~For All Moms. . .~

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL MOMS!

=)

~Happy Official Start of Spring!~

Happy official start of spring to you all!  It's funny, because yesterday it was snowing!  The North Dakota 'weather fairy' really needs to get her seasons straight!  Now, don't get me wrong, it's not like it's super cold up here!  It's in the high to low 40s.  Ha, joy to the world...spring time and it's in the forties!  I'm so jealous of all my friends and family in Ohio who are getting to enjoy the 70 degree weather.  One of my friends went shopping with her mom today and she said she got to go out in shorts, flip flops, and a tee!  I would love to be wearing shorts, flip flops (though I prefer my Converse sneakers), and a graphic tee!  Right now I'm stuck wearing jeans and a tee with a sweatshirt over.  Not too bad, yeah, but I still want to be in shorts! 

I guess, as a look on the bright side, we get to enjoy some snow still! (If the snow can still be enjoyed at this point) We have found an enjoyment in snowboarding down the hills on our 6 acres.  The snow, though melting, has become a sheet of ice!  It's very weird.  We were snowboarding down the smaller hill next to our house.  Well, with the snow having a top sheep of ice, while going down it's very slippery.  It's still super fun, though!  I went down and got so much speed that I wasn't slowing down at the bottome of the small hill as I usually would.  Instead, I kept picking up speed and I ended up running into our fence!

We do have a lot of snow gone, but there is still a lot of snow on the ground!  I'm hoping that we will be snow free by the time we leave for Iowa/Ohio.  I don't think we will, though.  I'm sure when I get back to North Dakota with my grandparents that we will DEFINITELY be snow free! (Unless, of course, they get more snow in June or whenever they did last year!) 

Any who, HAPPY SPRING!

=)

~Happy Valentines Day!~

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

Mom made a cake and iced it.  I did the swirls. lol. 

~January 6th~

Today is "Cuddle-Up Day"...  Don't touch me.

=)

~January 3rd~

Today is 'Festival of Sleep' day.  At least according to the Oriental Trading calendar...

Rest in Peace...lol...

=)

~The Lovely Crown~

Ok, so Kenzie decided to get out her Magic Nuudles that she got for Christmas and make a hat out of them for Chloe.  Lovely, right?  Well, these things are cool.  I have had some for several years, Grandma Linda used them as packing peanuts one time for gifts.  Well, as you can see in the pictures, they are just like packing peanuts.  Except they are unique.  You lick them and they stick to each other.  Pretty cool (and kinda gross) right?

Well, Chloe has a new 2010 style.

Chloe was watching Kenzie curiously as she put together the 'hat'.

She would cock her head when Kenzie would ask Chloe her oppinion.

This is how the hat started out as...a somewhat angel halo.

Then it grew into a crown...

It was fun to watch her as she thought through what she wanted to do with it next.  Then Dad got an idea...

The Pope's hat.  Isn't it great?!  It was beginning to look like a football helmet, and Dad decided to add a cross on top to make it the Pope's hat.  It was too funny! 

We'll see how long the hat lasts before it finally gives in and just falls apart.  I say it'll be about 3 days tops if we're lucky.

=)

~2010~

HAPPY NEW YEARS!  2010 is finally here...

=)

~HAPPY NEW YEARS' EVE!~

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE TO ALL AND TO ALL A NIGHT OF STAYING UP LATE! 


It's hard to believe we are going into 2010!   It's kind of funny how I'll still write 2008 on things and we are 2 years past it almost.  Oh well...

~The Day After~

The day after Christmas and everyone is enjoying themselves and their new possessions...

Zack has all his Legos out.  He was also moving all the extra pieces from his first Battleship game to his new one...

Look at all those Legos...

Meanwhile, Kenzie was enjoying herself while lying on the floor...

Poor Chole was lonely...

So Kenzie decided to join her.

Zack has been having fun with his Havoc Heli. 

I have to say, yesterday afternoon, Zack was flying his hellicopter, and he landed it in my hair!  It got all twisted and Mom had to get it out.  Zack was laughing so hard, as I was stunned with shock.  I was crocheting and next thing I knew there was a flying object in my hair!

Fun times...

I don't have any pics of Kenzie playing with her stuff, but she was having lots of fun with her Littlest Pet Shop stuff.  She also has been having fun with her craft stuff.

I haven't been able to start any of the bottlecap jewelry, since I have to go out and buy some supplies.  I've been saving my money up for a bird (I want a Sun Conure, but those are around $700 so I think I'll start with a parakeet or something cheaper), but I can't get one until my room is done.  So, I can't get one until next summer or so.  I'm not too concered about not getting any money since I started babysitting, so I am making a list of everything I need for jewelry.  The sad thing is, I don't know if I'm going to be able to get any of the stuff until after the winter because of the weather.  The snow had stopped after all day snowing yesterday, but it was short lived.  Visibility is back down to around a 1/4 of a mile.  Dad went out to help Mom deliver since she couldn't go out earlier, and now they're out in the snow.  Snowplows are even getting stuck!  Does that tell you anything?

Stay safe, and Happy early New Year!

~Holiday Happiness~

MERRY CHRISTMAS, everyone!  I hope all the family and food haven't put you over the edge.

Last night for church, the sibs and I had to sing a song called "Happy Birthday Jesus".  I was really nervous, and I admit that.  We have been singing the song for I think 5 years now.  Well, the last two years was when we three started singing it just us, and we sang it in a small church our dad was at.  The past years we sang it with our cousins and there were 5 of us, versus 3.  Last year and the year before (just as when we sang with our cousins) we were always in the back of the church.  Plus, we knew everyone because it was our home church.  This year we had to sing it at the church we're at now, and only know some of the people.  We were also in the FRONT of the church!  That was new for us.  We made it through OK, after much struggle practicing wise because 2 of us were fighting a cold.  Everything went well, except when I had to sing my part I thought I sounded shaky.  I was told otherwise, however, and we had many compliments.

The Jackson 3

Of course, Chloe has to get in on it too!

The bro finally got a hair cut!

Kenzie, our tom boy, actually wanted to wear a dress.  I think we probably won't see that until next year if we're lucky!

So this morning, Kenzie woke Zack and I up at 3:40 because 'Santa' had come.  She was so excited.  When Mom and Dad finally came out into the living room around 6:45, we opened presents.

Kenz and her stocking...

Zack and his stocking...

Yay!  Stockings stuff!  (I got a whoopie cushion. lol)

All three (and the dog) of us with the gifts under the tree.

Zack got to open first...

Then Kenzie...

Holiday Happiness...

Kenzie got a lot of Littlest Pet Shop stuff.  She also got some craft supplies and a craft bin from Mom and Dad...

Zack stacks all his presents up every year.  He got a Havoc hellie, an electronic Battle Ship, some Transformers, and some Bionicles (spelling?)...

This was my FAVORITE FAVORITE FAVORITE gift!  'Santa' brought me the Tony Hawk Ride game for Wii.  Now I can skateboard indoor and out!  I also got lots of other neat things...a Scrabble to-go game, some socks, ornaments, a barn themed chalk board, and some horse head book ends.

As a group we got Mario Bros Wii, Rock Band Country for Wii, lots of movies, and some board games.

We definitely have a white Christmas.  The snow has been coming down all day.  We are, I think, in some kind of blizzard warning or watch.  Not sure which.  Let's just say, the winds are around 30 - 40 mph and are whipping the powdery snow all over the place, into 2-4 foot snow drifts.  Maybe more in some areas, yet to be found.

I know I keep putting pics up of the snow drift against the door, but it's cool to watch it grow over time.

There's our snow drift looking out the front door to the left...

That's our sidewalk, and the mountain of snow beside it...

Look at the size of it!  I'm kinda scared to know what a 'true' winter is, if this is just the beginning...

Big pile of snow.  I want to go stand in it and see how deep it is, but Dad doesn't want me to ruin his nice snow

drift.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, once again. And to all a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

~Merry CHRISTmas~

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!

~Christmas Eve, and We have More Snow and Gifts~

Last night, the winds picked up to 10 -15 mph. We had a yard full of 3 inches, and it was spread evenly across. Thanks to the wind, because it picked up and we had light fluffy stuff that floats, we now have mounds of snow. Drifts of a foot or two. GREAT...NOT! Our driveway has snow drifts of around 2 ft! When Kenz, Dad, and I came home from running (driving) errands, Dad drove through the mounds in our driveway, trying to knock them down. It didn't really work. They're still there. We haven't had any more snow today, so we should be able to make it into church. (We kinda have to be there, since Dad is the pastor, and we kids are singing...joy) Anywho, here are some pictures of our wonderful snow drifts.

When I opened the door, I found a 2 inch drift (in the middle; it's around 5 inches on the left side) right up to our front door.

Believe it or not, under all that snow are three hay bails, pumpkins, and a small decorative bench. Can you even find them? NO! That's about a 3 foot snow drift.

Here it is again. Poor Chloe, when she went out to go to the bathroom this morning, she fell into a drift and didn't know what to do.  She's not liking it too much now. 





Meanwhile, the UPS guy (he's really friendly!) brought us 4 more boxes of gifts to put under the trees.  We got 3 boxes from our Grandma and Grandpa Jackson in Ohio, and we even got a box from some family church friends.  They are also in OH. 

Even though we can't be with family this Christmas, they are still with us in our presents (get it? presence?  Never mind...).  We miss them alot, and can't wait to see them on the 26th via Skype.  Can I just say that technology ROCKS!  Whoever invented the webcam was pretty darn smart.

All of our presents under the tree.  It's our tradition to open up Grandma and Grandpa Schmitt's presents (and Aunt Tiffy for me) on Christmas Eve.  We do that since we can't be with them on Christmas.  We are anxiously awaiting the visit from 'Santa'. 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE, EVERYONE!

~Gifts Under the Tree~

Well, as of December 13th we have started putting gifts under the tree. You see, Mom and Dad don't like to put presents under the tree until after December 12th because that's Zack's birthday. So, to keep the holidays separate from his birthday, we don't put gifts under the tree until the 13th. Here are some pics of our trees and the treasures beneath them...



The first tree (the bigger one) is our
Disney Tree. The second one is our
Hallmark Tree. That means:
All of our disney ornaments are on the big
tree, and all of our hallmark or other random
ornaments are on our other tree. Some years
we also have an angel tree and other small trees
about the house. These two are the only ones we
have up, wait...we do have one next to the
piano with apples on it. Random, but
festive. lol




Chloe wants to wish everyone a Merry Christmas
and Happy Holidays.