Grandma Turns 90

We spent the weekend in Ohio celebrating Grandma's 90th birthday. It was a wonderful time. We had dinner with immediate family on Saturday night (immediate family totaling 44 people!!) The food was fantastic, the wine was so very very good, and Kevin gave an amazing toast honoring Grandma. We all had such a good time.
We were also able to celebrate Christmas with my mom and dad and my brother before he flew out to LA for the Rose Bowl- GO LIONS!!!! The kids were spoiled, as usual by Grandma and Papa (as were the parents). Thanks again mom and dad! We also had a Griswold family Christmas exchange with my cousins that was hilarious! I scored a cat that "Aunt Bethany" wrapped up and Kevin got a jello mold! Too funny!
We came home yesterday afternoon and have spent the better part of the day checking out our new toys (mom included!) and catching up on sleep and laundry. We are looking forward to celebrating Christmas at home for the very first time. We have some special things planned for each day and some special food, too (you know me!). Hope everyone has a very safe and very Merry Christmas! Love, us

Gymnastics Finale and Dance Recital

P. had his last gymnastics class on the 17th. On the last day parents and siblings were allowed to come and watch the kids perform the skills they learned. He did a great job! He said his favorite new skill is a cartwheel. We ended his big night with dinner at the Pasta Co.














K. had her dance recital the next night. She too was very excited that mom, dad, and P. could come and watch. She has been working on two numbers. Her tap routine was set to "Holly Jolly Christmas" (which she now sings all about the house and I LOVE it!) and the ballet was set to "Run Run Rudolph". Now, we do have footage of both of these performances, but they are videos and it was taking way too long to download. Suffice it to say that she sang all of the words to both songs and danced when she felt like it. To end her big night we had dinner at Bread Co. Two awesome performances from two awesome kids!

St. Lucia Day

We celebrated St. Lucia Day for the first time this past Saturday. P. is learning about Christmas around the world at school and was asking about our heritage, so we have been incorporating all of our ancestors traditions into our Christmas celebrating this year. For example, we put lights in the windows as they do in Ireland; we celebrated St. Nicholas Day as they do in Germany; and we are going to find the first star on Christmas Eve like they do in Poland, as well as having crackers at dinner like they do in England. (That should about cover it!)

Anyway, the kids made their St. Lucia hats and learned the song. We had a traditional Swedish dinner and the kids had their processional complete with candles and pepparkakor that night. We had so much fun doing it and the food was awesome! I think we will make this a yearly tradition!

My First Pepparkakor

M. had her first taste of Pepparkakor the other day and she loves it! What a good little Swede. Between her and her siblings (not to mention mom and dad) there are no more cookies left. Looks like I may have to double the recipe for next year. If you have ever made these, you will know just how ridiculous that will be! (That would make close to 100 cookies, but apparently the Lynch family could eat that many.)

We Are Walking!!!!!!!!!

The video speaks for itself.

1st Annual Candy Cane Hunt

We hosted our first Candy Cane Hunt this past Saturday. It was chilly, but sunny so it wasn't too cold. We hid 300 candy canes in our yard and two of the neighbors yards. The kids had a great time hunting for the candy canes and afterward they got to eat a ton of cookies and hot chocolate! Kevin then rounded everyone up for a photo in the back yard and while they were having their photo taken Santa showed up! He had a little something for everyone and also had a bag of reindeer food for every family to take home, too. We all had a great time, kids and adults alike. We will definitely be doing this again next year.

Trimming the Tree

We had the ultimate Griswold moment this year. Kevin and I were talking and trying to decide what size tree to get while we were at the tree lot. It was freezing and the kids were whining, so we quickly decided that with 9 foot ceilings we could get an 8 foot tree. The kids picked out a great looking tree so we bought it and brought it home. Our first clue that this sucker was too big was when we realized it didn't fit neatly between the two front windows as we had wanted. Nope, it took up the entire center of the room. We then realized it did not fit into the tree stand as the trunk was too large. Kevin got a saw from the garage and proceeded to trim the trunk with me holding onto it for dear life! After we got the trunk to the right size, we put it back into the tree stand and, of course, now that it fit the water level went higher and spilled out everywhere. The good news with this, was that the saw dust created from the trimming was now pulp and was easier to clean up. We stood back to admire the tree and realized we'd have to cut the top off too if we wanted to put our star on top. After all was said and done, we were able to decorate the tree and it does look beautiful, even if it's "a little full, lot of sap."

Santa and Snow

We had a wonderful time at my mom and dad's house this past week. We celebrated Thanksgiving with my parents and my siblings. Turkey Day was full of games and awesome food!! (Thanks mom!)
Friday my mom and I got up around 4:30am and hit the big sales. We had such a great time finding some deals and getting exactly what we had gone after. We thought there were going to be some things we couldn't find, but in three separate instances, we found what we had gone for tucked away where it didn't belong. Kevin even scored a new Garmin! We got home around 8am and headed down to the city to see Santa. K. was the first one to walk right up and tell him what she wanted. K. wants "An alive baby, bitty baby, and an ariel dresser" (Translation: Baby Alive, Bitty Baby bedding, and an Ariel Vanity) Santa was a bit surprised by the "alive baby" request, but he will manage to come through I am sure! P. was a bit more subdued, but when Kevin told him it was his big chance, he piped right up and said he wanted, "Legos and Batman, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars for the Wii." Again, I am sure Santa (and grandma) will oblige! After the Santa visit, the boys shopped a bit and we then headed to an awesome English Pub for lunch.
We headed home Saturday night and we drove through rain most of the time until we were about 30 miles from home when it turned into snow. When the kiddos woke up the next morning they were SO excited! K. keeps telling us it is Christmas because there is snow on the ground. They went outside with Daddy right after breakfast and made a snowman! Of course, they had to have hot chocolate when they came in! We are going to put up the tree tonight and I can only imagine that K. will barely be able to contain herself. (She helped my mom decorate their tree and I am surprised it did not fall over as there were about 15 ornaments on each branch!)

We Have Recovered

The past two weeks have knocked the Lynch Clan out! Right after K.'s birthday bash, we all came down with a horrible cold. The kids were the first to recuperate, but it seemed to hang on a bit longer with Mommy (I don't think Kevin ever got sick). During this time, K. ran a fever and got sick to her stomach just one time. We thought nothing of it. We thought the fever was from the flu shot. Then P. came home from school this past Monday complaining that he didn't feel good. Sure enough, he was sick and running a fever, too. He didn't make it back to school until this Thursday. The kids were upset because they each missed their first winter classes. K. is taking Jazz and Tap and P. is taking gymnastics.
They are all healthy now (as are the mom and dad). K. actually made it to dance class this past Thursday and she was sooo cute in her leotard and ballet slippers. She liked it alright, but announced that she like gymnastics better since she likes to move. I am guessing she didn't like standing at the bar and following directions. I am guessing that she prefers the free-for-all trampoline jumping at gymnastics. (What three year old wouldn't?).
The kids are really looking forward to the upcoming holidays. K. is really into Christmas this year, as it is the first year that the concept has totally sunk in. She must ask everyday if it is Christmas yet. She will also tell you that Thanksgiving is going to be "awesome". P. reminded her that she gets to go to Chicago and see Santa and that sealed the deal for her. It will be "awesome".

The Big "3"

K. celebrated her third birthday this past weekend. We had lots of people here to help her celebrate! She awoke bright and early (as mentioned in an earlier blog, not such a good thing for mommy). She got herself dressed in flowered tights and a brown, polka-dotted dress, complete with a necklace and a bracelet. Aunt Kiki then took her to Cracker Barrel for a special breakfast, where K. was given a whipped cream smiley face on her pancake and they sang to her, too. Kristen said K. walked around to each table and told everyone, "I am three". The two of them then went to My Girls and K. got her nails painted and talked Aunt Kiki into buying her a new necklace.

When they got home Mommy was doing better and she and Grandma decorated K.'s Ariel cake. K. had a wonderful time opening her presents (who wouldn't). She and her cousins ran around for awhile and then we had some great Italian food and wine (thanks, John, for the recipes and Kevin for the wine).
She really had a fabulous day and for this we are thankful to all who helped make it just right!

Happy Halloween

It was a gorgeous day on Halloween and a great night, too. The kids had a blast with their "gross lunch". This year we made a brain and dirt for dessert (we branched out from the usual fare and it was a hit!) One of the neighbors hosted a Halloween party for the kids and they had a great time chasing each other around and filling up on mummy hot dogs and pumpkin cookies.
After the party, came the big event...trick-or-treating!! P. was done trick-or-treating after his bag got to heavy to carry, and K. kept saying, "This is awesome." She also proclaimed it to be "the best Halloween ever". We hope to live up to these standards in years to come. My sister was here to share in the trick-or-treating fun and P. and K. loved having her here. The grown-ups had a bonfire later that night with some games of our own (namely, beer pong). This has become a neighborhood tradition after this summer's tournament, and needless to say, Mommy had a bit of a rough start to her Saturday, but Daddy was a champ and bounced right up and out of bed!

Pumpkin Patch Adventures

We were at my mom and dad's house this past weekend. We caught a football game on Friday night (it was a blowout). The kids had a blast at the game. P. took a friend from school, as his grandma lives in the same town as my mom and dad. The two boys had a great time following Papa around. They even got a tour of the locker room and joined in the team huddle for the cheer at the end of the game. They thought they were pretty cool...and they were!
On Sunday, we went to the pumpkin patch. M. loved the pumpkins! She would bang on it like a drum. P. and K. spent a lot of time climbing the pumpkins. They each rode a pony, too. (We got the zippy ponies and Papa and I almost had to jog to keep up!)
Some warm apple cider donuts and kettle corn rounded out the morning! We had a great time during our visit (as usual).

It's been awhile

Well, I haven't entered anything in the blog for awhile, but it is not for lack of things going on. It is actually quite the opposite. I was out of town two weekends ago (Kevin did a wonderful job with all three by himself and M. is now taking a bottle like a pro). This weekend away made for a very relaxed and very happy mommy! Thanks to my brother and all his roomates for their hospitality, but most of all thanks to my mom for so graciously hosting the weekend.

P. is busy with soccer and school. He is loving that he is learning to read. K. is really liking MOPS this year and calls it her school. She also started gymnastics this past week. She has already "mastered" the forward roll and can be found rolling everywhere in the house.

M. is CRAWLING!!! She started when I was gone and has not slowed down since! She loves this newfound freedom, as does her brother. K., not so much. Probably because one of the things M. heads straight for are baby dolls. Looks like Santa will be bringing one for M. to help smooth things over!

On a sad note, Jadier has died (P.'s fish). I was changing his water this morning and I apparently replaced it with water that was a tad too warm without realizing it. We came back from picking P. up from school and I noticed a lack of movement, and then I noticed the steam coming off the water. So, Jadier is being replaced tonight with Larry Johnson. Not your typical trade, but one that will work in this house!

Enjoy the movie of M. crawling! (sorry, but I can't get it to rotate. P. and K. are calling her Spider Baby)

Big Saturday for Our Clan

We had quite the eventful Saturday! It started with P.'s soccer game. They have been focusing on defense in practice and it is apparently paying off. P. and his team shut out the other team the whole first half. P.'s team also scored a goal that half. The final score ended up being 4-3 in our favor and P. was excited! We explained that all of the awesome defense paid off, as that enabled them to win the game. He thought that was pretty cool! It is really cool to see these kids get better each week.
Sat. afternoon found us at a local town fair. There were free activities for the kids and we went not expecting much, but being pleasantly surprised. There were pony rides and K. was so excited. She has been asking to ride a pony for about 4 months now (granted she wanted to ride a pink one). She got all decked out in her pink cowboy boots and everything. She LOVED it! Of course, she jumped right on...she even took the bigger of the two ponies. Later as we browsed the booths at the fair, she and P. got some masks from the movie theatre promoting, Space Chimps. I about wet my pants laughing so hard. Reminds me of the monkey mask John used to have!







M.has finally got her first tooth! It is on the bottom left and it has been causing some trouble these past few weeks. I feel like she has been living on Tylenol. But, it finally broke through yesterday! She also has learned to shake her head "no" (mimicking her sister). Kevin and I were saying that she is really starting to show us her personality. She is definitely becoming her own person and we love it!

Apple Picking

We went apple picking this afternoon. P. loves apple picking. He says it is very fun and he also likes that there's red, ripe, juicy apples everywhere. We got to take a hay ride out to the picking area and we picked about 9 pounds of apples. K. thought it was so cool to be able to pick the apples right out of the tree. M. loved to suck the juice out (after we bit a chunk out of it). We all had some "samples" of the apples as we picked and I can think of few things better on a fall day. We got to sample some grapes grown there and some cider, too. A quart of the cider and some honey made their way home with us, as well as the apples.

We made some apple crisp and some homemade vanilla ice cream tonight and we will be making some applesauce this week. Nothing better than fresh apples to make applesauce with!

Saltines...Yum!

M. has discovered that her skills at grasping are transferable and that she has the ability to grab food, not just toys. Look out! She discovered that she LOVES saltine crackers (mom doesn't love the mess they make, but oh, well) and she really likes the animal crackers that come in the red circus boxes. She is a great eater and already has some distinct preferences. Do not even try to give this girl peas, oatmeal, or peaches. You will end up wearing them and she will refuse to open her mouth again after the first bite.

"She Puked Up"

K. was having a blast the other day making M. laugh. Every time she shook her hair, M. would laugh this deep belly laugh that we rarely get to hear. (It is reserved for the most hilarious of moments.)

We caught the moment on film....right up until the part where M. "pukes up".
Enjoy!

M. is ready to move!

I am attaching a pic of K. in her Sunday finest. She is in desperate need of a hair cut (hard to believe), but we couldn't get her in until this coming Thursday, so we have been using a lot of "prettys" these past few weeks. In this photo she reminds me so much of Aunt Kiki!


M. has figured out how to get herself up on all fours. She can rock back and forth, but every time she moves a knee forward, she tips herself over. It is simply a matter of time before she gets it all figured out. Then watch out world here she comes!

Speaking of the world, last night at dinner K. demanded that we all stop talking. After we stopped, she told us ,"I am in charge of the world." That about sums her up at this age. Kevin called her Mussolini for the rest of the night.
P. had his first soccer game on Saturday and the team did really well. They seem to have retained some of the skill from the spring. P. even scored a goal! As with all Fall sports early on, the weather did not cooperate and it was about 90 degrees at 10am. Miserable!! The kids were all hot and sweaty and P. laid low the rest of the afternoon with a mild fever. He bounced back by dinner time, though and played several animated rounds of Wii play with his Dad.

Wii Got It!

That's right! After three months of saving everything he got (and begging here and there), P. saved enough to get his Wii. After we got home from church I called our Target to see if they still had one (they have for the last three weeks). Of course, they did not. I then proceeded to call every Target, Sams, Gamestop, Best Buy and Toys-R-Us within a 25 mile radius. No one had any. A mild panic began to set in and Kevin and I wondered how this would play out. We decided to try one last Toys-R-Us by the mall and they had 5!! Kevin and P. jumped in the car and drove there straight away. They returned an hour later with the Wii and a few accessories.

It has been fun for all involved. Kevin has been making Miis a lot and I have been playing beach volleyball. My neighbor could see in my front window from her porch the other night and she asked me at the bus stop what I had been doing jumping and waving my arms around. (Bigger issue is that you can see into my living room from across the street!) K. is even learning to bowl. Thank you to all who contributed to the fund! P.is very appreciative!

First Day of School

P.'s first day of school is today! He was greeted at the bus stop by the rest of the neighborhood kids and they had a great time checking out new backpacks and new shoes! He was so excited to get on the bus (and it was about 15 minutes late due to it being the first day).

P. got on the bus like a pro! He sat with a neighbor girl and put that seat belt right on. Just like preschool, he got right on and never looked back. Mom and Dad then raced to the school to get there to take his picture when he got into the school.

Here he is walking to his classroom. He has a few hallways to walk down from where the bus drops him off, but he remembered that he has to walk past the library and the gym before he gets to his room.


He went right into his room, hung up his backpack, and sat right down at his table. He started right in on the worksheet his teacher had put there. We all kissed and hugged him goodbye and left the building. We will be anxious to hear how the first day was when we pick him up from the bus!
K. is a bit lost this AM, as he is not here to play with and pester, but, as with all things I am sure she will get used to it. She may soon realize she gets more attention when he is not here!

Indoor Picnic and Sitting Up

Due to the sweltering heat, we have been confined indoors until early evening (no escape to Chicago this year). It is wearing on adults and children alike, so we are coming up with some creative ways to not drive each other nuts. Yesterday was indoor camping day. To go along with the "theme" we ate lunch picnic style. The kids each made a bologna face (a favorite around here). We took pics as they were proud of their edible creations! Enjoy!! (The kiddos certainly did.)


M. is sitting up now! It happened all of a sudden. She has been leaning forward in her highchair, swing, stroller, etc., so we thought we'd see what she could do if we sat her on the floor. As you can see, she does pretty well! She is still using her hands for support, but she is moving right along. I cannot believe she will be six months old next Friday (I can't believe P. starts school next week either).

Summer is winding down

We realized that orientation for school is this Friday and school starts in 2 weeks! Where did the summer go? I am sure this is a question we will be asking ourselves for years to come. We had a busy week with storytimes, playdates, library trips, and free movies to see. We all went to dinner on Friday night with our two of our neighbors to a wonderful Thai restaurant. The kids were adventurous and tried a bite of everything (we ordered everything medium...hot in a Thai restaurant is not something any of us are up for!)

I got some shopping done during our tax free weekend (gotta love it!), so now everyone is outfitted for the upcoming year, including mommy and daddy. We, of course, spent some time at the pool this weekend as the heat continues to beat down. We are expecting record highs again tomorrow and Tuesday. Kevin pointed out that 100% humidity , as mentioned in a previous blog, would be rain. (I understand this. I was taking dramatic license to illustrate how hot and muggy it was! )
P. continues on his quest for his Wii. He sold some items on Ebay this weekend and he is now merely $80 away from his goal of being able to purchase the system. He is not above begging for cash at this point so watch out! Our neighbor offered to pay him 25 cents a weed to weed his flower bed, but this was not appealing to P. He prefers the high tech Ebay route! We are really proud of him though for saving as much as he has. I cannot wait to see his little face when we walk into the store to buy the Wii and he pays for it himself. I may even remember to bring the camera!
Kevin and I finally went through the last of the boxes in the basement (it has been over a year since we moved in). We did some major sorting and took quite a load to the dumpster and still have quite a bit for our neighborhood garage sale this fall. We had a few laughs through it all, especially as we unearthed things from our high school days. Anyone want a Second Runner Up sash from the Miss Antioch Pageant? I think I am done with it now.
We are cramming a few more outings in before school starts, so I'll update with pics from those outings (supposed to hit the zoo and a baseball game this coming week).

The Hunts Came to Town

The Hunt's arrived on Friday night. We had a BBQ and played JD's new Wii for quite awhile. It's funny, Heather and I cannot bowl in reality and we can't bowl in Wii land either!
On Saturday morning we took the kids to Grant's Farm. Layton had never been to a zoo of any kind before and he was so busy taking it all in. First stop was the Clydesdale stables. Those things are HUGE!!

(M. and Layton "racing" around the farm.)







K. had a great time in the goat pen, despite the fact that several of the goats bit her shirt and shorts. The horse on the right happens to be the one that kicked the football on the Superbowl commercial a few years ago- we thought it was cool to see him in person! Other than commercial work, he and the others at the farm are retired.















P. and Kevin had fun feeding the camels. K. wanted no part of such a large animal licking her hands. She dropped the food onto the ground. P.. loved it and said the camel's tongue felt kind of like his own tongue. Go figure! After a quick lunch, we came home to rest a bit (it was in the high 90's with 100% humidity).
We then had a fabulous Italian feast (thank you John for your recipes). A quick trip to the pool to cool off rounded out the evening.

Sunday we spent the day playing the Wii, as it was about to leave with JD and Heather. Heather and I took off for a "quick" trip to Target. We found a baseball bat for Layton that we thought he might like to have. Turns out we were right! He spent the next hour banging it on the ground and swinging it. When we put it up, he would cry. I'd say there is baseball in his future, just like his daddy! We had such a good time with everyone and we are looking forward to doing it again soon!