Lilly's Spring Concert

Lilly and I ran all the way from her dance class in the elementary school to the high school across the street and made it just in time for her performance. The entire first grade class of about 130 students did a fabulous job singing 10 different songs.

First Grade Music Concert 4/7/11

Ms. Rohan's First Grade Class 4/7/11

This was the last song that the first and second graders all sang together. It was really cute! It is now Violet's favorite song and she requests to watch the music video every time she catches me sitting on the computer. She's pretty good at dancing along!

What I Am by Will.i.am

3 Birthdays, 4 Years Old

In true birthday week fashion, Owen had three separate birthday celebrations to honor his four years of life. He was so happy when we it was finally HIS birthday! (Owen is also really excited for Halloween, he keeps asking if it's the next holiday after Easter, he's has awhile to wait.)

The first party was a sleepover at Grandpa and Grandma Lee's house. Great-Grandpa Russ's birthday is on April 11th and Owen's birthday is on the 12th. They shared a Twinkie cake!

Birthday Boys, Great-Grandpa Russ and Owen 4/9/11

The weather was beautiful on Owen's official birthday and together we made a spiderman/batman cake. For supper, we ate tacos at Owen's request and had all the neighbor kids over for cake and ice cream afterwards.  

Spiderman & Batman Cake 4/12/11

Dad brought home a spiderman balloon! 4/12/11

Most of the Neighbor Kids 4/12/11

We traveled all the way up to the Redden's Farm in Verndale for Owen's last party. It was the most enjoyable three hours car ride with kids I have ever been on. It was also the quickest trip to Aunt Carrie and Uncle Derek's house that we have ever experienced. Both Violet and Owen slept the majority of the trip and we did not have to make even one stop! Amazing! April 15th is also my sister Carrie's birthday, so she was able to celebrate with Owen as well. Carrie and my mom made a Curious George cake that was absolutely beautiful. It kind of makes my cake look a little rough. Oh and if you read my sister's blog, you will know that her cake was made from scratch. :) It was delicious! We had a good time at the Redden's farm, minus the snow.

Blowing out the candles 4/15/11

Owen "Photo Booth" Lee

I attempted to publish this post a few days ago, but I could not get the movie to play on my blog page. I'll attempt it again, but if it doesn't work, I'm sorry, because it's not that fun just to read.

On October 1, 2010 Owen discovered Photo Booth on our computer. After taking many, many pictures I showed him how to record himself. He thought that was pretty cool and made 26 video clips that day. Since then, the kids have made over 150 videos and taken over 60 pictures. These are three of the videos Owen recorded that first day. I thought it might be fun to share some more of these creations with you every once in awhile for you enjoyment. 

Cool Legos

 Every day when Noah comes home form work the first thing Owen says is, "Dad, can you make cool legos for me?" Here are some of the "cool legos" that Noah was made for O. He plays with them for a day and then takes them all apart right before Dad gets home so he can make new ones. As you can see, they both really enjoy playing with legos. Owen also loves to change all the little guys arms, legs, heads, and hats. He's playing with them right now as I type. :)

The Water Closet

I found this info on Wikipedia and Noah thought it would be a good idea to share something educational on my blog. :)

Water-closet (WC), the name

The term "water-closet" was an early term for a room with a toilet. Originally, the term "wash-down closet" was used.[1] The "water-closet" was invented in England around 1870. It did not reach the United States until the 1880's. Around this time, only luxury hotels and wealthy people had indoor private bathrooms. By 1890, the fear of the theory of disease was beginning to arise about carelessly disposed human waste being contaminated and infectious. This is stated in the book "A People and A Nation" the eighth edition. Originally, the term "bath-room" referred only to the room where the bathtub was located, which was usually a separate room, but this connotation has changed in common North American usage. In the UK, the terms "bathroom" and "toilet" are used to indicate discrete functions, even though bathrooms in modern homes have been designed according to the American norm since around the mid-sixties. The term "water closet" was probably adapted because in the late 19th century, with the advent of indoor plumbing, a toilet displaced an early clothes closet, closets being shaped to easily accommodate the spatial needs of a commode..^{[citation needed]} Early indoor toilets had in fact been known as garderobes because they actually were used to store clothes, as the smell of ammonia was found to deter fleas and moths. The term "water closet" is still used today in some places, but it often refers to a room that has both a toilet and other plumbing fixtures such as a sink or a bathtub. Plumbing manufacturers often use the term "water-closet" to differentiate toilets from urinals. American plumbing codes still refer to a toilet as a "Water Closet" or a "WC". Many South American countries refer to a toilet as a "water" or "WC". The Royal Spanish Academy Dictionary accepts "váter" as a name for a toilet or bathroom, which is derived from the British term "water-closet". In French the expression "aller aux waters" ("to go to the waters") has now become obsolete, but it also derives from "water closet". "WC" is still used in the French language, although not as common as the term "toilet", and pronounced as "VC", a shortened version of "double V C". In Germany the expression "Klo" (first syllable of "closet") is still used, though the term is colloquial and not welcome in polite conversation.

Quarter of a Century

Today I celebrated my 25th birthday and it was wonderful! The day began with Noah waking me up to wish me a happy birthday without me having to drop any hints about the importance of the day. Lilly came out of her bedroom this morning and the first thing she said was, "Happy birthday, Mom!" Violet woke up all smiles and giggles and Owen didn't wet the bed! (He doesn't wet the bed that often anymore, but it's still something to get excited about!)

The kids and I were invited to a friend's house for a play date and birthday doughnuts. I also received flowers and cake pops from two creative and wonderful friends! I even received an original song written just for me by Lilly friend, McKenna.

After lunch and naps, the neighbor girls came over to play outside and we enjoyed the warn sunshine. Noah arrived home and he promptly took the kids to go buy a surprise for mom while I went to church. When I came back home I was surprised to find a delicious supper waiting for me with two beautiful place mats drawn by Lilly and Owen.

After I finished eating we went over to the neighbor's house to eat my yummy surprise smiley face DQ cake. Grace and Elaine made two super cool "Happy Birthday Laura" t-shirts and a "Laughing Laura" t-shirt just for me! I was also presented with a one free night of babysitting coupon from Grace. The best gift!

I also received some cards, phone calls, and electronic birthday wishes. In case you happened to miss my birthday, there is no need to worry. At our house we celebrate the three days before and the three days after your birthday. A whole week of fabulous birthday fun! And it happens every year! :)

"My Mom Rocks" photo by Noah

"Surprise Happy Birthday Cake" by Noah and kids

"Fairy Wand Cake Pops" by Kerri

"Springtime Flowers" By Suzie

"Mom, Owen, Lilly, Elaine, Dad, Grace, Violet, Meeka" by Lilly

"Mom and Dad" by Owen

"Laughing Laura" by Grace

"Grandpa and Grandma" by Lisa

Meet the Kiddos

Lil, age 6 1/2,  joined dance in Feb. and has worn this outfit ever since. 

O, age almost 4, this is only one of his many expressions and moods that change every 10 seconds.

Vi, 17 months, never slows down and as a result falls down quite often, especially in the mud.