Madison

We did a little school sluffing this past week and took the kids to Madison on Thursday for the weekend.  Our main purpose in going was for an interview for Shawn, but the kids and I didn't want to pass up on a free hotel (with free food and concierge service).  We had an amazing hotel right next to the Capitol.  Here was our view coming in to town.

We headed for dinner at Ella's Deli and Ice Cream Parlor.  I've heard about this restaurant for a while as a "must see".  It has a large carousel outside that the kids can ride, but it was closed down for the winter season.  The restaurant is filled with circus memorabilia and figures, candy, and all kids of fun toys.  

After arriving at the hotel the first thing we did was head for the pool.  

We got ready for bed and watched some movies.

Then we woke up bright and early the next morning and had breakfast and then Shawn headed off to his interview, while the kids and I went to the Madison Children's Museum.

Following the museum I took the kids out for lunch and then headed to the State Capitol for a tour.

bike trail

The kids are obsessed with making their own bike trail.  Lately they have been taking buckets of dirt and making trails down the driveway and onto the sidewalk.  They learned the hard way that dumping water on the dirt and making it a mud path is VERY difficult to clean up.

Lunch date

Every night before bed, Shawn and I make three school lunches.  But every once in a while the kids will get persuaded by the offering of Nachos, pizza or corn dogs on the school lunch menu.

Last week Liv told me that she wanted to have school lunch, but in a shy voice also admitted to me that she was nervous about getting school lunch her first time.

So we made a deal.  I would come and be her lunch date, and help her feel comfortable getting school lunch.  She worked hard all day to memorize her 6 digit number so she could type it in the computer. 

Monday was our special lunch date.  Liv was excited and so was I.  For her first school lunch she had the choice between hot dogs, french toast stick, or salad.  She chose salad.  She loves salads.  We laughed alot.  She was pretty silly the whole time and kept pulling funny faces anytime I tried to take a picture with my phone.  After lunch I stayed, at her request, while she played with her friends at recess.  

The funny thing is that while Liv and I were planning our special lunch date, Cole and Ethan both requested special lunch dates also.  I was surprised that Ethan wanted anything to do with me coming and eating lunch with him, but he was.  So, next month I'm going to have a lunch with Cole and then in December with Ethan.  

Halloween 2012

We've been busy doing halloween/fall related activities lately.  This past week I attended two halloween parties for the kids at school.  We played the mummy game in Cole's class and then I got to read stories and celebrate with Liv's class.  Liv also participated in the school Halloween Parade.

Trick or Treating in our neighbor is done the weekend before Halloween.  So Saturday was the big day.  It was our ward Halloween Party as well.  This year Ethan went as a hobo, Cole went as Frankenstein, and Liv as a witch.

Cole won an award for best child costume and shoveled as much candy in his mouth that would fit for most of the night.  Here he is in the back of our van stopping for a candy break with his friend, Nathan.

We carved pumpkins.

We had a chili cook-off at the ward party and then went trick or treating around the neighborhood...and ate lots more candy.

Then, to top the night off, we went over to our neighbors for a bonfire...and ate lots of candy.

By this time Cole was almost ready to throw-up.  Shawn took him home to shower and get ready for bed, and I took Ethan and Liv home later.  It was a long night, but the kids had a great time.

School Update

We are in full swing with school over here.  Last year was a difficult year for my boys.  Lots of wiggles and attitude, but this year things are soooo much different.  My kids all have great teachers who are so supportive of them and love their energy.  Shawn and I couldn't be happier and it's definitely reflected in our kids.  We had parent teacher conference last week.  The reports were all so positive and good.  Sure, they have areas to improve in, but overall nothing but good comments.

Ethan came home from school a few weeks ago with a flyer for a school program called K-kids.  He asked if he could join.  This is not typical of Ethan to want to be involved with school programs (he often will hide flyers given to him by his teacher so that I won't try to talk him in to signing up).  The K-Kids Program is for 4th and 5th graders and they meet every Wednesday to discuss and plan activities that the school can participate in to help the community.  He went to the first meeting and loved it.  He loves Wednesdays now.  They are planning a food drive right now and he is excited to participate.

Today Liv is home sick.  We are snuggling in my bed watching a movie.  She threw-up all over my bathroom this morning.  I am enjoying a day home with my girl.  At first the boys were mad that liv "got to stay home and throw-up", but then they all brought her their stuffed animals to help her feel better while they were at school.

Liv grabbed my phone the other night while we were watching a movie together as a family.  She started taking pictures of the TV.  When I asked her what she was doing her response was, "I want to remember this moment, I am happy."  I thought that was sweet.  So here is her pictures to remember our happy family moment.

Fall Weekend

We had a beautiful Fall Weekend.

It started out Friday after school going to Cedarburg to the pumpkin patch.  It was cold, but we came bundled up.

Cedarburg is a beautiful quaint city, with lots of character and history.  It's what people are referring to when they talk about small midwestern communities.  Shawn and I sort of dream about living in a place like this.  We walked down the fall decorated main street to Sal's Pizza, where we had New York Style pizza and their specialty garlic knots.  We taught the kids how to fold the huge pieces in half to eat so they could fit it in their mouth.

Then we walked down to the Cedar Creek Settlement.  It is an old woolen mill built in the 1800s that has been converted to restaraunts, art galleries, souvenir shops, pottery places, and a winery.  We stopped at Cream and Crepe for dessert crepes.  Shawn and Cole had one filled with mint chocolate chip ice cream and fudge sauce, Liv got the crepe with pumpkin ice cream, Cole with vanilla ice cream and caramel and fudge sauce, and I got the classic vanilla and strawberry crepe.  They were delicious.

After this we drove home to watch Charlie Browns, It's the Great Pumpkin movie.  The kids loved it.

Saturday we got up early and did some serious dejunking.  We took an entire van load to the Goodwill.    We also got to watch conference, which is one of our favorite times of the year.  We ran some errands, worked on Halloween costumes, and then returned in time to watch the second session of conference.  For those not familiar with General Conference click here.  Shawn and I ordered Sushi for dinner, to keep up with Shawn's tradition of always getting sushi on conference weekend, and Liv ate most of it.  My boys still haven't jumped on the sushi bandwagon, even though Ethan has admitted that it tasted good.  Shawn left for the priesthood session, while the kids and I played at home and got all the Halloween decorations up.

Sunday we again listened to conference and my favorite part was taking a beautiful fall drive.  Wisconsin is soooo beautiful this time of year.  Everywhere is amazing!  We made cinnamon rolls and ate the entire pan by the end of the day.  They were good!

We even played a fun conference game to help get the kids to listen better.

Last, here are a few random family pictures from this past weekend.

The kids were done with pictures at this point, but wanted one more.  I set the timer and ran to jump in the picture and this is what I got :)

Beautiful weekend filled with spiritual enlightenment and an amazing fall colors!

Random Updates

Shawn is at a job interview right now.  We are excited for him.  The kids made him a good luck sign with custom painted rocks:

Speaking of rocks, on Saturday Cole and Liv along with two neighbor friends (Hunter and Mae) decided to sell rocks to buy a new basketball hoop.  They yelled and hollered at everyone that walked past our house Saturday morning for hours.  Shawn bought one for 15 cents (he's cheap).  They had one other customer.  Our mailman.  He gave them $20.  Yes, you heard correct, $20 bucks for a handful of rocks.  The kids were beyond excited.  They ran around screaming for 15 minutes.  We have an awesome mailman and he is definitely getting Christmas cookies from me :)

Liv started dance class this past week.  She was mad at me for wanting to take her picture.  This was the best I got.

She has also been spending a lot of time lately staying up late coloring.  I found her like this last night.

I sprained my ankle on Saturday.  I took Ethan and his friend, Brycen, up to some trails for a bike ride.  I don't have a bike, so I ran along side them (more like they stopped and waited for me).  The trail was bumpy and I rolled my ankle.  It's stupid to get old and have an aging body :(

I took this last picture while Shawn and I were driving in the car and she rode along side.  She was having a great time.