Christmas hats

The theme for the family gift exchange this year was hats. Here are the hats that the Maier's received. Unfortunately, we are missing Sam and Mitch! Mitch refused to have his picture taken.....we even tried pinning him down to snap a picture to no avail. Mitch had Sam and I think I forgot to tell him...so he still owes Sam a hat! **OPPS!!** Everyone else had no problem getting their pics taken with their new hats however!!!! :)

Maier Christmas

Some pics of the kiddos opening some of their presents on Christmas. As usual, all the presents were opened in less then 10 minutes and the living room was completely trashed!! **SIGH**

Santa!!!!!!!!!!!!

They had Santa visiting the Dells everyday while we were visiting. We thought there was going to be a line when we finally went, but John and Isabelle were able to walk right up to him, chat him up and hop on his lap for a photo opp!! Isabelle asked for a puppy and John asked for a Brachiosaurus!! :)

Splish and Splash!!! :)

A few weeks ago we headed to the Dells for a weekend away with the kiddos. They had a nawesome time playing in the three indoor water parks. It was nice for Mike and I as well...since John and Isabelle are a little older and could run around more without us following them around the whole time. They are going to be a blast when we head to TN in June to hit the water parks there!! :)

OOOOHhhhhhhh....AHHHHHhhhhhhh

I was pretty excited to actually be able to capture some of the fireworks with my camera. So here are just a few! John and Isabelle were entertained for about 5 minutes and then lost interest. But I was able to regain their interest by playing the color game where everyone guesses the color of the next firework before it explodes in the sky. Mike kept guessing black....ahhh...I don't think he was playing right! :)

Picnic fun

The picnic provided us and the kids with lots of food and fun games. Isabelle was able to participate in the candy dash (for kids 3 and under). Someone threw candy all over the ground and the little ones just ran around and picked up as much as they possibly could. Isabelle scored a nice pile of candy! John particpated in the sack race (3rd place), the 3 legged race (1st place) and him and I took the wheelbarrel race by a landslide!! We get to have our names forever recorded on the Orchard Ridge Wall of fame now! (Oh yeah!) We even got a photo opt with Uncle Sam himself! :) Fun was had by all...and everyone slept soundly that night!

4th of July Fun

The Maier clan had a very eventful 4th of July weekend. Sunday we practiced in our backyard with sparklers and snakes. Monday we participated in the Orchard Ridge neighborhood parade and picnic with Kelly and Jayden. Monday night Mike I and the kids went and saw some fireworks and had some more fun with sparklers, snakes and glow sticks. I know....we are OUT OF CONTROL!!!

The Sharks attack!!!!

This is John and Isabelle's t-ball team...the Sharks! Last night they had a grueling game against the very feared Badgers! We made it through 3 full innings, where every kid got a hit and made it to base every time. Whenever a ball was hit by the opposing team, all of our kids ran for the ball and created a full out pile on in the middle of the field. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard in my life! :)

One down......

And 3 more to go (as Mike likes to say)!!! Sam graduated from James Madison Memorial High School this past Saturday. She will be heading out to UW LaCrosse in the fall!! This coming Saturday we are hosting a huge celebration for both her graduation and her (golden) 18th birthday....should be a blast!!! :)

Spring Flowers

Mike and I have been working on our many flower gardens since we bought our house 6 years ago. Last fall we planted what seemed like a zillion bulbs...well lo and behold they actually all came up this Spring!!! Unfortunately they have all died out already....but no worries the next stage of flowers are getting ready to bloom anyday now!! So make sure you stay tuned!!! :)

Ready for the big leagues???

Tonight is the first official t-ball game for John and Isabelle and the rest of their team 'The Sharks'. Does it look like John is ready???? I especially like the pic of him swinging with his tongue sticking out! :)

First Haircut (FINALLY!)

I was completely attached to Isabelle's long hair and it was very hard to decide to cut off her long locks. But since it is winter and she wears a hat on her head everytime she leaves the house...she was walking around with a squirrels nest for hair and it was driving me nuts...and she ran away from me everytime I came at her with a brush. So, Great Clips was having a $6.99 haircut special...so in she went! She was a trooper and I think her new do is super cute. Out baby has been replaced by a little lady!!! :)

And so it begins.......

I started dance lessons when i was three years old and continued until I was 16. I always wanted a daughter of my own to continue the tradition of the love of dance. As we all know Miss Isabelle turned 3 last month....so of course she is now enrolled in dance lessons. We went and bought her first pair of ballet slippers today along with a fun Dora 'ballet bag' to carry her shoes in. I am a complete sap and completetly broke down and cried as I looked at the little shoes in the store!!! (Mike said it was the cutest thing he has ever seen!) As soon as we got home I showed Izzie her new slippers and she immediately ran for her tutu and has since been running around the house with her slippers on and her Dora dance bag in tow. She even wore them when she took her nap! Now I just have to get that darn hair of her's in a bun!!! Oh...I guess I have time before they get that serious hey?? Well...Tuesday...5:25....the classes begin!! :)