Sweetheart Swirl - 2011

Brooke and Dad attended their second annual Daddy Daughter Dance this past weekend and had a great time. She loves the process of getting dressed up, dancing and hanging out with friends from school and the neighborhood, and of course the ice cream (her self proclaimed favorite part!). Hopefully she will retain this as a fond memory of her childhood and of her Dad!

Now I will have to admit that I felt a little like a mom from that show Toddlers and Tiaras as I took Brooke, a seven year old, to go get her hair done. But I got word that a neighbor friend of hers who is two years older actually wasn't going to the dance this year because it wasn't "cool" anymore....... It made me sad and I wanted to soak up every ounce of her excitement about hanging out with her dad and have all the fixings to boot. When I told her what we were going to do she was a toothless grin from ear to ear.....All I told her is that we were going to go get her hair done fancy at a salon and this was her response......"OMG mom okay I think I should get highlights, and some streaks of black and then curls and then sparkly barrettes" I told her it wouldn't be that elaborate and the only person in this house getting highlights would be me! She was great, sat in the chair for an hour and asked the lady tons of questions and repeatedly told her how much better she was at this than her mom, which I responded "that is odd because it seems like you are much more patient and willing for her....." haha..... I could tell she felt important and enjoyed every minute of it........

Here is her $10 super-cut red carpet do.......

Checkity checking herself in the hand held mirror and every mirror that she came in contact with after that......the rear view mirror....the entire way home and then every single mirror in our house until it was time to leave for the dance.....I think she liked it.
Ta-dum......Mom she kept saying take one for Grandma - I promised her on the phone today....

Our Baby girl not looking so much like a baby anymore.....

Cue the closeup......

Now even more than the hair she couldn't get over the shoes......she begged.....she pleaded.....she talked about how grown up they were and how much they looked like Moms......but also saying to me don't even think about borrowing them......

There is a whole lot of something behind that smirk.......God help us!

If you didn't guess.....sequins were the theme! The shiner the better!

Dad and his girl.....

Brooke and Luci getting ready to head out....

Some neighborhood shots.....

And off they go......to dance the night away....

A New Game.

Now I will preface this, before I have each and every grandparent calling, that the kids did enjoy it and it was requested to do it over and over and over....and it IS laughter you hear....... I think the winter monotony is setting in..... I present to you "Try and get up......"

Mountains Of Memories.....

We headed "Up North" last weekend, and hit the slopes. We continue to do a lot of snow plowing, pizza slices, and sweating.....but the kids continue to enjoy it and mom and dad got a few hours to ski on our own too (thanks Jen!) Brooke is getting braver, and tries her best to keep up with cousin Lexi, I think it makes her a better skier. Brady still loves going komakozi style, as fast as he can over the bumps, however this year it was a bit easier because his spine became upright and in turn so did our backs! It was a great weekend with the Novaceks and Warners here are some photos of the events.......

The clan on top o' "the mountain"

Let's just say you don't pack lightly when skiing.....

Our condo....

Brady taking a ride on the magic carpet to get his ski legs on.....

Cousins hanging in line for the lift......

Self portrait of "crazy Uncle Tom"

Tom Circuit 1991......nothing changes......oops except for his landing hehe......

Wooh hooo.... Spring Break Boyne 2011!

Jake the Rad boarder!!

Dad and Brookie on the lift....

Go speed racer ......Go speed racer.....Go.....

Brooke wasting time waiting in line.....

Some zoned out kids after a long day on the slopes.....

Here's some videos of the kids in action.....

The kids got word that there was a "hot" pool outside that was at our disposal......Most kids were 100% in.....EVERY adult was 100% out.....When asked after if it was worth it....they all responded "NO" haha no warm pool is going to offset temperatures in the teens! Needless to say there were some hot showers happening that night!

Brooke racing to get in.....

Rolling around in the snow....and jumping back in to see if it was warmer.....

Remember when I said most kids were into the outdoor pool........well the ONE kid who had his wits about himself was Mr. Brady....he decided to stay layered up and enjoy a skate around the rink while the other kids swam......smart choice!

We had a great time and had some good quality time to spend with family..........Thanks Tom and Jenn for setting it all up!

Snow much fun!

Finally.

The snow is finally coming.........I am that person who is wishing for....wanting.....giddy when it happens...snow. Most people cringe and complain, but I say the more the merrier. (perhaps it is because I only have a six mile commute) I mean it is a dismal, cold, and long winter no matter which way you spin it, so why not have it snow so you can play! Play. We have been trying even despite its lack luster snowfall early over the holiday.... It started out over Christmas we had this fantabulous idea to build our own ice skating rink.......Chris shoveled, he built......it melted. We are attempting round two at it now that it is finally cold enough and are realizing it might take the Atlantic ocean to fill this so called rink......Chris may have bit off more than he can chew, but we will keep trying.....it might be a bumpy skate......but we will make it happen.

So until the Munson rink opens we have to make due at the baseball field! Brooke is becoming Chris' little ice companion......I think she is vying to stay up late to go to his hockey games :)

Brooke and I had a chance to go up to Caberfae on Xmas break and spend a day skiing.....she is getting there.....pizza slice.....pizza slice.....pizza slice.

Not to say that there weren't many falls and collisions......no fault to the girls this one was the grown ups fault.......

Riding the lift. Still have white knuckles.

Chris attempted snowboarding on Jake's board.......

Sledding with Cousins.

Uncle Tom giving an extra nudge!

Dad and Bugs ready for launch....

The need for speed.

Even I gave snowboarding a whirl......

As you can see..........

It didn't go well.........

So I think I am all set with the board........I'm old school I need skis, I need my legs to move independently of each other, I need skis, which I am looking forward to have strapped to both my feet this weekend as we head up north to Ski for the weekend. So as I look outside as the snow falls and they are predicting blizzard like conditions for Saturday.....I can't help but smile........
Winter. It's long. It's cold....but it is

SNOW MUCH FUN!

Happy New Year - 2011