Playroom Project

Eric and I decided to do some house projects while he has these two weeks off over the holidays. We had found this rip and stick wall paper on clearance at Lowes and thought it would be a fun color for the kids' playroom. We began yesterday around 11:30 and finished up about 11:30 last night. It was more work than we had anticipated-- as always! We also had a challenge at the end-- although we had bought plenty of the product, I opened the last roll with us just having 1/4 of our last wall to do and a little above the door and we were shocked to find that there was NO GLUE on the back! Since we bought it on clearance over a month ago we thought we really going to have a problem. I suggested we use wallpaper paste to finish up the remaining and Eric wanted to call around and try and find some more of it somewhere. Since it was 10:30 pm we would have to finish the next day no matter what. Then I had a thought-- what if some of that last roll had some glue on it. We rolled it all out and Eric was able to detect that a small portion of the roll did indeed have some of the glue on. It was just enough to finish our room! Thank goodness! We had a piece of wall paper left smaller than a 8X11 piece of paper but it was what we needed. I'll post more photos of the room after we hang curtains and decorate a bit.

Here is Riley in his new big boy bed. Eric got him a log bed to go with our fishing/camping theme that we have in his room. Tonight will be his first night, wish us luck!

The Jeches Visit

Our good friends (Laura, Randy, Coy, Brock and Carter) came to visit us last night. The kids had fun with a spontaneous game of Ring around the Rosie and after dinner we made S'mores for dessert with our S'mores maker that we got for Christmas (5 years ago, hee, hee).

This morning, the boys and Brooke went sledding. Laura and I hightailed it to Target to check out the after Christmas specials. Here are Riley and Carter in the snow.

Riley and Coy get ready to head down the hill at Lakeshore Park.

Here is the whole gang ready for action!

Snow, snow and more snow

My hometown of Little Chute has got pounded with snow already this year. Before we left this morning we had to get some photos because it really is unbelievable. My dad has been a snow blowing fool! Good thing he is retired now and has the time to do it. Here are Eric and the kids in front of my parents house and then Brooke and Riley in front of the bank next to the driveway. They may lose a little snow in the next couple days with warmer temps expected but they are also due to get more SNOW on Wednesday and Thursday! Crazy!

Christmas Day

Christmas Day was relaxing and casual. The kids opened their gifts from Santa in the morning and Brad, Katie, Trent, and Gavin came over for dinner. We drank wine and had beef tenderloin for dinner. My mom made green beans wrapped in bacon with a sauce on that was heavenly. Eric doesn't even like green beans and he ate at least 3 helpings. The kids had a less fancy meal of chicken nuggets, etc and here they are enjoying it at the kids' table. The photos below are of the kids opening gifts Christmas morning.

Christmas Eve

Here are some photos from Christmas Eve. We went to the 4 o'clock church service and then back to my parents for a wonderful dinner and then it was time to open presents. Riley had been asking all day when it was time. This photo actually has all four kids in it but not very good shots of Trent or Riley.

Here is Riley opening up some new Hot Wheels from Grandma and Grandpa.

Here the kids are just opening their gifts from Brad and Katie.

My grandpa and his girlfriend, Cornelia, come over on Christmas Eve and here is a photo of them.

On Christmas Eve morning, we realized that we had never even had the kids' photo taken with Santa this year. We decided to head over to the Fox River Mall that morning and get a quick shot with Santa. Riley ran right to him but Brooke was more timid but still managed a half-smile for the photo. After visiting Santa, we walked around the mall a little, fed the kids lunch there and then let them run around the indoor playground there. It was a fun morning!

Christmas with Scott and Angie

Each year we celebrate Christmas early with Scott, Angie and Ali. They came to our house on Sunday night to eat dinner and open presents. Here is Angie helping Brooke mix up a cake for her new Easy Bake Oven. Funny thing-- they now bake with ice so no one gets burned. It was an interesting texture when it was "baked" but fun for Brooke no matter what! (Later that night Brooke and Riley wanted to bake another cake while Eric and I were busy cleaning up. Riley helped himself to the ice maker. We had about a hundred ice cubes on the floor before we got to him to turn it off. )

Riley got a race track so here are the boys enjoying that!

Scott got a Chia Pet-- I'll leave it at that.

Here are the kids opening their gifts. It was a fun night!

Haircuts for the Guys

Riley and Eric got their before the holiday haircuts last Saturday. Here is a photo of them right after. What a handsome pair!

Brooke Goes to the Dentist

Eric took Brooke to the dentist this morning. She did a great job although I think she looks a little distressed in the photos. No cavities!

Disney on Ice

We went to Disney On Ice this morning. I had won tickets at Stretch and Stroll a few weeks ago. It was a fun treat this time of year although a mighty cold morning to be out and about.
Here is the whole Disney gang during the finale. There were four mini shows (Lion King, Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch, and Peter Pan) with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy hosting the show. The kids loved it and I quite enjoyed it too!
Brooke's favorite, Ariels skates with her Prince Eric. It's a love story for the ages...

Goofy just acting goofy!

Minnie...

Brooke's delighted face as she watched. We didn't get any photos of Riley since he was on Eric's lap and he had the camera but his face was just as happy!

Cookie Baking

I decided to bake a couple different kinds of Christmas cookies yesterday. Peanut blossoms with the Hershey's kisses on the top are one of my favorites so that was a clear choice. I decided to have the kids help which usually just turns into more work as ingredients go flying across the room and such but yesterday they were actually very helpful. I gave them the all important job of opening the kisses to go on top the cookies. They opened up all 50 of them and didn't even eat one! I was so proud of them and it really saved time for me! They also helped add ingredients, mix, and put the kisses on top (which wasn't quite as helpful but still fun!).

And yes, Brooke is still wearing her Halloween costume on a daily basis! :)

Christmas Card Attempts

I took a bunch of photos of the kids in front of the tree the other night for our holiday card. I just thought, I share some of the photos that didn't make the cut. These kinds of photos always make me laugh. I like this first one. Riley looks like he really admires his sister and they are really close together-- and not fighting so that makes it sweet.

In the middle of the photo taking there was a spontaneous hug! I thought it was very cute but too bad the photo is kind of blurry.

Riley looks like he does not want his sister to touch him!

This one wasn't too bad it was just that Brooke was slouching or something.

We ruled this one out because Riley was too much front and center. These are just a few of the many attempts. Some years when trying to get a photo-- we'd only have one kid in view so this year went pretty well. Watch the mail-- for the winning photo!

Happy Holidays!

Rollerskating

On Wednesday night, my playgroup moms went rollerskating. It was a fun and different activity. I hadn't been on rollerskates in years and it took me a while to get used to it again. It is a very different feeling than rollerblading. Only 4 out of our 11 moms made it. Pictured here are the daring ones-- Monique, Katie, Clare and me!

Pizza Night at Brad's House

On Saturday night, we headed over to my brother's new house for pizza and some fun. Here is Trent hamming it up for the camera.

Riley loved playing with their cars.

Here is Brad pulling the pizzas from the oven. Even with a broken leg-- he knows his way around the kitchen! What a guy!

Grandpa and Gavin take it all in!

It will be busy December! Enjoy the season!

Thanksgiving

Here are a couple photos from Thanksgiving. We ended up heading over to WI on Thursday morning. The water park part of our trip was delayed due to Brooke and myself having the stomach flu on Monday (me) and Tuesday (Brooke). We were thankful to celebrate with family, especially after the rough first part of the week. Here is the table set with the feast!

Eric did puzzles with the kids while we worked to put dinner on the table.

Here is the youngest of the crew-- Gavin--He enjoyed his Thanksgiving food too!