Daytona 500!

In case you weren't aware, Casey and I have a little redneck in us. Yes, we like NASCAR! Casey liked it first, but now I've been sucked in and I enjoy it as well.

For the last couple years we have been in a pool where we choose a driver for each race and then we receive the same number of points as our driver. There are 30 some other people in it, and it makes it fun to watch the races and root for our drivers.

Yesterday was the first race of the season, the Daytona 500. For quite a few years now we've had an annual party with some other redneck friends to watch the big race. We always grill, so Casey and Esther had some work to do before the party digging out a path to the grill on the deck.

We had a fun time cheering for our drivers, eating steak and other good food, and just hanging out. Casey's driver even finished the race upside down with his car on fire--now what's more exciting that that?!

This is definitely a good tradition that will continue in years to come!





Peter was really into the race!

All-Nighter

Last night we had a youth group all-nighter. We started the evening with the youth putting on a Valentine dinner for the seniors of the church. After cleaning up from dinner, we headed out to play broomball, which brought back good memories of dorm outings in college. Then we headed back to church for the all night lock-in part of the event.

Casey went home around midnight so that he could sleep, and I stayed all night. Casey has stayed the last three years when I've gone home and slept, so I decided it was my turn, especially since he hasn't had much sleep this week. I didn't think I'd physically be able to stay awake all night, but yup, I did it. When I got home this morning, Casey took the kids to his parents' house so I could sleep for a few hours.

Right now I'm feeling pretty good. I guess being low on sleep is pretty normal at this stage of our lives with young kids. I'll wait and see how I feel tomorrow when the reality of that missed sleep truly sets in! Either way, it was a fun night spent with some great high school students and leaders.

Snowplowing

My friend Glenn snowplows the roads in our development. Sunday he left for Mexico, and asked if I could fill in for him. No problem, after all, we already had our blizzard, I'm sure I won't have to plow. Well, we got more snow. So after dinner last night, I strapped in Esther's car seat and my helper and I plowed snow for the next hour and a half.

Esther and I are now considering saving our pennies for our own truck and plow....she had a load of fun! She was constantly telling me to "Be careful now!"

Quote of the Day

Yesterday we went to my Aunt JoAnne's birthday party and then met Casey's parents and brother for dinner afterwards. As we were getting ready for bed last night I told Esther that she was very well behaved at the party and the restaurant, and that I was very proud of her for that. She replied, "So what do I get?"

I think we might be using too much positive reinforcement (or bribery) in our parenting!

Peter's Dance Moves

Peter is following in his sister's footsteps and becoming quite the dancer. They obviously inherited their moves from their father. Peter loves to bounce and clap to music, and he has now taken up line dancing. There's a line dance song on one of our kids' music cd's, and Esther and I do it quite often. Now as soon as the song starts, Peter runs over to the TV (so he can see his reflection in the glass) and gets ready to pat his legs, clap, turn around and "reach up high and jump up to the sky!" (see picture) It's amazing how often he even does the right move at the correct time! It's quite entertaining to watch.

Stubborn

I think Esther would sometimes fit into the category of "strong-willed child." Today she was whining and not using a very nice voice at the lunch table, so I took her upstairs for some time to settle down. She then proceeded to stand at the top of the stairs for almost 1/2 hour, fluctuating between yelling, crying, whining, and being somewhat quiet. At one point I gave her a chance to use a nice voice and come back, but she wasn't ready.

Sometime towards the end of the 1/2 hour my friend Sarah called. As we were talking, she said, "It's pretty quiet there. Are your kids sleeping?" I responded, "No, Peter's playing quietly and Esther just finished a 1/2 hour tantrum. Apparently she's finished now because she's being quiet." Sarah said, "Do you think she tired herself out and fell asleep?" I was thinking that was pretty unlikely, but then I decided to look upstairs to see if she was still sitting there. This is what I saw. I guess she'd rather just go to sleep than give in and use her nice voice!

Quote of the Day

It doesn't really matter what else happens in a day when you hear this from your 2-1/2 year old: "Hey Mom, I've got to tell you a secret. Do you know that I love you?"

Snowed In!

We definitely picked the wrong weekend to go to Florida. Even though it certainly wasn't hot down there, we had a drastic welcome back this past weekend. Lots and lots of snow, below zero wind chills... yuck!

No, Casey is not planning to rob anyone. This is how you have to dress to shovel the driveway in this kind of weather!

So what do we do to pass the time when church and school are cancelled and we are pretty much stuck at home for 4 days in a row? Bake cookies and play games, of course!

On a side note, Esther has a new game she likes to play. Basically, we switch roles and she's Mommy and I'm Esther. It makes for some fun conversations! The other night she was in the tub and we were playing this. I (acting as Esther) started whining that I didn't want to take a bath, and why did I have to take a bath, etc... (as Esther sometimes does). Esther (acting as Mommy) replied, "You have to take a tubby because you're dirty and we need to get you clean." Made sense to me--too bad that reasoning isn't always enough to convince her!

Daddy's Little Helper

We got a lot of snow today, so on his way home from work Casey called to see if Esther wanted to help him shovel. My parents had an old kid-sized shovel in their garage that my sister and I had used when we were little, and my Dad gave it to Esther. She thinks it's so cool and she loves to "help" Daddy shovel. Poor Peter. He wanted to go out and help too, but he had to supervise from inside. Daddy said next winter he can help, but that didn't really make him feel better. It's not easy being the little brother!

Back to Reality

We're back from our much too short vacation. When we were on the plane yesterday I felt like we'd just arrived in Florida! We had a wonderful time and packed a lot of fun into our few days there. A few favorite memories:

• Dairy Queen ice cream cake--we celebrated my sister's birthday and my birthday since it was about halfway in between the two.
• Swinging--we tried out several different playgrounds and Esther and Peter spent a lot of time on the swings.
• Bike riding--I went on a bike ride with my Dad, which I haven't done in several years. It was fun to do that again, and brought back good memories of our RAGBRAI rides across Iowa.
• Shells and sharks' teeth--we did some searching and brought back a few good souvenirs.
• Carcassonne--a favorite game for my mom, my sister and me. We played after the kids went to bed at night while the guys watched TV (and fell asleep).
• Relaxing--it was so nice to just get away and spend time together as a family.
• Tampa Airport--they had a play area right near our gate! It was a whole enclosed room with the cushy play things like they have at the malls. Of course it was all airport-themed--very cool! It entertained our kids for quite a while.

So, as quick as our trip was, we definitely made the most of it and have some good times to remember. We're already looking forward to next year...