59 degrees!

 It is a beautiful day in January!! That is right 59 degrees and full sun! So nice that Makayla took her book outside and soaked up some vitamin D! We did an early lunch, and early naps. We are waiting for my sister and husband to arrive and then we are off for an afternoon of fun in the sun.

tie die fun

 Makayla got Tie Die as a birthday present a long time ago, we finally took the time to make some shirts! It is a learning process. I am optimistic that next time our shirts will turn out way more cool, but for our first time they did not turn out too bad. I did PJ's shirt and Makayla did Brie's shirt. Brie's probably turned out the best as we followed the directions with hers! :~) The girls and I had fun making them though!

activities...activities....

 The big girls received certificates for Christmas extra activities. We started Makayla with piano lessons. I had the piano tuned this last week for the first time since 1993 and it sounds amazing! Makayla is taking lessons at school and the teacher goes to after school care and gets her and returns her there! double score! She seems to be enjoying it and picking it up nicely!

 Magdalene has been begging to take dance forever!! There happened to be a group on with a great deal. The dance place is bit of a drive but in the end there are a lot of people from her school there. The price is right so we will see how it goes. I have to say Maggie looked much better on week two. The first night I was a bit scared that maybe her two left feet were not meant to dance, but after a week of practice she improved!

We belong to the YMCA and they had a tumbling class, so we signed Makayla up! She had her first class this week and I think she will learn a lot and it will boost self confidence as a bonus! She really did well for not ever having been in a class before.

Brie is off to big girl school

 Gabriella Marie is headed to preschool! yes she is only two but 3 is only a few weeks away and she is potty trained!! off we go. She has been so excited to join PJ at his preschool and run with the big guys. Brie was very proud of taking her own lunch box and very excited about her backpack!

She marched right into her classroom and found her cubby immediately. She directed PJ and I where to put her things proudly!

One final picture for momma before it was a kiss and a hug and off she went to play. For those that do not know, PJ and Brie arrive about 730 and get to play until 830, then they have preschool in separate classrooms until 1130. The two reunite for lunch and recess. PJ has to rest and Brie is to sleep(?) and then it is childcare for the rest of the day. I only called once today and they said she is doing just great, Brie asked to see PJ twice. While I was checking in another staff said they just say Brie and PJ on the playground running around giggling but joined at the hip! aw PJ you are such a great big brother! Do not be fooled he was equally proud to have Brie at his school, he was all about showing her off this morning to his friends! all in all a very good day for both of these kiddos! So happy for PJ and Brie to have such a great school to go to.

back to school again

It was so so sad packing backpacks and getting things ready the night before our first day back to reality. We have all enjoyed being a family of 6 for 17 days! we have also managed to get a lot accomplished as well! Though being back in more of routine will be nice, it sure was fun having many pajama days and just being lazy! This is the first break we have taken as a family since PJ was a baby that I feel like I had a break as well! what a refreshing feeling.

grma has new wheels

For those who have been keeping my mom in your thoughts and prayers thank you! She was rear ended while in the city driving a lady to a family Christmas 2 weeks ago today. Mom was not hurt, nor anyone else at the scene, thank goodness. Her car was totaled though. The person that hit her did have insurance but due to delays mom's insurance took over the claim and things moved right along. I need to remind you that there has been two holidays in the last two weeks but because of the great insurance company she has and a savvy son-in-law she now is the owner of the above car. 2 years newer, 10,000 miles less and white she has a sporty new car. Not bad considering it has only been two weeks! Anyway we are all relieved that she is back in the drivers seat and ready to hit the road again! Looks nice mom, good job!

43 degrees and Jan. 4th

The thermometer read 43 degrees today and the kids were all about going outside to enjoy the snow. The snow angel picture is worth a thousand words. Brie was just standing there and I said, "everyone lay down and do snow angels, Brie you can just stand." Brie stomped her foot and said "hey I know how to do snow angels too!" Sure enough sweet Brie you can almost do a snow angel. :~)
Then it was monkey pile on top of Makayla time! that made everyone giggle!

new presents = fun times

Maggie got new Easy Bake things to do, so the girls were busy bakers! It still takes some supervision by an adult so Maggie does not get to "bake" nearly as often as she would like.  So to be able to make multiple recipes all in the same afternoon made her day!

As you can see PJ loves trying out his new outside toys indoors! He also got a plasma car, he too is testing it out inside as well! It is a good thing we have an open floor plan, he can go from the bathroom wall to the t.v. or the front door, happy boy!!

sledding

 Some indoor sledding practice before heading outdoors for real fun. We had a 44 degree Sunday and so we bundled everyone up and enjoyed the fresh air for a couple hours.

 We have an easement behind our house so it was perfect for sledding. Some of the neighbors have inclined yards that made for a fun time!

home Christmas 2012

 "Christmas morning" as the children wait for the parents to get everything just perfect!

 The looks on the kids faces as they see "Christmas morning" is priceless. Little Brie was amazed and just screamed "presents"!

 Christmas magic came to life in our living room and it is so worth all of the prep! It is just beautiful and we all love it.

 A quick shot of each of the kids opening a gift. I love capturing the little moments and facial expressions.

 PJ was over the moon with his cuddle up pet!

 Maggie is so thrilled to be getting the dance lessons she has been wanting for the past year!

 Brie was such a sport, she thought she really was getting a box of wipes and she was happy with that. Of course the baby that was inside the box was an even bigger hit.

 This is just a cute picture of sweet Brie cheese. I do not want her to fill like she does not have as many pictures of herself as the older kids did when they were 2.

I know we all had a great Christmas run, wishing each of you a Blessed new year as well. Merry Christmas 2012 and good night!

one special present please.....

 We arrived home after many days of travel and the kids requested one special present. (We keep our presents hidden until the morning they open them, so there are no presents under our tree. The older ones now have memories of past Christmas ways and wanted to persuade us to do something a bit different this year.) So after we got the van unpacked, dinner done, and baths finished we caved and they got their request.  We got them each a Renaissance outfit with a certificate promising to take them to one in the fall. The big girls are totally excited as they remember past festivals. Pete spent many hours on making PJ's sword and shield. (It looks awesome and matches his outfit very nicely!) PJ was beyond tired and was not happy to be getting his picture taken.

 Do not be fouled immediately after the above posed picture the all clear was given and the twirling ensued and lasted until bedtime! I think the special presents were a hit!

Brie twirled just as much as the big girls with a huge smile the entire time.

Christmas with the cousins

 So we went to Pete's sisters house for Christmas dinner. We hung out a couple days before heading back home. Believe it or not I did not pull out my camera once, thus I had to pull these pictures from Thanksgiving. We all had a great time playing and being together for Christmas. THANK YOU for hosting all 6 of us, we had a great time being at your house!

pictures with Grandma

 A couple last minute pictures with grandma before we headed out.

Santa filled the stockings

 Makayla does so well getting her picture taken and putting up with her mother's many photo requests! All in all I think she was pleased with her stocking. The rock has her perplexed for a little bit until we explained it may be a geode, then shew as thrilled.

 PJ was also pleased with his stocking. He remembered right quick what a filled stocking was all about.

 Maggie slept really well after midnight mass the night before. She is going to not like these postings some day I am sure but I have to include a few photos, otherwise I will get in trouble for skipping her. In spite of the wacky hair do she had a great Christmas morning as well.

 Brie Brie was soo thrilled with her pickles, she had to be refocused that there was more in her stocking.

 Brie only had foggy memories of last Christmas I think. Regardless she too had a fun morning as well, after she got up finally at 11:15!

Each of the kids got a rock in there stockings! Of course there were geodes that daddy was very happy to open for them. Out to grandma's garage, found a hammer,  chisel and viola each of the kids now has an awesome crystal filled "rock"!

Christmas time with grandma

 We headed to grandma's house for Christmas and she had wonderful snow! and warm enough temps to equal quality snow time! PJ was in his element, loving every minute of it! My sister and nephew helped them to build the perfect snowman, complete with spray painted pants! The kids had a blast.

 My hometown does a Christmas light drive in the local state park. It is probably a mile or so of lots of Christmas lights and scenes, sponsored by the EMS of the county. A wonderful display of many lights for the kids to enjoy.

 We did presents with grandma a day early so everyone would have time to enjoy their new things before the party.

 My mom was anxious to open her present, and  I think she liked it!

 Single shots of the grandma with Brie.

 PJ was thrilled with dinosaurs.

Maggie too could not have been given a more perfect gift!

 Makayla and grandma close up!

Baby Addy was a HUGE hit with all of my kids! She was not lacking for attention at the Christmas Eve party!

 This was pretty much PJ's face all night, he loved every minute of Christmas!

 Brie just looks so sweet in this picture, hard to believe our baby is only 5 weeks away from her 3rd birthday!

 Silly little thing! We put the little ones in their pajamas prior to midnight mass, thinking they would fall asleep! ha! Brie was way too excited to sleep at church, she was desperate to see Baby Jesus! announcing it to all of church many times!

 Some great photos of the kids with a few of the special people in their lives.  PJ and Uncle Jeff.

 Makayla and Auntie Coke.

Gabriellie with Brad.

 Maggie and her Uncle Mark.

Thank you to everyone who made my kids have a great Christmas at grandma's house. They are very lucky to have such fantastic people in their lives and they love each of you very much!

 PJ and Maggie each were given reindeer food at school. It too made the trip to grandmas. So as a group we braved the cold and headed outside at 11:20 pm and made the snow glisten. Then it was off to church!