Daddy Daughter date

Every year, our school puts on a daddy-daughter dance and Hailey is so lucky b/c she doesn't have to share her dad with anyone. This year, the theme was "Under the Sea". The dads were asked to wear a blue shirt so that they were like the water and the girls could dress how they wished. Hailey opted for the casual skirt look, but curled her hair and even put on some lipstick. She was SO excited.

I love this picture b/c it clearly shows how much a dad will do for his little girl. Hailey wanted to do an "octopus pose" and asked Chris to sit down like this. Between the two of them, they had 8 "legs". Chris thought it was so weird, but went along anyway. She totally has him wrapped around her finger. I'm glad that we have another girl coming up so that there is a little more balance.

Getting ready to head out the door.

Blizzard of 2011

With all of the hoopla surrounding the big storm coming to Chicago, I wasn't sure that I actually believed that it would materialize like they said. However, it started to snow on Tuesday afternoon and didn't stop until Wednesday. Overall, it dumped about 21" (although it is hard to tell b/c the wind was HOWLING and created such huge snow drifts). On Tuesday night, I was praying that we wouldn't lose our power as I saw huge flakes coming down, heard the wind roaring through the chimney and experienced lightening and thunder during a snow storm. The whole thing was a little overwhelming. Needless to say, school was cancelled and I've spent a good portion of the day shoveling while the kids played (1/2 of the snow came from the plow that was kind enough to keep shoveling it back on our driveway once I was done shoveling).

Grant "sledding" on his tummy on one of the hills of snow by our driveway. Later on Wednesday, the sun came out and it was beautiful.

Carter's boots sticking out of his fort that he built. He got himself all the way in and is trying to convince me to let him sleep out there tonight (not a chance).

And what snack would you choose while playing outside in the snow? Of course...a popsicle.

Carter emerging from his fort.

Andrew outside with me this morning at 6:30. We were digging out for 2 1/2 hours all the while thinking - "it is still snowing-we're going to be back out here again in an hour!!"

This is on Tuesday when the storm started. They each put on 10 pairs of socks to keep their feet warm and had a blast jumping while the snow came down and the wind whipped them around. Overall the storm was a lot of fun, although I'm a little miffed that school is cancelled again tomorrow. Isn't 1 day enough???

Trampoline

Every year for Christmas, my parents send us money and we've always tried to use it to buy something fun for the family that we wouldn't buy otherwise. This year, we bought the trampoline that our kids have been requesting for the past several years. We just put it up and I was dubious as to how much use it would get at the end of January in Chicago. IT IS FREEZING, but they are still jumping. Crazy kids.

They decided to start putting gloves on their feet to try to keep them warm while they jump.

In case you were wondering, Carter IS only wearing a sweatshirt and not a coat. He is anti-coat right now, but I'm a little perplexed how he manages to stay outside for so long (and he is also the only one without gloves on his feet).

T-shirt quilt

Ever since Chris' mom made him a quilt out of his t-shirts, Carter has been saving his and asking me to make one for him. I've said that I would-I figured when he was 30 I could do it. However, a woman in our ward kick started my project. I was amazed that Carter already had 30 t-shirts that he had saved, so I made him the quilt (didn't that just sound like I whipped it out? It took a lot longer than that). I must say, I am not a sewer or a quilter so this was a big project for me. I just finished and my favorite part is that my 10 year old LOVES it, in spite of it's many flaws. That is success!

The most coveted spot

In the midst of winter, my children's favorite spot is a heating vent in our kitchen. Every time the furnace turns on, someone runs over to it to sit on it to get warm. None of the other vents is as good as this one, so sometimes we have territory wars. Luckily, this morning Hailey and Grant decided to share the vent and both brought their cereal over to eat while getting warm. Keep in mind that the vent is only 12 inches long. Cute kids.

Legoland

On Friday, we had the day off of school and decided to go check out Legoland. We've never been, so it was a new experience and worth the visit. The Birds came with us and it was definitely more fun with friends. I think it was also a worthwhile venture seeing as how my kids have been building with Legos ever since we got home. Double benefit!

Huge spider-gross.

The jungle area had tons of cool animals and even a full size Indiana Jones.

Alyssa was even in on the fun.

These two sweet girls look a little intimidating in this picture. They can sure hold their own.

This was the first exhibit, and probably my favorite. It was the city of Chicago all made out of Legos. They had the Sears (aka Willis) Tower, Buckingham fountain, the Art Institute, Wrigley building, Navy Pier, and tons of other cool buildings and people.

UNBELIEVABLE!!

I went into Carter's room to vacuum today and stumbled upon this mess. I've moved his bed so that I could capture all of the trash that he's been stashing back there. Apparently, he's been eating in bed while he reads and throwing his trash down behind his bed so that I wouldn't know about his late night eating. BUSTED. I can't wait until he comes home from school.