Finally!! A new post!!

Hello! It has been way to long since I've posted an update. Facebook has taken over but I decided it sure can't hurt to update this a little more often than every 2 years. Plus I have a new computer that updates pics much better! This photo is on Easter Sunday of my three kids with their sweet baby cousin Ivy Lickley. So Sweet!

Here is a family picture!! Of course, we're missing our youngest family member who is black and white and has a squished face but Grandma and Grandpa don't let him come over yet so he couldn't be there. :) In this photo, Claire is almost 6, Ethan is 11 and Anna is 8.

Ethan is in 5th grade...which is his last year at Kettle Lake Elementary. It is a tradition there that all the 5th graders get a plaster mask done of their face and then they decorate it. I helped with this project and couldn't resist this pic of Ethan looking like he was at a spa day. Some of the kids had their eyes, nose and mouth covered and just breathed through a straw. Glad my kid didn't do that!

Happy Birthday to our sweet baby boy!! He turned 11 on April 20. Oh my gosh...time goes SO fast!!!!

Another birthday photo of Ethan with his two sisters. :)

More of our Disney trip

Oh my....I think I was way more excited than the kids to see that castle and walk down Main Street USA. This was taken at the beginning of our 1st day in the Magic Kingdom. We ended up doing alot of Fantasyland and all of Liberty Square and Frontierland that day. Some memories of our 1st day include 2 times on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for all of us, 2 girls in tears during the entire Haunted Mansion, following our guide, Anna, down all the paths on Tom Sawyer's Island, watching a very hokey Country Bear Jamboree, the kids LOVING the Hall of Presidents (!?! What??), and of course, Peter Pan's Flight and Small World...oh and tons of giggling during the 3-D movie, Mickey's Philharmagic. Last time we were there they all cried so this was a huge improvement!

All ready for bed after a great day!

1st day in Epcot!! We were suprised how much they loved this park!! Some of our favorite things that day were Nemo's ride, Soarin', and exploring 1/2 of the World Showcase....highlight was United Kingdom and France where we kept on spotting characters with little or no line to see them!

Check one entry down for the 1st of the Disney entries....I will be posting another entry in a few days. :)

Our Disney Trip!!!!!

Well, after MANY hours spent looking forward to and planning our Disney vacation, we are home safe and sound and really missing being back there. We had SO much fun together!! The weather mostly cooperated...a little rain here and there and cool at the end but the beginning of the week was warm and sunny. We started our trip at Animal Kingdom and then headed to Chef Mickey's for a Character Dinner buffet. Here are a few pictures from that night. I will post more but had to get Minnie and Mickey on the first page! Ethan totally stuffed himself at this buffet. Claire and Anna were too into seeing the characters to care much about eating.

We were encouraged when making our reservations for the week to be "celebrating"something. So because the closest thing to celebrate was our anniversary we decided to celebrate that. We got lots of extra perks because of it! Here is our special anniversary dessert at Chef Mickey's. 2 chocolate cupcakes on a Mickey shaped plate with LOTS of sprinkles everywhere...much to Claire's delight.

This dessert was SOOOO cute I just had to take a picture of it. It's a tiny Mickey shaped blob of chocolate on top of an oreo cookie. You can imagine how excited Joel was to have to be in this picture too. :)

Trust me...many more pics will follow...keep checking back!!!

Sorry, Mom!!!!

Sunday afternoon Joel and I took Louie for a walk and left all three kids at home for a short time...playing, reading etc. We told them that when we got back we'd have to do a little cleaning b/c we were having some friends over later that night. When we got home we walked in to see Claire scrubbing away at the kitchen table with many huge drops of water on the floor leading over there. :) She was so proud of herself! Anna was scrubbing the heck out of the already clean sink with her sleeves all rolled up. Then they told me the bathroom was already clean too.....1st sign of trouble. Bathroom mirror was totally in a haze....Anna had used the tub and tile cleaner on that. The sink was all set and then I noticed a rag by the toilet and the toilet bowl cleaner on the counter. I nicely asked her if she had cleaned the toilet and with what. She replied, "I cleaned the toilet with that white brush!" "What white brush? The one under the counter in here?" I said, hoping for the best. "No, the one we use in the kitchen sink!" she replied. Ewwwwwwwwwww!!!!!
Needless to say, we have replaced that brush but thank you, Anna, for your sweet thoughtfulness. What 7 yr old would willingly clean the toilet for her mom? :)

More Thanksgiving weekend....

Yes, we put Claire to work as soon as the tree was set up. No more fun....get vacuuming!!

We also like to cage our children and let the puppy have the run of the house....she did this herself and needed assistance to get out. :) I think Louie was starting to think something was seriously wrong!

We celebrated Christmas with Joel's mom and dad and sister and brother-in-law that weekend too. We had a great Christmas dinner here at our house and had lots of fun opening gifts. Claire was so excited for this "real" microphone....we were not quite as excited.

Ethan has turned from being a huge Nascar fan to a huge NFL fan. This kid has to be talked into taking this jersey off!! He likes to get all dressed up in his gear to watch a game.

Better post some fall pictures before Christmas!!

For a few weeks this fall we were lucky enough to have my grandparents in GR. We had them over for dinner and here is my 90 year old grandpa with all the great-grandkids plus great-grandpuppy.

Here is Claire just before being dropped off at preschool modeling a cute hat I got for her at a craft sale. She will not wear it again so here is your only look... :(

This year, we enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner at Susan and Scott's house!! It was so great because Susan wanted to learn how to make an entire Thanksgiving meal and wanted Donna to teach her....you can guess what that meant for me....NO COOKING!!!!! I only brought the stuffing....it was so great not having to make tons of things and Susan and Donna did a wonderful cooking job!
Those of you who know this family know what a miraculous picture this is.....no one is smiling wierd...they all look great!!

Since we are trying a white Christmas this year (i.e. not going to Florida as usual) we decided to cut our own tree instead of using the lovely pre-cut trees at Fruitbasket. This our tree and it is so beautiful. The kids thought it was very fun to walk around and decide which one we wanted. We even got it before the big snow came!!

Forgot to post costumes!!!

Claire was a cheerleader this year which I was very thankful for....we had this entire costume in our dress-up clothes!

Here are Ethan and two of his friends at school. At this point, I'm glad he's still satisfied with sports figures and not anything gross like his friend. Yikes!!

Anna the leopard. When she was talking and thinking about her costume, she said that she would also need to go and find her stuffed animal deer so that she could carry it around in mouth. Nice....apparently she takes after Joel b/c I would have suggested carrying a leopard CUB around and not her latest kill.

Here are all three before hitting the streets for trick-or-treating!! Candy and cavities...here we come!!!!!