St. Valentine's Day

Last week, Moose was out of town for a few days so we invited over some friends for dinner.  Jack and Lily are 6 weeks younger than Allison and Sydnee.  Jack and Will thought is was so cool that there were two Jacks at our house.

The girls were very curious about their guests.

Allison loved Jack.  He is not so sure.

Lily and Sydnee getting aquainted.

This weekend, our family activity was making heart-shaped sugar cookies for Valentine's Day.  Jack and Will were in charge of the cookie cutters. 

Jack drizzling the homemade frosting.

Will took the decorating seriously. 

Jack enjoying his first cookie.

The finished product.

Valentine treats for daycare.

Superheroes

We recently got the "Superhero Starter Kit" out for Jack and Will, complete with capes, masks, arm bands and badges.

Sisters wanted in on the action so we fabbed them some capes.

The girls ready for laundry basket races.



Allison ready to go in the snow.



Jack & Will's 4th Birthday Party

Especially at the beginning, Moose and I avoided many of the first time parent stuff i.e. pictures every 3 months, filtered water, pajamas, etc.  We did this because frankly, it was just easier to do pictures at 1 year, get water from the tap at 3:00 a.m. with two extremely hungry babies, and white onesies are very versital.  This year, we decided it was time to have a real birthday party for Jack and Will.  Moose planned the entire party.  Food, decorations, and games.  It was perfect.

Before party picture. 
We all stayed in jammies until after lunch.

Jack and Allison behind a Bop-it ball.

Will and Sydnee all smiles.

Waiting for the guests.

Most of the crew is in the picture.  A good time was had by all.

The aftermath.  Even the camera needs to be cleaned.

Saturday afternoon

While the girls were resting, the Benner boys snuggled up to watch a little Saturday afternoon football.

Moose asked if I was jealous.  Obviously I was.

When Allie got up from her nap, her hair was wild!

4th Birthday!

At this time four years ago, Moose, my mom, and I were getting heading to Mercy Hospital in Iowa City to deliver Jack and Will.  Now they are 4 years old!  It was been a great adventure full of crying, diapers, dinosaurs, monster trucks, and hotwheels.   They love the independence they are gaining as they become "big kids."

Costumes

I found these Cars costumes at Toys R Us for super cheap after Halloween.  The boys put them on today and raced around the house in them.  Jack was calling Will by his costume name, Finn McMissle and he wanted to be referred to as Lightning McQueen.

Christmas 2011

The day after Christmas we loaded the van up with all the "essentials" and headed north to Minnesota.  Our first stop was Rob and Katie's.  We had Christmas with them and Blair and Irma.  Again, we forgot to take family pictures of the adults.  Thank you again to Rob and Katie for their hospitality.  Hotel Crystal was excellent as always.

I wanted to eliminate a piece of luggage so I vacuumed sealed the kids' clothes to fit into one big suitcase.  It worked on the way there, but not on the way back.  Next time I am going to do outfits or items by baggies.

Kid picture in from of the tree before opening gifts. 
Sydnee, William, Jackson, and Allision

The girls liked helping the boys unwrap their gifts.

  

Will and Allie opening a cool car!

Our next stop was Grandma Linda's and Papa's.  One of their gifts was a night at the Holiday Inn in Lakeville.  It has a waterpark that was ideal for the kids.  It had a walk-in pool with a slide and the bigger pool was the perfect depth for taking the kids swimming.  Thank you, Mom and Ken!

After the waterpark, we waited anxiously for Uncle Robb to return from overseas for a holiday break.  We thought bowling might pass help us pass the time.  Unfortunately, the girls did not think it was a great idea.  We lasted 30 minutes.

On Friday, December 30th, Uncle Robb arrived at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.

On New Year's Eve, we celebrated Christams in Hastings, MN.