Disney Days

One of the biggest perks about both Mike and I working on college campuses is the extended break between Christmas and New Years. We took full advantage of the extra shared vacation time and headed to Walt Disney World. Happiest Place on Earth.

She Stole The Show

Music is a big part of the curriculum at Olivia's school.  The music teacher put together an amazing music video featuring the talents and skills of all the students but it's a large file and I'm not sure how to share it here.

We may be a little biased but we think she stole the show.  About 10 seconds into the performance Olivia looked up, realized she had an audience and there was no turning back. 

Art on display

I love that the fridge is covered with artwork that the kids bring home from school. I hoard their precious projects. Seriously, there is a huge plastic under-the-bed storage box full of their projects under our bed. I can't bring myself to get rid of the stuff.

This beauty of a project came home with Olivia from school. I can't even begin to describe how much I love it! You can see how they are building on her existing skills to reach her new learning objectives. Olivia loves it too and I know she is proud to see her work on display!

Cheesy School Christmas Photo

The give-me-a-big-smile-then-you-can-go-back-to-playing-with-your-friends Cheesy school photo. I love it! And we are all really enjoying this Christmas season with Peter it's such a magical time of year. Seeing it through His eyes makes me love this time of year even more!

Monday on the Mend

Olivia's had a cold over the weekend so we laid pretty low. Despite daily power naps with Mommy she had such a nasty cough that she wasn't able to sleep well and didn't get much sleep. Olivia woke up giggling VERY early Monday morning but then this happened on the way to school...at least she arrived at school well rested. Glad she's on the mend!

It's not Really Christmas Until…

You're fully decorated Christmas tree falls over.

My Sweet Girl

Olivia is home sick from school today. I'm loving the extra cuddle time with her! I'n so happy that I'm able to work from home today so I can be here with Olivia. Love my sweet girl.

Yellow stripe

Peter is the very proud recipient of a yellow stripe karate belt. So proud of my little man!

Mistletoes

Love that I came home to find some of Olivia's newest artwork on display on our fridge. Love that we were blessed with an amazing Nanny that enjoys doing art projects with Olivia. Love those sweet Mistletoes!

Chicago

I travel about once a month for work. I enjoy it and for the most part I am able to schedule my trips when I know Mike will be home to watch the kids. If I had to pick my favorite of all the places in the US I've traveled to over the last year.....Chicago wins, hands down. It is clean, I love the public transportation, I feel safe, great shopping, love the river, love the lake, , tons to do. I should mention I've been to Chicago in July and mid-November so it wasn't exactly winter. I'm not sure if feel the same way come February.

Singing With Santa

The Alumni Association hosts the annual Singing With Santa event each December. Of all the events we do, Singing With Santa is one of my favorites. Mike was able to bring the kids to campus, so even though I'm working, we are still able to enjoy the event as a family. Santa and Mrs. Clause are there. There is cookie decorating and a puppet show. Santa takes a turn at the piano and leads a group sing-along. Peter forgot to tell Santa what he wanted so I promised we would write him a letter. I wish we had more photos of Livey but by the end of the event she was covered in Christmas cookies and frosting. We did manage to get a family photo with Santa. Merry Christmas!

30 days 30 posts

Over the last 10 months updating our little family blog slipped further and further down on the "to do" list. I haven't posted in months. Looking back I am so sad that I didn't make the time to post. I love that I'm able to take a trip down memory lane when I look at our blog and I'm sad that I can't look back over what has happened over the last year or so. I'm challenging myself to post every day for the next 30 days. The holidays are such a magical time, I'm hoping that my goal of posting will help me to. capture some of the special memories we are making.
So here's to 30 days....1 down 29 more to go...

Stationery card

Surrounded With Love Holiday Card

Turn family photos into holiday cards at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Sleeping?

This is what I found when I went into Peter's room...guess what movie he watched this weekend:)

First Days

If you had a nickel...

"If you had had a nickel for every nickel that he has, you would have a lot of nickels.”
Albert Einstein

How did I miss the redesign of the nickel? I remember the quarter redesign with the stated being such a big deal. How did this one slip past me? I think I saw a new penny the other day, I'll have to be on the look out for that.

Fabulous Fourth

It was very strange not to have a 4 day weekend for the 4th of July, it didn't help that the 4th fell on a Wednesday.  We enjoyed some fun family activities and had a blast catching up with each other.

Olivia and I at the National World War II Museum.  Olivia loves the way you can switch the camera view on my phone and she loves to look at herself on the screen.  I love that it makes for some adorable pictures of her!

Can you believer how big this handsome boy is?

Olivia was mesmerized by the interactive map on the floor depicting the south pacific front.  I can't believe she stood still for such a long time!

Seriously how cute is he!

They were both mesmerized by the display of US Naval fleet.

Typical of most attempts of a family photo...

We can't even get 3 of us, let alone all 4 of us to look at the camera.

Peter got a special toy at the gift shop.  He's slept with it nightly.  It's hard not to spoil him when something so simple makes him so happy! 

After a low-key afternoon at home we headed downtown to watch the fireworks.  I convinced Mike to take us to a parking garage downtown along the Mississippi River so we could enjoy the show.

The parking lot was almost deserted and the kids had plenty of room to burn off some energy.

Sparklers in a parking garage may be a fire hazard, I'll have to check on that....

We had a great view!

What a show!

It was well worth the $4 we paid to park in the garage for an hour.  We were safe and comfortable and we avoided the crowd!