A Magical Trip

Madison's 6th Birthday party. One that she will never forget!!!!!!
The girls were amazed at the size of Cinderella's castle.

Madison loved all the attention on her birthday. The Princess lunch was great!

We are home... Nine nights away from home. It was great to sleep in our own beds last night. I just downloaded pics and they are amazing. We had a great time. The kids were better than we imagined and we will never forget Disney 2010!!!!

Our trip had a rough start. We headed out to In-laws Tuesday night to stay the night and catch a 8 am flight out of Detroit. About an hour into the drive, I mentioned something about the stroller (in which I bought specifically for the trip- a sit and stand for the girls) Brett said that he forgot it. He teases me all the time. Then I realized that he wasn't kidding, so we turned around and made our 2 hour trip into a 4 hour trip. The kids were tired and cranky. It wasn't a very good sign for us. We finally made it.

Our flight went great. Caitlin had a little trouble with her ears and started crying out in pain as we landed. My heart hurts for that poor girl. It seems like she has the worst luck with sickness.

Luggage, rental truck, house and then T-Rex cafe. The restaurant was great. I strongly recommend it to anyone.

I will post more about the trip on a later date, I have tons to do right now with being gone for 9 days. We had great weather and an amazing time!!!!

Rock Star!!!

I sometimes feel real bad that I don't have nearly as many pictures of Blake as the girls, but he isn't very cooperative in front of the camera. I have a hard time catching him not with a big, cheesy smile, or holding still long enough. Right before the SuperBowl party on Sunday, I had about 3 minutes of his attention and got some great pics.
We are visiting the orthodontist this summer!!!!!
I love this one!

Blake has been begging to play the guitar. I posted an add on Craigslist to have someone come into the house to teach him. After sorting through TONS of responses, I found a college students who has been great with Blake. He takes a 45 minute private lesson once a week. This week, he got to play the electric guitar. He asked me if he could get one right after the lesson. He actually practices and is pretty good.

Fun on the Slopes

Madison getting her ski on.
Madison's first time up the tow rope!
Blake's first time up the tow rope.
Back in the Good Ol' days, Brett and I loved going snowboarding. We actually "met" on a ski trip to Steamboat. Yes, we knew of each other for many years, but hung out A LOT during that trip. We have always wanted to do family ski trips, so this year I was determined to get the kids on skis.

Blake took one lesson two years ago, but this would be their first real experience. I signed them up for a three week long session at Timber Ridge. They were so excited.

The first night they were going up the tow rope. Kids are amazing at things like that. They just fall and get back up and do it again. While I was standing there watching them, I couldn't wait to strap on a board and try out my LONG LOST skills. I think it has been about 6 years since I last did it. Being a little older and more fragile, I must say that I will be a little nervous the first time...

Blake and Madison were in different classes, but on the same hill. They were totally watching out for each other and even talking with each other as much as possible. It is so nice to see your children really care for each other. Blake even helped Madison up at one time :)

The second lesson, I let the kids stay skiing until about 8:00. They said that this was the best night ever. The weather was perfect.

The third lesson was a little more tricky. It was during the huge snow storm and Caitlin was still not feeling well. I told myself that afternoon that we wouldn't be going. Between the snow and Caitlin, I thought that it would be better to just skip it. Then the GUILT set in. Five minutes before we should be leaving to meet Blake at the bus stop, I told Madison that we were going. I haven't seen her move so fast ever. She got herself all dressed and into the truck. Caitlin was still in her jammies under her snow suit.

The bus was 10 minutes late because of the snow - Blake was ready to go! As I was driving (very slow) I looked back and saw poor Caitlin with the most pitiful look on her face. She was miserable. My heart felt so bad for her. She perked up a little when we got there because she never saw the ski hill before. I had to carry her and LOTS of the kids ski stuff. We made it right on time and I sent the two off. Caitlin and I went in the lodge to watch them. She sat on my lap with her night-night (blanket) the whole time. She looked pathetic. I got a lot of looks. I'm sure that people thought that I was a horrible mother with my sick and coughing girl there. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I was happy to get back home that night.

Because there was so much fresh powder, the instructors built a jump for the kids. Guess who wasn't afraid at all ----- MADISON. That girl kept going over the jump with a huge smile on her face. Blake was practicing his turning. The week before, he would just go straight down the hill as fast as he could and hockey stop at the bottom. He was making me very nervous. So I was very happy to see him in more control.

Thankfully a snow day today!!!!! The kids slept in (7AM) and are excited about playing in the snow today.

Fairy Princess

Caitlin was invited to a birthday party just for her. This is the first time that she was the only special girl in our family. She has seen the other two go by themselves to birthday parties and now it was finally her chance.

It was at the cutest little girly place called "Sugar and Spice". This store was so frilly and pink. The girls were given tutu's and fairy wings. They quickly got a make-over. There isn't much sweeter things in life than 4 little girls all dressed up. They also did a fashion show for us, decorated cupcakes and made their own lotion. Caitlin loved her lotion bottle so much. They got to pick out colors and sparkles to fill up their container. It was definitely something that Caitlin will be talking about for a long time. Thanks for the invite Aspen!!!!! Happy Birthday:)

She wants to do her birthday party there!!!!!!
Getting her make-over
Beautiful nails - she especially loved the glitter!

Checking herself out...
Great friends inspecting one another

Caitlin chose the pink frosting and dinosaur sprinkles. Blake is rubbing off on her!!!
Making their lotion. The lotion was a huge hit. Caitlin was so excited to show Madison when we got home. They both came down from upstairs with it in their hair. Madison told me that she thought it was hair gel.

All Grown UP

I have been a little sad lately about my kids being all grown up now. Why do they have to grow up so fast????? I would love to freeze my little Caitlin. She is absolutely the sweetest little thing right now.


Madison and Caitlin wore these cute little matching dresses to church. The funny thing about it is that my sister and I bought these dresses for my neice and Madison when they were little. Madison was two when she wore the little dress. Check out how cute she was. I actually cried when I saw how little she was and it seems like just yesterday when she was that young. I guess I need to just enjoy them a little more everyday because time passes by so quickly.

Madison at almost two wearing the little dress that Caitlin is wearing above!!!! She was a tough cookie very early on.

Here is my sweet little Blake at the same time as Madison up above. They were so little - I kinda miss those days. But, BOY was I busy then. I was also pregnant for Caitlin at this same time.
Blake at 3 years old!!!!! Notice how I don't have any ornaments at the bottom of my tree. With an almost two year old, a three year old and being pregnant, I guess I didn't have the energy to keep telling them NO.

And then there were three - FINALLY!

Blake has been so patient with the girls lately. He tries to get them to play with him, but they just aren't that into dinosaurs, cars and Zoo Tycoon. I am actually feeling a little sorry for him. We have had several playdates for him on the weekends so that he has someone to play with.

One night, Brett and I were finishing dinner and the kids were all playing together in the basement. It was great. We could hear their little voices laughing and talking together. After about 30 minutes, we decided to sneak down to see what they were doing. The basement door was closed. We counted to three and then busted through the door. This is what we found.





This was their castle. I just love it when they play like this. They were so exicted about their costumes and building.
I quickly asked if anyone sat up on the pink chair at the top of the castle. They all looked at each other, smiled and replied '"NO"!!! I told them that that would be very unsafe and you could crack your head open if you fell from there. Crazy kids!!!!!!
Horse and Optimus Prime

Cheerleading Dora. Caitlin was so proud that she put the costume on by herself.

Oops, she missed a leg hole!!!!!

I hated having them stop playing, but it was time to get bathed and ready for bed. They had a blast!!!!!!

Best Friends

Caitlin and Madison are best buddies these days. They are always together from the time they get up until they go to bed. They actually play so nicely together. It makes me so happy to see two sisters who genuinely love spending time together. One of their favorite activities is dressing up. Their outfits evolve over the course of the day!!!! They started out as dancing princesses and then turned into cats. Now can I not smile when I see them like this on a daily basis. They are quite imaginative :)




Notice the Michigan State Cheerleading costume!!!!

Not quite sure what this one was... It reminded me of Michael Jackson. Madison wanted to know who that was. Where do I start explaining him?????