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Archive for the ‘Family Fun’ Category

We hope everyone had a very Happy Valentine’s Weekend. We didn’t do anything too exciting to celebrate. Anya helped me make a cake and cupcakes to celebrate:

IMG_7552.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

I thought it turned out pretty good considering I had more “help” than I probably needed!

Also on Friday, Anya’s preschool had their Valentine’s Day party. The kids were so excited to eat their Valentine’s cookies and to pass out their treats to each other. Here is Anya’s table having fun at snack time!

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Other than me having a little “girl time” with my good friend Laura on Saturday getting a pedicure and us braving the snow on Sunday morning to attend church, we had a very quiet weekend around here just hanging out.

Here are a few more pictures of Anya’s preschool Valentine’s day party.

..and so does life around the McArtor household!

As I sit and type this post, it is snowing. Shocking, I know!! Jason & I have come to the conclusion that when you already have 12+ inches of snow on the ground, what does another couple inches hurt??!! I think the theme of Winter 09/10 has been “go big or go home” and since the “go big” part has happened time and time again already, I am most definitely ready for the “go home” part to happen anytime now!

We haven’t been up to anything too exciting lately but it seems that normal daily life keeps up pretty busy. Jason has been traveling some on the weekends to do trade shows for Graphic Authority and is at the Des Moines Airport this weekend. We like these close to home shows since, as most of you know, Jason doesn’t like being away from home and we don’t like having him away from home!! I am keeping busy at work with my normal duties and have also been vaccinating for H1N1 which can make for some busy days at the pharmacy.

Anya is still busy going to preschool and Bible Buddies. On Friday it was “bring your favorite teddy bear to preschool” day and Anya had fun showing off her light-up bear:

IMG_0156.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

She is still having fun at Bible Buddies and memorizing her weekly verses like a pro. She has had some friends from preschool recently start attending Bible Buddies and she has so much fun getting to see her “friends” at both preschool and church activities!

As you saw from my last post, Anya is still a big help in the kitchen.

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If there is an egg to be cracked, a batter to be mixed (or a pancake to be flipped!), she is the girl for the job! She is at the age where she not only wants to “help” you do something, she wants to “do it herself”! I have to remind myself sometimes that she is only 4 (well, 4 and 1/2 if you ask her…:) ) because she does such a good job in the kitchen. Who knows…maybe we have a little Julia Child in the making!!

Josiah is…..well, let’s just say we aren’t in Kansas anymore!

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He is changing faster than the snow has been falling lately. His vocabulary has just shot off the charts. Often, I hear him say something and think to myself “how does he know that word”….and then I realize he is starting to pick up on things himself and it just amazes me! He repeats everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) we say and it is a reminder that “little eyes and little ears” are always near! He has developed a habit of hiding things (ie: our TV remote we couldn’t find for 2 weeks) and, although it might sound like fun to have a daily scavenger hunt for things such as shoes, hats, remotes etc…, it does get a little tiring every now and then scouring the house for the missing item!

He he also recently been able to master the supposed “childproof” doorknobs which has created a whole new adventure around here. Since he has a propensity to play in the toilet or turn on the water in the bathtub, we simply can’t have him wandering into the bathrooms unattended (like the time we were at our neighbors house where he almost had their bathtub full and was trying to climb in!!!) So, we have been left with no choice but to lock our bathroom doors. This makes life a little interesting when Anya has a last-minutes bathroom trip, but so far we are managing. If anyone has any better suggestions for childproofing a doorknob, I would love to hear them!

Speaking of bathrooms, I recently pulled out the potty ring to see how JP would react to sitting on the toilet in an effort to gauge whether or not it was worth my time to even think about potty training. This was his reaction:

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…..and with that potty training has officially been postponed!!

So, as you can see, life for the The McArtor family (just like winter outside) continues, with no signs of slowing down!

How do you know Papa Jim is visiting? You find this when you walk into your livingroom:

IMG_7478.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

He puts stuffed animals on the ceiling fans and then he and the kids turn the fan on and see which animal hangs on the longest. I’ll tell you one thing…Elmo doesn’t stand a chance against the big pink elephant!!

This weekend, Papa Jim, G’ma Barb and Jill came to town to go to “The Lion King” with me at the Civic Center. It was a fantastic show….words cannot describe how amazing the “animals” and how talented the performers were. It really was quite the show and I am so glad we went to it. Other than the show, we also did some shopping and hung out. It was fun to have them here and of course the kids enjoyed the extra activity around the house.

While they were in town visiting, Jason was heading out of town to work at a trade show in Grand Island, Nebraska. It was about a 4.5 hour trip from Des Moines. The trip out there Saturday was smooth sailing, but unfortunately the trip home on Monday night wasn’t! Jason got stuck in Omaha for the night and came the rest of the way Tuesday morning. He was glad to be back home and the kids & I were REALLY glad to have him back home

Here are a few more pictures from our weekend.

…..it isn’t all fun & games around here!

IMG_7420.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

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Last week was another busy week for us. Finally the weather calmed down and we were able to have all our regularly scheduled activities; work, preschool, church etc… Wednesday, Anya got to celebrate her 4 &1/2 birthday at preschool and I just happen to be volunteering that day, so it was fun to be a part of the celebration. She got to wear a crown, blow out candles on the cake and hand out birthday goodie bags to all her classmates. She had a good time and is now quick to remind you she is now 4 and 1/2–not just 4 anymore! On Thursday we took supper over to West Des Moines to meet the newest Cathcart family member. Holden is just a tiny peanut and so very cute. Anya & Jaxson had a good time running around like wild indians and Josiah had fun just trying to keep up with them!

The weekend was also full of activities. Saturday night Jason & I went to play cards with our friends Laura & Dustin Reuter. They are a couple that attend our church whom we got connected with this summer through the Alpha course we both took. They have a little girl, Raegan, who is a couple months younger than Josiah. Anyway, we have a great time with them and have been getting together more and more often to hang out, let the kids play and of course let the adults chat and play cards. This time however, we got a babysitter because we had a serious game of Hand & Foot ( our favorite card game) to get taken care of–unfortunately I cam out on the losing end and Jason got runner up. Despite our losing the card game, we had a great time and loved eating the pork loin that Dustin smoked just for us. Delicious!!!

Sunday we loaded up the car and headed to Forest City to celebrate Noah’s 7th birthday! It was a fun day hanging out with the family and eating lots of goodies and cake. Anya wore herself out with Aubrey…those girls make me tired just watching all their activities!!

Here are a few pictures of our week activities.

…..is not getting these kids down!!

IMG_7379.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

When the world shuts down for subzero temps and blizzards, their fun just begins.

IMG_7378.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

There is nothing they like better than being snowed in for several consecutive days in their jammies, baking cookies with mommy, cuddling under a blanket watching movies and playing with their favorite playmate (each other!!) nonstop!

IMG_7397.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

And, although cabin fever creeps in every now and then, the McArtor family can handle Old Man Winter for as long as he feels the need to stay!!

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We were very excited to get some visitors bright and early Sunday morning…Papa Ronnie, G’ma Jeryl and Aunt Joni. They came to spend the day with us and celebrate Christmas! We had a great time opening presents, eating G’ma Jeryl’s awesome lasagna and just hanging out watching the kids play with all their new stuff. We are so glad that we got to spend time with both families over the holidays….that is what matters the most!!

Here are some pictures of our last Christmas of the season!

Congratulations to our friends Brad & Steph Cathcart on the birth of their son, Holden Winter Cathcart. He was born on December 30th and weighed 6 lbs 15 oz and was 19 inches. He will join big brother Jaxson (3) at home. Check out the Cathcart family blog for more pictures of the new arrival! Welcome baby Holden…we look forward to watching you grow up!!

Christmas this year was bittersweet…..I was so happy to be home with my family and loved ones, yet had an ache in my heart for my Grandpa. His funeral was on Wed (12/23) in the midst of yet another winter storm. It was a nice ceremony and the minister gave a great tribute about my Grandpa’s love for Jesus, his family and farming. I have often heard people say that a funeral is a “celebration of life” for the person who passed on. It is hard to think of such a sad event as a celebration, but during the funeral when I took a moment to step back and look at a church filled with his wife of over 62 years, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, it is quite a testament to my Grandpa for being the patriarch of such a family. I feel lucky to have know my Grandpa for 32 years and for all the great memories I have of him from my childhood and as an adult. It is never easy to say goodbye, but it makes it easier knowing we will see him again someday.

So, although Christmas wasn’t quite as festive for us as it usually is, we did still have 3 great family gatherings. We celebrated with Gramma Barb & Papa Jim and the Miller family Wednesday night, Great G’ma Martha and extended Miller family Thursday night and Gram Ruth on Friday. As you can imagine, the kids got way more than they needed and us adults didn’t do too shabby either! The best part was just being together (and our fondue tradition) and remembering the true reason for Christmas!
Now we look forward to celebrating with the Papa Ronnie & G’ma Jeryl and having Christmas all over again! Don’t you love when you can spread the Holiday cheer out for as long as possible

Here are some pictures of our Christmas fun! Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!