Icy Surprise

A couple of weekends ago, I was feeling guilty that I had been working so much and instead of spending time with the kids.  I decided to surprise them and take them to Disney on Ice. It was happening at the event center by the children's museum so I told them we were going there and then I was going to surprise them. When we got close I said we were going to make a quick stop to get Daddy tickets to a hockey game. As we were waiting for the tickets there were complaining about how long it was taking and that they just wanted to go to the museum. After I bought the tickets I surprised them and told them that we were going to see Disney on Ice. They were super excited....for about 5 minutes. 

They picked out some toys (with their own money) and we went and found our seats. About 10 minutes into the show Cameron was whining and said, "I wish we were at the children's museum instead. I can't believe you lied to me, you're a bad mommy." 

So much for my attempt to feel less guilty. 

The show was pretty amazing, the kids were pretty whiny. Between wanting more food and drink and toys and still being upset about not going to the children's museum, I think I could save a lot of money and guilt by finding a different surprise. Lesson learned by all. 

Happy Halloween!

How is November half way over and I'm just getting to the Halloween post! This year is truly flying by. The kids had a great Halloween as the super hero duo. Brian carved pumpkins with them and we did the annual trick or treating downtown. I think we broke records this year for how much candy they got and I'm so proud of them as I successfully convinced them to donate some of their candy. It was a fierce and emotional negotiation but Addy gave a ton of candy to her girl scout troop who is donating it to a cancer care group.

Cousin Etta

Before hopping on the plane to come back home, we swung by to see Uncle Dennis, Aunt Carrie and cousin Etta. Even though it was a quick trip, the kids were able to see all of their cousins on this trip. They really loved playing with Etta and "loving" on her, not so sure how she felt about all the hugs. Hard to believe how quickly Etta is growing up, we can't keep calling her Baby Etta since there is nothing baby about her anymore!

Party, Party, PARTY

As if the 100th party the day before wasn't enough- we got to celebrate again in Wisconsin since Saturday was Adelyn's birthday. My sister hosted the party and Brian's parents were able to make it as well. Addy got TONS of great presents and amazingly we were able to fit them all into our luggage for the flight home. It was pretty special that she got to celebrate with both of her grandparents. It had snowed the day before so it was like a winter wonderland. It was like Christmas in October.

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Birthday Girl x 100

The reason we were in Wisconsin for Addy's birthday was because my Grandma's birthday is the day before Addy's and she turned 100 this year! There was a surprise birthday celebration for her that was one of the best parties I've been to. My grandma was so genuinely happy and you could tell that she was just soaking up every minute. It is still unbelievable to me that she is 100, she is one of the most incredible people I've ever met.
My favorite part was that the kids & their cousin Isabelle sang a song to Grandma that was so cute. They had practiced a lot with Papa and the did a great job! Everyone loved it. I'm so glad we were able to be there to celebrate with her, it was an incredibly special night and it was Brian and I's 10th anniversary! Lennard even came in from Germany and all of Grandma's grandkids and great grandkids were there.

Birthday Girl

This year for Addy's 8th birthday we were in Wisconsin, but since we know how much she loves our morning birthday celebrations at home we decided to celebrate early. It was quite a surprise since it was a couple days before her birthday. One of her gifts was a sewing class so she can learn to sew. I'm hoping she loves it and can be the one in our family who knows how to use a sewing machine! I can't believe my little girl is already 8 years old. One celebration down...2 to go!