Girls Day Out

In November, I signed Miss M up for the shoe tying clinic at Nordstrom.  I figured if I got around to teaching her how to tie her shoes by January I could cancel.  As predicted, I didn't get around to it.  I am sure I had the greatest of intentions. I feel lucky to shower most days so tying shoes doesn't usually make the list of priority things to get done.  

I invited Miss M's best friend, A, with us for a fun girls day. I was really excited to take them to the store and spend the day together.  I was exhausted before our first stop, at McDonalds, was completed.  

We went to the McDonalds by their headquarters so service was top notch. The girls examined the toys to see what the options were.  The girl toys were little conversation hearts with lip gloss inside.  Every girls dream come true.  Since it was breakfast and not lunch I ordered two toys.  They gave us the old toys of the usual plastic crap no one wants and the girls were disappointed.  I told them I'd ask for the lip gloss after we finished breakfast.   

 In the meantime the girls cuddled up with Ronald.

 And got balloon animals.

 Before we left I asked if the girls could get a lip gloss instead of what they received. They were so friendly and told me they would check and see what they had in stock.  It took awhile before they came back and when they did they gave us all the lip glosses they had left.  The girls did a happy dance all around McDonalds.  They scored big at their favorite place! Not a bad way to start a Girls Day Out.

We got to Nordstrom on time which felt like a shock b/c we weren't really running ahead of schedule.  They snagged their little stools and a sneaker and waited for the party to begin.

Let's be honest. They were still fascinated with the lip gloss and could have cared less about tying shoes.

The employees helping with the shoe tying were awesome. They were so kind and patient and friendly.  They tried to teach the kids to tie their shoes and encouraged them to keep practicing.  About a half hour into learning how to tie shoes the girls had had enough. They just kept asking when we could leave and go shopping instead.  It was a lot of shoe tying for people who don't have the fine motor skills to make bunny ears and find the hole to put it in.  My head hurt by the time we were done with the clinic.

We then spent another hour trying on shoes and clothes b/c they told me they needed new shoes and clothes for their birthday outfits.  They got matching shoes (in different colors) and picked out their new dresses.  I was absolutely exhausted by the time we left. I decided velcro isn't the end of the world and if they don't tie their shoes until they are 12 then so be it.  It's like potty training isn't it...everyone eventually figures it out.  This is what I am telling myself anyway.

 I had planned on taking the girls to get their nails done b/c Miss M asked if we could when I told her we were doing a girls day.  The appointments for their manis and pedis weren't until 1:30 so we came home, played, ate some lunch to kill time.  It was a beautiful day for the middle of January so they were able to run around outside and play on their bikes/scooters.

 Then we made our way to the kids salon that has an area for them to get their nails done.  They soaked their little piggies in the water and relaxed.

 They took to relaxing quite easily.

 At one point, A said "man this is the life isn't it Madelyn".  Yes girls...this is the life...don't get use to it.

 They had fun picking out colors for their toe nails and different colors for their fingernails. They love to get multiple colors and do patterns.

It was a successful day. We all had so much fun together but I am going to need some time to recover. They exhausted me in the best way possible but I was happy I had a babysitter lined up for the evening so I could have some quiet time.

Kindergarten Potluck Breakfast

The kids don't celebrate or have a party around Christmas (aka Winter Break) but in place of a party before break we have a potluck breakfast after school resumes.  I have to admit a potluck after the holiday was more fun than trying to cram one more thing in before the holiday.  

The kids were all lined up on the bleachers when we arrived.  They sang us three songs.  One song was Toe-Knee Chest-Nut and another was about a Penguin.  I took videos of them.  They were cute singing and being unsure of what was going on at any given point in time.  

The potluck was quite the spread of food.  There were bagels and spreads, casseroles, donuts, fruit, yogurts, cereal and more.  The kids had a blast.

 I took Willie with me and he was happy to go to Miss M's school and be apart of the party!

 We adopted a neighbor :)

It was fun. It lasted an hour and involved minimal work outside of taking in some cereal and juice boxes and showering.  Showering was by far the hardest part of the whole morning!

Gym Activities

The gym has a lot of activities for kids.  We generally do swimming lessons but this time around we signed the two big kids up for soccer.  They hire a local soccer clinic to come in and teach 3-4 and 5-6 year olds soccer.  It's perfect. We can take Cater to Kids Club with Miss M while Willie is in soccer and then when his class is over we get Miss M for her class and toss Will in Kids Club. It really couldn't work out more perfectly as far as logistics go.  Willie working on his footwork.  He likes it but he wants someone to watch him the entire time.  I bail out to get a work out in while Andrew is nice enough to sit and watch.  Miss M plays too and the first lesson went really well. She scored three goals and was really excited.  By the time she woke up the next weekend she was mad she had to go and spent the day running the wrong way. Six more weeks left to perfect her skills.  

 Soccer ends at 1pm and family time on the rock climbing wall begins.  There isn't much of a line for the sign up to climb at 1pm so we let the girls climb a few times.  The kids have to be five years old to climb. Willie doesn't seem bothered by the fact he can't do it.  The person who works the climbing wall also works in the kids club area. The kids are really familiar with her and feel comfortable with her so it works out really well. It's funny to watch Miss M climb b/c she's so skinny and weighs essentially nothing that she uses her feet to try and climb up the wall instead of looking for rocks.

 She likes trying but when she gets to the first ridge in the wall she says she's ready to come down. There's some sort of mental block with that ridge.  I'm really proud of her for trying something new and not being scared of it.

Norovirus took us down

While we were in CO our friends came down with Norovirus and it took them out one by one.  Tuesday night was N, Thursday was S, then Friday was T.  We stayed at their house Friday evening.  Miss M got hit Friday night.  We flew home Saturday with no difficulties.  Monday I got hit. It lasted until Wednesday and then it was magically gone.  Miss M then got hit again for a couple more days. Thankfully, it was just the two of us over here but it was a long week. I thought I was going to throw up for the first half of the week and the second half of the week I was cleaning up throw up. Delightful.

The kids helped cook dinner one night. Each child was responsible for cutting a different vegetable. It really is amazing that only two of the six of us went down.  

Cater's feelings about norovirus reflect my own.

After waking up to Miss M throwing up Friday night I decided to quarantine us in the house Saturday. Andrew had decided to drive to see his brother leaving me and the kids to find our own entertainment.  We watched so many pony shows I finally had to turn off the noise.  We got out all the crafts and the huge roll of paper and made a project.  We played with it on and off for the day by adding hand/foot prints and colors and google eyes and whatever else we could find.

 We put together puzzles.

 We baked cupcakes. I wouldn't eat the cupcakes if my life depended on it. I was scared of them. I was pretty much scared of everything that weekend.  The kids got to dye the frosting whatever color they wanted and paint the cupcakes.

 Will only ate the frosting. Miss M frosted his cupcakes.

 We took baths with swim fins on.

We exhausted all play options.  We exhausted Netflix selection of My Little Ponies.  I was more than happy to leave on Sunday and not come back until bedtime.

Colorado - All good things must come to an end

When we woke up the morning we had to drive back to Denver there was no more snow. There were crisp and beautiful blue skis. It was breathtaking.  

We drove around the mountain to get back to Denver instead of taking the interstate. Why not? We had time. The sun was out. We ended up at the top of the mountain, pulled over and got out to take a picture.  We didn't take too long to look around and absorb the beauty b/c it was -24 degrees. Miss M refused to even get out of the car.  When I look at this picture it makes me want to go back tomorrow.

Family shot from the top. We will have to photoshop Miss M in later!

The plan was to stay in Denver at our friends' house before flying out the next day.  We decided to burn some energy at the Denver Children's Museum.  We had a lot of fun.  They had a huge area devoted to children ages three and under.  Cater and I stayed in this area for the entire time while Andrew, Tiffany, Miss M and Willie explored the rest of the museum.  

The little kid area had a dentist office set up. It was so adorable. They had the headlamp, the chair, the dental tools, x-rays and so much more. Miss M brushed the monkey's teeth over and over. He may never need another dental exam.  

Then she logged his exam into the computer :)

There was a dock area surrounded by a boat and blue water rugs.

But all good things must come to an end.  We rolled through the airport.  Cater with her Penguino (his name) and her Penguino hat.

Willie and Miss M wanted to sit with Tiffany on the way home.  She turned on her iPad for them and they watched My Little Ponies the whole ride home. This is how they flew the entire time. Snuggled up enjoying the end of something magical.  

 Cater needed a diaper change at some point.  When we got up to go to the bathroom she realized she was the one not watching MLP and she was not impressed.  She tried to stand up and watch over the seats to get her fill of ponies too.  These kids and their ponies.