A Big Accomplishment

Because life is on fast forward, but I seem to be in slow motion, I am very late in getting to this post...

Two weekends ago, Eric's cross country team went to the state meet.  Being a front runner going into the meet, there was a strong possibility that they could come home with the title.   

And that they did!!!  SF Lincoln won 1st place!!  

What a great accomplishment!!! 

The day after the meet, the team was recognized at an impromptu gathering at Lincoln to recognize and celebrate their victory.  Nana, Ryan, Quinn, Sullivan and I were fortunate enough to get to help them celebrate and were honored to be there.

Coach Pooley giving a short speech...

The trophy...

And just to put into perspective how long it has been since SF Lincoln won the state title, here is the banner that hangs in their gym.  

That's right - 1984 was the last time they won.  Which means it has been 28 years since they won.  Coach Pooley wasn't even in elementary school in 1984.  In fact, he might have even still been in diapers (or at least close to it).  Yikes!  

Congratulations, Uncle Eric!  We are extremely proud of you and your cross country team!

Trick Or Treat?!

These frightful monsters stopped by our house tonight to scare our socks off....

but they created nothing but smiles and giggles!

We celebrated Halloween a few days early with the boys because of work schedules and early bed times.  We were so excited to see Judson and Crew all dressed up in their first Halloween costumes.  

Overall, they both tolerated the costumes really well and were such a hoot to see...

The girls got into the spirit too and put on their costumes as well.... two monsters and two princesses!

Then after all the pictures had been taken and costumes removed, Auntie Mer and Uncle Matt passed out a few goodies.  All wrapped up and decorated so beautifully was the following note...

That's right.... THEY ARE EXPECTING!!!!!

I am still trying to pick my jaw up off the ground. I am shocked beyond belief, but could not be any more excited and overjoyed for them!  Expecting in May, they will have three babies under 15 months.  A busy, busy (but very happy) life they will have!  

A year from now there will be another member of the family in this picture.

Congratulations Mer and Matt, Judson and Crew!  We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of the newest monster, I mean member, of the family!

Make a Wish...

When you become a parent and celebrate your birthday, the party and the candle blowing is no longer about you....

Notice how Ryan isn't even in the picture and didn't even blow out one of his many candles?!

Ryan's birthday was this past weekend and let's just say he is now closer to the big 4-0 than he is to the big 3-0!  

The girls had an all out stand-off when picking out their dad's birthday cake at Dairy Queen.  Sullivan wanted a cake with a pig on it.  When Quinn wasn't having it, she changed her mind and wanted a Vikings cake.  Quinn still refused.  A whine and a pout ensued all of Sullivan.  She thought for sure that if she whined loud enough or pouted big enough, Quinn would give in.  Not this time.  Quinn was insistent that the "tie-dye" cake (above) was coming home with us.  After several attempts to negotiate failed, Sullivan caved! Regardless, she was pretty happy to give her daddy the cake.

Happy 35th Birthday, Dad! We hope you enjoyed your birthday and your cake!

Our Bright Star....

Miss Sullivan Grace is the Star of the Week at school this week!

She was over the moon excited to be the star of the week - 

so it seemed only fitting that she wear her star shirt today.  

She was asked to fill out a list of her favorites this weekend and to gather some pictures to post for everyone to enjoy.  We did our homework and brought more than enough pictures to hang up in her room.

She is so proud, and rightfully so, of herself and all her pictures and memories.  

I just love her response to some of her questions.... 

Favorite book:... "The God Book" (Bible)

Someday I want to.... be like Snow White!

Favorite Food.... peas.

We are so proud of our bright star of the week.  She keeps us on our toes and puts a smile on our face daily.  Shine bright, Sullivan Grace! Enjoy your special week - you deserve it!

I Can See Clearly Now...

A couple of weeks back, Sullivan's school had a vision screening.  When I picked up the results that evening, I was shocked to find out Sullivan failed her vision test.  The doctor recommended a follow-up full exam to see if her eyes were working well together or if further action needed to be taken.

On the drive home that night, I was explaining to the girls that Sullivan failed her test and that we will have to make an appointment to check out her vision.  Quinn asked what that meant for Sullivan and I explained that if she had bad vision, she might have to wear glasses.  Almost instantly, I got two very different reactions from two little girls.

Quinn began to cry - and not just the quiet tear down your cheek kind of cry.  I asked her why she was crying and her response was, "I don't want Sullivan to have to wear glasses.  I don't want anything to be wrong with my sister."

At the same time as this was occurring, Sullivan is squealing with delight.  Her response to our conversation was, "Yea!!!  I get to wear glasses.  Hooray!"

Oh how different they are - oh how charming that is!

So we made a follow up appointment with a different doctor just to get another opinion.  That appointment was this past Friday and all I heard last week from Sullivan was, "When are we going to get my glasses?"  or "Can't we go get my glasses yet?"

So off to the doctor we went to determine if Sullivan Grace was coming home with the glasses of her dreams!

She had a blast with the doctor and nurses and did exactly what they told her to do.  The results?!

The little monkey has 20/20 vision and is not in need of any glasses.  A bummed out little girl we had!  In fact, her vision according to the doctor, is actually advanced for her age.  She can track small objects better than she is supposed to be able to at this point. Go figure!

Smile!

The girls and I went to a women's expo yesterday (with different booths promoting businesses in the area) with one specific purchase in mind.  But before we could leave, Quinn and Sullivan wanted to take a spin around the place and check out all the booths.  Several pieces of candy, a few magnets, and a handful of junk later, we ran across a photo booth.

And knowing Quinn, we weren't leaving the place until she had her turn.  It took quite a bit of coaxing by Quinn to get her sister to go in the booth with her, but in the end, reverse psychology worked.  With Sullivan, you tell her she can't do something, and she will want to do it all day long.  Quinn simply had to tell her she wasn't allowed to come in the booth with her, and Sullivan was game!

Quinn went for the Minnie Mouse look, while Sullivan sported a girly viking (in honor of her daddy's birthday yesterday).  Aren't they a hoot?!

Eye Patches

A few weeks back, Quinn was raising money for a fundraiser at school.  The school was having a "Mindcore" marathon - meaning that the students take pledges for answering 100 questions.  The more questions she answered correctly, the more money she would raise.

Quinn called Grandma Jane and asked her to pledge money.  With me beside Quinn while she was on the phone, her conversation went something like this:

Q:  Grandma, will you pledge some money for our school?  I am raising money for iPads for my classroom.

GJ:  What are you using them for?  Is it a Halloween project for your class?

Q:  (a long confused pause)  I don't know, but I need to answer questions to earn the money.

GJ:  You know I would be happy to give you some money.  Sign me up.  

A few days later, Grandma Jane was at Meredith and Matt's house.  She was explaining that Quinn had called and asked for pledges for a fundraiser. She explained how goofy it was that Quinn's school would need money for eye patches.  She wasn't sure what they were doing with the eye patches, but was happy to help in any way she could.

Pausing for a minute, Matt turned to her and said, "Do you suppose she said iPads, not eye patches?!"

"Oh, yeah." said my mom.  "That makes a little more sense."  :)

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Here is a picture of Quinn, on Mindcore Marathon day, answering her 100 questions.  

She was so, so impressed when she got all of her questions correctly! 

 I guess John Harris is really going to enjoy all those eye patches!

Pumpkin Personalities

Quinn and Sullivan spent an afternoon picking and painting pumpkins.  

And it was very evident within two minutes of the painting process that each girl displays very different personalities and very different approaches to art. 

Can you tell whose pumpkin is whose?!

Now I do realize that there are three years difference between Quinn and Sullivan and because of that Quinn's skill level should be more defined.  That thought isn't lost on me.  But when you see their approach to painting, it almost perfectly mimics their personality.

Quinn was careful to paint her pumpkin.  She ensured that no colors ran together (if she could help it) and painted with precision.  She developed a plan in her mind of what she wanted it to look like and then executed her vision.  She was meticulous in her execution and didn't make much of a mess.  The final product was colorful and vibrant and fabulous!

Sullivan was quick to begin painting.  She blended and mixed her colors and slapped them on her pumpkin. Her vision was more abstract than her sister's and she was finished rather quickly.  Her pumpkin was also colorful and bright, but in a much different way.  She got messy along the way and liked every minute of her messiness. 

Regardless of their styling and their execution, both Quinn and Sullivan made great pumpkins.  Their personalities (and their pumpkins) are so unique and one of a kind, but have a way of blending together quite perfectly.  

Deja vu

A little over a year ago, about the time I started this blog, we were awaken to a great surprise.  A hot air balloon was over our house and was about to land in our backyard.

After it landed, Quinn and I had the pleasure of taking a quick trip up in the balloon. Can you spot us?! 

A deja vu moment occurred last week, when yet another hot air balloon landed in our backyard.  While this one was not directly behind us like the one last year, it still was a sight to see!  The girls had a blast watching it come down and land just a block away. 

What are the odds of two hot air balloons landing in the same area within a year or so of each other?!  Pretty crazy.

Winter Weather Blues...

Last week, we were loving our 80 degree weather.  We could go out with no coat and enjoy the beautiful day.  We made the most of our days and played outside as much as we could.

This week we are bundled up with coats and gloves and hats.  We are not loving our weather and we are not spending much time outside.

We are afraid we are in for a cold and bitter winter. We were spoiled last year, but know we can't be so lucky again this year.  We just hope this isn't the start to a very long (and COLD) winter!

Festival of Bands

This weekend was the Festival of Bands and you better believe that we were there!  

Auntie Meredith, Grandma Jane, Quinn, Sullivan and I braved the bitterly cold temperatures to watch the bands parade downtown on Saturday.  We couldn't convince any of the boys to join us on such a cold morning.  But to be honest, I am not sure that we could have talked them into going to the parade even if the weather was 80 degrees.  Oh well, their loss.

Before the parade started, Quinn and Sullivan huddled in the corner to stay as warm as possible.  

Once the bands started to play, the girls were pretty excited to see them perform.  And to be honest, they were both pretty attentive for all twenty seven bands that played. (Yes, 27 bands!)

Over the many years of attending the parade, with most typically very cold weather, we have learned what to pack and how to dress.  Each year we get smarter and smarter (I think!).  This year we brought clips to help secure the blankets to the railings, but they proofed to be dual purposed.

The clips we brought served as great taco wrappers.... we wrapped the girls in blankets like a human taco and clipped their blankets shut. It kept them pretty warm.

The girls loved the parade and loved the bands, but more importantly they loved their time with Auntie Mer and Grandma Jane.  Quinn and Sullivan eat up every opportunity they can to spend time with them, and if that meant they had to bundle up to spend time in the bitterly cold weather with Auntie and Grandma, then they were game!

The Festival of Bands parade has been a tradition in our family for a very long time.  It is something that we always do together and something that we always look forward to each year.  I am hopeful that we can continue to convince the girls to join us (although Quinn claims she will NEVER be in band)... and who knows, next year we might even be able to convince the little boys to join in on the fun!

A Day at the Zoo

With the weather as great as it was on Saturday, we would have been foolish to not find something to do outside.  It goes without saying that there aren't too many more weekends in South Dakota that are going to yield great outdoorsy type of weather, so we embraced the opportunity and headed to the zoo!

With the zoo under major construction, we weren't sure what animals we would even be able to see.  Quinn was pretty worried that her favorite animal would be unavailable.

Lucky for her, the alligators were out (and even had a smile on their face, literally)!  We are pretty sure they liked the great SD weather as well!

With as many times as we have been to the zoo, we have managed to escape having to ride the train through the African Safari.  A person can only tell their children "next time" so many times before they catch on. So the girls were lucky enough this time around and they got to ride the train.

Funny enough, my friend from work (our speech-language clinician) also works at the zoo on the side. He happened to be working on Saturday and was driving the train.

The zebras were in rare form while we were there.  They made an up close appearance to the train and then began braying quite loudly.  It scared our poor Sullivan.

Finally, we were able to witness something pretty amazing while we were there.  These two adorable creatures hatched from an egg while we were there.  They were so adorable that we stole them and took them home with us.

Aren't they darling?!