Dagny's 100th Day of School

Celebrating 100 days of school has become a big thing. It wasn't a tradition when my kids were in elementary school, but I have seen people post pictures of their kids on social media the past several years, so I knew what to expect. Dressing up like you are 100 years old is one activity, so I went to Party City to buy a wig. The store actually has a section of 100 year old accessories because this celebration is so popular. I was surprised at that! I got a wig, glasses, and gloves.

Oh my aching back!! She did this all on her own. How does Dagny know that old people have back aches? Couldn't be she's heard me occasionally moaning....

 

The kids had to make a poster of some kind using 100 items. Thank goodness I knew Millie did this project last year and I copied their idea. I'm not very creative when it comes to things like this, but I thought it was pretty clever. Thanks for the idea Melissa!

The kids made 100 day crowns to wear to help celebrate. Dagny loves to pose, she has quite the personality. Woo Hoo!! Dagny and I have made it through 100 days of e-learning!

 

Celebrating Landon's Birthday and Valentine's Day

We are celebrating Landon's birthday today and he requested Fake Cheesecake for dessert. It's probably his favorite thing and he asks for it most years, which is fine with all of us! We love it, especially topped with cherry pie filling.

I discovered the Buff City Soap store at the Outlet Mall last fall and it has quickly become one of my favorite places. I have a feeling it's going to be my fall back when I don't have any ideas for gifts. Everything in that store smells so amazing!!

Taking a big sniff! This scent is Kraken, the same Ryan got for Christmas. They have a good selection for men, and I think I like this one the best.

They also have beard oil and beard balm in all the scents. I couldn't decide whether to mix up a variety of scents, so I just stuck with Kraken for all of it.

Happy 32 years to Landon! He is a super fun person to be around and I'm so glad I get to see him everyday when he drops his kids off. They have been finishing their basement and he's not afraid to learn new things and give it a try when it comes to construction. He loves their bloodhound Freya and takes her on a walk most days. He's a great son, father, and husband. We love you Landon!

Last Sunday was Valentine's Day and it was super cold and freezing, minus 9! We didn't have family dinner, it was just too cold to be out, so we are also celebrating Valentine's Day. Austin and Melissa's girls love to color and make things. Claire made a Valentine book for us and she told me she worked on it all week. Lucky us to get such a great Valentine!

It's hard to read the yellow, it says: "Dear Grandma and Grandpa, I love you both so much. First Grandma is the best because you give us lots of candy and love."

"I also like and love Grandpa because almost evrey night he lets us watch t.o.t.s. Also he shared puppy chow dearing the football game."

One more page that said, "Grandma Grandpa I hope you like my Valintine. I don't have much construchin papper so I made you a book." No worries Claire, this book is fabulous and I love it it so much! The best Valentine I have ever received!

She also made us a fan.

Claire and Millie also made a valentine for Lincoln.

Maddie also had a valentine for me! She loves to glue and use stickers.

Of course Valentine's Day wouldn't be complete without thinking of Blake, who had one of the biggest hearts ever, always helping others, especially the underdog and those who needed friends.

My heart is full of love today for my family and friends. I'm glad we have this holiday so we remember to tell others how much they mean to us. It's easy to take love for granted and we don't tell others often enough how much they mean to us. Happy Day of Love!

 

Wade's Family Spends a Week With Us and Everlee Grows

It was absolutely freezing last weekend, minus 9 degrees! It rarely gets that cold in Colorado. Last Sunday night at 9:30 pm Wade called to tell us they could smell gas in their house, especially in their bedroom. The gas company told them to evacuate and for someone to wait in a car for a technician to come and check things out, so they came over here. The cold weather caused a lot of pipes in Wade's neighborhood to crack. Their leak was not a high priority, it was actually the meter outside their bedroom window that was leaking. They assured Wade it was safe to stay there, but they were uneasy with two small children, so they stayed with us until Friday when it finally got repaired. Carolee is still here as well. I'm just glad we live close by and have an empty house right now, so we had plenty of room.

They brought Everlee's bassinet over for her to sleep in since Calista will be in the crib and Dagny was very interested in it when she got here Monday morning. She sat on the couch and watched over Everlee a lot during the week. She covered her with a blanket and sang her a song or two.

Calista loves Dagny and follows her around like a shadow. Dagny plays with her and is so good to her. She doesn't ever lose her patience or tell Calista to go play somewhere else.

She is a really good baby and hardly ever cries. I never did hear her during the night while they were here.

Dagny loves to hold Everlee,

and she loves to feed her as you can tell by that big smile. She is a great helper.

She is a month old now and is starting to be awake a little more. I took this picture that I want to have printed in an 8x10 to hang on the wall.

Austin and Melissa had their ultrasound appointment today, so their girls were here. Everlee was the star of the day. Claire held her for a long time,

and they all got on the floor with her. Babies can be quite entertaining. Look at all those smiles! (Millie and Lincoln were playing something downstairs.)

They wanted to show Everlee some toys and Claire loved it when Everlee grabbed her finger.

 My heart is about to burst with love and joy for these wonderful kids! Being a Grandma is even more than I could have ever dreamed it would be. I am blessed beyond measure for sure.

Austin and Melissa's Gender Reveal

Austin and Melissa are expecting a baby, due on July 4! Melissa is at 20 weeks and today was her ultrasound appointment where the baby is thoroughly checked out and if the baby cooperates, the parents can find out the gender. After their appointment, they stopped at Target to get a going home outfit for the new baby. They gave the shopping bag to their girls to open, and they will be having...

 A GIRL!!!!! So exciting! Everyone was predicting a boy except for Maddie, so it was a bit of a surprise, but we love pink, bring on the ribbon and bows! This baby girl is so lucky to be be coming to a great family and her older sisters are going to love her to pieces! Congratulations!!

Dagny's Valentine Party

Ms. Addler is the best teacher ever! She tries really hard to give the kids the same experiences as if they were going to school in person. Everyone who wanted to participate in a Valentine's Day Party got valentines for all the kids in the class. She met parents at Sage Canyon Elementary late on a Wednesday afternoon so they could turn in their valentines. She sorted them into a bag for each student and met the parents again on Saturday to hand out the valentines. The party was today since we have a four day weekend because of President's Day and actual Valentine's Day is on Sunday.

Dagny had Air Head Valentines for her classmates. It's a lot of work for kindergartners to write all those names!

At the valentine pick up, Ms. Addler handed out some supplies for games. First they played Valentine Bingo.

Dagny was just so excited about everything! She was pretty close to getting a bingo!

I'm not sure why she was blowing kisses, but it was too cute and I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Next they sorted conversation heart candy.

And the winner is green!

They made "Bee Mine" valentine cards. Dagny is quite artistic and I love her drawings.

It was finally time to open the bag and look at all the valentines. Dagny was so kind to share with Lincoln. 

She got SO excited at this treat bag that Lincoln pulled out. That face says it all!

Craft activity coloring a pizza box and the slice is made of fun foam stickers. Such a fun party! You can see why I think Ms. Adler is the best.

Denya made valentines for the kids. They love to check the mail, especially Lincoln. He just runs in the house with it and never looks at it. When I showed them envelopes with their names on, they jumped and shrieked wondering who was sending them mail. Denya started doodling little animals around Christmas time and makes the cutest critters.

Dagny got these from Britta and Ryan. 

Lincoln got this cat from Denya. He LOVES cats and ran through the house yelling and waving his valentine card.

 I was afraid Lincoln was going to be super sad when he didn't have any valentines to open, so I asked Britta and Ryan to mail him some. Dagny was so good at sharing that Lincoln didn't feel left out at all, but it was fun for him to get so much mail.

Happy Valentine's Day to these sweet kids!

Super Bowl

This year's Super Bowl game is the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
 It wasn't a very exciting game and the Buccaneers won 31-9. Everyone here was cheering for the Chiefs. Their coach, Andy Reid, and the corner back are both members of the church, so of course that endears them to us.

The party food! We always have a ton of food, and this year it wouldn't all fit on the table. We had mini sub sandwiches, chips, strawberries, chocolate chip cheese dip, and puppy chow. Not pictured are wings, mozarella sticks, little smokies, and shrimp. 

Kimberlea tried a new recipe she saw: Cut a tator tot in half, insert a piece of cheese, wrap with bacon, then bake. They were a hit! But what could we expect? Anything with bacon is a win!

The game and the eating begins! Carolee is still here helping Kimberlea and she came to watch the game with us.

We love our Broncos and Wade's family was all decked out in Bronco gear even though they aren't in the Super Bowl.

The real star of the party was Everlee. This is the first time the rest of the family has seen her in person and, boy, everyone was so excited! Melissa is having a baby in July, and so they got all practiced up with holding a newborn again

From the minute Wade and Kimberlea got here, Dagny could hardly wait for her turn to hold Everlee. The grown ups had turns first and Dagny waited so patiently for her turn. She was the happiest girl on the planet when she finally got to hold her. 

Pass the baby to all the cousins!

Lincoln is always so full of energy, but he was so soft and gentle and cute with Everlee. He was done after just a minute or two.

Everlee got hungry while Millie was holding her, so she was the lucky one and got to feed her. Claire and Dagny were quite jealous and thought it would be super fun to give Everlee a bottle.

I was the last one to have a turn, but it's okay. I've seen her about once a week since she was born and in a few weeks I will get her 4 days a week and that will be so exciting!

Just sleeping away and doesn't even know that she is a star!

I finally got a picture with her eyes open! It's hard to believe she will be a month old on Tuesday! Such a sweetheart! Sorry Super Bowl players, but this baby was the star of the night!