cousin emily

Jackson and Olivia's cousin Emily from Cape Cod visited us the week after Christmas, and we had a TON of fun! We only get to see her a few times a year, so when we're together, it's really special for all of us. Here are some of the fun things we did while she was here...

We decided to stay home for New Year's Eve, so Emily and I spent some time looking through cookbooks to find recipes that we could make together for our "party". She picked out a couple and I picked out a couple, and we got to work that afternoon. Of course Princess Chef Olivia had to get in on the action, so here's a picture of the two of them together. We had a lot of fun making Tortilla Rollups, Fiesta Black Bean Dip, Marinated Tortellini, and best of all...Homemade Chicken Nuggets and Peanut Butter Pie! The food turned out great, and Emily, Steve and I all made it to midnight to toast with our champagne and sparkling cider. Steve and I also taught Em how to play cribbage, and she went to bed UNDEFEATED. Our cribbage games carried on over the next few days, and it wasn't until her last night here that she finally lost a game (she must have had a great teacher!).

Chef Princess Olivia and Chef Emily, ready to cook.

We had a couple of nice(ish) days while she was here, so we bundled up and went sledding in the backyard. I was more than happy to loan her my snow pants so that I had a good reason to stay off the hill and off the sleds! She was great with the kids, helping them up the hill and then taking care of them on the way down. I'm starting to think that having a 12 year old around would be really nice!

The 3 McMousketeers...ready for some hot chocolate!

On Friday afternoon, we braved the crowds and headed to the Mall of America for some fun. Olivia had received an American Girl Store gift card for Christmas from Emily and her parents, so we wanted her to help pick out the treasure for Bitty Baby Bella. Plus, Emily and I REALLY like to go on rides together. We had lunch first, and then stood in line for about 20 minutes per ride...good to let the stomach settle, I guess! We went on the 2 craziest rides we could find, and I'm proud to say we thoroughly enjoyed both. Steve and Em also took the kids on a couple of rides- this was actually the first time they've gone on any rides there. We've been there many times, but we always just walk around the park and look at everything- they've been perfectly content to do so. I'm guessing my inexpensive trips to Nick Universe are over!

Jackson and Olivia loved sharing their favorite MOA spots with Emily.

As you can probably tell from the pictures, Jackson and Olivia absolutely adore their cousin Emily (as do Steve and I, of course!). We talked about another visit this summer, and we're going to try to convince her mom and dad to come along this time! Thanks for all of your help while you were here, Emily- we had so much fun and we can't wait to do it again!

christmas fun

We had a wonderful Christmas season this year, from our own family celebration to spending time with my family, to having our niece Emily visit. Since we went down to Edgerton on the Monday before Christmas, we decided to celebrate at home the weekend before. The kids are finally old enough to really get into the spirit, so it was fun to start some new traditions with them, as well as continue some of the old ones. Then we were off to my parents to spend some time with my family. Jill, Cody and Drake made the drive from Colorado, and Niki and Rob flew in from Oregon. As always, it was great for all of us to be in the same place at the same time- wish we could do it more often! Here are some highlights from the week...

The whole VanClan...not bad for a timer photo!

A Thomas sweatshirt...cool! Thanks Grandpa & Grandma!

Olivia loves Baby Drake!

Lotsa love between these two...most of the time.

Playing Cootie with Uncle Rob...and loving it!

i don't want to watch sleeping beauty

As you may have noticed, Jackson joined the world of the bespeckled last fall. I was really worried about having a 3 year old with glasses, but to my surprise, he adjusted relatively well. The first week or so was kind of rough, but from then on, he's been really good about keeping them on. Sure, he takes them off now and then, but all in all, he's been great. I think it's helpful that his glasses are "Thomas the Train" blue, and he gets lots of compliments on his cool specs. Plus, I do believe he sees better- what a bonus!

So, anyway...you may be wondering what the title of this post has to do with Jackson and his glasses. Here's a little story about a headstrong 3 year old.

The kids, the dog, and I packed up the car on the Monday before Christmas to head down to my parents for the week (Steve had to work, so he was going to drive down later in the week). Now the way we travel is a bit humorous, in and of itself. We're in the Durango- the back end is so full of suitcases, gifts, food, winter gear, and various other stuff that I can barely see out the rear window. The kids are in their seats with stuff packed on the floor in front of them and on the seat in between. I'm driving (of course), and Cooper is riding shotgun, which is the part that gets some looks, smiles, and laughs as we roll down the highway. He's a good sized dog, so it's like there's a person sitting there. Kinda funny, but that's not what this story is about.

When we first leave home, one of the kids gets to choose the DVD that they will watch for the first leg of the trip. We've got dual screens, but the same DVD plays on both at the same time. Often, it's the squeakiest wheel that gets the first choice, and on that day, it was Jackson. He chose his new Thomas video- big shocker. Olivia is a trooper- she doesn't complain, she just sits and watches the video, and occasionally double checks with me to make sure she gets to choose next. Once Thomas is done, Olivia announces that she would like to watch Sleeping Beauty, which she had just gotten for Christmas. Jackson defiantly announces that he doesn't want to watch Sleeping Beauty...over, and over again. After what feels like an eternity, he gives it up, and I assume he has settled in to watch the new flick. We're tooling down the road- I'm listening to my new Christmas mix CD, the kids are watching their movie, and Coop is wishing I'd agree to a minivan so that he could lay down on the floor instead of having to sit up in the seat.

And then I hear Jackson say "I can't do it", and I'm wondering what it is that he can't do. I adjust my mirror to see him, and I notice that he's got his glasses in his hand. I keep watching as he tries to put them back on his face. And then I look a little closer at the glasses, and realize that they barely resemble glasses anymore. It appears that he has completely destroyed them. I demanded that he give me the glasses immediately, and ask him what he did to them. The rest of the exchange went something like this:

He mumbled "I broke my glasses."

I said "WHAT?"

"I broke my glasses."

"Why?!?"

"I don't want to watch Sleeping Beauty. I want to watch Thomas."

"So you broke your glasses?"

"Yeah...I broke my glasses. I sorry mommy."

So now I've got the glasses in my hand, and they look a bit more like a ball of scrap metal. One bow is bent in half into a 90 degree angle, and the other is hanging limply from it's point of attachment. I did the best I could to straighten everything as I was driving down the road, expecting pieces to snap in two as I did so. But amazingly, everything held together, and once we got to my parents, I did a little more tweaking, and put the reconfigured metal back on Jackson's face with strict instructions to never, ever, EVER take them off unless he's going to give them to me.

His glasses are still in a state of slight disrepair- I haven't had the gumption to go back to the place we got them since this will be the SECOND time in 3 1/2 months that we will need to take advantage of their full replacement warranty.

I guess now I know why they offer you a second pair for $100 when you first get your glasses. Next time.

happy birthday, drake!

My sister Jill and her husband Cody had this precious baby boy on November 5th, which means he hit the ripe old age of two months yesterday! I was lucky enough to head out to Colorado Springs in early December to meet my nephew, and to spend some time with their family (and away from mine!). He's just about the sweetest thing on the planet- I can't even believe that Jackson and Olivia used to be so little. Jill and Cody are FABULOUS parents- they're total naturals, and Baby Drake (as we call him at our house) is very lucky to have landed in their laps. The above picture was taken at Jill & Cody's house after I earned the distinctive honor of being Drake's first babysitter. He and I had a great time hanging out while his mom and dad ran some errands and finished up their Christmas shopping. Thanks Jill and Cody for letting me visit, and for sharing this handsome little guy with me!

grandpa's "pool"

Hot tub...jacuzzi...call it what you want, but the kiddos call it grandpa's "pool", and they absolutely LOVE it! When my mom and dad know that the kids will be visiting, and the weather promises to be at least bearable for the children (and the adults), they drop the temp in the hot tub by a few degrees, and the kids get to go "swimming". It's really more of a splash party than anything, which isn't so bad in September, but much less desirable in November!

These pictures were taken Thanksgiving weekend...as you can see, Steve and my dad drew the short straws and had to chaperone from the water, while my mom and I stayed (mostly) dry and handled camera and towel duty. Thanks for making your house so much fun to visit, Grandpa and Grandma!!

working my way back to the blog

OK...so I've been MIA for a while. We've had a fantastic holiday season, starting with Thanksgiving, and going all the way up through New Year's. It's going to take some time for me to organize my pictures and my thoughts in order to start posting about all the good times. All that thought requires some inspiration...something to get me going. I remembered that couple weeks ago my friend Heather tagged me...the game is to take the sixth folder from the pictures file on your computer and pull up the sixth picture and post it. How hard can that be? So here it is...

This is a picture of the Mini McTwins when they were a few weeks old. My sister Niki was visiting us in Massachusetts, so she did a "photo shoot" with her fancy schmancy camera. This picture turned out a little bit blurry, but we ended up using one very similar (only in black and white) for the birth announcement. It's hard to believe it was 3 1/2 years ago! Thanks for tagging me, Heather! It was fun to look back through my old picture folders, but I must say, I REALLY need to organize them better!

And so to keep the game going, I'll tag Tami and Alicia...play if you want to!