Saying Goodbye to a Family member

We are in mourning this week...we are in the midst of the passing of our beloved double stroller. You see, this stroller is a part of our family and has been for the past 5 years. It is our life line to the outside world. Sadly, it no longer contains our children! The twins have decided that they like the freedom of running and walking! How dare they!!

All kidding aside, we have been weaning ourselves from the stroller the past few months and it is now a done deal. I tried to put the twins in it last week at the mall and they just climbed out.

We are excited about the fact that they are growing up and no longer need to stay in the stroller. However, they are 3...and there are 2 of them! We will learn to survive.

Here are the kids saying goodbye to our trusty friend!

Joke of the Day

Alex: "What does the belly button do with a armpit in it?"

Me: "I don't know, what does the belly button do with an armpit in it?"

Alex: "It tickles it." (Alex laughs uncontrollably for a minute) "Daddy, now you tell a joke . . . and make it a funny one."

Exchanges Galore

Exchanges were the highlight of the day today.

A few months ago I was informed of Letterboxers' Cabin Fever Cure gathering in Iowa City. Yes, an indoor event about an hour away. With winter being so intensely cold this year I signed myself and the girls up to attend.

I eagerly looked up other boxes in the immediate area that seemed doable in this cold & snow.

When we left our home I snapped this picture of the outside air temperature.


When we reached this certain little town in Iowa . . . the future birthplace of Captain Kirk!!

I snapped this picture of the outside air temp. just before I let the girls jump out for the photo opp.

At least the skies were blue & the sun was shining, as searching for the box was futile . . . nothing but snow and ice. It would have been impossible to retrieve the box without breaking it.

On to Kalona, where a large Amish community resides. Found the park, found the shelter, found the tree. The 40 degree weather of two days ago melted the snow out from under the tree. I dug all through the mulch in hopes of finding this box.


No luck!!

On we went for our third and final box before the gathering.

Cutting the details, we had no luck on this box either. Third strike . . . we were out.

We headed into Iowa City to the Public Library. Others were already there, even though we got there 1/2 hour early.

Of the 23 other people signed up for the gathering we had only met 3 of them before!! This meant I had a lot of new people to meet!!! :-)


I had a wonderful time with the girls. Skeeter carved her third stamp, I did a little carving myself. We found one of the 4 boxes hidden through out the library.

Bug-a-Boo is on a winning streak, if you recall she won a bird feeder at the Birds of a Feather Gathering this past June. Today she won a slab of PZ Kut -- that's my girl!! Winning carving medium for her papa :-)

We were planning on driving up to Solon, Iowa to find 4 more boxes at the library there, however, after driving around for an hour to find a Taco Bell we were ready to just head home -- oh, what did I have for dinner??
So, there you have it. A wonderful day of driving and exchanging!!

Family Movie Night

We had our first "official" family movie night. We put signs up on the outside door for Daddy and throughout the house. Here is Maddie ready to head down for the 5:45 showing of Wall-E.

The girls & I set up the ticket / concession table with signs and tickets. We made some popcorn and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, got some milk and candy for everyone and made a money box. The kids enjoyed the movie, as did Matt & I. We look forward to many more years of family movie nights.

The kids sitting in their "movie chairs" - lights on for previews & off for the movie!

Happy Birthday Maddie & Will

Maddie & Will turn 3 years old today. So hard to believe!! It seems like a few days ago that we brought them home from the hospital. I remember 3 years & one night ago...I was a BASKETCASE!!! I knew then that our lives would never be the same again. I didn't realize that the first year of their lives would be easier than their 2nd!!

We celebrated their birthday last night with family. Here are some pictures from their party...

Thomas the Train Cookie...

Cards made by Judah for the twins...

Blowing out the candles (with Judah's help)...

Opening presents (lots of trains & lincoln logs, Cubs cheerleader outfit, Spiderman jammies (with a cape!) and a minature cabbage patch kid)

Here we are this morning playing with their new train table (thanks Great Grandma). We are hoping to head out for lunch for one of their free kids meals that received for their birthday. We aren't sure where yet - this means we all have to get dressed and ready first!