Reagan is 10

My Baby girl turned 10 this year! WOW where did that time go? I can't believe she's in the double did-gets! She is such an amazing girl, knows who she is and is good at everything she tries and loves to laugh and have fun! We had a fun family day for her birthday, a nice party at home and a fun dinner out. She is such an easy kid to please and so fun to give presents to! Reagan is such a great kid and a wonderful big sister! We are all so lucky to have her in our family ...... what a girl!

Reagan Loves: Reading, Drawing, Painting Gymnastics, Science, School, Friends, Church/Activity Days, Macaroni and Cheese, The color Purple, Her Dog Wally, and Laughing a LOT!

Swing Time

Wes and Reagan made this swing in the front yard this fall. It's a long rope swing with 2 bucket lids for a seat. The second Wes gets home from school the kids are asking him to swing them on the swing. Jack's been on with a little help but Rea and Dyl LOVE it! Fun Stuff :-)

Waldameer

We hit waldameer on the last day of the season this year for the first and last time! This seemed like such a busy summer, as they all are! The kids had a blast with our friends on the rides! I think the favorite ride for the kids was the log ride ....... mostly because I screamed like crazy on that drop and tend to freak out a bit on rides and of course they thought that was hilarious! I got a shot of the little ones on the frog hopper and Wes and the kids on a small coaster everything else was a little blurry. I was so very impressed that Reagan rode the ravine flyer, it's a pretty fast and very intense old wooden creaky roller coaster and she was one of the youngest on it! When she got off she was a little shell shocked ...... don't know if she is going to trust her Daddy again when he says "come on Rea it'll be fun!" The kids can't wait until it opens again!

Mystical Powers affecting Lake Erie

We thought we'd go out and maybe do some fishing at this spot Wes new about by the lake. The wind and the massive waves had a different idea that evening.

Instead we got to throw rocks in the water and run from waves ...... these were the HUGE waves and Dylan was convinced that he was controlling them with his "powers." I'm not sure if he was using his Jedi powers or his Magical powers but whatever it was he spent quite a while pushing and pulling these waves up and back from the shore, and making some great sound effects at the same time. Once in a while a good wave would sneak up on the kids and they'd have to run or get some wet feet! We staying until sunset what a fun evening!

First Day of School

The kids were Super Excited to start school this year! Reagan is in 4th grade, Dylan is in 1st and Jack started preschool this year. They all LOVE their teachers and their schools!

Kick Ball and Sprinklers

Dylan got to play kickball this last summer. Our good friend Justin was the coach of his sons team and had extra room for Dylan. I will say it wasn't his favorite but he could kick the ball pretty good and got around the bases a few times during the season. It was good for him to get out and try a field sport. Thanks Justin for being a fantastic coach and Max for teaching Dylan the "ready to field the ball" stance :-)

We don't have a fantastic backyard here but we do have some grass and a tree with a rope tied to it. The following video is long and will probably only be appreciated by Grandparents but I thought why not post some summer sprinkler fun! Ignore the Mom'izums please ;-)

We LOVE Summertime!!!

Schools Out for Summer!!! I don't know who was more excited me or the Kids!

Happy Fathers Day Daddy! You're the BEST!

We had a Really Great 4th of July with Awesome Friends!

We really should have brought our Suits

So every other time Grandma Ewing has been out here it's been frozen, snowy, windy, icy and down right cold! So the kids and I were SUPER excited to take her to our beach, and our walking trails and show her why we love Lake Erie. I thought we were just going to have a picnic and throw rocks the first day out but ....... you can imagine how wrong I was with 3 kids a lake, a sandy beach and a BIG hole to fill up with water. I mean this stuff is important, no sacrifice to great to get that hold filled fast!

The next day Jack and I took her back to Presque Isle again to do some walking, see the bay and enjoy all the green trees. We brought Wally along and were surprised that he didn't scare off the family of geese we could practically reach out and touch! The flagship Niagara was out too so that was fun to see. Glad you could come enjoy a warm season this year Grandma!

Gymnastics and Friends :-)

As you can see below the kids did a Gymnastics class this spring. The older 2 had classes one right after the other, so I was there for at least 2 hours on the hard gym floor ..... ouch! Sometimes 3 hours if the coach invited Reagan to stay for the last class to work on her back handspring! I am so glad Micah was there with her girls for at least an hour of that, sometimes longer if we got to chatting :-)

The kids LOVED these classes and Dylan was more then thrilled to have Tayla in class with him! They are such great friends, never fight always have fun together and are sad to go home! Good friends are priceless!

Reagan had a great time learning new things and getting really close to doing a back handspring! We are going to find another one in the fall so watch out she may be bouncing by soon enough. The question is will Jack just watch this fall or do I need to find a class for him too? These kids are going to wear me out! Good thing they are worth it :-)

I am into these collage things lately. Click on them if you want to enlarge them.

Mothers Day

I love that my kids are older and acutely get the Mothers Day concept a little better meaning Mom does as little housework as possible on Mothers Day :-) It was such a nice relaxing day for me and as I say to my kids all the time .... "I am SO lucky to be their Mommy!" They made me gifts and pictures that I love and will hold onto forever! They are each so different and unique and I really am blessed to have great kids! Happy Mothers Day!
We went to go throw rocks on the beach that evening and I had to include the cute pictures of my cute kids :-)

Talent Show ...... #1

The kids school had a talent show in the spring and Reagan participated in 2 numbers! She played a couple of piano songs that she worked really hard on and practiced for months! And she did a choreographed dance number with some friends from her class that included glow in the dark accessories. Fun, Fun, Fun!
She was the ONLY kid in the entire talent show playing any kind of instrument and was by far the favorite! I didn't get great video of the numbers but I have uploaded what I got, listen to the crowd going wild at the end! She worked really hard on her piano pieces and did really, really well. We are so glad she loves to play piano and we get to enjoy her beautiful talent. Way to go Reagan #1

"It's the Milk Chocolate oh oh"

For those of you who have been to Hershey PA you know why I now have the singing cow song pop into my head now every time I think of chocolate or hershey. It's very catchy and who wouldn't remember a song sang by cows?

Wes just HAD to go to Hershey for an anesthesia conference, one of those education credit hour things for school and the rest of us of course HAD to go with him. It was a blast, really a fun place to visit especially since we got to go with not 1 but 3 great families that we consider great friends who were also there for the same reason as us ..... and that was the free mini sized Hershey's chocolate bars :-)

The amusement park was opened the Saturday we were there and the kids LOVED it! Reagan went on a ride that I didn't even want to look at! I got a pic. of her coming out of the gate at the end of the ride, pure shock! After that she was a little more "reserved" like her Mama when it came to rides. Both the boys enjoyed the rides a lot more than I expected them to, especially the rollers coaster they wanted to do that one again and again.

Dylan had a blast swimming in the hotel pool with his friends and got really brave jumping into the water from the pool deck. This was all thanks to the encouragement and example of his buddy Max, and of course the cheering of "Dylan, Dylan, Dylan" from Max's Mom Kortni! I was next to tears watching him actually ask for her to loudly cheer him on while he jumped into the pool with Max! What a great group of friends we have here, we are SO blessed.

And what a great trip this was ....... see ya Next Year Hershey!

Easter Again!!??

Easter is one of my favorite holidays, especially since we've moved east. I've never love spring more than I do living here, things really do "awake" and come to life after a long and cold, bitter winter. I am Grateful for the opportunity to reflect upon the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ during the Easter Holiday and I also enjoy the promise of spring here and it's symbols of rebirth!

Wow it seems like it was just yesterday that my parents were visiting for Easter and gave the kids those very popular Easter sombreros. (a dollar store find for Grandma) The kids have referenced them as such since then, thanks Grandma it's been fun :-)

This year the bunny had to hide stuff inside because of all the rain and soggy grass but the kids still had a great time and were overloaded with chocolate!

Baby Abe and Ithaca

Grandma Ewing came out in March to meet new Baby Abe! Yes another flight east for her, she had time to wash her clothes and pack up again! We were all really excited to go to Ithaca and see the new little Chunky Spud and of course the B&B, I&A Ewing family! Eli was super proud of his new "little" brother 9lbs 3ozs! He was such a cute baby and is growing like a weed! The picture of Dylan by the TV shows his mario kart 1st place win, it's what he was doing while we were cooing over the baby :-)

I love Ithaca, probably not as much as Brady and Brooke do but it is a very unique and beautiful place that we've enjoyed visiting. Thanks for letting us invade you guys once in a while.

Reagan's Art Show Entry

Reagan came home from school in March and told us that her Art teacher had entered a painting that she painted of cardinals in the snow, in a City Wide art show at the Mall! Reagans painting and a friend in her classes pencil drawing, (you can see a bit of the friends in the photo with Reagan pointing at her painting, her friends is multi colored) they were the only two kids chosen for the show from 3rd grade! Needless to say we were all very impressed and excited! We went to the mall and found the art display and her beautiful painting!

Below are a couple of fun pictures of her Art Work!

She is such a talented artist! What a gal!

New Mommy ????

It has been SUNNY and Warm'is here in Erie! I am loving the healthy dose of Sunshine and Vitamin D we are getting. The kids get outside recess and Jack and I are getting out of the house daily to catch some rays :-)

So this past Sunday after Church Wes was walking out with the kids to the car, they had found me once ..... and then I had lost them again ..... so he just got sick of waiting and decided to go to the van. (I had the keys) As soon as I came out of the building Dylan came running up to me and said: "Oh, Mom I thought you were lost" and started crying ... just broke my heart. A big hug later and some reassurance from me that I was not lost and he seemed fine. He then jumped into Wes's car with him to head home. Everything seemed hunky dory.

When we got home Wes told me that on their way out to the car after Church Dylan asked: "Where's Mommy?" and Wes responded with a casual "She's lost." Dylan than panicked and said: "Oh no what are we going to do?" and started crying Wes then said: "Don't worry we'll get a new Mommy." (nice right...) This brought and eye roll from Reagan, and massive tears from Dylan follow by: "Oh, I'm really going to miss her" (it's good to know that I am loved). So this explains Dylan's tears and relief when he saw me coming out of the Church. Later that day I explained that I would always be his Mommy no matter what!

Good to know that I am so quickly replace by some, and truly missed by others ..... you know who you are!

A Dog Day ..... Birthday that is :-)

Ever wonder "What kind of people put a party hat on a dog?" ...... US!

It was Wally's Birthday on February 26th and we had a little puppy party. Ok we just stuck a hat on him, sang, and Rea and Dyl helped him open his presents. But Wes said "I better not see any of those pictures on the blog" so just for Wes ....... here's a picture of the older 2 kids and Wally on his 1st birthday. 7 in dog years and such a good dog!

(glad we don't go by dog years, I don't want to think about how old I'd be)

More Snow

I know, I know we have TONS of snow pictures up on the blog, what do you expect we live in a place where winter lasts an eternity and we are doing our best to make the most of it! Really I can't wait for spring. The spring here is truly a rebirth and so beautiful, I have never loved spring more than I have since living here. So much blooming and sprouting, and filled with tons of green leaves and blossoms and colors, plus the added bonus of some sunshine ..... how I miss you sunshine, you have no idea! So this is yet another snow picture but one too cute for me not to post .... Here's hoping we have a quick thaw and get to see wonderful, beautiful ........

Spring Soon!

ok one more

Happy Heart Day

Hope you all had a fun Valentines Day we Sure Did .... I LOVED the Heart Day weekend with the Kids, and of course Wes too! Cookie decorating with friends was full of sugar and fun. Jack's first cookie decoration was quite the masterpiece, he was making it for his Daddy. Me and the kids made some Valentine cards for each other, and we all swapped a few little gifts as a family. We didn't get anything mailed out to the cousins or grandparents this year, sorry.

Hope ya all know we love you!

January ... The Fun Stuff!

New Years Party!!

We had a little New Years Eve party here at our place. It was fun! The kids of course had a blast running around, dressing up, playing games and staying up way to late. We ate (obviously) and laughed and played a few games with our friends. Wes was talked in to games to begin with, but was excused when he started drifting off at the table with cards in his hands. The kids ran outside and yelled Happy New Year for a while and then came in and started wrestling Andy, guess who won that fight?

January Snow Days !!

I don't know if you are aware but Reagan and Jack LOVE the snow! Dylan likes to sled and make footprints in his snow boots, but in most cases would rather be playing the Wii. Wes had a little time over the holidays and took the kids sledding. Then while my Mom was here helping out she got to re-live her Canada childhood in the snow! Reagan really had a great time with her building snow people and a little throne for she and Wally. Jack just really likes to wear his mittens and eat snow, yuck, stay away from the yellow!

Grandma Bev Came !!

As I mentioned earlier we were so lucky to have help from our Mom's while I was recovering! Couldn't have done it without them that's for sure!
While my Mom was here Wes decided to get me out of the house and take us to breakfast. We went to this locally owned place called Dominic's, it was really yummy. They had a frog statue and a fish statue inside so the kids had to have a picture. (there are a lot of these frogs around town but most are outside) They also had a painted mural of Erie on the wall, we love these old places in town. It was dang cold during her visit, Grandma Bev hadn't been here in the winter before. (and may never come again!) We had to stop by the frozen bay to show my Mom the ice fishing huts, I think she thought it was kinda cool. And Wes and the older 2 kids took her to an old Church in town that has some really beautiful windows and features. We also had hot dogs and smo'res in the fireplace downstairs for F.H.E. with Grandma, the kids Loved that and can't wait to do it again. Hopefully she had a little fun and it wasn't just work, work, work while taking care of us. It was great having her here! Thanks Grandma Bev!

Grandma Ewing Came !!

The day my Mom left Wes's Mom came to help, we really are blessed. It was great to have her here with us. Unfortunately for her this was her second winter visit to Erie, we need to try for a spring or summer visit so she isn't to bias, and frozen! She and Wes got to go see Avatar one night, and the next week she watched the kids so me and Wes could go on a date. (to see Avatar, apparently Wes liked it) Wes also took Susan and Reagan to a Greek festival where Reagan ate some little hamburger and rice wrapped in a grape leaf thingy, I was impressed that she tried it. They also took a swing by the old Church with the cool windows in town, I really need to see inside this Church. And Grandma also bought the kids a fun new Wii game called Out Door Challenge. It's a really cool game where you have to jump, run, lean, slide, stomp etc. to win fun games. The kids LOVE it, and I love seeing them play, they even do the team setting once in a while and work together! WOW! It was great to have her here taking care of us, I hope it wasn't to exhausting, next time in the summer ..... hitting the beach! Thanks Grandma Ewing!

While Susan was here the kids had their first basket ball games, it was SO fun to see them play. Wes snapped a few shots, and I am now wishing I had the camera and video camera at ever practice and game since then. Last practice Dylan made a basket (you should have heard the cheers!) and during his last game he dribbled the ball all the way down the court twice. Reagan was on FIRE her last game, she got 3 rebounds and made 4 of the 8 points to help her team win the game! The only girl to score all game! The love playing basket ball :-) January was a great month that's for sure.