A birthday and some visitors!

Kevin celebrated a birthday this weekend. It was the big 3-7, which is a little strange, because I distinctly remember my parents at this age. And while they weren't old, they didn't exactly seem young and hip. So strange to think that's exactly how Kyle sees us now...

However, my husband will always be young at heart. Case in point: all month long, he told me not to get him any presents, his birthday wasn't a big deal, etc. But the closer it got to the big day, the more he couldn't contain himself. "So...do you have my presents already? Are they hidden in the house somewhere? Don't you think it's it's okay to open them the night before? Close enough, right?"

It was a torturous wait, but finally the big day arrived and he got to go on his present scavenger hunt. We did a pretty good job this year - it took him quite awhile to find a few of them.

 Marie was almost more excited about Kevin's birthday than he was. She prepared his present weeks ahead, and the look of pride and joy on her face as she watched him open it was priceless. She finds such joy in giving.

He always wants pecan pie for his birthday, and luckily I discovered this stuff, which makes it a breeze. Unfortunately, I waited until the last minute to order it this year, so that was one pricey pecan pie. And the kids hate the stuff, so I always have to make something else in addition. This year it was a lemon cream pie. It was pretty tasty.

We were also lucky enough to have some visitors that weekend! Chad, Emily & Lincoln came up for a few days. Kevin likes to think they came for his birthday, and we're not going to argue with him.

While they were here, we hit the National Railroad Museum. We'd been there once before, but it had been awhile. It's a great one for families, because there's a lot of hands-on stuff, and plenty to space to let Lincoln wander.

They got to shovel coal for awhile, which Kyle quickly turned into a dodge ball match. Marie had to point out the sign - "Please keep coal in the box." Very typical of their personalities.

My kids cannot get enough of this little guy. They followed after him the entire weekend. But, I think the top favorite was singing karaoke with him. I heard, "I miss Lincoln. He's so cute." more than once after they left.

We also hit up Hershey's Chocolate World, the Amish market (they have the best popcorn), relaxed, and played games late into the night. We definitely went through withdrawls after they left, wishing we had some buddies to play games with.

So glad they came JUST for Kevin's birthday! Love you guys!

Tiny Ballerina

You know how parents have expectations for their children? Not the demanding-type of expectation that junior is going to be a concert pianist, get straight A's, and be a high school football star. But the kind of expectations that say, "Oh, my daughter LOVES to sing. She has pretty good pitch, and I bet she's going to be pretty good singer someday."

Well, my kids seem bound and determined to prove every one of my expectations wrong. Kyle, while very talented athletically, just doesn't have any sort of competitive drive and is probably not going to be out on the field in high school. 

And before this year, I would have assumed that maybe dancing was going to be Marie's thing - given her rhythm, her propensity to dance around the house anytime music is playing, and the begging for dance classes. Instead I've heard comments about how "dance class just isn't that much fun."

Last night was parent observation at the studio, and I'm pretty sure I wore a giant smile across my face the entire time. Partly, because I was laughing at the awkwardness of my sweet little ballerina. Let's face it, she's not the most coordinated, graceful girl in the bunch. Clearly, my kids inherited that from me.

But mostly I was smiling because of how hard she was trying. She kept stealing glances at me, wondering if I was watching. And I was. I loved watching her so much, I thought my heart would burst.

And while I wouldn't bet on the fact that she's going to be a ballerina, I'm going to enjoy every moment of this stage, and wait with eagerness for that summer recital in June.

Besides, I think she's probably more of a hip-hop girl.

 

Science Factory

Our library offers these great family passes to several of the local museums. You check them out like a book, and it's good for admission for 4 people. Perfect for our little family, and it usually saves us $30 or so. It's awesome.

This time around, we checked out the Science Factory. Kyle had been there a few times for fieldtrips & birthday parties, but Marie had never been. And because Kevin couldn't come, Kyle's friend Alex tagged along.

It was the perfect way to spend another cold, snowy day off school. It was dead, and the kids had free reign of the place.

Surprisingly (or not surprising???), it was Marie who had the best time of all. In fact, she's already decided that she's having her 6th birthday party there, and inviting 6 kids, and after the party they're all going to come back to our house where she'll have a special fortune-telling booth set up. "Marie-dini," she's calling herself.

That girl, she always has a plan in the works...