Good Morning!

Someone was having just a little to much fun with their breakfast! :)

Caution:Kids in Charge

With 3 days off of school last week we had a few days to play.  Friday, Amy and I decided we'd let the kids plan the day (some other friends of ours had done this and it sounded like a potentially great idea)  :)  When we first told the kids what we were doing,  6 out of the 8 chose going to the "Jump Fun Zone", one chose a trip to Treasury of Memories for some crafting supplies and another chose a trip to Target.  Since Ella had school until noon we had to stay around home until she was finished.   The thought of sitting at the Jump Fun Zone for a couple hours didn't appeal to me.  (see how good I am at letting my kids pick what they want!)  We then decided to just make it a day where everyone chose something different and told them little to no money could be spent.  It ended up being so much fun and way more creative(these are 2 "pictures" I'm using for my Project 365...you can check it out HERE!  You can also see what else we did with our days off.)  Here's what they chose

1. Tyler wanted to go for a bike ride.

2. Holly wanted to play Rock Band and have Hot Chocolate.

3.  Jake wanted to play football with everyone.

4.  Levi wanted to play Carcassonne. (kind of like Settlers of Catan for kids)

Lunch stop at the new Sonic...yummy!

5.  Ella wanted to go to Hovander.

6.  Joey wanted to play some basketball.

7.  Lucas wanted to play a couple rounds of Duck-Duck-Goose and Telephone.

8.  Mia wanted to go swimming.

9.  We crashed from exhaustion! :)  Thanks, guys, it was a great day!

Hey, Best Buddy!

Thanks for having us over today!  We had a great time!!  :)

Remember me!

That's what Mia and Ellie's snowboard instructor told them to do after they win their medals in the Olympics for snowboarding.  :)  It was the girls first time snowboarding and their wise Dads took advantage of the 1 1/2 hr lesson before taking them on the mountain themselves. 

 It was a great way for the 4 of them to spend their Saturday.

But they couldn't be the only ones having all the fun.  The rest of us went and visited Baby Ava, Emma, Lily and Aunt Mandy.  They're all doing great!

Baby Ava

Here is the newest addition to the VH clan.  She is just as cute as can be.  Unfortunately her first 24 hours of life have been more eventful than her parents cared to experience but things are settling down and she's doing great!  Those first several hours included an elevated heart rate that required a helicopter ride to Seattle and 2 nights at Children's Hospital.  But she is now on her way home and ready to begin enjoying life with her Mom and Dad and Sisters.  Congrats, you guys!  We are so grateful you will all soon be home together as a family of 5!

Holdin' On

This is a post especially for Gary and Michelle if you're checking in at all. :)

Holly's  basketball team played Libby's last night.  Their personalities definitely shone through!  First of all, the coach from each team gives each kid a wrist band matching another player on the other team to be matched up against.  Holly and Libby were not given matching wristbands so what do you think they did?  Yes, they switched them so they'd match!  Libby has a little bit of a competative spirit to her and Holly, well, Holly is out there for mostly social reasons (I wonder where she gets that?)   So as Libby is busy trying to get open to get the ball, Holly is doing all she can to stop it.  As you can tell by the (very bad) photos, they don't call much in this league!

Guess who called today?

ALYSSA!!!!!!!

She moved about 5 weeks ago to nanny for a family with newborn triplet girls...how lucky are they to have her!  Everyone was so excited to talk to her.  Thanks for calling, Sissa!  We all miss you but know you are doing what you do best!

What do you do with a beautiful Sunday afternoon?

You head to the mountains and go sledding!!!  NOT watch the Daytona 500!  (thanks, honey, for not even mentioning that)

Thanks, Likkels, for coming with us!  We had such a great time and even came home and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows to top off the day.   There are seriously so many pictures, you may just have to be my friend on Facebook so you can see more! :)

And, just wanted to wish Aunt Joan a happy birthday (yesterday!)  She had yummy cupcakes waiting to be eaten and Mia even got in a couple rounds of TROUBLE with her.  

"I knew it was going to be a good day"

That's what our pediatrician said to us after we finished up the boys 5 year well checks.   She's just the greatest!   

I have never taken my camera to the doctors office or Costco before but since I'm doing Project 365 (taking a picture a day for a year) I thought I'd pack it along.  (You can see my progress on my own album by clicking HERE.)  I was so glad I did!

She lined them all up and was determined to find their differences.

And then was so great to pose for a picture with them. 

They only needed 1 shot today but they thought it would be great fun to hide from the nurse.  They thought they were hilarious!

Then it was off to Target and Costco.  I can't even tell you how many times people asked  "Aren't you glad you didn't have 8 of them at once?"  To which I replied, "Yes, I'm quite content with the 5  I already have."  :P
Doesn't everyone talk on their cell phones in Costco? 

 Can't leave Costco without their hot dogs for lunch!

And a couple stats for anyone who cares.  It's the 1st time ever they've been further than a pound apart.   Still within an inch in height though.  Joey is 41.2 lbs, 42.5 inches,  Lucas is 40.4 lbs, 42.5 inches, Tyler is 39 lbs, 42 inches.  

Next adventure

We're all feeling better this week and everyone one went to school on all the days they were supposed to,  hurray!  

Remember these guys?  Well, they've been resting a while.  They did take a trip to MI for Christmas but can you guess where they are now?  

The Original Holly with Flat Holly.

They're in Scotland!  Thanks, Uncle Dave, for the update on their trip and for fitting them in your backpack!  Can't wait to see where they will visit next on your adventure.  

Another day in paradise

This morning there were 7 of us home...ALL morning...and there has been no snow or flooding!  (remember, it's Friday, and there is only supposed to be 4 of us home)  Here's a photo of last nights arsenal to get us through the night.  (and yes, the daffodils count, I needed something for myself, right?) :)Needless to say, it didn't do the trick.  Tonight, we're better equipped after a quick trip to the pediatrician and the pharmacy.  Ear infections, pink eye, fevers and nasty coughs should all be dying down once the good stuff kicks in.  

Good Night!

Our mobile food bank

Tough times call for all of us to do our part.But if you're looking to do a little investing Kleenex, Tylenol and Motrin sales are definitely up. Lots of fevers, coughing and sniffling going on over here right now. Mia and Eric are trying to decide if they should move out for a while to avoid it.

In more exciting news, we've got two more kids on just 2 wheels! Tyler and Joey took off this weekend and aren't lookin' back.

Our weekend

We had a fun little weekend get-away.  

Leaving this behind

and enjoying THIS for a few days!

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Here's to many, many more years of bliss!  

Back to "normal"

Whatever normal is, it's back!  The kids went back to school ON TIME, although some of us were a little nervous that the rain/snow the night before would postpone it.  

They've been occupying themselves nicely from time to time.  Mia and Holly are usually the owners and the boys are their pet dogs! Here, Holly is a dog, too, and they're practicing for an upcoming "Dog Show".  They get all my scarfs and tie them together and lead/drag each other around the house.  The picture doesn't do the scene justice but I was already in trouble for taking this one! :)
Who do you think got a hair cut?
We celebrated Uncle Dave's birthday over the weekend, too.  Great fun and he got a fun box from MI with goodies galore! 
Sorry, Dave, couldn't resist! :P

Happy New Year!

Yes...we were ALL still awake to ring in the New Year!  All 7 of us!!! I

 do think Eric was the closest of all of us to falling asleep ahead of time. 

Happy New Year, everyone!