Wonderful Weekend of Repeat Events

What a great weekend!

We started off Friday evening by playing cards (Euchre!) with our friends, Steve and Alison. We invited them over but ended up at their house because we are just that good at inviting ourselves to other people's homes...or perhaps because it worked out better for them. The adults had a great time playing and the kids thoroughly enjoyed watching Star Wars Phantom Menace and hanging out with their buddies, Andrew and Adam. We were marveling at the fact that we have known each other for at least 7 years now and this is the first time we have all played Euchre together. And, for the record, it was girls vs. guys and the girls won 2 out of 3!

Saturday began dark and early bright and early as we had to leave the house by 6:45 to make it to Katey's 2nd Girls on the Run 5K. Mike got to run with Katey this time around, so it was especially fun to cheer them on! I believe I heard there were around 3000 people at the race!! It was crazy and exciting. Mike and Katey did a mix of walking and running and finished the 5K in 46 minutes, 2 seconds. WAY TO GO!!!

Katey's Girls on the Run Team

Mike and Katey getting ready to cross the finish line

Katey and Davida showing off their medals!

When the run was finished we jumped in the car to head to Seth's soccer game. We have a standing offer (which began last season) that if you score a goal in the game we will go out for ice cream. Last year Seth scored one goal at the end of the season. Saturday was the 2nd game of this season and HE SCORED!!!! It was awesome and Seth was so proud of himself! He actually came close to scoring 2 more goals, but we need to work on kicking really hard when you are going for a goal as the other 2 stopped short of crossing the goal line. I think we may be in for a lot of ice cream this season!

Seth all suited up and ready to play!

After the game we stopped into Bob Evans for lunch. Seth was still wearing his uniform and the manager was asking him about the game. Seth told him all about scoring the goal, of course, and the manager made a huge deal out of it...and even announced over the loud speaker in the restaurant that Seth scored a goal. The whole restaurant cheered for him - it was FANTASTIC!! Seth's face was red and beaming with pride and he gave a little wave to all the fans. Not a day that will soon be forgotten, we are sure!

Seth, Katey and Grammy enjoying the reward for the goal at Bruster's! The treat was made even sweeter since it got to be shared with Grammy, too!

We let Katey, our 5K girl, pick dinner. She opted for Nothing but Noodles. Why? So she could eat pizza with chopsticks! We were at the restaurant one other time and she loved that there was pizza and they give the kids chopstick helpers. I didn't have my camera last night, but we had homemade pizza for lunch today and I got a shot of Katey using chopsticks to eat it here:

Today has been a nice day. Church this AM, homemade pizza for lunch, rest this afternoon and working/playing outside in the beautiful weather later in the afternoon. Mike has been excited to use his new toy - a pick ax! He had fun tearing out a stump and the kids got to take a swing at it, too. It is nice to have a relaxing end to a fun-filled weekend!

SUCCESS!!

Go Fish

Our family has never eaten fish. Neither Mike nor I ate it growing up and neither of us really knows how to cook it. But, we keep hearing how healthy it is and how good it is for us so we decided to give it a try.

Last week I grilled some marinaded tuna steaks. Probably cooked them too long, but overall they weren't too bad. Both kids thought they were chicken and declared them...you guessed it...mediocre! We told them afterward what they had eaten and nauseous looks overtook them. Just the thought of eating fish made them feel ill.

A good friend shared a tilapia recipe with me and I decided to give it a try last night but not tell the kids what they were going to eat. Usually my kids aren't in the kitchen helping with dinner, but on the night I decide to cook fish I can't get them out from under my feet wanting to help! Katey saw the fillets in the sink and the following conversation took place:

K: What are we having for dinner?
Me: Meat.
K: What kind of meat?
Me: (trying hard not to laugh and not to lie too much) Oh, it's kind of like chicken.
K: It looks like FISH (making gagging noises). Is it tuna again?
Me: No, it's not tuna.
K: What is it, then?
Me: Tilapia.
K: What is tilapia?
Me: Our dinner. It's kind of like chicken. Out of the kitchen!!

We have just sat down to the dinner table when Mike arrives home and proclaims, "Smells like fish in here!" To which I reply, while shooting him a dirty look, "We're having TILAPIA for dinner, not fish!" (Somehow Mike managed to accidentally use the word fish 2 more times in the course of the dinner.)

Seth was the first one to dive in and said that it tasted kind of sour. The recipe called for lemon juice, so that explained the sour. He ate it all without complaint and when asked what he thought his reply was: "It was yucky. I didn't like it but I ate it all anyway." Katey asked if he thought it was mediocre and he said no, he thought it was only so-so!

Katey decided she hated the meat before even taking a bite. We couldn't get her to even finish the small serving that was on her plate. Katey not finishing her dinner is a big deal (kind of like a fish out of water - HA!). At one point Mike asked Katey what kind of an animal a tilapia is. Katey's reply? "Well, it's definitely not a farm animal, that's for sure!" We did finally tell the kids what they ate...and neither were too happy about it, of course.

I didn't get any pictures last night, but this morning I asked the kids to make a face showing me how they liked the fish last night. This is what they gave me:

Off to a Springing Start

Seth had his first soccer game of the season last Saturday. I will post pictures of him in his digs after his next game (when I actually remember to take the camera!). He is off to a great start and was tearing it up on the field! It was really fun to watch and we loved getting to know some of the kids on his team.

Katey decided to forego soccer this Spring and do Girls on the Run again. I thought she might get bored at the field on Saturday, but I underestimated her ability to find a way to get dirty entertain herself. There is a new sand pile near the field and Katey spent most of her time in said sand pile. I looked over at one point to find she was making "sand angels" in the pile. You know, like snow angels, only with sand. I'm still finding sand in various locations around the house from such a fun activity!

Near the end of the game, Katey ran up to me to proclaim "The Four Wonders of the Sand World" which she had painstakingly created. There was a sand volcano, a sand pillow, a sand castle (complete with a flag) and the aforementioned sand angel. I do so wish I had taken my camera! Perhaps these wonders will be recreated in the future...

Spring Break with the Averill Family

Spring break usually brings some sort of fun adventure for our family but this year, the adventure came to us! Mike's family decided to come for a visit while the kids were out of school. We got to hang out with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Joanna, Uncle Brandon, Aunt Annie and baby Nate!!

I'm pretty sure that our kids think Aunt Jo hung the moon. She is a fantastic kid-player and fun-maker! Honestly, when she is here I have to remind myself to see what they are up to since she keeps them entertained all day long. Wanna see their favorite activity this trip?

Turning the playroom into a giant fort!

The adults had a pretty relaxing visit and got in lots of card/game playing and Nate-holding time. Brandon and Annie thought that Grandma and I would be baby hogs. We probably were, but we did share. :-)

Some of the highlights of the visit were playing laser tag (Brandon was high scorer this time around), the guys washing and waxing 3 mini-vans, coloring Easter eggs, playing outside, and watching Nate laugh at his crazy cousins and relatives. He seemed to adore Seth and would giggle at just the sight of him. Katey and Jo could make Nate laugh, too, and all the kids (including Grandma!) had fun jumping up and down in front of the baby to get the ever-coveted and sometimes elusive smile and laugh.

I can't let this post end without mentioning 2 things.

#1: I re-learned Rook this trip! Mike's family have historically been big Rook players and taught me to play while Mike and I were dating. For some reason I decided that I didn't like the game - perhaps because I always lost - and we haven't played it since. After probably 13 years I opted to give the game a 2nd chance and found that I really enjoy it! Family, I'm very sorry that I banned the game for so long. [Brandon, maybe you should give Balderdash another chance. Maybe this time around it will be fun...maybe!]
And, #2: The warm weather returned and shorts were donned. With the winter, we almost forgot about Seth's individual sense of...um...style...

HE'S BAAAAAACKKKKK!!!

We missed Mike's sister, Christy, and tried our best to convince her to skip classes and drive here - but she was a very good student and didn't let our bad influence sway her. Here is a shot of the Averill family minus 1.

I Feel Trapped

We were on our way to the library today when the following conversation took place:

Katey~I feel trapped.
Me~What do you mean?
Katey~I feel trapped in the United States.
Me~What do you mean?
Katey~Well, I am already 8 years old and have never left the United States!

Only our Katey!!

Ohio Came to Visit!

We spent the last week enjoying time with Aunt Shannon, Gabriella and Aubrey (and missing Uncle Jason who had to stay home and work)! I now believe Shannon may be a saint for all the screaming that she had to listen to on the 8+ hour drive here...and back.

Shannon and the girls arrived on Friday and we got to spend a fun-filled 5 days doing things like playing outside, playing Uno, jumping at Monkey Joe's, having pictures taken and going roller skating. We also spent time with Aunt Kat, Trevor and Alex. I didn't get any pictures of that time, but Trevor (my 21 year old nephew) just got back from a year in Japan and wowed the kids...and us...with his stories and Japanese writing! Now the kids know what their names look like in Japanese~super cool!

Mom spent the days (and a couple of nights) with us as well and all the kids were excited to be hanging out with Grammy! Mom and I were both sad that, while Aubrey (19 months old) tolerated us when Shannon wasn't in sight, she was not at all happy to be in our arms if her Mommy was nearby. Shannon was also sad about that as she was really hoping to get a few days of rest. Maybe next time!

So, here are some fun shots of our time together. Can't wait to see the girls again - sure wish we lived a little closer together (hint, hint, hint to Shannon and Jason!) and could see each other more often.

Katey and Aubrey enjoying a big slide at Monkey Joe's! Aubrey is a wild child and didn't want to play on the little inflatables...just the big ones!

Aubrey with Grammy

Skating on the practice rink

Gabriella enjoying her first-ever skating rink experience. She liked it but wasn't so sure about going out on the big rink. It was a school night at the rink for a high school. Lots and lots of teenagers - and Katey and Seth almost took out several of them with some crazy, oblivious skating! No wonder Gabriella wasn't too sure about getting on the rink...