Miss Saucey

As we left the Aquarium, we saw this bear:

I call Ella Miss Saucey as she can often be saucey....I made her get up there and smile with all of her sauciness.

Gatlinburg Aquarium

The kids were so excited to go to the Aquarium. Although we live near one of the largest around in Newport, KY, we have yet to go (basically because I am not a fish fan). I had heard great things about the Gatlinburg Aquarium so we took the Trolley to the Aquarium. I am so glad we went as I was blown away with how good this Aquarium was!

Not sure why Laney was growling but this was our first exhibit at the Aquarium and Matthew and Laney were excited to sit in it.

Laney and the stingrays.

What can you see is the behind the scenes of this picture.

Ella was running away from this tank. For some reason she thought the stink rays could get her.

Honestly, it was hysterical!

Loving that she was getting wet

Can you see the fish?

Matthew was in awe.

Spotted Garden Eels.

Looks like they are talking to each other :)

This moving sidewalk was the coolest thing. As we were going through the tunnel of fish, I was shocked by all of the varieties of fish there were.

Look at this Sawfish's face.....too funny!

One huge turtle

This sign didn't make me feel too comfortable in the tunnel.

Look at that Dad

Again, just a great face to see from underneath the water

Touching the crabs

Jelly fish

Matthew was very confused by this huge crab.

One of the coolest exhibits was the Diet Detector.

You put your hand in and tried to feel what the shark ate.

There was a chain, license plate, metal, and many other things. 

I didn't know that the shark inverted his stomach if he eats something that doesn't agree with him.

Fun with the penguins

These next few pictures crack me up. As parents, we know how many we take to get one good picture. Although none of these are perfect, if I could piece them together I would have one great one!

Ella's smiles have greatly improved!

We definitely took the most of her this trip because she was posing all over the place (and with her beautiful smile...not her constipated one).

Bear crawling through an aquarium :)

And they made it to the dome.

What a great day!

Later this night, we met our neighbors, the Venderbush's, at dinner. We had no idea they were going to Gatlinburg until a few days before the trip. It was great meeting up with them and eating ourselves silly.

Spring Break 2012!

We were so excited for Spring Break this year. Well, ok, truth be told we were very nervous. We have taken a vacation each year but the past 2 have been to my parents' place in TN. The first trip was a disaster and although Matthew was only 8 weeks old, he was a handfull (cried half the time) and then Laney and Ella were still young. Last year was slightly better but still, this year, we were unsure how it would go.

My parents were nice enough to let us their time share points and Gatlinburg had a 3 bedroom available. We were excited and since we really only want short drives these days (some day we will get to florida) this was going to be perfect!

We booked Monday- Friday (thank you Mom and Dad for letting us use you points!!!) and the kids could not wait to go. Once the welcome packet came with all of the thigns to do the kids started their lists.

So the drive down there was uneventful (yay!!!). Matthew did not nap which ended up working out because he crashed when we got there and slept until 8 the next morning. That IS a record for him.

We arrived Monday and the first thing we did was go to the pool and then out to dinner. Nothing crazy but fun to have family time.

They each made a list of what they wanted to do in Gatlinburg and Matthew's was to ride the trolley. He has a book about things that move and a trolley is in there. Every time he sees the picture of the trolley he says he wants to ride it. Perfect! We could handle this. So on Tuesday, we were headed to the Aquarium and what better way to go then by trolley. Matthew was loving it!!!

 Matthew with his map, Jason with his pink backpack :)

We were all excited to ride

Matthew with his map, Jason with his pink backpack

Matthew was enjoying his special ride

Yay Mom!

Check trolley ride off the kids' list of things to do in Gatlinburg!

Ella's first diorama project

The week before spring break, Ella got her first diorama grade back from Miss Bimm. The assignment was to read a book (Ella's was baa-choo) and then make a diorama depicting the story.

Ella had one other book report before and her book was rather hard to explain (think no true plot). This book was slightly better and after a bit of discussion, she knew what she wanted her diorama to look like.

Although I love to be near her when she does projects and crafts, I am definitely not a hovering mom. Heck, I am not creative so my 6 year old has much more creativity than me...why would I help her? ;)

She knew she wanted it to look like a barn. She made grass on the bottom and then once that dried, she mixed white and yellow together. Using small brush strokes (see, creative) she made the white and yellow mixture look like hay. She then painted half of the sides green for grass and half of it blue for the sky. She took my craft paper and glued it on the outside of the box (she only used my cloud paper which I thought was cool). Using Matthew's toy animals, she made a barn scene with a cow, hen, duck, horse, etc. It was so cute!

In fact, one of her classmates, Aida,  wrote about Ella's diorama in her journal and how much she loved it. Yay Ella!

Ella got a perfect score on her project (and yes, I am pretty sure every student got a perfect score but who needs to know that right?)!

Willett Family Chore Chart

This chore chart is long over due! Ella is very motivated by charts and one that involves money? She is all in!

As I was reorganizing the basement I came across some foam board and was motivated to start the project. In all honesty, it was me that has put this on the back burner. The thought of coming up with one that works for our family seems daunting. I asked a lot of friends what they do with their families and came across a good one from my friend, Melissa. Although we tailored the money a bit to fit our family, her conversation and ideas gave me a game plan.

So I had the poster board, printed out checks and x's (which I must have been thinking they would do better than they would because by the end of day 3 I had run out of the x's (I know there is no ' there but xs just looks weird..please forgive me teachers...lol). And I love being able to use the hot glue gun!!!

The girls each helped with their own chores and after much discussion came up with the idea that a check is worth $.10 and an x nothing. There are instances which can blow the whole day (fits, whining uncontrollably, etc) and in fact, there are have been some fits that have blown the whole week. Seriously! How can money not motivate you to be good.
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Ella's chores:  Clothes are put away in the hamper or down the laundry shoot, crafts and toys picked up, make bed, dishes in the sink.

Laney's chores: Clothes are put away in the hamper or down the laundry shoot, crafts and toys picked up, dishes in the sink.

Matthew's chores: Pick up trains, don't hit (true, don't hit isn't a chore but we thought this would be a fun twist. For the record, he gets an x every day on the don't hit chore).

We then collect the money at the end of the week and record it in a notebook before it is put in the piggy bank. This is another pet peeve of mine...that the girls love to take their money out and count it but alas, it always ends up somewhere else other than their piggy bank (like the floor, the bathroom, my room, etc). So now it has to be recorded anytime money is put in the bank or when it is taken out.

We have all enjoyed the chart and it is leading to a much happier mom (as opposed to the mom who is always saying, "I can't keep this house clean by myself").

St. Patrick's Day

So this is a holiday I really don't understand. I am not Irish, nor are many of those that celebrate it. Ok, let me rephrase this. I loved celebrating this holiday in college as it usually meant that green beer was involved but now, I don't understand the immense buildup of it. Laney's class had an adorable leprachaun hunt where he ended up leaving gold and all kinds of goods. Both girls came home from school incredibly excited to catch the leprechaun, see what he left them (aka, how much gold), and see if he messed up their room (which is not so hard to do since it seems to always be a mess these days).

On St. Patrick's Day the Powells were here for another wonderful visit. Gosh I love when they come! Carly and Jack got to work on their leprechaun traps and with a little handy work from the dads (putting in the bate....a wheat thin... I am sure that is what a leprechaun would like), the kids were ready to go.

On the mantel

Matthew spotted one!

I think he was as confused as I was about what are leprechauns,

why they are here only one day, and why are we catching them.

\\

Just in case the leprechaun wanted to read my blog books.

Which reminds me, ugggg, I am having the toughest time getting motivated to start

last years!!

Although they didn't catch any leprechauns, when the kids were in the basement, he did make quite a mess of the family room by taking pillows off the couch, throwing magazines around, etc. The kids loved it (and thankfully didn't ask for any gold).

Morning Routine

Pretty sure all of the bloggers out there will understand this post. There are just some things I don't want to forget and as I am thinking about starting Matthew's baby book (don't want to rush into, right?) I am already realizing how many little details I forget.

So I just had to blog about our morning routine and how different each kiddo is.

Matthew is always up first (6 or 6:30 is his time to get up...grrrr) and wakes up screaming. As much as we have told him to get up and play in his room, nope, he just screams! So one of us gets up and takes him downstairs where we let him watch TV until the spark kicks in. Once Matthew gets downstairs he is one happy guy, ready to go go go, play, laugh and scream with laughter (lots of shhhhhsss in the AM so he doesn't wake up the girls). These days Matthew enjoys peanut butter toast although that is not quite what it is...usually it is peanut butter face!

Ella always gets up next (around 7 or 7:30). She does not say hi or good morning. She runs right to the couch, buries her head in the couch and lays for about 5 minutes before she even says good morning. Then she is ready to go grab breakfast. She makes her own breakfast many times (cereal, toast, waffle, milk).

Laney gets up around 7:30 or 8. She runs down the stairs like every morning is Christmas morning. She whispers, "Mom/Dad, did you hear a Laney bug?" and then she hugs and kisses us right off the bat. Each day starts off with the biggest smile. Her breakfast is usually a waffle with peanut butter.

I had to write this at 7 AM since I am up with Matthew so I make sure I don't forget these mornings :)

Mom's last day going hysterical!

Last week was my mom's last week at one of her jobs, the Terrace Park Historical Society (aka the hysterical society). Although she enjoyed her job there and did a great job, it was time for her to move on. There was too much to do for one person and let's be serious, I wanted her to play with us more (and remember, it is all about us!).

One of the co-presidents called me the day before the goodbye celebration and asked me to stop in with the kids. Cake? Cookies? I am in!

After Laney heard there was a party, she was on a mission to write Nana a card.

"Dear Nana." Or Dear Nanan

Congratulations on finishing one of your jobs. Laney

The new secretary is on the left, Steve Early (co-president and I went to HS with) and my mama

Balloons!

Laney's preschool is in the same church where the Historical Society meets.

She was beyond excited to take her new pony to see Nana Kay. As you can see, it was cowgirl day and her teacher, Mrs. Heile, made each of the kids their own horse. It has been a huge hit with the kids (and although it currently does not have a body, it is still fun to play with).

The horse even had its own bowl to eat from.

Just to prove he was here, bruise and all.

He is a very active little man these days!!