2010 - A Year in Review

2010

Who, What, Where... Why?

At the beginning of the year, the boys built super amazing Pine Wood Derby cars and raced their little hearts out....

We attended Tulip Time in Holland, our favorite festival, with our dear friends and watched Lilly twirl until she was ready to puke up her elephant ear...

We were able to take a trip to the U.P. and snap this little pic for Topher's birthday invite.....

Christmas in July theme!

Topher was so happy to have his Great Grand Dad and Abuelita make the trip over to celebrate with him

...Lilly wasn't buying this whole 'holiday in the wrong month' gimmick...

thankfully a little jolly mischief with her Grandpa Ballard helped bring her around

Nathan was a great sport and even posed in the 'Christmas in July' holiday photo-op

In August we ventured out for our annual Ballard Family Camping trip, this year we went to Mackinac City.  

They grow their mosquitoes extra thirsty up that way {shudder} 

The boys started school - Nathan in 4th grade (big man on campus) and Topher in 3rd (almost but not quite big man on campus)

This is Nathan - he turned 10 this year - this is a picture from when he turned 9.  Why?  Clearly my photo organizational skills are top-notch, no?  I think he had a good one... I hope anyway

Christmas was very special and Lilly's very best-est wish came true, she received an American Girl Doll that looks just like her.  She named the doll Ashley, after her favorite pre-school teacher.

Lilly turned 5, despite her sassy stubbornness, by some miracle

In hindsight, perhaps having Hello Kitty smoking a big fat one in honor of Lilly's birthday was sending the wrong message....???

Let me translate that look - "I don't care if it is my birthday, I don't care if you have already put down a non-refundable deposit, I will not go out there looking cute and adorable with all of my princess themed friends and have fun - I am the birthday girl and will choose to stay in my grubby street clothes despite my fabulous up-do,  thank you very much!"

2010 was much busier than all of that, certainly, but an unending post doesn't make for good reading.  Besides, I have 2 whole years left to catch up on -   

Now if I could just remember where the 'super-safe, will not lose these ones' place I stashed 2011 photos for the next post are.... 

Snow Babies

First snow of the season!

Even Curious went outside to see what all the fuss was about... and then quickly ran back inside, gingerly tip-toeing through the flakes.

Dad and Me Cut a Tree!

"Children, listen carefully," said the man in the red knit cap.  "You are here to cut a Christmas tree.  What you may not know but soon will see is that the trees are scattered far and wide.   The good ones are cleverly hidden among the bare and sickly looking ones." 

"Also, to make it even more interesting, to us anyway, there are fewer good trees than families here to cut them.  On my mark you may rush through the pine branches searching for 'the one' or you may step over to the open hatch of my Subaru for a bite of stew, a homemade brownie baked by goodness knows who and some hot chocolate.  Of course, it is completely up to you which you do first." 

"Oh, you should know that we only have 3 saws to pass among all of you, they are small so I suggest allowing your children to do the cutting...

...so, with that said - Good Luck!"

Thank goodness my husband is the master at making things right when it comes to our kids and overcoming a poorly executed community event.  Next year we will be visiting a normal old tree lot and skip this "experience" of cutting our own.

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Me and Lilly, being so silly,

while Daddy reads,

and I sneak in for a snuggle!

I'm a little late to the link up but all of the other Moms were right on time, go see them at Forever in Blue Jeans, if ya fancy a gander.

********************52 Weeks********************

52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. We are always the ones behind the camera, this is YOUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. We are glad you are joining this challenge. More importantly your family will really enjoy having you in the picture. Thanks for playing along! Oh, you can just jump in now with 1 of 52, you're not getting off that easy! Now go take a picture!

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I did it! 

I finally attended and completed the Course 3 cake decorating class by Wilton. 

I learned fondant and it is all I had hoped it would be.  Using frosting to make flowers is an exact skill done with a careful hand, something I seem to lack.  Whereas fondant can be made and remade until it looks just right, it is fussy and so am I, a perfect pair!

For our final class the instructions were to make and assemble a two-tiered cake.  In light of the painful fact that I am getting sick of cake and have no desire to have it sit around my house, tempting me at every turn, I decided to make it for Thanksgiving instead.  Well, I really wanted to make an adorable sky blue cake covered in little fondant flowers, but that does not say "holiday" to me and thus felt the need to create a fondant turkey.  He turned out so cute.  Note: it does not bode well for the piped on border if you have had a few tasty 007 mixed drinks, which my dear sister Angie mixed very strong... and my hand was a bit unsteady

My play-doh like cake frosting medium inspired young Topher and he spent hours (no kidding) working on his own Thanksgiving turkey.  I baked him a special little cake to perch his artwork on.

A big thank you goes to my strange, yet loving little brother for snapping the pictures of our Thanksgiving cake adventures.  He couldn't resist being seen with the turkey bling.

Visit Forever in Blue Jeans for fun photos of great Moms.

******************52 Weeks********************

52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. We are always the ones behind the camera, this is YOUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. We are glad you are joining this challenge. More importantly your family will really enjoy having you in the picture. Thanks for playing along! Oh, you can just jump in now with 1 of 52, you're not getting off that easy! Now go take a picture!

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Veterans Day

"What is today?"  I asked my children and Topher's friend Aiden this question after school today.

"Wednesday!" both Nathan and Topher yelled with huge smiles on their faces.  I was fairly unsure of why Wednesday brought so much glee to them, something I need to investigate further I suppose.

"Not just that," I prompted, "what else is important about today?"  On their rosy little faces, flushed from enjoying the brisk fall weather, blank looks abounded.  Not wanting to drag this out any further I offered, "Today is Veterans Day."

"Ooooh," they chimed in unison.

"So, what is a Veteran?" After nothing but silence answered me back I wondered if I was pushing my luck.  

Thankfully Aiden spoke up.  "A soldier who died in a war," he told us.

In an effort to expedite my cold self back in to the warm house I quickly explained that Aiden was correct but that the term covered all service persons.  I am fairly sure that is about all they could handle seeing as how I interrupted their outdoor fun time.  

I then handed each child, even Lilly, a Care Package Scavenger Hunt list that I assembled. 

In preparation for this I visited www.anysoldier.com and requested a female soldier from Michigan.  A wish list was then available and that is what I used for my hunt. 

The content of the scavenger hunt list were items I was fairly sure we already had in the house.

Suddenly the kids had a great burst of enthusiasm and quickly came inside, grabbed a list and a writing utensil.  I gave Nathan the box and told them we needed to hunt until it was full. 

As they reflected upon each item listed, and after I explained how to pronounce "pantiliners" {their spelling} and "non-perishable," they worked together to look through the house and decide on what food to put in and how many of each item one female soldier might need. 

After each find they marked off the item on their list and searched for something new.

By the end of their hunt we had successfully filled our box.  Much to my surprise Lilly put her treasured brand-new bag of flavored mini-marshmallows on top.  I will return those to the pantry because I don't think they will travel well but I was incredibly impressed with her act of generosity.

 

After the box was overflowing with the found items we all sat down to write a letter or draw a picture for the soldier.

I am very excited to mail out our care package and hopefully even make one for a male soldier soon.  I would have LOVED to mail this out today, but much to my dismay, the post office was closed - duh - it is Veterans Day!

A huge thank you to all of our soldiers, we owe so much to you and all you do.  We are forever grateful!

Anysoldier is an incredible program and I strongly encourage everyone to visit this website.  Soldiers sign themselves up as a contact person and when someone from back home sends a package, marked "any soldier" the contact person gives it to a soldier who does not receive mail very often or at all.  Their wishes are basic and it makes all of the difference in their time overseas.  

Lego Mania!

Sunday we made a trip over to the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit, for the Lego Exhibit.

There were giant Legos,

pink Legos,

absolutely amazing pieces made entirely out of Legos,

a catapult simulation to see if you selected the right components to make a secure Lego wall,

a Lego castle - complete with locked up treasure and a booby-trapped key,

a royal throne with an incredible transparent Lego stained-glass window behind it,

a 9-year old dork who happens to be standing in front of a very cool portrait made of Legos and thus is the only reason this photo made it on to my blog,

and more giant Legos,

this is an impressive Knight constructed of nothing but Legos with unbelievable definition,

young Lillian, dressed in her medieval finery, poses with one of many cute cardboard cutouts around the exhibit,

jousting with clever colored horses, whose jousting lances are securely fastened to their sides, was a favorite to be sure,

but overall the favorite seemed to come back to the giant Legos. 

I highly recommend to anyone in the area that you visit the museum and take some time to find your inner child at the Lego Exhibit.

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Trick -or- Treat

Goofy 'ol kids!

and a naughty Old Dad.

Visit Forever in Blue Jeans to see more moms.

******************52 Weeks********************

52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. We are always the ones behind the camera, this is YOUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. We are glad you are joining this challenge. More importantly your family will really enjoy having you in the picture. Thanks for playing along! Oh, you can just jump in now with 1 of 52, you're not getting off that easy! Now go take a picture!

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Blogstyle Iron Chef: Pickles!

Well, this month certainly was a challenge.  Who woulda thunk it would be so unappetizing to the masses to come up with a recipe involving pickles? 

Sorry Chairman ~

there clearly is a reason Food Network has not used pickles as it's secret ingredient.

We had two brave souls willing to battle for the October Blogstyle Iron Chef title:

 Sarah @ I Blame My Mother with Pickle Rolls



Cheryl @ Spinning Coaster with Fried Pickles

In true Iron Chef style, I sat my judges and the chairman down at our dining room table. {after I cleaned off my mountains of coupons, *ahem*}

Now, before we get to the tantalizing dishes, let me first introduce our judges:

Our first judge is a pickle connoisseur and often eats them straight from the jar,

Nathan!

Our second judge is a picky pickle eater and prefers hers sliced rather than whole,

Lillian!

Our third and final judge is the hardest to please, choosing to spit out what does not please his palate,

Topher!

Thank you judges!

First, we offer to your discriminating taste buds a fine combination of Brown Sugar Ham, Cream Cheese and a large dill pickle.  For garnish, a smear of sour cream and a squiggle of mustard - this is simply for show, seriously - don't eat it with the pickle. Bleck!

Last but not least, we offer to our esteemed judges the ultimate in late night bar food: pickles, deep fried and served with a side of Ranch, the good stuff, no wimpy light or fat free stuff on this plate!

Curious use of a "Finding Nemo" plate... wonder if the chef is getting you prepared for a night at the rim of the large fish bowl in the girls room after eating so much fried goodness???

After careful consideration and 3 reminders of the rating scale {"yes, Topher - 5 means the best, so 1 means worst"}, the judges have reached their decision...

The winner, by 2 points:

Fried Pickles!

To see how it all shakes out, head over to Heidi's house at Sacred and Profane.  Ooooo - I can hardly wait to see who will be the proud owner of the Pick-a-deli, certainly a dilly of a prize!

A special thank you to my ever tolerant husband who humors me and to my little ones for being willing to stay up past your bedtime to eat high fat snacks just before going to bed {like I had to twist those arms...}.