The Baima Family Blog

Christmas is Here!

2012-01-04T11:10:00.000-08:00

This year, we hosted Christmas Eve and Day for my family. We were busy with cookie decorating, cooking, present opening, and, most importantly - eating! Above is Olivia before her play based on How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Below is Ethan's piano performance (no, he doesn't take lessons yet) of Christmas songs.

We had Christmas crackers during our Christmas Eve dinner, and here are the kids showing off their paper crowns and "prizes". Such strange prizes this year - mini staplers and tape dispensers, random jewels, magic tricks, and glasses rope (which is what Ethan has).

Joe later decided that the glasses string was not a look for him!

Rogue managed to get her head stuck in a plastic bag. We managed to take several pictures prior to helping her get out of it.

Ethan and Olivia with their letters and cookies for Santa/9 carrots for all of the reindeer. We had to leave the fireplace off to not burn Santa!

Santa came!

Olivia and Ethan with their Santa presents - Monster High dolls for Olivia (her big obsession right now) and Trash Packs and Hot Wheels for Ethan.

And, more present opening. These are the gifts from family! Spoiled is an understatement!

Olivia in the middle of her present opening mess. Her big gift was a Nintendo 3DS with games.

Ethan still opening gifts. His big item this year was a LeapPad with games.

The kids LOVED their electronics - I barely saw their faces the entire Christmas break! We allowed them to have free access to these devices during break, but starting today they are on 30 minutes per day time limits.

Ethan gave Joe and grandpa special "World's Best Dad/Grandpa" hats. He was very proud of the gifts he selected for family this year.

Merry Christmas!

And two days after Christmas, we celebrated with Grammy and Grandpa Brett.

Of course Ethan gave Grandpa Brett a "World's Best Grandpa" hat, too!

This picture of the cousins (Ethan, Lula, and Olivia) was NOT easy to get. Cute little Lula is definitely happy to be moving!

Olivia really likes to put together Legos, and here she is starting on her Lego house. We are so happy that Lego now is focusing on "girlie" Legos - Olivia really likes them, but had no interest in the Star Wars, Ninjago, or any other line like that. We have had a difficult time finding ones she was intersted in - City and Creator namely. I hate how sexist that sounds, but it is true.

Proud of the finished product!

Star Wars Christmas

2012-01-04T08:50:00.001-08:00

If you are not a Star Wars geek, go ahead and skip this blog post. You will just roll your eyes at Joe's hobby. Star Wars had become a part of our holiday decorations, including Santa hats on the Vader and Boba Fett helmets (my idea, Joe isn't thrilled about that touch) and many SW holiday statues around the study. Joe is up to the 2 helmets, 7 lightsabers, one thermal detonator, one Jedi training remote, and the gold medals that are presented at the end of Star Wars IV. We are just about out of display room in the study.

The black SW Christmas tree...always a hit at our Christmas party.

The picture in the background is the newest addition to the collection...autographed by 13 SW characters.

Yes, even the tree skirt was special ordered for the tree!

And, the SW Christmas village. Who knew that such a thing existed?

December Fun

2012-01-04T08:10:00.001-08:00

The run up to Christmas almost always starts with a visit to the Festival of Trees. This is such a fun event to walk around to look at the decorated trees, ride the train, eat gingerbread cookies, admire the gingerbread houses, and visit the kids' area. Here is one of Olivia's favorite trees at the event, and Ethan with his favorite..candy of course! That kid has a real sweet tooth!

Olivia on the Festival of Trees train.

The Beaux Arts Ball was a new event for us this year. I co-chaired the publicity for this Springfield Art Association fundraiser, and it was a lot of fun to attend a family event with a nice meal and dancing! Ethan and Joe even wore matching tuxedos!

Decorating the main tree - Joe is always on ladder duty, and Ethan loves to "photo bomb" pictures these days.

Admiring the tree.

This year instead of a true gingerbread house, the kids decorated a Spongebob Square Pants pineapple house. It was quite the conversation piece!

I just don't think we have the magic touch with gingerbread houses. Last year the house literally collapsed on itself, and this year's didn't hold up much better.

The kids posing in their Christmas outfits before Illini Country Club's Breakfast with Santa.

The kids meeting with Santa to talk over their ever changing Christmas lists.

Finally - a family Christmas picture!

Ethan (back row) and Olivia (front row) performing their songs ("Mary Rode a Donkey" for Ethan, and "Angels We Have Heard on High" for Olivia) at the St. John's Lutheran Christmas program.

Ethan (back row right) performing his five Christmas songs at his preschool Christmas program.

Rogue loved the Christmas tree! Luckily she just liked to bat at the ornaments and not climb the tree!

Lazy pajama day!

And, finally, Olivia was made Principal of the Day at her school this past December. She spent the day reading morning announcements, greeting people in the office, being the lunch monitor, and handing out "gotcha cards" to kids behaving in the hallway. She had a blast!

Vegas, Baby!

2012-01-04T07:25:00.000-08:00

Joe and I finally made it to Las Vegas this past December. Unbelievable that we had never been there before. We stayed at the Bellagio, and had a fantastic room overlooking the fountains. The fountain shows never grew old - they did a mix of pop, oldies, classical, and Christmas music. We spent the majority of our time walking the strip to explore the hotels, eating at fantastic restaurants (Robuchon and Jaleo come to mind!), and being the typical Vegas tourist. We saw Mystere (fantastic acrobatics, bizarre storyline), front row at the Amazing Jonathon, and front row at David Copperfield where Joe was brought up on stage to assist with an act. As the above picture shows, Joe managed to find Star Wars slot machines in the majority of casinos to play. We were not big gamblers - sticking to the 25cent or below machines!

Here is my "big" win - $235 on the nickel slots.

Ignore that this is on the penny slots - if it had been the $1 slots this would have been a huge win!

We managed to find all of the tourist activities...a private gondola ride at The Venetian, the top of the Eiffel Tower at Paris, the aquarium at Mandalay Bay, the volcano eruption at the Mirage, etc (the pirate ship was under repair at Treasure Island). Here we are at the wax museum...and I had to cozy up to Heff of course.

Move over Angie...my turn with Brad!

Joe with the Rat Pack.

The Bellagio hotel lobby was gorgeous, of course. They had a floral winter wonderland scene to walk through, including skating penguins.

The Bellagio Chihuly ceiling...breath taking!

Since it was all new to us, we had to walk the Strip and see all of the hotels. This is the shot I took of Paris with the Bellagio Fountains (and this was basically the view from our hotel room, too).

The Bellagio Fountains from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Treasure Island pirate ship, under repair unfortunately.

The MGM lion.

The Luxor. I always wanted to see the Sphinx and pyramids ;)

New York New York. We did not ride the roller coaster, though.

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-21T18:13:00.001-08:00

Happy Halloween! (at least I am making this post before Thanksgiving!). As Halloween is my favorite holiday, we stay busy enjoying all that is offered for this time of year. And my absolute favorite event is Jack Spectacular at the Washington Park Carillon. This year had 2011 carved pumpkins, and many of them were very well carved.

Here is Olivia with a "beautiful" pumpkin.

And thank goodness we found this pumpkin - literally in the last patch! Ethan's preschool class worked together to design and carve this pumpkin. He was especially proud of the 3 octagon mouths.

We spent a fun afternoon with friends at the Cherry Hills Fall Festival. The kids really enjoyed these rolling toys.

Wolverine (aka Ethan) at his preschool Halloween Parade.

And singing Halloween songs for the parents.

Pumpkin carving! Olivia only wanted one eye this year again. That was fine with us since these pumpkins were extremely thick skinned and they were very difficult to carve!

And Ethan's "spooky" pumpkin that he designed himself. He definitely did not want a traditional looking pumpkin this year.

Olivia's costume - "Black Widow Spidergirl". As she stated "I am way over Princesses, mom".

And Ethan as Wolverine. I doubt he outgrows superheroes as Joe is still interested in them!

Ready to Trick or Treat!

And the aftermath...Ethan with his loot,

and Olivia with hers.

A Grown Up Bedroom

2011-10-07T14:20:00.001-07:00

Joe and I have been married for 13 years now. When we were married, Joe's mom Kim gave us her original bedroom set (2 dressers and a mirror) that she and Joe's dad had bought used when they married. We had a queen sized mattress (also 13 years old), a comforter so full of holes that we had to use the back side of it as the part that people could see, a tiny box TV, and one 13 year old nightstand that was broken in our first year of marriage but never replaced. This room was one that we did not enjoy showing to people, as we felt that we had to make excuses for the sad state it was in. It was time for a new, grown up bedroom!

The before pictures...

Joe's closet...

My closet... The closets were actually OK, but the set up was awkward with limited drawers and shelves, plus other than clothes there was no functional storage space for extra blankets and such.

And pictures after the 10 month process... We added two layers of crown moulding, painted the room 3 colors of blue to draw the eye up, new bedroom set (CA King bed now), chairs, modern TV, curtains, etc etc etc. The absolute only thing that we kept from the old bedroom was the lamp under the picture of the kids. Even the alarm clocks were updated, as it too was from when we married. JB Interiors really worked their magic for us!

Joe's closet became a linen and storage closet.

And I figured that "my" closet was big enough for 2 (barely!), so the Closet Guy worked his magic and gave us a better layout than the previous closet.

Next up is the guest bedroom!

Our Busy Life

2011-10-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

Olivia started 2nd grade this year! How fast it goes. She is loving her teacher and has many of her friends in her class as well - she is doing great! Next year Ethan will join her on the bus for kindergarten, but not just yet! He is back at the same preschool this year three mornings per week. There are many new kids in his class and he is making so many friends!

The preschool tradition of "run down the hill". On beautiful days like this it is a great thing. However, on cold winter days when the kids are begging to run down the hill, it is not such a great tradition!

Our kitten Rogue was spayed and front declawed. Because she would not leave her stitches alone, she had to wear the "cone of shame" for 2 weeks. It made for a good laugh every time you would see her!

Ethan started soccer this year on Friday nights. At first he was not a fan, but after his first game he suddenly loved the game. He especially enjoyed protecting the goal as either a goalie or fullback. Although his team did not win any of their games, he thought that they won every game since he was given a snack after each game and he figured that only the winning team would receive a snack.

Ethan is #2.

I don't know why they have on the boots, but cute pictures of the kids on their scooters!

We went to the Labor Day Cardinals game and sat right behind home plate - perfect for keeping the kids interested in the plays.

Ethan at McDonald's with his good friend Jack. They played for over two hours in this playland!

On a recent day off of school, I took the kids and their friends Jack and Ava to the Decatur Children's Museum and Scoville Zoo. The bubble room is always a hit with kids.

Hand and face imprints.

Ava and Olivia painting on "walls".

Rubberband name fun.

On to the zoo - the kids loved feeding the goats. It was not easy to convince them to leave this area!

Like I said...they loved the goats!

Olivia's turn with soccer - this is her third season playing and the improvement in her play is amazing! Before she would run up and down the field on the outskirts, not really going after the ball. Now she is on an all girl's team, and it seems that her confidence in her ability has increased. She will now play strategies and attack the ball. Joe loves that she has #23 since that number was very popular for all kid athletes when we were growing up!

Olivia being directed by her coach on throwing in the ball.

Olivia kicking the ball (right at me it appears!).

Ethan's preschool went on a field trip to the Apple Barn in Chatham. Here are all of the kids learning about apples and pumpkins. (Ethan is in the front row in the light blue shirt).

Ethan and his good friend Braddock.

After going to the Apple Barn (where kids are - heaven forbid - not allowed to touch the apples) we have to take the kids to Broom's Orchard in Carlinville to show them what a real orchard should be - one that you can actually pick your own apples. That is how memories are made! Here is Olivia with her golden delicious picks.

And Ethan loving the Jonathan's.

And Joe in the tree, like every year.

We filled two bags, and I know that they would have picked more but I didn't think we could eat them fast enough! But, we each managed to eat 3 apples while in the field in addition to our take home bounty!

The kids of course had to ride the ponies as well.

Aunt Rachel is pregnant with twins! A girl and a boy due in March 2012. Yay! Olivia is also making a "big belly" but Ethan wanted to be a monster instead.

Last weekend we took a trip to the St. Louis zoo with grandma and grandpa. Look out Ethan - there is a hippo behind you!

Olivia and Ethan with their favorite snake statue.

This is the reason why we went to the zoo - to see the baby elephant. Kenzi is 13 weeks old and weighs 300#. She was such a cute elephant, and it was fun to watch how protective the older elephants are of her.

Feeding time in the penguin house. You can see Olivia taking a picture as well - she has become quite the photographer lately!

All Aboard - Choo Choo! That is what the kids were able to say on the intercom at each stop on the zoo train since they sat in the very last row with grandma (in front of the conductor).

Ethan picked "Snakey" as his zoo souvenir, and wanted a picture with this snake as well.

State Fair Time!

2011-08-19T19:38:00.001-07:00

The Illinois State Fair! I have been going to the Fair every year since I was a child. I love it! Yes, it is cheesy, greasy, usually hot, and always ends in a tummy ache, but I don't care. It is once per year and I look forward to it every time! Being that we live in Springfield, I made it to the Fair three times this year. Above is Olivia and Joe enjoying the Sky Ride - Olivia was begging for this even before the Fair began!

This year, we waited in line in Conservation World for the canoe ride. As we were all on the canoe (Joe and Olivia paddled while Ethan and I relaxed) I was not able to take any pictures of us on the ride. So, we took this picture instead.

The second trip to the Fair was with friends. On the top left are Olivia and Ethan going down the giant slide, in the middle is Nicole and Jack, and leading the pack is Ava. Ava and Jack are each within one week of age with Olivia and Ethan, so they are very good friends.

Milk a Cow! Olivia and Ethan have to do it every year. And then the two of them plus Jack and Ava ran through the cow barns yelling to the cows "thank you for the milk!" Pretty cute.

The butter cow. Yes, it is extremely silly, and if you haven't been going to the Dairy Building every year since you were a child, you may not understand the point of it. However, you have not really been to the State Fair if you have not checked out the butter cow.

The kids rode on the rides for two straight hours while Nicole and I tagged along behind. We were both thrilled that they are old enough to go on the rides without us. I'm assuming that that means I am getting old.

Jack on a motorcycle. Enough said. (he is obviously motorcycle crazy)

The four kids on this ride were hilarious to watch! They were all both thrilled to be on the ride, and yet a bit terrified at the same time.

The last trip to the Fair was a no holds barred fried food fest. I won't apologize for it - once per year I will go to the "Fried What" stand with no guilt. Let's see...we sampled the deep fried kool aid (delicious), fried green tomatoes, beer battered deep fried bacon (see picture below), deep fried brownies (very rich), Vose's corn dogs, Krupp's cheese curds (see picture below as well), fried cheese on a stick, and mini donuts. Before people start really freaking out over all of that, let me point out that it was all split 6 ways, so I only basically got one bite of many of the items. And of course washed it all down with lemonade shake ups!

Olivia won a fish at the State Fair. Who actually wins at those games? Well, Olivia did. And the fish (named "Silver") has thus far lived for 2 days. What Fair fish actually lives beyond one night? So, we had to go buy fish food and a little toy for it's fish bowl. I refuse to buy it some friends, though.

Olivia is 7!

2011-08-13T17:29:00.001-07:00

Our baby girl, Olivia, turned 7 on August 1. On her actual birthday, we were still cruising in Alaska. Luckily, she didn't mind having a very extended birthday celebration - the boat, with her girl friends, with extended family, and then lastly with her playgroup friends. First off was a morning of opening presents from Joe and I.

And here is the loot. Her big gift was a camera, but her favorite gift was the Monster High doll. It has become a bit of an obsession with her, even if I do have to monitor which of the items are age appropriate for her (the books are more for tweens than for a 7 year old).

For her friend birthday party, she decided to invite some girl friends to the Springfield Art Association for an art party. Considering Olivia claims to want to be an artist in Chicago when she grows up, this was perfect for her. Here she is modeling with her Olivia banner (the theme of her party this year).

Traditional family with the cake picture. Olivia selected a Barbie dress cake this year and I was thrilled that she did! I had a Barbie cake when I was little and I loved it.

The party guests making art. Each girl (plus Ethan) decorated a picture frame and painted a canvas. We came home with some beautiful artwork to display! Another party game was "fishing" over the balcony in the Historic Edwards Place home (Joe would hook small gifts to a fishing line for the girls to reel in). What a great memory that will be in the years to come as we attend more formal art events there!

Cake time! We all hope Olivia's wish comes true!

Ethan pulled the lucky pinata string, and...

there was a mad dash for the candy!

More presents for Olivia to open.

The girls doing their best "diva" pose to place in their decorated picture frames.

Next we headed home for a family party with the grandparents. Here Olivia's American Girl doll is modeling one of the homemade Princess dresses that grandma made for it.

Yet another cake! We ate cake for a very long time after these parties!

Oh, yeah, Joe had a birthday too. :) Unfortunately, as the years have progressed, Olivia's birthday celebrations have become more elaborate, while Joe's celebrations have become less elaborate. He did score a homemade blackberry pie and homemade almond toffee, though.

And lastly we have Olivia's birthday party with her playgroup friends. This was the first year that Olivia elected to have an all girls party (at the Art Association), but all of her playgroup friends that she has literally known from birth are boys! So, we had a second friend party at home with water toys. Here she requested a jello cake.

The last of the presents. This was funny to watch, as at first the boys are very excited to watch the presents being opened. However, after the first present is opened they realize that all of them are going to be "girlie" so they quickly lost interest and left her alone! Happy birthday Miss Munchkin!

Alaska by Land

2011-08-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

Our Alaska cruise made the three traditional port stops - Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan. Our first stop, Skagway, was supposed to be our glacier tour via helicopter culminating in a dog sled ride on a glacier. However, as soon as we woke up that morning, we pretty much knew that it was not going to happen due to the heavy fog (see picture below). We did end up being canceled, so we spent a few hours shopping in the town. The town was very cute - wood sidewalks, the storefronts were coordinated and reminiscent of the early gold rush days of the town. Here is the Disney Wonder from land.

Totem poles became a theme during our entire vacation - they were everywhere and the kids never seemed to tire posing with them.

Beautiful Alaska scenery. This was one block off the main street near the Skagway Museum (a great little place that takes you through the early gold panning years).

This harbor seal was literally right next to the gangplank leading to the ship. The kids were thoroughly entertained by him, watching him eat his salmon.

Juneau was our second port city, and our second attempt at the helicopter/dog sledding (thank you Disney for rescheduling!). We were waiting for our tour time in the theater, and in walks Mickey Mouse! He sat right next to the kids and truly spent 10 minutes with them, despite the other kids in the aisles. He was so focused on us that Joe and I actually became nervous that the excusion was to be canceled yet again and the ship sent Mickey to soften the blow!

Mickey even led the kids to the gangplank for our excursion!

As you have probably guessed, the weather in Juneau cooperated for the helicopter ride! Here is Ethan all suited up for the ride. Both kids loved the helicopter - especially the headphones.

The Disney Wonder via helicopter.

The helicopter ride lasted maybe 15 minutes each way, but the scenery was all gorgeous. We flew over 3 glaciers total, 2 descending glaciers (they are growing smaller) and 1 ascending glacier (it is actually grown larger - about 1 foot per week). Here is our first glimpse of the ascending glacier.

The dog sled camp! There were 170 dogs at this camp, and they were all transported there via helicopter. The dogs will stay on the glacier for about 5 months, and the dog sledding that we participated in helps the dogs learn to carry weight on the sleds. When we were there, the temperature on the glacier was about 50*, but that was considered very warm for the dogs who prefer 0* or below. The drivers live on the glacier for about 10 days at a time before being flown back to Juneau for a 3 day break.

We rode on a 2 mile track, that took about 30 minutes to complete. It was a fantastic 30 minutes! Joe, the kids and I were on one dog sled team while Kim and Brett rode on a second team next to us. Joe "drove" the first 1/2 mile of the track (our dog handler, Jeremiah, actually did the work for us).

My turn!

Olivia actually drove the dog sled! For 1/2 mile she and Joe stood on the back together. For the final 1/2 mile she became brave enough to do it herself (after the initial jolt it is actually a very smooth ride). I am a bit glad that Olivia had to work up her courage a bit, because if she had driven on the first leg of the track, I don't think that any of us would have had turn since she ended up loving it so much!

A passenger view of the dog sledding.

Joe and Olivia waiting to drive the team back to the camp.

The six of us with our drivers. Our driver, Jeremiah (far right), was actually only 17. He WON the junior Iditarod race last year (for drivers under age 18) in 25 hours.

Goodbye dog sledding. Worth every penny. What a fantastic experience!

Juneau was a very busy port stop for us. We actually did not explore the town on foot - only via bus going from one excursion to the next. Olivia really wanted to go gold panning, and had talked about it all cruise long.

Olivia panning for gold in a river. I knew that prior to this excursion, she had no idea what panning for gold was about. I wish I had gotten a picture of her face when she realized that she was not going to find a gold nugget and instead all you are lucky enough to find are tiny gold flakes! I'm not sure that her brain was able to comprehend the process!

Mom and son hoping to make it rich with gold!

Gold! The flakes are there - you just have to look very closely. Once Olivia transfered the flake to her vial, the guide was actually pretty impressed with the amount of flakes (each flake was worth a quarter).

Transferring gold flakes to our keepsake vial.

We ended our Juneau excursions with a yummy salmon bake and marshmallow roast. The salmon in Alaska is the most beautiful color - almost red. So delicious!

Our final port stop, Ketchikan. We had no excursions planned for this town. Instead we put on our walking shoes and toured the city. Of course, we found another totem pole in the town.

Creek Street is a great place to go - literally a boardwalk over a creek lined with local artist shops.

We walked to the Ketchikan fish ladder, but we unfortunately did not see any salmon spawning. We then hiked over to the salmon hatchery and totem pole museum (great authentic totems that were original to the area).

Ahhh, Married Man's Trail leading to Creek Street. We walked this Trail and learned its history. Back in the day there were brothels lining the street. Nice.

Cruising Alaska Disney Style

2011-08-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

After our time in Vancouver, we (the family plus Kim and Brett) boarded the Disney Wonder for a 7 night Alaska cruise. It was a fantastic cruise. Never mind that this was the first cruise in a decade that I did not develop motion sickness, but Disney had every detail and every minute of every day perfectly planned. The kids were busy in the Oceaneer Club or Lab (fantastic places that "ban" adults and had the kids begging to go there whenever they had a down moment) or in the Mickey Pool (with a waterslide and splash park) or the Goofy Pool (with a jumbo TV continuously showing Disney movies). The adults stayed busy relaxing, although there were adult activities at every hour to pick from as well. This blog will show what we did ON the boat. Another blog will show our time spent in the 3 port stops.

I took way too many pictures to post them all, but the following are a few that capture how we spent our time. There were many character photos every day, each time the character would have on a different outfit. I only included a very small percentage of those pictures, including great napkin hats (made by our fantastic waiters Art and Sophie) at our character breakfast. We cruised to the Tracy Arm glacier for a beautiful (but cold - see the kids bundled up on deck) afternoon of admiring the wild Alaska landscape. There were so many Disney shows - the All Aboard show when we left Vancouver, the Golden Mickeys (the kids were interviewed while on the red carpet), Toy Story, Dreams, and Friendship Rocks (a dance show that all of the kids created). We rotated between 3 restaurants for dinner and I included a photo from Animator's Palate, a place that started black and white and became color by the end of the meal (thanks to Sorcerer Mickey's appearance!). We were greeted by a different towel origami each night after our dinner and show thanks to our room attendant Dom.

And last but not least, we celebrated 2 birthdays on the cruise. Olivia was the birthday princess with her large, yet way too rich tasting, birthday cake and song from the waiters. She wore her birthday button all day and loved the extra attention from the crew. And Joe received a special, although much smaller, treat than Olivia for his birthday on the last day of the cruise.

Vancouver in Three Days

2011-08-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

Vancouver was the first stop on our 11 day July vacation with Kim (Grammy) and Brett (Grandpa Brett). I took 750 pictures on this vacation, and that does not include the photos that Olivia and Kim took! So, I have worked to condense our pictures to those that give a quick glimpse into our vacation activities. And, right now I am going to apologize for the flow of this blog. I cannot figure out why the text boxes do not line up with the photos and I do not have the knowledge or patience to try and correct it!

Here is the splashpark on Granville Island that we explored on our first day (a great place with farmers' markets and dozens of local artist shops, breweries, and restaurants). You can barely see Ethan in his black and white pants.

The next day had us exploring Stanley Park (a fantastic park much bigger than Central Park). The Salmon Crossing sign was next to a creek in the Park. We spent many hours exploring the Vancourver Aquarium (a fantastic place!) and attending their dolphin show. Next up we took the Stanley Park trolley to Totem Park where the kids had great fun reading about what each totem pole was made to represent and working to see the animals mentioned in the poles. We also walked along a bit of the Seawall - something that the citizens of Vancouver are very proud of having been built as each time we mentioned having been there we were congratulated on having seen it (it is a rock wall built at the edges of Stanley Park that connect to the Pacific Ocean).

The picture of the floating gas station above became a bit of a joke between Joe and Olivia. Joe continuously could not believe that Vancouver would create a gas station in the middle of the ocean because how could cars drive out to the ocean to get their gas? While Olivia would continue to try and convince Joe that this gas station was either for the boats in the ocean or the float planes that continuously took off from the harbor. You can also see in the background 2 bright yellow piles of sulfur from their mines. These were very unusual to see! Next is the family with the 2010 Winter Olympic torch that was literally across the street from our hotel. The kids had a great time running around it.

On our third day in Vancouver, we took a bus tour of Vancouver (Chinatown, Gas Town, Yaletown, Stanley Park, etc.) and then headed to the Capilano Suspension Bridge area. This was a fantastic place, and we maximized our time there the best we could. The first picture is of the suspension bridge itself - suspended about 400 feet above a gorge with breathtaking views, and it swayed like you would not believe! The next pictures are the family on the newly opened Cliffwalk - a narrow passageway that took us along the cliff above the gorge, again with fantastic views.

These show the kids and I crossing the suspension bridge, Brett and Kim with the kids on the Cliffwalk, and a picture of Olivia and Ethan in the Treetop Adventures walk through the Vancouver rainforest (basically a series of treehouses connected by suspension bridges), and the family at the Capilano totem pole display.

Grouse Mountain was the last stop of our third day. Many 2010 Winter Olympic sports were held on top of this mountain. Here are pictures of the air tram to get up the mountain, the kids looking at the view while in the air tram, part of the lumberjack show we attended on the mountain (when we could see it through the fog!), and the family taking the ski lift to the peak of Grouse Mountain.

The final two pictures are of us filling time prior to boarding the cruise ship on our final Vancouver day. We went to the Vancouver Art Gallery for Olivia since she wants to be an artist when she grows up and was very interested in seeing the art. The last is of the kids pretending to eat a donut (getting warmed up for posing with characters I suppose).

All in all, Vancouver was a beautiful, clean, family friendly city that I was happy we had the chance to explore! I would recommend for anyone to visit!

Touring Springfield with Uncle David

2011-08-12T17:59:00.000-07:00

Uncle David (Joe's stepbrother from out of state) paid us a visit in Springfield in July. Since Springfield lives and breathes Abraham Lincoln and we wanted Dave to experience the true Springfield tourist day, we became Lincoln experts for the day. Here is Olivia, Ethan, and Dave in front of Lincoln's Springfield home. This day was extremely HOT - heat index above 100* prior to noon. You can's quite see in the pictures how sweaty we all became just walking from the car to the sites!

While waiting for our time to tour Lincoln's home, we explored the other homes and sites in the historic area. Here are the kids in front of a horse wagon.

Olivia and Ethan in front of Lincoln's master bed. Dave and I had a bit of an argument with the tour guide over the size of this bed - it is supposedly 6'7" long, but if you would see this bed in person you would also doubt that size! I do not know how Lincoln's feet did not hang off the end.

Joe was able to join us prior to touring the Abe Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Although we have been living in Springfield since this museum was opened, Joe had never attended prior to this!

A long lost relative of Lincoln. We have faith he'll grow taller one day!

After touring the Old State Capital building, we visited the Lincoln Tomb. Of course both kids had to rub Lincoln's nose after we told them it would bring them luck.

Olivia and Ethan inside the Tomb. Lincoln is buried 10 feet under where we stood, with the majority of his family on the other side. We then ended the tour of Springfield with another must - a horseshoe at D'Arcy's! The first time anyone sees this on a plate (Texas toast topped with a meat, covered in fries, and then smothered in cheese sauce) they are both amazed and disgusted (as was Dave). However, once you bite into one you are hooked (as was Dave)! The key is to limit yourself to 2-3 per year so you can enjoy this "delicacy" with minimal guilt.

Summertime Fun

2011-07-06T20:38:00.001-07:00

(sorry about the text starting down here - suddenly I can't figure out how to type it above the pictures).

Summer started with a new addition at our house - a 7 week old kitten named Rogue. To answer your questions, Joe named her after both a superhero and a beer. Joe is in charge of cleaning the litter boxes, so he determined that he wins naming rights.

In early June we ventured to our first Cardinals game of the season. We always walk through this park to see the "running man fountain" and get the famous St Louis picture of the fountain, old courthouse, and Arch.

The kids enjoying the game from the bleachers. These seats are right next to the Cards' bullpen, and Olivia was thrown a ball from one of the pitching coaches. That was exciting - even if we had to hear Ethan complain for the rest of the game that he didn't catch a ball. We had a great time at this game, even if it was the game that Pujols was injured at.

This is how we found Ethan sleeping one night. We don't understand it either.

Enjoying a HOT afternoon at the splash park in Southwinds Park with friends.

We had an extremely busy Fourth of July weekend. On Saturday we ventured to Grant's Farm with family. Here is Ethan feeding a goat some milk. He was fine with a goat one on one, but when they surrounded him he definitely became a bit unsure.

Olivia tried her hardest to let each goat get some milk, but that just meant that she formed a mob around herself.

This is one thing I don't understand - the free beer at Grant's Farm. I understand that it is the Busch family farm and affiliated with Busch beer. However, it just seems a bit strange to get free beer at what is a child's park.

The kids and I looking at the carriage house.

Camels have always been Ethan's favorite animal. So being able to feed them was the highlight for him. Thank goodness I brought along many many quarters!

Three bottoms! The Clydedales were all facing this way to take advantage of their window air conditioners. The kids found it hilarious.

Ahh, the pool. Both kids have really stepped up their swimming this year with jumps off the diving board and swimming in the deep end with no problem.

Olivia perfecting her pencil jump.

Happy Birthday to my dad! The kids helping him blow out candles on his "mile high chocolate cake" prepared by Rachel.

What would the Fourth of July be without sparklers??

Experimenting with the camera.

On our way to yet another Cardinals baseball game on the Fourth of July.

The kids relaxing in City Park.

Even though it did not rain on Busch Stadium, there was a gorgeous rainbow (even a double rainbow in the beginning).

Ethan in Lincoln Park in Springfield. Their new lagoon is very pretty.

Olivia swimming in Lake Springfield. She found this to be the best thing ever!

Ethan showing off his fantastic face paint from our church's carnival.

Olivia with her kitty face paint and very fancy flower balloon from the carnival.

Olivia's Final (?) Ballet Recital

2011-07-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

Olivia had her ballet recital in late May, and it appears that this may be her last. She has informed us that after 3 years, she is going to retire from ballet. Maybe it is time to switch her to hip hop.... I was thrilled that her "final" year was a full costume recital, and I think that the outfit was absolutely beautiful! As you can see in the following pictures, it was a full make up recital as well. While I have very mixed feelings about that, Olivia is quite the stunner!

Showing off her dance moves.

Olivia with some of her dance class prior to the recital.

Olivia and friends getting excited about their stage performance.

The big moment! Olivia is in front in this picture. She did a great job remembering the dance, which was considerably more complicated than last year's.

Ta Da!

Joe and I with Olivia post recital. We remembered to bring her flowers this year to congratulate her for her wonderful performance (we forgot last year and that was a big mistake!).

Olivia with her Grammy and Grandpa Brett.

Olivia with Grandpa and Grandma.

All About Ethan (and the Crohn's Walk)

2011-05-23T13:59:00.001-07:00

OK, while this posting will be primarily about Ethan, I had to post a few pictures from the St. Louis Crohn's and Colitis Walk. We have participated on Team Rachel for the past 2 years now, and hope that we are doing a very small part to help find the cure for these diseases. We looked and looked, but the cure was not to be found this year. Maybe next year at mile one.

Here is Ethan with his great balloon sword and hilt. It is a very kid friendly event - clowns, balloon animals, free snow cones, face painting, bounce house, etc.

Olivia and her balloon corsage and cupcake face paint (can't see it, but it is there).

Team Rachel!

OK - now the part about Ethan. Ethan turned 4!! Gift opening part one - Ethan is jumping for joy over his gifts from mom, dad, and Olivia. As you can see - the big gift is a big boy bike. He has had no problems adjusting to this bike and appears to be fearless on it.

Birthday breakfast as requested by Ethan - donuts. To start the sugar high day off right.

Gift opening part two thanks to grandma and grandpa.

Ethan and Olivia modeling with their balloons. I had read that in the not so distant future, a helium shortage could cause balloons to cost $100. I wanted to take pictures with these in case their kids are not so lucky to have balloons on their birthdays (and to think that we were big spenders for Ethan!).

Official family birthday picture.

Ethan had a Super Hero Squad birthday party. He wanted super hero cupcakes, so I ordered from a local bakery in town. The results, while yummy, were not so "super". Made for good laughs. One party guest told me that "the Hulks are the best, but the Wolverines are the worst". Well said.

Ethan and best buddy Cole. They share a love/obsession of all things super heroes.

Ethan had his fourth birthday party at Midstate Gymnastics. There they have 3 inflatables to play on (a bounce house, slide, and obstacle course). It is complete chaos, hot, loud, but a ton of fun for the kids.

Ethan in the bounce house.

Group photo. The sweaty, red faces say it all!

After the inflatables room, the kids are able to play in the foam pit. Each kid takes a turn jumping in, and then it is basically a free for all. Ethan did not do a big jump into the pit, as you can see, but loved playing in it!

Group shot of the birthday guests in the foam pit!

More fun - the kids would just lie on the foam, build towers and then knock them down, or have a foam fight. Basically, almost anything goes (within reason)!

After all of the fun, the kids were able to refuel on cupcakes in the party room. Ethan loved having "Happy Birthday" sung to him.

Gift opening round 4 thanks to Grandpa Brett, Grammy, and Uncle Brennan (round 3 took place at Midstate). He is now set with super heroes, Hot Wheels, water guns, and games.

Another round of "Happy Birthday" at the family party.

Ethan's last day of 3 year old preschool was last week. He was very sad to leave his teachers - Mrs. Yazell and Mrs. Shaner, but was very proud to be moving up the school ladder and becoming a big kid.

Ethan posing with his classmates during the preschool picnic lunch on the porch.

"Can I run down the hill?" That is asked every day by the kids, as it has become a preschool tradition and fond memory. This hill is right outside their front door, and the kids just love playing tag or rolling down the hill or just basically running around.

Mini-Vacation

2011-04-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

We took our annual St. Louis mini-vacation during Olivia's spring break. Our first stop was the City Museum, which is a true architectural marvel (and a bit of a navigational nightmare!). I highly recommend this place, especially if you have an older child (certainly no toddlers!).

Here are the kids on one of the elevated walkways. Notice how Olivia doesn't look that happy - it took some coaxing to get them to enter into the tunnels. However, after our first tunnel, the kids warmed up to the idea and began entering into every tunnel or hole they could find! Definitely not for those who are claustrophobic!

Olivia found this chameleon in the middle of one tunnel. Notice Joe lurking in the background. This became a bit of a theme/joke for this vacation.

Ethan navigating a tunnel. Joe again in the background.

Who can resist a picture with an enormous pair of undies?

Olivia cannot resist an art project, even in the middle of the City Museum!

I don't know what to call this structure (some sort of a skateboarding thing?), but the kids had a blast taking turns sliding down it.

Ethan as Tarzan.

The kids were actually brave enough to pet the sting rays this year.

These turtles had quite the personality - I honestly think that they were playing hide and seek with the kids!

The second day was a gorgeous day for the zoo! Sunny but a bit cool, so all of the animals were active in the morning. Ethan was thrilled to see one of his favorite animals - the rhino.

This is a big milestone for Olivia. The very first year she went to the zoo, she cried and cried from this snake statue - obviously thinking it was real. Later, she would look at it, but not really want to get close to it. This year was a big hug for the snake!

Olivia demonstrating how the elephant was eating.

I swear we could have petted the giraffes if we just reached our hands out a bit.

Joe and the kids with the Okapi. A truly confused looking animal.

Another traditonal zoo picture. For Olivia's first picture with this penguin, she could barely stand on her own and was as tall as the staute. This is a nice way to measure her growth!

On the train for a bit of a rest.

I am rather proud of this photo.

And our last traditional picture, most possibly the last one of this pose. Holding Olivia up to the lizard.

Ethan's cotton candy mess. It was fun to watch, not much fun to clean up.

After the zoo was a trip to the Arch.

We were able to convince the kids to ride to the top of the Arch this year. Ethan was a trooper, but, as you can see, Olivia was very very nervous. Mostly about the elevator ride.

Once at the top, the kids had a blast moving from one window to the next. They had no fear!

Our last moring was spent at the Science Center. Here they are on the overpass waiting for a car to drive under them.

Playing in the outside science experiment playland.

Olivia was old enough to become a junior scientist for an hour. She loved doing her experiments in her official lab coat.

We ended our trip at Lafayette Park with Aunt Rachel. This frog was very popular with them.

Although it is a gorgeous backdrop, Olivia's body language says it all - they were ready to go home!

Ethan's Field Trip

2011-04-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

Ethan's preschool class recently took a field trip to learn about and climb on big machines. Emphasis on the "climb on". When Ethan first walked into the building, his eyes got so wide and he just sort of stopped and stared, very overwhelmed. That did not last long, and before I knew it I couldn't keep up with him running from one to the next (there were about 7 for them to explore).

Here he is on the biggest machine - a giant dump truck.

Ethan at the controls.

Ethan and classmate Hannah next to a giant tire. Ethan's hat is intentionally pulled over his face, silly boy.

Ethan's preschool class posing in the bucket.

Easter 2011

2011-04-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

Even though Easter was fairly late this year, it seemed to sneak up on me! We had a whirlwind week of the usual preparations - egg dying, visit the Easter Bunny at the mall, fill eggs with candy, and prepare our house for hosting the Easter family get together.

Here is Ethan mastering the art of egg coloring. We let the kids each color one dozen eggs, which means we have a lot of eggs to eat!

Olivia worked hard to be artistic this year with her eggs - mastering stripes and the wax crayon.

Joe and Ethan with their Spiderman eggs.

Olivia with her eggs - one she decorated as a kitty (with a marker) and the other is stripes.

More eggs!

Ethan and Olivia riding the Easter train at the mall. This is always a big hit for them.

Ethan's first time with silly string (thanks to Great Aunt Valerie). The kids had a blast with it, although they each agreed that there wasn't enough in the little bottle.

This is how Olivia slept the night before Easter. We had warned them that the Bunny would not come if they were awake, so Olivia made sure that that would not happen by using her sleep mask.

The goodies from her Easter basket. Her big items were new clothes for her American Girl doll (named Anne). However, Olivia is still talking about the Easter Bunny leaving her socks (a cute Alice in Wonderland pair). She just cannot figure out why she received socks.

And Ethan's Easter basket goodies - lost of Super Hero Squad figures and playsets, and lots of candy!

Due to the uncertainty of the weather these past few days, the Bunny decided to leave an indoor egg hunt. Here Olivia finds some in Joe's study.

Joe and Ethan examining the candy from the eggs. This year, either the Easter Bunny miscounted or we are still missing one egg in the house somewhere (one week later!). That will be a nice surprise when they do find it.

Easter outfits - Ethan again showing his Spiderman moves.

And Olivia looking very fancy.

Trust me - this is not how they usually behave with each other. Lately it has been very love/hate, with a heavy dose of teasing.

After the big family lunch, we were actually able to have an outdoor egg hunt.

I had realized that it has been awhile (since the kids were infants) since we had nice photos with the kids and family. So this year, before being allowed to leave the party, family had to pose for a picture with Olivia and Ethan. Here they are with Great Uncle Joe and Great Aunt Valerie (on Saturday, hence the different clothes).

With Great Aunt Jenny.

Great Uncle Shane and Great Aunt Jill.

Great Grandparents Boyd and Phyllis.

They got a bit silly with Great Uncle Robb, Great Aunt Kelli, and Cameron.

And last but not least, Grammy, Grandpa Brett, and Uncle Brennan.

This and That

2011-04-14T10:32:00.000-07:00

Our toothless wonder! Olivia has lost her 4 front teeth, plus 2 more on the bottom are loose. We do not know how the loose teeth are actually still in her mouth - they are holding on by a thread! She has stopped eating all crunchy foods for the time being - carrots, etc. I love seeing the gap in her smile!

No, this is not how her last tooth fell out - she knocked it out with a hula hoop at school!

We recently went bowling with Olivia's church youth group. The kids had never been bowling before, and they really seemed to enjoy it! Luckily for them and me, the gutter rails were up, or I don't know how our rolls would have hit any pins.

Olivia and I attended a Perfectly Princess Tea Party at Centrum Cafe last month. I do believe that this is the beginning of the end of her love of princesses. She was not as excited about dressing up or meeting Cinderella as she normally would have been in the past. While I won't exactly miss the princess stage, I wonder what the next stage will be? Bieber fever??

Olivia and her princess friends at the Tea Party.

On April 2, my dad and cousins Brittany and Julie completed the Abe Lincoln half marathon. It was great to see them cross the finish line, and we celebrated with a family lunch afterwards.

A perfect day for kite flying!

Olivia's school (grades K-2) had their Festival of Foods music recital. The kids sang and danced for about 30 minutes, all songs related to food. We were so impressed that Olivia was able to memorize all of the songs and dance moves! (Olivia is in black and white in the center of the photo)

Ice Skating, Illini, and Ice Cream

2011-02-17T18:09:00.000-08:00

Life has been steadily moving along since Christmas. While the holiday craziness is over, life has yet to calm down. Ethan's preschool had a "field trip" to the ice skating rink in January. He had never been on an ice rink before and absolutely loved it. Ethan went from letting us pull him on the sled, to walking on the ice with a "walker", to running on the ice unassisted while chasing his friends. The trip was a huge success!

Ethan and his special friends from school. The girl in the middle, Ava, is his "best buddy".

Joe and I were treated to some sledding time on the ice.

We survived the Groundhog's Day blizzard in Springfield. Lots of running around doing errands the day before it hit, then fingers crossed that we didn't lose power during the storm (we didn't), and then clean up from the aftermath. Our area received 12" of snow, with a layer of ice under it. Here is Olivia on one of our drifts.

Olivia and our neighbor Katie enjoying the snow.

We took the kids to their first Illini basketball game this past weekend. Unfortunately, they lost to Purdue. But, the kids had a great time learning the traditional chants and songs, and watching the craziness of the Orange Crush. Plus, they loved being inside the "spaceship".

On the University of Illinois quad, looking at the Student Union building. We must get the kids back to U of I when they can play on the quad! Lots of fantastic memories.

So proud of grandpa, a U of I bronze tablet recipient (zoom in on the picture to see his name).

Hail Alma Mater...ever so true, so true. What a great sight - Joe and I hope to see more of the kids on the U of I campus in the years to come ;)

For Valentine's Day, we had our now traditional make your own pizzas and ice cream sundaes for dinner. I must say that the sprinkles were kept to a minimum, but the whipped cream usage was over the top!

Olivia with her gift - an American Girl doll bed. Ethan received the Star Wars Clone Wars DVD sets. I think Joe is very interested in watching these with him!

Here was Ethan's favorite part of the night - hiding in the doll bed box, and...

SURPRISE!

Vacation to Los Cabos

2011-01-17T10:58:00.001-08:00

Joe and I enjoyed a very lazy vacation away from the kids in early January in Cabo, Mexico (thanks again mom and dad!). We were away for 6 nights, and only left the hotel twice (very unlike us - usually we are on the go more than that). We stayed at The Westin, which is in "The Corridor" between Cabo san Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. This hotel was gorgeous to look at (it was HUGE!), but the food was, at best, average (a big deal to me for those of you who know me well!). This is a view of the hotel from the beach (it is in the structure of an arch to replicate the Cabo san Lucas rock arch formation - pics later).

And a view from the lobby. This gives you an idea of how large this hotel complex is - not for the out of shape or those with disabilities!

Hmmm...do I want to relax on the beach?

Or at one of the infinity pools (there were 3 infinity pools)?

We enjoyed a few hours of art shopping at San Jose del Cabo. This was a quiet, beautiful little town with this historic Mission San Jose del Cabo Anuiti from 1730. I like this picture with the town's Christmas decorations still visible.

The San Jose del Cabo town square. You can see just how quiet this town is due to the lack of people (very unlike Cabo san Lucas)! However, the art shops here were definitely worth the trip.

View from our hotel room. I loved the "swirls" that the water would make against the rocks (we were on the Sea of Cortez side). The rocks were everywhere here, which made it both beautiful and not exactly safe water to swim in unless you were a very good swimmer!

How many crabs can you find? These little guys were everywhere!

We made it to Cabo san Lucas on our last day of vacation. We hired a water taxi to take us the the famed Cabo arch. This is the entryway to the Pacific Ocean (through the small keyhole in the rocks).

A view of the Arch, and other rock formations with it that were just as beautiful. Our tour guide thinks the one on the left looks like Scooby Doo. The Arch is where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean.

Another view of the Arch.

The only decent photo of us together in Cabo!

We felt like we were back in La Jolla with all of the sea lions!

This big guy didn't give us any thought.

We loved all of the pelicans around.

Good-bye Cabo!

Christmas Part 2

2011-01-03T12:58:00.001-08:00

On the day after Christmas, we were lucky enough to go to our new niece Lula's baby dedication. Olivia and Ethan had been the only grandchildren on both sides of the family, but with the addition of Lula (Joe's stepbrother Tim and Tim's wife Jen are the lucky parents to this little girl), our kids have been knocked off of this throne! However, both Olivia and Ethan were thrilled to meet Lula for the first time. Here is Olivia playing Peek A Boo with her at the luncheon following the dedication.

Olivia was so proud that she was able to hold Lula by herself! And the matching red dresses was a happy coincidence!

The cousins - Olivia, Lula, and Ethan.

Ethan, being a natural entertainer, was a big hit with Lula, eliciting many giggles from her with his antics.

Then on the Tuesday after Christmas, we had Christmas with Joe's side of the family. Here is Grandpa Brett teaching Ethan the proper technique for playing the trombone.

Olivia was once again a big helper with Lula, assisting her open her numerous Christmas gifts!

Ethan, Grandpa Brett, Grammy, Lula, and Olivia.

The cousins with the uncles - Uncle Tim, cousin Lula, Uncle Matt, Olivia, Uncle Brennan, Ethan, and Uncle Cory. (Joe, Uncle David, and Aunt Meghann were unable to attend this celebration).

Christmas Part 1

2011-01-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

We basically had two sets of Christmas celebrations this year - one with my family and one with Joe's family. The celebration with my family began on Christmas Eve morning with sugar cookie decorating. I think that this might be the first year that most of the frosting and toppings made it on the cookies and were not just eaten by the kids!

For Christmas Eve dinner, we had a make your own pizza party. We rolled and stretched the homemade dough, then had a very large buffet of toppings to add to it.

I'm not quite sure what the kids are doing here, but we are waiting for the pizza to finish cooking. Olivia and Ethan decorated the table and were very proud of the results!

Cheers to Christmas!

After dinner we ventured outside in the snow. It was so wonderful to have a white Christmas!

Aunt Rachel (yes, the sweater is a joke) and Uncle Thomas reading to the kids to try and wind them down enough to fall asleep! After tracking NORAD all day they were very excited about the arrival of Santa!

The kids showing off their letters to Santa and the treat they left for him - s'mores!

Santa came! The one toy that Olivia most wanted from Santa was GoGo My Walking Pup. Here she is opening that exact gift from Santa! Whew! He was able to find one!

And the one gift that Ethan most wanted from Santa were the Buzz Lightyear wings.

Olivia and her family gifts turned into a fort. She had so many gifts that one gift became lost in the unwrapping mess and wasn't found until clean up time! A very successful Christmas for her.

Ethan amidst his family gifts.

The big gift that we gave to Olivia this year was her very first real American Girl doll. Up to this point she had only had Bitty Baby dolls. This is the "Like Me" doll and she has aptly named it "Olivia".

Ethan is pretty happy with all of his gifts. Thus far, it seems that the Hot Wheels Criss Cross Crash gift has been the favorite (thanks Aunt Rachel and Uncle Thomas!).

Joe and Ethan with the gift that Ethan selected for Joe. Some might remember that last year Ethan picked a Cubs coffee mug for Joe, despite us being crazy Cardinals fans. This year Ethan told Joe "I bought you a mug but I'm not telling you which team I picked". He got it right with the Illini mug! Olivia picked a Cardinals pennant for him.

Olivia and I with her gifts to me - a mom necklace and an angel statue. Ethan selected a snowman snow globe and a bear statue for me.

The "before" picture....

...and "after"! Merry Christmas!

Countdown to Christmas

2010-12-22T17:04:00.000-08:00

'Tis the Season! Here is a rundown of what the family has been doing...

It's baaaack - the Star Wars Christmas tree. Yes, the tree is black. Yes, that is a Yoda tree topper. Yes, we have a Star Wars tree skirt. And, yes, what the photo does not show is that Joe now has a Star Wars Christmas village! He has joined a club that sends him a new piece every 6-8 weeks. His building range from Jabba's Palace to Yoda's swamp house. It is in its early stages now, so not very decorated. Next year we will post a picture.

Ho Ho Ho - Santa Ethan! This is the beard from the Mr. Potato Head Santa.

Decorating our family Christmas tree. Joe was on ladder duty for our 10 foot real tree. He is very much in the Christmas spirit at this moment (checking his iPhone)!

The finished product!

Olivia and Enid during a family snuggle/Christmas movie night.

"All I Want for Christmas is My One Front Tooth"! Olivia lost her third tooth not long after Thanksgiving. While the second top tooth is also loose, we don't think she is going to lose it before Christmas.

On December 12, Springfield received about 2.5 inches of snow. Here is Olivia with her first snow angel of the season.

A great picture of Ethan in mid-throw of a snowball.

The kids love how fast they fly down the slide in their snow pants!

Olivia pulling her friend Kaitlyn on the sled.

Ethan and Joe sledding "Illinois style" (no hills).

Olivia, Ethan, and Kaitlyn had created a snow village, and here they are destroying it.

Olivia and friends participated in a gingerbread house party with their school teacher. Here are the finished results. Olivia was thrilled to make a house with REAL gingerbread - not from a kit. I will say, there is no comparison with the smell - the entire house smelled wonderful when she brought it home.

For our family gingerbread project, we used a "princess castle" kit. However, as you will see, our results were very different from what was promised on the box!

I don't remember what the kids were so entranced with in this picture, but something is fascinating to them!

About 3/4 of the way through decorating, our castle caved in on itself. Luckily, the kids took this catastrophe rather well.

At least we had the beautiful gingerbread house that Olivia made with her teacher!

Olivia and friends at their school Christmas party making reindeer food.

Ethan and I making chocolate covered cherry cookies. We made 15 dozen of these cookies in 2 weeks. He is quite the helper in the kitchen!

Olivia in her Christmas dress prior to her Sunday School program. I was too busy video taping the performance that I was not able to take any actual pictures of it!

Ethan in his Christmas outfit. He will participate in the Sunday School program next year.

Merry Christmas!

Grandma, Grandpa, Olivia and Ethan.

Grammy, Grandpa Brett, and Uncle Brennan celebrated Christmas early with the kids. I think that this picture shows that the grandkids are just a tad spoiled!

Ethan and Grammy.

Both kids received a Paper Jamz guitar from Uncle Brennan. Here they are "rocking out"!

Joe and Ethan in their somewhat matching sweaters. Notice Joe's braces - we are almost certain that they will be taken off before the end of 2010 (except now I have probably jinxed it!).

Ethan and I attempting to make a snowman with the snow from the earlier pictures. According to weather reports, we should have plenty more snow soon to build another one!

Olivia and her snowman!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-01T11:41:00.001-08:00

Our Thanksgiving festivities began with Olivia's class Thanksgiving recital. (Olivia is the pilgrim girl on the far right). She played a very convincing "letter R" for the importance of the holiday in alphabet terms!

Olivia in her costume before the class party began. She loved this costume so much that she wore it for the rest of the day - until it literally ripped off of her. Otherwise, she may have worn it the following day as well!

We hosted Thanksgiving this year, which meant that all of the baking and prep work took place in my kitchen. Here are the kids making pumpkin pie filling. They both love to help in the kitchen!

Great Grandma came to spend the holiday with the kids. They had a great time showing her picture albums from our recent vacations while the pies baked.

The finished pie result! While I would like to directly blame Joe for the Star Wars pie, he had nothing to do with it. Sadly it was all my idea (although if Joe did not have the Star Wars cookie cutters in the house I never would have done it!).

Thanksgiving morning - watching the Macy's parade with Uncle Thomas and Aunt Rachel, also while looking for shopping deals.

Yes, I'll admit it - we use the canned cranberry sauce. We have tried the homemade sauce a few times at the holidays, but we just keep coming back to the can. I love it.

Mmmmm, turkey!

After the kitchen had been cleaned up, we traveled to the Festival of Trees with the family. We have come to love this event almost as much as the Jack Spectacular at Halloween (but not quite). Here is Olivia with Santa.

And Ethan with Santa. He became a bit tongue tied while on his lap, and didn't manage to talk with him about what he would like at Christmas. Star struck I guess!

Olivia's favorite tree at the Festival - the Bakery Shop.

Olivia and grandma on the train.

I have no idea how grandpa fit in the caboose with Ethan and all of the other kids!

On the day after Thanksgiving the family visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum with great grandma. Here we all are with the famous family!

And the kids really like playing in Mrs. Lincoln's attic while at the museum.

And, finally, Thanksgiving was finally done when the kids broke the wishbone. Ethan won this year, much to his delight!

Backstage Pass

2010-11-16T15:30:00.000-08:00

For those who know us, you already know that we are Barenaked Ladies fans. Joe has been following them (sometimes literally) since college. So, when they came to St. Louis of course we were going to go to the concert. And when we found out that backstage passes were available, of course we were going to get those as well. Turns out only 6 passes were released, and we were lucky enough to get 2 of them!

Here we are with the Barenaked Ladies: Kevin, Ed, Kate, Joe, Tyler, and Jim. We were backstage for about 10 minutes, and Joe was lucky enough to have a long conversation with Jim (the bass player). Definitely a highlight!

Not only did we have backstage passes, but we also had front row seats. We were able to mark two items off of our "bucket list"!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-16T12:27:00.000-08:00

Halloween pumpkin carving at our house - the kids are getting to the age of being active participants in the carving. Here they (and Joe!) are hard at work.

Olivia with her "spooky, surprised" pumpkin face.

Grandpa helped Ethan carve his pumpkin - a take on the aliens from Toy Story (all his idea). No one knows why he has the box on his head.

The finished products. Joe's pumpkin is a Star Wars rebel symbol (I think).

Olivia loves the "goose gourd".

Ethan with his alien pumpkin.

The big night is here! I had to be quick to snap this photo - they were both in a big hurry to trick or treat with their friend Kaitlyn. Joe took them door to door while I stayed home to hand out 150 candy bars! That is definitely the most trick or treaters we have ever had!

The candy! Our rule is that they can eat all they want on the first night, then after that we ration the pieces to 4 per day. Even at that rate, we are one week until Thanksgiving and they still have candy!

The Windy City

2010-11-16T10:27:00.000-08:00

Over the Halloween weekend, the family ventured up to Chicago. The kids had never been there before, and I honestly could not remember the last time I had been! We stayed at a great hotel off Michigan Ave., visited the Shedd Aquarium, Willis Tower, Field Museum, and Millenium Park. We even made a quick trip to the American Girl store, and walked out with our wallet fairly intact (until we order the Christmas presents for Olivia!).

On our first beautiful morning, we walked a bit along Lake Michigan to the Shedd Aquarium. The kids' favorite building (and mine!) is the "diamond building" in the background. I have always loved that building (and it has nothing to do with "Adventures in Babysitting"!).

Stingrays!

Penguins - my favorite!

The kids playing in the Polar Play Zone.

Next up was the Willis Building. Please realize that every time I say "Willis" I am actually thinking "Sears Tower". I still don't like the name change. The kids were a bit tentative at first, but quickly warmed up to the height and had a great time looking out at the city. The especially liked the 1 minute elevator ride with movie.

We even made it out on the Sky Deck! While the kids ran out onto the deck without a care, I must admit that I was walking as carefully as possible - it was a bit unnerving!

We ate at The Rainforest Cafe - a request of the kids'. Here are the kids with their great-great Uncle Ross and great-great Aunt Valerie. The restaurant was really over the top with effects, and the kids had a great time there - especially when it "rained" on us!

We happened to be at the restaurant within the same week as Ross's birthday. This dessert was really huge - four pieces of brownie/cake, 3 scoops of ice cream, a scoop of whipped cream, and chocolate and caramel sauce on top with a sparkler candle. My favorite part is that the menu stated "enough for two". Between the six of us we couldn't eat it all!

On the second day we checked out the Field Museum. The Ancient Egypt exhibit was my favorite area, although the kids were a bit scared of it and rushed us through it. However, they did stop to pose like a mummy. I must say that they were paying attention to the exhibit, though, as they still talk about it - especially the pots that the organs were placed in!

Olivia and Ethan working to rebuild the pyramids.

The kids really enjoyed the "Underground Adventure" area, where we were "shrunk" to the size of ants and explored the ground under our feet.

Totem pole family.

This was really interesting to see - a skeleton parade for Halloween. We were able to see this parade twice - complete with these dancers and musicians in face paint. The music was perfect and the kids loved their dance moves! This parade snaked along the main hall and could be heard throughout the Museum.

Joe's hometown pride - Benld made it into the Field Museum!

Here we are at Millenium Park and the "bean". This structure is really unique, and the kids had a great time playing around it. Here is a family picture with the original Chicago skyline in the background.

The kids holding up the Bean.

Being in Chicago, we had to get some pizza! We headed to Gino's, and the kids just could not get over the walls! They loved alternating coloring on the wall or their coloring page. When the pizza came they really couldn't believe the sauce on top! Their world was briefly turned upside down in that place!

We ended our trip with a showing of The Lion King musical. It was unbelievable and I would highly recommend it to anyone! The kids have not become obsessed with the opening song from The Lion King, still singing it to this day. And what was the kids' favorite event in Chicago? Riding in taxis! Figures.

October Fun

2010-10-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

October is always a busy time around our house. So many Halloween events to attend, Olivia in soccer, more school responsibilities, and general life can really add up! Here is a bit of what we have been up to.

We attended the Broom's Orchard Pumpkin Festival (located in Carlinville) in early October, with grandma and grandpa. We found way too many "keeper" pumpkins that Joe had to go back for a second wagon. Here are the kids actually getting along for a picture.

Ethan was very interested in finding pumpkins "the size of my head". Every time he did find one, he would put it in the wagon. A few feet later Joe would take the pumpkin out of the wagon, only to have to repeat this cycle numerous times.

Ballet in the pumpkin patch.

Pumpkin snowman.

Happy pumpkin hunting!

Hauling back our finds of the day.

Broom's had many other activities that day as well - a small petting zoo, a corn maze for big kids, a hale bay maze for little kids, and, of course, riding a pony. Ethan thought he was a great cowboy!

Olivia named her horse "Spottie".

And, the highlight of the pumpkin day - shooting pumpkins out of a diesel powered pumpkin cannon. Here was Olivia's turn shooting the cannon (I'm pretty proud of myself for getting the pumpkin in the picture!).

And Ethan's turn...they told him that his pumpkin went about 4/10 of a mile.

Yet another beautiful fall day in Springfield was spent at the Henson Robinson zoo. While this zoo is really nothing special, it does entertain the kids for an hour or two. Throw in a picnic at the zoo and they are thrilled. These monkeys were being especially active the day we went.

Feeding the goats, swans, and fish are always a highlight at the zoo.

I had to put this picture in the blog since it looks like Olivia has a sprinkler coming out of her head.

Last weekend we attended the Jack Spectacular at Washington Park event with grammy. The kids were thrilled that they were able to wear their Halloween costumes for the first time.

Olivia is a Go-Go Dancer. I think she really wanted this costume for the wig (which is really strange to see her in as it completely changes her look). However, halfway through the event she confided that the wig was very itchy and didn't seem to be as thrilled with the costume anymore!

Ethan finally selected Super Why for his costume (he is a superhero who teaches kids how to read - it is a show on PBS).

At Jack Spectac was a fog machine and light for kids to play in. Obviously it was a big thrill for them! Never mind the 2,010 fantastically lit pumpkins right behind them!

Posing in front of the Carillon.

Ernie pumpkin! Ethan's favorite Sesame Street character.

"Look mom! We get to sit between the pumpkins!"

Happy (early) Halloween! And yes, that is a fishbowl with a real fish inside the pumpkin.

Ethan's First Day of Preschool

2010-09-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

Ethan started at his 3 year old preschool last week. How I remember taking Olivia to her 3 year old preschool in Iowa City when Ethan was just 3 months old! Time flies.... He is very excited to be going to school just like a big kid. Ethan has had no adjustment problems thus far (unlike Olivia who cried for 3 months!). He already has a "best buddy" in his classroom, and he seems to like his teacher. However, I have noticed that every time I pick him up, one of the teachers will make a comment on his playground antics - namely that he doesn't seem to show much fear on the slide pole and monkey bars! Yep, that is Ethan!

His backpack is Buzz Lightyear, complete with a purple hood like Buzz's. He loves to zoom around like this!

Ethan in his classroom with his nametag showing him where to sit. His animal symbol is the snake, which he is not too thrilled about - he wanted a camel.

Two additional random pictures...Ethan wanted to be just like his daddy one day with baseball hat, glasses, and Illini shirt. We are working on both kids following in our footsteps of attending U of I!

Olivia is now jumping off the diving board! At the beginning of summer she had absolutely no interest in doing this. Then after her second round of swim lessons she was willing to jump off the side and completely immerse herself. By the end of summer she was jumping off the diving board and swimming to the ladder completely by herself. I'm not too sure if I'm ready for this - it seems like such a big girl activity!

"New" Kitchen

2010-09-08T11:29:00.000-07:00

Our latest redecorating project was our kitchen. Overall, the kitchen was great - we didn't have any need to redo the cabinets or countertops as they are brand new. However, it definitely needed a "finished" look. Slowly but surely we have been redecorating the house...the kitchen, study, Olivia and Ethan's bedrooms and kids' bathroom are all DONE. Next up will be the master bedroom.

Here are some before pictures...bland color, oak dining set, no barstools or window treatments.

And the finished product! We warmed up the walls with "Au Lait Ole" paint color (I love the silly names of paint), iron barstools with sunbrella fabric on them (whew!), window treatments, and a perfect new dining table. We will wait for more artwork to find us to fill the walls and countertops.

As mentioned in the posts about the kids' closets - The Closet Guy is a miracle worker! I LOVE my new pantry - only way it could be better is if it was an actual walk in, but that was not possible.

A Hike, A Soccer Ball, and 1st Grade

2010-08-27T11:11:00.001-07:00

On a beautiful August day, I took the kids to Lincoln Memorial Gardens for a hike with their friends Dominic and Michael (and mom Kara). After a picnic lunch, with the kids more interested in feeding the ants, we gave Olivia and Dominic a trail map and followed them. Here is a group shot of them by Lake Springfield.

Another pose by Olivia. The flowers were in full bloom at the Gardens, and it was a beautiful walk.

Olivia and Ethan again by the Lake.

There was a small beach of sorts off one of the hiking trails that the kids spent a long time exploring.

And they explored in the Lake as well!

Olivia has started YMCA soccer this year. She is #6 on the Sidekicks team. While she is not the only new player to the sport, many of her co-ed teammates have played before. Luckily, Olivia seems intent on learning the game so she will hopefully not kick the ball into the wrong goal!

An action shot of Olivia on defense. She is the player in white closest to the ball, getting ready to kick it away from the goal. The kids play four quarters on a full sized field, and at each break the kids rotate taking a quarter break or playing offense/defense. She will play each Saturday through October.

Olivia in the middle of the action. Her team won the game 4-2.

On Monday, Olivia started first grade (!). She is in a class of 19 students, and she knew her teacher from when she was in kindergarten. Thus far she seems very happy with her class, especially because this year she starts taking music, art, and gym class at school (budget cuts took these classes away from kindergardeners a few years ago).

The very fancy backpack she selected for the year. As you maybe noticed by her poses in this posting, Olivia enjoys being fancy - dresses, jewelry, sequins, ruffles, etc.

The kids' after school activity - creating and decorating sand castles. Both kids still talk about our California vacation and playing on the beach, so playing in the sand remains a favorite activity at home.

Summer Fun

2010-08-16T19:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a blog summing up the last month around here. Starting with this picture of dad and Rachel with the 3 layer chocolate cake she made for him for his birthday. It was unbelievable - and that is before adding the homemade raspberry sauce!

Joe and Ethan swimming in my parent's pool.

I have lived in Springfield for 10 years now, and we had yet to make it to the Lincoln Presidential Museum. We finally corrected that oversight in July. Here is Ethan right at home with the Lincoln family. This was at the beginning of our visit. At the end, both kids were literally running in circles playing hide and seek directly around the original Gettysburg Address, Lincoln's Top Hot, and Lincoln's blood stained gloves from the night he was assassinated. That was a sure sign that it was time to go.

Olivia and Ethan playing in Mrs. Lincoln's Attic.

Ethan and Olivia swimming with grammy and grandpa Brett in their hotel pool (they stayed in Springfield during Brennan's Muni run).

We finally made it to Busch Stadium in July - the latest in the season ever for my first game. Olivia and Ethan made homemade signs to hold up during the game. Olivia's says "Go Cardinals" with the Cubs crossed out (even though it was not a Cubs game we were still proud of her for knowing that they still stink).

Olivia printed "Go Cardinals" for Ethan, and then he added his own "words".

Ethan and Joe watching batting practice.

During our game we were lucky enough to watch the Cardinals retire Whitey Herzog's jersey number. It is always a treat (for adults and kids!) when the Clydesdales are brought out!

The kids displaying their ladybug cake.

Joe turned 34 in August this year and requested a Jello cake (one of his favorite summer treats). The kids were more than willing to help blow out the candles!

And the State Fair. We have attended twice thus far (it continues until August 22), and I think that that is enough for us. Here are the kids with the Butter Cow (displayed with butter corn this year).

Ice cream from the Dairy Building. Ethan was a complete sticky mess after he finished his cone!

Time to milk a cow! Both kids were brave enough to milk it this year (Ethan just watched last year). It is always an education for them when they see where their milk comes from!

We always make a point of walking through the animal barns each year. The kids especially enjoyed seeing the pigs this year as they were very very loud with their squealing and grunting (the pigs not the kids).

Olivia checking out the sheep. We also saw the cows and some horses.

Much of our time was spent in Conservation World this year. These picture opportunities were everywhere in this area so I will not bore you with ALL of them - just the cutest two.

We walked through the baby pig shed and received a hat. Here is Olivia doing a pig pose (yeah, I don't see the resemblance either).

Thank goodness Olivia was old enough to ride the giant slide by herself this year - it is an uncomfortable ride that neither Joe nor I wanted to do! Olivia is on the very far left.

Probably Olivia's last year riding the very little kids rides - she was a bit too tall to ride them this year but the workers looked the other way for her.

Ethan driving his car.

Ethan riding the boats.

Joe and Ethan in the petting zoo feeding Ethan's favorite animal ever - the camel.

Olivia feeding the very greedy goats.

Ethan at the entrance to the Sky Ride.

Mmmmm, mini donuts (taken from the Sky Ride). I still love watching the little donut machine inside the stand.

Ethan and I enjoying the ride.

Living with Judas

2010-08-16T18:57:00.000-07:00

Joe's brother, Brennan, lived with us for about 2 months this summer. Aside from frequently explaining to the kids why Uncle Brennan slept until 3pm every day, the stay went very smoothly. He stayed with us for his rehearsals as the role of Judas in the Springfield Muni production of Jesus Christ Superstar. We had previously seen Brennan in this exact role 2 years ago and greatly enjoyed it, but this production was on an entirely different level with the post-apocalyptic set and some modernization to the script.

Brennan/Judas is in the center dressed in black.

Judas' death scene. We had to cover the kids' eyes for this one - a little too much to watch Uncle Brennan shoot himself in the head. The good thing is that he came back for another song which was a great relief for the kids.

Judas and Jesus.

Brennan singing Jesus Christ Superstar. I did miss the glitzy outfit change from the traditional take on the show.

The kids with "Uncle Brennan the rock star" (as Ethan phrased it). However, at intermission I asked Olivia what she thought of Uncle Brennan, and she said "he is good, but Mary (Magadelene) has the prettiest voice". The kids had a difficult time wrapping their head around watching their uncle on stage performing when just 3 hours earlier he had been in our basement playing Wii with them!

Brennan with parents Kim and Brett. He is striking his Judas pose.

The kids with Uncle Brennan and Josh (who played the role of Jesus).

Olivia Turns 6

2010-08-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

Our little girl turned six on August 1. We celebrated all day, starting with a donut breakfast - complete with many rounds of Happy Birthday and a candle on the donut. And, of course, a mountain of presents. Here she is very excited about a sticker book and Playmobile set.

Another doll to add to her collection and a jewelry box.

Donut time! She is attempting to imitate Fancy Nancy in this picture (which, coincidentally, was the theme of her birthday party).

We had 15 kids at our home for her pool party. This is the before picture of the backyard. I am guessing that this will be her last co-ed party for awhile. She struggled with whether or not to invite boys to her party, deciding that this year she would "allow" them to come this year. None of the boys would wear the Fancy Nancy party hats, though!

Cake time! Just in case Fancy Nancy wasn't girly enough, she opted for a Princess cake that lit up.

Family picture.

Olivia had to pretend to blow out the candles at her party. After lighting them multiple times we finally gave in to the wind and assured her that her wish would still come true (in addition to her breakfast wish that she had already made).

Cake time for the kids. Yes, I made them sit in the grass to eat, but they could have sat anywhere! Their choice to sit as close as possible together!

And of course present time.

More water fun with the sprinkler. At this point we were attempting to move the water play to a different part of the yard to give the swing set area a break!

Part of the party aftermath. After 3 sprinklers, a water balloon fight, 3 pools, and the kids turning the slide into a water slide using buckets of water, our poor grass will never be the same. Permanent muddy looking ruts all around. A sign of a well lived in yard! We can fix it in 10 years.

After her friend party, Olivia then had a family party. Here she is with grandma opening more gifts!

Ethan took this picture of Great Grandma Phyllis with daddy.

Yes, the "used cake" looks a little sad, but at least the candles stayed lit this time around!

Olivia and Ethan showing Great Grandma our recent San Diego vacation pictures.

Olivia and Great Grandma Phyllis.

Ethan and Great Grandma Phyllis. He is very tired at the end of a long party day!

Disney's California Adventure

2010-07-10T19:54:00.001-07:00

Our last day of vacation was spent at Disney's California Adventure (similar to Hollywood Studios in Florida). But, first...we of course attended a breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen! Here is the family being greeted by Pluto at the entrance.

Snow White with Olivia and a suddenly shy Ethan.

Baloo using Olivia's head as a table for the autograph book!

Three Goofys!

The kids with Chip (they also met Dale, so just imagine the exact same picture except a red nose on the chipmunk!).

Olivia was thrilled to not only be meeting Jasmine, but also to see her in a different costume than usual.

Upon entering California Adventure, our first encounter was with Frozone. We went to this park on a Saturday, so we were expecting very long lines and crowds. We were surprised to find that on half the rides we selected there were literally NO lines, and the longest we waited was 10 minutes! The crowds were minimal, and we had a great time riding the rides multiple times. Surprisingly, though, Joe and I enjoyed the Mission Tortilla Factory tour and The Bakery Tour - very yummy free samples at the end, and the kids enjoyed watching the machines make the bread and tortillas.

The kids with Sully before going on the super cute Monsters Inc. ride in Hollywood Pictures Backlot.

Mr. Incredible, Olivia, Frozone, and Ethan posing as super heroes.

The kids posing in front of the Tuck and Roll's Drive 'Em Buggies in the Bug's Land area. Once again, Ethan's driving was comical!

A view of Paradise Pier. Olivia claims her favorite ride of the day was the Mickey's Fun Wheel.

Joe and Ethan on King Triton's Carousel within Paradise Pier.

This was very exciting for Olivia - meeting Mulan! Now the only "princess" left for her to meet is Pocahontas.

While waiting for Joe and Olivia to finish riding on Soarin', Ethan was able to meet Minnie Mouse.

The main cast of the Disney Aladdin musical show. We highly highly recommend this show - it was fantastic! The Genie was hilarious! We had fantastic seats - 2nd row center, thanks to AAA!

Meeting Jesse and Woody.

Olivia and I on Mickey's Fun Wheel.

We ended our vacation with dinner at Ariel's Grotto in the Paradise Pier area. We were met by Ariel when we arrived.

Olivia and Ethan with Belle.

Meeting Cinderella.

And Snow White (again!).

And our last character of the trip - Sleeping Beauty.

Even a princess needs a mojito!

Our yummy (and pretty) dessert tray!

Walking back to the hotel, the kids couldn't resist the Lego store in Downtown Disney.

Lego Darth Vader.

Our hotel had a waterfall area that was really fun - there were paths, bridges, and caves behind and between the four waterfalls.

Disneyland

2010-07-10T15:52:00.000-07:00

The last 2 days of our family vacation was spent at the Disneyland Hotel. For the kids, it is like this was the only activity of the entire vacation - the rest of it ceases to exist in their minds once we arrived in Disneyland. Figures. The Disneyland Hotel was wonderful - typical over the top Mickey yet also a very nice room and hotel, plus it was a perfect location. I would recommend this hotel to anyone!

Our hotel was connected to Downtown Disney, and the Mickey Sorcerer's Hat was the gateway to this area (you can't quite tell, but that is Olivia and Ethan under the hat). We were a quick 5 minute walk to Disneyland each morning.

How perfect is this??? St. Louis Cardinals Mickey in Downtown Disney!

Olivia and Ethan just inside Disneyland.

Our first character greeting - Pluto! For our kids, the characters are their favorite part of Disney, so we typically spend a lot of time seeking out characters or waiting in lines during our Disney trips.

We ate breakfast at the Plaza Inn, and this was by far the best character meal ever! There were 12 characters at this meal! The typical meal has maybe 5. We were all a bit overwhelmed by it all, and the characters all interacted with each other. The kids loved watching The Fairy Godmother talking to Pinocchio, etc. For anyone going to Disneyland, I would recommend making a breakfast reservation for the first available time - that way you are allowed to enter the park through a special gate prior to official opening time and bypass the crowds. Here are the kids with Minnie Mouse - she was wonderful with giving the kids lots of attention, even coming to our table twice, Olivia and the infamous Mickey waffle, and the kids with Chip.

The Fairy Godmother (she was wonderful! told us exactly where to find each princess in the park and when), Pinocchio, and Ethan giving Dale's nose a kiss.

Olivia and Ethan with Max, Suzy (a Cinderella mouse), and Eeyore.

Ethan and Olivia with Tigger, Captain Hook, and Perla (another Cinderella mouse). The only character that we missed at the meal was Briar Fox from the Song of the South. While the kids did not know this movie, Joe and I were disappointed since he is not a commonly found character!

The family with Walt. Sleeping Beauty's Castle is in the background. I had forgotten how small this castle is compared with Cinderella's Castle in Disney World!

The Thinkers.

Olivia and I on the Storybook Land Canal Boats in Fantasyland. We planned our day to focus on rides that were not available at Disney World. We agreed to wait in lines for rides we had never been on, and to only go on "repeat" rides if the line was short. Amazingly, though, the longest line all day was only 25 minutes!

Disneyland has Mr. Toad's Wild Ride!!! I was so excited about this, being that I am still upset with Disney World for getting rid of this ride. Joe does not understand my love of this ride...you get to drive the car!! Growing up that was a really big deal!

Posing outside the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough.

Making a wish at the Snow White wishing well.

As we exited the Haunted Mansion ride in New Orleans Square, we happened to catch a parade. It turned out to be Princess Tiana parading to a stage for a singing/dancing act. Olivia was lucky enough to be pulled up on stage with Tiana to sing, dance, and play the tambourine! Definitely a highlight for Olivia!

Olivia with Maleficent while waiting for our dinner reservation at the Blue Bayou. This was another excellent restaurant (no characters) located within the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

Back at the Disneyland Hotel we made time to swim in the Never Land Pool. This pool was based on Peter Pan (other than a random Ariel statue), complete with Skull Rock, Captain Hook's pirate ship, Tick Tock, suspension bridges, and 2 water slides.

Ariel and Olivia in the hot tub area.

Olivia in the shell shower.

Our room had a Disneyland Castle headboard. This picture lit up with fireworks and played the song "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes". Yes, it was over the top Disney, but we all loved it. It was our nightlight for our stay, so we could sleep under fireworks.

The view of Downtown Disney from our room (we requested "park view" and that is what we received!).

The nightly fireworks show that we could watch from our room. Perfect for the kids, and perfect for avoiding the crowds!

Legoland

2010-07-09T08:55:00.001-07:00

After our stay in San Diego, we traveled north to Carlsbad to visit Legoland. As it was described to me by a friend, Legoland is "a park to walk around and look at structures made out of Legos, and then go on rides to look at more Lego figures". She was exactly right.

We started our day in Miniland USA on the Coast Cruise. Here is a picture of the dinosaurs on the boat ride. For those who have never been to Legoland, keep in mind that every "statue" you see is made out of Legos.

Ah, so now the kids have seen the New York skyline! This is still Miniland USA, which was Joe and I's favorite section of the park. It really was amazing to see all of the Lego scenes! New Orleans, NYC, Vegas, Washington DC, etc.

One day Joe and I will make it to Vegas (and to Egypt, too!).

Lego chest hair. Enough said.

The kids were thrilled to meet Bob the Builder, although they wondered why he wasn't made out of Legos since we had explained to them that everything at this park would be!

Moving on to the Land of Adventure area, Ethan was thrilled to see a Lego camel.

Olivia on the Royal Joust ride in Castle Hill.

And Ethan on his horse!

This was by far one of the most amazing water areas we have ever seen in a park. This is the Soak-n-Sail area in Pirate Shores. There are 2 buckets on top of the pirate ship (in this picture one has tipped) that fill with water and will randomly tip onto the ship! It was quite a sight! Olivia LOVED this attraction, although it overwhelmed Ethan and he spent his time at the tamer Swabbies Deck water area. There was not a single place you could go on this ship and not get wet!

One of the kids' favorite Lego structures, located within Pirate Shores.

Halfway through the day the family found a place to rest!

Ethan "driving" in the Volvo Junior Driving School in Fun Town. I'm not sure he made it around the track once! He continuously needed help becoming unstuck from the side rails. Also, all drivers are supposed to go clockwise, but at one point he had the car turned around and was traveling in the opposite direction. We are not looking forward to him turning 16 after watching his driving skills!

Shooting water at alligators in Water Works within the Duplo Village.

Outside of the Safari Trek ride in Duplo Village. Roar!

There were some great Lego gift shops in the park! One shop had Legos by the pound - you pick up a bag and can scoop various specialty Legos into the bag. Olivia bought many Lego flowers this way!

Olivia's favorite ride was the Fairy Tale Brook in Duplo Village. Here is a scene from Sleeping Beauty. Other scenes included Aladdin, the Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, etc.

The kids were done by the time we reached Dino Island, so we did not spend much time in this area. However, they did like looking at the hidden dinos throughout the area!

Ethan with the Padre outside Upper Deck Sports Cafe. We ended our day here with dinner, and then left for the last leg of our vacation...Disneyland!

San Diego: Beach Time

2010-07-08T18:01:00.001-07:00

During our San Diego vacation, we stayed at the Hotel del Coronado, or the "Hotel Del". This hotel is absolutely gorgeous - the building, the beach, the restaurants, the rooms, etc. If I was pressed to name one less than beautiful thing about the hotel, I would probably have to say the pool. Nothing wrong with it, just nothing special about it. However, being that we were in California, we did not come that distance to spend time in the pool - it was all about the beach! The hotel was built in 1888, and was rumored to be haunted by a former guest who had committed suicide while staying there. The kids loved the idea of a haunted hotel - almost as much as they loved the homemade ice cream parlor and the candy store located within the hotel!

Here is a shot of the kids in the Vista Walk (aka: a gorgeous setting to take wedding pictures), which also shows the front of the hotel.

An overlook of the pool area.

Ethan in the Vista Walk area. The necklace he has on is one of the many activities that the hotel offered for kids. Each child was given a list of items to visit on a scavenger hunt, and when they had completed the hunt they were allowed to select a toy from a treasure chest. It was a very kid friendly hotel (we were just not able to take advantage of all the activities since we were always out sightseeing).

The kids in front of the "Dragon Tree". I guess that this tree was in the movie "Some Like It Hot" with Marilyn Monroe, and that movie was filmed at the Hotel Del.

Here is the view from our room balcony. It was tough to wake up every morning! ;) Notice the rocks along the shore - our kids LOVED to explore that area, especially during low tide when tide pools had formed.

Ethan on the Hotel Del's beach. Both kids were fascinated by the seaweed along the beach (which is good because there was A LOT of it!).

Strike a beach pose!

Olivia was a true beach girl on this trip. We couldn't keep her out of the ocean! She loved to jump the waves, lay down in the waves, allow herself to be knocked down by the waves, etc. One of my favorite memories is taking an early morning walk (6am) with Olivia - just the two of us (the boys were still jet lagged and sleeping). We spent an hour walking the beach and collecting "butterfly shells" (open clam shells), climbing the rocks, and splashing in the water.

Best picture ever!

While Olivia was a water girl on this trip, Ethan was a sand boy. He was not crazy about the waves, so he would not go into the water much deeper than his ankles. However, he would spend an hour making "sand cakes" with birthday candles and decorations. Once he had started this process, he would concentrate so intensely that you could not get his attention!

Sleeping in the sand. Like I said, he loved the sand!

Attempting to make a moat around a "sand cake".

Sand artist hard at work.

Olivia lying down in the waves.

Joe dreaming about Hawaii. No pineapple in this picture, though.

The rocks were a huge hit with the kids.