Pele Finale!

Nate had his final soccer game this past weekend. Or, the Championship Game, as he liked to call it. And, it was the game of his life! I was so caught up in the excitement of the game and his performance that I forgot to to snap pictures. He scored 3 goals! He was beaming with pride! And, of course, his shin guards were up to his thighs!

Cousin Cole visits!

Cole came "up north" this weekend. Picked him up on Friday and we had non-stop fun until Sunday when on the way home he stated, "Aunt Jen, I think I need to spend some time with my family." How cute is that? Although I wasn't sure if he really meant, " I need to get out of here away from all of you hooligans!" We watched some movies, made forts, played army, went sledding, went out to dinner, spent some time at the mall play land wasting quarters riding rides and even enjoyed McD's Shamrock Shakes...twice! Hallelujah for the return of the Shamrock shake!

Tessa enjoying a snack! The boys were nice enough to include Tessa in their adventures. Poor girl was happy to be the deer when they were playing hunting.

Nate on the jungle gym.

Cole on the jungle gym.

Tessa on the slide.

Sledding fun!The boys playing some sort of guerrilla warfare...notice the face paint that is MARKERS and CRAYONS! They did not enjoy the scrubbing that had to be done to get that off!
Picture of a FUN WEEKEND! This was taken at 8:00pm sharp on Saturday night!

Monster Christian is ONE!

(singing)Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Christian! Happy Birthday to you!

Uncle Todd and Aunt Shannon got Christian a new hot rod 4 wheeler for his birthday! It was the best gift of the day. By the end of the evening he was already getting the hang of pushing the button. He'll be tearing around on that thing soon!

Winter Break at Kalahari

What do Midwesterners that can't get to the sunshine state or south do for winter break? We go to the water park (not Kenya as the title of the blog may have misled)! We have become quite the water park snobs, as addressed here at Blabbermouth before, so we found ourselves at Kalahari for President's weekend. And, wouldn't I love to be Mrs. Kalahari? I tell you those places get your money at every turn! It's a child's dream and parent's nightmare. For example, the ingenious strategy that the only way into the water park is having to walk through the arcade where you can earn those dreaded "tickets" to pick out cheap trinkets! And, having a play area right beside the water park entrance that requires socks. I may be in a mom-fashion-rut but I'm pretty sure no one is wearing socks with their swim suits these days. But, nevertheless, there is a vending machine that would typically house Cheetos and Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips that has been converted into a SOCK dispenser. And, we bought two pair for $5. Seriously. The kids had a blast. We got many, many squeals and smiles out of them and that is what matters. Troy and I on the other hand decided to trade the FLU while we were there. Nothing like already being self-conscious in your bathing suit and also worrying if a little gas is gonna have any sputtering along with it while you are rocking in the wave pool! Ugh. It was a great kick start to a weight loss plan, though. Got an ab workout without having to do a single sit up! That's what I'm talking about.

Troy and I were a little surprised to learn that both of the kids have seemingly grown out of the kiddie area. We spent little time there. Nate was just shy of being able to ride any of the big slides. Not sure if he would have had the gumption to do it anyways. We did many, many rounds on the lazy river! Tessa was a fan of the wave pool. She is way shy of being able to ride the big slides, but she would have had no problem sliding down them. Of course, "all by herself," too. She was a mad woman on the jungle gym slides and had to be told several times that she had to sit on her rear end and not helter skelter throw her body down the slide! Gramma Gayla and Grampa Steve came for an afternoon to watch the kids splash around too!

Miss T modeling her life preserver.

What is it about kids having to stand over these geysers and let the bubbles go up there &%@?Nate having a kiddie cocktail and nacho snack.Tessa enjoying her kiddie cocktail.The repercussions of the kiddie cocktail.

Nate fresh down the slide. This is the only picture I have of him in action because it was in the confines of the kiddie area. Otherwise he was running around or doing laps in the lazy river!

Our Little Mermaid!

Tessa has been taking swimming lessons. What a great break from the cold of winter to put on a suit (that is, if you're a toddler) and jump in to a swimming pool. The pool that they usually hold lessons at has been under construction so a lot of the time is spent in a ring or with a noodle. Tessa is quite confident in the water and has been known to kick and float off in to the middle of the pool where Coach Betty has to retrieve her. I apologize for the terrible pictures!

Above Tessa looks on as Coach Betty consoles another crying swimmer.

Patiently awaiting her time with the Coach!

She's baaack!

So, remember when I was all broken hearted because Nate was thankful for his dad, the sun and snakes for thanksgiving? Well, today Nate brought home some school work and I had a shining mother's moment! He was asked to draw a picture and fill in the blanks in a sentence that started with "I love ____because____." Yeehaw! As pictured above you can see that my son loves ME because I make vegetables! Now, come on, I'm pretty impressed that I beat out Daddy and all the deer and snakes and the sun but then being loved because I make vegetables! Wow, not only does he love me but he made me look really good in front of his teacher! Thanks, Nate. I love you too. We're having broccoli for dinner.

Happy Valentines Day!

Hugs, kisses and love all around here. We don't need an excuse to squeeze each other in this household! Nate and Tessa both had Valentines parties at school today and came home with special cards, candy and treats. Gotta love the mom that gave Fun Dip. That would be me! And I should apologize to all of parents of children in my kid's classes! The kids also came home to a bag full of treats from mom and dad. Nate and Tessa filled my 'vitamin' bowl up with a fresh bag of M&Ms. And, also got Daddy a new stash of gummy bears and worms for his desk at work.

MidWinter In Michigan

Just lounging around this past weekend with our friendly wildlife, giant icicles and the munchkins!

Deer in our front driveway. The pickin's in the woods must be slim because they've been chowing down on our bushes again!

Giant icicles hanging from the house. These very cicles came crashing down later that day that sounded like a 150# man had fallen through the roof!

Tessa & Nate

No Cavity Club!

Hot Dog! Tessa went to the dentist the other day and we have two very monumental achievements for this family. We know this family does not have a good track record in the teeth department (mom excluded, but I don't want to be braggart). First of all, there were absolutely NO TEARS! Even the dentist noticed that daddy had been the one who had brought her to the appointments in the past and asked why he wasn't there to relish in this moment. Well, daddy has refused to go to the dentist with and for anyone but himself because he has been traumatized by wrestling crying children under a glaring light to repair chipped, broken, jammed and rotting teeth. The dentist, hygienist and myself were all very shocked and proud of her behavior. This visit was just a routine cleaning and check up....we have far more of the other acute kind of visits. The week leading up to the visit was full of pep talks and bribery (you'll notice that is a major parenting tactic in this home). The second monumental achievement is that Tessa got to fill out a card for the NO CAVITY CLUB! Yehaaaawww! Tessa's "lucky tooth" as we call it remains dead and brown and kind of jammed up in to her gums a bit but doesn't seem to be bothering the other teeth around it or the teeth growing behind it. So, we stay the course and keep watching for a "little pimple" on the top of her gum line that would be indicative of an infection. Eewww, right? Keep flossing, brushing and rinsing folks!

Fashionista or Punky Brewster?

Miss Tessa is snugly socks, sweat pants, a jean skirt, a bathing suit top and mittens? And hair that is in dire need of a brushing! What's not to love?!