Christmas 2009

Lots of snow made a beautiful Christmas.  Jack, Ri, and Mads are sledding with their new friends/family Bobbie and Maggie.

Max, cold and disheartened.  His famous words for the year 2009 are "Gee" (yes), "Mo" (no), "Cock this." (cock this) and finally his triumphant screech of "Red dot! Red Dot!" .  Max has learned to fire a wide range of weapons, from Nerf Star Wars rifles to Nerf machine guns.  His only problem is that he can't cock them.  So he spends ALL day running after me screaming 'Cock this!'.  Even the shower does not afford me a break.  It is just very very cold when the door flies open after every shot.

Mads and Max on Christmas morning.

After 10 years of harboring thoughts of never giving in to technology......I caved.....er Santa caved.

Gotta keep that handsome cropped head nice and toasty.

Maddy wrapped gifts for me and her brothers and sister and made us cards.  All of our gifts were things she just knew we loved.....hand picked from her own valuables.  This is my gift.  It is a box STUFFED with Carebears and a blanket for them.

How can you love anything more than that? 

Mads and Santa

Mads spent the day with Superman when he helped with Spencer's Wishes.

She was able to ride in the Rhino with Santa and see the Jazz Bear.

Mads caught a blanket from the bear and was showered with Jazz confetti.

While Mads had Santa all to herself, she was able to talk his ear off.  When she was telling us about it, Ri said, "Madi can make friends anywhere."  Mads found out that there are in fact 9 reindeer because Rudolph is real.  She also wore Santa's magic glasses.........guess what she saw?  "I saw how much my dad loves me."  I asked her if I put them on what I would see.  She said, "You would see how much I love you."  What a baby doll.      Merry Christmas!

Maddy's 5th Birthday

Well, like anything else you don't want to happen.........it happened anyway.  Piglet turned 5 even when I threatened to ground her.  She wanted to have a princess tea party with a few of the neighborhood princesses. 

Mads had finger foods, cupcakes, and Sprite on her real tea set.

Su[per Max and Princess Madison pre party.

Snuggin' for pics.

The Princess and her court.......and all of her princess loot.

My personally favored gift that she received was the Hannah Montana hair glitter.  I can never thank that mother enough for the joy brought into our home with that fantastic gift.

Who Would You Like To Meet?

The other night we were going home after picking the kids up from Goose's........it was datenight.  We were asking the kids, "If you could meet anyone, who would you like to meet?".    Jack immediately piped up and hollered "Old MacDonald!"   We laughed our heads off.  Ri wants to meet Tony Hawk (skate boarder) and Mads wants to meet the Jonas Brothers (this makes me cringe).  Max just said yeah to everyone elses choices.
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Today Mads asked me, "Mom what if you were a 21 year old midget?"   I guess that is something to ponder :)

Ri's Summer Softball

Riley was asked to play with a traveling girl's softball team during the summer.  We didn't want to dedicate the whole summer to one child.......no matter how much we love her so we only let her play one game.  We had SO much fun and so did she.

Tough girls are the bomb!  This was good experience and we hope Ri will be able to fill in for the team next summer.

You Crack Me Up

Jack and Mads are playing farm.  Jack has tied Mads up to a desk with a jump rope.  She is the old dying cow he has to put down.
Mads:  Mooooooo  Mah,     Moooo (writhing in old cow agony)
Jack:  MADDY........why are you covering your vitals?
Mom: Jack what are you doing to her?
Jack:  She's an old cow mom.  I have to put her down but she keeps covering her vitals and I can't get a good shot.

At lunch.....
Mads:  Jack do you know why they call oranges oranges?
Jack:  Why?
Mads:  Because they are oran and ges!

Scah eeee!

Max quickly learned at his first trip to the store after the Halloween section was put out.......it's SCAH EEE!

Here are Superman and I right before the Harvest Ball.  The kids don't take great pictures.  They probably learned that from me. Maimy can describe that better than I can.

Our annual Halloween dinner.  Swamp slime soup with toad stools, poison apples, troll eyes, zombie fingers, bits n' pieces, and witches brew.  Superman made a dry ice b*o*m*b with the left over dry ice.  Nothing like teaching destruction at FHE.

Riley's entry for the school pumpking contest.  The coolest baseball.  It turned out so well.

Jack's ninja turtle pumpkin/watermellon.  Our pumpkins were too cold to use and every store in town had run out!  That's what you get when you procrastinate.

Helper library Halloween party.  Mads is being wrapped up like a mummy for her team.  Go Tenna and Shelby!

Ri donning her mummy garb.Jack has been rather agreeable to social events

because he finally has a great little buddy to take along.  This was the freaking longest game of musical chairs I have ever had to witness.  Thankfully Riley kicked bootay and won a ticket to the Haunted Parkway and Hayride.  We went to that last night.  It was also put on by the Helper Library as a fundraiser for more reading programs.  We had so much fun being pulled by a horse drawn wagon down Main Street and then walking the Haunted Parkway by the edge of the river.  We heard ghost stories around firepits while the river flowed in the background.  The parkway was also a spook alley.  I took the camera but was so involved that I never took a picture!

P.S.  Blogger.......whatever you did........you did something terribly wrong.  I HATE the new post layout.