Busy Thanksgiving Weekend

It all started on Thursday...........we had an awesome dinner at Darwin and Debby's house with the Hohensee family. That evening Cameron and I went to Fort Dodge so he could do his Christmas shopping.


I had taken the day off work on Friday, so the kids and I put up the Christmas tree and the other holiday decorations. Josh even put up the outside lights. Although this time of year he likes to refer to me as Mrs. Griswald. I'm sure most people have seen the movie National Lampoons Christmas Vacation.

We like to dress Casey up as a "reindog" while we are decorating the tree.



Friday evening we got together for supper in Palmer with Josh's mom and dad, brother, Brian and his wife, Sarah, their kids, Logan and Kyla, his sister, Alyse, her husband, Charles and their daughter, Ella. We celebrated Josh's mom's birthday, but I'm not saying which birthday because I still want her to like me! After supper Josh and I went to the Bee Movie with Brian, Alyse, Roger, Ella, Logan, Paige and Cameron.


On Saturday we had lunch at Pizza Ranch for Ella's 2nd birthday party. I can't believe she's two already.

We enjoyed another family supper on Saturday evening. This time at Roger and Ellen's house for another Thanksgiving feast.

After supper we came home and painted our kitchen. Apparently we weren't quite tired enough from all the running we had been doing all weekend!

After church on Sunday we headed to Fort Dodge once again. This time it was Josh's idea and Cam, Paige and I just tagged along. We now have 99% of our Christmas shopping done. Whoo Hoo!!!

We had a weekend full of activities, but it was great to be able to spend so much time with family. We don't do it nearly often enough.

Little Witch

Paige was a witch for halloween this year. She had so much fun trick-or-treating this year. Espcially at the nursing home, which really suprised me. She learned a "pumpkin song" at school and sang it to everyone there. So cute!!

Cameron stayed home and passed out candy at our house. He was thrilled to do it. (note scarcasm here)

Carving Pumpkins

Since Halloween is just a few days away, we decided we should get the pumpkins carved.


Paige did an excellent job digging all the guts out. She thought it was very fun but a little "gross".


They turned out very cute. We have a cat, a vampire and a regular jack-ol-lantern.

Kansas Speedway

Josh and I made our trip to Kansas for the Nascar race.

On the way down Saturday, we stopped through Des Moines for some "family time". We finally got to meet our new niece, Kyla. She's adorable! After we left Brian and Sarah's house, we met Charles, Alyse and Ella for lunch at Carlos O'Kelleys. We had a great lunch with them.

We went for supper at Smokehouse Barbeque in Independence, MO. http://www.smokehousebbq.com/ It was so good. Our motel was only about 6 miles from where we stayed on vacation so Josh knew his way around the area pretty well.

On Sunday morning we were up bright and early to head to the track. We thought the traffic would be alot worse than it was, but we were so early I think we missed the biggest part of it. We had plenty of time to hit all the merchandise trailers for t-shirts.

I stood in line about 45 minutes to meet and get an autograph from Jeremy Mayfield, my favorite driver. (no comments from any Nascar fans on here, I already know how everyone feels about him) Of course, Josh and I realized about an hour from home that we had forgotten the camera, DAMN!! Oh well, I got one on my phone.

The race had 2 rain delays but we had a great time anyway. I'm really glad we went.

We made it to Nebraska City, NE before Josh was too tired to drive any further. We were still about 3 hours from home.

We finally made it home about 2 today. What an exhausting (but fun ) weekend. We've talked about making this our yearly anniversary trip.

Josh's Birthday

Josh will turn 31 on the 13th. Since he will be racing at the Spencer Fair that night and is leaving before we all get home, the kids and I decided to do his birthday cake and presents tonight.

As you can see from the picture, it DOES run in the family to eat cake from the middle first. Here is Josh's Red Velvet (yuck) birthday cake.

The kids and I got him the movie "Blades of Glory". And tickets to the Nascar race in Kansas City on September 30th which I put inside a 12-pack Busch Light box and wrapped. Sounds like a "you might be a redneck....." just waiting to happen!

He was VERY excited about the tickets. I'm so glad. It should be alot of fun.

Paige is 5

Paige turned 5 yesterday.



She got to take cupcakes to school. She even helped bake and decorate them. Of course, I forgot to take a picture. But trust me, they were gorgeous!


She invited her friend, Olivia, to go out for pizza and then to our house to play.




We haven't done a birthday party for Paige yet. I think we are just going to invite some family over this weekend for cake and ice cream. Paige has been celebrating all week, so we're not going to go all out.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school.

Cameron is in 8th grade. And after much careful thought and consideration, we decided to put Paige into Pre-K (prep). I think she may have been a LITTLE more excited than he was. Cameron did pick out his clothes the night before, so I think he was ready. We also picked out Paige's last night since she had to make sure I picked out "something cute". Her exact words. She had an open house at school last night. She got to take her school supplies and meet her teacher, Mrs. Clausen.

I had to work this morning so Josh got the kids up and ready for school. Cam didn't want to ride with dad, so he rode his bike. But Josh took Paige to school and was a little "misty-eyed" when she just said "bye Dad". I'm glad she didn't carry on and cry. I think it was hard for him to send his baby to big school. She will go everyday, but only from 8:15 to 11:30.

Paige will turn 5 on August 28th. That's the biggest reason we chose Prep. She is still one of the youngest in her class. She also still takes naps and is very growly if she doesn't get one. We just figured one more year of 1/2 days wouldn't hurt.

Cam's last year of junior high started today. He's excited because he'll get to "rule the school" this year. I think he just likes to go to school for the social experiences!

I forgot.....

We stayed about 5 minutes from the stadiums where the KC Royals and the Chiefs play. We didn't see a ball game, but did get to go inside and see the Royals Stadium.

We tried to let everyone pick a place each night to eat supper. Paige, of course, picked Chuck E. Cheese's. I think Josh and Cam had just as much fun there.

I have added a link to look at pictures on our site. It's easier than trying down load all of them onto a post.

Thanks to my high-school classmate and blogger extraordinaire, Shannon Kunkle. I have also added a link to her site. Shannon's is the first blog I ever read and the one I am stealing all these cool ideas from.

The Rest of Vacation

On Tuesday we went to Oceans of Fun. Even though we applied sunscreen numerous times during the day, all of us sunburned, except Paige. I don't know how she got by without getting fried, but I'm sure glad she did. She did, however, get a few new "vacation freckles" on her nose and cheeks. She loved the wave pool. It's just like being at the beach, minus the sand! She had to wear a life jacket because of her height, so she just laid on her back and let the waves carry her around.

On Wednesday, we went to Worlds of Fun. We got a late start in the morning since nobody woke up until almost 9. We all must have been worn out from the day before. We stopped at IHOP for breakfast before heading to WOF. Everyone had a ball riding on all the rides. Paige was even brave enough to ride on some of the big rides. I think she rode the "Sea Dragon" 3 times.

She and I also headed to Camp Snoopy while Josh and Cam went to ride the "big boy" rides. She rode lots of rides there and even got to hug Snoopy.

Camp Snoopy also had this huge playroom with air-powered guns that shot foam balls. I'm not sure which kid, Josh or Cam, had more fun in there.

On Friday, we headed downtown to Union Station, a restored 1900's train station. We went through the train museum, the science center and saw 2 shows at the planetarium. We also headed to Crown Center and toured the Hallmark Visitors Center. It sounds kind of boring, but was very interesting. It was all about the history of Hallmark Cards.

We finally headed home Friday morning. After finishing up school shopping on the way home, we finally made it back to Pocahontas about 8:00. Now I have about 47 loads of laundry to finish up!!

Day Two

We ended up going to the zoo today. It's noot nearly as impressive as the Omaha Zoo. The layout at the KC Zoo is terrible. There is ALOT of walking involved in seeing only 1 or 2 animals in each area. It is set up in to different "continents". So in Africa, for instance, you see the animals native to that area. I think we walked a mile to see some zebras, giraffes, and 1 rhino. It was so hot, that most of the animals were hiding in the logs or in some cool corner.


We did end up seeing an IMAX movie called "Deep Sea". That was very cool. If you've never been to an IMAX theater, GO!! It's awesome.

After the zoo, we went to Cabela's for a little while and then off to Sadler's Indoor Raceway. Which is an indoor go-cart track. Josh took Paige in a double-seater and let Cam beat the doors off him. So, of course, Josh had to ditch Paige and get into a single car and smoke poor Cam. Josh is just a LITTLE competitive when it comes to racing, even if it involves his 14-year-old son!

After racing we ate BBQ at a little place next to our hotel. It's called the Rib Crib. It wasn't really that impressive, but after over a 100 miles today, it was close and convenient.

I think tomorrow we are going to Oceans of Fun. The heat index is supposed to be near 105 and the water seemed like a good idea.

Kansas City

We made it to Kansas City about 3:00 on Sunday. We checked into out hotel and then did a little school shopping.

We ate supper at Red Robin. Yummy!! Best burgers ever!!!

I think we are planning on going to the zoo today. Everyone is still tired from the trip down and nobody slept well last night so we wanted a "short" activity.

Getting ready for vacation

We have been gearing up for our family vacation next week. We are taking the kids to Kansas City for the whole week. We are leaving next Sunday and coming back on Friday.

We are planning on going to World's of Fun, Ocean's of Fun, the zoo, and Union Station, which is a restored 1914 train station with a science center planetarium, and train exibit (have to fit something educational in there with school starting so soon). We are also planning on doing their school shopping.

I'm sure we'll all be worn out by Friday! I'm trying to plan ahead as much as possible, but am still sure of forgetting something!

Pictures galore and a run-down will be posted when we get back!!

Busy Saturday

Yesterday Paige and I went to Laurens to celebrate the 125th birthday of the town.

It started with the parade. She and I helped pass out jerky with the Jack Link's crew. It was such a long parade route that I pulled her in the wagon that we had decked out with Jack Link's boxes and ribbons. She loved helping pass out the goodies to everyone.

After the parade we met up with my cousin, Kelly and her kids, Kennedy and Landen. We had an awesome lunch together at the Masonic Lodge. And then went to some of the Main Street activities for the kids. The girls had a ball at the water fights at the Fire Station and the giant inflatable "jumpies" in the business district. There was also a kiddie train made out of barrels and pulled by small tractor.

I ran into a few classmates that were also on Main Street with their children. It's so funny how little everyone has changed in appearance even though it's been almost (gulp!) 20 years since we've graduated.

I didn't get to see any of the evening activities since Paige and I left town about 4:00 to get ready to head to the racetrack.

The poor girl was wiped out by the time we finally got home about 10:00 last night.

Gone Fishin'

Josh and Paige went fishing today with Doug, our Schwan's man, and his son, Tanner.

They caught lots of fish and had some quality "father-daughter" time.

Happy 14th, Cam

Today is Cameron's 14th birthday.

Happy Birthday, Cam!! We love you!!

Memorial Weekend

Ok, so I know it's a little late getting posted but anyway............

We had a wonderful Memorial weekend. We all actually had the whole weekend off and had some family time together. That doesn't seem to happen much these days, so I really enjoyed it.

On Saturday, the kids and I made the much-needed trip to Wal-Mart. We had lunch at Fazoli's (Paige's new favorite place) and got home just in time to unload the car, put everything away and reload for the races.

We had a great time at the races, as usual. Paige is actually a joy to take to the races this summer. She' finally big enough to know what's going on. She's her dad's biggest fan, cheering and jumping up and down for him. She's a hoot. The boys have always enjoyed the races, although they are much too cool to do any of the yelling and all that embarrassing stuff!

On Sunday, we went to Josh's Uncle Charlie's for a 1-year anniversary of moving/race party. We enjoyed a potluck with the family and watched the race on his big screen tv. Kyle spent the night with Charlie and really had fun with him.

On Monday, we were supposed to have lunch with Josh's mom and dad since Alyse, Charles and Ella were over, but we ended up taking Paige to the ER that morning. It was only pink eye, but had to have the eyedrops so she could go to daycare on Monday morning. Thank goodness for health insurance.

Josh and the boys went for lunch, and I stayed home with Paige. We love Ella and didn't want to take the chance of giving her pink eye.

That afternoon, we called Grandma and Grandpa and asked if they wanted to chance it and come over for a BBQ for supper. They're very brave and came over. We also invited our next-door neighbor, Barb. Paige just loves Barb and goes to visit every chance she gets.

We grilled hot dogs, hamburgers and some ribs. And then made S'mores after supper.






Grandpa Roger playing horseshoes and ring toss with the kids.

Pre-School Graduation

On Wednesday night we attended Paige's Pre-School Graduation Ceremony.

The program was so cute. The kids sang about 5 or 6 songs. Paige got to be "Monday" in one of them. She's so talented!

Then they put on their mortorboards and received their diplomas from Mr. Moody, the elementary school principal.

Wasserbahn

Since the races were cancelled last weekend, we took the kids to Williamsburg to the Wasserbahn Waterpark. It is inside the Holiday Inn there, similiar to the one we have gone to in Owatonna, Mn.

All the kids had a ball. There were 2 big waterslides, a "water walk" where you walk across these floating logs. Cam was trying to get across them without using the rope. He took a few headers, but was getting pretty good by the end of the trip.

There was a big kids area that had Paige occupied for hours. She even got brave enough to go down both big water slides by herself. There was a slower green one that I could hear her coming down. Whoo-hoo. She tried the fast red one, but came out crying. It was dark and fast. She did not like it at all!

We also did a little shopping at the Outlet Mall near the park and picked up a few summer clothes for the kids.

At least we got a little vacation in before the racing season started.

To Kindergarten or Not to Kindergarten

Paige went to Kindergarten Round-Up at the Catholic School and Prep/Kdg. Round-Up the Elementary School the end of March.

She is probably going to attend the Catholic School but, she had to go to the Prep Round-Up because when we had her Pre-school parent/teacher conference, the Pre-school teachers recommended she go to Prep (which is Pre-K) next year and go to Kindergarten the year after. They are basing it on her birthday, which is August 28th, only 2 weeks before the cut-off, and the fact that they think she is not ready for Kindergarten. Apparently, she's too bossy and that is a sign of social immaturity. I told the teacher I thought it showed signs of leadership. I don't think she bought that. Besides, what do they expect? She is bossy! She also needs to work on her fine motor skills like cutting and writing. The next day Paige got some new scissors and some workbooks. I'm starting to think that the teacher's don't want to "teach" the kids anymore, the kids are just supposed to know everything.

I agree she's not ready for Kindergarten, but I don't think they'll let her in high school yet!!

Boppin with the Doodlebops

Paige and I went to see the Doodlebops in Spencer yesterday. She loved it. For those of you who do not know who the Doodlebops are....(I'm sure there are some of you), the Doodlebops have a show on the Disney Channel. It's kind of a rock and roll show for kids.

We just made it a girl's day out. We stopped for lunch, went to the show and did a little shopping.

The Grandmas

Cam, Paige and I went to visit my Grandma Snow on Sunday. My mom was out there too, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to get some pictures.

My mom, my Grandma, me and Paige

My Grandma, my mom and Paige

My Grandma, my mom and Cam

Me and my Grandma Snow

Paige with her Great-Grandma
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What's for Lunch?

Paige's favorite lunch......octopus and seaweed!

It's actually just hot dogs sliced 3/4 of the way up and then boiled until the "legs" curl. Of course, I added ketchup eyes and a smile. And the seaweed is Ramen Noodles with green food coloring.



It's always a suprise around here at lunchtime!

The Karate Kid

Miss Paige has decided she "loves karate". I'm pretty sure Spongebob is into karate, too. Hmmm....Coincidence? I think not!

Best Friends

This is a picture of Paige and Elmo at the Sesame Street Show.

Clean Up, Clean Up....

Not only is Paige a good helper when it's time to bake, she also likes to help clean up......

although it probably would have been easier to use a spatula rather than sticking her whole face in the bowl.

Sesame Street Live

Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street....

Last night Paige and I went to Spencer to Sesame Street Live:Elmo Makes Music.

We had awesome seats in the front row right next to where the performers entered and exited the stage so Paige had an "up close and personal" view of everything. She even got to "give five" to Bert and hug Big Bird. The whole show was very interactive, with all the kids yelling out the answers to the questions and really getting into the show. It was so much fun.

Of course I took lots of pictures, but still can't get them to download onto the computer. Hopefully soon!

Happy 2007

I've been trying to download my Christmas pictures, but for some reason they just don't seem to want to leave the camera. Hopefully I'll be able to post some soon.

We had a wonderful holiday season. Seeing everyone we haven't seen in a while, eating way too much and enjoying the Christmas season.

Josh and the kids (I wasn't feeling well) went to Newell for Christmas Eve dinner at his Grandpa Spurbeck's. We then stayed home for supper and waited for Santa to come.

Paige woke everyone up about 6:30 Christmas morning because, of course, Santa came to our house. The kids had a good time opening their presents. I think they all got what they wanted (and more). The boys got some DVD's they wanted and Paige's favorite thing is her Easy Bake Oven. The whole family has already taste tested the finished product. Mmmmmm.....Delicious?

We went to the Hohensee Christmas in Pocahontas for lunch and Bingo on Christmas day. That's always lots of fun.

We waited until the 30th to have Christmas in Des Moines at Charles and Alyse's house. Thanks for hosting this year! It was so much fun watching all the kids open and enjoy their presents. They play so well together and have so much fun.

It reminds me of when I was young and couldn't wait to spend time with my cousins, Darla and Lynda on my mom's side and my cousin, Barbara on my dad's.

We had a little New Year's Eve "party" at home with the kids last night. Josh made junk food platters, we watched movies and were all in bed by 10:30. Whooo Hooo!

We hope this new year finds everyone healthy and happy!

Love to everyone.....