Is it March yet??

Recent happenings:

Girls wearing their new aprons to make cinnamon roll baked oatmeal:



Jessica's fish tank has been revived!



Girls at friend's super fun roller blading birthday party:



Mary and Greyson came for a visit last weekend. We had the best time together! The girls loved showing him around our library:



After sushi lunch and naps, we all went to watch Katie's basketball game:



Sunday morning, we all went to church and heard the girls sing in the choir:



Monday was Jessica's 100th day of school! She and her classmates and teacher dressed up like they were 100 yrs old! Here's Grandma Jessica, with baby powdered hair in a bun:



Guess who made the honor roll for the second quarter??!!



Jessica has a nasty stomach bug. It started early Wednesday morning, and ran all day. Poor thing only ate three goldfish all day, and kept down a little bit of a mini Gatorade. She was too tired to walk, stand, or even sit up. I knew she was REALLY sick when she didn't ask to play Minecraft once all day long! Poor baby! We hope she feels better soon, and that she doesn't share her germs.



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Skiing

Tuesday was a day off school, too. We went skiing at Pine Knob with our friends, who were also on mid-winter break. Chris took the day off work to join us, and to help keep track of all the kiddos (8 in all!)

My ski buddy:



Meg went off with friends Maddy and Rylen all day long! They skied all of the runs- even some jumps! No pics of the triplets.

Katie had a rough day and didn't ski much. Chris and I had a fun time with the kindergarteners, Jess and Matthew. They were fearless, funny, and fast!!



It was a sunny day, and reached a high of 34 degrees - a heat wave! We should have brought sunscreen. Oops! We enjoyed the fresh 3-4" of snow that fell Monday night. The snow conditions were perfect. We skied from 10:30am - 4pm!



We came home to find Valentines gifts from G&G Kennedy! Thank you for the beautiful, handmade aprons! Our little chefs love them!



Tues night, after all that skiing, Chris and I went to our very first DSO concert! It was amazing! I'm hooked and can't wait to go back :) (with better seats)




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Detroit Zoo

Monday was a day off school. It was only 15 degrees, and windy, but we went to the zoo! We had tons of fun!

Penguins:



The girls climbed every snow pile they could find:



And made snow angels:



After lunch, we visited the polar bears!

Watching the male bear:



The female (Talini), was swimming while we were in the tunnel!



Looking up at her:



She was so playful, swimming all over, jumping and diving, playing with toys, sitting on the tunnel, etc!

We visited the giraffes indoors:



And the lions:



More snow piles:



Meg wanted to pose to make it look like she was petting this python:



Black iguana from Chrysler! (It was found in a crate of car parts shipped from Mexico to Auburn Hills)



The turtle was freezing...not hot like usual in the summer sun!



We saw nearly all of the animals, but my fingers were too cold to take pictures everywhere. We spent over four hours there, walking from building to building, and seeing the outdoor exhibits along the way. Fun day!


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Valentine's Day

Today was full of Valentine's Day fun and festivities. But first, let me catch up on a few pics:

Last weekend, Jessica went to a friend's bowling birthday party. This was right after she got a strike!



We also went to our friend Maddy's 10th birthday party last weekend:



Yesterday, Katie had a half day of school, so I took her out to lunch! We also went to Barnes and Noble's used book section, and went to a new frozen yogurt place.



Today is Valentine's Day! We started with pink heart pancakes for breakfast:



Then I went to Jessica's class party. I helped out at the snack table, but also got to see her play fun games like shoot a pixie stick arrow through a heart:



And I saw her making animals out of hearts:



Her class sang a few cute songs to the parents:



Next, I went to Megan's class party. Here she is with a friend, delivering cards to the other third grade teachers:



I again helped with snacks (a breakfast buffet), but got to see the games. They were very fun "minute to win it" games. First: stacking conversation hearts:



Next, blowing q-tips into a heart bowl:



Third, unwrapping candy while wearing socks as mittens. So funny!



Meg and Jess had a half day today, so I took them out to a surprise lunch at Hibachi House! And Chris met us there! It was sooo good! They took me to Bordines afterwards. I was in heaven. But Jess cracked me up by saying, "I know why it's called Bordines. Because its BORing!"

We got the girls small Lego sets for Valentines Day. They have been playing with them since they got home!









The girls got me mini orchids. Aren't they adorable???



Tonight, Chris and I are going out on a date while Katie tests her babysitting skills. Wish us all luck!

Happy Valentine's Day!

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Winter fun

We have had a long, cold, snowy winter. Very long, very cold, and very snowy! We've been having fun inside when it's too cold to go out.

Rock climbing at our gym. Megan made it to the top on five different climbs!



Jess had fun, but didn't climb very high.



Meg at the top.



Katie practiced basketball while the little girls were rock climbing. By the way, her basketball team won again last weekend, 40-14! And she joined the intramural team at her school so she can get an extra day of basketball practice each week!

On one of our snow days last week, we met friends at a gymnastics open gym. The girls loved running around!






We had a big snowfall last Saturday. Then we decided to take the girls skiing on Sunday! We went early, before the crowds, to a hill just 30 min north of us. The girls had a 1hr lesson first, and Chris and I got to ski all of the runs alone. Then we got the girls and skied with them for another few hours. The girls did great! Katie did well, but bowed out early bc her feet hurt. Megan was our fast skier. Jess was slow, but not afraid! They went up the chair lift over and over!















Today we had another snowstorm, with another 5-6". It took me well over an hour to shovel the driveway! Jessi helped me a lot by shoveling the porch and brick patio. Then I used her to show perspective on how much snow we have. It's crazy!









How much snow do you have? Share your snow pictures!

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