Craft Time

I am a horrible mom. It is a rare day that I do crafts with my kids, even though they love them and would craft away each day if allowed to do so. Why? Because I am lazy. There you have it. True confessions.

Every once in a while, though, I get inspired. Inspiration this weekend came in the form of a "Bead Pets" kit sent by Auntie Lori and Uncle Jeremy for Corrie's birthday. How could I refuse when the kids were so excited to get started?? So, I read the directions, enlisted Joel for help, and, lo and behold, we have pets made of beads!!



Thank you, Jeremy and Lori, for enhancing the lives of my craft deprived children. They loved it!

Swim Lessons!

In an attempt to beat the late winter doldrums, we decided to sign the kids up for some swim lessons. After a few attempts at taking lessons at the community pool, and not seeing much progress, we decided to pay a bit more and sign up for lessons at the local fancy pants swim school. With the abundance of lakes around here, the kids want to be able to swim in them all summer long, and so our goal for this summer is to really get them swimming well.

Our first lesson was last night, and I'm impressed so far. Corrie only has three kids in her class, and Jack only has four. The teachers seemed to do a great job of quickly assessing their skill level, and then got right to working hard with them. By the end of the lesson, Corrie was picking up rings from the bottom of the pool!

Before the lesson . . . ready to go!

Looking good in the pink goggles.

Benefit of fancy pants swim school: glass enclosed room to contain/entertain the Wes man.

The Long, Long Winter

Well, to say that this post is overdue is more than an understatement, but I've decided to not give up completely on the ol' blog (yet). This year has been the busiest since we moved to Minnesota. Jack joined Corrie as an official student enrolled in the Bascom Homeschool Experiment. Keeping both of them learning, thinking, and reading (while keeping Wesley from dismantling our house) has kept me fairly occupied this year. We are also now involved in two co-ops -- one is a small gathering of moms and kids from our church, and another is a larger, more established group that provides field trips, testing, social gatherings, etc. Both groups have been a blessing, but meeting with the other ladies from our church has been a really wonderful thing for me and the kids this year. I have made some good friends, and so have the kids. My extroverted children are thrilled, and I'm exceedingly thankful.

Here is a photographic run down of the past several months:

In the fall, ready to kick off a new school year.

It was a typically beautiful fall in Minnesota.

We enjoyed it thoroughly . . . the kids loved picking apples and visiting the pumpkin patch.

The snow started in November, and there is still some on the ground today. In fact, we are expecting snow and sleet tonight. It has been a looooong winter. Spring, come soon. Please.
We took a break from the snow in January with a trip to California to see our families. Here's Corrie at the beach with little cousin Katie.

We all got to meet my brother's new baby girl, Emily. She was only two weeks old when we arrived.

We all love her.

The kids loved all the good cousin time.
But, soon enough we were back to this.
And this.
And this. Thankfully, the kids can't get enough of playing in it. Corrie told me this week that snow is the best thing about Minnesota. Gotta love that positive attitude.
I have to admit that my attitude is reflected pretty accurately by Wes in this picture. I love the snow at Christmas time . . . but by late March, I am officially ready for green.

And, to bring you completely up to date, we celebrated Corrie's 8th birthday this week. I'm ever so grateful for her. She fills the house with enthusiasm and make believe, she loves her little brothers somethin' fierce, and she gives me reasons to laugh every day.

Summer Milestone

First ever treats from the ice cream truck. None of them were able to finish before massive melting occurred.

Busy Summer

Summer is flying by, and we are doing our best to soak up every warm second of it. We've had an exceptionally busy summer, with Corrie playing soccer and continuing violin lessons, Corrie and Jack taking swim lessons, and visits from our families. Thrown into the mix has been some work related travel for Joel, along with an unexpected trip to California for the funeral of his grandfather. I am looking forward to the second half of summer having a slower pace . . . especially since I still need to sort and organize curriculum for the fall!

Here are some pictures of our latest excitement:

Jack turned 5 in June -- my parents came for a visit, and we had a fun celebration.

In honor of the big birthday, we went to the Children's Museum in Saint Paul. Jack is trying on the scarecrow's hat from the Wizard of Oz exhibit.

Joel's sister and her family came for a visit!

Lots of fun cousin time . . .

. . . including some nice swim time in the local lakes.

Corrie LOVED playing soccer this summer.

She was on a team with a very sweet group of little girls, and she wept bitter tears when the season ended.

Wes has spent most of the summer doing something like this.

I can't believe he will be 3 in a few weeks!

Chicago

We arrived home yesterday from a road trip to Chicago, and are feeling very thankful for our time back on our old stomping grounds. We piled the kids in the car on Wednesday morning, and enjoyed the beautiful drive across Wisconsin and down into the northern 'burbs of Chicago. The kids did quite well on the drive, and were delighted with our hotel and the wondrous murphy bed upon which Corrie and Jack were privileged to sleep. Thankfully, no one was smashed or maimed as a result of their fascination with that bed.

Our first day in Chicagoland involved taking the train into the city, where we went to the Shedd Aquarium, Buckingham Fountain and Michigan Avenue. The kids had a great time, and the boys were especially enamored with the train ride. Our second day was dedicated to returning to our home in Evanston, where Corrie was born and lived the first year of her life. It was great, and so nostalgic for Joel and I. The next day we went into the city again, this time by car, and visited the fantastic Lincoln Park Zoo, and saw a concert in the same neighborhood by our friends, The Spares. Love, love, love their music!

Finally, we were able to attend a church that was recently established by some good friends from our Chicago days, and then were hosted for lunch by some friends who made up our small group at that time. We haven't seen many of them for years, but it was great to make connections again, and to see how our families have grown. We were all young married couples with no kids in those days, and now there was quite the gang of little ones running around.

All in all, a great trip . . . and a gift to have Joel away from work and all to ourselves for a few days!

On the Train!

Aquarium

Getting ready for the 3D Movie. She hated it, by the way.

Wes & Daddy

That is one big fountain

At the front door of our old apartment

Best giant cinnamon chip scones ever.

We stopped at a lot of playgrounds

Hey look, it's a polar bear

Thankful Mama

Lowry Nature Center

We took a family field trip this week to one of the nature centers / park reserves in our area. It was a beautiful, HUGE place with great walking trails. The kids absolutely love these places, and are more than happy to spend the morning being "nature explorers." This particular nature center included a great nature themed playground, complete with otter slides, a beaver dam, and lily pads. We are having an amazing early spring in Minnesota, and it feels so great to get out an enjoy it.

Some pictures . . .

The Latest News

We've had a great couple of weeks here in Minneapolis. Spring has arrived early (for this part of the world), and we have been enjoying beautiful days. Daffodils and tulips are coming up, trees are blossoming, and I am LOVING the general greenness all around.

We had a great visit with my parents, who were here for a week and spent Easter with us. Trips to the zoo and to the park were highlights for the kids, and I especially enjoyed our fantastic Easter feast together. Here are some pictures of our times enjoying the sun . . . and a short video of Corrie's very first attempt at riding her bike without training wheels. I think she's got the hang of it, and she's looking forward to a lot of riding this summer.

My handsome guy, on a stroll.

The Easter 2010 shot

Grandma and Jack at the zoo

Cheeeeeeese!

Violin Recital Time

Here is the video from Corrie's violin recital, which took place this evening. It was our fourth recital of this school year, and was a little bit more challenging for Corrie than others have been. She was upset because a couple of girls teased her by telling her there was a spider in her hair right before the recital started. Being deathly afraid of spiders, she did not take this joke very well. Then, she was frustrated because the accompanist played her piece too slowly. But, all in all, she survived and made it through the song. Oh, and you'll be happy to know that the teasing girls apologized to her during the post-recital cookie and punch time, so all is right with the world.

Here is a link to our usual poor quality video. Someday, I shall purchase a new camera . . .

Corrie's Performance

Kansas City

We arrived home yesterday from a short trip to Kansas City, MO. Joel's parents were there in order to cheer on our ol' alma mater, Biola, at the national basketball tournament. So, we made plans to meet up and spend a few days together. The kids did amazingly well with the driving portion of the trip. As long as we kept their favorite CD's playing, and the snacks coming, they were quite content. Wes had a couple of minor meltdowns when he just couldn't take it anymore, but other than that, the 7 hour drive went smoothly.

Upon arrival in Kansas City, we settled into the Residence Inn, where we shared a nice, spacious suite with Joel's parents. It was perfect for our family. It was perfect for the adults because the children could be enclosed in their own room, and we didn't all have to go to bed at 8 o'clock. It was perfect for the children because of the free breakfast buffet that was included with the room price. I don't know about other kiddos, but mine can (and do) eat a serious quantity of food at breakfast time. Perhaps this is because they are often less than thrilled with my attempt-at-healthy dinner offerings, and therefore hold out until the good stuff comes out at breakfast. In any event, our kids felt that this breakfast buffet was truly nirvana, because they could eat, and eat, and eat cereal and yogurt and oatmeal and fruit until stuffed. Every morning.

The kids also enjoyed our trips to the art museum, the zoo, and the Crayola Cafe, where we celebrated Corrie's 7th birthday. She was thrilled with the special day, and capped it off by attending the Biola basketball game that evening. I was not with her, as I stayed back at the hotel to put the boys to bed, but Joel reported that she loved her first basketball game and cheered with exceeding loudness for Biola throughout the entire game.

The excitement for the adults mostly centered around food. Kansas City is known for it's barbecue, and massive quantities of it were ingested within a three day period. I think I'll eat salads forever from now on. Joel and I also had the rare opportunity to go out on a date, and we had a great time exploring the city a bit.

Unfortunately, the trip was very short, but it was great to get some bonus Grandma and Grandad time.

A sort of strange looking picture taken at the Albert Lea, MN gas station/gift shop/McDonalds. Jack, pull your shirt down, please.Running toward the giant shuttlecocks at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.

Me 'n' Joel

Awwww. Aren't they cute?We left our stroller at home. Not good with a rambunctious two year old in tow. Thank goodness for those stroller rentals at the zoo. Love this kid.Corrie and her Grandad.With Grandma on the big birthday.Wes and Corrie.

And, the big birthday celebration. She did share this with her brothers, after exclaiming, "Oh, I couldn't POSSIBLY manage it all!" Good times.