William Turns 5!

My boy is 5....January 30 marked the date. My kids' birthdays make me nostalgic and misty-eyed and sentimental. We celebrated for 2 weeks, between the friend party, the family party, and the real event. The celebrations are over, and my boy is so happy to be 5!

Blue Velvet cupcakes and blue cake balls!

Musical Chairs with friends.

The Balloon Game (invented by yours truly).

Pinatas are a necessity for birthday parties!

The candy!

Ella, Nora, and Audrey having lunch.

It was such a fun day!!

Nora enjoying cupcake and ice cream.

After cake and ice cream, it was time to open gifts.

We put foam gliders in the treat bags, and what better place to try them out than our loft? The kids (and moms) had a blast!

The day after we celebrated with friends, we got to celebrate with family. Here is Audrey on Grant's shoulders, enjoying the view.

William loves airplanes! I had fun making this runway cake.

Grandma Iris looking on as William admires his birthday cake!

Make a wish and blow out the candles....

Family!

Round 2 of gift-opening. What a lucky boy!

Mummi Alice, Auntie Marjia, and William.

This boy loves Legos!

William got a bike from us for his birthday. He learned to ride (training wheel-free) in less than an hour!

I am so proud to be this boy's mother! I hope he has a wonderful 5th year full of adventures, learning, and growing! Love you William!

Witcik and Skaudis Families Storm the Dells

A few weeks ago we took our annual trip to Wisconsin Dells to meet with our dear friends, the Witciks, and enjoy some warm temperatures and water fun at the waterparks. It is a great escape from winter (without having to fly anywhere) and a wonderful way to meet our friends!

Nora does not like the car. Not the car, or her seat, or being trapped in her seat. This picture reflects her mood for most of the drive down.

For some reason, I didn't think of checking the weather. It appeared to have rained, then snowed, and then the wind created quite a blizzard. I figured, if I didn't venture into the passing lane, we would have a good chance of avoiding the ditch. See my white knuckles?

William drew a moose!

Audrey drew an ocean!

We made it! Nora was so happy to be in the water. This girl is so brave! She went down a few 'big kid' slides on her own and loved it!

The Husband, Nora, and William enjoying the warm water of the lazy river.

The Husband helping the girls on the swings.

E, Ellie, and Noah on the lazy river.

The highlight of our time away for the kids was playing in the water. The highlight for the mothers was no cooking and no clean-up! One of our dinners out was to Buffalo Phil's, where your food gets delivered to you on a train!

Audrey, Mike, and Ellie. Audrey loves Mike!!

William in the wave pool. Being a year older sure made him more adventurous this year.

Audrey enjoyed the slides (both big and little) but she was very content swimming and playing with her friend Ellie.

I think we were rather bold to take 5 kids under the age of 5 to a waterpark for 3 nights. The kids were really, really good!

Every time we are with our friends, we attempt a group picture. William is the oldest, Audrey is a month older than Ellie, and Noah is a month older than Nora. It is so fun to get them all together!

E and me. I look tired because I am tired. We stay up late because we have so much to talk about, and we have to make the most of our time together. The night before this was taken, we were up late-late playing Rummy. We can sleep when we get home, right?!

The Husbands.

Nora: Hold my hand, NOAH! I won't see you for awhile!

One last group picture. See you soon, Witciks!

William and Audrey Take to the Ice!

My father suggested that maybe it was time for William to learn to ice skate (I think my dad secretly wishes for a hockey-playing grandson). We took his advice and headed to the local skate shop. William was ecstatic! Audrey was less enthusiastic about the skates, but enjoyed perusing the pretty skating outfits. We came home with skates, and William and Audrey skipped nap and headed out to the ice.

Ready to go!

William skating to his chair.

William skating into the sunset.

They are both wearing helmets, William just has an extra-large head, so his hat was over his helmet.

The best part of the afternoon was watching Martha try to run on the ice chasing the kids!

Audrey testing the ice.

William was very cautious and deliberate---

---for a few minutes. Then he got fast and silly!

Audrey decided she had enough skating and went to look for beach sand under the snow! Love this girl!!!

Thankful....

BEING THANKFUL is a common topic in our house. We have so much to be thankful for!

I am thankful for-----

My witty, sweet, curious William.

My melt-your-heart, beautiful, gentle Audrey.

My funny, determined, precious baby Nora.

I am thankful for time spent outdoors.

Trees to Hug.

Trees to climb.

I am thankful for being silly and laughing!

And I am thankful for sunrises that remind me to admire the beauty of an ordinary day.

What are you thankful for today?