St Kitts

With the Atlantic ocean on the left and the Caribbean Sea on the right, yep....we were in paradise. Amid a long Minnesota winter, this six-day dream vacation to St. Kitts, West Indies, is just what we needed!

 

One thing we didn't have to worry about was the weather.

Dave's Uncle Maughan has traveled throughout the Caribbean, and decided that St. Kitts is one of his favorites. We were quick to jump at a chance to visit family in a tropical paradise! We joined Uncle Howard, Uncle Maughan, Aunt Debbie, and two cousins Nicole, and Kelly in the West Indies. The kids adore Nicole and Kelly and loved the occasional ride in their wheelchairs.

St Kitts had a unique, raw flavor -- it recently opened up to tourism in the last decade. We felt safe, but it definitely felt like a different country when we meandered away from the Marriott Resort. The kids felt excited to acquire their own passports for the trip.

It was a relaxing week with plenty of time for soccer games on the beach...

"Para sailing" above the waves...

Going on walks on the beach...

Relaxing on the beach and sipping coconut milk,

Zip-lining high above the rain forest with panoramic views of the Caribbean Sea...

Scuba diving for 1st timers; Aubrie, Jeni, and Dave...

Aubrie and Jeni got the "mermaid experience" in the pool, while Dave got scuba certified and went down 60-feet deep into the ocean. Some of his adventures are included in the video below.

Perhaps the kids' favorite activity was the hike up to the old fort where the locals would fire at intruding ships from a far.

The view at the top was simply, well, stunning!

As per tradition, the kids (and Daddy) needed to do some cartwheels in the West Indies too.

Thank you Kelly and the gang for having us along for the ride!

Post-its from the Heart

We couldn't help but snap a few pictures of Aubrie's personal goals. She's been writing these notes and posting them on her mirror each week -- all on her own! What a sweet girl!

Aubrie in Wonderland

There are at least three events in the year that Aubrie counts down the days for: Christmas, her birthday, and the "Prairie Fire Theater" play that is hosted by her school. She is our resident drama queen and puts that drama to work on the big stage. This year, she tried out for 'Alice in Wonderland' and landed the exciting role of a talking flower.

The Prairie Fire company hosts auditions, rehearsals and performances for the play in just five days. The whirlwind week takes its toll, but is also great fun. Aubrie's excitement this year was that she got to have a script -- since she had her first speaking part.

She couldn't be happier hanging out with her friends and being a part of such a fun week!

Saturday Morning Dance-off

Tradition stays alive at our house!  The music is turned up and booties start shaking every Saturday morning.

A magical birthday

Aubrie LOVES birthday parties. Last year, she didn't have one because of our move and cruise. So, for two years she has been planning the perfect Harry Potter birthday party!

Her sweet friend allowed her to borrow her "Sorting Hat" so all the girls could be sorted into the proper house.

And classes began with a teacher for each subject. Professor Snape taught potions. Perhaps the favorite teacher was Hagrid for Care of Magical Creatures (I got on Dave's shoulders, wore a trench coat and taught the class!). Don't you love their Harry Potter glasses they made out of pipe cleaners? I think Dave and I ended up having as much fun as the kids!

       

We had a special "Honey Dukes" candy shop. During the party, the kids earned galleons for winning games, participating in class, etc., and then they were able to use their pretend money to buy their favorite treats at the candy store. The girls loved this!

                 

Who knew that my doll cake pan would eventually be used for a broomstick cake!

I can't believe my baby is 10!! A whole decade!

 

We decided 10 was a good age to allow Aubrie to pierce her ears! This has been so exciting!

Her siblings were concerned and interested!

About Aubrie at age 10:

She is having a wonderful fourth grade year. She has great teachers and friends -- both of which seem to really like Aubrie. She appears to be happy with herself and content in her life. She is being appropriately challenged in school; she was placed in 5th grade math, reading, writing and spelling classes. She seems to have a strong sense of right and wrong and a desire to be kind to others. She is very self driven. We enter her room and see Post-it notes on her mirrors each week of her personal goals -- some of these goals have been to study the scriptures, write in her journal, be kind to others, etc. This year she has continued to dance ballet and has started on a competitive volleyball league. We are so proud of the young lady she's becoming! Now, if she would just be 10 forever!

CES craziness

This is Dave stepping in to share about my experience at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. For years, my dream has been to attend CES, because I love new gadgets! When I accepted my latest position at 3M, I knew I would finally get my chance to check out the big show. The show exceeded my expectations with over 30 football fields worth of amazing, bizarre, and cool gadgets making their debut to the world. Here's a little sampling of some of the crazy stuff I saw...

Electric powered roller shoes,

Laser virtual keyboards,

Neck massage robots,

"HapiForks" that buzz and light up when it senses you are eating too fast and too much,

And of course the iPoddy for the little Junior that has to have an iPad in reach wherever they go.  Other than these great creations, here is the list of my personal top 10 favorites from the show.

10. Synchronized dancing robots to Gangnam Style

9. The 1st ever see-through, 3-D TV

8. Smart Appliances - kitchen appliances that you can control with your cell phone

7. Cleaning Robots - robots that glide along windows and floors and suck up everything in its way

6. Medical Tracking Stuff - watches, bracelets, etc that tracks all health related activity

5. 4K TVS - Super, super, super High Def TVs

4. 20 touchpoint Tablets - bigger tablets that several people can touch

3. See-through Touchscreen Walls

2. Nekomimi - "cat ears" you wear that wiggle when they sense excitement from your brain waves

1. 3D Printing - create three dimensional objects anytime from your home

Aubrie's Locks of Love

Aubrie wanted to grow her hair long, but I didn't. So, we made a deal. Because her hair is as thick as it is, I'm not a fan of it long because it is so much work! But we agreed that she could grow it out until it was long enough to have enough inches to cut and donate to an organization that makes wigs for kids without hair. 

I decided it was way past time to make the big cut.

The hair stylist cut about 8 inches. 

Tadaaaa....she was thrilled with her new look. And so was I!

We mailed the hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

And then a couple weeks later she received a letter in return. I'd like to say this was all Aubrie's idea, but even though this was one of those things that I pushed on her, I think in the end she felt good about it, learned from it, and was glad she did it.

Sledding Splendor

This winter we have been treated to some picturesque snowfalls -- where our backyard looks like a beautiful snow globe.

Luckily our new house is equipped with a perfect little sledding hill where the kids have been learning how to snowboard.

Even Teyah and Kyler tried it out.

 

Temps hovering below freezing ... snow crystals forming on the face ... with fresh powder to play in, it makes it all bearable.

 Hooray for snow! Enjoy this dreamy video that captures the magic of the day.

The Nutcracker Cuties

This year's Nutcracker performance featured these two sweet little rodents. 

But, once the masks came out, one turned into a scurrying mouse and the other a scary rat.

While waiting to take the stage, the girls played card games, ate treats, and got a backstage look at all the show's fancy costumes.

This was Teyah's first year performing in Nutcracker, and she had so much fun! She did a great job as the 'blind mouse.' Aubrie is already eager for next year's performance--wondering if she will be a soldier or a puppet! The Nutcracker is so exciting!

Christmas

Christmas this year was so fun for our family. It was the first one in awhile where we weren't moving, showing our house, or traveling! We had time to do all our favorite activities.

We enjoyed Christmas Eve breakfast in our PJ's...a long-standing tradition with our dear friends.

Christmas is the best with these four cuties!

Of course we had our own nativity. This one was special because Ellie wrote and directed it all by herself. It even included scripts that she typed out!

The only thing Ellie wanted for Christmas this year was glasses. I'm sure we will remind her of that someday when she actually needs them. But her fake glasses have contributed to her sense of style. She decided she better not wear them to school though, so she doesn't confuse anyone!

Santa was pretty crafty this year, making this Lego creation for Aubrie's enjoyment.

I particularly loved finally buying and having all the fun boy toys that we have never had around here until recently. Notice Kyler's cars all lined up nicely. 

We can thank Grandma T. for this adorable dress-up!

These cuties are divvying up the lip balm, to make it fair. Glad they have a smile with that process! It was such a fun, relaxing Christmas! We loved celebrating our first Christmas in our new house!

The Doll band

Aubrie often amazes us with her creativity. We particularly enjoyed this ensemble of band instruments she devised for the dolls. Each doll has its own musical instrument created from an everyday household utensil.  My favorite ... the tuba that prince charming is playing (made out of a pencil sharpener).