Dad's Surprise 70th Birthday Party

We all gathered in Wisconsin last weekend to surprise my dad for his 70th Birthday.  

Amy, Traci and Jenni~my big sisters:)

The girls with their hubbys.

...and the kiddos.

Now for the best part~SURPRISE!!!!

I love this picture because although the room was filled with his friends, all of his grandchildren ran up to hug him.  He was overcome with emotion and look at mom, she was so excited all the planning worked out.  

Addison said to Grandpa, "you didn't even know we were in Wisconsin!"

Mimi and Grandpa Jon.

Mom and Dad celebrating!

The whole family!  Happy Birthday Dad/Grandpa!

The kids serenaded Grandpa with song, sax and guitar for Happy Birthday.

The boys.

Evan 12, Max 9, Luke 8.

The girls.

Annie 10, Addison 4, Amelia 10.

It was a whirlwind trip to Wisconsin but it was fun to see everyone, even for a short while.  We love you Dad, Happy Birthday!

Piano Man!

Errr, make that a piano girl.

Ta Da!!!  Our new piano!  Well, our new used piano:)

After two years plus of piano lessons and practicing on a keyboard, Amelia was ready to graduate to a real piano.  

Looking forward to many more concerts from my Mimi while I cozy up on the couch with my coffee.

The Real Christmas Story

Our church Christmas pageant was last weekend.  This year our WHOLE family was in it.  I have been one of the pageant directors for a few years now... this proved to be unfortunate for Stephen this year because he ended up in front of the whole church in his jammies with "Daddy" monogrammed on his chest.  For the good of the children though!!

The premise was our children having a sleepover (hence the jammies) and learning about The Real Christmas story.  Our choir kids did an amazing job learning all new songs this year and preciously retelling the story of our Savior's birth.  

And what would a Christmas pageant be without angels and sheep and Mary and Joseph.  We had it all, including a Mary who flipped off her stool backwards onto the church floor.  

Luke had multiple lines this year and nailed his speaking parts with enthusiasm, annunciation and volume!  

Amelia and her friends were the carolers this year.  They had technically outgrew the pageant but Amelia was so heartbroken that we were able to write in a part for all the bigger kids who still wanted to be in the pageant.  

Amelia, Hayden and Mckenzie, still as cute as ever.

Directing a Christmas pageant is a lot like giving birth.  It's painful, full of tears and preparation, lots of pleas for someone to just put me out of my misery already, asking out loud if "is it okay to drink during this?" but then the big moment happens.  It is so beautiful and precious and pure and you forget about all the months of trouble and sign up to do the whole thing all over again.  Hence multiple years directing the Christmas pageant...and the three kids.  

Tunes...Birthday and otherwise

Happy 37th Birthday to the best husband and daddy in the world!  

Buying presents for my husband is a lot like buying presents for my son.  Remote control car and video games.  The car is pretty cool and goes 45 mph.  Sadly, I think it is nicer than my minivan.  

Musical performance time.  

Amelia played her piano selections perfectly.  Very proud of our Mimi.

I thought this was cute.  Before the performance the kids were sitting waiting for their turn and their teacher to place them in the correct order in the chairs.  There were many available chairs to pick from but look at them all snuggled up on one chair together.  I guess when nerves kick in, having your sibling for comfort is better than nothing.

This was Luke right before he started his song.  His little plastic guitar lasted a year but as soon as he finished his song, TWING, a string broke!  I guess it's time to upgrade to a real guitar.  

So precious.  I love his little bow.  Amelia did not curtsy and when asked she said she did not forget, she just chose not to.  She always has an answer for everything.  

Celebrating the Advent Season

Our church has an annual Advent festival which helps us all prepare our hearts for our Savior's birth. Part of that festival is the option to dress up and take a picture with Mary/Joseph and the baby Jesus.  Addison was our only family member that put a costume on this year and spent time with Mary and Joseph.  A LOT OF TIME.  In this picture I think she was telling them they swaddled Jesus wrong.  She also kept telling them, "You do know you are not the real Mary and Joseph, right?"

Amelia and Luke both had field trips on the same day last week.  Same production of The Night Before Christamas but at different times.  I took the early shift with Luke's connections class and Stephen took the late shift with Amelia's class.  

After the production, Luke's class and I lunched at Mary Mahoney's restaurant which is downtown Biloxi.  Mary Mahoney's is a landmark in Biloxi, it was built as a private residence in 1737!  Although damaged, it even made it through Hurricane Katrina.  The children got to practice their manners and etiquette at a fancy restaurant and they all did beautifully.  The funniest moment was when I escorted Luke and two other little boys in the class to the men's restroom.  The whole restaurant, as well as the bathrooms, are fancy.  I told the boys to go on in and I waited in the lobby.  After a few moments, one of the servers came out of the bathroom laughing.  He told me all three of the boys walked in, stared at the wall and then at each other.  He explained to me that inside the bathroom is a giant black urinal but it is long and quite deep.  On top of that, it is filled with ice!  The boys didn't know what to do!  He told them they could "write their name in the snow."  They thought it was hilarious and all came out together and could not wait to tell me and their teacher all about it!  

School Projects

Addison's school has a tradition after Thanksgiving break each year.  The children and teachers all wear their jammies to school and they have hot chocolate and gingerbread men cookies.  The teachers tell them the real reason we celebrate Christmas and then they place the nativity in the classroom.  

  The two 2nd grade Connections classes worked all fall on researching Mexico.  They did all their own costume and set design.  They then presented their play to the whole school and all of their parents.  

Luke's best buds, Nate and Braden.  

Luke was Hernan Cortez!  He made all of his costume during class time by himself...I was super impressed.  He made it all out of paper bags, paint and glitter.  He nailed his monologue and did a super job!

Second Grade Connections with their fearless leader, Mrs. Knight!

Amelia's fabulous Reading Fair project!  The best part about Reading Fair, when it is over!  

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from my little turkeys.

Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Jon were here to visit for the week of Thanksgiving break.  Although we had some chilly weather the kids enjoyed all the special time with their Grandparents.  We were thankful we got to celebrate Thanksgiving with them and Grandpa Steve.  

Scholten Visit

The long awaited visit from our Minneapolis family, The Scholten's.  Here they are showing off their collected snail collection.  

Thank goodness we had a beautiful November day so we hopped on the boat and headed to Deer Island for some exploring.

The kids found an old abandoned boat on the island which they thought was pretty cool.  

We love Cousin Max!!!

Catching sand crabs.

Never to be outdone.

Next up-The Gator Ranch!  Look at the big monster right behind the kids, but now look further behind them at all the gators sneaking up behind them.  Creepy!  Everyone got a chance to hold the baby alligator (Addison was the only one who snuggled it up to her face and whispered "My precious").  

Next up we all got to take an airboat ride.  It was a cool experience being able to go over the land and all through the bayous and the boats can spin on a dime.  

Cool shot by Max:)

Back home meant more fishing.

How many people does it take to retrieve a crab trap?

It was a short visit but we crammed in a lot of fun.  The kids (and probably the adults too) were completely wiped out.  We loved having them all here and although it is never long enough we made lots of great family memories.  

Come back soon Scholtens!