Company & Spring Break

We recently had some family come visit us. Dave, Janna & Ethan came to cool off from some of their Arizona heat. Our weather was wonderful while they were here. It was so much fun seeing them and spending some time with them. It's been a while since Eric and Dave were able to spend that much time together - and it was fun seeing them get to talk and hang out. Meanwhile, the kids had a blast (they were laughing so much!), and Janna and I had fun like we always do.

Our first day together we started off in Milwaukee. It was Emma's last day in school before spring break, so it was just the 5 of us. We had a delicious breakfast and then went to the Milwaukee Art Museum. I could have spent quite a bit more time there. It was fun looking around, and especially interesting to see the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit. I was very impressed and amazed at his artistry in even his early sketches.

That night we ate at the Brat Stop (we love that place) and then headed off for some shopping. It was nice just being out and walking off our dinner. The kids had fun too, mostly making faces at each other and us!

The next day we took the kids to the Jelly Belly Distribution Center so they could go on the tour and see the store. And amazingly enough, they were like 2 kids in a candy store!

Eric and Dave enjoyed playing the Wii together almost as much as Janna and I enjoyed the cheese isle at the grocery store. That place never gets old to me. And yes, the choirs were still singing there.

We just relaxed at home the next day after an enjoyable morning at church, and filled our time playing games.

On Monday we were off to Chicago. The kids LOVED riding the train and traveling around on the el and the subway all day. It was wonderful exploring the city together. And what's Chicago without trying some of their famous pizza?!! Now that is an experience!

Since it was a little cold we decided to get some hot chocolate at the Ghirardelli store (which I'm still dreaming about - oh. my. yum!) before heading off to Michigan Avenue for some shopping. I think the kids' favorite stop was the Lego store, complete with lego people out in the mall.

For the return trip the kids and the boys decided to ride upstairs on the train, while Janna and I stayed below. It was a long day, but oh so much fun!

The next day we all (sans Eric) drove down to Cincinnati. It worked out perfectly for all of us for Emma and me to accompany them down there for a couple days. I love this picture of the back seat of the car. The kids were being pretty good together for the drive. Even Dave was behaving. =)

Emma decided to have fun posing for the camera before, during, and after having her nails done. Not really sure what she was thinking in all these, but I love the pics!

On St. Patrick's Day we all went to a rather unique grocery store north of the city. It was a very entertaining store, with singing soup cans, cereal box characters, an Elvis lion, and safari animal statues outside. Weird, but good weird.

That morning Emma and I went and did a little exploring along the Kentucky side of the Ohio River. I loved this bridge, and couldn't get enough pictures of it from below or on it as we walked around. And again, Emma was a little poser for the camera, and I naturally couldn't resist.

Emma and I drove home the next day, so we could be back for school to start the next week. It was so much fun having them here visiting us. I wish them well as they finish up in Cincinnati and return home later this week. We love you guys, and you're welcome any time!

Emma's New School

Emma has been loving her new school here. Since they go all day 5 days a week she's has much more time for fun projects, field trips, and other activities. And although I'm still not entirely sure I like having her gone all day yet (I miss her too much!), it helps knowing she's having fun.

Last month I was able to accompany the kids on a field trip to a fun children's museum. The kids could have stayed for several more hours!

They've been doing different things with wood at school, and had a project to do at home. They needed to make something out of wood. That was the only instruction. They could do anything they wanted, but the kids needed to do most if not all of the work with minimal guidance and help from parents. Emma decided to make a Christmas tree. We got a stake and some thin wooden dowels, and some wooden stars. The only things we (Eric & I) did for this project were to help hold the dowel so Emma wouldn't get hurt while sawing it into the pieces, I taped the base of the tree so it wouldn't get the green spray paint on it, and Eric drilled the hole in the bottom in order to screw the stand to the tree. Emma did the measuring, sawing, glueing, painting, and even mostly put in the screw (Eric tightened it). We were right there while she did all this of course, but it really is mostly her work. It was very fun to see her mind working on this, and then for her to actually do it. It turned out darling, and will now be part of our holiday decorations each year.

The Big Move

Well, this post will bring me up to date with the blog. At the beginning of January we moved because of Eric's job. He was promoted and transferred to the headquarters of his company which is just outside of Chicago, Illinois. I have never made a move like this one. Prior to now all the moving we did was basically local and besides renting a truck for one day to move all the big stuff, we could always take a few trips in our cars with smaller stuff that we didn't want to box up. This time, however, we had to box up literally everything we owned. It was crazy! Eric's work paid for a moving company to load and drive all our stuff to our new home, so it wasn't as crazy as it could have been. Still, this isn't something I want to do very often.

We were able to make the drive in 2 days. Two very long days. We are now mostly settled, and hope to be completely settled in another couple of weeks. Eric is enjoying working with his new co-workers, Emma is getting used to her new schedule (all day Kindergarten here) and starting to make some new friends. We like our new ward and are awaiting callings.

We arrived a couple days before our stuff did, so we didn't have much to do except become familiar with our new surroundings. We drove around Chicago and saw quite a bit, including Wrigley Field and the Sears Tower.

We also toured a Jelly Belly Factory which Emma loved.

Coming from a cold place helped us to adjust to the cold here. The wind is a bit stronger and more frequent, and it's more humid of course. That happens when you move from a desert. I will just have to recall my mission days (it's fairly humid in Austria) to help me.

Emma has found her own way to enjoy the sun without going outside. She was laying on our piano bench enjoying the sun shining in the window.

And then, just to make sure we were sufficiently introduced to the winters here, Mother Nature decided to send a blizzard our way. The news crews here were referring to it as "snowzilla". Officially we received 23.5 inches of snow. But add really strong winds and we ended up with huge snow drifts effectively shutting down everything and blocking many people inside their homes. Since we didn't have to be out in it (schools were closed and Eric didn't have to go into the office), I actually loved it. I thought it was so much fun! And Emma loved playing in it.

If you look closely, you can see my hands sticking up above the snow. I was standing just outside our front door reaching as high as I could. That's how much snow was blocking our door! Eric had to go out through the garage on the side to take the picture.

So we are here, trying to get settled and adjusted, and looking forward to what comes in our new home.

Christmastime

I love Christmas. It's such a fun time of year. We have many Christmas traditions and each year it's fun planning and following through with them. Time together with family is the best though. We had a great Christmas even though we were in the middle of packing and getting ready to move. Emma understands the real meaning of the holiday, which is so nice to talk to her about. Among other things, we loved seeing the lights at Temple Square, eating at the Lion House with my family, and of course, Christmas day itself. I love how festive my mom's house is during the holidays. LOVE it! It just makes me happy being there and seeing all her decorations and enjoying the warm, cozy, festive feeling.

Here are my parents with all of their current grandchildren at the Lion House.

I always love seeing presents under the tree during the month, and then seeing the explosion that occurs after Santa comes.

Emma with her Great-Grandmother on Christmas day.

Emma with most of her Christmas gifts.

I think this was Emma's favorite Christmas song this year. They learned sign language for it in primary.