A Group Of Stahrs

Our Family Life…All Together

Snow Day

Today was our first snow day of this school year.  After a measly 3 inches of snow (we had 5 inches last week and no cancellation or delay), the district cancelled school.  Jacob’s school follows a different district which was on a 2-hour delay but that meant Jacob’s school was cancelled since he only goes for 2 1/2 hours.  So the kids were home today!

After it warmed a bit (the high was only 28), we got our snow gear on and ventured outside to play.  Jacob went straight to the snow angels…but otherwise just rolled around in the snow…Jamie did some snow angels and played with Mazie…Mazie went for the swings…Even Max got into the fun.  This photo was taken last week with the five inches of snow we received.  She was in heaven…like it was the best thing ever to run in snow…I couldn’t catch her with the camera today.  She was too busy running around the yard!

For those of you with kids, you know how long it takes to get them suited up to go outside.  Jacob went out for a whole 10 minutes before he decided he was too cold and needed to come in.  I didn’t even get his boots off before he asked for hot chocolate.  I’m pretty sure that’s the only reason he went outside!

Ten On Tuesday

1.  I have no idea why but all day today I thought it was Wednesday.  I’m not trying to speed up my week but it threw me off all day.

2.  I can not believe it is November already.  I am way behind on my Christmas shopping but so excited for the holidays!

3.  Last week was red ribbon week at school.  The kids have a theme for each day to emphasize the importance of saying “no” to drugs.  One of the days was crazy hair day…

4.  Jamie looks like Cindy Lou Who from Whoville, yes?

5.  The girls were non-stop talking about their parties at school.  They had a blast dressing up with their friends. 

6.  We also had fun at the Trunk-or-Treat last night.  The kids enjoyed the decorated cars and the bouncy houses and the 10 lbs of candy they scored!

7.  Mazie got her first set of braces last week.  Just five on the top front teeth to kind of pull them back together.  It hasn’t been as big of a deal as I thought it might.

8.  It’s supposed to snow again tomorrow.  We had 5 inches here last Wednesday from that nice little storm.  It was 60 here today and the high is supposed to be 27! Yikes!

9.  The Air Force vs. Army game is on Saturday.  We were going to take the kids but it’s supposed to snow then too.  I think we will watch from our warm comfy couch instead.  GO FALCONS!

10.  When I picked Jacob up from school today, he kissed my hand and said, “I missed you today, Mommy.” I said, “You did?” He said, “Yes but not enough to cry about it.  I am a big boy, you know.”  Like I was getting too sucked in by his cutie-patootie-self and he noticed and decided to shut it down before I gave him a kiss or something.  Jeez, Mom! 

Happy Tuesday!

Happy Halloween

Boo!  Gotcha, didn’t I ? 😉  We are having a fantastic Halloween Day.  Are you?  First we have our purple Witch…Gorgeous, right? But then we have the beautiful Rapunzel…Check out all that hair!  I never have to fear danger when I have Batman around…

Jacob had a party at school this morning.  He took 13 cake pops that looked like jack-o-lanterns.  At the end of school, the parents were invited to watch their parade…The girls’ parties are at the end of the day today.  I am sure it will be a great time for them.  I sent pumpkin whoopie pies with Mazie for her party (30 to be exact)and chocolate cake pops that were decorated as jack-o-lanterns with Jamie (26 to be exact).  I’m sure we will be filled in on all the fun festivities of the afternoon!

Tonight we are going to a Trunk-or-Treat but only after having guts and bones for supper…Also known as spaghetti squash and bread sticks with sauce (not pictured).  More on our Halloween adventures later.  Happy Halloween!

The Pumpkin Patch

We went to the Colorado Pumpkin Patch last weekend.  We’ve been there three times.  This year they downsized a little but it was still fun!First, my corny kids…

Then we hit the slides…

There was the corn box…and a hay ride…There were some pretty cool scarecrows…

There were animals to pet and pumpkins to pick too.  In fact, it took the kids almost as long to pick their perfect pumpkins as it did for us to do all the rest!

We took the pumpkins home and the kids went to work preparing their pumpkins with their faces…After Dad cut the tops, the kids dug into the “guts” and cleaned out the pumpkins…

While the seeds were roasting, Dad carved out the faces that the kids drew.  The kids watched closely to make sure he did it right.  And they were pleased with his mad carving skills…

The pumpkins even looked great at night…

The BIG Minnesota Post

We’ve been home for almost two weeks and it’s taken me that long to edit pictures from our wonderful trip to post on the blog.  That on top of dealing with a cold I picked up from the cutest 3 1/2-year-old little boy ever.  It’s ok Fisher.  I’ll still visit you, even if you do give me the plague!  And I do need to get a cold every so often or I would think I was Wonder Woman.  So thanks for putting me back in my place! 😉

Seriously, how can you ever get mad at this sweet face… Don’t you just want to smooch on those sweet cheeks?  But I’m almost 100% and I’m going to post about our entire weekend in one post.  So sit back and enjoy the reading!

JJ’s been posting about our weekend together, saying how they really do it up right in Minnesota for friends.  I can attest that our family was happy with what we did and still had the best weekend ever!  The kids are all still talking about it and that’s saying something.

Our first adventure was Alla’s big soccer game.  It was pretty cool to see her in action…But the real excitement was after the game which was what Fisher couldn’t wait for.  Touch-A-Truck Day!  He was so excited.  He and Jacob lead the way to the trucks, chatting the whole time about all the things they were going to see and do, like old friends do.This was just a perfect outing.  The kids got to climb into all kinds of trucks and emergency vehicles and see what they are really like on the inside.  Jacob even was on the loud-speaker of the S.W.A.T. truck yelling, “Major Rock Star” like Alvin does on the Alvin and Chipmunks movie.  The kids were in heaven…

Jacob decided to beg for mercy when he was in the back of the police car…After the kids were finished checking out every.single.vehicle, we ventured over to the park to play for a little which was equally fantastic.  Our kids love checking out parks all overHowever, this one may be etched in our memories forever.  I mean, really what kind of parents encourage their children to ride down a giant tongue for fun?Apparently Minnesota parents…Ok, maybe some Colorado parents, too, but in our defense it was the only slide. 😉 After going home for lunch, we went to the local fire station for tour of the station and a ride in an actual firetruck.  No photos because I didn’t take my camera but you can check out what JJ’s take on that adventure was like here.

On another day, we got to see some of Minnesota’s beautiful Fall colors when we drove to the Mississippi River to check out the lock and dam.

I had never seen a lock and dam and, quite honestly, didn’t know what it was until we saw one in action.  It was pretty cool and the kids watched in amazement!

After watching the lock and dam in action, we walked down some rickety old steps to the river’s edge.

The kids thought that part was pretty cool too.  That was it for our out-of-the house adventures.  Now onto the around-the-house adventures…

It had to be the windiest day ever recorded in the history of the weather being recorded the day we landed in Minnesota.  Seriously, we almost didn’t land in one piece.  The plane tipped side to side making this mama ready to swear off flying forever!  But the good thing about all that wind was the fact that there were Fall leaves to be raked in the Killins’ back yard.  Leaves from area yards that they wouldn’t have had otherwise.  So the kids went to work…

Because everyone knows that a good piles of leaves means a good bit of jumping…

And then they would rake them back on to the “biggest pile ever” and do it all over again.  This is one of my favorite photos from the entire weekend.  First my two favorite boys are working together and just so darn cute doing it too…Second, Jeremiah, Mazie, and Alla are in the background finding a safe spot for a caterpillar she found while raking.  They needed to keep that little guy safe.  And third, Jamie sitting on the little riding bike is pretty funny to me.  It played a little song when you rode it and she thought that toddler toy was fantastic! But then there is this one and I can’t stop smiling looking at each child and knowing how difficult it was to even get all five to lay in the leaves for just one.  But they did it and I’m grateful I have one of all of them together…These two boys were peas in a pod the whole weekend.  They enjoyed watching Fisher’s shows, even though every other second Fisher would say, “oh this is my favorite part”.Jacob enjoyed playing with Fisher.period.  Not only because he had toys that were new to him but because Fisher was another boy.  I loved that they carried on conversations about trucks and how their little stories would play out.Then there was bedtime.  The kids got stories every night and extra kisses and hugs.

In fact, one night I was giving Jacob his kiss and hug and he said, “You hug just like the mom of this house” (meaning JJ).  I took it as a complement since JJ is the best hugger.  And then there was the time Jacob referred to Ron and JJ as the bosses of the house.  We were talking about something and he said that I had to ask “one of the two bosses of this house” because he just couldn’t remember their names right off the tip of his tongue.  But one time Alla came done the stairs and she said, “Megan, JJ would like to know if you and Jeremiah would like to have some coffee”.  Without laughing in her face, I answered her and then waited until she was out of earshot to tell Jeremiah that she had a smirk on her face the whole time like she was getting away with calling her mama “JJ” instead of “mom”!  Just some silliness from the trip I don’t want to forget.

The adults had time to catch up after the kids went to bed.  Actually it was more like while the girls were in their room messing around and have a grand ol’ time and we were listening to every single word on the monitor.  There were some silly things said at night between those three!  But they did eventually go to sleep and we did catch up.  We played games…I never won but it was fun.  I just wish I would have had the ninja card just once!

But that was basically our weekend in 32 pictures.  You should be happy I didn’t put all 200+ that I actually took!  We had just a great weekend.  But I will leave you with this last picture.  It’s how I feel that we live so far away from such great people…I call this one “Pout Pout Fisher”.  And when he was in a not-so-great mood, this is what happened.  So it was fitting to end with it.

Thanks for letting the five of us invade your house for a few days.  We love you!

Ten on Tuesday

1.  I had to attend a seminar on advanced gum paste flowers this weekend in Denver.  I had so much fun. 

If you want to see the pictures of the flowers I made you can go the business blog…stahrscakes.com!

2.  Jacob is class leader tomorrow in school.  What that means is he gets to be line leader, helper in the class, provide snack for his friends, and share a favorite toy.  He’s hoping to stump his class with his three clues as to what his favorite toy is.  He didn’t stump his class last month.  They are pretty good clues this time!

3.  We have parent/teacher conferences tomorrow afternoon.  Mazie’s is up first and then Jamie’s.  I can’t wait to hear what their teachers have to say.  I can’t believe our first term is over already.

4.  That means that we have Fall break starting on Friday.  Two weeks of rest and relaxation, right?  I’m thinking it’s not going to be that easy…

5.  One thing we are doing is going to Minnesota!  What’s in Minnesota, you ask?  Well, besides being the Land of 10,000 lakes, the Killins live there.  We are so excited about seeing them! (the Killins, not the lakes) 😉

6.  Jeremiah is off work starting Thursday!

7.  We are getting a new roof on Thursday.  The house will be painted shortly after!  I can’t decide on a slate blue shade or a sage green shade.  I want to keep my door and porch swing red.  Anyone want to add their opinion?

8.  Max is going to be boarded while we are in Minnesota.  It will be the first time she is away from us since bringing her home.  I’m a little nervous about this but hope she will have fun with her new dog friends.

9.  The kennel has an iPhone app so we can check on her.  That makes me feel a little better.

10.  Just in case you were wondering, there are only 51 days until Thanksgiving and 82 days until Christmas!  Start planning now.

Happy Tuesday.

It’s October

What happened to the end of September?  I mean, it seems like it just flew by.  Well, today I’m catching up on the last few things of September that I wanted to post but just didn’t have time to do!

First up, Thomas.  We took the kids to Golden, CO a few weeks ago to enjoy A Day Out With Thomas.  It’s so fun to see all the model trains and, of course, Thomas.  Here’s a little collage of our trip…Next, Jamie finished Landsharks this week.  Her last cross-country race was successful.  She finished 57 seconds faster than her previous race!  That’s a 13:52 for 1 1/4 miles!  She was so proud to get her medal…Then we had a celebratory party.  The kids played some games, parents joined in, we had snacks (I made cupcakes), and the runners received certificates…Jeremiah and I decided to get a treadmill.  After putting it together, Jacob wanted to test it out.  Jeremiah stood (and held on to him) behind him while trying out “level 6” on the speed.  I think his face says it all…I took a belt test in taekwondo this morning.  I am now the new owner of a fancy new bo dan one belt.  It is the same as Jamie.  It was a good test!

I will leave you with these images of Fall at our house.  These were taken yesterday and we still have more than half the tree full of leaves!

Friday Five

1.  Jamie’s meet on Monday was a success!  She shaved 16 whole seconds off her first meets time.  She was so proud…

2.  I have a date with my husband tomorrow night! YAY

3.  Jacob’s picture day is on Monday.  He’s a little less than excited about wearing a button shirt.

4.  Mazie is getting a “contraption” in her mouth to expand her jaw.  She’s had spacers in for two weeks and  she gets her “contraption” next week.  I will have to turn a key every day to widen her mouth to make room for her big teeth.  We are so looking forward to it…sarcasm totally intended.

5.  I am going to Denver at the beginning of October for a seminar for Wilton.  I will be learning the Advanced Gum Paste flowers and how to teach it to my students.  I can’t wait.  It’s going to be exciting!

Happy Friday

Last First Day

So I’m two weeks behind with this.  It’s Jacob’s first day of school.  And while it happened two weeks ago, posting pictures on here made it more real than I was ready for.  You see, this happens to be our LAST first day of preschool.  And it’s a little hard for me to swallow that truth.  But, nonetheless, it happened and it needs it due attention.  So without further procrastination…I present Jacob’s first day of preschool 2011.He was so excited.  He couldn’t wait to get started.  He had to wait a whole month after the girls started and was quite jealous!Since we were a bit early, we sat on the bench until the teachers were ready for us.  He was telling Dad that he was excited and since he wouldn’t look at the camera with me I gave him kisses…

That’s what you get when you don’t cooperate with mom. 😉  Each child was given a color and shape.  Jacob’s was a blue square.  He is supposed to find the blue square no matter what room he goes to.  That’s his special spot.  He found his hook with his blue square and hung up his bag and jacket…and went right into the room.  He was so excited to see play dough ready for them to use…and with one last smile…Dad and I were told to leave so he could get on with his learning.  So there you have it…our Last First Day of preschool.  *sigh*

Board Break-A-Thon

The Board Break-A-Thon was a hit.  I do not know what the 4 U.S. Taekwondo Center’s raised for the WooSong Foundation but we had fun breaking boards.  Jamie and Mazie went so fast, there was no time to snap pictures.  They just went right to business.  Each of us broke 5 boards, any way we wanted.

But for a small donation of $5, Jacob was able to break a board and we got an iPhone picture of that.  He walked right up to Instructor Trevor and asked if he could break a board.  He also told him that he wanted to kick it this time.  The first time he kicked Instructor Trevor’s fingers.  *ouch*  But then he went right through the board!

Boy, did Jacob’s face light up when he broke that board!  I told him that I needed to get a picture of his broken board and him when we got home.  He was pretty proud of himself so he obliged.

See, toldya! (a true Jacob quote)

Thank you to those who donated for the charity.  The girls are working on special “thank you” cards!

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