Wordless Wednesday--Snowball Fight!

Fun in the Snow!

The kids couldn't wait to go outside and play in the snow yesterday. All day I said, "When Daddy comes home, we'll head outside." Since Joel's commute was a little longer than expected, I ended up bundling them up and taking them out before he got home.

All bundled up and ready to go!

Reese was SO excited to be outside in the snow! I thought she would be prissy, but she went right out and plopped down in the snow...

...and made a snow angel!

They couldn't wait to go down the snow-covered slide.

This is not the best picture, but I love the avalance of snow he caused. :)

Is this really my child having so much fun in the snow???
Joel made a pile of snow on the deck, hoping to make a fort. It turned out to be a better pile to jump in.
Finally it was time to take our little icicles inside for some hot chocolate to warm them up!
Ryan enjoying his first cup of hot chocolate made with soymilk.
Reese with her hot chocolate and marshmallows.

We can't wait to go out and play some more today!

It's a Party!

We had a few of Ryan's friends over yesterday for a little get-together to celebrate his birthday. We tried to get a shot of the motley crew, but it's kind of hard to get 8 kids: #1--smiling for the picture and #2--present for the picture. After several tries, this was the best we could do!

Hey, 7 out of 8 isn't bad! Reese is in the background on the phone going, "Can you believe my mom is making us pose for all of these pictures?!?"

Ryan was beaming when everyone was singing "Happy Birthday" to him. He had a Rice Krispie treat with 3 candles. :)

He got a lot of cool boy toys--trucks, construction equipment, and a Spiderman jet. Now, when he went to open the next present, I made him first take the card off and open that. He was taking so long to get that open that the girls just decided to open his present for him...and the kid had no clue!
Still opening his card, totally unaware that his present is being opened. :)
I thought the girls were going to have it totally out of the package before he noticed-twisty ties and all!

Jason had to give Joel a boost to rescue one of the helium balloons that floated away in the foyer. Great teamwork, boys!
Speaking of Jason, he was also very helpful with calming Clare down. (She was overwhelmed with all of the people.) Is there anything this guy can't do?

Carly and Jack

Ryan and Jack (the boys have to stick together around all of these girls!)

Ella and Laney showing Jack some lovin'.
Ryan got a cool pirate ship from Grandma Linda and Grandpa Stan.
Grandpa Stan was a little worried when Joel fired the cannon at Ryan, so he had him put on the safety glasses from the toolset. (Can you tell my dad raised three girls? Love ya, Dad!)
Clare felt refreshed after her big nap during the party. I'm sure she was even happier once she got to leave our crazy house and return home to her own home. :)

Ryan's Birthday Celebrations

I forgot that I wrote this post, but never actually posted it. Better late than never!

On Ryan's birthday he got to take Rice Krispie Treats to share with his friends. I made these with a non-dairy margarine, so they were safe for Ryan to eat.

We met Grandma Linda, Grandpa Stan, Kelly, Keith, Grace and Clare for lunch. Ryan actually got to order his very own Sprite for the first time. He's such a big boy!

Later that night I iced two of his allergen-free cookies and put candles on them. (He had asked all day for his birthday cake, but I hadn't planned on doing anything for him until his party. However, I was feeling really guilty when he sang "Happy Birthday" to himself and then tried to blow on his yogurt.)
He didn't seem to mind the iced cookies!

On Sunday Grandma Marsh and Grandpa Doug came to visit us for the day and celebrate Ryan's birthday.

The best thing about a January birthday? You haven't forgotten how to open presents since Christmas JUST ended. :)
He actually held up his shirt and told me to take a picture. What a funny kid!
He got this cute game called "Animal Scramble" from Brad, Amy, and the kids. I'm hoping it will help the kids burn off a little energy on these cold, winter days!

All in all, Ryan had a wonderful third birthday! Thanks for all of the wonderful gifts, cards, and well-wishes!

Grace and Clare

Grace and Clare came to stay with us last night while their parents are out of town. Keith and Kelly left a week ago Friday to go to New Orleans for Keith's work conference, then they were going to go on a 5-day cruise in the Caribbean. They really deserved a break since Kelly had back surgery in December. Grace and Clare first stayed with Keith's parents, then with my parents. We have them until Kelly and Keith get back tonight. I know the girls really miss their mommy and daddy and will love to be back home with them! However, we've been trying to keep them busy and distracted while they're here in order to make the time fly by a little faster for them.

Last night we had fun playing hide-and-seek and chasing them around the house.

I loved this picture--they would all hide out in the pantry together. There was a lot of squealing and giggling coming from inside. :)

Reese carefully exiting the "safe place," looking for her dad. And when he jumped out, they went nuts:

Run, Grace, run!

A little ring-around-the-rosy to try to calm everyone down before bedtime.

This was a constant thing all night. Clare would walk around holding up her arms for Reese to give her a hug.

I have been SO impressed with Reese. She seems so mature and helpful around her cousins. She talks to them like a grown-up would and has been very compassionate with both girls. She helped me get Clare to sleep, then came and woke me up this morning when Clare woke up and was crying. I felt bad because she was worried about me taking away her brand new Hello Kitty necklace for coming into my room (we're trying to get her to stay in her bedroom at night), but she knew that Clare needed something. They sure do have a special bond. Right now Clare is giggling as she's trying to feed Reese her cereal. These girls are too precious!

We've Got Ears--Say, "Cheers!"

The kids just found out a big surprise on Sunday. Can you guess what it is??? We're going to Disney World! Joel's parents are taking us as well as Amy and Brad's family, and we couldn't be more excited! Tonight we were on the Disney website, showing them little video clips about each park. Since they both love hearing all of the Disney fairy tales, they were very excited to learn that many of the characters will be there. And when Reese heard that parts of "High School Musical 3" are performed during the day at Hollywood Studios, she was about ready to pack her bags!

I'm a little nervous about Ryan and what we will do for him as far as food goes. Most of the time I take his frozen pancakes, chicken nuggets, etc. when we travel, but I don't think they will make it on the long trip. However, I have read so much about how Disney chefs are extremely accommodating to people with food allergies, and I truly believe this is true. The hard part is he is not very willing to try new things, so he may just be eating a lot of Cocoa Loco bars! Joel said we can just mold them into Mickey Mouse shapes. I'm sure it will all work out and he'll be just fine. The good news is we can call now and make reservations with all of his information.

So I think that we're all ready for Disney World. The question is, "Is Disney ready for us?!?"

If anyone has been to Disney and has any tips and/or advice, we'd really love to hear from you!

A Historical Moment

Today my kids are witnessing a historical moment in our nation's history. Barack Obama was sworn in today as the nation's first African American President of the United States of America. No matter which party you support, no one can deny what an awesome day this is. And even though I personally did not vote for Obama, I do wish him the best as I want the best for our country.
I got this idea from my sister-in-law, Amy. I have taken my kids' pictures in front of the TV during random things like Pope John Paul II's funeral and the Colts' Super Bowl Championship Parade. Just so they will have an idea of how old they were when historic events happened.

Ryan thinks Obama is our new king. That's the only way I could explain it to him. That and how the President tries to make the nation a better place. Reese spoke up and said, "But first he has to ask God to do that, right? He can't make the world a prettier place on his own--he has to ask God." I couldn't agree more!

By the way, do you know how I got them to smile for the picture? I told them President Obama is giving out free Starbursts to kids everywhere. :) Just kidding!

Wonderlab

On Saturday we went to Bloomington with our friends Joey and Cameron and their son, Jenson. I have always wanted to visit the Wonderlab Science Museum and thought the kids would finally be at the perfect age. When I was a student at IU, I used to volunteer at the Wonderlab as a part of my Physics for Elementary Teachers course. (Yes, Joel--the one where we had to make a mobile. I'll never hear the end of that!) This was hands-down my favorite course I took because it taught me how to make science HANDS-ON and FUN! If I could teach physical science all year long, I would. Anyway, they built a new facility since I left IU, so we all went to check it out together.

Cam showing Ryan how a tornado is formed.

Reese and Ryan wanted to climb up the "grapevine" that went up to the second story.

However, the carpet made it a little slippery in their socks, so Dad had to come and rescue them.

Thanks, Dad!

Reese loved making music with the PVC pipes and exploring which ones made higher pitches than the others.

They had real tools for the kids to use. Here Ryan was actually screwing in a screw that they had already started.

Joey, Jenson, and Cam cutting out textured wallpaper and making a collage.

Ryan making a tower with ice. Do you know that salt by itself melts ice, but it can actually act like glue if you put it between two cubes of ice? Who knew?

We had way too much fun with these!

I'm not sure if you can make this out or not, but I pressed my face and hands in, then Reese did hers. I'm kind of thinking we should have it bronzed and put in our foyer. :)
Reese loved the hot air balloon. I thought she was going to climb over the rails and grab on for a ride!Ryan could've played here all day long.
Reese loved hanging out in the kaleidoscope.

After the museum we went out for lunch at Scotty's, then walked around the Student Union. Of course a visit to Jiffy Treet (our favorite ice cream place--and yes, it's spelled t-r-e-e-t...that has always bothered me!). We all agreed that it's really weird to go back to your college campus with your kids, but we all had a great time nonetheless!