Go Pack Go!

No, we're not huge Packers fans by any stretch of the imagination (although the overall mood was pro-Green Bay last evening because Coach McCarthy is a Baker alum and receiver Jordy Nelson is a Kansas boy), but it was a fun game to watch for sure!

Our annual Superbowl family picture. (I searched all over for a jersey that might fit the Super-Vi, and came up empty-handed. I'll try harder next year.)

Watch as our family grows through the years (although I can't seem to find the picture taken in 2007):

While the adults enjoyed all of the game day grub. . .

. . . the kids goofed around upstairs. . .

. . . and downstairs. . .
. . . and then their nearly-naked little bodies invaded the living room!

Poor Brynn -- until Violet grows a little, Brynnie will continue to be one of the boys.

Before the Packers were crowned Superbowl champions, Calvin fell asleep right in the middle of things on the couch. . . with his jeans on backwards. I really don't think he knew he had put his pants back on wrong, crazy kid.

And Oliver was soon to follow on Hooker's lap. I think Hooker may have been soon to follow Oliver, too, if he didn't have to drive home.

It was a fun evening filled with good food, entertaining commercials, and a pretty exciting Superbowl as well!

Monkey-ing Around

After being cooped up inside for literally 3 days, the boys were excited to get out of the house today to play. We had planned on going to Wonderscope with our friend Garrett and his mom, but found out at the last minute that they were closed today (something to do with their heat being broken). Undeterred, we took off to the Great Mall and the boys had a blast playing all morning at Monkey Bizness.

I realize I said "the boys" had a blast, but did I mention parents play free?

Here we go!

Once we were all worn out, we got some lunch and found a few other things to do, like the motorcycles (which incidentally, was out of order, but that certainly didn't keep the boys from jumping on and pretending!)
Garrett's mom was everybody's best friend when she handed out quarters near this colorful display of candy.

They checked out fish and these slimy snakes at the pet shop. . .

. . . and finished up our day driving the firetruck and the firefighter museum.

We had a great day expending some of the energy that had built up during this snowy cold week. We'll hit Wonderscope next time!

Oliver-isms

Oliver is such a funny boy. He has been making me laugh practically since the day he was born, and I have a feeling he will always be the comedic relief in our household. Lately, I decided I should record some of the funny thing he says and does so I don't forget them. These may not be funny to those reading (maybe you had to be there?), but they were funny to me. . .

**When discussing how skinny Oliver seems to be despite the extreme quantities of food he consumes, someone asked him, "Where does it all go, Oliver?", to which he points to his mouth and says, "It goes here. In my mouth."

**In typical little brother fashion, Oliver always tries to do everything Calvin does. Russ asked him the other night, "Is Calvin your hero or something?" Oliver replies, "Calvin isn't a hero! He doesn't have wings or anything!"


**While assisting Oliver after he went to the bathroom, I noticed an almost neon green color in the toilet. I asked him, "Why is your poop so green, Oliver?" Very matter-of-factly, he stated, "That's just the way God made it."

**Last week, I am in a hurry to get out the door when Oliver decides he want a peanut butter treat (peanut butter with powdered sugar makes a tasty no bake cookie). I told him I would make some for the road, and he got upset and said, "No, mommy, FOR ME!"



**When Oliver gets up in the morning or from his nap, I'll often ask him how he slept. While smiling, he quickly closes his eyes and lays his head back down (to show me HOW he slept, of course).

**Lately, he has been using the bathroom in the dark. When I questioned him about this, he said, "I didn't want the sun to get in my eyes."


**This happened a while back, but Oliver went through a stuttering phase. At one point, it was taking him what felt like 30 attempts to get a word started, so I interrupted him and said, "Oliver, spit it out!" He promptly spit on the ground. ("I spit it out, mommy!")

Some others that made me laugh:
**Don't go to sleep; just keep going awake.

**Why is that John Deere sign up there? (referring to a deer sign on the road)

**I don't need to tell Daddy, he was there. (After telling me about a dream he had that Russ was in)

**I don't have any socks or shoes on. I only have my feet on.

**Calvin is being bad and I'm being good AS USUAL.

**The food part of my belly is full, but the drink part isn't.

**I don't need more night-time sleep, I need more morning sleep. (When I told him he needs to go to sleep earlier so that he wakes up easier in the morning)

Violet's Deliveries

Violet has been eagerly waiting for the UPS man at our house the past week, and finally her packages arrived! First to be delivered were her adorable little "PollyWogs" for her shoes.

The only thing as cute as the inserts are the shoes themselves. Violet's personal shopper (aka Grandma Cheryl) found these adorable little Nike's (and it cracks me up because they are called "Nike Advantage Runners" -- we'll try to take it one step at a time; walk first, then run.)

They are literally the length of my index finger, so cute! I'll keep you updated on the progress as she adjusts to wearing her new foot gear.

The second delivery was a lifetime supply of Simply Thick (okay, so probably only about a month's supply, but it sure looks like a ton!).

In case anyone out there has never experienced the joy of using this delicious-looking goo, I thought I'd share what it looks like. Blub, blub, blub as it goes in Violet's chocolate-flavored Carnation Instant Breakfast in whole milk.
Squeeze it all out, daddy! We add 8.5 oz of the stuff to 32 oz milk to get the honey consistency we're aiming for.

And this is what it looks like before it gets vigorously stirred. . . appetizing, isn't it? Thankfully, once it is mixed up well, it just looks like a chocolate shake.

As expensive and un-appetizing as the Simply Thick may be, I'll take it any day over the tube feeding!

Snow Day . . . Again

Snow days are getting to be old hat around here, so what did we do on this snow day??

Well, we baked cookies. . .

. . . and ate cookies.And watched the snow.
We made lots of fun paper crafts. . .


(I told you, we made lots. . . Calvin couldn't get enough!)
And watched it snow.

We played obstacle courses. . .

. . . and built forts.

And did I mention that we watched it snow? Well, we did.

I was so thankful that I didn't have to get out at all today. In fact, I have yet to change out of my pajama pants, which is convenient since it is now almost bedtime again :) (This is a definite perk to the blizzard conditions outside.) My brave husband wasn't so lucky, however. He went to work all day, and then took necessary measures to ensure his family would stay warm tonight should the electricity go out (a real possibility since it went off 10 times over the course of the day. . . and a real problem since we have an all-electric house). Then Uncle Scottie was taking care of us this evening by using his Bobcat to clear our driveway when he got stuck in the road on the way back to his house. Russ went to help pull him out, and got both his truck & Scott's truck also stuck. . . in the road. As icing on the cake, Russ' lip was split open when the truck door came crashing against his face in the bitter wind. And then he had to walk home because the 2 trucks and Bobcat were stranded in the middle of the road. He walked in the door with a bloody lip and 90% frost-bitten feet (he hadn't planned on having to walk in these conditions). As we were preparing for bed, I asked the boys what their FAVORITE part of the day was, eager to hear which of the activities we did today they enjoyed the most. Oliver's answer: "Daddy getting stuck!" Calvin's answer: "Daddy's bloody lip!" Go figure. These boys will always be Daddy's Boys, no doubt about it!

Tomorrow will definitely be another snow day, especially since we have no vehicle here to leave even if we wanted to! Hmmmm, what to do, what to do. . .

Church Game Night

Sunday evening, our church hosted a "Family Game Night" and our kids had a great time playing with all of their friends.

Russ helped finish this 300-piece puzzle in record time. . .

Calvin entered the basketball contest. . .

And Oliver played Elefun for awhile before deciding to be the horsey for Youngson (who is Violet's age, but almost as big as Oliver!).

Where is Violet?? Uh-oh, someone found Mommy's purse! That is not a game, honey. . .

Russ also challenged Degan to a game of Jenga.

And Violet played a little with her buddy Kate (whom Oliver seems to be a bit smitten with).

At the end of the evening, Miss Jeannie drew the raffle tickets and the kiddos gathered eagerly around, waiting for their number to be called.

Tyler & Calvin both got a KU football from the raffle! They were so excited.