Not McDonald's, Again

We were fortunate to get a HANDFUL of Halloween coupons from a fellow CraigsLister last night. The coupons included one free milk, one free apple dippers, one free hamburger & one free ice cream. The problem is that the coupons expire tonight. So, we hit a few McDonalds yesterday after I picked up the coupons. The kids each had apples, milk and a hamburger for lunch. We ended up running another errand later and we all had ice cream in the van...not a good idea with Will! Actually it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. So, me being a person who hates to cook and a person who hates to throw free things away...I made Matt take the girls to McDonalds for dinner too. We haven't left the house today but we will head there tonight for one last round of hamburgers, apples & milk before the coupons expire! Alex asked me this afternoon what would be for dinner and when I told her McDonald's she said "Oh no, not McDonald's again..." I NEVER thought I would hear my young kids say that!

Also, every time we have gone, we have used extra coupons so we now have a McDonalds storeroom in our fridge!

Happy New Year everyone! Blessings for 2009!!!

Merry Christmas!

We headed out to Rio, IL for the Barman Christmas. It had snowed (again!) that morning and it took us over 75 minutes to arrive. It normally takes 30 minutes. We enjoyed our time there and it was great to see everyone again. Getting home around 8, we got the kids to bed and brought up the presents to put under the tree.

Christmas morning...Matt woke up when he heard Katie & Alex coming up the stairs. Katie told us that she woke up Alex and they walked side by side up the stairs, holding hands. They told us they did this so they would both be leaders. Maddie & Will were also waking up, so we got out the cameras and let the kids go to the front room. At first everything was so meticulous and orderly...but we lost that somewhere along the way. Just check out the pictures for the proof.

Will loving his new firetruck!

Maddie opening her Little People Carriage from Great Grandma.

Alex opening her Mini American Girl doll from Great Grandma.

Katie & "Katherine" showing the picture frame that Katie got Katherine with Awana points.

Maddie trying out Alex's new tent for her doll.

The carnage...

Something that Will has started whenever he laughs (usually sounds like a fake laugh) is putting his hand up over his mouth. Very cute.

We headed over to Becki's parents later that day to enjoy a Delicious Prime Rib dinner prepared by Steve & Teri. Mom set out her fine china. Katie stated it well when she said, "Wow Grammy, this dinner is so elegant!". Grammy put together a Christmas pageant that included our four kids, Judah (Steve & Teri's little boy) and 2 shepherds (Matt & Grandad). As always, Grammy did a wonderful job & the kids loved putting the show on.

Katie & Alex bringing the Good News to the Shepherds / Sheep.

Maddie as Mary

Maddie / Mary holding baby Jesus

The shepherds washing dishes during intermission.

Sorry Grandad - couldn't pass up putting this picture on! I love the light reflection in the window...is that a halo??

Uncle Steve giving a ride to all 5 kids...

Katie & Alex settling down - watching their new Strawberry Shortcake movie.

Happy Winter!!!

We had a slow day at home today. It is below zero and VERY windy. On this first day of Winter...we are sick of WINTER! I think it is safe to say that the kids (as well as us!) are tired of being cooped up. Alex's Christmas program for preschool was postponed until January, Awana was cancelled two weeks in a row, going to church last night (and coming home) was slow going.

All complaining aside...I have a few pictures to share with you. The first is of Will - sporting a new hairdo (Thank you Uncle Steve).

Alex's preschool picture (4 yrs old).

Maddie holding her bundle of tickets at Happy Joes (thanks to Mommy winning a "jackpot"). I think she would have rather kept the tickets than get the toy!

I had Will help me by putting granola bars into the "cookie jar" last week. He found me in another room and handed me the almost empty box. He then took my hand so he could show me his work. I had to laugh when I saw how high he had piled the bars! When I took a picture of him, Maddie sat down beside him and moved next to the jar as soon as he got up.

Alex made this cute Rudolph hat at preschool. It was pretty cute watching 18 kids walk out of preschool with their antlers & red nose!

Katie & Becki snuggling in the big chair...Will playing with a blindfold.

While picking up toys, I found this lock of hair under the Christmas tree. At first I figured it was hair that got pulled out by one of the kids but on a closer look, I realized that it had clean cuts. So, I checked for new haircuts that afternoon and discovered that Alex was missing a small section on her right side. Luckily it wasn't noticable! When asked about it, she claimed that "Maybe Will cut my hair when I didn't know it..." Nice try little girl! I told her it wasn't all her fault, but mainly mine since I had left scissors out at some point.

We had a wonderful evening with our friends Wilsons, Welshes & Kunzles last Friday. It was so much fun to laugh & enjoy each other's company. We love you guys!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my 35th birthday. Let me tell you about my day....

Took Alex to preschool
Brought Katie, Will & Maddie home
broke up numerous fights
picked up Alex
grabbed lunch, ran errands
dropped off kids at Mom & Dads
went to dentist to have a filling put in
left dentist office
found police car parked behind my van
noticed yellow paint on van's back bumper
exchanged information with person who hit my van
picked up kids
picked up Matt
picked up dinner
drove to Clinton, IA to enjoy display of park lights
listened to kids fighting, talking, climbing out of carseats, fighting, talking
left Clinton
Red & blue lights flashing
given a written warning for speeding (Matt...not me)
got home - 3 kids sleeping
all kids in bed in 5 minutes
watched movie with Matt
off to sleep

Yes, it was a strange day. I must add that I received many wonderful emails, cards & calls though. I know that I am loved by many caring people! Here's to looking forward and not back!

A Taste of My World

Alex said it well..."Welcome to the noise world, Mommy!" She said this excitedly as she had organized this musical snack time! There are some days when the noise doesn't bother me a bit...some days the smallest noise gets to me. Today is a day when it doesn't matter much, luckily! Here is a Christmas moment for you to enjoy...

Decorating for Christmas

We usually put up our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, but with company in town, we decided to wait until this weekend.

After taking the tree from its box, Katie informed us "oh, it is fake". We chuckled and informed her that she was right. We enjoyed watching the kids putting their ornaments on the tree. Their wonderment was fun to witness. Now all that we need are the presents under the tree!

All 4 kids laying under the tree - admiring the lights.

Letterboxing in Macomb

We had a "nice" day Saturday (no snow, mid 40s) so we decided to head to Macomb to find some more of Wrong Way's boxes. Ken (Matt's Dad) was here visiting so all 7 of us headed to Macomb in hopes of finding a handful of boxes.

We started in Spring Lake Park where Wrong Way planted 6 boxes. What a beautiful park! The trails are used for mountain biking too so there were some neat bridges, teeter toters, boardwalks.

Notice the spillway beyond the lake? We walked all the way from the left to the right (at the tree line)

Here is Ken with Katie & Will walking up to the first trail.

We got a kick out of this trail sign...

Here we are taking a "short cut" from one trail to another...Actually we realized that we had made a mistake...OK, OK, I had made a mistake!...but we remembered seeing the end of the trail so we decided it would be easier to start over! We finished the first 4 boxes and realized that Will was done walking. Katie, Will & Ken headed back to the van while Matt, Alex, Maddie & I headed out to the 5th & 6th Boxes. We found the first box right off (Maddie doesn't say many words, but she does say letterbox! She found the 5th box - her first find!). We started to walk to find the 6th box and started to think we missed a clue...until Matt read that the hike was a mile long! Maddie & Alex were both troopers and didn't complain once. In fact, they would have run ahead if we had let them!

After finding the 6 boxes, we headed to town to get some lunch and hunt for 4 other boxes. We attempted "Go Necks!" but couldn't find it. Next we headed to "Gentle Guardian". Strike two. Box 3 was "Armed Guard" which we found without a problem. Side note - Becki's Great-Grandfather is buried in this cemetary. Box 4 was "Glenwood Trail" which we found right away. We decided to head back across the street to try box 2 again. We drove around and around - all 3 adults walked through the cemetary, looking at every evergreen! No luck. Ken encouraged Matt to look in the last row of headstones (from a clue) and see if any of the names were the same. They soon discovered that the evergreen we were looking for had been chopped down (within 2 months of planting the box)!!! Matt decided to check in the woods to see if the tree was possibly there AND IT WAS!!! With letterbox intact!!! He was on cloud nine to say the least! Later, Matt found the updated clues for that box (he had printed the clues earlier) and it was listed as missing due to that fact.

We had a great day - great weather - great hikes - great boxes - great company! Our 1 1/2 hour drive home was a movie filled drive with some very sleepy kids!

Grandpa Hart's Visit

We were blessed to have Matt's dad (Ken) stay with us for a week. He came home with Matt & the girls after Covell's funeral service. Ken is a handyman, so I had my honey-do list ready for him when he arrived! Thank you so much Ken, for all of your hard work. We enjoyed your company. Hopefully it wasn't all work for you - we hope you enjoyed your time as well!

The big job that he did for us was to put up a half wall in the basement that separates the girls room from the big room. It will give them some privacy...but mainly it will help keep the twins from their "treasures". We had Ken put in shelves so we can use it for storage also. Here is Alex showing it off...

Christmas, Funeral, Letterboxing & Computers

Wow - I can't believe that it has been a month since I last posted! Where did the month go?? We have been super busy (as you will see from our posts) and things are finally starting to slow down a bit. It didn't help that our computer crashed - twice - and we ended up having to purchase a new one!

Matt & the girls headed to the northern suburbs of Chicago 2 weekends ago to attend the celebration of life service for Matt's grandfather. It was a mini-reunion of sorts and of course a time for letterboxing! The girls even sang a song for the service. According to Grandma, they were the hit of the service. Matt was able to plant a few boxes in the Libertyville area (where he grew up) and he & the girls met up with a few fellow boxers. They boxed the afternoon away with Atomic Beans, ate breakfast with Beetle and attended the celebration service with Lock, Shock & Barrel. Thanks to everyone for accommodating my family - they really enjoyed your company!

Boxing with Atomic Beans on Lake Michigan

The girls in front of the McDonalds that Matt worked at. Evidently, the "M" is chopped in half!

Finding "Heather Ridge" by Beetle
Finding "The Beatles Letterbox Series: Ringo Starr" by Beetle

While half of our family was gone in Chicago, the twins & I headed over to my parents to visit with my extended family for the Barman Christmas. We enjoyed our time together - we were so sad to see our time end! Mom found a box that had our Indian Princess & Indian Guide stuff so the kids enjoyed playing with them for an afternoon.

Kayla got an Easy Bake Oven - so Mom was gracious & patient enough to work with the older girls one afternoon. Here is Kayla & Katie showing off their cookies & messy faces!

The kids had a blast at a local bouncetown warehouse (where they have a bunch of bounce houses/slides set up).

Will, Alex & Kayla riding the slide.

Katie pulling Kayla & Alex down the slide.

Maddie, Judah & Will all enjoying the slide & bouncehouse.

Opening the presents seems to be an extreme sport anymore! Emma was the first to open - look at everyone swarming! Yikes!!!

Maddie & Will opening their Winnie the Pooh circle chairs.

Alex & Emma sharing a moment together.