kids loved looking and laughing at them. He got a lot of great compliments.

Candy made a beautiful flower out of hearts. She cut all the hearts out and I helped with the middle and leaves. If we had more time she would have done all of it but we needed to get done.

I did not get to attend Candy's class party but I think she enjoyed giving them out.

Candy also just got her hair cut and it turned out a lot shorter then we asked for. It is really cute and will grow. The first thing she asked for was a pony tail. (It was not long enough for one before we cut it but she thought it might be now.)

Cousins

2009-09-08T19:27:00.001-07:00

June 29-30

We were lucky to get our cute little nephew for the night! Milk Dud loved it.

We think "O" is GREAT!! When do we get him again?

Since "O" sucks his thumb and Milk Dud had not seen
much of it he had to see what it was all about!

We took lots of pictures so we could send them to Mommy all day.

And he is so cute how could you not take lots!!

25 Inch Walleye

2009-09-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

June 29

Ice Cream went fishing with Papa and caught a 25 inch walleye!!

We cooked it up for him and he could not eat a whole fillet!

1st Beach Day

2009-09-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

June 25

Not sure if the kids like the sand or the water more!

Soccer Season

2009-09-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

June 20th

We are really enjoying soccer. Candy is having fun and scoring goals. She enjoys her friends and they have a team song.

Ice Cream is our defense guy. He loves to make sure no one scores a goal against them. He really enjoys that position. He does not love being up front and knows that is not his strong position. Ice Cream's coach played defense in college and encourages him. Most 8 year old boys on his team want to score goals and tend to tease him that he is not scoring. He tried being the goalie today and did not like it. He was really mad at himself when he did let a goal in.

Milk Dud loves to watch and thinks he should be playing as well.

Ready for Kindergarten

2009-09-07T19:35:00.001-07:00

June

Candy was all smiles even knowing she was in for shots!!

All she heard was you need the shots for kindergarten and she was ready!

Candy's stats:

Height 45 1/4 inches tall = 90%

Weight 45 pounds = 80%

All shots went fine.

Ice Cream did not have any shots but he did get measured and eyes checked.

Height 52 3/4 inches = 80%

Weight 60.6 pounds = 70%

50th Anniversary

2009-09-01T11:42:00.001-07:00

June 11-14

We were able to head to the lake a day early to spend some fun days with my cousins and aunts and uncles. We all gathered for my Aunt and Uncles 50th Anniversary. It was fun to be with everyone but the weather was cool for June. We had about 50 people the night before for supper and since it was so cool we were all inside the cabin.

They had a great party and their kids did a great job putting on a program.

We wish them many happy years.

Below is some cousin fun.

Notice Ice Cream in his swim suit while everyone else is in pants and sweatshirts!!

He wanted to get in and in he did!!

It was cool but he loves the water!

Candy and my cousin's 4 year old were asked to wear the original flower girl dresses. We had them try the dresses on the day before and they just loved parading and twirling around.

As you can see they are great at posing for us.

Congrats to a wonderful family!

All of the nieces and nephews that were able to attend.

Our boys were off that day enjoying our nephews 1st birthday.

Happy Birthday "O"!!

Thanks Auntie for getting matching dresses for the girls to wear!

Candy loves her dress.

My Aunt and Uncle had many foster kids and they grew up with their own 3 children.

They ended up having 5 weddings in 11 months!! The little girls thought it was fun to pretend to be brides with the props after the party!

1st Day of Summer

2009-08-31T20:53:00.000-07:00

We moved a few toys around and the barn came upstairs for awhile.

Milk Dud is making lots of animal sounds and really enjoys lining up the animals.

My boys are so wonderful!!

Last Day of School

2009-08-31T20:22:00.000-07:00

June 5th

We made it to the end of 2nd Grade of Ice Cream. He was very excited!!

Milk Dud always carries a ball around if given the chance. He loves going to the bus stop.

Candy learned to ride a 2 wheeler this week. She is set for summer!

We had a neighborhood party after school for all the families. The kids had a great time!

Papa B. Retires 41 YEARS

2009-08-31T20:04:00.000-07:00

May 29-30

Yes, Doughnuts Dad has been working for the same company for 41 years!

By the amount of friends he had at his parties he will be missed!!

Congrats!! We look forward to seeing you more.

All the Grandkids in their safety goggles!!

We went to the cousin's house before going out to eat and the 5 year olds

enjoyed dressing Milk Dud. He loved it!

We had a fun party Saturday night with 300+

of Papa's friends to wish him the best in retirement.

VBS

2009-08-31T19:41:00.000-07:00

Last Week of May

I was lucky enough to help in VBS again this year. Candy was able to go with a bunch of neighbor friends to our church. Milk Dud gets to go to the sibling room while I helped out. Below you will see a picture of Milk Dud looking out the window at us on the playground.

Candy had a great week. She made a few new friends and enjoyed going everyday.

1st Cabin Weekend

2009-08-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

May 22-24

The cabin season has started!! We had a wonderful weekend. It was not real warm but we did enjoy a little water time.

The kids enjoyed climbing their favorite tree and the new Ice Cream truck that drew them to the road FAST!! Thanks Papa for buying them treats!

Candy Graduates from Preschool

2009-08-31T13:16:00.000-07:00

May 21st

Candy graduated from preschool today!! We shed a few tears and her teacher did a GREAT job with the graduation ceremony. She had hats for all the kids, and as they walked across the stage the teacher stated what the students wanted to be when they grew up. Candy wanted to be a dancer when she grew up. We are so proud of all that Candy was able to do this year and look forward to seeing her off on a bus in the fall!!

The day after graduation the class had a fun day at the park for their last day of school. We brough graduation hat treats for the kids to eat and everyone loved them. We will miss all of our preschool friends. Thanks for a great year!

Ice Cream School Projects

2009-08-31T13:09:00.000-07:00

May 21st

Ice Cream had an open house to show us projects he had been working on in school this year. He had a wonderful report, art projects, climbing the rope in gym, and a computer project as just a few. We enjoyed seeing all the wonderful things he has learned in 2nd grade. He is a great students and enjoys learning. Ice Cream gets to call home on the football phone when great things are done at school. The students never know when it is but if they get a good test, or spelling, or do something great they get to call home. The last time he call Papa was there and got to answer and hear about his 100% math test.

Waldo

2009-08-31T13:07:00.000-07:00

May 21st

School life for Doughnut is a little crazy.

It is a fun week at school and this is what the students wanted him to dress as.

He is excited his Halloween costume is now done!!

Spring Started Warm!!

2009-08-31T13:01:00.000-07:00

May 19th

We had a beautiful spring day and the kids enjoyed a little sprinkler time!!

Milk Dud just loves the water and cannot get enough of it.!

Race for the Cure

2009-06-22T21:37:00.001-07:00

May 15th

We walked/froze in the Race for the Cure again this year. In years past we have enjoyed a great walking miles and miles. This year it was so cold we barely moved most of the night. When we packed up and went home it was 38 degrees and the sun had been up for 2 hours. The tent was cold!! We did raise money for cancer research and are proud of our kids for not complaining! We only hope for better weather next year!

1st TOOTH lost....lost

2009-06-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

May 14th

Candy had a tooth that was sooo close to falling out. Daddy took them to the park and and when they came home to get ready for bed and she was brushing her teeth the tooth was GONE!!

Candy did not panic just said, "I lost my tooth." We were able to write a note and the tooth fairy still came. We will never know where that tooth went! Smiles are looking very different here now!

Papa's Birthday

2009-06-22T21:25:00.001-07:00

May 13th

We had a Rock Band birthday party for Papa Popcorn. We had everyone enjoying the new Wii again. They played until way past their bedtimes.

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Below is my Dad's college roommate "Uncle" to all of us!

Preschool Field Trip to the Zoo

2009-06-22T21:16:00.000-07:00

May 13th

Candy and I were able to go on a field trip with her preschool. (Lucky for us that someone was able to watch Milk Dud for the morning.) It started out cold and rainy, got hot while we ate our picnic lunch, and then started to rain as we pulled into the parking lot at the end.

We were able to spend some time with her friends and see some wonderful animals. It was fun having just Candy for a change.

Many of the girls from Candy's class.

It smells in here is what we heard over and over again!

Mother's Day

2009-06-20T04:53:00.000-07:00

May 10

We had a beautiful Mother's day. The kids (with Dad) made me breakfast in bed. They made buttermilk pancakes with strawberries and ice cream for topping. (My favorite!) We ate slowly and shared bites with everyone. The kids made cards and I just loved them.

My dad was able to get Great Grandma here for the afternoon so we met them for lunch. We enjoyed a quiet meal out. It was nice not to cook at all!

We then went to a local favorite garden area to see the tulips. It was a beautiful day. We thought Great Grandma would enjoy it but Papa forgot the foot pedals to her wheel chair and the place was packed so they did not have any left to rent. So Papa drove around and they could see quite a few from the car but then they left.

We enjoyed the park for a couple hours and our kids wanted to stay longer. As you can see they found lots to look at.

Thanks for making it a wonderful Mother's Day!!

Last fall Milk Dud was just learning to walk!

Now.... Milk Dud leads the way!

Candy's Friend Birthday Party

2009-06-16T18:05:00.000-07:00

May 3rd

Candy celebrated her 5th birthday with friends. She knew who she wanted and her list was BIG. That is our little social butterfly. She wanted the boys and the girls.

We enjoyed having the party at the local gym and everyone had a good time. We were able to play some running games, bounce house, and ducky wucky (family favorite) with the kids.

May Day

2009-06-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

May 1st

I just love May Day. We celebrated this as kids and loved getting out there early before anyone else was out. Our neighborhood does not really do much but I remind my kids that it is the fun of delivering gifts (candy) to others and having them be surprised. We got up early and my kids were surprised when they got a few baskets from neighbors.

Rock band is now a family favorite and

Milk Dud enjoys playing a few tunes with the boys!!

Candy's birthday

2009-06-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

April 28

Our day was planned months ago. Let me take you back just a little.

When I was due with Milk Dud, Sept. 2007, I was OVERDUE. My mother suggested we go get pedicures that evening. We took Candy with us and she enjoyed getting her nails painted but not the FULL treatment with her feet in the tub. (She was 3 1/2 years old.) She has never forgotten that night and has always said she would go back when her feet reached the tub.

A few months ago she said when she turned 5 her feet would reach the tub at the pedicure place. That is what she asked for and that is what she got. Candy and I went and got our feet done. She loved it, was quiet and showed her feet and hands to everyone that would look for days.

When leaving I asked how she liked it.

She said she would like to do it again when she turned 7.

I was thinking this was a fun tradition to start but why wait 2 years. I said, "Well how old are you today? "

She said, "5."

I said, "What comes after 5?"

She is a quick learner and said, "Yeh when I am 6!!"

It is a date for sure!

Bible Day for Ice Cream

2009-06-16T17:28:00.000-07:00

April 26th

Ice Cream was giving a Bible in church today.

He was excited to see it and we will be going to a small class on reading the Bible.

We are getting ready to start Wednesday school next year.

He is almost done with Sunday school at our church.

Family Birthday Party

2009-06-16T12:38:00.000-07:00

April 25th

We just keep celebrating these birthdays. Ice Cream and Candy celebrated with our families. We are lucky enough to have them all close so we were able to enjoy a day together.

The kids had a great day and enjoyed playing rock band. We put it together that morning for the families to play. Everyone joined in and had a great time. We start touring soon!!

Thanks for all the wonderful gifts the kids were given. We have very generous families and our kids were spoiled.

Milk Dud 18 Month Check-up

2009-06-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

Ok - so this one is out of order but I almost forgot.

April 16

Height 33 1/2 inches = 70%

Weight 26 lbs 2 oz = 50%

Head size 20 1/8 inch = off the charts

Ok - so our kids have huge heads!! Everything else went really good. Had one small shot and Milk Dud did just great.

It is hard to believe how big he is getting.

Nieces 8th and 5th Birthday Party

2009-06-15T21:13:00.000-07:00

April 24th

Celebrated our nieces 8th and 5th birthdays!!

It was a cool night but everyone had a great time.

Happy Birthday Girls!
Cute flip flop cake!

Kindergarten Roundup

2009-06-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

April 24th

We are only days away from wishing Candy a happy 5th birthday and we are taking her for her first trip to kindergarten!! She had a fun morning meeting a teacher, playing, coloring and feeling like she was in kindergarten. At some point she thought she was going to start right away and Doughnut (dad) told her she would not start until the fall or when the Vikings start playing. So now when people ask her if she is going to kindergarten she tells them she gets to go when the Vikings start playing.

Hair Cuts

2009-06-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

April 24th

7th Tooth for Ice Cream GONE!

2009-06-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

April 24th

Matching Boys

2009-06-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

April 14th

This year Milk Dud and Ice Cream got matching shirts and Milk Dud could not be more excited. He just loves when they match and Ice Cream does not mind at this point. They have a few more since it is so fun to look up to your brother.

Easter

2009-06-15T20:30:00.000-07:00

April 12th

We had a wonderful Easter with family.

The kids had a wonderful time searching for eggs

and looking at their Easter baskets.

Coloring eggs was fun!

Went down the street to Auntie's house for lunch. They had a fun Easter Egg hunt outside for the kids. (Ok - we have a large family but it was just mine and Milk Dud was sleeping.) Thanks cousin for planning it my kids were spoiled!!

Our cousin's new little one!! She is SOOOO CUTE!!

Isaac's Birthday - April 11th

2009-06-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

April 11th

Ice Cream's acual birthday is April 11th. He was able to bring in treats to his classroom on April 10th. (I know we celebrate a TON!) He wanted to bring in cookies for his class. He was able to handout cookies to his classmates and then with all the extra cookies the kids get to walk around the school and find teachers to share with. We went to the 1st grade teacher right away (she will always be a favorite) and we found the gym teacher working outside but he did share with most of the other staff.

We headed out of town for the weekend (also Easter) and celebrated at Papa and Nana's house. We got doughnuts for breakfast which is a favorite for all.

Took the kids to an Easter Egg hunt down the street at a local school. It was for kids up to 7 and Ice Cream was dissappointed when he found this out. Since it was his birthday and he had only been 8 for a day they allowed him to join in!! Lucky for all of us.

Milk Dud was the only one that got lots of pictures at the hunt. The others moved to fast! He really enjoyed finding the eggs and once he knew there was candy inside it was even better!
Face on an 8 year old!! Where does the time go?

Ice Cream was able to get a few gifts from Mom, Dad, Candy, and Milk Dud. He got a Wii game, and a Rip Stick. He was really excited about everything but he really wanted a Rip Stick.

Yes, another cake for the family to eat!!

He slept in Papa's office and built himself a fort to sleep under. This is how we found him!

Hospital - Candy SICK!!

2009-06-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

April 6-7

After returning home from Ice Cream's birthday party the babysitter said that Candy had a headache. We treated her for a headache and things went ok (she has never said she had a headache before). During the middle of the night she started to vomit and did not stop for 36 hours. She always said my head hurts so bad mom. She kept very little down but really wanted to drink. She vomited so much and so hard she burst tons of blood vessels on her face and I thought she had a rash for awhile.

On Monday morning, I took her in to make sure we were not missing anything and she could not keep any liquids down. She was dehydrated and needed to head right to the hospital. Lucky for us, Papa was at home and was able to take care of Milk Dud and Dad was able to get out of work. Once we got to the hospital, she did not vomit again but we needed lots of fluids. It took most of that day before she would eat/drink much and by the next morning she was feeling better and ready to go home.

This was our first kid in an overnight in the hospital so we were all a little nervous. We had fantastic nurses and a doctor we just love. We felt in good hands. Candy's playmate sent over balloons, and a stufffed animal for her to love on.

We were glad to get home and suffered a few more headaches that week but just had some kind of virus. We were thankful that no one else got sick. But it seems from that weekend on we have not been able to slow down.

Ice Cream's 8th Birthday Party with classmates

2009-06-15T19:34:00.000-07:00

April 4th, 2009

Ok, so I am posting this in August it has been busy here!!

Ice Cream had a wonderful birthday party with 10 friends. We held it at the local gym of our small town. It turned out great and everyone had a fun time.

We played games... 4-square being a favorite.

Ice Cream had a wonderful time and was so excited about his wonderful friends. Everyone was so generous with all the gifts. We are lucky that he has such kind friends.

We were able to bring in our bounce house.

Easter Cookies taken from a fall favorite

2009-04-02T20:46:00.001-07:00

We have always made these cookies into candy corn in the fall, and

I have always thought I could make them look like an Easter Egg.

I think they turned out ok.

If you want to see the post and recipe it is here.

Farm Babies and extras

2009-04-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

April 2nd

We were able to attend a fun preschool outing with our preschool friends. We went to a local farm that is part of our park system in the county. We were able to see baby pigs, sheep, and chicks. Everyone enjoyed all the animals except Milk Dud. He is really scared of them now.

We were also able to see how they tapped the tree to get sap to make maple syrup.

We also pulled the kernels off of their homegrown corn and made popcorn.

Yummy!!!

Cribs are for non climbers

2009-04-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

April 1st

Ok - this is not joke. I have said from the beginning, "this is a climber." He is my earliest child to climb/fall out of his crib. I had just put him down and he was not even crying. I was in the next room and heard ...BOOM!!

I ran in there to find Milk Dud crying like he was scared and not hurt. I asked him if he was hurt and he pointed to his finger. I looked him over and then put him to bed. When he woke-up he had a nice mark on his forehead and then on the 2nd when I washed his hair I could see the other mark on the back side of his head.

6th Tooth GONE

2009-04-02T20:22:00.000-07:00

April 1st

Ice Cream lost another tooth at school. He has been working on it, and we knew it would be soon. What an April Fools day surprise for him. He lost it while in line to leave for the day. He was a little worried but made it to the nurse and on the bus without any problems. We are now working on the other two loose ones.

5 Minute Chocolate Cake

2009-04-02T19:54:00.001-07:00

End of March

We are greatful for wonderful friends that find fun things for us to make and EAT!! Friends from our old neighborhood came for a playdate and brought a fun activity for everyone. We made 5 Minute Chocolate Cake. Really, it takes 5 minutes to mix, and cook (microwave), and not much more time to eat. We had a fun time and have tried it 2 more times since.

Here we are sharing our fun with our Tuesday playdate.
We thought Grandma and Grandpa would enjoy it and they did.

They went home with a copy to make it at home.

If you want to enjoy some cake also, here you go...I warn you, read the warning at the bottom before you start.

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips

(optional)a small splash of vanilla extract

1 large coffee mug (We do not have large coffee mugs so I used a soup mug and a small bowl )

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

Art Show for Candy

2009-04-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

March 19th

Candy was featured in an art show in the gallery at our community center. The preschool had an art show, and it was fantastic. She was able to come up with her own idea. "A Colorful Window" was painted to look like a stained glass window from our church.

We were excited to see her work.
Who knows this might just start something.

St. Patrick's Day ....I know I am behind

2009-04-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

March 17th

I know we are not Irish, but how can you not have fun and we Swedes can think green, right? Candy's preschool had a leprechaun come and leave footprints, and green snacks at school and I think the leprechaun decided to come home with us because we had a mess on St. Patrick's Day. The kids woke to find foot prints on their faces, gold candy money all over the floor (his bag of gold must have ripped), and green milk in the fridge. It was exciting for our household.

We had conferences tonight (April 2nd) with Ice Cream's teacher. She had to tell us how excited Ice Cream was on St. Patrick's day and how all the kids were really jealous they did not get gold coins at their house. I am not sure they were excited about the milk.

Milk Dud does not drink cow's milk for the most part. He just does not want it. But turn it green and he was willing to try it. He did not like it but he tired it. The other two children would not even try it. Thanks to Dad for finishing it so it would not go to waste.

We all wore green and had to take a few quick pictures.

Milk Dud turns 18 months tomorrow!

Last bit of Spring Break

2009-03-23T12:12:00.000-07:00

March 12-15

We had a wonderful end of spring break.

We traveled to see great friends and their two beautiful daughters.

Thanks to Nana and Papa, the older kids enjoyed the long car ride with their new DVD players. (Great Christmas gift!) Milk Dud enjoyed the ride so much he forgot to take a nap!! Lucky for him, Mom sat near and entertained him for 6 hours!

We enjoyed a trip to a Children's Museum.

We made homemade pizza. Every0ne made it the way they wanted it.

We enjoyed getting the kids doughnuts. Our

Goddaughter had this to say about doughnuts awhile back, and

we just had to treat her again.

We enjoyed a cool day at the zoo. By the end, we had a few less layers and a lot of wet feet. The melting snow was almost as much fun as the animals. We did see a very pregnant giraffe and were able to feed her. Did you know that a garaffe does not sit down once pregnant and is with baby for 15 months!

Our first outdoor picnic of the year!!

We brought our Wii along for Ice Cream to play during down times. He was able to play with the adults after all the younger kids went to bed. He loved that. On the last day, as we were packing, we let the middle children play. When we went to eat brunch the babies thought it was their turn and jumped right up to play.

Spring break = indoors???

2009-03-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

We did it!! I got out of the house and on time for an outing with 5 kids. I am so lucky to have great nieces and wonderful kids. We had a great day, enjoyed our picnic lunches and were joined by our nephew and other Auntie.

Milk Dud was like a new kid here.

We were here 6 weeks ago and he had a hard time climbing and

doing everything by himself.

Today, he just took off and tried and did everything.

Our little guy is getting BIG!!

This is the large slide that all the kids just loved.

If you know sign language, Milk Dud is signing

"MORE" before he is even off the slide.

Swimming with Cousins - spring break

2009-03-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

March 8th

We had a great spring break. We were lucky enough to have the cousins for a night. We started with a fun swim at our community center. Auntie stayed and helped so we could all swim. Everyone had a great time. Auntie stayed for dinner but was soon asked to leave by her youngest. She kept saying, "I thought you were leaving us Mommy."

Happy Birthday Daddy - spring break starts

2009-03-09T20:49:00.000-07:00

March 5th

We were lucky to get our nieces for a visit on Doughnuts birthday. We surprised Ice Cream at school and watched the sundaes. Then we went outside as it was warm and there was just enough snow left to get in a few runs. (There was a HUGE pile of water at the bottom so we all were wet and dirty when we got in. Sorry, Auntie for sending all the snow stuff home WET and DIRTY!)

Happy Birthday Doughnut!! We had a wonderful celebration on Thursday, March 5th. Daddy wanted homemade pizza, and brownie triffle for supper. We then were able to surprise him with a few new gifts one being Mario Cart for the WII. Everyone got into it. It did not take Milk Dud long to know how to turn the wheel.

Pop Corn and a Principal Sundae

2009-03-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

We finished "I love to Read Month" at school with a bang!! The school of 150 students was challenged to read 108,000 minutes in the month of February. Last year, they read 107,999 minutes so they were going to beat it by ONE minute this year. I heard from Ice Cream many times this month, "if I had only read one more minute last year." Well, Ice Cream loves to read, listen to us read, and listen to books on tape. His goal was to have 100 minutes a day because he knew many days he would be over and might get about 1000 a week. If the school met the large goal, they would get a popcorn party and the Principal would be made into an ice cream sundae. The school ended up reading over 140,000 minutes in those 28 days in February. Ice Cream had the most minutes read in his class, so he was able to help make the Principal into a sundae. It was fun to go watch. The kids were very proud of themselves.

The first picture is the second/third grade teachers. (They have combined classrooms with both grades in each room.) Then Ice Cream's classmates.

Ice Cream getting his popcorn.

Principal becoming a sundae.

Reading

2009-03-08T20:05:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the library. Candy can hardly wait to look at the books when we get home and Milk Dud joined right in today. Milk Dud is looking at books and finding things in pictures for us now. His favorite is I SPY books and an alphabet book.

I guess he likes things that start with a "B"

2009-03-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

In case you missed the last "B" thing check here. He also loves broccoli. We steam our broccoli and he always wants it right away. As you can see below he cannot get enough.

Fire Truck Birthday Party

2009-03-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

Candy was invited to a birthday party at a fire station.

It was tons of fun.

Here are a few pictures from that day of the birthday boy and Candy.

Favorite Book Characters

2009-03-08T19:26:00.000-07:00

February 27th

I love to read month at Ice Cream's school included a dress-up as your favorite character day. The families were welcome to join at the end of the day to see a magician. In case you need a little help - Candy is Fancy Nancy, Milk Dud is Winnie the Pooh, and Ice Cream is Harry Potter.

At our school carnival I was able to bid on a few teacher sponsored events. We won a night with the school media center person for a pizza party and movie night. I actually one 3 passes so Ice Cream was able to invite a few friends. It turned out to be quite a few of his friends that won so they had a great time.

Face Paint - Winter is getting LONG!

2009-03-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

Waterpark

2009-02-23T12:33:00.000-08:00

We just got back from the waterpark. Wow, are we tired. This is our 2nd, hopefully annual, time to the waterpark. Candy was sick last year so she was really excited to go. We with four other families from our neighborhood. We all stayed overnight and enjoyed lots of rides.

Milk Dud is now 17 months and just loves the water. He wanted to go down all the big/little rides and did many of the small ones by himself.

Candy tried all the rides and said her favorite ones were the bodyslides which we thought she was too small for. She loved sleeping in bunk beds and now wants some for her room. Candy tried the surfing ride 2 times. We thought after the first try she would not go back but she did. She was able to stay on for quite some time.

Ice Cream really likes the lazy river but is not very lazy on it. He enjoys swimming to empty tubes and moving fast. He tried the surfing ride a lot less this year. He fell off the first try and hurt his collar bone, but he tried again. Not as many tricks this year from him. The lines were long.

Doughnut (Dad) did some great tricks on the surfing ride. He did a barrel roll at least 2 times before falling off.

I enjoyed all the rides. The women went on the family ride together (it is a large tube everyone sits in). One friend kept saying how much she hated going down the ride backwards. Well, I knew that if I asked the lifeguard quietly to make sure she was backwards he would help me out. My friend in the poka-dot-suit had no idea I did that and when the lifeguard turned us as he pushed us down the tube she was confused. I laughed the whole way down and of course broke the news at the bottom. I sure hope she has forgiven me, but I am still laughing!

This was our group last year. Unfortunely, we did not get a large group picture this year.

Buns

2009-02-23T11:45:00.001-08:00

February 19th

I really like to bake. It makes me happy when I know my family and friends really enjoy what I have made. Today we made buns to go with supper. We have not made them for a while, so my family was excited. Milk Dud could not WAIT for them to be done. We kept checking on them to see if they were ready. He was very sad, as you can see below, when we had to wait longer. We did not wait for dinner and ate a few as soon as they were cool enough.

Last year, for Ice Cream's birthday, we were talking about what to bring for a treat to his class. He said, "Mom, I would really like to bring your buns for everyone. I know you have to bring in store bought food but that is what I would really want." (We thought that was great for a 1st grader to choose buns over sweats.)

Wigs - from 1970's?

2009-02-19T12:29:00.000-08:00

February 19th

We had a few friends here today. They decided to play dress-up and I did not even get the camera out for that. But when they found the wigs I had to take a few shots.

This is Candy looking at herself in the mirror.

Great Weekend with Zach the Zebra

2009-02-19T12:19:00.000-08:00

We had Zach for the whole weekend.

He is the traveling zebra from Candy's preschool.

This is our last day with him.

Thanks honey for the beautiful flowers, cake, and MP3 player!!

What do you get when it melts and then freezes?

2009-02-19T12:08:00.001-08:00

A fun place for kids to play.
Just make sure the moms know they will be WET!!

Good Friends!!

Valentine's Night Good Friends

2009-02-19T11:29:00.000-08:00

We live in one of the greatest neighborhoods around. When Doughnut and I were looking to move, I wanted a neighborhood with lots of kids. We got it. We enjoy everyone so much and look forward to nicer weather when we see people more. We were lucky enough to be invited to a Valentine Party right next door. We had pizza and treats. The adults enjoyed a little Guitar Hero and band time while the kids watched movies and fell asleep. (OK - my kids did not fall asleep and Candy was up until 1:00 when I took her home. Just another reason why we should not let her sleep in the afternoon. She was GREAT the next two days and I do not regret the fun evening at all.) Ice Cream fell asleep around midnight, so not much better, but they were all good. I guess we will have to host soon. What holiday is next??!!??!

Kindergarden Screening

2009-02-19T11:24:00.000-08:00

February 13th

Candy went to her Kindergarden screening today. Now she tells us she just needs her shots and she can go. (Ice Cream keeps telling her how many shots she will get, but she does not seem too nervous yet.) She did a great job, and they let us come and watch everything. She scored 28/28 for her age which is great. She weighed in at 90% (crazy as she is very thin) but her height was also at 90%!

We also ahd Zach the preschool zebra for the weekend. You will see him pop up on pictures in the next 2-3 posts!! We had a good time with him and scrapbooked what we did with him for the school book.

Candy's School Valentine's Party

2009-02-18T12:07:00.000-08:00

February 13th

I was able to sneak into Candy's school Valentine party and take a few pictures. The kids had a great time delivering their Valentine's and enjoyed a good story. They did a little freeze dancing!! Candy loves to dance and it was fun to pose when the music stopped.

The teachers made rice krispie treats inside the foil.

It was so cute!!

Candy loves to dress-up and wear her fun/dressy coats.

Milk Dud just sat and watched all the kids dance and he enjoyed his snack.

Trying to get the group together

2009-02-17T19:56:00.000-08:00

February 13th

So since they were all dressed for their Valentine parties I got the camera out. Milk Dud was so funny because he did not want anyone by him for a picture. He wanted to be in the picture by himself as you can see below.

My Valentine's - I love ALL of YOU!!

2009-02-17T19:41:00.000-08:00

What are these called?

2009-02-17T19:38:00.000-08:00

I am not sure what you call these paper fortune tellers? Ice Cream came home with one he found. I remembered making these in elementary school and since we had a sample I thought we could make them. It turned out to be a fun project and something both the big kids were able to do by just following me. Candy was able to fold it almost perfect. Ice Cream did a perfect job but to a 1st born child if it is off even a little he gets frustrated. Candy just comes close and she is happy.

Brought back fun memories of my own elementary days. It is great having kids help you with that. I can just hope we are making memories for our kids.

Church - All Dressed up

2009-02-17T19:36:00.000-08:00

Valentine Projects

2009-02-17T19:22:00.000-08:00

We enjoy Valentine's Day and have enjoyed making our

Valentine's for school and friends.

This year we did a couple of projects.

Ice Cream made the popcorn bag and we taped microwave popcorn on the back. Ice Cream was excited when everyone said they really liked his Valentine. (For a boy, that does not really like craft things, I think he was glad he made something original.)

Candy was more then excited to make her "FEET".

It took us over a week to make them and get all the names on it.

She wanted to write everyones names so it took

awhile as she is not a fast writer and gets distracted easily.

She really enjoyed passing them out.

We put two pencils on the back for all her school friends. Ice Cream enjoyed making his Valentine box once I suggested we make a pokemon box. We covered it in gold paper and he cut some cards up and pasted them on his box.

We also made treat bags for our friends in the neighborhood. We filled bags with gummy bears and put a note that said, "You are BEARY special to us." Fun ideas to remember for next year.

February - "I LOVE to READ month"

2009-02-17T19:15:00.000-08:00

February 7

We had a fun morning of soccer and then a celebration of books at Doughnuts' school.

It is a fun morning of crafts about our favorite books, games, and book readings.

This picture is right before the "big yellow bird" showed up.

He was not sure what that was or if he should like it or not!

Carnival Night

2009-02-17T19:00:00.000-08:00

February 6th

Today we were busy. We had a few extra kids so the moms could go to the school to help get ready for the carnival. (The carnival is a fundraiser/family fun night at our school.) I helped by watching a few extra kids. We did craft projects for about 1 hour and played the rest of the time. Milk Dud was excited I let him look at the beads for awhile.

Nana was able to keep Milk Dud at home at the last minute. We were glad for the help. The carnival is crowded, and we had to work a booth so it would be difficult with Milk Dud. We were ready to go, and we told Milk Dud that he would get to stay with Nana. He then found Candy and moved her in front of Nana and put Nana's hands on her. Then Milk Dud went over to the door as if he was going with us and Nana could have Candy. We just laughed that he was trading Candy for him. He is such a smart child. Then later that night he found his coat, snowpants, and shoes and was going to go look for us.

We were busy at school playing lots of fun games.

Candy got her hair colored. Her scalp was tinted for a week!

This is the fish races! We did not win.

Candy's Room

2009-02-05T18:38:00.001-08:00

I can say our kids go to bed really easy. They are allowed to look at books for awhile to help them go to sleep. but they usually even turn out their own lights when done. Candy also takes time to redo her room. Tonight Candy was not real tired as she fell asleep during quiet time during the afternoon (only happens every once in awhile). When she does take a nap she has a hard time going to sleep at night. As long as our kids are quiet and in their rooms we are pretty good with what they are doing. This is not unlike her to set things up around her. (Two night ago she had all the Barbies all around her and she feel asleep on the floor). I thought it was cute and had to post it.

This is the next day during quiet time. She made a pillow fort and fell asleep in the middle. I could post on this almost daily with something new she has made.

Muffins with Mommy

2009-02-04T19:49:00.000-08:00

January 30th

Candy's preschool invited the Moms to school today.

We were able to have muffins and play with them for about 1/2 hour.

Candy and a friend put on a puppet show for me.

It was fun to see what she enjoys to do at school.

(Daddy's get to go in Feb.)

Friend's Birthday Party

2009-02-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

January 29th

Our good friend celebrated her 5th birthday and we were lucky enough to be her only guests at the party. We enjoyed a fun morning of jumping and then lunch at McDonald's, what more could a 5 year old want? Happy Birthday!!!

This is the birthday girl going down the slide. All the kids went done many times.

Milk Dud loved it but it was work carring him up and down.

Kids In the Kitchen

2009-02-04T19:25:00.000-08:00

January 28

We hosted a Kids in the Kitchen today.

We are part of a Moms Club and do a variety of activies.

We made "Ice Cream Cones".

We used Bugles, white almond bark, and M&M's. They were a big hit.

School Concert

2009-02-04T19:16:00.000-08:00

January 27th

Ice Cream had his school concert tonight. It was great seeing him with all his school friends. He is not one that enjoys singing and dancing and that was what this night was all about. We were able to get Nana Banana and Papa and Grandma here for the fun night.

They sang and danced for about an hour.

This is Ice Cream's classroom. They all sit on the excersice balls - no chairs.

This is the dancing they did. He was smiling!!

Milk Dud was all dressed up for the night.

He just enjoyed all the treats mom brought to keep him quiet.

5th Tooth

2009-02-04T19:04:00.000-08:00

Soccer - Inside

2009-01-25T20:33:00.000-08:00

January 24

Ice Cream started indoor soccer this weekend. It was fun to see how much he has changed from last summer. I think he still enjoys defense most, but we might see a few more goals as he chases the ball more often. The only good pictures I got are of him during his time playing goalie.

Friday Outing - No School

2009-01-25T20:02:00.000-08:00

January 23rd

No school meant a fun day out with all three kids. We were lucky enough to have some friends join us for the day.

Milk Dud loves balls, and this ball pit was just perfect for him.
Milk Dud had gone down the slide a few times by himself and then Candy came over and thought he needed help. I think he is telling her, "Go, I can do without your help!!!" He really did not care, and she helped him a few more times.

Ice Cream wanted to take Milk Dud all they way to the top of the two story tunnels in the play area. Milk Dud thought this was great until he wanted to go different directions.....mostly down. We were trying to get him to the top so we could get out faster.

Ice Cream went down the huge slide with Milk Dud. I got a few pictures, but since I went first, I was still a little dizzy once I got to the bottom.

Here are a few group shots I was able to get.

Frosted Trees at the Bus Stop

2009-01-25T19:46:00.000-08:00

January 22

Sledding Playdate

2009-01-25T19:39:00.000-08:00

January 20th

We were very lucky when we moved to have great neighbors, and we were also lucky to already know a few families in the area including college friends that have kids the same age. Candy and their youngest are 2 months apart, and we have been having playdates with them since we moved here. This year it has worked to switch kids on Tuesdays. One of us gets a break from kids and the other has a playdate. It is just as easy to have them as they are now almost 5 and they entertain each other all day. Today we went outside and played on the hill in the back yard. We had a great time!!!

Good Night Moon

2009-01-21T18:02:00.000-08:00

January 19th - Martin Luther King Day - No School

We were able to take the kids to Good Night Moon. I arranged a group to attend. We ended up with 82 people plus 10 children under 2 years old. We all had a great time and enjoyed the show. We are very lucky to have a great theatre here and lots of friends that enjoy going with us. Candy was excited to wear a fancy dress again, and we were able to get another use out of the boys' sweaters.

Baby Shower

2009-01-21T17:59:00.000-08:00

January 17th

We had a fun shower for my cousin's wife. Candy had a great time playing with other cousin girls and would love to see them again. Congrats to the soon to be mom and dad.

-20 degrees - school 2 hours late

2009-01-21T17:52:00.000-08:00

January 15th

It is REALLY cold at -20 degrees, and then add wind chill, we are cold. Our school was 2 hours late so we enjoyed a warm bowl of COCO Wheats and a science experience from Doughnut. We had heard that if we tossed boiling water into the air it would freeze before it hit the ground. It does freeze, steams a lot, and makes a cool sound. We had to do it twice and then dad said he had to come in it was cold outside.

Playing with Friends

2009-01-21T17:40:00.000-08:00

January 13th

Today we had the largest playdate we have had for a long time. We had 3 four year olds, 1 five year old, and 1 three year old along with Candy and Milk Dud. We had a wonderful day and they all got along great. We had lunch, built forts, and played playdough.

Family Swim Night

2009-01-21T17:29:00.000-08:00

January 9th

Since both Ice Cream and Candy are in swim lesson and Milk Dud just loves the pool, we have tried to get to the pool more often. Milk Dud just loves the water and went down the slide with the other two and by himself. At one point, he put his hands down and fell on his belly and shot down the slide. He could not stop smiling and wanted to go right back. We had to try and explain you have to sit down. Everyone at the pool kept asking us how old he was and how did we get him to like the water so much? He is still only 15 months.

Doughnut then had him going under the mushroom over and over again. He could barely walk as the water comes down hard but he loved it.

Snow Rides

2009-01-21T17:23:00.000-08:00

January 9th

Candy's 1st Swim Lesson

2009-01-21T17:17:00.000-08:00

Candy is finally old enough to take swim lessons at our community center. She was so excited. We put her into level two as she is a strong swimmer and has been able to jump off the edge and swim to the side since she was 2 years old. She has passed the swim test to go down the "big" slide and is really ready. Even with this, we are always nervous as she was the youngest one. She just loved it and listened to everything her teacher told her. We could not be more excited to see her love to learn.

4th Tooth GONE

2009-01-21T17:12:00.000-08:00

January 5th

Warm Day Inside

2009-01-20T11:21:00.000-08:00

January 2nd

We were having a fun day at home and got some great pictures of the kids. Uncle C and Aunt E gave the kids these great fleece sweatshirts. They all love wearing them, and with the cold weather here, we have needed them.

Milk Dud can now get a snack without saying a word. He gets us to go into the pantry, he points for his favorite thing to eat, and sits down at the little black table. We now call the table his snack table. After the flu, he has been eating like crazy and hardly stops all day. Here he is enjoying a snack at the black table.

Candy and Ice Cream are still enjoying the WII. They have been good about knowing how much they get to play. Milk Dud knows that you swing the remotes and something happens. He wants a remote all the time and knows the difference if we give him a real one or something else. If anyone has a WII remote that is broken let us know as we need one for him. He also loves to have it tied to his wrist. I guess he is starting early.

New Year's Day

2009-01-19T20:09:00.000-08:00

Candy and Ice Cream were lucky enough to spend the night at Grandma and Papa's house with their cousins. The next day their uncle took them sledding on the pond. It was really cold, but they had a great time. Thanks Uncle for asking them to go!!

We then took the kids out for pizza on the way home to celebrate 2009. Ice Cream tried new pizzas at the buffet he had never tried, and we are excited he is trying new things. He said his New Year's Resolution is to try new foods. Candy did not know what to do for a resolution.

1st Hair Cut

2009-01-17T08:39:00.000-08:00

December 11

Milk Dud got his first hair cut in December. It was getting long, but we really did not want to loose any curls. We are lucky enough to have a wonderful mom in the neighborhood that has a salon in her house. (Quick, easy, and friendly.) He sat ok for a 15 month old, and I am glad to say we still have curls.

Before

During

After

New Year's Eve

2009-01-16T12:19:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!! We have a great neighborhood. We were able to bring in the New Year with them. We had a progressive dinner with lots of good food, fun games, and some great costumes. We had a theme of 60's, 70's or 80's.

Flu - Flu - Flu

2009-01-15T19:48:00.000-08:00

Ok - After Candy was sick before Christmas, we had 2 whole wonderful days of thinking she was the only one getting sick. We enjoyed lots to eat on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day but we awoke the next morning to Pizza and Ice Cream sick. We soon heard that Papa was not feeling so great. By the end of the day, we were getting a little worried. Then Milk Dud started being sick. Nana, Doughnut, and I could only wonder if we had made it or if we were next. We spent days cleaning, washing and caring for someone that was sick.

We canceled our family party and were lucky my cousin was able to host everyone else. Pizza was feeling fine and Candy wanted to go so they left for the day of family fun. Doughnut and I were afraid of being carriers or of getting sick while we were there. Nana was the next to go down.

We were able to send everyone home on Sunday thinking, "wow, we made it." Doughnut went to work on Monday, I took the kids to a fun activity in our Moms Club. About 5:00 pm called Doughnut to say we were on our way home and I was not feeling so great only to hear he was already sick and did not know how he would get home. We made it home. Lucky for us have some great neighbors that took our kids for 3 hours while we rested. We then put them to bed and felt good enough the next day to tag team the kids. It was a long day, but thankfully we are over it!!!

HO HO HO

2009-01-15T19:32:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day

2009-01-15T19:21:00.000-08:00

December 25

These are the stocking I have made for the kids. We have the names going across the front. I just love them and was really glad to get Milk Dud's done before Santa arrived. This is how they looked Christmas morning.

All three kids got what they asked Santa for.

Candy - "boogy board that is straight"

Milk Dud - "squeaky shoes"

Ice Cream - bokugan
Santa was kind and gave them each a few other things. They were excited to both get sleds, stuffed lovie animals, undies, socks, books, and candy.

Uncle Pizza really enjoys when one kid sits on his lap, but today he got all three. I think I will have to remind him of this as he was the next one to get the flu.

Candy and Milk Dud helped Papa peal the potatoes. We had a tasty turkey dinner.

We needed to try the new sleds out so we headed outside after supper!!

We ended the day with a little more snuggle time and a new movie. Milk Dud does not watch t.v. yet but he snuggled in for this picture and then went to bed.

Christmas Eve

2009-01-15T12:32:00.000-08:00

December 24th

We spent Christmas Eve enjoying each other and celebrating. We started the day with back bends. Not sure why, but the kids all of a sudden started doing them. Milk Dud tried to copy (that is all he is doing is copy, copy, copy) but could not quite get it.

We then decided to make our lefse. We did not even comb hair before we started. It is a messy process. We all ate as much as we wanted and had plenty left. Papa mixed all the lefse the night before and the guys took turns frying as I was busy rolling.

We then got ready for church with time to spare for a few beautiful pictures. I have been trying to get in a few extra pictures as I am usually behind the camera.

When we arrived at church NO ONE was there. I think the whole family thought I had the wrong time by hours. I had only missed it by 1/2 hour so we had time to take more pictures before people even arrived at church. I think being this early is a first for our family.

I just have to remember this for next year.

We had a wonderful meal back at home. We celebrated with crab legs, meat balls, mashed potatoes, lefse, fruit, and cookies.

We open gifts on Christmas Eve. We all recieved many wonderful gifts and were blessed. We then had everyone get into their Christmas pj's and had one last surprise for our family. We got wii for the family. We have really enjoyed the family evenings playing and taking turns. We played for a few hours and then headed to bed for Santa to come.

Candy and Ice Cream have been planning Christmas Eve since Thanksgiving. They were going to have a sleepover together so they could get up early to check out their stockings. They moved their beds together onto the floor in Ice Cream's room, set up all their favorite things around them, and fell right to sleep. As they fell asleep, I needed to go finish Milk Dud's stocking. I have made us all stockings. Last year he was little and someone gave him a great stocking, so this year I had to get it done. I finished it by 10:00 pm!!!

Christmas Card Options

2009-01-15T11:47:00.000-08:00

Papa's Fish

2009-01-15T09:21:00.001-08:00

December 23

Pizza and Papa Popcorn went out fishing on December 23 and Papa caught a huge fish. It was a northern Pike caught on a 4 lb test line. It was 32 inches long and a little over 7 lbs.

10 kids - 4 different states

2009-01-14T17:02:00.000-08:00

We did it!! Twice in one year we had four families together. Once was this summer around the 4th of July and the other was for Christmas. We were lucky enough to find a beautiful place for the festivies to take place (thanks again for the cabin use). One little problem....Candy started having a belly ache, and after about 1 hour, the FLU hit. We left very fast because we were so worried we would pass it to the other families and ruin their Christmas. We were glad to be able to see everyone and were very sad it was cut short. As you can see, we took these pictures at the beginning and Candy looks great!!! Little did we know that this flu would be BAD!!! (We were able to keep it only to our family, but we all shared this flu bug over the next 9 days.)

Doughnut's Family Christmas

2009-01-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas celebration with Doughnut's family. We had terrible roads to get there but we made it and stayed overnight.

We did have the kids go outside for a short time and uncles pulled them in the sleds.... a treat for my kids as they never get to do that.

We then enjoyed wonderful treats, hot chocolate, appitizers, and soup. Oh - and everyone had wonderful hat hair!!!

Before we opened all the gifts, we like everyone to pose for some holiday pictures. This year with 6 children, two of them under 2, it was hard to get everyone looking at the same time.

We were lucky enough to take 5 grandkids with us to sleep at grandma and grandpa's for the night. Our kids just love being with their cousins and would love to spend more time with them. We got up in the morning, and I was able to play with them until noon. We played sardines (a reverse of hide and seek) which everyone enjoyed. Candy hid at one point on top of the chairs in their dinning room and we could not see her at all. It took along time for us to find her as she did not say a word. Such memories are made when we are able to be together.

These are the stockings that I have made. The ones on the left were done a few years ago and the ones on the right were the Christmas gift for our new nephew and his mom, dad, and dog. It was fun to make them. They have the names across them where I have covered them with graphics in the pictures.