Winter Winthrop-land

Over winter break we made our annual trip to Winthrop to visit Chuck and Robin and play in the snow. Unfortunately there wasn't as much snow as normal so we couldn't go skiing, but we got plenty of sledding and skating and other fun in. It's become such a tradition for us and we all look forward to the relaxation and change of scenery. The kids got brand new books (thank you!) so we did lots of reading and played tons of games. Robin bought Clue so it was the kids first time playing and they loved it. As soon as Cameron discovered that Miss Scarlet gets to go first he picked her every time. It was fun to see the kids enjoy a game that we played as kids.

"Well That Was Pretty Short"

Here is a perfect story to illustrate that my kids are always keeping score and can be quite difficult to impress. After Addy opened her book with the poem on the inside cover, Cameron also got a book from Great Grandma and she had written him a poem:

Cameron

I hear that Cam

Can be quite a ham. 

He's funny, he's witty, he's bright

Hope his Christmas is great,

Since there's no debate,

That Cameron is really all right!

As soon as he finished reading it he remarked, "Well that was pretty short."

I say, "Wow. Great job Grandma Ruby, thank you for the amazing poems."

Cam says, "Next time can you make it longer?"

An Early Christmas

We had a wonderful time celebrating an early Christmas with my Dad and Kathy. We kept busy with the kids activities and they took the Addy shopping to pick out some of her own presents which was really fun. We love our tradition with them and this year was extra special as Grandma Ruby wrote a special poem for Addy's (and her cousin Izzy's) 10th birthday, here it is:

Addy and Izzy are 10

So Addy and Izzy have made it to 10!

I'm writing this poem of how it might have been

Had you reached that age in nineteen twenty-seven

For that was the year I was almost eleven.

As you know, I am older by ninety-two years. 

And I have a story for your tender ears.

I didn't have cell phones, just horses not cars,

For lights in the evenings we mostly had stars.

I remember one Christmas we went on a sleigh

It was dar, its as cold on that Christmas Eve day!

Horse-drawn we went up and over the hills

Even with the moon shining I still had the chills.

But alas! We tipped over! The presents got tossed!

No lanterns! Just moonlight! We thought they were lost!

So your great-great grandpa then dug in the snow

To find all the presents before we could go.

But we made it to grandma's that Christmas Eve night.

So I chose this story about which to write.

I hope that your Christmas is happy and fun,

And now that this poem is nearly quite done,

I wish you a Christmas packed full of good cheer,

And hope that you each have a Happy New Year!

 Addy reading her poem from Great Grandma Ruby

7th Heaven

On Saturday Cameron got to have his party which he choose to have at a trampoline park. It was heaven for him to be able to run around and jump and scream like crazy. It was heaven for me to not have kids in my house to have to clean up after. He had a wonderful time and so did the kids (even the big ones in the last picture!)

Guess Who's 7?

Cameron turned 7 last week and had a wonderful birthday weekend! He was the first to point out how lucky he was to have his birthday on a Friday (his reasons were that you still get attention from friends at school but then you get the weekend to celebrate, I would have to agree). As is our tradition, he opened presents before breakfast. I would say he was just ok with the presents we got him and then after school when Papa and Kathy had arrived, his excitement went up considerably. When I am I gonna remember not to give my dad all of the best present ideas!?!? Seriously the nerf gun is bigger than Cameron- he loves it! And he had the new lego set put together in less than a few hours. This kid's lego skills far exceed his age.

Iowa Part II

The kids have landed on a new tradition which is Addy wants to buy a pin and Cameron wants a magnet from all of the new places we we go. Generally this is not hard to fulfill but it turns out in Iowa it is not as easy. We went to several different places with no luck, but I think got a recommendation that we will likely never hear again. One woman said we should definitely drive to Davenport Iowa to the world's largest truck stop. She was certain they would have it there. Unfortunately it was the wrong direction so the kids had to make due with the gas station choices which were limited.
Here are more fun photos from our wedding weekend in Iowa.

A Whirlwind Weekend in Iowa

It now feels like a lifetime ago, but a month ago we flew to Chicago and drove to Iowa to go to Brian's cousin's wedding. It was a long travel day to get there, but such a great weekend with family. The kids got to see their cousins Etta and Ellis and both their aunts and uncles on Brian's side and grandparents and great-grandparents. It's always so fun to get the family together and weddings make it even more fun. It was Cameron's first wedding and he absolutely loved it. The reception was held at a environmental center on the Mississippi River and the kids loved all of the displays and animal habitats. We got them on the dance floor a few times and it was so much fun.