Maddie and Andrew

Maddie LOVES her some Andrew.  If I haven't mentioned before we are HAPPY HAPPY to have the Brueggenjohanns so close now.  Every day, and I mean EVERY day Maddie says, "go to Andrew's house?"  Here are a couple pictures of them at an open gym at a local church.

Swim lessons….back at it!

We took a year off of swimming (as Jack wasn't enjoying them anymore….in fact hating going).  Peyton is planning on doing swim team this summer, and my hope is for Jack to do it too, if he wants to.  So I thought I should get them back in the water and start working on it.

They were both happy to go and they both had a great time with Miss Lisa!!

My SPICY, SPICY third child!!!

Maddie is hitting her terrible two's and MORE terrible 3's early.  18 months and a SPIT FIRE!!!!  Yesterday was a first for us.  She kicked up her temper tantrums so badly, that I struggled to get her in her carseat TWICE!!  If she isn't ready to leave somewhere, she ain't going easy.

Here is a terrible picture of my second struggle of the day with her.  I did manage to get her in there, but she didn't go down easy!

Enough of winter!

Enough, enough, with this record setting COLD winter.  Maddie is ready to hit the beach and the pool. Now, if we could only talk her Daddy into going somewhere WARM over spring break!!!!

A big day for the Friedman kids!

Last Wednesday was a big day for the Friedman kids.  Jack came home with a letter in his book bag asking him to take part in the reading enrichment program (the same thing Peyton did last year).  And Peyton came home with a  letter saying that her artwork got chosen to be on an art display at Frontenac mall next week.  There are days that they really make me scratch my head and ask myself  if I am doing something wrong, and then there are days like this that makes me think, "I got this."
Congrats to Peyton and Jack!  They really are good kids, doing good things!  

Hiatus OVER

My, almost a month long, blogging hiatus is over!!  I got my camera back from the shop this week.  Along with that goes no more excuses for not blogging.  Camera back in hand = blogging back at it.

Here are a few photos from the past month, from my handy, dandy phone camera.  Beggars can't be choosers.

a Friday night at the Magic House.  Had the place to ourselves!!

Big brothers are GREAT readers!

An adult party.  Taylor's engagement party.  Thank you Grandma Jeanne and Mark
for taking the kids!

Really reaching for entertainment on one of MANY snow days.
She started making her own costumes!  She made one for each of us too!

snuggles….wrestling..????

The kids were off last Monday for Martin Luther King day.  In the morning we hit up Myseum and in the afternoon (after Maddie's nap), we hit up the zoo…..it was SOOOO nice outside!!!  We had a great day!

playing in a jump house at Myseum

Digging for dinosaur fossils.  Safety first!

a little help from Peyton on the fossils.  Her eyes are nearly as important to her.

Primate house at the zoo.  The kids were loving the monkeys.  They
were quite active that day!

The Christmas Break that NEVER ends!!!!

The kids were suppose to go back to school last Thurs….BUT, we had a snow day instead.  They went back Friday……and THEN…..they were off Monday and Tuesday for snow days!  A foot of snow and -15 degree weather can lead to some LOOOOOOONG, BORING days!!!  We were stir crazy.  The kids DID get to go back to school today…I think everyone was happy!!!

Here are some of our snow day shenanigans…..

the first snow day….temperatures weren't too cold, so they got to go out and play.  

some dress up time for the girls

no dress up for him…..ninja turtles instead

eat markers????  sure!

what??  is this baby doll bed not big enough for me??  sure it is!

lots of building 

OUCH!!!!  now that's a goose egg!!!

LOTS and LOTS of snow!!!!!

HOORAY……everyone is happy to go back to school!!!!!

Maddie DID get use to having them around and missed them.  She said, "Peyton?" twice today.  I think she was a little confused.

New Years Day

On New Years Day, we took the two big kids bowling.  We hadn't done this with them in a while, as Maddie is a terror in a bowling alley.  Grandma Jeanne and Mark were nice enough to take Maddie for a couple hours and we enjoyed the time we had with the big kids bowling.  We played, "boys against girls."  The boys won…..but only by a few.  It was a close ball game.  In fact, we would have beat them if I wouldn't have choked on my last bowl.

We ate pizza, salad, a rolled the ball down the alley….fun had by all!!!

boy team

girl team

go peyton!!

I was LOVING Jack's body language.  He was getting in to it….EVERY bowl!

And a little energy left for some wrestling when we got home