Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day Flowers sold by the Student Council at Graham's school - 340 flowers total!

my helper sorting the flowers by class

heart shaped pizzas for dinner

jillian's "i'm NOT going to smile for this photo" face

thank you Ya Ya for the special shirts!

flowers from daddy.  the carnation in the middle is from Graham.  Jillian and I helped in Graham's class for his Valentine's Day party (after delivering the carnations throughout the school with Student Council).  Graham walked up to me and said "Mom, this flower is for you" - my heart melted :)

2013 Conference Swim Meet - Grand Haven, MI

jillian

graham

helen

jayden

just a few videos of the kids swimming at the Conference meet Saturday February 9, 2013.

 http://youtu.be/zGQ45U93PIM - graham's 200 Medley Relay Team - Graham swam Freestyle leg and the team earned a Zone Time (Zone meet in Bowling Green, OH) and a state time (State meet in Detroit)

 http://youtu.be/DOYSn3nUKSc - jayden 100 freestyle

 http://youtu.be/D-YKKxNDUzw - helen 25 freestyle

 http://youtu.be/DM535UylbNQ - graham 50 freestyle

http://youtu.be/h39tM4TBdB8 - jayden's 50 freestyle in the new speedo... earns him a state qualifying time and a better regional qualifying time! (lane 4)

http://youtu.be/Y4x8rnqeF28 - helen 25 backstroke

 http://youtu.be/niX6fQB_hxA - Graham coasts into his 50 backstroke :)

winter "fun"

i'm not going to lie - i'm done with winter!... the cold.... the slop....the wind.... the slippery roads.... the school cancellations.... the "where's my hat, where's my mittens, mom - i forgot my shoes at home and had to wear my boots all day at school" . and it's only early February..... but this face makes me happy :)







one afternoon, we got a few inches of snow - so I said to the kids "Who wants to come outside and help me shovel?" ..... Jillian was the only volunteer and she did a great job!

one evening, jayden and i started this 1000 piece puzzle --- over the next week i think every family member helped put a few pieces in the right place. it ended up being a 999 piece puzzle - we found out that ONE piece was missing!

Snow Day - AGAIN!

Monday we had another snow day.  I had to do the usual grocery shopping so off we ALL went to Walmart.  As we walked in, I noticed the Valentine's section ---- I had planned to do some super creative and crafty valentine cards this year with the kids.... but as we stood in front of the Valentine's display - I thought "Nope - we're going to do the ready made ones this year!  DONE is going to be better than CREATIVE this year!"  So the 4 kids spent the next 20 minutes (or maybe more) selecting the "perfect" Valentine's kit for their classes.  When we got home - we spent the afternoon filling out our Valentines - and they're DONE  -- 2 weeks in advance!




no school today ....... so we'll do a little homeschool while Jillian naps!  And as you can see in the background - not much 'snow" outside - sigh.

Wednesday Night BBall

Jayden got tickets to a Michigan vs. Northwestern Basketball Game for his birthday.

Jayden - very happy BEFORE the game started :)  I think we were one of 15 Northwestern fans in the entire arena --- the guy next to us informed us that Evanson was a little further down I-94 (indicating that we should have been in Evanston)  such a humorous Michigan Fan :)  He proceeded to show us about 10 pictures on his iPhone of various Michigan vs. Northwestern Football games that he had attended over the years! 

Pre-game

Just a few minutes into the game and Jayden is not too happy with the score.  He later turns to me and says "Mom - we need to go get a hot dog - NOW!"  Earlier he said he wanted to wait until half-time to get something to eat :)







It was originally supposed to be a boy's night out - but Ross was not feeling well so I happily filled in!

Helen Watermelon

I found this on the back of one of Helen's school papers - she calls herself Helen Watermelon.

Helen had surgery to repair 2 hernias on January 21.  We had to be at the hospital by 8am.  We drove through a bit of snow during our 1 hour drive to the hospital.  We were called back to prep room where Helen put on her special outfit and got ready for her surgery.  She was very brave and mom just tried to look brave :) 

She got a special little penguin from a friend on her swim team.  She was able to take the penguin with her to the operating room.  She named this penguin Helen Martha Kay Randolph Watermelon.  This made all of the OR staff laugh :)  When she was finished with her surgery - the doctor came out and the first thing he said to me was "Helen made us all smile before her surgery - she had quite the stories to share with us!".  She did great throughout the whole process and the surgery went as expected.  As they wheeled her down for surgery - I found myself asking her for just one more kiss.... just one more kiss..... just one more kiss. She finally asked my "Mom - why do you need so many kisses?" - and I could not answer her without a tear in my eye.

Helen arrived home to a sweet bear and bunch of flowers from Grandma.  That made her day :)  They did not give her any additional pain medicine (which was fine with me).  I gave her a little Motrin before bed and fully expected her to be up throughout the night in pain.  She slept on a mattress in our bedroom.  She slept the ENTIRE night!  No pain, nothing!  I, on the other hand, did not sleep AT ALL!  I kept waking in anticipation that she was in pain or not breathing.  She stayed home from school on Tuesday and then decided on Wednesday that she was feeling much better and so she went to school.  She said she got to sharpen pencils at recess and stamp papers during gym on her first day back!  She loved it!  One of her friends immediately greeted her as we approched the school on Wednesday morning " Helen - I missed you SO much!".  Then as we walked into the classroom - many of her friends offered hugs and greetings.  One little girl said "Helen - I hurt for you during your surgery" 

this boy is on fire!

Angola, IN swim meet - January 12, 2013  - 9-10 year old boy's relay team (either 200IM or 200 Free - not sure which one) - Jayden and Graham are both swimming on this relay team.  Due to a team mate that will be missing the state meet - Jayden will be swimming on the 9-10 year old relay teams at Conference/State.

Miss Helen getting ready for one of her events

Jayden had a great meet the day before his birthday - earning heat winning beads for each event he was swimming and several first place medals.  He also earned a few more state and regional times.  We said he was on fire :) ..... just what he needed to fuel his ego, right?