Mackinac Island 2012

We made, what is becoming our annual, trip to Mackinac Island a couple of weekends ago. We met Brian's parents and sister and brother-in-law.   Have to say, that we had the best weather we have had in years!  The girls were able to enjoy the pool at the Grand Hotel for the first time:)  One thing we realized this trip is that the girls are getting old enough that they are actually asking to do things on the island.  So next year we really need to stay another day so we can fit it all in.  We visited the fort, Main Street, played lawn games, ate fudge (of course!  Brought some home too:)), swam, shopped, etc.  We had a great trip. 

Addison PreK Graduation

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Addie's Recital

Last week was a crazy busy week for Addie and I.  It was her annual dance recital.  This is the second year she has been in ballet/tap combo class.  To be in this class you need to be 3 or 4 years old at the beginning of the year.  I think that recital week is what Addie likes the best about dance!  We started on Wednesday night with technical staging, to set the lighting and get the kids used to the stage.  Thursday night was dress rehearsal, and recitals Friday night and Saturday afternoon.  I usually volunteer to be backstage for one of the shows to "monitor" Addie's class.  This year we have quite a few younger dancers and each week at class there is always one or two crying.  One little girl freaked out on picture day and her mom barely got her in the group photo.  I had a feeling that it was going to be as rough week at recital time.  Because these dancers are so young their classes have 2 parent volunteers backstage instead of one (thank goodness for that). 

Last year it was EXHAUSTING.  3 hours of running after 10 3-4 year olds and trying to keep those tap shoes quiet when we were waiting to go on backstage is not any easy thing to do!  This year was even more exhausting....  Our little gal in the group with severe stage fright refused to go onstage at dress rehearsal, friday night recital and friday night to bow.  Saturday afternoon we were standing backstage with the class and the lights go out and we lead the little ones on stage (in the dark) to their marks.  I thought to myself, "OMG.  She is actually going to go onstage!  Her mom is going to be so happy!"  9 months spent at dance class and not being able to see your daughter at recital with her class is terrible.  Just as we started to lead the kids on stage Z pulled her hand right out of mine and bolted for the side door.  Sigh.  Thank goodness she had an older sister (high schooler) who grabbed her before she got out the door to console her.  We had a lot of tattling, falling down and crying (those D#$% tap shoes), and at the very end one of our girls accidentally kicked another in the face and she had to be pulled off the stage crying.  It is seriously like herding cattle...  The other mom and I had one dancer on each hip, plus trying to lead the rest off stage and back to our room while trying to keep those tap shoes quiet.  Yeah right! Thankfully Addie is one of the older ones in her class and she did awesome the entire week:)  And I have to say that on Friday night Brian and I were in the audience and Addison's class got the biggest applause:)  The crowd was yelling and clapping before they even finished their routine.  Although that may be because by the time they got on stage it was already 9pm and they looked exhausted!  LOL  Our niece Elizabeth had 3 performances at the recital as well.  It is so nice for Addison to have her big cousin give her attention backstage.  She loves the big girls:)


Shutterfly has been giving me troubles when I am trying to post entire albums here on the blog...  so I have started a share site for our photos.  It is bpta.shutterfly.com  Let me know if you want to check it out.  I have lost track of everyone's email addresses with facebook.  I will gladly add you if you are interested.  Just let me know.  I am hoping that this will be easier for me.  So far so good!

Payton's Swoop

Payton's Elementary school has a fun way to reward kids for good behavior. It is a "swoop". Their mascot is the Houdini Hawk:) Anyway, if they are "caught" doing something especially kind, respectful, responsible, etc. any of the staff can give them a "swoop" (it is a little red piece of paper that has feathers printed on it). At the end of the week all the swoops from all the students are put in a basket and the principal picks a few and those students get to pick a special item. Well, Payton was apparently very quiet and listening in the hall last week and she got a swoop for it. Her name was picked on Friday. And what do you think our lovely Payton chose from the list of prizes? She chose the principal's chair. Monday morning Payton went to the principal's office and took her desk chair for the day. Payton was just pumped about it. We received a full description of the morning and that blue chair:) I wish I could have been there to see it!

Father Daughter Valentine's Dance

This past weekend was the Father Daughter Sweetheart Dance for Girl Scouts. Payton and Brian went with our Brother-in-Law Jason and our niece Elizabeth. The girls always love to get dressed up. They had a great time. The girls are so sweet, they really do love each other like sisters:) Brian and I were playing Wii with the girls earlier in the day and Payton said to Brian "You just beat the girl you are going to be dancing with tonight!" Oh boy. Brian said they did dance a little, but Payton was mainly just running around with her Daisy troop that attended. Glad they had fun, Payton was exhausted when she got home :)

(I had to throw in a photo of our Addie, it was taken a few weeks ago. We finally got the girls their very first Green Bay Packer shirt. Always have a day at school to wear your Packer gear... now we are set)

the girls vocabulary...

I have been meaning to post this for quite some time, mainly so that we can not forget some of the super cute things that the girls say...

Payton no longer changes letters in words, or says things just a bit off. But some of our favorites of hers over the last couple of years have been:

Restaurnant instead of restaurant (this one she only recently has started to say correctly:))
spinnamon instead of cinnamon
lellow instead of yellow
strawberrty instead of strawberry

Addie is continually a hoot to listen too. She will talk to anyone that will listen, including all her toys:) When she gets home from school she will literally talk your ear off. And she is usually talking so fast we only catch some of the story. Some of her cute remarks:

lellow instead of yellow (this is still in play most of the time:))
She calls big sister Payden (to which Payton usually replies "It's PAY-T-ON!" ) Her old name for big sister was Pay-Pee, but she has upgraded.
chocolick instead of chocolate (we love this one. She has never once said it correctly, and we don't mind a bit)
And our favorite is how she seems to always exchange a B for the V in most words. Auntie Val is "auntie Bal" and of course if she is doing something she shouldn't and we call her out on it she will walk right up to you and say "Mom, I just wanted to tell you I LUB you. And give you a kiss and a hug." She knows how to work it:)

Christmas 2011

We were so happy to be able to spend Christmas in Negaunee this year. It has been a few years since we have, so we figured we were due.

Our vacation started out with a bang... We left late on Thursday evening and arrived in Negaunee at about 9:30pm local time. The girls feel asleep in the car so after a few minutes waking up they were ready to go. Both girls had a snack and then we headed them off to bed. Payton was so excited she ended up with a stomach ache. Lets just say it is a good thing that Brian's parents have a steam cleaner! My mom said that my sister Valerie would always make herself sick with excitement at Christmas. Payton was fine and ended up sleeping great.

My sister Nicole and her family were up as well. We spent Christmas Eve with my family. My mom always has a get together on Christmas Eve and this was no exception. We got to visit with some of my parents friends that we had not seen in a while. That is always nice! We were back to the Stewards for the night, and Santa came there. Payton had wrote a letter to Santa before we left home and put it under our Christmas tree just in case he went to the wrong house:)

He made it to Negaunee and the girls had a wonderful Christmas morning. Brian and I were actually the first ones up. We were able to make coffee, get the girls a snack and drink ready, and even have time to spare before Payton and Addie got up! That was nice. They didn't need to wait to dive it:) Payton's favorite gift is probably the bed my Dad made her for her American Girl doll. It is wood and the perfect size. She also got a remote control car (it lights up!) from Jim and Betty, the puppy Sugar for her American Girl. Ruthie got a bunch of clothes too. Addison also loves her remote control car, her Barbie Squinkie house, and she got several "housekeeping" sets. She LOVES to play house. She was sweeping and mopping at Grandmas all weekend long! When we got home I realized just how many gifts they received! Totally spoiled, and we were able to find a spot for each one:)

The U.P. has snow on the ground so the girls were able to go sledding. Brian pulled Payton and our niece Elizabeth behind the 4-wheeler. Addie rode up front with Brian. We ended our trip watching the last Harry Potter on Blu-Ray (after the girls went to sleep that is). I LOVE that movie:)

The girls each got a Build a Bear gift certificate from my parents. Of course we have already been to the mall and spent them both! Hello Kitty and Cotton Candy are dressed to the nines! Lets hope that this tides them over for a while. They BEG to go into that store and get stuff for their animals... And lets just say that I am guessing that a lot of kids got the same gift. It was packed yesterday!

Addison's Christmas Program

Addie had her annual Christmas program last week. When Payton was her age, she was like a deer in the headlights. Addison is the opposite. She does all the motions and sings every word. Quite the difference between our 2 girls. Although Payton is getting a lot better with being in front of a crowd:) Here are some photos of the girls from last week. They are both anxiously awaiting Christmas this weekend. If they would only stop adding to their Christmas wish list! I told them over the weekend that Santa already has all the gifts ready. It is too late to change the list now:) Especially when they both all of a sudden asked for a Nintendo DS. Didn't even know they knew what one was! And as we have learned (with the arguing over the Wii, ipod touch and our tablet) we have to get 2 of everything...