5 on Friday

1. We kicked off the weekend with a Christmas Party that one of my high school friends threw for his clients.   The girls had a blast getting a family picture taken with Santa, eating yummy kid food (they really liked the desserts) and listening to the storyteller.  We skipped the face painting and balloon animals this year.    As always, we had an amazing time and were so lucky to be invited.

2. Saturday the girls and I traveled to Wiley, Iowa for Christmas with my Dad's side.   Ellie loved all the different kids of food (that they don't normally get at home) and the girls had a blast running around with all the kids.

3. While the girls and I traveled to Wiley, Nick participated in Global Fat Bike day.   Pretty much a group of bikers (I think around 35 this year) riding their Fat Bikes all day.  Sounds like he had a good time and he did not get hurt!

4. Sunday night our neighbor's house was broken into.   Luckily they are all safe, but being woken up in the middle of the night to stranger(s) in the house--- I can only imagine.   I guess they were not the only house in the neighborhood to have a break-in that night. 

5. I had some gift cards, so I treated myself to a massage and manicure yesterday!   Something I rarely do- so that makes it extra special.  

Frozen

This little princess turned 5 the other month!  To celebrate we had a Frozen themed birthday party.   Last year we went all out and had a party at the Little Gym (totally recommend by the way).  This year we decided to go a little smaller and do something at home.   Which meant I got to be creative and plan games and crafts!   Here is what we came up with:

 

Much to my surprise, Ellie asked for an ice cream cake!  Perfect with the Frozen theme! 

 We played Frozen BINGO with marshmallows and movie themed pictures.

 We had our Frozen tattoo station to kick the party off.

 The kids did a scavenger hunt and at the end of the hunt they found Olaf Hugs.

 Bonus birthday banner that Ellie's best friend had leftover from her Frozen party a few weeks prior. 

 I always like to make one homemade item as part of the party favors.   This year it was drawstring bags made out of Frozen fabric.  Best part of it: it worked for the kids to put all of their 'winnings' and crafts into (which were the other part of the party favors).

 I am slightly obsessed with The Dollar Tree's $1 helium balloons.  I think I get them for party favors at pretty much every party we have at our house.   Decorations and party favor in one: always a winner in my book.

 The kids decorated their own crowns, antlers, and snowman picture frames.

 Pin the Nose on Olaf!  I was pretty proud of my creation.  We had a group picture taken with Olaf, which then went into the picture frames.

And the Olaf noses- so cute!

Musical snowflakes--- to help get the kid's energy out after the ice cream cake!

 

Overall Ellie had a great time, and I think the kids did as well.   The kids kept busy and were super well-behaved.   I was a little apprehensive since it was the first 'drop-off' party at our house and I was sure we would be exhausted after 2 hours with 8 kiddos.  While we were tired, Nick said it was no big deal and seemed in favor of doing something similar next time (the at home party, not the Frozen theme).  Guess I better get planning- Neve's birthday is only 4 months away!   (I am only half kidding.)

5 on Friday

1. Sorry I missed last week's "5 on Friday" post--- my computer is having some troubles so I am a little limited.   Speaking of--- trying to put together Christmas cards and holiday gifts without a computer is very difficult.  I love my iPad and it works great for on-line shopping, but uploading pictures is not as easy.   Hoping my techie hubby can fix the problem... soon.

2. We had an amazing week Thanksgiving week.  Nick and I took the entire week off and we took a family trip to the Mall of America (MoA)/MN mountain biking trails.   Nick and I have taken Thanksgiving week off every year since we started dating--- I love our little tradition.  Unfortunately, next year Ellie will be in school through Tuesday of Thanksgiving week so we will be unable to take our annual trip.

3. Back to the trip to MoA... we stayed at the Radisson Blu, which happens to be connected to the MoA.  I snagged an amazing rate through Hotwire since I was a little unsure about staying in a one-room hotel room with the kiddos (we have been very spoiled with suites and condos during past vacations) and didn't want to regret paying full price.   After staying there once, I am not sure I could stay anywhere else when planning a vacation around the MoA.    The rooms were super clean (and new), the staff was amazing (even when we arrived and Neve was crying), the lobby was fun (cute chairs for the girls to hang out in while Daddy was getting a few extra minutes of rest) and being connected to the MoA was absolutely perfect.  Seriously, we wore our coats once during the entire vacation--- and that was when we were running into Subway on our drive up and it was freezing outside.  

4. The first day of vacation we hit up the stores the girls wanted to visit--- The Disney Store and the American Girl store.   Then we grabbed dinner, played with Legos and went back to the hotel for a swim.   The next day Nick went mountain biking while the girls and I checked out Toddler Tuesday, had lunch at the American Girl Bistro (with their Bitty Babies of course) and did a little Christmas shopping.   We ran back to the hotel so the girls could take a nap and then we were back to the mall for some ride time!   Toddler Tuesday is a great deal because kids eat free with a paying adult and they have reduced ride passes for the little ones (and adults ride free for certain rides with height restrictions).   Bonus was that they had a deal going on that if you spent a certain amount at the mall (including food) you got free all day passes for the rides--- so our ride passes ended up being free!   We ended the day with dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe followed by a quick swim at the pool.   The next day we got on the road early because the weather was not supposed to be the greatest... that was an understatement.   A couple hours into the ride I told Nick we could pull over and get a hotel for the night, he told me I should have suggested that the night before (WAIT, I could have had another day at the mall?!?!--- totally taking advantage of that next time).   Six hours of driving and we made it home safe and sound.  And we now know the girls can handle six hours in the car with no trouble (we stopped once the entire time, even with Neve who is in big girl undies).

5. Since we cannot do our Thanksgiving trip to MoA, I am already planning a Back to School shopping trip up there in late July/ early August.  Nick has given me the go ahead (as long as he gets to bike).

6. We celebrated Thanksgiving with Nick's family in Ames.   Nick's brother made an amazing glaze for the ham (in addition to the turkey of course).  Yum!   I love getting together with family--- it was so cute to watch the girls interact with their older boy cousins.  Despite their age, the 13 year old boy still got down and played with the 5 year old girl.  So cute!

7. Friday we put up the Christmas tree--- Ellie loved helping put the ornaments on the tree and was quick to identify which ones were HERS.  It reminded me of when I was young and I had MY ornaments to put on the tree... who am I kidding, I still have MY ornaments.

8. Ellie helped me wrap presents (after I had done a few the night before)--- she is a good little helper and next year I am not starting to wrap without her.  All of our presents are wrapped and under the tree, except the ones still arriving in the mail.  And I am almost done with Christmas shopping, the girls and I just need to make a stop at the bike shop to get something for Daddy.

9. Christmas music... I love it!  Nick gets a little tired of it.

10.  Since I missed a week I made up for it this week with a few extras!  We hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving and are having a wonderful Christmas season.

Love Them!

We received our photos from our photo shoot with Paul Taylor Photography back in October.  I am in love with the pictures (and the people in the pictures).   When did my little babies grow up?

 

 

5 on Friday

1. Birthday celebrations continued with Ellie's birthday party on Saturday.   She picked a Frozen theme and we opted to have the party at our house this year.    I actually enjoyed it because I got to come up with lots of games and crafts for the kiddos to do/play.   I love the planning part of the party almost as much as the actual party.  I must say- I was pretty proud of the Frozen drawstring bags I made for party favors (with my Mom's help), and the Pin the Nose on Olaf game turned out super cute.   The kids were awesome and so well behaved.   I worried they would get bored or want to play with toys instead of what we had planned--- but nope, they did great!

2. Ellie was once again on a high the entire day of her party.   I love seeing her that way!

3. Not only did we have Ellie's party on Saturday, but we also had a special 3-year old's party that morning and then Nick and I had a 40th birthday party that night.   Needless to say, it was a busy (but very fun) day!

4. We had a remote starter put in the car yesterday!   I am so excited, especially with the cold weather we are already experiencing.

5. We went to an Open House at the dental practice our neighbor now works at.  If you are in need of a dentist, I highly recommend Dr. Ehlen  at Heritage Dental in Clive (I speak from personal experience)!

5 on Friday

1. Ellie turned 5 on Thursday!   We gave her the option of going to day-care and celebrating with her friends, or staying at home and having an 'Ellie Day.'   Of course she picked an 'Ellie Day.'    What a day she had: M&M pancakes for breakfast, painted her fingers and toes, Best Buy to pick out a movie for our in-home movie date, McDonald's for lunch, movie date, nap, dinner with the Grandparents at Jethros and Multicultural Night at day-care!    She was smiles all day!

2. Our patio is finished!   The furniture was delivered and now we just wait for spring so we can enjoy it.

3. We had a relaxing weekend at home--- just what we needed.

4. Nick and I put up our outdoor Christmas lights on Sunday--- I wanted to get it done before the cold weather came though.   I think it was a great idea!

5. Ellie wants to turn the Christmas lights on so badly!  She asks all the time.   We told her we were waiting until after Thanksgiving!

5 on Friday

1.  Our Halloween adventures continued with Trick-or-Treating in Ames at the Grandparent's houses on Friday night.  This was the first year we have been able to make it to Ames, as it is usually on a weeknight and the girls have such early bedtimes.    With the cold weather the trick-or-treaters were sparse, so I think the extra Elsa's were enjoyed even more.

2. Nick had his annual Spooky Woods Ride on Saturday night, so the girls and I had a movie night and watched part of Frozen in our bedroom.  I love low-key nights like that.

3. Daylight savings time transition worked out great, as the girls had stayed up a little later each night starting with Thursday.   Sunday morning came and it was pretty much normal wake-up time!  Gotta love it when a plan like that comes together.

4. They started working on our new patio!  

5. I made a recipe from Pinterest last night and everyone loved it!   Well, almost everyone (Neve picked around the potatoes).    We are usually hit and miss with Pinterest recipes, so I was excited (and the recipe was easy).