One of our favorite things this month was an ice skating party downtown GR at Rosa Parks Circle with Olivia's Daisy/Girl Scout troop. Scott and I have each only ice skated a couple of times and this was the first time for both kids. It was snowing quite a bit which just enhanced the scene. Ethan was all gusto, trudging on ahead of us not knowing that he didn't know how to ice skate. Sweet Olivia was just like Bambi. We laughed so hard for days to come at those two kids of ours! On our way home we stopped at our favorite ice cream shop...Cold Stone...that is what the kids chose...ice cream trumps hot chocolate for them even if it is only 10 degrees outside :)
One of our family plans this year is to be consistent with our kid dates...this is so important to us and we are usually pretty good about it for 2011 we are going on kid dates once a monthto be sure we never miss out on them. This month I went with Olivia out to her favorite "fancy" restaurant...Applebee's...and then we headed off to Michael's craft store to check out all of the goodies there. She is really into crafts right now! She is always coming home from school and making cards, pictures, and things out of paper for her stuffed animals. Scott and Ethan went to Ethan's favorite restaurant...McDonald's...then they cleaned up a lot - Ethan's 1st time snow plowing! - went home and played Star Wars. That could not have been a more perfect "date" for Ethan!
On the day of the 1st grade Musical performance I picked up Olivia and discovered that her two front teeth (one of which was extremely loose and one that wasn't all that much) had gotten knocked out in gym class! her sweet friend Jocelyn accidentally elbowed her in the mouth and Olivia's teeth went flying onto the gym floor! Poor girl! Olivia has been very dramatic about the other two teeth she lost, but all accounts of this incident were that she didn't cry or panic but was just very excited. She had the biggest smile on her face when I saw her! What a sweetheart!
The 1st grade musical was so great! The theme was patriotic..."A Celebration of America"... and the classes sang beautifully. I was especialy touched when Mr. Salo asked all of the veterans to stand - my dad was sitting next to me - and we applauded them. Those kind of moments just choke me up. My dad really deserves that and we are so proud of him! I could see Olivia just running her tongue over her gums the entire time her class wasn't singing. I remember that odd feeling of a missing tooth - or teeth! The kids and teachers put in a lot of hard work and did a fantastic job! We really enjoyed the end when all of the classes sang to "America" by Neil Diamond!
Another super fun event this month was Ethan's preschool sledding party! (I love Coopersville schools and the teachers there! Seriously - it is a wonderful school district!) It started at 327 Pizza with the teachers and other families getting filled up on yummy pizza. We sat with the Burke's which was a lot of fun for the kids to be with there friends/cousins. Ethan was so excited...he kept talking very loudly..."Hello Mrs. Buist -y." That boy completely adores his teachers! The sledding took place at Main Street Park. Olivia found her dea r friend Jocelyn and they were inseparable. Ethan followed them and and tried rolling down the crowded hill. They enjoyed the hot chocolate and cookies provided by the teachers. I so wish I had pictures of this night because the kids had so much fun! Ethan and I even went back the next day by ourselves and did some more sledding.
We ended the month by taking Papa and Grammy to the airport. They are headed to Maui for a month! They are so blessed and completely deserve to take this trip every other year. We can't wait for them to bring some warmth and sunshine back with them!
