Pack Graduation

Tonight, Maison had his pack graduation. His den moved from Bear Scouts to Webalo Scouts. Maison was super proud of the arrow they broke over his shoulder. It was quite an ordeal!

Season Finale

Tonight was Libby's last performance of the year. Her Tiny Kix class performed 2 of their favorite dances, Under the Sea and Wonder Pets.

I think Libby is looking forward to not having to wear her dance suit anymore! It's hard to tell from the photo, but it has crusty glitter all over, and sequins around the neck. She just itches and itches like crazy and then I spend the next million years vacuuming up the fairy dust! Two years worth the fairy dust all over the place! I found some on a sweatshirt that has been washed at least 3 times since the last show!

Click Play to See Tiny Kix in Action

The Shoemaker & The Elves

Maison had one of the leading roles in his school play. Coming up with a costume was easier and cheaper than I thought! The hair consists of shredded paper, a hat, and a combination of spray glue and hot glue. The pants are sweats with white long socks over the top. The shoes were the most difficult. I cut brown felt and basically laid it on top of his crocks. There is an elastic band under the shoe holding each side to the shoe. We used yellow pipe cleaners for the buckles, and borrowed the apron from Libby's play cook set. Not too bad.

Maison says..."Why do I always have to be the dad and why is Ginny always my wife?" I hadn't really thought about it, but every year, so for 3 years, Maison and Ginny have been mom and dad/husband and wife. The first year they played mom and dad to Goldilocks. The second year they were Mary and Joseph. And this year they were Gretchen and Hans.

Click Play for a Peek and Maison's Staring Role

Allen Family Weekend: The Extended Version

Weird Science

Masion had his annual Science Fair for school again. This year he decided he wanted to test different bubble recipes to see which formula would produce the best bubbles.

Formula 1:
1 Part Dawn Ultra
15 Parts Distilled Water
.25 Parts Glycerin

Formula 2:
1 Part Regular Dawn
10 Parts Water
.25 Parts Glycerin

Formula 3:
2 Parts Regular Dawn
4 Parts Glycerin
1 Part White Karo Syrup

After his testing was done, Formula 1 made the best bubble solution. However, Formula 3 made bubbles that were super colorful and strong! They were hard to pop, which was good because they didn't float in the air long.

Maison's 9th Birthday Bash

This year was we held Maison's first all school birthday party! Maison was really excited to have all of his school friends celebrate with him.

On Sunday, Uncle Ryan and Auntie Tara had lunch with us at Maison favorite restaurant, Red's Alehouse. After lunch we headed over to Performance Health & Fitness to get things set up.

The kids first headed upstairs to warm up and play some games. They played "What Time is it, Mr. Shark?" and freeze dance. Next they did some races and relays and finally cooled down.

After a birthday song, we headed downstairs for some cake and presents. Maison had a really great time! His birthday celebration wasn't quite over yet. On Monday Grama Shari and Papa Ed came over for dinner and more cake! He had quite the birthday celebration this year.

Thanks for all of the cards, birthday wishes, and gifts!

Click Play to See the Birthday Boy in Action!

Easter

Click Play

We headed up to Rolfe this year for Easter. The Easter Bunny must have been very busy this year! There were eggs all over the yard!

Izzy enjoyed the jelly beans and was happy with her 2 eggs. She had one for each hand. Libby did a great job finding eggs this year as well as Maison. You will see in the video that some where just out of reach for Maison, but he kept at it until he got it.

The final egg that took the longest to find was on the power box up by the deck. You can get a glimpse of this pink egg in a few of the pictures. It was practically eye level for a couple of the kids!

All in all with all of the candy consumed, no one barfed, which means a holiday well done!

Wilderness Lodge

So we actually took a small family vacation this year for Spring Break! We've never done that before! It was really great, especially since the past few years the kids haven't even been home to celebrate my birthday with me!

We packed up our things and headed north to the Wisconsin Dells to the Wilderness Lodge with our friends Jason and Nicole and their kids. Instead of booking a room at the hotel we opted to rent a condo. It was great! 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen, dining room, and a living room! We brought all of our own food which saved a ton! The weather was perfect so the short walk to the first park was perfect. From there, we were able to get to all of the other parks through the inside.

We played at 3 water parks, went to the arcade, played miniature golf and laser tag, and hit the haunted house on the way out. All in all it was a great trip and we look forward to doing it again!

Click play to get wet and wild

"You're 5 Like Me!": Part II

So Grama Shari turned 5 like Libby too! Now Libby, Grammy, and Papa are all 5! Next year, they'll all be 6! The kids decided they wanted to make Grammy a queen cake for her birthday, but from the above photo it's safe to say it didn't quite happen that way! Libby and I spent the afternoon baking a queen cake for Grammy while Maison was at a birthday party. She worked very hard and didn't get too many egg shells in the batter! (I picked most of them out, but what's a little crunch in a cake?) We put it into the oven, baked it, let it cool, and when we went to flip it...Well it broke in half and the top half ended up staying in the pan! I don't know who cried more, me or Libs!

So in a mad dash we headed to the store and there it was. The perfect cake...a giraffe! And you know what even made it better? It was on sale! WOOT WOOT! What happened to the broken queen cake? Well, we ate it for breakfast and lunch, with just enough left over for Maison to bring some to Grammy's party. (He doesn't like white cake) It was a BYOC party (bring your own cake).

Grammy got lots of great cards and gifts! Papa bought her some ruby earrings and we bought her a birthday outfit for her giraffe!

Warning: Click play at your own discretion. We are not responsible for any side effects to extreme sugar overload!

Skating Party

Maison had ITBS Testing all week at school. On Friday night of that week, Hillside families and friends meet at the Wellman skating rink for a celebration of a job well done! Libby doesn't have the skating thing down real well, but gets around pretty good on the Fisher-Price skates. Izzy and Daddy are Limbo experts, and Maison has turned into quite the speed skater!

Under the Sea

Click Play To Go "Under the Sea"

Libby had her second performance of the year tonight. They participated in the Solon High School Dance Show.

Patriotic Program

Maison had his Patriotic Program tonight for school. They did such a great job as always! Below is a video of some of the songs they sang. Maison's body movements and reactions to the music definately bring a smile to my face! He cracks me up!

Click Play to Have a Grand Ole Time

Sponsorship Available

So does anyone truly know the cost of raising and Olympic athlete? The kids officially enrolled in gymnastics at the beginning of February at Iowa Gymnest. They each attend class Tuesday night from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. So far they really seem to enjoy it!

After the 3rd class, Libby's teacher kept her after for about 15min to work on some skills. She came bopping out and Miss Mary came over to talk to me. At first I was a little apprehensive because the class Libby is in is for kindergarten through age 9, and I was afraid Miss Mary learned that Libby isn't in kindergarten! I just put her in that class so they could both go on the same night at the same time! I was somewhat relieved to find out that age wasn't an issue. It was her ability.

So the girls in Libby's class range from age 6 to age 9. Miss Mary informed me that she sees great potential in Libby. Even though Libby has only been there for 3 weeks, she can out skill everyone in her class including the 9 year olds, who have been there since the fall. I must admit I was intrigued and VERY excited for Libby! Miss Mary asked me if she could move Libby into the Stars group for the remainder of the year and summer, in hopes she could move her into the TAG group in the fall and next spring or fall have her on a pre-team squad. I was stunned to know that a 5 year old child who has only spent 3 hours in the gym has that much potential. I asked Miss Mary to give me some time and we headed home.

I asked Jason if he was ready to mortgage the house to the hilt. And proceeded to tell him Libby's news. We started looking at the cost and the potential for both Maison and Libby because Maison is equally amazing and what one does the other wants. Maison doesn't seem too competitive, but Libby on the other hand, if she gets a taste of blood, we won't be able to stop her!

I started asking around thinking maybe Libby wasn't as talented at Miss Mary led me to believe. However, that doesn't seem to be the case. Not a single parent or child we know whose child has been in or is currently in gymnastics has ever been invited to join these "invitation only" classes. So maybe she really is great?!

At this point, we have opted to keep her where she's at. The cost right now is too much and too much just doubled when you look at the Stars group. Too much doubled becomes too much double plus half when you move into the TAG group...do you see where this is going? Too much doubled plus half plus the car and the house becomes entirely way too crazy when you're only 5! Will she be washed up when at 12? That's just CRAZY!

So, this past week when we were getting ready for "nastics" Libby says..."Mom, I'm only going if I can be on t.v.!"

We are looking for sponsors. In exchange for your charitable donation we are willing to turn over our parental bragging rights. Feel free to brag about how great our kids are to anyone that is willing to listen!

Kids Write the Funniest Things

So this past week has been somewhat rough at the house. We have been very fortunate this winter as far as illness is concerned because no one has really been sick...no tummy flu or colds. However, Libby has had this really nagging cough. No stuffy nose, no fever, no nothing other than this cough. (For those of you that don't know, Libby sleeps on the floor in Maison's room, which is a whole story in itself.) So we have been doing Mucinex, Vic's Vapor rub on the chest, and running a humidifier in the bedroom, all in hopes of helping that cough. Cause honestly if I have to hear that one more night, I'm moving out!

*Sidenote: Did you know you're not supposed to put Vic's Vapor rub in or around the nose?! WHAT!? When I was a kid I used to stick that stuff right up my nose holes, not so much because I needed it, but because it smelled AWESOME!*

So, now that you have some background information, on with the story. Jason and I have been recording American Idol to watch after the kids go to bed. Last night was no exception. We sent the kids off to bed and headed for the basement. After Idol, we headed upstairs, Jason to the bedroom and I myself to the kitchen to lay things out for Libby's preschool snack. Jason comes to the kitchen and says "You've got to come see this." I smile, only knowing that it can't be good and proceed to follow him to our bedroom. I round the corner into our room and see this dry erase board propped up on my side of the bed.

Traveling Cousins

Great Auntie Janis and Great Uncle Beau stopped and stayed with us over the weekend as they traveled to and from Omaha. The kids had a great time together! They haven't met but only a couple of times, but they just picked up where they left off last time! They already have plans for Easter. I don't think us adults know what those plans are, but the kids do!

The kids played outside in the snow for just a little while only because it was too chilly the be outside for very long. Libby and Ella made a slide out of the pile by the driveway; Georgia shoveled the grass; and Ian made a beeline down the block!

Super Bowl Sunday

We had some friends over for the game and our family proudly wore their Colts gear. Libby calls them the Horseshoes, Maison calls them the Ponies, and Izzy, well, she just claps when you say "Yeah Colts!"

Maybe next year!

Pinewood Derby 2010

Last year we watched someone send their derby car down "as is"... a rectangular piece of wood with wheels, and it did way better than Maison car, which was carefully carved and shaped. With that in mind, Maison decided he wanted to leave his car pretty much as it was in the box.

He decided to make a SpongeBob car this year. Daddy helped him drill the holes for the sponge look, and he even let Libby help him paint it! We were very proud of him for coming up with the idea and doing the work himself!

Every year awards are give for speed, Cub Scout Theme, Patriotic Theme, Hawkeye Theme, Best Paint Job, and Scout's Favorite. This year Maison won the Scout's Favorite award! The boys loved his car and you could hear them chanting "SpongeBob....SpongeBob" as it traveled down the track! Maison received a ribbon and his picture in the North Liberty Leader, our local newspaper.

Push Play to See SpongeBob in Action

Maison's car placed second in Heats 1 and 2, in Heat 3 he placed first. Overall, he was 7th out of 36 cars as far as speed! Who would have thought a holey piece of would could be fast!

2nd Annual Wasserbaun Trip

So the past couple of years our friends Eric and Nancy come this way for a wrestling tournament up in Cedar Falls. We meet them in Amana at the Wasserbaun hotel so the kids can swim and the Dads can race down the water slides. Last year Sqizzerbella was too little to enjoy the pool, however this year was a different story!

Izzy had more fun going up and down the stairs in the baby pool! She would step into the pool over where we were sitting, walk all the way over to the steps and climb up, and start the process all over again.

Maison had a great time in the whirlpool. There were tons of kids and the water was going so fast, kids couldn't get out! It was the craziest thing I have ever seen! Maison thought it was pretty cool.

Happy New Year

Grandmere Mary and Papa Dan came down for New Year's. We had a yummy steak dinner, well everyone but Maison. He still won't eat it, but Libby and Squiz love it! I think Papa lost half his steak to Squiz!