Blauggie

January!

Here is some of the fun we've been having in January:

Trying out new games (this one is called Klask - super fun!):

Volunteering (making sandwiches for homeless people - Sebastian and Lainey are writing the date on the bags):

Eliza and Derek and loading the sandwiches up:

Checking out the new Sky Zone near us:

Speaking at the school's PTA meeting (Sebastian and his Destination Imagination team petitioned the PTA to fund a test structure that they need to build for their competition). Do they look a little nervous? They were (although they really rocked the presentation):

Next week is Sebastian's first 5th grade orchestra concert! Stay tuned (not literally, because it will probably sound very, very awful)!

Holiday fun!

We took lots of pictures of all the fun we had over the holidays! Here is a summary -

We took a tour of the Vikings stadium on 12/23 (my birthday) followed by dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory:

Christmas morning (this is Lainey receiving a watch, which she had been wanting).

I just love this picture because you can see how proud Lainey is of the gift she picked out for her sister.

Not sure what these two are opening...

Skiing for the first time (they liked it! They actually liked it!). The kids did a 1-hour lesson, after which we met up with them and spent some time on the bunny hill perfecting their snowplow. Eliza was a natural and got it figured out quickly. She left the pack and went up and down the bunny hill over and over. The other two caught on after a short amount of time and we all moved on to a "green" hill (with an actual chair lift) when Grampy and Auntie Parker met up with us.

Last run of the day.

Mama and Daddy got to ski/snowboard, too!

More skiing fun

Lainey heading up to the bunny hill. She only tipped over on this ramp thing twice...they only shut it down once.

Making slime at Grandma S's.

Annual bowling outing with the Schauts.

Strike!

Making princess cakes on New Years Day (she did it all by herself!). This was a kit she got from Grampy and Grandma Sue. She made the cake as soon as we got home on the 31st, and decorated it the next morning (which is why she's still in her jammies).

 

This kid...

...is ELEVEN YEARS OLD today!

He loves video games (understatement), coding, messing with his sisters, Imagine Dragons, Magic the Gathering, the shows Nailed It and AFV, Minecraft, writing stories, board games, and Jim Gaffigan (which is why it is very inappropriate that we "put candles in a pie" instead of cake tonight).

This is his last year of elementary school, but his first year of orchestra (he plays the viola) and being on a Destination Imagination team. And while all that is very exciting...I sometimes miss this cute, sweet (like, really sweet) little guy. Let's take a little walk down memory lane:

 

Random fun stuff!

Halloween (2 zombies = low motivation on our part)

Buddies wearing coordinating shirts!

And lastly....earrings!!

And a hyper-vigilant 8-year-old's ear-cleaning schedule!!

Tales of a First Grade Lainey

Lainey's teacher uploads pictures and projects onto an app every few days so we can see some of the fun stuff she gets to do in first grade!

 

Happy birthday to Icy!

This old girl turned 15 yesterday! We celebrated with cake (for the humans).

Officially toothless!

Also - it's officially cold! High of 37 today!

State Fair and Back to School

A little late, but here is a wrap-up of our trip to the State Fair, and the kids' (and my!) first day of school.