The snow is almost gone!!

After one of the longest winters in history (I believe we broke the state record for longest period with temperatures under 45 degrees and almost broke the record for snow total), the snow is almost gone! Of course, it has been 2 full weeks now of above freezing temps and we still have snow.

Jack and Max have been having a great time helping the snow melt faster. Last week they got out their red shovels and helped us scoop snow back into the driveway so it could soak up more of the beautiful sun rays.

Unfortuntely the sun has decided to say goodbye the last few days, leaving us with cloudy skies and rain. The combination of snow melt and rain has left our place a muddy mess. Jack and Max did their part once again by picking up pieces of gravel that had gotten pushed with the snow into the yard. Then they would throw their pebbles into puddles.

Jack was his typical anal self - if any of this rocks missed the puddle, he would go out and pick up the exact rock he had just thrown (not just any ol' rock) and make sure it got into the puddle. Luckily he didn't miss very often. He's going to be a great baseball player!

Huge thank you to Grandpa Tim, who got us a 16-ton load of gravel and spread it out over the driveway with his tractor. Now we can drive in and out without fear of getting stuck in the mud.

Of course, Jack and Max each had to take a turn driving the tractor!

Strike!

Saturday we took the kids to watch Mikelle participate in a dance competition. Her tap group did really well! Jack was pretty entertaining to watch - whenever a song would end, he would sit up as straight as possible and clap like little gentleman. After Mikelle was done, I lost Jack briefly - he found cute girl he liked and tried to follow her. Meanwhile, Max was air drumming with the songs. Unfortunately, that's all we got to see Mikelle this weekend since she had a birthday party for a friend, so we'll see her again next weekend.


We decided to take the boys bowling later that afternoon at the Merle Hay Lanes. Jack and Max were a little upset they didn't have bowling shoes small enough for them. They really liked everyone else's rentals, but they settled with some pop.


Boys had a lot of fun taking turns. Trystin and Jack even got strikes!

We did it, dude!

Trystin has been patiently waiting to try the mentos in Coke experiment all winter. He bought all the supplies, but Curtis told him he had to wait until it was nice enough outside - definitely not an inside experiment! Well, today was finally the day.

Here's Max's reaction:

Curtis took some pictures to document the massive snowfall from this winter. It'd be really pretty if we weren't totally sick of it! As of Friday, this year was the 4th snowiest Iowa winter on record. So far no snow today, but supposedly more is on the way.

The Fever

Poor Max came down with a fever Wednesday afternoon. Curtis stayed home with him Thursday while I did some temp work at Principal. We kept giving him children's motrin all day, but the fever kept spiking up whenever each dose wore off. By Thursday evening it had once again jumped up to 103 degrees while he was sleeping on my chest. We gave him more medicine, but he seemed to get hotter. I had just asked Curtis to bring me a cool cloth to wipe his head with when Max sat up and started fidgeting around. That's when it happened - the seizure. My poor baby flopped on his side and began convulsing. He has had a mild fever seizure before, but this one continued for a full minute. Very scary. We stripped his clothes off, kept wiping his head with the cool cloth, kept his airway as clear as possible, and called 911. By the time the ambulance had arrived, he had stopped seizing and we had his temp down to 99. He never stopped breathing, but his coloring was really bad (which isn't unusual for him though). We decided to send him to the ER to get checked out further. Since he had some mild congestion in his lungs and an elevated white blood cell count, the doctor ordered a chest x-ray - thankfully, that was clear. We got sent home around 1am. We took him for a follow up visit Friday morning. His white blood cell count had started going down, so we just had to continue giving him motrin and wait out the virus. Friday afternoon we had a slight scare when his temp once again jumped above 103 and he started getting fidgety, but we managed to get enough medicine in him and start cool cloths in time to prevent another seizure. He still had a slight fever Saturday, but today he is finally fever free!!!

Goodbye Grandma Violet

This weekend we said goodbye to Grandma Violet. She passed away early Friday morning. It's amazing what a huge impact she had on our family in the three short years she was with us. Violet was surprisingly funny and always had a smile for you. We knew she wouldn't live forever, but it was still a big shock when she became so ill after Christmas. Really did not see this coming at this time. But I know she is with God. We love you Violet. Say hi to Grandma Bernice for me.

We did manage to get in some fun this weekend. Jack and Max followed their cousin Trevor around whenever possible. He helped teach Jack how to play pool.

Of course, Max used up all his energy and had to take a nap with Grandma Elaine.

The snow in Newell is still piled high....probably the highest I ever remember. Here's the view down mom & dad's alley. There's just enough room for a vehicle to barely pass through.

Tate and Tessa Esser were staying with their grandma this weekend, so the boys were excited when they showed up at the funeral home. They played hard in the family room - Jack even worked up a sweat!

I love my boys!

Despite an awful stay at home stay-at-home-mommy day, I still LOVE my boys! We were stuck home again (poor Trystin got sick in the morning, but was fine in the afternoon), and I was having a hard time keeping Jack and Max from fighting and/or crying most of the day despite trying ALL kinds of activities. Just way too many days off our normal routines.

Anyway, here is how the boys ended the day:

Yes, my sweet little boys braved the frigid temperatures to help Daddy clear a snow pile (gotta prepare for tomorrow's snow). Notice the fuzziness of the picture - I wanted their picture, but not badly enough to actually go out with them, so I took it through the glass pane. BRRRR!

I've been trying to teach Jack and Max to sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Jack can kind of sing it, and Max can say "Merry Christmas" but his singing of the song comes out like this....

And yesterday Max figured out how to use daddy's deodorant all on his own.

A weekend they'll remember forever

Tis the season! After Mother Nature decided to dump 16 inches of snow on us last week, we decided to make this weekend one of those times that the kids would remember forever. We started Saturday evening by making popcorn garland for the tree.

Unfortunately, we only got 2 short strands made because Jack and Max decided it was more fun to throw the fruit loops around and tangle up the thread. But the 2 strands that survived look really nice on our Christmas tree.

Sunday we bundled the kids up to go sledding on that 16 inches of snow in the yard. Trystin and Mikelle kept trying to figure out the best path for the sleds and who could go the furthest. For some strange reason, one sled was faster than the other - even though they were supposedly the exact same.

Jack tried really hard to keep up with the big kids. However, the snow was almost to his waist, so he was extremely tired by the end. Of course, he was having so much fun, he didn't want to stop!

As usual, Curtis kept the kids entertained with his antics. Each time he fell off the sled brought a new roll or dive or other mishap in the snow.

Max really struggled to move in the snow, but he didn't complain too much. He even got to sled down the hill a few times (he liked to go with Mommy or Mikelle). But mostly, he really liked sitting on top of the hill and watching everyone. Curtis flattened out a little spot so he had a perfect seat.

At the end of the day we had some thoroughly exhausted kids. Jack fell asleep shortly before supper, and basically curled up in my lap the rest of the evening. Max went to bed very nicely and slept past 6am! And Trystin fell asleep in our bed watching cartoons. He was completely in dream world when Curtis told him to go to his own bed.

Powder Mouth

The boys discovered a bag of powdered donuts in the cupboard today, so of course I let them have some. I started laughing at Jack and calling him "Powder Mouth." When he seemed a little confused by his new nickname, I told him to go check out his face in the mirror.

Oh boy! Did he think it was hilarious! Then Max got in on the action. He actually shared his donuts with Jack to "max"imize (hehe) the powder mouth experience.

Thanksgiving turkeys

Jack has been been having a great time getting ready for Thanksgiving. Over the last two weeks, we've gotten creative:

First we did a bunch of water color pictures. Then I cut out the pictures to make feathers. Jack loved using the glue stick. He also finally learned how to use his scissors. Every time we've tried before he had to use 2 hands to open and close the scissors. This time he tried it with his left hand and did it! I think he may end up being a lefty...


Monday at preschool he made his "Picasso turkey." It was supposed to look like a turkey sitting, but Jack had his own vision. He was also supposed to write what he was thankful for on the feathers, but I'm not sure anyone can read his writing....

Tuesday morning we got the water colors out again and painted toilet paper rolls. Then I drew on faces and cut out more feathers. This time I convinced him to let me do most of the writing and we finally got to see what he is thankful for....

And wouldn't you know it? The craft at the library storytime today was also a turkey. This time Max was able to make one too. Turkey Jack is on the left, and Turkey Max is on the right.

We'll be taking these over to Grandma Bea's to help decorate her house for Thanksgiving dinner.

Twin City Fun

Warning: we had WAY too much fun this weekend and took WAY too many pictures!
How many pictures? 250 in just 2 days!! The boys just gave us so many great photo ops. So this promises to be a long blog entry, but hopefully you enjoy the pictures as much as we did taking them and living the moments that led to them.

We left for Minnesota Friday evening with the Tahoe packed so full and yet amazingly still had room for 6 people. I LOVE our Tahoe! We arrived at our hotel around 9pm. Of course the little boys slept a good chunk of the trip, so they weren't ready for bed. And Trystin and Mikelle were excited to see cousins, so they weren't ready for bed. And Curtis brought card games to play with my dad and brothers, so he wasn't ready for bed either! It ended up being a late night.

Saturday morning the kids were up early to get breakfast and get in the pool as soon as possible. And Curtis was eager to get to card playing. It was a fun family morning. I tried to get Jack and Max to take naps while the rest of us started getting ready for the wedding, but of course there was too much excitment going on for them, so they did not nap except for a 15 minute snooze on the way to the church.

Jack and Max looked so handsome in their ties! Unfortunately, Jack decided to take his off before pictures. He also had one of his camera-hating moments and cried during the family photo.

We're so happy to have Trevor Shannon join our family. He's a great catch Mandy!

And doesn't Mandy make the most gorgeous bride?!?

Jack had calmed down a bit by the time we took our little family picture. Unfortunately, he still didn't want the camera to see his eyes.

The girls had fun getting dressed up in dresses. Morgan had the cutest black shawl (not shown).

Isn't this the most handsome devil?? I can just hear our phone ringing off the hook in the future with all the girls that will be chasing after him....

We love our papa!

Is there any question where our boys get their good looks from??

Max thought it was quite entertaining to make Taryn hold his cup for him. He wouldn't drink unless she held it up for him.

Okay, Grandma Violet....I hope that's just an itchy nose!

Here comes the bride!

Trystin konked out during the ceremony. Too much excitement in one day for him.

Jack found his first love. I believe her name is Mya (Mandy, am I right?). He said she had on a "dancing dress." He kept looking at her during the reception, so I encouraged him to go talk to her. He was SOOOOOO nervous. After a 10 minute pep talk, he slinked out of his chair and shuffled shyly up to her. When he got close enough, he reached his hand out, waved, and ran back to the table.

After another short pep talk, he went back to her and waved again. He didn't say much to her, but he liked to always know where she was. Jack really wanted to dance with her; unfortunately, we ended up leaving before he was able (the boys were WAY too tired to stay up any longer).

Everyone still had a good time before we had to go! Max loves his cousin Trevor.

Going to have to work out a good system for referring to Trevor (Groth, my nephew) and Trevor (Shannon, my cousin's new husband).....

Loved the cupcakes - really made the boys day! Not so sure Mandy was really prepared for the traditional smashing of cake in the bride's face though.

Max tried to recreate the moment for her....

Sunday morning after another quick hotel pool swim, we checked out. Max was a great helper at making sure our luggage didn't fall off the cart. We managed to get everything packed back into the Tahoe and headed to the Mall of America. We made sure to prep the kids that we would not be able to see everything, we would not be buying a lot of treats and toys, but we would still do fun stuff.

The kids found the face painting lady first thing. Guess what Jack picked?? Yep, BatJack picked Batman. And he actually sat still!!!!!

Mikelle picked a flower.

Max snoozed.

And Trystin picked a spider after we convinced him that the Darth Vader one was too expensive.

Ever heard of Bubba Gump Shrimp? It's a household name.

We wanted to pick a place to eat that wasn't too spendy, but wasn't the typical fast food you can get any where. We found Johnny Rocket's. Highly recommend it - fun little diner atmosphere, filling burgers, and decent pricing. Our waitress even gave the kids nickels to put in the juke boxes. Unfortunately, none of their songs played while we were eating.

CHEESE! He loves to pose for pictures.

Lego City! Trystin was so excited that he could hardly contain himself.

Rrrrrr, matey!

The boys gave the Rainforest Cafe frog high fives. Then Jack ran up and gave him a hug - so sweet.

Every time we go by an Old Navy Store, Max insists on petting the dog mannequin. He loves that thing.

Make a wish! Curtis wished that Max wouldn't fall in. Almost happened, but Curtis' wish came true, and Max stayed dry.

Jack was quite upset that he wasn't tall enough for some of the rides. He kept trying to stretch up as high as he could.

Trystin and Mikelle settled on the space shoot for their ride.

Curtis couldn't resist taking a picture of the ladies sitting next to the kids.

Trystin was so scared he died to death!

Jack chose Azul the train for his ride.

Chugga....choo....chugga....choo....chugga chugga choo choo!

Before leaving they got to see SpongeBob. Max was quite excited, but didn't want to get very close.

A beautiful sunset to finish out our trip. This was taken just shortly crossing the MN/Iowa border.