Chuck E. Cheez-It

For Valentine's Day, Mama Cheryl treated the kids to a day at Chuck E. Cheese's (or as Calvin calls it "Chuck E. Cheez-It"). Here, the kids take their turns in front of the blue screen so they can be on TV!

I don't think they fully understand "stage presence" just yet.
Then Jackson & Calvin go to say "Hi" to Chuck E.

I'm not sure how impressed Calvin was, but at least he wasn't scared of the big mouse like he was last time we were there.

Oliver may have been a bit overdue for his nap (or at least that's the excuse I'm offering), as he was NOT interested in doing much of anything.

How pathetic is that face?!? This is supposed to be fun, Oliver! Have fun already, boy!
Calvin thought he could ride anything in the place, and I think he tried.

His favorite, by far, was the horse racing ride. I think he rode it 6 times. He was so intent on what he was doing that he wouldn't even look at me to take the picture. We may have a future jockey on our hands (if he stops growing now.)

With all of Calvin's tokens, I think he ended up with 11 tickets total (and that was with a few donations from Sydney & Jackson). He was thrilled, though, because that meant he had enough for a tootsie-pop. Oh, the little things!

Top O' the Muffin to You

To my dismay this morning, I discovered that I have a "muffin-elitist" on my hands. Calvin just kept asking for more muffins, and I couldn't believe that he was eating them that fast. So I followed him into the living room, where I saw his plate of half-eaten muffins. Yes, Calvin has decided that the muffin tops are really the only part worth eating! This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine wants to open the muffin shop and only sell the tops. She tries to donate the bottoms to a soup kitchen, and they are disgusted, saying, "We don't want your muffin bottoms!" So in this situation, Oliver is the "soup kitchen" but he is more than happy to eat Calvin's discards.

In this picture, Calvin is making sure that Oliver doesn't get any of the "whole" muffins. . .

Here's the evidence that he is indeed the culprit. . .
Just about have the top eaten. . .

Not so fast, Oliver! You stick to the bottoms!

Calvin's finished plate.

Next thing you know, we're going to have to feed him caviar and truffles. What a sophisticated palate he has!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Ruth!

We celebrated my Grandma Ruth's birthday last night with all of the Deterding's. Aunt Cheryl offered to host at her house on Lake Lotawana, and it was a perfect evening! As soon as we got there, the kids wanted to go see the lake, so off we went.
There probably ended up being about 20 of us taking over the road as we walked to the water.

The kids were so excited! Not often do you get to hang out at the lake in February!

Russ, Calvin, Sydney, & Jackson checking out the view.

Tyler wanting to get a closer look, too.

Jackson & Sydney are so good at keeping Oliver entertained! The swing game is always a hit.

Next we walked to Cheryl & Rick's dock, where immediately all of the kids wanted to walk up to the top deck, of course.

This picture is a little deceiving because Russ & Calvin are on the top deck, probably 10 feet above of the water. Even with the beautiful weather we've had the past few days, the water still had plenty of ice in it.

When we got back to the house, it was time for a yummy dinner of lasagna & stuffed shells.

Because of the gorgeous weather, many of us were able to eat and socialize outside--who'd have thought, in February??

Aunt Cheryl, Daniel, and Miss Brynn hanging out after dinner.

Grandma Ruth, the Birthday girl, hanging out watching Missouri basketball with the guys!

I'm so glad we're able to get together with our "big" family on special occasions like this!

Old Friend with New Baby

I had a great time attending a baby shower this weekend for my friend Amy, who I've known since preschool, but haven't been able to see much since she moved to Oklahoma 6 years ago.
It was a darling shower, with a "movie star" theme--all sorts of bling for an upcoming star!

Of course, I was thrilled to see Amy, but I was also so excited to meet her baby girl! Nessa was born December 21, and is absolutely precious!

I got my moment of fame with the guest of honor in the director's chair!
And there's the beautiful mommy with her new little miracle!

Congratulations, Amy! It was great to see you and Nessa!

My Other Favorite

So I did a post last week on "one of my two favorite subjects" so it's only fair that I post on the other (Calvin was VERY concerned that he wasn't in any of those pictures!). It was such a beautiful day today that I took my camera outside while the boys were playing. I think you'll agree that I caught some "typical" Calvin faces in these shots. One of his sweeter expressions. . .

Here's some of that attitude we're familiar with. . .

And then he decides to dance a bit. . .A couple of serious looks. . .

And finally some fun on the swings!

Swings always bring out the best smiles!

Foodball Party (er, I mean Football Party)

We had a Superbowl Party at our house last night and had a fun time with friends and family. There was WAY too much food there, and my self-control was in another time zone, I think. I woke up this morning feeling about 10 pounds heavier than yesterday morning. . . Russ and I always break out our football jerseys for the occasion: he wears his Warren Moon jersey from the mid-nineties and I wear his high school jersey (also, coincidentally, from the mid-nineties). We found a KU football jersey for Calvin to wear this year, a little big, but I thought he looked adorable in it. (Oliver was odd-man out, although his sweatshirt did have a football on it, at least.)
Joy joined in the spirit this year and dug out one of Scott's old high school jerseys. Russ' jersey was in a lot better shape than Scott's; I'm not sure if that is supposed to tell us something about how they played or not.

Did I say she dug out ONE of Scott's old jerseys? Let me correct myself, she dug out TWO! Sydney, also, got to get in the spirit.

Calvin & Jackson both in their blue jerseys.

Let the food begin!

And the drinks! Calvin was so excited to drink pop! We always tell him he can only have pop when there are parties, so he LOVES parties.

Then it was time to get on the 3-D glasses for the fabulous commercial at the end of the first half :)

All the kids are getting ready, although Brynn & Oliver don't really understand what's so cool about these paper glasses that keep falling off.

The things we'll do to be entertained. . .

I think the kids had as much fun as the adults shooting baskets and playing games while we watched "the game."

Although the ending of the game wasn't what I was hoping for, it was certainly exciting and a great excuse to get together!