Time to head out

What better way to spend our last day in Chicago than to spend it together at breakfast.  Bubba got ready to leave for work and we got ready to hit the road for home, but all the kiddos enjoyed a nice breakfast together.

Good Morning!!!!

The next time Bubba sees this crew wave good bye to him Keira and one more little one will be at the window :-)

A Mega March party with the Caseys

We celebrated each birthday on its own, we have celebrated all the Tempel birthdays...what could we possibly celebrate now?  The Casey March birthdays!!!!  Now it is time to celebrate Bubba, Gwen, Wyatt, and Kenneth!
Today was extra special in that Kenneth and Lilly spent most of the day with us!  Kenneth came over early to play with Wyatt while Gwen went with Mimi to pick Lilly up from preschool.

The handsome dudes stopped to refuel

What an awesome surprise for Lilly--not only did Mimi pick her up, but Gwen too!

Just having a little fun at lunch!

Once everyone was back at Mimi and Bubba's, the crew set to making an amazing cake for the party.  The cake included all ages, the best of Frozen, and a pretty cool seal!

Let the party begin!

A very yummy dinner was followed by a very exciting round of candle blowing--everyone got at least a few turns due to some surprise candle blowing attacks!

Once cut, the cake impressed all with its fabulous colors

What birthday is complete with out a few presents?  Gwen received a kitten for her American Girl

Wyatt received a power tool...

and he used it to open Kenneth's Lightening McQueen and as many other things as he could

After a very fun party, everyone settled in for a bedtime story and a good night's sleep (even Kenneth and Lilly)!

It's Spring Break!!!!

Spring Break is off to a great start. Gwen reached a goal and earned her reward, and we are in Chicago!

To explain Gwen's reward, I need to go back to what was going on in November.  Earlier this school year, Gwen was having some trouble with being a good listener at school.  They use a behavior system called a clip chart in which the kids can clip up for doing their work in a timely manner or just for caught being really good.  The kids can also clip down to a lower level if they are not doing as they are told or if they are not doing their work.  Everyone starts on a 4 each day, and a 6 on the chart is a very good day.  At the time the deal was made, Gwen was coming home from school with less than a 4 most days just for not following directions.  Also during this time, she really started to request that she have her ears pierced.  So, a deal was made (not expecting that it would actually be reached I will admit).  The deal: Gwen can get her ears pierced if she comes home on a 6 from school 5 days in a row or she turns 10....whichever happens first.  We shook on it and the deal was sealed.
Since then, Gwen has been working very hard to be better at school and has much improved in the following directions area.  This last week she actually came home on a 7 three times, a 6 once, and a 5 the last day! (In her defense Friday was an odd scheduled day with end of quarter celebrations and an awards program, so she didn't have as many opportunities in the classroom to earn a clip up).  An exception was made about the 5 and the deal was considered reached!

Check out those new earrings!  Pretty pink flowers are perfect for Gwen!

Monday morning, the kids and I set off for our adventure north.  We waved good bye to the spring weather we were having at home, and headed for snow in Chicago.  Gwen and Wyatt have been having a great time playing around and hanging out with Bubba, Mimi, and Kelley.  This morning we surprised Gwen with a very special birthday present... her first trip to the American Girl Store!

After taking a few minutes for the surprise to sink in, Gwen was ready to do some shopping!

Within a few minutes of the shopping, Wyatt decided he was done and took a minute to lay down on a couch and take his shoes off...

...and then he discovered the Lego store conveniently located right next door...

Gwen even came over to see what this was all about, and found a giant girl made out of Legos!

This is the biggest Lego thing we've ever seen!

Since Wyatt also had a birthday here recently, Kelley treated him to a little something!

We enjoyed lunch at the American Girl Cafe--Wyatt wasn't even the only boy there, but he didn't want too many pictures taken.

Some of the ladies who joined up for lunch

Tigie even got to sit at the table..."Say cheese!"

As always Wyatt and Mimi are being silly-"Look, I'm Olaf!  I like warm hugs!"

Being a very good tiger at the table

Gwen was loving every minute of our lunch and then enjoyed another surprise...a birthday cupcake dessert with a candle and a song!

The waitress brought Wyatt a little buddy to sit with him!

I just loved getting to spend the time together like we used to do and share the fun with my own kiddos!  The day brought back great memories and many new ones were made!  Thanks Mimi and Bubba for all the fun!

After our fun lunch, we headed to Bubba's office to have one of Gwen's baby teeth pulled, and then home to change dolls into their new clothes and put together a Lego truck, trailer, and boat!  It was a very fun day and we will get to continue the fun tomorrow with Kenneth and Lilly!!!!

Baby update

It was time for another round of doctors visits and check ups for Baby T and I this week.  We visited the fetal specialist and my regular doctor all in one day.

Baby T received a very good report yesterday morning.  She is estimated to weigh 2 lbs. 7 oz. and is now in the 37th percentile!  She is filling out in her cheeks and wasn't being camera shy! We were also cleared to not come back to the fetal specialist for a follow up appointment and just go to my regular doctor!  Such great news!

Hello Baby T!

After my appointment, I got to spend some time with Wyatt and Maggie (a cousin's little girl) while Gram ran to a meeting. Both were wonderful and enjoyed a nice nap together--I really had to try to not take one too!

And they are out!

The belly keeps growing and now we are only 12 weeks from meeting our little girl!  Other exciting news from my 2nd appointment of the day...I passed by glucose test!  What a relief!

 After another day at work today, all of us are ready for some down time.  When we came over to Gram's to pick up Gwen, she and Brad (who got off work early today) were hanging out on the patio with one of the new baby sheep. Apparently Oreo was in a very friendly mood today and ventured out of the fence.  So, we played with her a bit before putting her back with the flock.

Every monster truck mechanic needs an extra set of eyes

Oreo's mom decided only to take care of her twin during our crazy winter storms, so we took her in and became her mom.  I got to be the lucky one to give her a bottle- I guess everyone thinks I need practice!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Although there are very few Irish around here, we tried our best to represent!
The say started with some green milk and lucky charms....Wyatt was a little concerned about the color of the milk.  We found green clothes and were on our way for the day.

A dinner surprise-GREEN POTATOES!

Followed by the ultimate dessert....Green River Floats!

 We had a leprechaun come for the fun

And his beautiful Irish Fairy.

Even a lucky charm was here!

We all hope this year is a lucky one!

Special Guests on the Mommy Show

Something I have always meant to do with Gwen and Wyatt was an interview each birthday, however I just never have done it....until recently :-)

I hope you enjoy their answers as much as I did.

Birthdays are over...now what?

With all the birthdays we had last week, we are going through a bit of withdrawal from all the fun.  So, we made our own fun!

Baby T is growing strong

Wyatt tries his first Wendy's frosty and fries...very skeptical at first, but he loved it!

After the frosty, Wyatt was in a very goofy mood!

Say "cheese!"

Happy 4th Birthday Wyatt!!!!

Today is Wyatt's 4th Birthday!!!  Well, he didn't get a snow day like he wanted, but he did get to spend the day with Gram.  He chose to go to the library as a fun adventure and even got some treats.  Later on we did have a little party for him...

No cake for Mr. Wyatt...dirt pudding with gummy worms was the request this year!

Getting ready to make a big wish...

Success!

Many wonderful presents were received, Wyatt made sure to check them all out

I hope all of you can see that huge smile!

 Can't wait to see what this year holds!!

Happy Birthday March kiddos!!!!

Today we celebrated all our Tempel March birthday kids!  Included in the fun were Poppy, Brad, Gwen, and Wyatt for our family.  Ashley Beth wasn't able to be there, but she was remembered!  We had great food, lots of desserts, and lots of fun!!!  Some of the highlights:

With so many birthdays, why have only 1 cake?  Frozen cake for Gwen, Dump Truck dirt pudding for Wyatt, and ice cream cake for all!

Hold on Wyatt, everyone needs to blow out the candles together!

Gwen received some fun presents

Wyatt did too--these skates have been exchanged for roller skates--great for basement fun:-)

Gwen is learning how to skate with a little help from Daddy

It's my party and I'll dance if I want to!

Wyatt even gets in on the dancing!

 One more birthday to go in all this fun...