Grandma's 80th

Last week-end we made a whirlwind trip to Pennsylvania and back. Grandma had turned 80 earlier in the week and a party was planned for Saturday. I had been thinking a lot about her and as insane as the trip sounded we decided to go. We packed up the family and drove 11 hours on Friday to get there and then 11 hours back home on Sunday so Jared could work on Monday.  It was really fun and great to see a lot of family.  Turns out that an 11 hour drive isn't so bad when Jared and I had a lot of things to discuss and decide on since the project here is coming to a close.   The kids were wonderful.  Seriously, I don't know how our parents did it without DVD players in the car.  As long as I kept the movies coming, they were content.

Me, Grandma, Aunt Faye, and Uncle Bob

Grandma and me

Mother and son

Jared, Terra, Elizabeth, and Robert (we always love a chance to get together with my cousin and her husband.  We have so much fun with them.  They are expecting their first in August!!)

Cindy and Shari

Bella and Mima

Aunt Faye, me, and Bella

Delinda and Scott

Aunt Kathy and Maria

Katy, Emma, and Xandy (I can't believe how much Emma grew up since we saw them last.  It scares me since she is only two years older than Katy.  My baby cousin went from little girl to young women over night)

Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bob

Xandy and Pop Pop at Grandma's house

Mima and Katy

I got to go for a refreshing mountain run on Saturday.  I pushed myself hard to run a few miles up the mountain road, promising myself the ease of the return downhill.  Overall it was beautiful and refreshing.  The lingering snow on the ground added to the overall effect.   But, it turns out I forgot to take into account the wind.  I was running straight into strong winds on the way back down.  I did not pack enough cold weather running clothes so I was pretty frozen by the time I got back.  Its hard to think gloves and hat when its 70 degrees when you're packing.  Despite the cold and wind, the kids had fun running and exploring outside.  My Dad owns the land next to Grandma's so there was lots of room for them to run and play.  I'm told Uncle Martin was even nice enough to take them to look at the horses while I was running.  A horse farm is adjacent to the family land and as we were leaving I realized I hadn't taken them to see the horses but they assured me they had gotten to see them anyway.

On a funny side note: My grandma saves everything.  There is absolutely no way to describe the amount of things in her house.  You have to see it to understand it.  She worked at a library for years and when they were pulling books from circulation, she would bring them home.  There are literally thousands and thousands of books in her basement.  There is barely room to walk from one end to the other.  We used to go to Grandma's a lot while we were in Cleveland, but since the move this is only the second time we've been back.  Jacob doesn't remember it at all, and Bella was even too young to remember much.  We were the first people to arrive (Grandma was even still at Aunt Karen's house in Philly), after I let us in, Bella looked around the house.  "Have we ever been here before?" she asked.  Xandy replied "Of course we have, lots of times".  Then she added in an excited voice "There's even a whole library in the basement, come on I'll show you".  I had to laugh.  I'm afraid of the basement and apparently,children think its pretty cool.

Random musings

I love to see Bella snuggling her Dad.  For the most part she tends not to want much to do with him.   Lately though I've seen an increasing number of moments like this....

It warms my heart.

And, despite the risk of being lynched and losing friends again this year,  I have to post pics of the kids on Super Bowl Sunday.  Yes, I do realize I am from Cleveland and this is a sin some consider second only to Blasphemy, but I do have western Pennsylvania roots.  Since there was no compelling reason to cheer for Green Bay (and since I'm more than a little annoyed at the whole state of Wisconsin and their sports teams this past year), I did what any loving granddaughter would do and wore the colors of the team by Grandparents were loyal to. My husband had other ideas. Since he hates Rothelsberger with an intense passion, he was cheering for Greenbay. Since I can not pass up an opportunity to annoy him, he came home from an after church meeting to find this

It was actually harder than I thought to create these outfits.  Apparently yellow is not a color the kids and I wear very often.  We had to do a lot of sharing to find outfits for everyone.  Jared has apparently learned to ignore our teasings.  Besides a slight roll of his eyes he did not humor us with any other reaction.

Icecream and Science

Icecream and Science are two of my favorite things!

 Katy combined them into a science fair project this year.  She researched what ingredients five different frozen desserts were made of.  After comparing the differences she picked which she thought would melt fastest and which would melt slowest.  Turns out maybe Frozen Custard isn't the best choice on a hot St. Louis day as it only lost to Frozen Yogurt for title of fastest melting.  But, who are we kidding?  Nothing tastes quite as good as a Bobby's concrete so I doubt the results will change our frozen dessert eating habits.  And by the way, not that we have a countdown or anything, but Bobby's reopens a week from today!! (Porters, Lindsays- I'm sure we'll see you there)  Oh, and in case you were wondering, icecream took the longest to melt with Sorbet and Sherbert falling in the middle.

Running Buddy

Kristie Carmitchel and I ran 13 miles last weekend.  I had been sick for over a week previous and never would've run that one my own.  Realistically, I probably would've taken the whole day off.  But, she motivated me to get out and take advantage of the nice day. We parked her car at HorseShoe Lake State Park and headed towards my house.  Even though it made it above freezing, it was the first day it began to thaw so the trails were not clear yet.  It was a strange snowy/ice mix  covering the trails.  We persevered though and ran all the way home which ended up being a slight uphill incline most of the way.  Despite stepping into a freezing puddle about a mile from home which quickly dropped my body temperature, we made it back.  Surprisingly, the next day I felt better than I had in two weeks.  Maybe I froze the sick germs right out of me.

Its sad that we are most likely both moving within the next few months.  Its been great having someone that motivates me and vice versa.

Big Boys and Bikes

It hard to believe that Jacob was only about 7 months when I took him on the house hunting trip to St. Louis.  Where has the time gone? 

He was not too sure about his big boy bike until we went to Tot Skate.  The YMCA has a roller skating rink and during special school week hours little kids can go skating OR bring their bikes and bike around the rink.  We met a bunch of Jacob friends there last month.  I tried to take this bike but he cried and insisted on taking the tricycle cause it wasn't as scary or challenging.  The problem was his two closest friends are not only older (one by 6 months, one by 18 months) than him but were using bigger bikes which gave them much greater speed.  He got annoyed with pedaling as fast as he could and still being left behind.  During the warm spell last week he insisted I get his big bike down so he could practice! He's getting pretty good. Next step: get Bella riding without the training wheels!

The Magic House

One of the things on my "to do" list before leaving this area was to visit the Magic House. The kids had recieved free tickets through the summer reading program, but we hadn't gotten around to going yet. I noticed the tickets expired the end of January, so we made it a priority to go. It was so much bigger than I expected and a ton of fun. I couldn't even begin to describe everything that was there. If you are ever in the St. Louis area, visit the Magic House!!!!!

There was a slide that went down several stories, and beanstalk you could climb for several stories.  A crime scene and forensic lab with a mystery to solve, a music room, a magnet room, a bubble room-the kids loved pulling a bubble up around them.  There was a water room and a baby room.  A whole little village with:a bank vaults and clues to solve the combos, a library, a hospital with a nursery, a resturant, a grocery store, a post office, a mechanic shop, and an icecream stand (Jacob's favorite).There was also a shadow room.  It was a dark room that would take a picture and put your shadow on the wall.  We loved striking funny poses or jumping in the air while it took the picture. There was a hands on room with painting and other activities.  And so much more....

On the trail with Lewis and Clark

Giving a speech in the oval office

Our Pasta House Cashier

Fishing in the pond (there was a stream that wound through the village. You could follow the fish until they reached the pond)

The electricity ball- it makes your hair stand out

Judge Alex

Bella on the witness stand

New dresses

I found these dresses clearanced at KMart. In total I bought 4 dresses, a nice top to wear with her skirt for Katy, a pink sweater for myself, a b-day present for a party Bella was going to, a new hat a glove set for Xandy, some lights and other misc household items and spent less than $50! I love shopping trips like that!!

Big Storm 2011 (Round 1)

The week before last we got over a foot of snow. I know, after living in Cleveland, that doesn't seem like a big deal but it is HUGE for here. The forecast was calling for it and school got cancelled the night before but when Jared and I went to bed it still was barely snowing. Boy, were we surprised when we woke up. Jared worked from home that day and managed to take a little break to sled with us. One neighbor said this was the most snow they'd had since 1999 another claimed it was the most snow they'd had since she was in elementary school (she's a few years older than me). Either way, it was a big deal.

Its hard to tell, but the snow is piled almost as high as Katy's shoulder

We've actually had several snow days this month. One day we spent sledding with the Davis family. We had a great time.

Pancakes and Math

Xandy and Bella's school had a Family Math night this year.  We decided to go support them since this activity actually had some educational value to it and was free.  I get a little tired of the need the PTO feels to charge for every school event in an attempt to make a few extra bucks. We had a great time.  There were 6-8 gamerooms (I can't remember for sure) and you stayed at each one for 15 minutes.  It was very organized and each family recieved a schedule to follow for the evening and there was a warning bell and room changing bell.  In each room, there were individual stations set up with everything your family needed to complete an activity.  The activities were entertaining but needed math in some form in order to complete it.  I thought it was a great way to get families to spend some quality time having fun and still learning.  My only complaint was that it should've been a little shorter, or done on a Saturday so it could start earlier.  Lots of families with little ones had to leave early since it went past 8pm and the little tykes were wearing out.  Bella and Jacob were both on the grumpy side by the time it was over.  One station was bingo.  We just missed a free Papa Johns gift card but we did end up with 2 free kids meals at Fazolis!! These pictures are from one of the stations.  I didn't take pictures at any of the other ones.

The Primary had their annual Pnncake Breakfast this year.  Even though Jacob has gone every year since we've been here (one year I was in the primary and another year it had to tag along to take the girls), he was sooo excited that he was officially allowed to attend this activity.  His first Primary activity and he loved it! I love how well all the girls in our ward get along.  Age is not a factor and its great.  The chair count at this table kept growing as more girls arrived.  It would never occur to them to split up at different tables cause they all love being together.  Its great!

On a side note: the primary kids all sang at a baptism a couple weeks ago. It was one of those staggering moments of motherhood when you say "where on earth did the time go?". When we moved here my oldest was not even baptized and my youngest wasn't a year old yet. But there they were, all 4, standing up there singing. Katy was one of the oldest kids in the back. Jacob almost missed going up cause I was holding him and sent the other kids to sing and belatedly remembered to send him up too.