A Recent Tour

On Wednesday Mallory and I were able to go into the new school to see how things were shaping up. There is drywall dust EVERYWHERE!!! Right when walking in it was amazing what the office looked like. The secretary area was so nice and spacious! The carpeting in there was nice too. I pretty much made a beeline to my new classroom. Once I walked in I wanted to walk right back out and get things to clean it up so I could move in. The cabinets are beautiful and the built in bookshelves are ready to go. I am ready to move in!!!

Easter Sunday

On Easter morning Mallory and Miles woke up super excited to see if the Easter Bunny had been to our house. They found their baskets and went through them to see what had been left. Then they hunted for eggs throughout the livingroom. Each of them were funny to watch as they hunted under, in, and behind of things to see if there was a surprise waiting for them.

Then we all got around and headed to Ryan's parent's house for a yummy lunch with family. Mallory and Miles were excited to have their cousins there to play with. They were all very excited to have an egg hunt out front so we did that soon after arriving. Miles was not happy during this time and would find eggs but not want to pick them up. He becomes grumpy for no reason at all sometimes and that can easily get onto someone's nerves:). Anyways...from there we went back inside for lunch.

The afternoon was spent taking it easy and flying kites outside. Like the day before, it was beautiful outside and was perfect to enjoy. Days like this one make it hopeful that spring is finally here. Let us hope this to be true!

Easter Saturday

On Easter Saturday we went to Mom and Dad's house for dinner. Mallory and Miles were excited about having their first Easter egg hunt there. It was not long after arriving that they noticed the eggs in the backyard. They found their baskets and were off on a hunt. There were eggs everywhere...or so it seemed. The day was perfect for an egg hunt too (you have to love a warm sun).

As they hunted they found eggs down by the lake, up by the house, and in the craziest places. They were excited and kept going until they had found every one of them. Then they went inside to open their eggs and find what loot was inside them. They were excited!

The rest of the afternoon was spent outside running around, playing in the sandbox, and playing with anything fun. It was obvious that the warmer weather was welcomed by them. They really did not spend much time inside...and who could blame them?

The adults sat outside as well and even played some cornhole. What a perfectly beautiful day!!!

When the sun went down we all went inside. Mallory and Miles made cookies with Melissa (hmmmm...I wonder if she will want to do that again???) and we played UNO Attack. Ryan and I could tell it was time to go when Mallory and Miles were super tired. They had certainly had a fun filled day:).

Coloring Our Eggs

Since we did not have school on Good Friday we had fun at home. We decided to color our Easter eggs. Mallory and Miles were very excited to do this and "bothered" me all morning to do this.

After lunch I set things up and we went for it. They has so much fun! Each had 11 eggs to color (two could not be used because they were cracked). They both went to work quickly and Miles was finished within 5-10 minutes.

Mallory on the other hand took much longer. She had fun writing on her eggs and mixing the dyes to come up with new colors. She acted so grown up telling me how she was mixing the colors and why. She definitely has a creative side to her and amazes me with her knowledge and talent for it.

Of course we could not do this without having a fun photo. I love the look on both of their faces...priceless! They are definitely two very different characters!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Last Sunday we went out to Ryan's parent's house to surprise his mom with a birthday cake. We sang "Happy Birthday" to her and then she received some help to blow out her candles.

These pictures are always my favorites as I look back throughout the years. They just show how fortunate we are to have such super grandparents for our children. They are caring people who truly make the difference in the lives of our children. How many people can say that? I appreciate each of them and hope they realize that. Anyways...back to the cake!

After eating cake and opening our present the balloon fight began. Now I really do not know how it started but I know who ended up being involved:). It was fun to watch everyone throwing balloons this way and that and pounding each other with them as well. It was a great night out. Happy Birthday to Grandma!

Our Visitor...Arthur

Over spring break we watched Mallory's kindergarten teacher's guinea pig. We did this last year since we did not go anywhere and both Mallory and Miles had so much fun. Things changed this year though. Mallory cleaned the cage without me telling her to do so and took such great care of him. She was very fair in having her brother involved in the holding and caring part too. I wonder if Arthur will come to our house next year too?

The night we took him back to school it was my turn to lay with Miles. He was silent for quite some time and finally said, "Mommy, I miss Arthur." Who knew that a guinea pig would have such an impact on a little boy?

A Day Up North

On Saturday of spring break (remember I'm trying to get caught up here) we headed north with Ryan's parents to see his brother and family. Scott's birthday is the same as my dad's so we decided to go spend some time with them.

We went our to eat at Logan's Steakhouse (yum yum) and went back to their house to visit. The girls wanted to do some baking with Grandma so that meant a trip to the store for some goodies. Imagine going into a store with three children not knowing where things are...yes, we had fun. I forgot to mention there was a revolving door that we just HAD to go in and out. Oh, what did I ever do to amuse myself before children?

Since the weather was tolerable we grabbed bikes and headed to Rebekah and Ryan's school to play. Mallory and Rebekah had so much fun drag racing on their bikes. No matter what Rebekah did, Mallory seemed to come in first...not by much though.

On the way home Mallory sat in the back seat with Ryan's mom. Miles fell asleep (much needed because the poor boy never stopped throughout the day) about 30 minutes into our trip. Mallory wanted a snack so I gave her some pretzels. After much nibbling and time passing she and her grandma were laughing. Mallory had taken the pretzels and made her name by nibbling this way and that. Who needs video games when you have creativity like that? She amazes me so much each and every day. What a smart cookie I have on my hands:)!

A Fun Day at the Park

Sorry for those of you who check in from time to time. I am more than a little behind on updating my blog. I am taking more pictures since my hiatis of January and February are over.

On the Friday of spring break we headed with Gail and her family to one of the greatest parks in the area. The kids had so much fun running around and so did we. Mallory LOVES to go down the big slides and her hair does the strangest things when she is at the bottom. It makes me laugh.

Sadly, Miles is not in any of the pictures. He decided that he did not want to ride in Aunt Gail's van despite many reminders that he would not go then. Ryan happened to have the afternoon off of work and stayed with Miles...who ended up taking a killer nap. Sometimes things have a funny way of working themselves out.

Gail and I could not believe it when we checked the time and found we had been at the park for two hours. Where did that time go? We did not mind because it was a beautiful day to be out and about.

Thank you to Gail and her family for coming up to enjoy the day with us. We are looking towards the summer to have our days together again too. We always seem to have fun together.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!!!

On Wednesday we had dinner out at Mom and Dad's house. Grandpa was there too. We enjoyed each other's company. After dinner was time for Grandpa (Dad) to blow the candles out on his cake. Of course, Mallory and Miles were on each side ready to assist him. It has become a tradition for them to help their grandmas and grandpas blow their candles out. It is something they always look forward to.

After blowing out the candles, Mallory served the ice cream and Miles served the cake. They were so excited that Grandma had given them special responsibilities. The cake was yummy:)!

After dessert Mallory and Miles went crazy. Miles spent most of his time on the screened in porch. He was so excited because he could finally play in there. He had noodle fights with the person who was back with him and would literally bounce from thing to thing. He spent time in Ryan's kayak, jumped from seat to seat of the picnic table, jumped around the floor, it was obvious that he had been waiting for this moment all winter long.

Mallory was excited to give Grandpa her present. She has been playing around with pastels (it is amazing what kind of teacher YouTube can be) and wanted to do something for Grandpa's birthday. She used some new techniques she learned about online and did a great job. I cannot wait to see what she does with pastels in the future. Her art teacher recently asked me, "Dawn, does Mallory ever talk about the dreams she has at night?" When I asked her why she said, "Her mind is never at rest and she must have the most vivid and amazing dreams." It was quite an observation and I think she might be onto something.

A Day Out for the Girls

On Monday Mallory and I had a day to ourselves. We started the morning by dropping Miles off at daycare and went grocery shopping (she thought it was fun). Then we traveled to the big city for her surprise lunch. She was thrilled when we pulled into Chuck E Cheese. I had only been there one other time when Mallory was three so this was quite a stretch for me. We had a good time together. From there we went to a bookstore and bought some books and ended up having something yummy from Sonic (I am addicted to their cherry Sprites...yummy!!!). It was a great day for the two of us:).

Enjoying the Day

This afternoon Mallory, Miles, and I packed the bikes up and headed to Mom and Dad's house. They were so excited to be outside and it was a perfect day. Neither one of them wasted any time jumping on their bikes and taking off. I realized very quickly that Miles is ready for a big boy bike. I'm sure he will want a blue one! He was doing a really great job pedaling when his little feet would stay on the pedals.

Mallory continues to ride into the wind with no problems at all. I cannot believe how much she has grown though. Ryan needs to raise her seat. Even with her legs being too long for her bike (at the moment) she rode up and down Mom and Dad's road having a good time. She was pretty good about listening when a car would come and I appreciated that.

Miles liked riding down the hill and even figured out how to put his feet up so he would go a little faster. He nearly fell over twice but caught himself...thank goodness!

After riding bikes, and running around the house countless times, the two of them created a store behind the row of bushes in Mom and Dad's driveway. Mom, Dad, and I ended up paying pinecones for an assortment of flags (sticks that had leaves for the flag). Mallory and Miles were so excited by this. Oh, to be young again!

It was a great day to be out and about. We are looking forward to a few more days like this during the week too:).

Our Budding Artist

Today we headed to the big city to the annual art festival. Mallory's artwork was chosen from her school to be on display (second year in a row...not that I am keeping track or anything). This festival is really neat. Students from schools all over the area come to sing, there are special groups that perform, and there is an activity spot for children to work on artsy crafty things. Right when we walked in Mallory said, "There's Jared and Josh!" and sure enough there they were. Congratulations on Josh for having his artwork chosen for this honor as well:). Now Ryan will be working to make another frame for Mallory's artwork. I told her she needs to stop doing so well because we will soon run out of wall space! We are very proud of her!

A Fun Date/A Not So Normal Week

Mallory, Miles, and I were very excited to have tickets to see Disney On Ice. We went with Gail, Jared, Josh, and Abby and had so much fun. The seats were great and the skaters were entertaining as well. The show went through The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, The Lion King, and Lilo and Stitch. Mallory and Miles were very excited to see Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy too. Lots of fun for us!

At the souvenir shop Mallory chose this Tinkerbell doll and Miles (much to my dismay) chose Peter Pan's sword...oh help me here! Needless to say he has had fun with that sword. Unfortunately Miles was a little camera shy and did not want me to take a picture of him with his new possession:(.

This week we have been out of our normal routine. Mallory woke up on Monday night wheezing and hardly able to breathe. We gave her one of Miles' breathing treatments and I ended up taking her to the ER. She took Plumpy, her bear, with her and the quilt her Grandma J made for her when she was two. Before the doctor came in she said, "Mommy there are worser things that could be wrong with me." I about cried because at that point she was having problems talking and breathing a little too.

Everyone we came in contact with was wonderful. The doctor came in and after a breathing treatment, motrin, and steroids, she was ready to come home (a total of two hours).

I stayed home with her on Tuesday and Wednesday she was with Mom. This morning Ryan and I decided to keep her home one more day. She was anything but happy with this decision but I still feel it was the right one because she is still coughing here and there and her nose is running like a faucet. Poor babydoll! She is very disappointed because tonight after school is Jump Rope for Heart for the American Heart Association and she has been practicing her jumproping just for this event. It sure is hard when our children have to learn disappointment. Ryan and I are hopeful that tomorrow we will be back to normal and all on our regular routines.

A Snowman In Our "Meadow"

Mallory and Miles were excited to finally have conditions that were favorable to build their much anticipated snowman. Since the first snow Miles has been asking, "Is this snowman snow?" I have felt horrible with the answer of, "No," followed by his sigh.

This weekend brought about a new round of snow and yesterday the three of us decided to trudge out to brave the elements. We went out with the plan to shovel snow to help Daddy and to just play for a little while. I had begun shoveling when I heard Mallory yell, "Look! We can build a snowman!" From there the three of us worked together to make the best one we could muster. In the end we had a perfect snowman. I love these pictures because it proves that they were being kids.

Even though I do not have a picture of it Mallory built a baby snowman to keep our big one company. I guess the thought of our snowman not having anyone to talk to was more than she could bear. It turned out cute too. It was a great day in our neighborhood.

I hope wherever you are that the weather makes you smile:).

A New Improved Knee

This morning Ryan had orthoscopic knee surgery. Everything went well. The doctor brought out pictures after the surgery of Ryan's knee before and after so I could understand what they had done. I must admit that it was quite interesting. Ryan stayed awake through the whole procedure and watched on the television screen. He talked with the doctor the entire time. I do not know if I could have done that or not.

We are now home (after stopping at Panera for broccoli and cheese soup for Ryan...and well I could not leave empty handed!!!). He is taking it easy on the couch and I am doing my best to take care of him and help to follow doctor's orders. I cannot wait until he is able to run after Mallory and Miles. I know that was one of the things he mentioned to the doctor and I sure hope this will help him get towards that goal. They are quite something to keep up with:).

Valentine's Day Cupcakes

On Friday night Mallory and Miles frosted and decorated cupcakes for their grandparents. They had so much fun. Miles (as we predicted) licked his fingers and knife throughout the process (that added a little extra love to his cupcakes). Oh no, now his grandmas and grandpas know the truth!!!

Mallory took her time and tried very hard to perfect the art of frosting. Her cupcakes did not have the cake in the frosting like her brothers so she must have been catching on. They both did a wonderful job.

On Valentine's Day morning Mallory acted as if it were Christmas. She woke up bright and early requesting that we all open the valentine sacks we had made the weekend before. It was so funny! Miles woke up shortly after and we all "tore" into our sacks. The valentines were so sweet from both of them.

Mallory, Miles, and I went to my parent's house to visit with Mom (Dad was working and so was Ryan). Mom was thrilled with the cupcakes and other goodies we had for her. Mallory and Miles had lots of fun running through the house and having fun. They always have a lot of fun when they are there.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at Ryan's parent's house. Mallory and Miles spent the afternoon there while Ryan and I headed to the big city to do a bit of shopping for me (I know Ryan did not have the best time ever...but I did get some things that I have needed for quite sometime...my feet should be smiling now). I am thankful he was okay going with me.

Back to the cupcakes...I almost forgot that Mallory and Miles enjoyed one cupcake each after their decorating frenzy took place. They both enjoyed them very much. It was a yummy time at our house:).

Eyes That Are Not Forgotten

Tonight Mallory and I went through the same after school routine of swim lessons. Go home, change, head to the pool, undress, shower, well...you get the picture. During Mallory's lessons I watched and wrote in my notebook. Nothing unusual there:).

As Mallory and I were heading out of the building I saw a young gentleman sitting outside the door. I stared at him and he looked at me and as I began to walk away his eyes registered and I quickly turned and asked, "Are you Kam?" He looked surprised that I would know his name and then recognized my face (I guess I have changed in the seven years since he's been in my classroom) and said, "Oh my! I just tried to email you two days ago!" It was Kam...one of those students (or people) that we all have touch our lives and that we always wonder how they are doing once they have left us and moved on.

We talked for a while catching up. You know, me trying to find out if he has followed the right path in life...in just those few minutes of talking I could tell he has turned out just fine. He asked me if I still had the coffee mug he had given me (he was in my class when I was expecting and then had Mallory and had used his own money to buy a mug that had Mallory's first picture on it). I said yes although it was not currently on my desk. I'm sure you know what I will be doing tomorrow morning at school!

I was so excited to see him and it has sent a flood of emotions and thoughts to my head. I am going back to when he was in my classroom. When he would walk around the playground with me and tell jokes like, "Why did Tigger look in the toilet? Because he was trying to find Pooh!" And I will never forget before Thanksgiving break when my belly was bulging and he bent over to it (he had found earlier that day that Mallory could hear him) and yelled, "HAPPY THANKSGIVING!" and there is the picture that has been behind my desk of when he borrowed Ryan's Gretzky jersey for his wax museum presentation. Like I mentioned earlier, Kam was one of those students that I will never forget (hence the tears in my eyes that you cannot see on your end of the screen).

So tonight I will go to bed with a smile on my face knowing that maybe, just maybe, Kam thinks of me as much as I think of him. Maybe in a few years I will get an invitation to a graduation party. I would definitely be there with bells on:).

I think that someone placed Kam there to cross my path because I needed to be reminded of my daily job and how important it is although many times it is difficult. I am thankful for that angel looking over me.

...and thankful to Kam who has touched my life:0).

Our Little Tree Hugger

Yesterday after school I had an unexpected visitor come in (a friend of mine). As we were talking a picture came up on my computer and she looked at it and said, "Ahhhhh". Being the proud mom I am I showed her some other pictures from when Mallory and Miles were younger. We oohhhed and aahhhed at them and shared memories of our children's pasts. I really enjoyed that conversation and hope for more in the future:).

That conversation made me think of Mallory in her "baby stage". She is growing into a really great young lady and is working to build her character each and everyday (trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship). Although she has her moments (like every child) she thinks of others and how to make the world a better place. She is my "tree hugger". The one who is quick to say, "We shouldn't use paper plates because they are not good for the environment. They waste trees." Now how many seven year olds would say that?

Mallory has really become excited and is using her citizenship to help our new school. She took the responsibility to talk with her principal about having a bake sale to sell cookies to the students to earn money for the new playground (her idea). She learned yesterday that it is going to happen very soon. Can you imagine the feeling of pride she must feel? She was asked something very exciting from her principal yesterday afternoon (a secret that maybe I can share with you in pictures later) and cannot wait to buy cookies.

I am very proud of Mallory and know that Ryan is too. She is going to be very successful in life...but the hard part is keeping her on the right path.

Just the Two of Us...Plus the Time Capsule

On Friday Mallory and I had a "heart to heart" with the time capsule before it was to be "buried" inside the new school. This picture was important to me because this was a historical day for both of us. It is rare that someone has the opportunity in their life to see a time capsule being put together...and we both did. From the sounds of it we might have the opportunity to see one opened that is currently inside our school now. Is that not exciting? I will definitely let you know if and when that happens!

Thank you, Jenn for taking this picture of us!

A Time Capsule Surprise

On Friday my school came together for a very special reason. Together we put items in a time capsule to be buried in our new school. I was amazed with how respectful the students were as our principal named each item, had a student stand up that had the item to show, and then tell why it had been chosen.

As I was sitting there I had one of those, "Hey, I've seen that before!" moments when a picture was shown. It was the picture I took when Ryan's boss had taken Mallory, Miles, and I up for a plane ride back in September. Our principal mentioned that I had taken the photo (and then it felt like all eyes were on me...which I am not comfortable with) and explained how. I looked over at Mallory and she looked at me. I gave her a smile and a thumbs up.

I was very thrilled inside to know that down the road (not probably while I am living) that a new generation will open that time capsule and see my picture along with my name. They will learn what life was like for us at our school and in our community in the year 2009. Can you imagine the changes they will see?

I feel more than honored to be such a part of something special:).