Meg the entertainer...

Here's Meg singing "Woody Woody Woody" her own song from Disney's Toy Story....

haunting 2009

just some pics of the little ghouls...

little fashionista.

camping with 'da troop

Troop camping is a highly anticipated event if there ever was one. I took the troop to Camp Merrie Woode for 2 nights a few weekends ago... when it was actually warm and sunny!

To sum it up, it was fun, tiring and relaxing all at once. We earned our Outdoor Cooking Badge, so as you can imagine, we did all of our cooking outside, which is why I booked us a cabin, so at least I could sleep inside.

The girls chose the menu which included: Hobo Campfire packets, S'more Pancakes, Walking Tacos, Tin-foil oven Brownies, Lasagna in the Dutch oven, Banana Boats, Eggs/Sausage/Hashbrowns/toast over the fire.

Some skills we worked on:
- build, tend and put-out a fire
- cook over a fire using a skillet/foil/sticks
- light, assemble & cook on a camp stove
- make a tin-foil oven, and then bake something in it (our brownies were pretty awesome!)
- eat whatever you make "because that's all there is honey"

I'm already planning our next trip... probably going in the winter and staying in a cabin too!

a rosey surprise.

These showed-up on my doorstep yesterday. An early anniversary gift maybe, or just because?
thank you honey...

highchair demo.

Just a little demo of Meg and her new toy from Gran and Papa.

the littlest princess is now 2.

And so the twos have begun...she's becoming quite the little dancer, singer, baby-doll lover, sorter, fighter, story book hound, imitator, picky-eater, mess maker, dumper, streaker, swimmer, hugger, kisser, dreamer.

She's loads of fun. My little buddy Meg....happy birthday princess.

oh Henry!

Henry has once again started flag football (he's in the 4-5 year-old league). This is the same league where last year the kids were quite entertaining to watch as their actions barely resembled any sort of organized football. Many of them ran the wrong way, were easily distracted, pulled-off their own flags, pouted/sat down and cried in the middle of the field, picked dandelions, just hilarious stuff, you name it...

And so the comedy of pee-wee football lives on, beginning with last night's conversation I overheard:

Coach: "Can you believe that my son has already been playing football for 6 years!" (his 12 year-old son was there helping out)
Henry quips back: "I've played for seven!"
Coach: "How old are you Henry?"
Henry: "I'm five."

and this man actually sent home plays for the kids to learn...

beachy kids.

One of the best things about where we live is the accessibility to water. In South Bend, all you had was a river that you'd never think of swimming in, or an hour ride to Lake Michigan or some other lake... located in Michigan. But now that we live here (at Lake Bella Vista) we get to use our neighborhood beach anytime we want. Its free, the kids love it and its right down the street. There are also other kids down there for ours to play with. (Henry will play with any kid, Maddie usually has a few girlfriends who are down there too... and Meg is a minor celebrity when we arrive and is known as "Meggie" by all the other little girls.) Not to mention all the wholesome activities encountered... jumping off the dock, spraying your sister with your water gun, getting buried in the sand, playing "shake-n-bake" (rolling in the sand, jumping in the water, repeat...), building sand castles, catching fish with your net, swimming under water for the first time (which somehow just didn't happen in 3 sessions of swim lessons) and an overall feeling of summertime laziness for myself while I'm watching beach antics unfold.

And if we get sick of our beach, there are about 7 other lakes in a 5 mile radius that we could go to. And of course, the big Lake at Grand Haven, Muskegon, South Haven... etc.!

Well, considering today is getting pretty hot, we'd better be getting our suits on. ;-)

tooth fairy time...

Henry lost his first tooth today. I had to explain to him that he would grow another, bigger tooth and that eventually all of his teeth would fall out, one at a time. This was big news, and even though he's seen Maddie lose her teeth, it probably never dawned on him that it would happen to him.

... and as he looked in the mirror he said, "Awww, cool Mom!"

first pedicure.

...after all, baby's first pedicure is a milestone, right?

Start of Summer (aka S.O.S.)

Here are some snaps from our Start of Summer parade and carnival...highlights:
* Sat in the drizzle until the parade started... but the weather eventually cleared-up.
* Maddie handed-out candy and marched in the parade with our school. (she also helped paint the Assumption Eagle float with her class)
* Henry collected about 2 lbs of candy from Rockford's gutters, misc bookmarks/literature, 3 necklaces and one t-shirt.
* Kids rode the big ferris-wheel, bumper cars, motorcycles, went through the fun-house and attempted the climbing wall.
* Ate cotton candy.
* Ate cotton candy flavored Hawaiian Ice.
* Ate much more carnival food than desired.
* Made/painted free t-shirts compliments of our local toy-store.
* Meg zonked-out in her stroller.
* Ended-up having a nice, sunny afternoon and worn-out kids!

Maddie, Meg and their carriage.

My girls' new hobby involves Maddie pulling little Meg around like she's a princess; and Meg sitting there like royalty with her juice and blanket waving at people through her little, plastic windows. Let's just say it keeps them both busy, getting a little exercise and bonding time too.

Festival of the Arts

Today Greg took the kids downtown GR to the Festival of the Arts so I could catch up on some work, and this is what they brought home! (see caricature above... pretty cute, hey?) They also ate a lot of junk food, listened to a few bands, watched some dancers and did a few crafts. Now I wish I would've gone too! Maybe next year...

Maddie's wax museum

Here are some shots from one of the neatest projects Maddie has had assigned to her so far in her academic career... a Presidential Wax Museum. Every year the 4th Grade Wax Museum has a different theme, this year was U.S. Presidents. The school gym was divided-up into organized, little sections with red, white and blue paper chains with a "wax statue" in each section. And it was clear that the students had thoroughly done their research. They were all dressed-up as either their president (or first lady/child) and presented their information whenever someone walked up to their display.

Maddie was Jenna Bush, complete with a Texas Rangers baseball cap, speaking about her father George W. and his life and times in the White House. She did great! Not only did these kids learn about history, researching & writing, they touched on costuming, role playing and public speaking. And you could tell everyone put a lot of effort into it... Jackie Kennedy had her pearls on, FDR sat in his wheelchair, Grover Cleveland's wife wore her wedding dress...since she was the only first lady to get married in the White House. (see, I learned something!) Henry even shook Abe Lincoln's hand!

The whole thing was just totally inspiring... and I can't wait to see what the 4th grade teacher cooks-up for next year's class.

busy busy Meg.

this is how I spend my days... just trying to keep up!

"Team Ripple"

Greg picked up a fun, new bike attachment today for him and Henry... the Trail-a-bike. It attaches to Greg's regular bike with a simple bracket and after a mini-training session, they were cruising up and down the street, around the block and "places I've never been before Dad!".

Now they just need matching jerseys and they're ready to hit the bike trail. Too Awesome!

going to the big school.

Our little Henry graduated pre-school today! I could tell he was so proud to get his "diploma" as he marched across the classroom with his friends. He announced to his buds Jake and Evan, "Now we're going to the big school!"

I suppose that's better than the "big house", right?

Waiting for his name to be called.


Jedi's in training.

the degree.


such angels...


a delivery from Mya and Grandpa!

the Robins are back.

Our little Robin family is back, although in a different shrub this year. We are all having fun peeking-in on them when the mom and dad go for worms. Meg always wants to check on them when we're out there, but we don't get too close. (Mrs. Robin didn't like me photographing her babies either... after all, they've only hatched last week.) And it just occurred to me that I'm going to have to keep Kirby out of the backyard when they're learning to fly...

Slip-n-slide

Just a glimpse into our weekend...

May recap...

Maddie's first Piano recital. She played "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"... she was wonderful!
Meg's first haircut... multiple lollipops helped us succeed, and we kept her curls in the back!





Camping with our Girl Scout troop... awesome time!


Mother's Day... planting flowers with my little helpers.

piano progression...

Maddie's piano lessons are going great. She has advanced enough that she is now using the pedals... oooh. And she actually practices more than the required minimum of 30 min.a day! Even at 6:30 in the morning, like she couldn't just wait to get up and jam on the ivories! ...so I guess that means she likes it? Although she totally denies it.
I love being right. :-)

I'm nuts.

yup, that's me right now....

when I actually have time to ponder and pontificate, you'll see it here first. hopefully soon.

just meg.

here is just a little video of Meg... doing Meg things.

"fireflies"

Maddie's doing great at piano so far. Just after 4 weeks of lessons, she's reading music, counting her beats and playing like a little pro! The piece she's playing here is called "Fireflies".

happy 1/2 birthday Meg.

Here's the half-birthday girl. She got the gift of piggie-tails.

Happy 5th Henry!

Clearly, Henry is THE party dude.