5th Birthday

Now that the "Browse" button has reappeared, I am able to post about the boys' 5th birthday. They enjoyed a doughnut with dad and sisters before preschool. Moose also dropped them off and picked them up from preschool on their big day as well.

Baseball mitts thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Benner.  We are planning on signing them up for baseball this summer.

Anxiously awaiting their party guests.  Superhero costumes and masks were encouraged.

Minnesota Bound

Canal Park, Duluth, MN

 

If you haven't heard...we are moving home to Minnesota!  On New Year's Day, Moose accepted a plant manager position with Tate & Lyle.  The plant is located in Duluth on Lake Superior.  The Benners will be back in the Land of 10,000 Lakes in the beginning of February.  Wow, huh, what, you say.  Here is the story...
Deep in our hearts we always knew we would move back.  It was just a matter of when, where, and career opportunities.  The stars aligned for us and we returning to our home state.  We will be within short day trips of our family and friends.  We won't have to stay overnight anymore! 

The entire process happened quickly.  We never had Duluth on our radar as a possible area to live, but the job sounded perfect and Moose applied.  Within a month or so, he interviewed, visited the plant, was given the offer, and accepted the position.

Christmas in Minnesota

On Friday, we packed up the Sienna, and headed north to Minnesota for Christmas with our families.  First stop, Hastings, Minnesota.

Jack and Will were running fevers when we arrived.  They rested together for a little while.

Allison checking out Santa's loot.

Baby Drew arrived!  The girls were less aggressive but still loved him.

Jack and his remote control car.

Christmas chaos.

 On Saturday, we headed over to Crystal to see the Benners.  After we opened gifts, Rich, Rob, Eli, Jim, and Michelle took the boys sledding.  They came home to the best homemade mac & cheese crafted by Aunt Katie.

Jack and a Batman car.

 

Sydnee cheesing for the camera.  Grandma and Grandpa Benner brought some delicious Chex Mix.

 

Will lost his first tooth Saturday afternoon.  He was pumped!

Christmas Eve and Day

Moose worked until noon (okay 11:15) on Christmas Eve.  After lunch, I as I mentioned in the previous post, I took the boys sledding.  It was a milestone event for me because it revealed that they are at the end of making that transition from being little boys to big kids.  In the evening, after a failed attempt at making cheese fondue, the kids put on a play and we opened stockings.

The stage.

The cast and characters: Sydnee is Baby; Jack is Owl; Allison is Baby; and Will is Bunny.

I believe, spunky, would be a good word to describe Miss Sydnee.

The characters are being attacked by Mr. Fingers, played by Moose.

An attempt at a family photo.

Brotherly love.

Our living room on Christmas Eve.  Will took the picture.

Santa's delivery.

Christmas morning.

Christmas Break 2012

I received an early Christmas gift on Thursday, December 20 in the form of the blizzard they named Draco.  It rained hard Wednesday night and into Thursday morning leaving icy streets behind.  Therefore, school was cancelled for the day.  Around 10:00 that morning, the snow began to fly as the wind increased.  I can honestly say that I stayed in my pjs the entire day.  I read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo while the kids played.  I did nothing around the house or anything for school.  It was heavenly.  On Friday, to a two-hour late start which was quickly charged to another "snow" day as many of the roads in Muscatine had not been cleared yet.  Those that were, had a thick layer of ice covering them.  The kids and I did venture out on Friday (the Minnesotan in me couldn't stay at home) to deliver plates of goodies to some dear teacher friends.  We also stopped in at Cindy's to open gifts from her and the kids at daycare.

On Saturday, we played out in the snow.  Let's just say getting 4 children dressed for the elements was somewhat of a challenge.  It took some convincing to the girls to suit up for the outdoors.

I brought down the boots that were in the upstairs closet.  Sydnee was not interested in any of them.

Allison let her dad do the bundling up.  She is definitely a "daddy's girl."

This is after about 10 minutes of coaxing.  She evidently was more concerned about her sunglasses than her boots.

Moose and the boys made a small hill in the driveway to test out their sleds.

Will being Will.

Sydnee eventually warmed up enough to the idea of going outside.  I think Moose had to get her boots on as well.

Jack on the Benner "luge" run.

The Benner boys.

Later in the afternoon, the boys went sledding for the first time.  They were awesome.  I took them on Christmas Eve.  They were so independent.  Jack shouted, "Watch out below!" as he cruised down the hill like a big kid.

Sledding hill at Geneva.

A Weekend at Grandma's & Papa's

The last weekend in October, the kids and I spent the weekend in Minnesota with Grandma Linda and Papa.  Robb brought Drew over for the afternoon and he survived the curiosity of his cousins.

Cousin Andrew survived two days of Sydnee and Allison's full attention.

The next Lifetime movie: Dangerous Affections, the Sydnee and Allison Story

Jack making a silly face.

Will's silly face.

Fighting for a spot on Grandma Linda's lap was common during the weekend.

Allison and Sydnee took turns pulling each other around on the 30 year-old Fisher Price horse.

Halloween 2012

Sydnee posing in her cheerleading outfit.  The pink poodles were a NO.  We went with plan B.  Thanks Grandma Linda.

Cowboy Will in action.

Capt. Jack and his swashbuckling sword.

Allison saying cheese before hitting the neighborhood.



Sydnee was the front runner all night.  The boys gave out compliments to their fellow trick or treaters.

After collecting their loot, the kids sat on the steps waiting for the last of the trick or treaters.