Atypical weather = zoo day on December 23

The weather has been so crazy this winter, so far.  The kids were off school the entire week before Christmas, so by December 23 we were getting stir crazy.  It was raining outside, but pleasant.  70 degrees, but rainy.  So we grabbed the umbrellas and went to the zoo.  It was PERFECT!!!  Nobody was there, the animals were moving, it was great!  I'm going to try to remember to go to the zoo on rainy days from now on to avoid the crowds.

It's not every day you get to pose with Christmas Trees at the zoo.

We had the new Polar Bear, Cali, to ourselves…...

Peyton got this sealion to follow her lead for a good 3 minutes.  Peyton loved it!  The sealion mustve been bored with no activity at the zoo too!

He would even spin circles when she would spin her hand.  She thought she was a true trainer.  HA!

We got to learn about a constrictor and pet him.  EWWW!

The hippo was actually OUT of the water.  The kids thought that was cool….we usually only see them in the water.  d

ShEW!!!  What a fun day we had!!!

Seeing the Big Guy

Seeing the big guy in the red suite this year was a little uneventful.  Maddie wasn't too sure at first, so Santa walked over and grabbed her and then she was totally fine.  I'm afraid the funny years are behind us.

Cookie Baking, 2015

Mom, Dawn, Chris and boys all came down one Saturday before Christmas to do the Cookie Baking Marathon.  The Thursday before, Jack and Mike went to baseball practice so the girls and I got a head start on some of the cookies, and then we concluded on Saturday with everyone!  The weather didn't seem right for cookie baking tho.  It was in the 70's and super hot inside.  We had the windows and doors open and we were still sweating!

For starters…...

Now for the big party……

OOPS!  Maybe it's time to call it a day.

Maddie learns to read

About a month ago we introduced a few site words to Maddie to see if she was ready.  And boy was she ready.  She LOVES it and is always wanting more!!!  A month later she now knows more than 50 words….she's doing great, and still is super motivated and loving it!
She is learning the way Jack did…..more phonics based.  She sounds the word out, and definitely goes off of the first letter sound.  Peyton learned differently, she was more word recognition.  They all learned to read about the same age, Peyton just preferred a different style.  :)

Here she is, hard at work…...

Ginger Bread house with Grandma Jeanne

Grandma Jeanne brought over a Ginger Bread house kit the day after Thanksgiving.  She does this yearly with the kids, and then they proudly display their artwork until Christmas.

Maddie and Jesus

A conversation I had with Maddie last night:

Me:  Maddie, get take that screw out of your mouth.
Maddie:  Why?
Me:  Cause you could choke and die.

Maddie: Would I go to heaven?

Me: Yes.
Maddie: Puts it back in her mouth and replies, "Well, I will come back to life like Jesus!"
Me:  *head shake*  I've got nothing……

The hopes and dreams of a nine year old competitor…..

Hopefully she keeps these dreams and hopefully these dreams keep her out of trouble in middle school and high school.  Found this little blurb in Peyton's assignment notebook a few weeks ago.