Once again, I know, I know

It's been a long time, again. I know. I've become addicted to facebook and regularly post tons of great pictures there. It's still no excuse though, I'm more than aware of that. And now that I've wrangled the computer away from Kurt for a brief period of time, I am giving you the gift of Avery singing. Max and Avery putting on a show together with Max's classmates at The Children's Museum during Max's field trip!

Enjoy!

A whirl of holiday fun

The holidays are done, gone and over (whew) and we have had a whirl of fun spending time with friends and family.

From surprise visits from Mr. and Mrs. Borny-Clause on Christmas Eve to watching Avery bowl for the first time, laughing hysterically with the rest of the Volkers bunch, to laughing even more hysterically at Avery and Grandpa Kelly's "band", cookies with Michelle and Savannah, Max's skateboard and more, we are truly thankful for everything and everyone we have in our life.

While some of our beloved family members are soaking up Hemingway and sunshine and a small, terrible part of me hopes fleetingly of jellyfish stings, the rest of us have moved on to New Year resolutions (try not be as sarcastic should probably be number 1 for me I suppose) and look back on holiday memories with smiles, warmth and love. Here a few pictures to share with everyone. While we did not manage to get pictures from all the special gatherings and the laughter and fun that we had at each one, we still remember them!

Max. His smile and contentment are not always seen by others, but it's there! Sometimes it's way, way down there, underneath the excited 7 year old boy antics, but like a hunter, if you wait patiently and sit quietly you can find the allusive Max.

Max enjoyed one of Levi's presents...a memory from our visit COSI!

Max was just a little bit excited about his skateboard from Honey and Grandpa Kelly. Now he just sort of carries it from room to room and sits on it and wants to know when he'll get the knee and elbow pads so he can ride it.


Avery got kind of bossy with Grandpa Kelly (I know, I know, hold the shock and awe) during the formation of her "band".

Honey and Grandpa Kelly with all the holiday cheer of lapfuls of grandkids. They are saying goodbye to Ohio, and The Barn and heading to Chicago...which will be a whole new city for us to invade and explore. Hope the windy city is ready for us!It's a giant cupcake! Bake in two parts in the special cake mold...

Frost. (Starting small, not quite up to the intricate decorations found in "Hello, Cupcake..)

And enjoy! And we hope that everyone enjoys a safe and enjoyable winter. The fun of cold days sledding and warm hot cocoa, playing games and having hot soup!

And the medal goes to...

As we settle in to winter and get ready for the holidays, Max and Avery are finishing up gymnastic and basketball. Below are some pictures of Max playing and Avery getting her medal and doing her "tricks". Both of them have thoroughly enjoyed these activities. Max will be doing the Junior NBA legaue after Christmas and Avery will be doing something....we haven't decided if it will be more gymnastics or something else. All the pics are pretty self explanatory, so I'm not going to caption them all. My wittiness is tired today! Enjoy!

Adventures in Thanksgiving

Here's hoping that everyone had a happy, healthy (relatively speaking of course) and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. The Volkers Clan loaded up and went to Columbus Ohio for the holiday, and yes, we wore of U of M gear. So there crazy Buckeye fans!It seems like there are so many challenges that so many people face right now, to find things to be thankful for. Too many people are jobless, homeless, hurt and unhealthy. The world seems scary right now, but underneath it, there is hope. We realize how fortunate we are to have a home, to have jobs, to have family and friends to share the holiday season with. I believe that the prospect of healing, of better times, of a better world is a good reason to have an especially joyous holiday. It does not take a ton of money or a ton of energy to do something nice for someone. Not just because of the time of year, but because we need to be nicer as a people, as a world.

It's my blog and therefore my soapbox. I'm done now :~)

There are tons of pictures to share, and I selected a few...and accidentally erased some really good ones, but, if you're interested in seeing all the fun, feel free to check out my Facebook page, there are TONS there. (Aren't I sooo social network savvy?)

Awww...I hate this picture, but then I hate most of them that I am in. We had a great day on Thanksgiving. Honey and Grandpa Kelly dished up a load of delicious food, including the fabulous homemade cheesecake for dessert (and pumpkin pie and apple pie and mmmmm)

Joe and Em were there, along with Noah and Levi. The kids played, had a blast, though as you can tell by the picture below, Levi was not always thrilled with having his picture taken!

And it appears he wasn't always thrilled with Max either. For some reason, the kids thought it was hilarious to lock each other in the dog cage. Poor Eddie couldn't escape kids even in his own space! Now I'm considering it for disciplinary purposes. They can breathe while they're in there...bowl of water...I just got an hour to myself. Love it!

Avery gave us a series of hysterical moments. I'm sure all are shocked by this news. She was more than willing to tell anyone and everyone exactly what she wanted for herself, for them and apparently the universe. She's a strong-willed little girl and I am more than thankful for that!

We waited patiently, and not so patiently for the best turkey ever. Perfectly juicy, perfectly delicious. Too bad the stuffing had mushrooms in it....I heard that was awesome as always too!

We stayed in a hotel very near Honey and Grandpa's house, a hotel with a pool. Avery was thrilled with "our new home". She does not discriminate when it comes to pools, any one will do, and she still has not developed fear of any sort. Avery and Max had a blast each and every time we went swimming! (And so did me and Kurt...but don't tell anyone, then Kurt might lose his curmudgeon status).
And then because swimming alone is not enough, we went to COSI, a children's science and industry museum that is without doubt one of the coolest places ever! Noah and Honey tried their hand at the hoola hoop. We saw a live show where Max was called up to help light up some christmas lights by pedaling. Imagine that, Max did not hesitate for one second to be the center of attention. He had no fear of being in front of the audience at all and I am more than thankful for that. The best part was the red "rudolph" nose on the helmet and the sound it made when it started to light up. That distinctive sound from "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" cracked me up. There were lights, explosions, and more during this live show...and....it was all educational.

At the corner of Hope and Fear Streets, Avery pulls me toward Hope. All credit for that picture goes to Honey.

Boys will be boys and play with engines.

Something tells me that Max could totally have a future in a career like this. He very much enjoyed looking at himself in the "monitor"
And at the end of the night, all were happy and tired and ready for good sleeps.
The next day was as warm and beautiful as the previous 2. The guys took the kids to the park while Honey took the "girls" to the Eddie Bauer Outlet/Wharehouse. A beautiful experience for all parties.

After a couple more swims, a viewing of "Space Chimps", tons of coffee and more than a few drinks, it was time to say goodbye to Honey and Grandpa and our "new home" and head home. Home into the freezing rain we hit outside Ann Arbor, the stop and go traffic, the snow, the many vehicles off the road, the broken windsheild wipers and the 3 hours worth of delays. After 8 hours in the car, even Avery didn't care that our "old house" doesn't have an indoor pool. What a great time we had for what was probably the last Columbus field trip for the whole gang. Watch out Chicago.....we're coming!!!!

VOTE

Just vote. If you want the right to bitch and whine about government, poke fun at the "other side", complain about taxes, the economy and the direction of the world, then vote. If you can't be bothered to excercise your right to vote, then no one should be bothered with listening to your rants. It doesn't matter who you vote for, just vote. This message is brought to you by Batman and his Fairy Princess.

Football and Basketball

Twice in one month! Oh my, somehow I don't think we're that exciting! I just got over bronchitis, Max has a nasty cough and Kurt is home sick with something that apparently puts him unbearably close to death (based solely on his behavior). I baked banana bread and baked apples today. I love fall!

Max started basketball. We're going in to week 2 and he still loves it. Here are a few shots of his first practice. There will be more in the future. Games start in 2 weeks I believe

I think he looks like a natural!



Look at him go! All that practice in the driveway, the holes in the grill of my van and jogs down the street after loose balls paid off! We'll see what happens come game day.

We did have the 2nd annual Michigan vs. Michigan State/Chili Cook-Off. I have lots of pictures of the fun, and none of the chili. Food was on and I was eating, not taking pictures!

The cutest BFF's in the whole wide world showing their U of M pride!

The rivalry was, as always, intense. But the fun of rubbing it in more than makes up for hurt feelings! And having the many chili's to sample from and decide which one is the best is not a bad way to spend a fall afternoon.

Sore winners....aka State fans, went so far as to parade over to the neighbors and rub in their once in a lifetime win of U of M. Sad, sad people they are.

Next up....Halloween.