Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

I am tired of winter!! We had another snow/ice/wind day and the kids stayed home from school and their beloved field trips on Friday. Yuck. There is nothing worse than cleaning up after the snow plow for the second time. We had some friends stop by from Champaign on their way to Wausau to ski. It was fun to spend some time with them. They were supposed to go to church with us but yet another snow/wind/cold day came and church was cancelled. We had a fun time sharing the Christmas story and singing songs with them instead. After our friends left, our kids were bored so they went to work to create an evening for us. They banished us to the upstairs while they made dinner and prepared a program. We had a fireside table, a 6 course dinner and great waiters. The food was good and I enjoyed it all. (except Jim walloping me in Yahtzee, 518 points really!!) They put on a cute program where they sang and played instruments. I am grateful for great creative kids that get along with each other. Thanks! It was great.

DID YOUR KID EVER DO THIS??????

A couple nights ago, We put Parker to bed, then we went downstairs and watched the news and did some laundry. When we went upstairs 2 hours later, at 11:30, Parker was lying on the bed like so...
He seemed pretty upset, okay he was really upset and we were a little concerned, was he sick, or did he dump a bottle of soap in the bathtub, did he paint the walls with toothpaste?? NOPE

After further investigation and a trip in the closet we discovered this...

You guessed it right, he was a snooper, opening the biggest present possible, the Handy Manny toy. ..
He opened it with no mercy, stabbing recklessly at the box with scissors (see above)

The box was destroyed, no chance of returning it, and on that hand if you were going to give it to charity who would want a destroyed box that looked like it had been stolen?
Anyway, not only this present was opened but 4 other ones, that were hidden under the bed (GET A BETTER HIDING SPOT JIM, WE HAVE AN ATTIC FOR A REASON) ...




So, we held a trial and it didn't go as well as planned, he seemed happy enough, and we gathered enough information to know that he wasn't even sorry!!! GASP!!!


Then we discovered that he had found a bunch of other presents too, (sorry Sydney, but he saw the one from you... He was really excited though)

None of our other kids did this... Why him????? I guess it is like mother like son, (except I NEVER got caught... at least I don't think so...)

Bomb threats, snow days and concerts

The high school had to cancel school because of a bomb threat. It was fun to spend the day with Kati. We went swimming and out to lunch and then to a movie. I am glad bomb threats don't happen often but it was fun.
We had a snow day in early December (already!!). The kids stayed home from school and got bored to easily. I will have to be more creative next time. Jacob has been playing basketball on the school team. It has been fun to watch him, he does better playing than I do at taking pictures of him. He also had his band concert. We finally got to see it after it had to be rescheduled because of snow. Here is a sample for you. You want the entire show you will have to come and visit.

Thanksgiving at the Ford's

Thanksgiving was fun this year. We had Steve, Kelli, Spencer, Tyler, Sam, Sydney, Tim, Dar, Kaity, Danielle, Kyle, Dayna, Dion, Chris, Jonathan, Nicholas, Virginia, LeRoy, and of course our family. It was fun to have a crowd.
This is our modified kid table.
We always make a ton of rolls and Kelli was busy for a long time with the roll process.


I love Steve, he washed and washed and washed. I got to use my new silverware!!
My Tyson can eat everyone under the table. This is just where he started. Funny picture.
Thanksgiving is not complete without lots and lots of pie. Let's just skip dinner and just eat pie. Kelli and I even managed to make mom's chocolate pie. Yum Yum I hope I can remember the tricks we tried.
We had the LeRoy and Virginia over (we needed Grandparents) They got into the mood when they took their turn on the WII. Funny. We sure love them.

Happy Birthday Parker

Parker turned a big 4 yesterday. We start each birthday morning with a treasure hunt. They get to open one present and it is now tradition for that present to be clothes that can be worn that day. Kati helped Jim with Parker's treasure hunt this year. She used balloons and he had to pop one balloon and blow up another to get the clue. He loved it and so did all the other boys. He finally reached the present and opened his beloved Thomas shirt. We also had cake that I totally stole the idea from a friend of mine(thanks J.). We had presents and it was cute to watch Parker and the other boys. There were fights over Parker's new toys. UGH BOYS! I can't believe this little guy is already 4. It is so fun to have him in our family. Love ya Parker!

This picture shows a couple of things I am thankful for. One is my tenderhearted children. Some may think it is not manly to love a baby, but I think it is the epitome of manhood. I love that my boys have loved. Second, I am thankful for sleep, the kids asleep or me or even both, I will take anything at this point.

Birthday Season

This time of year is fun and a little stressful as we celebrate everyone but Zach's birthday in a short amount of time. We found out years ago to get creative with cake's because they get old after one. Jim celebrated his birthday first. I can't say he is getting old because we are the same age but it is amazing to think we have celebrated 16 birthdays together. Love ya dear. Then we had Kati's birthday. She got a little belated treasure hunt but we got there and had a good time. We have enjoyed Kati, what a wonderful young lady. You are awesome Kati!! Jacob had his birthday and for his birthday the boys went to see Sun Prairie lose their playoff game. He chose a great cookie cake. Jacob has been so fun to watch over the years, he is so sensitive and loving. Good job on all your successes, we love you!!

Last Nice Day

I think we had the last nice day in Wisconsin this year. Last week it was in the 80's and we took the kids to Lake Kegonsa State Park. They had fun throwing rocks in the lake. We didn't anticipate them getting wet but of course Jim threw them in. Parker wanted to join in the fun and soon they were all wet. It was beautiful and very peaceful. It was great fun.

halloween pictures

In keeping with my sisters request, I am posting some old costumes from years past. I didn't remember some of these pictures, they were fun to look at. I am not the most creative costume maker so these ideas are mostly my children's creativity.(and silly stuff from Jim)

Homecoming

Last weekend was Homecoming at the high school. Now that Kati is in high school we are in a new parent stage. It was fun to go to the parade and see Kati with the cross country kids. Other than that we came away with a haul of candy and that by far was the best part of the parade.Then it was time for the cross country race and Kati did very well. She finished 16th and shaved a minute off her time. Way to go!!Sat night was the dance and things are different here and now than when I was younger. She went to the dance with a bunch of her friends and danced the whole time and looked beautiful and had a great time.