Winter Run Around

Winter seems to be dragging on a bit in Iowa this year.  I think I can speak for a lot of my Mom friends when I say I have had to get pretty creative with finding fun indoor activities to do.  Kate & I had a girls day at the mall a few weeks ago. The PROM DRESSES are out!  Kate loved  looking at all the princess dresses, dreaming of which one she would wear if she were going this year.  Here's a pic of the final choice.  Long on her, but I'm guessing that would be a pretty short gown if she was 18!  I don't know if daddy would approve of this one or not?

Will's prechool does a great job at hosting family nights every few months at the school.  It's crazy having all those preschoolers running wild, but the kiddos love it.  Here Will is showing us where he finds his "job" for the day.  He says his favorite job is the meterologist and gumball helper.  He doesn't like being the sock helper.  I'm not quite sure if I can explain the job description of the gumball helper or sock helper, but Will is confident on what he likes and doesn't like to do.

Finally, we headed up to Ames for an Iowa State gymnastics meet a few weeks ago.  Both Kate & Will take gymnastics at Chow's here in DSM.  Well, they had "Chow's day" at Hilton.  All of Chow's team members got free admission and the competitive team performed before the meet.  Kate was so excited to go!  AND she got to meet Cy and the cheerleaders.  This was a little weird for us being the hawkeye fans we are, but we left our black and gold at home to fit in and enjoy the day.  It was a ton of fun watching the Cyclones win against Minnesota. 

Nana's Surprise 60th Birthday Party!

My Mom turned 60 back on February 10th.  We decided to make the trip back to Williamsburg and surprise her on her special day.  Kate and Will were so excited to help plan the big event.  They decided they wanted to be "balloon deliverers" and ring Nana's doorbell while hiding behind a huge bouquet of balloons.  So I took them to the party store so each could pick out their own bouquet to deliver.  I let Kate & Will pick out whatever they wanted.  Ironically, Kate went with beautiful pastels and silver.  Will on the other hand picked out the black 60 balloon with dark navy and red balloons.  What can I say.....Kate's totally girl and Will is totally boy!  We also stopped at the Bake Shoppe, (the best bakery in Des Moines!) and picked out a variety of cupcakes for the occasion. 

We had a little hiccup before the big surprise however.  My dad told us to be there at 4:30.  Well, I called him about 5 minutes out, only to find out that my mom WASN'T HOME!!   She had gone shopping!  So we had to sit and wait at the Williamsburg Elementary school for 15 minutes before my dad called back to give us the go ahead.  Well, the wait was worth it.  The video shows she was pretty suprised to open the door and find her 2 grandchildren standing there!

After my Mom's emotions settled, we took her out for a mexican dinner in Iowa City.  Then, with full tummies, Nana wanted to drive down the Lexington Dips with her grandchildren.  Nothing like re living my childhood!  My mom use to drive my brothers and I down the dips in her little Mustang hatch back when we were little.  Our tummies turned upside down when we "rode" them, but Kate and Will thought it was a blast!

We headed back to Mom and Dad's house for those delicious cupcakes! 

Happy Birthday Nana!  We love you to the Moon and Back!