My Babies Turn Five

Ava and Isaak are five. Oh, my! Does it seem like five years? No, it doesn't. These two are so easy in the present department. All they asked for was balloons they could blow up themselves. Hmmm, only if you're really, really good. : )

They got a whole bowl full of balloons, and all four kids blew up balloons all day. Blow them up; let them fly. All day. Really, people, all day. But what good cheap entertainment.

We went to McDonald's playland for lunch. The third time we've eaten there in our seven months in Iowa. Have a mentioned we have no fast food restaurants in our town? None. It's kind of nice. Subway is a fast as it gets.

Well, here there are five. Such neat individuals they are growing up to be. Ava still leans on sassy, but her fire is dying down into more of a determined sass instead of pure flames all day. Ike still loves to ham and make us laugh, but his jokes are becoming more thoughful. What a silly, loving, little man.

Santa Sleds

Santa also brought six nex sleds for all this Iowa snow. Although half of it melted yesterday in the balmy 40 degree weather, but on Christmas day it was a perfect 25 degree day for sledding.

Claire posing it up .











Ava just loved spinning herself in circles. She laid in one spot and kicked her left boot slowly, swirling about lazily.











Paige went for the big hill everytime. Well . . . big for the fact that it's right outside our door. It's not a huge hill, but it gets a medium speed going.











Ike just loves snow. He digs in it, eats its, rolls in it. Anything to be out in the white stuff.

Santa's been here!

Lucky us, our lovely, little guys slept in until 8:00. Granted we kept them up until 10:30 the night before prepping for the big visit from Santa, but we were stunned we woke up before them. I even had time to start the coffee before they woke up.

It was an awesome relaxing day. The kids emptied their stockings and played with their Santa gifts for about two hours before they even remembered their were presents under the tree. Three presents each, just like Jesus. P & C were afraid they were really going to receive gold, frankinscence, and myrh.

Santa brought Ike an elf-made barn big enough to park his whole tractor entourage in. Paige and Claire received the most awesome, gold, go-go boots. I don't think these boots have left their feet except for bedtime, and that was only at my firm request. Ava was given a color change top. This has fascinated all of us for hours. Forget PS3, this top is just way too mesmerizing.

I also had a good Christmas. The hubby came through (after last year's toaster incident : ) ). I got the most beautiful silver cross necklace and a fitted white button up. Does he know my simple tastes or what? Brant got a movie and some winter gear, and a few other things.

All in all an awesome Jesus' birthday! Hope you had a great day too.

Santa Visit

Last night Claire and Paige went missing, which is so sad because Santa and his elf showed up. They were very cute having everyone sit on Santa's lap and handing out little trinkets to everyone. Isaak wouldn't buy into it. Actually he pulled a Buddy the Elf and whispered, "You're a liar. You don't smell like Santa." Santa took it in stride and put him on the naughty list.

Smells too yummy here!

Started a bit of the baking for Christmas here. I'm saving the "kid" cookies for when Paige and Claire are out of school on Christmas Eve. We'll make sugar cookies or chocolate chip (or both) for Santa that day. I just wanted to get a head start so I didn't have too much help in the kitchen on one day. : ) New recipe this year -- ambrosia macaroons. They smell so delicious. Not just ordinary macaroons, these have a bit of orange peel in them and are drizzled with chocolate. Oh, yeah! These will be mine.



Also made a batch of fruitcake cookies. These always make me think of my Aunt Sue. I believe it's her recipe. I've switched it up and bit and added more of a fruit cake mix of fruit, instead of just cherries. Either way they are soooo yummy with coffee, but, really, what cookie isn't?














I also whipped up a quicky batch of crazy corn (puff corn coated in carmel). The kids love this, and I guess I do too, because I can't seem to quite shoving it in my face. Oiy, why did God make me love cooking so much. I just love all of it. Making it, baking it, eating it. So sad for my poor ever expanding behind!

Claire and Ike's Feast

Saturday night we were all treated to a Polar Express theme feast by Claire and Isaak. We all had to don our pajamas, and have a golden ticket punched before we could be seated. They served us hamburgers (quite a bit of help on the grill) and macaroni and cheese with hot dogs cut up in it. We had the cutest waiter I've ever seen. Claire took orders for the hamburgers, and Isaak ladled up the mac n' cheese. They set the table with the good china and a Christmas cloth. Trains circled around the center candle. For dessert -- hot chocolate, of course, and chocolate chip cookies.

Paige and Ava's Feast

We're doing a little something different for Christmas this year. Instead of the kids getting gifts for each other, they are throwing each other "feasts". I worked it around the idea of how Queen Esther served her family. The kids decided to join forces, so Paige and Ava went first. Ike, Claire, and Dad were banished to the basement. Appetizers were served in the toyroom, while the guests waited for everything to be set.

Paige and Ava's feast was to the theme of snow. They cut out paper snowflakes and hung them from the chandelier. The centerpiece was a bowl full of snowballs with a candle in the middle. Everything was white -- plates, tablecloth, napkins. We drank milk from fancy cups and ate stromboli (white on the outside : ) ). Paige and Ava cooked the whole meal, with minimal help. They even served everyone. So cute as Paige would hand out French Fries, Ava followed behind with ketchup. For dessert -- white cupcakes with white frosting.

I think everyone loved their part in the feast. Paige and Ava loved impressing everyone with their work, and all the attendees loved feeling so special. I feel this may be a new "tradition". Maybe next year, Brant and I will have to host a "feast" also.

Snow by the Foot

You know it's going to be a school-out day when you can't get the front door open. Mind you, our front door is on a step-up stoop with a small roof over it. Hmmm. Soooo glad we bought that huge snow blower. While Brant worked on the driveway (our huge, long, driveway, he points out), I cleared off the stoop and made a doggy tunnel so the dog could go potty.


With no school, some friends brought over their kids to play. They sledded and played for much of the afternoon while I worked on clearing away more snow.
Isaak doesn't so much enjoy playing in the snow as just eating it. Yuck! We constantly have to remind him not to eat the yellow snow. Not only our dog roams the yard, but deer, chipmunks, and a plethera of other woodland critters.
Paige and Gillian trying to make a fort. Very little success. It just stays so cold here that the snow is not really "moldable". We still haven't made a snow man. It's just like powder, and so squeaky.

Christmas Concert

Last night was Claire and Paige's Christmas concert. It was perfectly awful and cute the way all those things are. My kids, of course, we're super stars. All the other kids were soooo mediocre. : ) Actually, all the kids delivered their line just like they were supposed to, and it all flowed well. The program was about a forest of black and white elves who didn't believe in Santa because he wasn't black or white. Very liberal play for tiny little Humboldt!

Paige is the first "elf" in scene two. That's her best little bud, Rachel, next to her. Rachel also has twin brother/sister the same age as Ike and Ava. So she totally gets our family, and never gets annoyed by little siblings.

Claire is the first little reindeer in scene three. She was "surrounded" by boys. Her words, "surrounded". So funny how that attitude will change in a few years.

Both girls did a great job, and we're very proud. It helped get us in the mood for the season. There aren't very many activities here. It's so laid back. We're almost bored from the lack of normal Christmas swirl we have. I may just have to host a lame cookie swap or something. Since winter has hit everyone has burrowed into their house, and I fear they won't be seen again until summer.

First Snow Day in Iowa

It snowed about six inches last night. I'm stunned they called a snow day for such a normal amount of snow. I mean, I'm just from Illinois, and I could even handle this. Brant was thrilled to use his self-propelled, snow blower. It has been unboxed and ready for two months now. The pride beamed on his face as he made big swipes across our drive this morning. He came inside pink cheeked and puffing about how awesome that manly machine is. Too funny.
I love looking out the back at the snow. The deer popped by this morning rooting around in the usual spot I lay out apple cores and such. They are so tame and sweet. I feel bad having their kin in the freezer. But I'm trying to remain obtuse on the whole situation. The deer in the yard are my friends. The deer in the freezer were evil and over-populated -- they had to die.
The neighbor kids haven't quite gotten used to the fact that this lot is not public access. It never was public access. It was owned by the city. We bought it to prevent a park coming in, yet snow brought hoards of children zipping down the only safe hill in the neighborhood all day. Funny how all of a sudden the older kids came to the door to see if Paige and Claire could play. I just gave them a free pass without the pretense of "playing" with my 8-year-olds.

Beginning to look a lot like Christmas

The first Sunday in December, I make the whole family dress in our Christmas clothes. Really, all the work you put in to trying to "match" everyone up should be enjoyed more than one day. Nothing fancy this year, but the kids seemed to really like their clothes. Nothing itchy or scratchy, just simple cotton sweaters and shirts.
Humboldt, our tiny village, is "famous" for having the largest Christmas tree display in all of Iowa. Over 200 trees are decorated and displayed at the Methodist church. It is neat. Paige and Claire are in front of the Girl Scout tree. All of the Humboldt Girl Scouts, Brownies, and Daisies decorated this tree with hand made ornaments. Some of the trees are in memory of a loved one. Most are from organizations in town -- churches, chamber of commerce, businesses. Such creative ideas. Our favorite was the 1st Avenue Chiropractic trees -- one was laying down and the other was massaging its back.
Also -- can you believe this is two minutes from our house? This man puts up the hugest display of lights I've ever seen in real life. I've seen such things on HGTV, but this is insane. The display covers 3/4 of an acre and includes a carousel, ferris wheel, huge nativity, Santa in a plane. The kids kept saying, "We should do this. Don't you think we could do this?" Brant was all for it, but Mommy McScrooge was giving it the nix all the way home.

Quiet Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was so very quiet here. We watched the whole parade in our pajamas, only breaking for doughnuts and chocolate milk. Thne we ate a late lunch and played Rock Band the rest of the day. The kids loved missing school, and it was nice enought to play outside in the afternoon. Really a great and thankful day.

Top things we were thankful for:
Brant - healthy, happy family
Christine - that I got to be a wife and mom
Claire - family and no school
Paige - family and we have a dog
Ava - sisters and Ike
Ike - food, oh, and family

Busy revving up for the holidays now. The tree is up, the cards are ordered, and 1/2 the presents are under way. We're scaling back a bit this year on all things. My husband becomes a manic Clark Griswald and I turn scroogey. We're trying to meld a middle ground and embark on new traditions this year. It's a fun, new adventure in Iowa this year.

Illinois Indians

This week in our little homeschool preschool, we studied the Indian portion of Thanksgiving. Not such a good picture -- my Native American girl kept hopping. Native Americans are really big in Iowa. Half the towns are named for one tribe or another. (We only live 1/2 hour from Pocahontas.) I guess if you go roam the fields after they have been tilled, you are likely to find an arrow head. I've noticed quiet a few older men combing the fields on my walking route. It's just too chilly to walk around slowly. Brom and I prefer a quick pace to keep the blood flowing on the 20 degree mornings.

This week we head back to Illinois for Thanksgiving -- two days Hamby, two days Leeper. We're all jazzed to see family and eat good food. A bonus for Brant is hunting season. Whoppee! Oh, please let us get another deer to mount on the wall. Just what I want for Christmas. (Please, note the smattering of sarcasm). I'm sure my husband feels the same way about my crafty crap, but mine is pretty and lacks blood. Deer hunting is just something I didn't grow up with. Daughter of a farmer, I ate pig and cow and sometimes chicken. Ah, I guess I should embrace the hunting, for I do so love the hunter. My son already has his camo bibs and flame orange thermal layed out for his suitcase. My future in deer season and pheasant season seems set for many years to come.

First Snow in Iowa

So, my phone has been hopping with calls wondering about the weather. Lots of Illinois folks wondering how much. Even a rub-it-in call from Marco Island, Florida under the pretense of needing a recipe (yeah, right : ). )Yes, Iowa got snow. Not tons of snow, but enough to send my kids into a flurry of Santa prep work. There were letters to write, cookies to bake, cleaning up their rooms so he wouldn't trip. It was all too funny! They haven't really grasped that concept of time yet. We still have to do the "sleeps" method. It's four sleeps til this, two sleeps til that. Right now it is seven sleeps until we see grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. It is also fourteen sleeps until High School Musical 3 comes to our tiny, $3-a-ticket theater.

The first picture show our backyard and the beginning of the flurries. It snowed like that from around 5:30 in the morning until bedtime. It never stopped all day. The second pictures shows about all that it accumulated to. Just enough for good tracks and footprints. Brom loved it and tracked up the whole yard chasing chipmunks (managed to catch and gulp on whole -- yuck).

Can't wait to see what winter is going to throw at us. I'm definitely guessing Bing's "White Christmas" will be our theme song.

Big Catch for Brom

The dog was sooooo proud of himself the other day. He caught a present, which he then deposited right at my feet. Yeck! He played with that snake for over an hour, until it finally bit him. These are the snakes that we had all over our yard when we first moved in. Their population has gone down a bit after the endless hours of snake hunting. These are the things that should be on realtor reports -- big yard with high snake population.

Grotto Pictures

I had tried to post these pictures before, but newbie flub-ups prevented it. These are from The Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, Iowa. Tiny town with this "structure that spans about 1 block. It is beyond anything I've ever seen. We've been three times now. It's free (good will offering sort of deal). One priest designed and built the majority of this; handing over the last bit to a younger priest in his old age.

The first statue is Michael slaying Lucifer. So cool. I had been telling my kids that when they were scared to call on angels to protect them. I think they kept imagining soft, fluffy angels. This statue put into perspective God's warriors. It's my favorite statue at the Grotto.

It's hard to tell by the pics, but this is all created from rocks and shells (except the marble statues). He built all this by hand. Even the ceilings are encrusted.

I get a little lost in some of the Catholicism of it -- stations of the cross and such, but still it is an awesome spot. If ever you are in West Bend : First, come see us, we're only a half hour away. Second, definitely visit the Grotto.