Happy 8th Birthday Callie Joy!!!

This girl is 8!!!!!!!!!!!

I can’t believe it! We had such a fun day: breakfast treats, lego building, bacon at lunch, seeing the movie Ferdinand, making chocolate dipped strawberries, and then our family party!

Our family party was so fun. It was the first time Luna came to our house, and her first time meeting Boom, Auntie Yoda, Auntie Mari, Uncle Josh, and Hanna.

Callie got the game Headbanz from Uncle Larry and Aunt Mary, with the addition of personalized cards! We had a fun time playing it.

Callie picked out a giant sports cake.

And she had fun opening presents.

It was such a fun day!!! We love our big 8-year-old!

(Come back tomorrow for A Picture Update)

Timehop Tuesday

Hello! 

If you missed yesterday’s post- go check it out!

The first Timehops are from the preschool Christmas program.

And then some cute Callie faces:

And more Maya:

And the Maya with a fake baby, and then with a real baby!

Luna Ray!!

Hey all! Remember yesterday when I said that we were close to adopting a rescue dog?!?!?!?

Here she is!

Her name is Luna. She just turned 1 on December 8th. She was with a family who was no longer able to take care of her, and the rescue organization we have been working with thought she was the perfect dog for us. We are excited! I mean, look at how cute!

G-ma and I chose the middle name Sunray...Ray for short. Luna means moon, so we thought it was fitting to have something sun-related for her middle name. 

And you all know how much I love sunrays.

Luna is going to be a Gosselin family dog- meaning she will split her time between our house and G-ma and Pa’s house. It’s a win-win for all of us. I hope Luna doesn’t mind. 😋

Here she is on Saturday, waiting patiently for a treat from Maya.

Chris and the girls picked her up this afternoon and brought her to G-ma and Pa’s house, where she will spend the first couple days.

The girls adore her. She’s a sweetly energetic girl, who loves treats and rubs and gives lots of kisses.

She’s going to need some training, but we are all in and willing to put in the time and effort to do it right.

Welcome to our family, Luna Ray!

Weekend Wrap-Up

I have to say, this sums up the weekend:

You guys. Our children have been disastrous. So much so, that after dealing with their unbelievable attitudes yesterday, Coo-Koo and Loony left them a note this morning:

And I can’t even report that it made much of a difference. My next step might have to be taking the presents out from under the tree. Holy moly.

Here has what the elves have been up to the rest of the week:

Anyway, on to some pictures that make them look like they can be pleasant humans: SLEDDING!

Shortly after we got home and required them to follow some directions, they decided that they would have a better life “in paradise” so they packed up their bags and took off for paradise. Apparently paradise is our front stoop.

We went to hang out with Boom in the afternoon, and Callie and Boom made wreaths.

That night we met another rescue dog. And she may very well become ours very soon.  So I’ll wait on posting pictures until I can announce that she’s officially a Gosselin dog! We are excited!

Speaking of cute dogs, I took Iris for a run today for the first time. She was a little hesitant at first, but then after we got going, and I tried to slow down, she wouldn’t let me!

She got lots of love from the rest of us too.

This afternoon G-ma and Pa took the girls to see a production of “Beauty and the Beast.” They had a great time!

Tonight we decided to go to Petsmart. The girls had fun picking out toys and testing out dog beds!

We are waiting to hear back from the rescue organization. Callie is really hoping for a dog for her birthday (5 days in case anyone was counting...oh wait, she is). We’ll see what happens!

A Picture Update

Hey all!  Callie is officially on winter break. I have another 4 days...

On Monday Maya hung out with Boom, Lucy, and Iris as usual.

And ate “sabetti” at G-ma’s house on Wednesday.

At school this week, I found this paper shoved under my door- one of my students must have been required to do an acrostic poem. It makes me giggle. And also, there were pretty sunrays out the window.

The big event of the week was Maya’s preschool Christmas program. She has spent the past week telling us emphatically that she would NOT be singing for the program. So I was nervous. But she did great!!

The video is freaking hilarious. It is a number of clips put together, and as you can see, Maya is reserved but participatory. But some of the other kids...!!??!? HOLY MOLY. I won’t say any more. Just watch and enjoy.

Have a great weekend!!

Timehop Tuesday

I just have one today- Christmas tree shopping!

Happy Tuesday!

Weekend Wrap-Up: The Happy Birthday Auntie Mari Edition!

First up, today is Auntie Mari’s Birthday! Hooray!

We hope it was a fabulous day!

As for the rest of the weekend- it was filled with fun holiday activities. Yesterday morning Callie and I went downtown and with Boom to a greyhound get together- and Iris got to meet Santa! 

She was not a Santa fan, but eventually posed for a picture with Santa on the floor. (Maya was still sick, so she and Chris got to go to the minute clinic instead. It’s just a bad virus, and she is now doing better).

Later we just hung out at home.

This morning we went to see Boom play the bells (see video later). Lucy and Auntie Yoda came too, so we were quite the crew at church!

Then Maya had her Christmas program. She was a “royal” part of the Christmas story, and chose to wear a pink crown (in many ways).

But ultimately didn’t wear it when she went up there.

The we went to Dan and Hanna’s house, and the headed out to get a Christmas tree! We didn’t cut one down this year, but found a good one at the YMCA.

Everyone came back to our house for cider and got chocolate and to decorate our tree.

Tonight we continued playing Callie’s newly made up and favorite game (of which Auntie Cat was winner earlier in the afternoon): Drawing Contest. Someone comes up with a theme, and then two people draw something, and someone judges who wins.

Maya’s chosen theme? FRIES.

In case you are curious what our elves have been up to, here is some photographic evidence.

And I’ll leave you with video of the bells and Maya not singing at all during her Sunday school program.

It is making me very curious about how her preschool program will go on Thursday!

Have a great week.