Winter means cold days, snow storms and basketball season!!
We bought tickets to see the Iowa boys basketball game(s) and went to the first one on December 10th. We played Michigan - unfortunately we lost 90-80. We had a good time, even with the loss.
Matt & Kaitee walked down to the court and asked Owen (Freeman) for a quick picture (Owen went to Moline High School with the twins, so we watched him play for his senior year). He was very nice and accommodated the request.
While walking back to our seats, they spotted Herky the Hawkeye.
The long trek down the hill to our van.
One of the first Moline games that the family attended happened to be on my birthday.
After the game, we celebrated with cake & ice cream.
Our niece, Kayla, graduated in December from the St. Ambrose nursing school. Kaitee and I were blessed to be able to attend the pinning ceremony.
Just before Christmas break (from school), Will's band held their winter concert.
Not sure what's happening here? Ha!
We were over at my parents one afternoon when Matt glanced in and saw this. Pretty sweet.
Us girls headed to IKEA a few days after Christmas. We were looking forward to a fun day of shopping and eating! It didn't disappoint!
After IKEA, we headed northeast to Lake Bluff for dinner at The Silo. It didn't disappoint, either! Sidewalk fries are worth the drive! We also love the bathroom at The Silo - their floor is made of pennies!
I needed to stop at Kohl's, so we drove through Libertyville (Matt's hometown) and Vernon Hills. We shopped at Kohl's as well as Hallmark and a bookstore. We really enjoyed our time together.
We ended our night with a 7-Eleven stop for slurpies!
Iowa Hawkeyes Basketball game #2 on January 6th. We played Rutgers and WON (86-77)!
This Big Ten win was #127 for Coach McCaffery - making him the winningest coach (season Big Ten games) in Iowa history.
January was not a fun month - in one week we had over 27 inches of snow fall, followed by sub-zero temps. We spent a lot of time clearing the driveway, cars, street and sidewalks that week.
Somehow these arborvitaes survived the storm(s). They were so heavy with the snow and ice that they were completely hanging over the driveway, almost touching the window!
Maddie built this snowman (she later named her Ilene...see the pictures and you will understand!)
.jpg)
Maddie's last basketball/pep band game.
Matt & Kaitee had a date night one evening. A few days later, Matt and Maddie did a lunch date.
The heavy (and large amount) of snow from January started to be a problem when the temps rose. Matt & I spent a few afternoons outside trying to clear the roof and gutters of the ice dams that had built up. It took quite a few hours and warm water (to melt the ice in the gutters) but we were successful.
Celebrating the twins birthday at home.
After brownies and ice cream, they opened up their gifts. Maddie received earrings and a book from her friend in Missouri, Carl & Ellie Funko Pop figures, camera items and a full length mirror for her room.
Will received an Amazon giftcard, cash and a "Lego" (generic) Chess Set.
Birthday Celebration with the Barman family
We fit in a few of Maddie's "favs" before she left for Guatemala.
Maddie's last night, she requested Minute Steaks & mashed potatoes. We also grabbed Whitey's for dessert and invited my parents over for games.
4:30 wake up to get Maddie to the airport for her early flight to Dallas then to Guatemala City. Goodbyes are hard and they suck.
Cold nights - perfect for puzzles and video chats
My dad broke his wrist and had to get stitches in his elbow so he wasn't able to drive and bring donuts one Saturday in February (he has been bringing donuts to the kids for many years, it has become a sweet tradition). To surprise Dad, Kaitee and I bought donuts and stopped out at their house to enjoy donuts together.
The next week, Dad stopped by the house with donuts for everyone. We are thinking that this will be the last donut run due to Dad's dementia. It's sad, but we laughed together and enjoyed our morning with him.
We ended up beating Quincy, the #1 team in our conference. It. Was. Awesome (in my Tommy Boy voice)!!!
Valentine's Day Traditions - I picked up a heart shaped pizza and DQ ice cream cupcakes and made some garlic bread for our family dinner. We celebrated on the 13th since the 14th had Kaitee attending a musical and Will at youth group.
Maddie sent these pictures of their Valentine's Day dinner - homemade heart-shaped pizzas (Maddie's idea to continue our tradition while in Guatemala).
Maddie with her class in Tactic (2nd grade). She has fallen in love with these kids.
.jpg)
She has really connected with her 2nd family too.
Last weekend, Matt & I traveled to Iowa City to watch the Iowa Honor Band. Will had auditioned for the Honor Band at the first of the year and was selected to play (bass trombone). The students took a bus on Saturday and participated in multiple workshops throughout Saturday and Sunday. The weekend ended with a concert on Sunday afternoon. It was a wonderful experience - we are so proud of him!
Here is the group of musicians from Moline.
.jpg)
I tried to take advantage of the cold days to get some indoor jobs done. Here is one I've put off for too long. The basement waterproof paint was starting to peel (I had painted the walls 12-15 years ago and read that the paint typically "lasts" 10-15 years). The floor paint was also starting to peel so both needed to be redone/touched up. Unfortunately, this meant moving everything out of the laundry room, storage area and multiple days of painting, drying and 2nd coating. I am thrilled with the fresh look! I also purged and reorganized so that helped A LOT! It's amazing how quickly things can accumulate and how quickly items expire (by years!!) in the pantry. Rather embarrassing!
I'm ready to turn the calendar to March. Ready for warmer weather (although we've been very spoiled the last few weeks!). Ready to be outside and doing yard work/outside jobs. Ready for longer daylight. And I am Especially Ready for Baseball!!!
