Mader Alarm

Dakota got a Mader alarm/story/light show clock from Great Uncle Terry and Aunt Carol for Christmas and he absolutely LOVES it!  Dad set it up at the end of his bed and when we went in to check on him this is how we found him - sleeping with his clock right next to him!

And here he is night #2.

 

As Dad remarked, "I don't care who you r dat's funny right dere!"

Bailey wanted me to say that she LOVES her Princess alarm clock, too (although there is no cute picture of her sleeping to insert here)!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS.....

........from our house to yours!

 

RyAnne was very proud of the special hard cover book she wrote for Grandma and Grandpa!

Merry Xmas to All and to All a Good Night.....

Yes, he really did fall asleep like this!

X-mas Goodies

The family enjoys getting ready for the holiday season by decorating gingerbread houses and trains....

decorating cookies.....

and making cute pretzel reindeer!

Making goodies with kids sure gets messy -  but they still taste yummy!

JAMMY DAY

Dakota and Bailey had their very first pajama day at school and they were SO EXCITED!

Clean PJs and slippers on....backpacks packed.....kids ready!

Santa's Visit

The kids have been waiting for this moment for weeks....SANTA!  We had to make a paper-chain counting down the days for Bailey so she wouldn't ask us "When do we see Santa?" two or three times a day.  They couldn't wait to hear the, "HO, HO, HO!" and see him walk through the door!

The time has come..........the kids all smiles!

Gifts!

Kodak and Fuji Moment!

And yet another photo op......this time with the host, Uncle Terry and Aunt Carol.

Gingerbread Goodies

Bro's Birthday

Zachary turned 14 on November 18th.  We celebrated at home with presents and cake and ice cream.

We like to trick him and put his presents in different packages.  Last year we put his Ipod Touch in the pocket of some snow pants.  This year we put his Xbox game in a clothing store bag...tee hee :-) 

 One girlfriend?! - Yeah right!

Halloween Night

Another chance to Trick-or-Treat....this time around Gpa & Gma C's neighborhood!

Halloween Happenings

Cindy Lou Who & Batman were SO excited to wear their costumes to school!

They had a costume parade in the gym and then went Trick-or-Treating in the school!

RyAnne making a bat during her classroom festivities!

Mom was in charge of the "GHOSTO" station.

Trunk-or-Treat at Horizon is always a hit with the kids!

Our "Boo"tiful Dancer!!

Trip Time!

Mom joined the 2nd graders in RyAnne's class on a field trip to the Aldo Leopold Nature Center. This time we did activities relating to air, weather, and maps. The 2nd graders at Horizon were the first group to see the Aldo's new expansion - the kids LOVED the huge Earth sphere!

Below is a picture of RyAnne and some friends taking notes on temperature and wind speed.

Hydrocelectomy

About a year ago, Dakota went in for hydrocele surgery (for a pocket of fluid around his testicle). Before the surgery his doctor examined him and saw that the lump had really gone down in size and sent us home.

Fast forward a year and we were back - same time, same place, same surgery. This time we knew it was a go because his lump kept on recurring throughout the year. We tried to explain to him what was about to happen -poor Dakota had no idea what he was in for. Here we are in pre-op preparing the little guy for his surgery.

Soon they took him away. He cried - we cried (he didn't know that of course) and we sat out in the waiting room - and waited....

Finally, the nurse came and got us. The Urologist talked with us about the surgery and said it was a success! Then we were sent back into the waiting room to wait some more - until he woke up.

Finally (again) we were called back. Dad letting him know we were there.

Resting with his "Bear".

Waking up. This picture kills me - "Mom, how could you let them do this to me!"

Waking up on Dad's lap with "Brownie" his new horse they gave him before surgery.

When we left the hospital Dakota was still very groggy and very sore. He had a tough rest of the day and night.

By the next day, he was walking around (gingerly),playing Batman (cautiously), and getting spoiled by his Dad, Mom, and older sister. We can't wait to get our spunky Dakota back :-(!

2 @ 4K

About a month before 4K started........ we would drive Dakota and Bailey by their school and say, "That's where you will be going to school!"

A few weeks before school started Mom was talking to Bailey about school and asked her what she thinks her new friends names were going to be and what will they play together. Dakota shouted, "I AM GOING TO PLAY WITH BAILEY!"

A couple days before school started Dakota announced, "I am NOT going to school!"

Needless to say, the day school started Mom was very worried!

It started off well, Dakota woke up and exclaimed, "When's school, when's school......I can't wait for school!" Really?

Finally, it was time to go. Mom told the twins that she was just going to drop them off then go to Target and buy them a little present ~ that they would each get if they were good ~ then pick them up.

So we headed out the door with their new backpacks!

Got to school and hung up their backpacks....

Checked in.....

Found their circle spots.....

And then Mom left...... there was no shouting, no crying...just big smiles, kisses, and waves goodbye!

Mom held it together until she got in the truck - then BAWLED!

A picture of Bailey and Dakota with their teacher Ms. Erin:

They LOVE school! Dakota's favorite things about school is his teacher and gym. Bailey's is her new friends and playing with blocks.

P.S. The first thing Dakota said to me when he walked out the door was, "Mom, I didn't get a time-out!" I guess what he was trying to say was he was good (which I had no doubt) and deserved his present :-)!

I got a little video of Dakota's excitement: