The Kids are Super

Fiona had a package arrive in the mail this week with a new shirt for her from my Aunt Marilyn. The shirt says "Spina bifida messed with the wrong girl." We had just finished talking about how the treadmill had kicked mom's butt that day (hello 12 minute miles. which aren't fast, but are faster than I had been going). When Mike asked her if she knew what the shirt meant, she giggled, looked a little shy, and said "it means I kick spina bifida's butt." Yes it does, baby girl. Yes it does.

Yes Ma'am!

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After bath one night this week, I was helping Declan get ready. He told me that he had a story, but when I asked him to tell it to me, he declined. After acting sad for him and asking him "pretty please," here is the story he told me (said in the cutest, most dramatic little boy voice): Once upon a time. There was a little tiny kitty. Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow. And the he looked at me with such pride that all I could do was give him a great big hug. And giggle.

Sometimes Spiderman is also Super

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There is a pile of paperwork on the counter with Quinn's name on it. I've spent the week filling out the forms to make her an official Kindergarten registrant for next fall. While she is clearly ready to join her buddy Jonah as the new Kindergartners at the bus stop, I can't believe she is old enough, big enough, ready enough to go to the big kid school. If that wasn't enough, she talked me into putting hot rollers in her hair this weekend. She had quite the big hair when we took them out and the perfectly formed cheerleader ponytail.

There is a superhero with her name. Yahtzee!

Impromptu Snow Night

It snowed last night - thank goodness. We've been saddened by the lack of snow on the ground for January! We even had a postpone a sledding party last Saturday because the hill didn't have enough snow. So when we got home tonight and the driveway still needed to be shoveled, the kids were very sure that we should take care of it as a group.

Which meant while I cleaned up dinner and Mike shoveled, the kids went out to assist and test out the new snow saucers. Yogs joined them to help break trail in the yard. Once I had the kitchen cleaned and Mike finished shoveling, we broke out the skis and each of the kids took a turn on them. (Ignore the bad lighting in the photos. It was pretty dark out.)

All three kids did a really good job. Fiona remembered her skiing practice from last winter and even made it down a little "hill" (bank) in the yard. Her biggest problem is keeping her feet straight enough to not cross her skis. 

It was Dec's first time on skis and the dude nailed it. He was checking his balance and navigated around the yard pretty well. He couldn't quite figure out how to balance when he glides, but he ski walks like a champ.

As much as Quinn is unmotivated to learn to skate is how motivated she is to ski. She was the one who went all over the yard. When she fell, she worked hard on getting back up. And when I ran over to the neighbor's house to chat for a couple minutes, she skied all the way over to their driveway.

Their favorite part: we stayed out so long that bath got pushed to tomorrow night. That's usually our summer MO, so it was extra fun to stay outside way too late in the winter because we were having too much fun!

In-Demand Spectators

We had a busy day yesterday. Grandpa J was down in the Cities for the state pool tournament - which happened to be at Canterbury Park (like a mile from us). And cousin Nate was down for the state poly hockey tournament for Special Olympics (which was only about 30 minutes away). 

After a low-key morning and an early lunch, we headed over to watch Grandpa play. I painted 8-balls on the kids faces and "Go Team" messages. We maybe shouldn't have gone because i'm pretty sure we didn't bring his team any luck. We got there just after my dad broke (and didn't make any balls) and his opponent ran the table on him. Then in Dad's next game, his opponent broke and ran the table. So we never got to see Grandpa take a shot. However, he also didn't miss a single shot while we were there! The kids were thrilled to see him regardless. We are pretty big fans! After the end of dad's team match, we went upstairs to the dart tournament to see if we could randomly find Mike's high school buddy Paul (Jugs) in the sea of hundreds. And we somehow did. We only talked to him for maybe 10 minutes before he needed to go play, but it was fun to see him. Especially since we were already there. 

After a quick pit stop at home for some rest, we repainted faces with hockey sticks and Nate's name. The kids also tested out the new hair chalk that Makai's sister had given them. Much of this painting experimentation was due to the fact that it was most definitely bath night! We found Auntie Tracey pretty easily and had a good time cheering the team on. Nate played awesome and even had a couple shots on goal. He also looked pretty pumped that his cousins were there. After the game, we all went out to dinner together and had a great time catching up. 

After ninja showers removed the final vestiges of hair chalk and face paint, bedtime was awfully quiet. It's fun and hard work to be such big fans. 

Um ... when did she turn into a teenager!?!?

Blades of Steel

It was a beautiful Minnesota winter day on Sunday - so we did what many Northerners did that day and took the gang skating. The "yellow park" by our house has two flooded outdoor rinks and a warming shack so it was the perfect set up for us. We showed up with five pairs of skates, five hockey sticks, five pucks, and three helmets. One could say we travel light (and one would be wrong). 

Fiona's skating lessons are totally paying off. She was skating all over the rink and doing so well. She still falls some, but is really good at getting herself back up and is not discouraged. She's working really hard on her gliding technique and is getting much better. Lessons start up again on Monday and she's pretty psyched. 

Quinn would be a better skater if she would focus and try. She gets on the ice and immediately tries to run (not a good plan). She doesn't think she can do it, doesn't want to fall, and so she doesn't listen to us trying to teach her. She did work on skating around the net a few times, so that was some progress. We know that once she decides to do it, she'll figure it out in a hot second. Like most things, Quinn will do it when she chooses to. And not a second before that. 

Declan almost passed out from happiness that he was on the ice on skates - like a real hockey player. He also suffers from the "running skating" technique. We got him to balance a few times on the ice and he took a couple little steps. He had a blast and is extremely driven to learn how to do it. We'll get him out a few more times this winter for practice. In the meantime, he'll continue to use the wood floor in the upstairs hallway and his stocking feet as skating practice.

When they were done with their skates, we popped boots on and played some boot hockey. Better yet, Mike (who was still on skates) let them grab his stick and he spun them around the ice. Fiona and Declan enjoyed the crack the whip moment and flying off the end. Mike had to work extremely hard to whip Quinn of the stick. She has the most incredible balance and upper body strength. 

It was a perfect way to get out of the house for some fresh air on a lovely winter day.

Yogi Hits Double Digits

Yesterday, our very favorite furry guy turned 10. Or, if you ask Fiona, 70 (her mind is totally blown by this whole dog years/humans years concept).

Mike and Quinn bought Yogi special food and we all sang to him as Mike put the bowl down. He ate it so quickly and with so much enthusiasm that he had tears coming out of his eyes. We told the kids he was crying with happiness. Yogs has his annual vet appointment tomorrow and hopefully all is well. He's been doing so great since we had the giant tumor taken out (almost a year ago). Getting rid of that tumor restored a lot of his energy and he's moving much better.

He's a little grayer around the mouth and groans a bit more when he gets up (join the club, Yogs). His hips are definitely getting a little stiffer, but overall, he is more than happy to be active with us and enjoys goofing around with the kids. He really enjoys that Fiona loves to sit and pet him (she's good at scratching ears). He does not enjoy that between legos, hot wheels, and tiny dinosaurs, it's hard to find a place to step or lay down in the living room.

Other than the fact that we need to discourage his ridiculous new habit of eating wipes out of the trash, Yogi is as perfect as he's always been. I can't believe we have had him for almost ten years. We still remember bringing home that sweet puppy and making him a part of our family. I won't lie, we hope he'll be with us for another ten years (or more!). We love our puppy!