2011 Blizzard!!!

My first blizzard! It was windy and cold and snowy....just like a blizzard should be, I guess. We didn't get as much snow as they were thinking but it sure did blow everywhere and drift and pile up! Quentin spent about three hours snowblowing our driveway and four other neighbor's places. There was a lot to move and he was so happy to use his snowblower! But it was really nice for him to be able to stay home and help our neighbors. I took the kids out for a little bit and it was chilly...but it was fun to walk on the sidewalks with 2-3 ft of snow on either side. Kinda like the parting of the sea =)...just frozen! So anyway, here are some pictures of the drifts and sights around our house this morning!

Jessalyn's Tangled Birthday

She is now 6 years old! Just amazing how she has grown and blessed our lives! We had so much fun with her on Friday and then at the party on Saturday. Lots of fun and activities!!!

She wanted the Tangled theme for her party so we went all out! I found some great activities on the website and printed out some crafts and color sheets and characters and we had a great time. It was fun to see her so thrilled with the outcome...she especially likes listening and dancing to the songs we downloaded and used for musical chairs!

She wanted hotdogs, grapes, Cheetos Puffs and juice for her menu. I added a big sub sandwich and some other veggies and it turned out great....wouldn't you know, she didn't even touch her hotdog!

We made lanterns! They weren't the floating kind like in the movie, but they sure were pretty!

We played pin Pascal on Flynn's shoulder!

We braided hair with ribbons and flowers, just like in the movie, and the girls had so much fun! Thankfully I had two moms there to help!!

I just love seeing their reactions to getting sung to on their birthday. I didn't quite capture it on the photo but it was great!

Upward Basketball ~Announcing Elliana Wagner!!!

So who wouldn't want to play with a beginning like this, hey?! It is pretty cool and the kids love the tunnel and music and lights! Elli has some pretty good bball skills and I would post a video of her in action but her coach/dad/#1 fan was coaching (yelling) the whole time while he was taking the video =) ! So we will have to take some more video towards the end and show you how she does. And hopefully they will decide to play again next year!

Upward Basketball ~Jessalyn in Action!!

So this is Jess' first year playing a sport....we decided to have them try basketball with the Upward Basketball organization and it has been really cool. They have devotions or Bible time each practice and each game and the coaches and helpers are really positive and encouraging. So even though they don't really know what is going on, they are coached and encouraged and it is a very positive experience. Jess wasn't too excited about it at first, but she has been learning the game and has been practicing and is enjoying it now. Thank goodness! This was shot on her first game and she has improved since then...I'll have to post a last game video so you can see her bball skills! Go Jess, Go!!!

Mall of America

It's true....we made it as a family to the Mall of America!!! Quentin has gotten out of going in the past so it was lots of fun having him and Owen with us...and it was fun! I took the girls to the American Girl Doll Store while Quent and Owen went to Verizon and then got tickets for Nick U. It was fun to shop with the girls and then we met up with Quentin and he got wrist bands for 3 hours of kiddie rides because it was Toddler Tuesday! What fun! We did have to wait in lines for a while but it was loads of fun for the kids and it was great watching them have a good time. The lines were all long to sit down and eat lunch so we just stopped at Cold Stone Creamery and got icecream for lunch...the kids were thrilled and it was easy to load them up in the van to head back to Grandpa and Grandma's. It was a great morning and we all had fun!!!

We started out on the little blue train for Owen....he was excited to be on his first ride!

Waiting in the lines was ok but Quent got tired!
They liked it after the wait!

The honking of the horns made Quentin decide to not ride with the kids even though Owen really wanted his daddy to share this ride!

They were all so excited to do the Swings! I took a long video and their eyes all got big as it took them up in the air....it was cute!

Elli said she tried to keep her feet together during the ride so her shoes wouldn't slip off =)

Elli loved these crystals as part of the mall decorations...she would love to have some in her room!

Where Did Christmas Break Go???

Christmas break has come and gone and I am still trying to figure out how it went so fast! We had such a great time, we are not wanting it to end. We enjoyed making goodies, the girls had a First Day of Winter party, we travelled to WI and visited with lots of family and we played really hard in the snow every day! It was great!! Here are some pictures to show just how much fun we had....fyi, they are in reverse order. (sorry!) =)

Elliana had a dream to build an igloo!

Owen dreamed of fast hills...

...and Jess just wanted to stay warm!

We loved having Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's!

We had a wonderful lunch on Christmas day and then enjoyed visiting with both sides of the family the rest of the week!

Christmas stockings! A favorite tradition!!

We love visiting Great-Grandma Wagner!

Owen got his own Leapster....he loves it!

This girl was wishin' and hopin' for a sewing machine!

Jess loved opening her Play All Day Doll...and boy does she go all day if you let her! =)

The girls had so much fun with their friends at THEIR party...the First Day of Winter party on the first day of winter, no less! We had snowflake sandwiches, made and decorated snowflake cookies and painted snowflake ornaments...it was great!

oh yeah, and it wouldn't be a party without a dress-up show, either! The little girl in the turquoise MC'ed the whole show and directed the other girls....what cuties!

Owen was such a good helper...he didn't even try to sneek a chocolate while he was making these goodies....amazing!

Jess loved "cooking" with Owen! Elliana would rather be reading a good book!

Hope your New Year has started off great!

Elliana Laproscopic Appendectomy

What a day this has been...
It all started with Elli waking me up at 4:41am telling me her stomach hurt. I got up with her and waited for the throwing up to start. We thought she had the flu or maybe an upset stomach from taking her meds on an empty stomach. Well, we waited and waited for the vomitting to start and about 40 minutes later she had a couple gags but nothing. So for the next hour and a half she just kept squirming on the floor trying to find a comfortable position. Finally, I convinced her to lay in my bed and she dozed for about 30 minutes. She woke up perky but complained of a pain in her side and she couldn't stand up straight. We decided to call the nurse to double check with them and they made an appointment to see her at 11:30. So I picked up Jess early from school (it was a half day) and we all went to the dr.s office. That was a mess because Owen was crazy! Anyways...they swabbed her throat and took blood and called to see if they could get her in for a ct scan just to rule out her appendix. Her white blood count was high and that mixed with the pain and the throwing up caused them to want to make sure it wasn't her appendix. During the wait in the office, Elli was laying on her stomach with her hip cocked and was coloring so I thought for sure that we were just wasting everyone's time. But they sent us to the hospital at 1pm to drink the solution for the scan and then we were to go to a different hospital for the actual scan at 3:00 pm. Thankfully, Quentin met us there because by this time Owen was a real handful!!! As we were walkin in for the scan, I asked Elli if her side hurt still. She said not really but it kinda hurt all over her stomach. I was really thinking we were wasting time but the technician said that the pain can spread to the whole stomach area. They had to put in an IV for the dye to do the scan and that was lots of fun! She was not too thrilled about that whole process. But she did real good and settled down enough to be still for the scan. The technicians let her pick out a new Beanie Baby and even let her bring one out for Jess and Owen, too! We had to wait about 45 minutes for the results and when they came out they said she had Acute Appendicitis and they could get her in to surgery at 5pm. Talk about a shocker! Here we thought she was just having some gas pain or sore muscles!! So they check upstairs in Peds to make sure there was a bed and they took us all upstairs. Elli was kinda nervous but not really knowing what was going on, thank goodness! Jess and Owen got to check out the playroom and had fun while we waited. But Jess also kept saying that she felt like crying several times so us girls finally sat down and had ourselves a good cry and then prayed for Elli! The children's pastor came and stayed with us until they had to take Elli downstairs to surgery. They let all three kids ride on the big bed and that was a picture I am sad to have missed. Owen was so tired, he could have fallen asleep had it been two more minutes to get there! We got to the surgical ward and they explained everything to us and to Elli. Then we had to leave....that was really hard for her and for us! One of the nurses took us out to the waiting area and our babysitter, Michelle, was standing there waiting for us! That was so nice!! And then our friend Jennifer came along with Pastor Tom and our other friend Missy. Jen and Michelle took Jess and Owen to the cafeteria to eat dinner while we waited for Elli to get out of surgery. It was about a 30min. procedure and then we were able to go upstairs to see her. And that is where the pictures begin =) Missy was thoughtful and took pictures for me because I was just concentrating on taking care of Elli! Thanks, Missy! Elli was put out all day because she couldn't eat so she was thrilled to be able to have a purple popsicle as her first food. That and she asked for gatorade, too!


Her big purple smile after the popsicle....cracks me up because it looks like a bad botox opp!

Her three incisions...the one on the right was the biggest and most painful.

She had a reaction to the sleep medicine...

The next morning...she was in pain after getting ready to go home!

Her ride out of the hospital!

She had a rough day the first day but bounced right back after that! She was a trooper and we are so thankful that God was watching out for her and orchestrated all of the details of the day. She even remembered to bring Lambie to her dr. appt so she had her with her all day through all the scarry stuff! We are so thankful for all the prayers that were prayed on our behalf, too!