Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Catching Up...
Hello everyone! The holidays have come and gone and now it is almost February...Where did all those months go? I did get a new digital camera for Christmas so I can update you with some of the latest cuteness from the Ward household. All 3 children now smile at the same time for a picture- you just have to look past all the "cheese" as they humor me with more and more pictures. They all got more than enough for Christmas but some of the favorites were their CROCS from Grandma and Papa Ward (so cute and strange that Savannah says to me- no mom- I want to where my crocs!), Noah got a huge NERF dart gun, Natalie got a Hannah Montana dress and Karoke machine and Savannah got a pink pony. Natalie and Savannah have been playing dress up with all their princess dresses since we are beginning to have a little "winter-itis" as the coldest and snowiest winter has set in. On the balmy days where we hit temperatures above zero we head out and try to enjoy the snow. Spring is just around the corner right? Savannah has been crawling out of and jumping up and down while singing "5 little monkeys jumping on the bed" instead of taking a nap in her crib lately. So, we tried having her take naps in Noah's "big" bed to prepare her for the big switch. So far, so good. Out of the crib- out of diapers....(soon, I hope). My babies will not be babies anymore! Time to get prepared for the new challenges as they grow up!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Savannah is 2!
I can hardly believe how fast time goes by! Savannah is 2 today and she is such a sweet, loving little girl.....ok she might have a little attitude and sassiness at times! We are going to take her to Red Robin today because she absolutely loves the Macaroni and Cheese there. I know- pretty ridiculous to go out and eat Macaroni and Cheese- but you only turn 2 once right? I have a couple pictures taken from my cell phone- but having a hard time loading them- digital camera is still out of commission. I'll keep trying.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Halloween '08
What a wonderful, warm night it is was for trick-or-treating! This is the first year in many that the kids haven't had to wear their winter coats, boots and stocking hats! Noah was Captain Rex clone trooper, Natalie was Sleeping Beauty and Savannah was a ballerina, despite the cute kitty outfit we bought her! She just kept saying "pretty dress". So...thankfully, Natalie has a closetfull of dress-up clothes and we found one that fit her and she could also have her "pretty dress". We went to about 30 houses in our neighborhood and have more candy than we can think about- but somehow I think it will all get eaten pretty quickly!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Leaf Fun at Mom and Dad's
We enjoyed the beautiful leaves on our drive down to Lake City a few weekends ago. And then....the kids enjoyed them even more when we got to Mom and Dad's house. They played in them for hours and probably would have kept going- but stopping to snack on cookies had to happen at some point!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Time flies.....
Time flies, when you are having fun. Everyone always says that, but obviously it has caught up with me. I apologize for not staying up to date on this blog. A lot has happened since my last post. So here it is:
Natalie turned 5 on Sept 2nd. She got so many things pink and princess like- she loved it. Noah started 1st grade, that same day.
I went out to California Sept 7-9th with my colleauges to visit one of the cochlear implant manufacturers sites. We got to see how the internal device was put together- very cool!
Hears to TaTa's started and finished the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk on Sept 19-21st. What a wonderful experience! Only a few blisters and some aching bones, but many great stories were heard and memories were made. There were 3,000 walkers and the Twin Cities alone raised 7 million dollars! Thank you so much for all of your support!
Jason turned 36 on Sept 21st. For about 6 more months (at least by numbers) he will be 2 years older than me. After 10 months of working on the 1997 Escort- Jason successfully replaced the head and gasket, hoses, plugs, bolts, wires, covers etc.. This was no little feat! Many would say...Why are you bothering with such an old car? Well, as you may remember the 1994 Cavalier died earlier this year and we kind of like to have an "airport car" that Jason drives and lets sit there while he is at work. So, this is the airport car- and it is running!
Noah finished his 2nd year of soccer. He is such a little athlete! I am so proud of what he can do and the progress he has made at being a good sport (losing is a little hard on him).
October 5-6th I had the opportunity as one of the Northern Voices Board Members to fly to St. Louis and visit the Moog Curriculum School (MCS). Don't know about Northern Voices? Go to www.northernvoices.org. Basically, it is an oral school, here in Roseville, MN, that teaches children with hearing loss to listen (through hearing aid amplification or cochlear implants) and use spoken language. It was great to meet with everyone who came from the other 7 MCS and also to see the "pie in the sky" possibilities of what a dedicated space for the school could look like.
Noah had the week of Oct 13-17th off of school for MEA. So we took that opportunity to head out to Pennsylvania and visit Jason's parents and family. The kids were super excited to see Grandma and Papa since it had been over 9 months! Unfortunately- school, work and distance don't allow us to see them as often as we would like.
We flew out Saturday morning, Oct 11th, and fortunately, made it there without any problems. Nearly all of the aunts, uncles, cousins, etc...made it out Steve and Angie's on Sunday. It is always nice to catch up with them. On Monday we visited Hershey Chocolate Factory- the kids loved it! The outside air smells like chocolate and they have Hershey Kisses that cover the street lights!
Tuesday, Oct 14th was our 8th anniversary! Jason completely surprised me and planned a trip to New York City for 2 days and to see the Broadway show- Wicked! In my 34 years of life I have never been to New York City! Well, I guess I have been there once when I was 2- but I don't remember that and once when we went to Niagra Falls but that is long way from New York City! We took the Amtrack Train from Mt. Joy, PA to NYC- that was fun too-the fall leaf colors were beautiful! We did a lot of sight-seeing while in NYC: Went to the top of the Empire State Building, visited Liberty and Ellis Islands, rode the subway a lot, ate in a Little Italy outdoor cafe, checked out Times Square, went to Wicked, walked through Central Park, saw "the" Wall Street, etc... we could have easily spent a few more days there! The weather was absolutely beautiful in Pennsylvania and New York. Thanks to Steve and Angie for watching the kids!
Now we are back in Minnesota- the weather is seasonably warm. Jason put the second ping pong table together today. The first one cracked after some brackets were put on wrong- fortunately the directions were bad (they really were) and Jason was able to sweet talk the manufacturer into sending us a new one at no charge!
I am getting ready to have the Neighborhood Halloween Party at our house next weekend and doing some laundry from the vacation. I hope you are all well. My digital camera is broken for now, I hope to get some pictures up of our adventures soon!
Love ya,
Jen
Natalie turned 5 on Sept 2nd. She got so many things pink and princess like- she loved it. Noah started 1st grade, that same day.
I went out to California Sept 7-9th with my colleauges to visit one of the cochlear implant manufacturers sites. We got to see how the internal device was put together- very cool!
Hears to TaTa's started and finished the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk on Sept 19-21st. What a wonderful experience! Only a few blisters and some aching bones, but many great stories were heard and memories were made. There were 3,000 walkers and the Twin Cities alone raised 7 million dollars! Thank you so much for all of your support!
Jason turned 36 on Sept 21st. For about 6 more months (at least by numbers) he will be 2 years older than me. After 10 months of working on the 1997 Escort- Jason successfully replaced the head and gasket, hoses, plugs, bolts, wires, covers etc.. This was no little feat! Many would say...Why are you bothering with such an old car? Well, as you may remember the 1994 Cavalier died earlier this year and we kind of like to have an "airport car" that Jason drives and lets sit there while he is at work. So, this is the airport car- and it is running!
Noah finished his 2nd year of soccer. He is such a little athlete! I am so proud of what he can do and the progress he has made at being a good sport (losing is a little hard on him).
October 5-6th I had the opportunity as one of the Northern Voices Board Members to fly to St. Louis and visit the Moog Curriculum School (MCS). Don't know about Northern Voices? Go to www.northernvoices.org. Basically, it is an oral school, here in Roseville, MN, that teaches children with hearing loss to listen (through hearing aid amplification or cochlear implants) and use spoken language. It was great to meet with everyone who came from the other 7 MCS and also to see the "pie in the sky" possibilities of what a dedicated space for the school could look like.
Noah had the week of Oct 13-17th off of school for MEA. So we took that opportunity to head out to Pennsylvania and visit Jason's parents and family. The kids were super excited to see Grandma and Papa since it had been over 9 months! Unfortunately- school, work and distance don't allow us to see them as often as we would like.
We flew out Saturday morning, Oct 11th, and fortunately, made it there without any problems. Nearly all of the aunts, uncles, cousins, etc...made it out Steve and Angie's on Sunday. It is always nice to catch up with them. On Monday we visited Hershey Chocolate Factory- the kids loved it! The outside air smells like chocolate and they have Hershey Kisses that cover the street lights!
Tuesday, Oct 14th was our 8th anniversary! Jason completely surprised me and planned a trip to New York City for 2 days and to see the Broadway show- Wicked! In my 34 years of life I have never been to New York City! Well, I guess I have been there once when I was 2- but I don't remember that and once when we went to Niagra Falls but that is long way from New York City! We took the Amtrack Train from Mt. Joy, PA to NYC- that was fun too-the fall leaf colors were beautiful! We did a lot of sight-seeing while in NYC: Went to the top of the Empire State Building, visited Liberty and Ellis Islands, rode the subway a lot, ate in a Little Italy outdoor cafe, checked out Times Square, went to Wicked, walked through Central Park, saw "the" Wall Street, etc... we could have easily spent a few more days there! The weather was absolutely beautiful in Pennsylvania and New York. Thanks to Steve and Angie for watching the kids!
Now we are back in Minnesota- the weather is seasonably warm. Jason put the second ping pong table together today. The first one cracked after some brackets were put on wrong- fortunately the directions were bad (they really were) and Jason was able to sweet talk the manufacturer into sending us a new one at no charge!
I am getting ready to have the Neighborhood Halloween Party at our house next weekend and doing some laundry from the vacation. I hope you are all well. My digital camera is broken for now, I hope to get some pictures up of our adventures soon!
Love ya,
Jen
Thursday, August 28, 2008
22 days and $2,200
I have met my minimum goal of $2,200 for the 3Day Breast Cancer Walk! Thank you so much to everyone who donated and if you haven't....It is not too late! Just click on the 3Day icon to the left and go to my personal page. There are only 22 days until we begin the 60 miles. We have been walking as much as our crazy lives allow us to- hoping that we can be prepared and reduce the amount of blisters that occur. I will post pictures after it is over. Thanks again for your support!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Kansas City
We drove to Kansas City for our summer vacation! The 6 hour drive took 7 1/2 hours on the way down...thank goodness for DVD players! I don't care who says we are spoiled! How did our parents do it without these modern conveniences? The gas prices conveniently went down right before we left to $3.76- yoohoo!
When we head back to Kansas City there are two main priorities. 1)Hang out with family and friends and 2)Eat at places that aren't in Minnesota. Spoiling the kids with fun activities is just a bonus! So we stayed with Jason's brother and wife, Brandon and Krisi. Which means that we spent quality time with Colin, our nephew. He is adorable and so laid back! He's already got a deep little voice that is so cute and although he hardly ever cries, when he does I have to almost laugh because it is so quiet! I am used to the toe-curling screeches that my children make!
Noah turned 7 the day we drove down- July 28th. I cannot believe my little boy is already 7! He was very excited to open his gifts which included a Nintendo Wii (this was a joint gift for him and Natalie), a basketball, a Razor scooter and helmet, and some Pokeman cards. Brandon and Krisi got him a new baseball glove. The reaction to the Wii was classic- uncontrolled screaming and a lot of jumping in the air was involved! (We got it on tape!) Needless to say- any waking moment that we weren't running around doing something else was spent creating Mii's and playing each other. It's fun for the whole family! There is a skate park not far from Brandon and Krisi's house so of course we spent some time there as well- going down ramps and attempting half-pipes! CRAZY! I think he had a great birthday!
Other fun adventures took place at CoCo Key waterpark in the Adams Mark Hotel, a Royals game, Science City in Union Station and Paradise Park to hit in the batting cages and ride some go carts. We also spent some time walking around our alma mater- CMSU- ok, I guess it is called UCM now- whatever. Jason and I felt like we had never left- the speech and hearing center is still there but the audiology program no longer exists. The airport looked the same and even some familiar names remain- including Lindbergh the cat!
Some great times and good stories were spent with the Gum, Hensley and Teichman families. All eight children ran around with endless energy as always! There was mention of another adult vacation possibly coming up with this group- I'm thinking....GOOD IDEA! When we all went to the Turks and Caicos Islands in 2007 it was a vacation to remember! We also drove out to Richmond, MO to visit with the Morrills. The kids had fun playing out in the country- launching baking soda and vinegar rockets and swimming in the pool.
So, I am sure you are all dying to know what we ate that we cannot eat in Minnesota! First- Fazoli's- I know...not that exciting but, I love pasta and the breadsticks are so buttery and garlicy- yummy! There used to be one in West St. Paul which was about a 20 minute drive away- but it closed down. Next was Mr. Goodcents subs- there is not a sandwich place out there that makes bread as soft as they do! Smokehouse BBQ- because that is what you eat in Kansas City and Jason loves it! We don't have many options for BBQ- Famous Daves is about it and they don't have sliced meat just pulled- which Jason is not a fan of. 54th Street- I love the Gringo dip and chips! We also had Minsky's pizza and I think that is about it- at least those worth mentioning.
Speaking of pizza- we did try to go talk with our old boss from our Pizza Hut delivery days but unfortunately she wasn't in. Maybe next time?
We all had a great time! The ride home only took 7 hours. Thanks to everyone for putting us up and hanging out. We already miss all of you but hope to see you again soon! Maybe you should come to Minnesota and stay with us? You are always welcome!
When we head back to Kansas City there are two main priorities. 1)Hang out with family and friends and 2)Eat at places that aren't in Minnesota. Spoiling the kids with fun activities is just a bonus! So we stayed with Jason's brother and wife, Brandon and Krisi. Which means that we spent quality time with Colin, our nephew. He is adorable and so laid back! He's already got a deep little voice that is so cute and although he hardly ever cries, when he does I have to almost laugh because it is so quiet! I am used to the toe-curling screeches that my children make!
Noah turned 7 the day we drove down- July 28th. I cannot believe my little boy is already 7! He was very excited to open his gifts which included a Nintendo Wii (this was a joint gift for him and Natalie), a basketball, a Razor scooter and helmet, and some Pokeman cards. Brandon and Krisi got him a new baseball glove. The reaction to the Wii was classic- uncontrolled screaming and a lot of jumping in the air was involved! (We got it on tape!) Needless to say- any waking moment that we weren't running around doing something else was spent creating Mii's and playing each other. It's fun for the whole family! There is a skate park not far from Brandon and Krisi's house so of course we spent some time there as well- going down ramps and attempting half-pipes! CRAZY! I think he had a great birthday!
Other fun adventures took place at CoCo Key waterpark in the Adams Mark Hotel, a Royals game, Science City in Union Station and Paradise Park to hit in the batting cages and ride some go carts. We also spent some time walking around our alma mater- CMSU- ok, I guess it is called UCM now- whatever. Jason and I felt like we had never left- the speech and hearing center is still there but the audiology program no longer exists. The airport looked the same and even some familiar names remain- including Lindbergh the cat!
Some great times and good stories were spent with the Gum, Hensley and Teichman families. All eight children ran around with endless energy as always! There was mention of another adult vacation possibly coming up with this group- I'm thinking....GOOD IDEA! When we all went to the Turks and Caicos Islands in 2007 it was a vacation to remember! We also drove out to Richmond, MO to visit with the Morrills. The kids had fun playing out in the country- launching baking soda and vinegar rockets and swimming in the pool.
So, I am sure you are all dying to know what we ate that we cannot eat in Minnesota! First- Fazoli's- I know...not that exciting but, I love pasta and the breadsticks are so buttery and garlicy- yummy! There used to be one in West St. Paul which was about a 20 minute drive away- but it closed down. Next was Mr. Goodcents subs- there is not a sandwich place out there that makes bread as soft as they do! Smokehouse BBQ- because that is what you eat in Kansas City and Jason loves it! We don't have many options for BBQ- Famous Daves is about it and they don't have sliced meat just pulled- which Jason is not a fan of. 54th Street- I love the Gringo dip and chips! We also had Minsky's pizza and I think that is about it- at least those worth mentioning.
Speaking of pizza- we did try to go talk with our old boss from our Pizza Hut delivery days but unfortunately she wasn't in. Maybe next time?
We all had a great time! The ride home only took 7 hours. Thanks to everyone for putting us up and hanging out. We already miss all of you but hope to see you again soon! Maybe you should come to Minnesota and stay with us? You are always welcome!
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