Harry Potter Party, etc.

Kathleen did a report on Cleopatra and got to dress up and do a "live museum".  She was so cute.

 The kids all outgrew their old bikes, so it was time to pass them down again.  Unfortunately, Kathleen's bike was pink.  So we decided to paint it black and give it to Brandon.  He was so excited about the whole thing and really had a ton of fun with the project.

 Kathleen went on a field trip to the "Birds of Prey".  I got to go with her.  It was super fun.

 Kathleen lost another tooth.

 Ryan is on the other side of the world.  So the kids liked to send him pictures.  Here is one that they posed for to send to Daddy.

 Since dad was gone we decided to have a Harry Potter party.  I don't know why we decided this, but we had fun doing it.

 We watched the movie too.

 More of Kathleen's Cleopatra project:

 We had our annual St.Patrick's Day green dinner.

 When dad is gone, mom goes a little crazy with the meals.

 Pumpkin pasties for the Harry Potter party (okay, so these pictures are in total random order.  Sorry).

 Corned beef & cabbage grilled sandwiches (in honor of Ron, who ate corned beef sandwiches on the train to Hogwarts).

 We made homemade wands.  The kids LOVED it.

Boot Scootin' Boogie

Ryan and I got to teach a line dance.  We decided on the Boot Scootin' Boogie.  It was super fun.  So we got all dressed up for the event.  You may be asking your self right now, "Do Ryan and Angela know how to line dance?  And do they know the Boot Scootin' Boogie?"  The answer is No!  No, they do not!  Luckily for us, we know how to use you-tube.  Remember the "Thriller"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft7nlHTWLRY&feature=player_embedded 

Enjoy the show!

Happy Valentines?

So I say "Happy Valentine's?" because I should have updated with this post from Valentine's day.  But I guess I am a little behind.  But here is Kathleen with some of her friends at her class party.

 Cody with his new little "girlfriend".  He informed us that she was his girlfriend the week before Valentine's day, but he had already made her a valentine.  He dug through his valentines to make sure hers was really good now that she was his girlfriend.

 Brandon had a fun party too.  It was fun to get to be at all of their parties this year.

 Here are the kids cute valentines they made.

 Cody loves his Aunt Lissa and will ask to visit her every chance he gets.  She was babysitting him one day and when I came to pick him up, they were playing video games together.  It was so cute.

 My family came to visit and we took them to Tucanos.  Brandon LOVED the chicken hearts.  I told him if he wanted them that he had to ask the waiter.  So he actually spoke to the waiter.  It was super cute to see him talk for a change.

 My dad bought a karaoke machine and we had a blast singing for each other.

 We played the Disney version of Apples to Apples.

 After they went home, we took the kids ice skating.  They LOVED it.

 Cody had fun with his little walker he would slide around with and do spins and circles and fall down for fun.

 Brandon and Cody played light sabers/harry potter wands with these pencils the other day for over a half an hour.  Clearly I spend too much money on toys for them.  Next Christmas they are getting pencils.

 Cody does this every day after school, and never shuts the door.  It cracks me up.  So I had to document it.

 Ryan and I went on a date and played "The Amazing Race."  Ryan didn't really have any fun...at all.  But I still thought it was a great time.

 Alyssa and Clayton baby-sat for us while we were on the date.  They always do fun things from Pinterest with the kids when they baby-sit.  This time it was rocket packs.

Shout Out to Kathleen!

Congratulations to Kathleen!!  She wrote a book about diversity for the PTA reflections contest at her school and won.  We just found out that she also won for the whole region.  Way-to-go Kathleen!  Now on to State.  Wish her luck.  She is pretty excited.

What We've Been Up To

I had fun with Cody in his class making jewelry with licorice and Fruit Loops.  The kids loved pulling apart the licorice.

 Brandon received a "Character in Action" award for Integrity at school.

 Brandon with his teacher:

 Brandon plays tether ball at recess every day.

 The PTA purchased new playground equipment for the school that was installed yesterday.  The kids had a ton of fun testing it out.

 We had a super fun FHE on eating healthy.  I bought a bunch of different fruits and vegetables and we tried them raw, cooked, and with dips to see how the kids like them.

 The kids also had a blast making valentines and mailboxes this week.

 Kathleen was really excited about this hairstyle I gave her.  Usually she won't let me touch her hair.  I was just excited that she let me scrub it with shampoo first.

 The finished products:

Awesome Brandon Basketball

Brandon is our little star basketball player.  At his game yesterday he made 5 baskets!!!  That's right, 5 baskets!!!  AMAZING!  Especially for such a little guy.  It is so much fun to watch him as I shout, "Oh yeah!  That's my kid!"

One Billion Seconds and a New Car

Alyssa (my sister) and her husband, Clayton, are living in town for the semester while he does an internship.  It has been super fun having them here.  The best part was when they first arrived.  They got us this awesome helicopter for Christmas that the kids LOVE!

 I turned 1 billion seconds old on Friday the 13th.  So Ryan made me a DELICIOUS fruit pizza to celebrate.

 Some friends gave me a countdown jar to the next billion (there are no where near a billion grains of sand in that jar).

 Ryan playing basketball (it is so hot):

 The kids made prayer rocks to help them remember to say their prayers.

 We finally had a snow day.  After I got Cody all ready, it was too much work to sit up for him so he just laid there.  It reminded me of the Christmas Story, so I had to get a picture of it.

 It took me 2 hours to shovel the whole driveway.  But it was fun to be in the snow.

 Aunt Lissa and Uncle Clayton are the "BEST BABY-SITTERS EVER".  At least that is what my kids said after we left them for the night.  They played lasers in the hall with yarn and tape.  The kids loved it so much that they keep setting them up in different halls in the house.

 Oh, and we got a new car.  It is a GMC Acadia.  I love it!  And so do the kids.  We are trying to find a new name for it.  So far the best names in the running are "Batmobile" and "Gus".

 The kids love the new car so much that they don't fight when they are in it.  How much longer can that last?

 Kathleen is sad to say goodbye to the minivan.  Drama!

 Brandon had his first basketball game on Saturday.  We had terrible seats and sat by the most rude lady who kept blocking our view.  But Brandon was awesome and scored three baskets.  He is so fun to watch. But here is my lame picture of him.

 He was sooooo cute trying to block his man.