March Madnes

March officially kicks off birthday season.  We're so grateful we're all getting older!  Loved my homemade cards from the kiddos!

 

Pie is definitely my love language!

 

So are gifts...

We headed to the Windy City to celebrate Uncle Steve's birthday as well.

We didn't realize they dyed the river and started celebrating St. Patrick's Day the Saturday before the holiday.  There was LOTS of celebrating going on downtown!

It was so very cold so we hopped on a train.

And made our way to the Field Museum to visit Sue.

And all her friends.

Looking back, we should have gone to the Museum of Science & Industry where it might have been more kid-friendly.  Me posing by an earthworm after we got "shrunk" to experience life in the dirt!

The dinosaurs were by far the biggest hit!

Auntie put her up to it.

Trying out other forms of public transportation on the way home, we taxied back to Uncle Steve's before dinner.

The kids all thought they were hot stuff riding around town without booster seats!

Dinner was delicious at Greek Islands.

We patiently waited for our food but the natives were getting restless.

Opa!

Sunday, after church and brunch, we came back to Uncle Steve's for more celebrating.

Poor Maverick desperately wanted it to be his birthday so we let him help open our gifts instead.

The kiddos are SO looking forward to being in Uncle Steve & Bevin's wedding in September!

February 2017 (Flashback Style - I Swear, LAST ONE!)

We made it to the annual Winter Carnival at school, complete with pirate theme and walking the plank for coins so they could cash in on some serious booty.

Boys and their brooms.

Both kids were admittedly pretty lousy at ring toss.

And decent with the basket toss.

We stopped at Meijer and both kids insisted in having their picture taken in "Italy."  Guess we need to get out more often...

 One sunny afternoon, we up and decided to go to Ohio for some organizational help from the Swedes.  We'd had enough of the haphazard display in the kids' play room.   We put together some serious shelving and then had to figure out where to put everything.

 

We should have just tossed it all.

February brought lots of warmer temps and spoiled us rotten.

What better way to prep for Spring than a trip to the Boat Sport & Travel Show?

Maverick was convinced this should be our next purchase!

These two are the best of pals!

Auntie came to town to watch the kids so Ryan and I could go to a work event for his office.  She came to church with us the next day and no morning with Auntie is complete without donuts!

We finally got the shelves in a position we could agree on, bolted them to the wall and began to put things away.  

 One day they'll be too big to want to get their picture taken any and every time we're out in public so we try to capture these silly moments while we can.

Uncle Steve and soon-to-be Aunt Bevin got engagement pictures taken on one of our unseasonably warm days and they turned out fantastic!  They also officially invited the kids to participate in their wedding and they can't wait!

In the meantime, they will continue to build towers and sit as high as they can.

January 2017 (also Flashback Style)

You know, as we get older, we just don't tend to celebrate New Year's Eve with a lot of fanfare.  But our extended family does!  

However, New Year's Day - we celebrate well!  Shapiro's never disappoints!

Is this picture really blog-worthy?  Probably not, but I was so excited to get my Ikea milk frother from Auntie Kate and super impressed by its abilities!

We started out the New Year all gung-ho with chores and learning responsibility.  Note that this occurrence has not happened again since that night.  We're a work in progress.

We got to celebrate the big 4-0 for Ryan on the 7th.  Nothing says "Happy birthday" like a gyros!

Or a brownie...

So very blessed to have this guy in our lives.  He makes me laugh and is the best daddy around!

We love games and this one was a hit with all!  It definitely puts us on an even playing field which is especially important when the ages in our house range from 5 to 40!

We headed down to Princeton to visit Ryan's grandmas.  Since Maralu's health scare in November, she's moved in with her son and will be putting her house on the market later this year.  We brought home some interesting finds that are now residing in our basement.

Maralu's son Vaughn and his wife are bee keepers.  The whole process is very interesting.  And very sticky.

They have two Great Pyrenees dogs named Honey & Bear.  They remind me of lions - they're simply huge.  We were instantly enamored.

The kids loved the visit because it included time at the swimming pool!

Luckily Papa was a good sport and got in with them the next day.  It was a bit cold for my liking.

Proof that they sometimes get along! 

What a goof.

Ziki found his own spot at the hotel.

Spending time with GG.

We also stopped in for a visit with Great Grandmother.

And celebrated Christmas in Maralu's almost-empty house with Nana and Papa.

Poor Ziki got passed like a baton the entire way home!

We took this shelf home with hopes we could make it match Phoebe's furniture in her room as she's acquired quite a collection of books.

I'm super thankful for this lady (Mrs. Myers) as she has more patience in her little finger than I do in my entire body.  God bless kindergarten teachers.

Nana and Papa got the kids a telescope for Christmas.  

Can't wait for the weather to truly cooperate so we can do some exploring!

This is what four cans of spray paint can do!  So proud of our little project!

Best buds!

I would argue that I am NOT creative but in a pinch, I can pull through with the help of Pinterest and Hobby Lobby.  Here's Maverick's cute little face of proud accomplishment as he prepared for his 100th day of school!

Poor Ziki puts up with a lot.  It's not uncommon to find him getting pushed around the house in our Little Tykes shopping cart, too!

He's usually tuckered out after the kids go to bed and we get some quality snuggle time, too!