Special Assignment

Everyday, Aidyn comes home with lots of school papers. I try to sort through them and keep special ones while recycling others. Last night as I was going through the daily pile I came across this special assignment.

The directions seem simple enough. Let's see how she does...The first one...a candy cane. Looks good, I like the addition of the stripes.

Next, a star. Nice, vibrant, yellow.

OK, a heart. Getting ready for Valentines Day. Sweet.
Um. Well, not sure about this one. Maybe more of a "statement" picture than an object picture? Is she telling me she doesn't like one of my rules? Was she mad at that little boy in her class that eats garbage? Maybe she's just copying something she saw Jeff do while he was driving. Way to set an example Jeff!

Check it out...

I believe that most of you who read my blog also follow my siblings blogs. But in case anyone out there doesn't check their blogs, please for the love of everything holy...read Troy's latest post. It will make you laugh out loud. It will make you slightly uncomfortable. It will introduce disturbing images to your mind. But mostly, you will just crack up. Trust me on this one.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

Last night when I went to bed, I stopped to tuck in the kids. As I passed by Aidyn's dresser, I saw this money laying there. $11.02...interesting. I wonder what that is about?
This morning I asked Aidyn about it.
Me: 'What's the deal with that money on your dresser?'
Her response: 'Oh yeah, I need to put that in my piggy bank.'
'Why is it laying on your dresser?'
'Because I didn't put it in my piggy bank.' (duh!)
'OK, but why do you have it?'
'It's mine.' (this is like pulling teeth.)
'Where did it come from?'
'Nolan.'
'Why did Nolan give you $11?'
'He paid for something.'
'What did he pay for?'
'I sold him something.'
'What did you sell him?' (I'm getting frustrated with this conversation...)
'Wrapping paper.'
'Huh?'
'I sold him some of my old wrapping paper that I didn't want anymore.'
'And you charged him $11 for it?!?!'
'Yeah. He didn't have any paper of his own and he needed some.' (supply & demand)
'Aidyn, you can't take $11 from your brother for wrapping paper. You have to give him that money back.'
'Fine.'


So I went to investigate Nolan's room and sure enough...the exchange was made. This was sticking out from underneath his bed. $11 worth of Christmas wrapping paper. The $0.02 must have been tax.

Rock Climbing

While we had some extra time over Christmas vacation, I took Aidyn rock climbing. She LOVED it and has been begging to go again. I was surprised as to how quickly she took to it and how well she did. We both had a great time climbing and cheering each other on..

Homer Gomers

Jeff and Shawn are at the Vikings game today. Look at how cute they look in their matching outfits!

Christmas Day

Christmas Day we spent at Jeff's parents place. We got to celebrate Brodie's 1st Birthday!Here is the little cake monster checking things out... Craig & I hanging out. (We were actually jockeying for the best couch position for our afternoon nap.)

Patsy & Horace taking in the festivities.

While we were visiting Grandma Janice & Grandpa Horace, the kids did a little sledding. They had so much fun cruising down the hill. It was so fun to listen to them giggle!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, everyone congregated at mom & dads.

The girls...Kaitlyn, Aidyn, McKayla & Kimberly

The girls always like to cuddle with Sean.
Dad & Jeff waiting to mix their next drink.
Ty and Grandma

Here are all the grandkids:
Sean, Kimberly, Kaitlyn, Justin
Aidyn, McKayla
Nolan

The whole clan....
Justin got some exciting gifts!
Ty, Me & Troy
Grandma with her favorite grandchild. (Ty & Troy snuck in the picture.)

Mom & Dad...such cute lovebirds...

We all had a very fun Christmas Eve. It's always nice to have everyone together to celebrate!

Waiting for Christmas...

While we were hanging out at my parents place...
The kids got in some cuddle time with Justin
Mom helped Jeff look at new cars

Aidyn & Nolan read books

And tried to figure out who each of the presents were for.

Mutton Bustin'

While we were in ND for Christmas we spent a day visiting Ty & Deb and their kiddos. One of the big adventures at their house involved visiting their sheep. The kids fed the sheep hay and corn. Both Aidyn & Nolan (ACK!!!) used a pitchfork!
Here is Kim, Nolan, McKayla & Aidyn in the nice warm pick-up which incidentally, we got locked out of shortly after this. That was not so nice and warm.
Now this is where it got interesting...The kids went mutton bustin' (for you city folks, that means they rode sheep). Kim did it first which was awesome. Then Aidyn & McKayla took turns sitting on the sheep. It didn't go much further than that, but it was so fun to watch!

After dinner all the kids decorated Christmas ornaments. They made some beautiful creations. Thanks Ty, Deb & family for a very fun day!