February

Before we head off on our March/April trip to Iowa and then California, I guess I'd better get something posted about February.  We have a February birthday in our family--Febreeary 8 is Ben's day.  One year when he was about 3 or 4, he really didn't want me to take the Christmas tree down in January.  When I asked him why he thought we should leave it up (being a live tree, it really wasn't an option!), he said, "Where will we put the presents on Febreeary 8??"  We went down to meet Ben for lunch a few days before his birthday, on a snowy day. (What other kind of day has there been this winter?)  We had a great lunch at Portillo's in Skokie. 

We made two trips to Ankeny in February, one planned and one sort of spur-of-the-moment.  The first one was unplanned---when we found out on the afternoon of the 13th that Jeremiah was running a fever and had a croupy cough. And Rachel had already taken a personal day earlier in the week because the daycare lady's son was sick.  So we threw a few things in a bag and were on the road by about 5:15.  And we got to spend Valentine's Day with our favorite almost 4-year-old boy!  We enjoyed some "quiet" activities---books, videos, etc., but as the day went on he perked up quite a bit and we moved on to other things, like legos and trucks, etc.  And Grandpa was the hero of the day for going out to buy a few things at the store, including popsicles! 

A few days later we were on the road again, this time for Jeremaih's birthday. Our plan had been to drive over on Monday, Tuesday was the BIG DAY, and then we were going to drive home on Wednesday.  Well, the weather changed those plans a bit. It was a very snowy day on Monday, so we decided to delay our trip for a day.  And then we thought we'd stay until Thursday.....but, no, the weather interfered again. There were blizzard warnings for Thursday, so we drove back home on Wednesday after Rachel got home from school.  Winter is such fun!!

So, we arrived on Jeremiah's birthday, and got there a bit before they got home from school and daycare. Of course, presents were the first priority!

A Lego construction set

And a leaf blower. This will come in handy if the snow ever melts. 

And then it was dinner at the Pizza Ranch, the birthday boy's request.

And then home for cupcakes!

A former co-worker of mine has started a cupcake business, and so I ordered some Mickey and Minnie cupcakes from her.  They were a big hit! And they were also delicious!  This girl was already baking a lot of cupcakes when she was working at KinderCare, and she would often bring in samples for us to try. Needless to say, this made her very popular! 

The day after the birthday was a very pleasant day--at least for February in Iowa. It was nice enough to be out without a heavy coat, and Jeremiah got to try out his new scooter.

And then he and Grandpa took a trip around the block---Grandpa walking and Jeremiah riding his bike.

Who would have thought that the next day there would be blizzard warnings?? That's the way our winter has been this year in the Midwest! 

One more February event was another trip down to Chicago.  On the 22nd we drove down to enjoy a "tasting" at La Lucé, the restaurant where Abby and Neil are having their reception.  We were there with Abby and Neil, Neil's parents, and two of Abby and Neil's friends.  We were treated royally---got to sample lots of delicious food, and our waiter kept our wine glasses filled! 

Next big event: driving to Iowa tomorrow to spend most of the week with Rachel and Jeremiah. Actually we probably won't see much of Rachel, because she has parent-teacher conferences on Tuesday and Thursday.  Friday morning we will start our drive to California. Hmm, the last time we did that drive we had 4 kids in a mini-van.  I'm sure we'll be reminiscing a bit as we make this drive. :)

Winter in Wisconsin

Well, I'm not sure what the record books show, but it seems to me that this has been the coldest and snowiest winter that we've experienced in the past 16 years. There have been wind chills in the -40 to -50 degree range, with schools and some businesses closed because of the cold.  And I'm not sure about this either, but it seems like the ground has been snow-covered ever since the first snowfall.  A long time, anyway.  And as I write this we're getting another 4-7 inches.  And I know, our family members on the other side of the lake have had even MORE snow than we have. Needless to say, spring will be very welcome when it ever comes.

Since we celebrated an early Christmas with the Midwest family members, our actual Christmas was rather quiet.  On Christmas Eve the Brassers came over for chili after our church service.  On Christmas Day we had a relaxing morning and then went to a movie in the afternoon.  We found out that a LOT of people go to the movies on Christmas Day.  We couldn't even get in to either of the afternoon showings at the Majestic---had to go to New Berlin.  We saw "Saving Mr. Banks" and enjoyed it a lot.

On Dec. 27 we went down to Chicago for a "field trip" with Roger and Sheryl.  We toured the Dreihaus Mansion, which was very interesting and enjoyable.  There was a special exhibit of Tiffany glass works, which were beautiful.

We ended our outing with a delicious late lunch at Quartino (or is it Quartino's). I'd highly recommend the Italian donuts for dessert---they are served warm, with chocolate dipping sauce. Yummy!

When it's cold and snowy outside, what could be better than being warm and cozy inside and working on a jigsaw puzzle?  I've done about 5 puzzles over the past couple of months. This one was my favorite:

And Dad even got into the puzzle action---surprise, surprise!  He actually requested a puzzle for Christmas, specifically a puzzle of the map of the world. He chose to do his puzzle on the ping pong table in the basement, and no, I did not banish him to the basement.  I suggested that we get out a second card table.  He probably figured that if the puzzle was out in the living room, I would sort of take it over.  And I probably would have.

We also had a little visitor for a few days between Christmas and New Year's.  The Verhulsts needed someone to take care of  their cockapoo, Murphy.  We enjoyed having Murphy around---he's a very nice dog.  And we probably spoiled him a bit---I don't think he sleeps on a bed at home. :)  But Dad was reminded that it's not all that much fun to take a dog outside when the temperature is below zero.

On New Year's Day I made the traditional olie bollen while watching the Rose Bowl Parade.  We went over to Brassers later to watch the Rose Bowl game.  Uncle Lew was very happy with the outcome of the game!  We also saw another movie in January---we like the senior citizen specials at the theaters on Friday afternoons.  We saw "Nebraska" and I REALLY liked that movie!  Maybe it was because of my small town Midwest upbringing.  But I also thought that Bruce Dern's performance was great. I'd like to see that movie get some awards. 

We took a trip to Iowa the 3rd week of January.  We gave Jeremiah a day off from daycare and enjoyed a day with him.  Among other things, we did some Duplo construction.

Jeremiah's Duplo car wash

On that Friday we all drove to Wisconsin---I  rode with Rachel and Jeremiah and Dad drove by himself.  And Adam was at our house waiting for his family when we got here.  Jeremiah was VERY happy to see his Daddy!

There was no question about who was going to read bedtime stories!

On Saturday Rachel and I went down to Chicago where we did some very cold shopping on Michigan Ave. with Abby.  We were mainly looking for bridesmaid dresses.  Chicago lived up to it's nickname, and we nearly froze as we walked from store to store.  But it was a fun shopping trip!  We also helped Abby put together some of the wedding invitations. While we were in Chicago the guys went to see a model train display at the Mitchell Park Domes.  That was a big hit with Jeremiah!

The Wissinks went their separate ways on Sunday morning, but not until they had some of Grandpa's pancakes.

Jeremiah had discovered the plastic bin full of Beanie Babies, and he found one that he wanted to adopt.  So "Whisper" the fawn is now living with Jeremiah, and his name has been changed to "Soft."

Dad has been trying to keep the birds happy by keeping the bird feeders filled. It's always fun to see how quickly they gather when he's been out to fill it.  But the deer also seem to have a 6th sense about when he fills the feeder, because they usually gather late in the afternoon and take care of anything that's left, either in the feeder or on the ground.  I think we've had as many as 5 or 6 deer out there at one time.

January is when the First Graders at BCS have their Penguin unit, and so Dad made another command performance as Mr. Penguin.  He made a big hit, as usual!

Thanksgiving week-end and Early Christmas

Thanksgiving week-end started on Tuesday evening for us, because that's when the Wissinks arrived.  It was a rather late arrival, since they left after work that afternoon, but Jeremiah was wide awake to greet us, since he does NOT sleep when they are driving.  I'm not sure if Molly slept in the car, but she also was wide awake and happy to greet us. :)

Wednesday morning we went down to Kenosha to take the Jelly Belly tour.  We were a little disappointed to find out that this is not a factory, but just a distribution center.  But the tour was fun---we rode on a little train and watched videos all about Jelly Bellies.  And when the tour was over, we all got a little bag of Jelly Bellies.  And then.....we got to shop in the store!  You can also sample any flavor of Jelly Belly that you want.  We went home with enough candy to put us all on a sugar high for quite a while!  I especially liked the Belly Flops---the ones that are irregular shapes and sizes. A lot of them are bigger than normal, which is fine with me. (For some reason I do not have any pictures of this outing---not sure why.)  A stop at McDonald's for lunch completed our outing for the day.

 Wednesday evening was pie-making time.  And I had a helper this year!  I think that Jeremiah shows real promise as a pie maker.  And maybe if he does, Adam will finally get his favorite kinds of pie!! :)  (Rhubarb, sour cream raisin and Kentucky Derby Pie are not in my repertoire!)

The rolling pin that he's using was mine as a child, and my kids played with it, too. I guess maybe that qualifies it as an antique!

We had 10 people at our table for Thanksgiving dinner.  Abby and Neil had driven up on Wednesday afternoon, and Ben arrived around noon on Thursday, and soon after that Karen and Juan got here. 

It was a pretty relaxed day---lots of eating, some football watching, and a rather competitive game of Scattergories in the evening. 

Once Thanksgiving was over, Christmas was next on our agenda.  Friday evening was our Christmas Eve.  We've established some traditions over the years--some of them are more "strict" than others.  One thing we've done for a few years now is to go out for lunch at a nice restaurant on that day.  This year we went to Parkside 23.  There was also some last-minute shopping being done, some people went to a movie in the afternoon, and some of us hung around the house and got things ready for our evening celebration. And that is one tradition that is pretty strictly observed---we always have a meal of appetizer type foods, and the menu really doesn't vary much from year to year. 

 

 I guess I caught Neil taking a bite of something. :)

And then it was time to open presents.  This year we were on Facetime with Matt and Cheryl's family while we opened gifts, so I probably didn't take quite as many pictures as I sometimes do.  We were busy passing the i-pad around and trying not to make them seasick with all the movement, etc. Of course, Jeremiah was pretty much the star of the show when it came to gift-opening.  Rachel got some great video of him which really shows his excitement---check her blog for that. I just got a few still pictures. 

.  I think this is the army tank that he ALWAYS wanted!

This tow truck does all kinds of amazing things!

 Here it is in operation.

Everyone else also got gifts, but there is no photo documentation of that. Sorry!  

Abby and Neil were there.

And so were Ben and Adam.

Playing "Rivers, roads and rails."

Since Friday was our Christmas Eve, that means that Saturday was our Christmas morning.  And that means....Stockings!  It also has come to mean....Wigwam socks! Oh, and it also means.....Butterhorns!  (and cinnamon rolls, too)

 I think Jeremiah is playing with the bubble wrap that was around his Christmas ornament. I'll have to keep that in mind for next year---bubble wrap is a hit!

After stockings, Abby, Neil, Rachel and I left for Cedarburg, leaving the others to fend for themselves.  We knew they wouldn't starve, with all the leftovers from Thanksgiving. We enjoyed some shopping and a yummy lunch at Cream and Crepe Cafe. We hit all our favorite spots, ending up at Amy's for some sweets of course.

While we were gone Jeremiah and Adam spent some time out in the snow. They managed to scrape up enough for a small snowman, but I didn't get a picture of it. I did however get a picture earlier of Jeremiah working hard to shovel all the snow off our whole yard!  He really likes Grandpa's snow shovel!

Saturday evening we went over to Brassers for pizza. We had originally planned to meet them at Panera (where else?) for supper, but JoAnne thought it might be nicer to just be at their house for pizza.  And it certainly was a lot nicer! Jeremiah had a great time with Uncle Lew's special toys---all of which he remembered from last year. And it's a lot nicer to visit in a home than in a restaurant.

Chillin' out on Uncle Lew's chair

Neil got the official "OK" from Uncle Lew to marry Abby! 

The pizza party kind of marked the end of our family week-end.  Ben left right from their house to go back to Chicago, and Abby and Neil left soon after we got home that evening. 

A good-bye picture with Jeremiah.

We still had Adam, Rachel, Jeremiah and Molly with us for one more night.  They left for home right after breakfast (pancakes, of course!) on Sunday morning. Oh my, the house seemed so quiet after they were all gone.  :(

Way behind on posting....again. October visit to California

Let's see, here it is, almost Christmas, and I have not posted anything for about 3 months!  My goal is to catch up before the end of the year, and then my New Year's Resolution will be.....Do a better job of keeping up with my blog posts!!  We'll see how that goes!

We spent a week in California in October, from the 23rd to the 30th.  We went on a couple of fun outings, and also just enjoyed our time at home with the kids.  I got to walk Josie to school and pick her up again, which was fun.  She goes to school two mornings a week.  One of the days that we were there, it was Cheryl's turn to be the Mom helper for part of the morning.  When Josie and I were walking home that morning, she said, "Well, that was a fun morning!"  After a little discussion about what she had done, she said, " Mommy did a really good job in my class today!" 

On the Friday that we were there, Matt had a short day at school because of conferences, and Cheryl also had a short day of work.  So in the afternoon we took a ride up to Oak Glen to get a taste of fall. 

I took this picture before I saw the sign that said, "Please do not sit on the pumpkins."  Oops!

On Saturday we went to the Children's Discovery Museum in Rancho Mirage (not sure I got the name of the place right).  It was a really fun place with lots of different activities for the kids. 

 Josie painted a Volkswagen Bug.

She was obviously not the first person to do this!

The rope maze

The harpist!

Evan, the builder

Picnic lunch

We were thankful for the covered patio area---it was a hot day!

The dress-up area was a hit---more so with Josie than with Evan.

The big kids got in on the fun, too.

They did some grocery shopping...

I thought that the Pizza Parlor was the cutest thing of all.  We could sit at tables while they prepared and baked our pretend pizzas and then served them to us. So cute!!

One more desert vista.

On Sunday afternoon we took a walk over to Redlands Christian for a little play time on the school playground.  

Evan's hair was a little crazy when he took his hat off. :)

Evan's 2nd birthday was still a few weeks away, but we decided to do some birthday shopping while we were there, and gave him his presents early. He can now help his Daddy with the yard work, with his lawn mower and leaf blower.

I think that Evan thinks that the leaf blower is a hand vac. 

He likes to use the real hand vac to clean up things like spilled cheerios.

When Evan got his early birthday gifts, Josie got some princess paper dolls.

And I'll end with a few random pictures of Evan.

Bath time!

After bath, wrapped up in his special towel.

I love this picture of him! He looks like such a little man, with his hands in his pockets. :)

He is a wild man on that scooter!!

One more post to go to meet my goal.....will I make it???  Stay tuned!

*****A post script here: Now it's April of 2015, and I was going through pictures on my iPad and found a bunch from this trip that never made it on to the computer. So here are a few random pics of the kids just hanging out at home.

Apparently Evan decided not to wear pants that day. :)

That slide was a great investment--they've had so much fun!

Lovin' Grandpa's pancakes!

Pumpkin fun!