Cole's Yellow Belt Ceremony

 

Cole has taken up Taekwando this year and loved it. It fits his personality great too. His Master, Master Kim, loves his energy and smile. He says his attention and skills are so good and that it is very rare that one can use both right and left feet to kick with. So he has now earned his yellow belt, the next step from white. They can test as often as every month or 2 months, when they are prepared.  They take a test to earn their next belt and then a belt ceremony follows as long as they pass the test. This Saturday, he had his ceremony where he got his yellow belt. He was very proud of himself as we  were too. The respect and discipline of this art is amazing!

Mini Spa Jolie

 

We call this mini Spa Jolie because the real "Spa Jolie" in Madison Park is a favorite of ours for manicures, pedicures and eyebrow waxing and tinting. Those little toes are the cutest things ever and I must say so....hard to paint! While Cole was with dad, we painted the girls' toenails and mom blew on them to entertain them while they dried! They thought it was so funny. They are adorable! This was the week my mom and I went over and watched the twins, with Cole and Hanna, while Mel and Iain and Molly and Paul went to Cabo. Tanner stayed at home with papa because he has such a busy schedule with school and sports that he didn't want to miss his stuff for 5 days. They are a perfect pair though and get along great. It was fun taking care of the girls;they are so funny and have such distinct personalities, I can finally tell them a part! It was definitely a handful with the 4 of them, 3 being under age 2, but with both of us, we got it done!

Lacrosse

 

 

 

Tanner decided that he wanted to play lacrosse this Spring instead of soccer. It is a mix of soccer and hockey, his favorite! He has enjoyed it and it is very low key, playing games on Sundays and practices one day a week. His best friend, Dalton and him are playing for the first time on the same team and loving it! They both play hockey and this has been really fun for them. It is a challenge trying to catch the ball in that net and run with it to score. They love that they can bump and check like hockey!

Happy Birthday Tanner

 

Sunday we had a family dinner and cake for Tanner's birthday. He played his first lacrosse game this day and then we made dinner, opened presents and had cake. I feel like his birthday was going on forever just because the weekend was so packed! He asked for money, the new Nintendo DSi, sports stuff always, XBOX 360 games and hockey cards. He wanted pasta for dinner and cookie dough ice cream cake. It was a fun day for him!

Reds Opening Day

 

 

Tanner's baseball opening day was at 9 am on the day of everything else! Papa Loren and Dad coach the team, the Cincinatti Reds, along with a couple of the kids' dad's from last years team that help out. They had a game that afternoon and won their first game which was exciting. 

Happy 10th Birthday Tanner- April 20th

 

Tanner's 10th birthday was a busy day, but we managed to fit in a party for him too. They had opening day for Baseball and then a game in the afternoon. Right after the game we went directly to Pattison's roller rink so they could all "blade". He got to his own party a little late because I still had to get the ice cream cake and gather kids! It was actually quite humorous because we had so many things going on in addition to baseball, but it makes everyday with kids fun and exciting. They had fun rollerblading and they were all starving so they had tons of pizza and cake and candy! Cole's friend, Jackson came to play with him and they are quite a pair, WILD! Tanner has some great friends and reminds me of how I used to be, he has a few close friends that he hangs out with most of the time and then on occasion has a new friend around, but always sticks to his comfort zone! This year he has expanded his circle of friends though which is nice to see. He got candy, legos and money from his friends.

Happy 10th Birthday Tanner!

Easter Day

 

We spent Easter at nana and papa's house. The Easter bunny hid the eggs for the kids over and over and they were troopers and hunted eggs in the 40 degree rainy, hailing weather. It was sooo...nasty outside that day, but yes, I was out there with Cole finding eggs with the dye running off them. We had a great dinner and the kids had fun with all their Easter basket things.

Play Date With Isabella

 

We got a chance to spend some time with Isabella over Easter. We actually had some nice days and spent a lot of time outside. We dyed Easter eggs and played outside and the kids love to swing. Hanna would swing all day or jump on the trampoline. They all did their eggs differently; Tanner had sports theme and Sponge Bob, Cole had camoflauge and Hanna and Isabella had Hello Kitty. More fun!!!

Seattle Play time

 

We had some fun play time too over Spring Break with the girls and the boys got to go see Monsters vs Aliens with Paul, Iain and dad. We played dress up, rode Rody, the bouncy horse, and built numerous towers and castles with mega blocks. The boys loved the movie and got all sugared up to come home to us:)

Seattle Aquarium

 

On our Spring Break Seattle trip we had a little extra time to do some touristy things. Aunt Mel and Iain have passes to the Aquarium so we went there; I think it was the rainiest, coldest day of the week. It is a fun 1/2 day trip though and perfect for the little ones' short attention spans. They have a tide pool the kids can reach in and touch the sea urchins and star fish, an octopus tank and sharks, the boys' favorite. This trip was fun for the kids.

Seattle Trip- Madison Park

 

We love ourselves a trip to Madison Park! It has become a routine hangout for us since we now spend numerous weekends there with Jon/dad! This park is a short walk from Mel's house and Starbucks is on the way. the boys call it the tricky park because it is very modern with toys that spin and tilt and do different things, along with your traditional slides and a zip swing,of course Cole loves this. Molly and Paul live nearby too so it is usually a family affair. On the way back we  often stop for MAD Pizza and ice cream, a healthy lunch! It is always fun to hang out with everyone.

Happy Birthday Papa

 

March 16th was papa's birthday. We went to nana and papa's for dinner and cake. My mom makes marinated filet and red velvet cake every year for his birthday so it is a very fillling night. The kids helped open presents, 2 of them being new golf clubs he wanted. They were all eager to help, as you can tell. He is great with the kids and helps us out all the time while Jon is gone. He coaches Tanner's bball team with Jon and puts his all into it! Thanks Papa!