merry christmas!

from our home to yours, we wish you a very merry christmas and a happy new year!

snow day

we've been waiting oh so patiently for the snow to arrive, and alas, 18" of fresh white beautiful snow has been dropped from the sky. that means no school! the kids we're so excited when they woke up,  they had snow gear on and were out the door before 7am (with a flashlight because it was still dark).  we played outside for most of the day, from sledding, snowball throwing, shoveling, making snow angels.....i love snow days!! 

dancing queen

sweet. joyful. artistic. beautiful. silly. love.

she's our little dancing queen.

(she doesn't need a recital, she will dance anywhere!)

on the mend

well, the month of december was mostly spent in our house, napping, crafting, watching christmas movies, eating every type of chicken or rice soup, drinking tea, going through tissues like crazy, and hoping that the nasty flu virus would finally leave.....but, that little bugger stayed for quiet some time! we are now back on our feet, bodies trying to take in every drop of nourishment, and still needing hours and hours of sleep...but, we are back to our "normal" routines. although there was something quite special and calm in those moments we shared while being ill, it sure is nice to get out of the house!!

 we found this sweet little gingerbread kit...so fun and so easy!

our little elf "snowdrift" brought the family a puzzle to work on while we were home sick. this was a 550 piece puzzle, the most pieces we've worked on! we just had it out on the floor and whenever someone felt like working on it they could...it was really fun! 

family fun day!!

the friday after thanksgiving, was probably one of our best days ever! we slept in, went out for a late, and super delicious breakfast (where everyone loved what they ordered), then went to an indoor skate rink for a few hours (can't decide who had more fun the kids, or jesse....wow, you should have seen him, it was so fun seeing that excitement again!), then home for hot cocoa, snuggling, and a movie (brave). we were all smiles that day! BEST DAY EVER!!!

gobble gobble

this year we decided to just stay home for thanksgiving, and man, was it nice! mellow, fun, and delicious! we are all so thankful to have such a wonderful life!

the morning of thanksgiving we hooked up with some of our soccer friends and played at a local park for a few hours. kids vs. parents, who do you think won? ryder was loving this!!

 post game refreshments (apple cider!)

some of our awesome neighbors joined us for a delicious turkey dinner, and the kids certainly entertained us throughout the evening! wigs, drawn on mustaches, and beards....hilarious:)

halloween 2012

we hit the streets, once again, with our neighborhood friends, on a cold october evening....looking for treats.

 "expelliarmus!"

approaching....

waiting....

science in a garage? ok!

 our neighbor, don, once again shared his love for science, but this time it was in his garage, and he invited all of our close neighbors. his message for the kids that night was : science is fun! i believe he proved that!

just playing with dry ice bubbles....no big deal:) 

watching the show!

an afternoon in a corn maze

this is our third year attempting the corn maze. we always make it out, it takes about an hour or so and i always pack treats and water. it's such a fun afternoon for our family; we get to work together, be outside, and pick at corn (which is one of the most relaxing things ever...)

 ryder was so helpful this year! he loved this:)

quinn on the other hand, isn't really a fan of getting lost in a corn maze, so we try to keep her content with snacks, follow the leader, races, and corn, of coarse!

the party

 birthday girl, in her third party outfit, with her birthday cupcake (which she decorated all by herself!)

it doesn't take long for the dancing to begin:)

Quinn turns FIVE

"may you grow up to be righteous,

may you grow up to be true,

may you always know the truth,

and see the light surrounding you.

may you always be courageous,

stand upright and be strong,

may you stay forever young." 

bob dylan

we love you quinn othelia!!

photo shoot with dad

jesse took the kids out one sunday morning for a little outdoor photo shoot. All three of them with a camera slung around their shoulder. It started at the arboretum, taking pictures of the beautiful trees and the changing colors, then ended at the local car shop, which specializes in, yep, you guessed it, the vw bug:) these kids are so proud of what jesse does, they just love to be a part of "the process".

apple time

we have been loving our apples, and all the apple farms that we've gone to, even though the crop has been seriously burdened this year, due to the drought earlier on. it's a wonderful lesson for the kids, because, just getting an apple at the grocery store and noticing an increase in price, doesn't have the same effect as actually seeing the farms. There were far less trees to pick from, the apples have been much smaller, and the season was cut way short! The kids got to see this, and be a part of it, and now have this new appreciation for something that we may have taken for granted before. we love our apples!!

crisp fresh air

 fall crafting outside! leaves are one of our most favorite elements right now!

yippee!

trip to the farm

one of the things i love about madison, is that there are so many opportunities for the kids, well, and parents, to hang out on a farm! The animals, the smells, the produce, the endless space to run, and all the farm equipment to climb on! On a beautiful autumn day, this was a perfect place to be!

 baby animals are our favorites!

 we made it through the corn maze, whew, i totally had to pee the entire time:)

quinn is making her way through the super awesome obstacle course.....the kids were laughing so hard. 

ballet

quinn started ballet today, she's been waiting all summer for it to start up again. so excited!!

ballerina buddies.

another year at NMNS

quinn is starting another year at her preschool, NMNS. she will be going 3 afternoons a week, with some of her closest friends....this is going to be a wonderful year for quinn;)

second grade

can't believe we're here again....a new school year, and a bigger kid! this is ryder's last year at midvale, so that makes him the "big guy on campus", and then he will head to the partnering school, lincoln, for 3-5. i can't wait to see what ryder discovers this year. my wish for him is to have the confidence to be himself, to always be inquisitive, to see the beauty in mistakes, to be brave, make sure to be silly, and to always know we (his super cool parents) are here for him, always! 

geez, it's so hard to let them go:)

last dance

since we were all getting a little nervous for the first day of school, we decided to let some good ole music get the nerves out. a spontaneous dance party at 8am is so fun!!

we put on ryder's mix (which was our favorite for this summer) and the kids both picked their favorite song.

they danced so hard...ryder totally forgot about being nervous! 

mad scientist

our neighbors, don and patty, have taken quite the interest in our children, and visa versa (our kids are always chatting with their friends, don and patty). every day they exchange some sort of greeting, discovery, witty comments, jokes, advice....the list goes on! one of the shared interests between our neighbors and the kids (well, and jesse and i) is the love for science and nature. don is a retired middle school science teacher, so is an endless pit of useful information and experiments. he had one that he wanted to share with the kids called "water rocket launch".

we pumped. 

we measured

and we launched (and also calculated flight time)

and we learned lots about air pressure (and also humidity). it was so fun! science in our backyard:)

go-pack-go!

jesse and ryder were invited to go to a preseason packer game at the end of august, they, of coarse, went..duh:) it was the first packer game for both of them....what a wonderful experience to share as a father and son!!

view from the seats

leaving lamdeau. 

this is totally how a little boy becomes a life long packer fan...for sure;)

outdoor theatre....yes please!

some of our good friends (who live around the corner from us....love the ease of frienship here!), spontaneously put together an outdoor theatre to create a wonderful memory for out little kiddos. it was a warm summer evening, about 10 kids, popcorn, drinks, chairs, pillows, and blankets spread out over their backyard....and the lovely movie,  "the secret world of arrietty"! so so fun;)

summer essentials!

so at our house, we create what we call a "summer to do" list. this list consists of things that just make summer, well, summer:) for example, going mini golfing, getting ice cream at the union terrace, camping....ect. the list is quite long and we have managed to get through most of it...and sometimes we can cross multiple things off on one day....now, that's a GOOD day!!! 

on one friday morning, while our friend oliver was visiting (he was with us for an entire week....he lives in seattle!!), we all woke up, had breakfast, tie dyed about 7 shirts, made cookies, made lemonade, and set up the annual lemonade stand by 10am:) whew! (that took 3 things off our summer list).

the kids had so much fun. they all had a specific duty (oliver handed out cookies, quinny handed out lemonade, and ryder handled the money). i loved watching all three of them....oh, they would giggle, nudge, whisper...and giggle more!

the birthday bash!

we invited a few friends over to celebrate ryder's birthday. ryder wanted a backyard water party, with a bonfire and a camp out....and that sounded like fun to us, so that's what we did!

 cruising down the slip and slide.....right into a mud hole!! it was awesome!!!

 quinny enjoying her s'more!!

 jesse had his technique down with perfectly roasting or should i say caramelizing marshmallows! we have never used our homemade marshmallows for s'mores before (i usually just make them in the colder months for hot cocoa) BUT, i will never by marshmallows for s'mores again....this was amazing!!!

the three amigos! ryder and his buddies playing one more round of croquet before they hopped into their tent....and then giggled and chatted most of the night....but, it's one night, so it was totally worth it;)

marshmallows

hard at work making the marshmallows for the s'mores! it's so easy and so fun!!