Skate Party

Kloefkorn had their second skate party of the year, which is quickly becoming a favorite event in our house.  We have had a rough go of it the last few times we went but every thing changed this time around.  First of all, Carter taught himself how to roller blade with a $10 pair I found.  So he now takes his roller blades there and he is completely independent and has a blast blazing around the rink. I asked Camden if he really wanted to go because last time he cried a lot and we had to keep forcing him back onto the rink.  He really wanted to go so we all went as a family.  That means Callan gets to tag along as well.  After I put Callan's skates on he waved our hands away from him and said " I don't need your help. I can do it all by myself". And that is exactly what he did.  We only saw him a few times throughout the night when he got a little tired or thirsty.  He did so great out there.  He would fall but get right bake up.  He got to go around with Ava, our neighbor so that was fun for them. And Camden put on a brave face and went out there and did it.  We walked around with him twice (not holding on to him or anything) and when he fell we let him get up on his own.  He figured out how to get up and from that point on he did his thing.  He was slow and steady but did such a good job.  That is huge thing for Camden because he often doesn't like to fail, and if he falls that is failure so he usually chooses not to even try.  At the end of the night he was super excited that he was able to do it and had fun with his friends.

Camden, Jackson and Brody taking a quick break from skating

sorry for the blurry picture of this skating maniac

there is on his second time around the rink

they look thrilled to take this picture hu?

Callan and Ava ready for their trip around the rink

Porter and Carter taking a quick drink break

resting his feet

they also needed a quick drink break

the night is almost over

we always get a picture of these two at the skate parties

Here are a few short videos of the kids skating

Callan skating

Camden skating

Carter skating

St. Patty's Day

We had a low key St. Patricks Day over here, but I didn't want the day to pass without doing something fun. The kids will only appreciate green food for a few more years so I have to get it in while I still can.  I woke up early to make the boys green eggs and pancakes for breakfast and topped it off with chocolate milk.  They kept asking what I was doing/making but when it was all said and done they were excited about their special breakfast before school.  They also got to wear some cheap t-shirts I bought for them that made for a great photo opp for me.  That was about all the day had in store for our family since no one is a huge fan of corned beef and cabbage.  We did make pistachio crusted chicken for dinner and the pistachios are green right?  Anyway here are the pics I took of the day.

watching the pancakes being made

green eggs and pancakes with cinnamon sugar

they were exctied about nutella on their pancakes

ready for his st pattys day breakfast

the whole crew

chad enjoyed green pancakes too!

my 3 yahoos!

Spring Break

I have been neglecting the blog lately due to our busy schedules and realized that I missed several posts that I thought I already did.  Then I realized I just put them on facebook.  So I guess better late than never right?  March 9th thru the 15th we had our LPS spring break.  Callan still had school that week though so that through a little wrench into some plans but we managed to pull of a decent spring break.  We did a lot of playing outside since we had beautiful weather and the kids went to the Y a few times. Carter and I got to go with the triplets and Erin to Stomp at the Lied Center.  It was a cool show and Carter really enjoyed it. It was nice having a little one on one time with him. On Wednesday we headed out to Schram Park near Gretna with the Vlieger family and had a nice picnic lunch, a quick trip to their free aquarium and a long muddy hike.  The weather was amazing and the kids loved being out doors!  The hike was super fun but a lot more muddy than we anticipated.  All of our shoes were completely caked in mud by the end.  All the kids were troopers and made it through the whole hike.  We then went to the playground where I thought the kids would just sit but they played their little hearts out for at least another hour or two.  Thursday night we went back to the Vliegers for a fire pit where the kids ate themselves into a candy filled coma that made all their stomachs hurt.   Then on Friday Chad took the day off and we headed down town to UNL campus.  We stopped at Tom+Chee for lunch and then walked around campus and found the world's largest urinal, so of course the kids and Chad had to use it.  Then we met up with the Vliegers again for the UNL baseball game.  The night was perfect and kids had a good time.  I think the rest of the weekend we spent catching up on household things and getting clothes out for spring/summer.  Here are some pictures of our spring break fun.

these two still fit in the laundry basket but barely

a real super hero wears several capes and masks

two masks

every mask he could find, except he can't see

passing time as super heros

our fur family

this is what my bedroom looks like when i am trying to get the boys closets ready for spring/summer

ready for stomp

carter and I ready for the show

he loves to walk the dogs

a fun night watching star wars rebels in our bedroom

Schram park with the Vlieger kids

checking out some different kinds of fish

this nice guy let them touch a snake

eating our picnic lunch

hiking the trails

stopped on the trail for a few minutes to get this photo

Tom+Chee

he liked it!

worlds largest urinal in architectural hall on UNL campus

enjoying the art around campus

watching the UNL baseball game

my good friend Kaci and I

Brooks and Callan watching the game

our view

these two silly guys

March Madness

The winter weather is not letting up and is making all of us sad and wishing for spring.  The kids want to be outside without their faces hurting and that has been nearly impossible.  However, it is suppose to warm up next week and we will take full advantage of that since it is spring break. We have been staying busy with basketball, small group, birthday parties, disney planning, swimming and my dad's retirement party.  Chad and I even snuck in a a quick dinner date with friends to try out the new Tom+Chee restaurant.  It did not disappoint. So good!

ready for bed

trying on dad's glasses

play date lunch with Ava

a rare moment of nicer weather so they could play outside

Callan has been the most vocal about wanting summer to come.  He keeps asking to ride his bike, which we let him, but after two passes his face is frozen and he wants to come in.  He loves being outside and I hate having to keep him cooped up. Our little man loves to make up games with very complicated rules.  If you will listen, he will keep talking, and keep making up more and more rules. One morning he talked for 30 minutes straight while I was getting ready about a new game he wanted to play.  He loves his routine and I really think he loves when he is an only child.  Grandma Ellen told him that next Wednesday she was going to take him and his brothers and cousins to the library and asked him if that would be ok, and he said "no" that he wanted to be with them by himself. He loves his Wednesday library with grandma Ellen and he loves backpack Fridays when he gets to help grandma and Curt pass out the food backpacks to the kids at school.  He wishes my mom did it every friday, it is one of his favorite things to do.  He also loves going out to lunch with Curt.  He will talk non-stop about when he gets to go.  It makes me so happy that their are so many adults in his life that enjoy spending that one on one time with him.  Callan has been full of funny things lately. Here are a few of them... One day when he was complaining about winter he said he was mad because the "underground dog" (groundhog) saw his shadow and now we have more winter. In the car the song "hurt so good" by John Mellencamp came on the radio.  About half way though Callan proclaims from the back seat "hurt so good doesn't make sense. when you are hurt it is not good."  I guess they listen to the lyrics more than I even realize.

listening to the rules at his birthday party

enjoying his jump time with his kindergarten friends

camden and jackson after eating cake

camden and the birthday boy brody

Camden is trucking along in school.  He is enjoying his diff math and reading classes and I think he is being challenged some which makes him love school.  He has been getting some spelling words too which he thinks is fun to do.  He loves to tell us the blips in the English language.  He got to take a stuffed animal and his favorite book to school to celebrate "read across america" for Dr. Suess's birthday. He also got to go to a birthday party and the new defy gravity trampoline park here in Lincoln.  We all got to go as a family during the family and friend open house and it was a blast. Camden has been super sweet lately and has made us special notes that say, I love you mom and dad. He has done it several times just randomly.  It is so sweet.  We also had a good learning experience a few weeks back. Camden forgot his backpack but didn't realize it until he got out of the car.  I saw him stop dead in his tracks, turn back towards the car and start crying.  He opened the van door to tell me that he forgot it and asked if I could bring it to him.  I told him no, that he was responsible for his things but that it would be fine he just need to carry his stuff home.  He was distraught and  begged me to bring him his bag.  He informed me that he didn't think he would be able to carry everything home.  I told him to use his Friday folder to put all lose papers and in and use the walk to car after school as a time to reflect on how he was going to remember his bag.  He turned around and walked away still crying.  Stopped again, came back to the van and begged one more time.  I made sure to tell him I loved him and that he was going to be ok.  I will say it took everything in me to not go back and get his backpack.  It as so sad.  But he hasn't forgotten his back since.  Parent win I guess.

last game of the season

nice job Nets!

a pep talk from coach jordan

trying on dad's glasses

Carter just finished up his first season of basketball last Sunday.  As much as he enjoyed it, it was such a high stress thing for Chad and I.  We lost our first coach and Chad had to step up, then we complained to the Y and they got as a coach for the last few games but then we lost several players, one to a broken arm, which only left us with 4 players. Not enough for the game.  So we had to contact the Y again and then had some boys from the other kloefkorn team join ours as well.  That did make it much better and helped our poor team look a little better and feel like they were actually playing a basketball game.  I think Carter really likes it and he might have some decent skill to continue to play but I am not sure we will even play through the Y again.   Carter has been doing a lot of writing in class and brings home a weekend update every Friday that tells what he did over the weekend and I love reading them.  I love seeing what things he remembers and the things he enjoys. Carter had a trip to the landfill for school this past week which has sparked a lot of discussion about recycling in our house.  Not just why we don't recycle but he gets passionate about how we are killing the earth.  Our friends warned us about this, and I thought it would be something we could divert easily but for now we told him if he wanted to recycle aluminum we would help him do that.  We also had a very serious discussion about God at the dinner table the other night. He asked us who created God.  When we told him that God has always existed it was hard for him to grasp that concept.  He wanted to know who his parents were and how he got to where he is now.  I never realized how hard it is to explain Gods existence to kids.  After a lot of follow up questions he seems content, but you could see the wheels turning.

watching a movie with Tatze on his lap

superheros

with his donut grilled cheese

my donut grilled cheese with bacon and tomato

so excited we got to try it

nick and rene with their fancy sandwiches

dessert donut - smore's - donut, graham cracker, chocolate and marshmallow mascarpone 

 

a little backyard burger

cam's turn trying on dad's glasses

partying it up at coltons house

the birthday boy

these two got in each others beds again and so did Tatze

celebrating Dr. Seuss with grandma karen 

on sunday the boys were pretending to work out.

I got a chance to speak for all the second grade classes about nursing. It was really fun, even though I hate public speaking.  the kids asked a lot of great questions. 

I showed them some pictures from my NICU scrap book.  They loved seeing a tiny things I had in there