Movie Night

Veda got to see two movies last weekend. Here friends Jacob and Alex played the young Adam Sandler in the flick Jack and Jill so we thought it would be a good idea to take her. Wrong... not a kid movie and Veda freaked out when she didn't get to see Jack and Jill go up the hill to fetch a pail of water... yes she said that.

So we made it up to her by going to Puss in Boots. As luck would have it the main characters were Jack and Jill so Veda thought we had just got it wrong the first time. This was Adele's first movie and she loved it! She sat in awe for the first hour before she realized she could run up and down the stairs for added entertainment.

ANOTHER rainy day...

At the girls school they try to get them outside unless the weather is extreme. It was still raining today so Veda's class got to run outside... literally they just let them out the door to chase each other for a few minutes to burn energy and get fresh rain air;) Thank goodness for PlayDoh later in the day...

Timeout

Adele was a little under the weather this weekend but that didn't stop her from antagonizing Owen. She is so use to Veda picking on her that she decided she would pick on someone her size. So she spent a lot of time on the stairs in timeout and got really good at saying sorry.

The finger rub

Everyone knows that Veda's comfort is rubbing fingernails. Papi took her to the muppets movie Thursday and said his fingers hurt from Veda's finger rubs during the flick. Well she discovered another victim... Owen actually liked it though.

Christmas Card Outtakes

Lots of different backgrounds...all equally challenging to get everyone on the same page...

Thanksgiving Prep

Veda got to make some Rice Crispie turkey treats for Thanksgiving Dinner yesterday morning with DeeDee and Papi...Adele happily contributed by making her own chocolate dipped pretzels.

Catch Up

The move put my blogging talents on hold for some time. Here are some pictures from our stay in Iowa. The movers came mid-October and then we flew home with the kids to Iowa for a bit. Todd and I went on to Ohio to move into the house on our own while the kids stayed with Nonnie and Bull. I went back to get the kids and my parents drove back with all of us to help us with unpacking. It was a crazy few weeks and the kids were obviously unsettled. I think we've finally found our happy place. The girls have started at a new school, Veda is in dance classes and we have a routine. Now we can start to enjoy all that Cincinnatti has to offer - other than cold weather;)

Adele exploring the empty shuttle truck before they started loading in CA.

Clear Lake - apparently this dog sculpture is a tree stump.

Bull worked hard to make leaf piles for the girls.

 Digging for carrots... which we ate for dinner... along with fish Papi had caught on his trip to FL.

 Veda and Papi got lots of fishing in. She was especially entertained by the gutting of this fish. "Oh look... at all the blood... there goes his head."

 Cousins

 Owen and Adele the Artists.

 Cuddle time with Bull.

 Keeping busy in Nonnie's shower.

Fun at Wilson's Apple Orchard. The apple slushies were the highlight I heard.

www.stayclearlake.com

If you haven't heard the news by now... the Laabs family has bought a hotel! Formally the Heartland Inn of Clear Lake. We are very excited about our new venture. Please follow us on Facebook at South Shore Inn Clear Lake and visit the website www.stayclearlake.com often for updates on the renovation and resturant (2012 project).

The Little Gym

I enrolled Veda in a ballet, tap and gymnastics combo class. She had lots of fun but kept asking which of her friends was going to go to class with her (since she took class w Ella in cali). We've been touring preschools/daycare and I hope to have them started in something after next week. That will be a relief as they need to be around other kids desperately!

Worker Bee

Nana hard at work unpacking boxes!!

On the subject of fish...

This is the fish that Veda caught with Papa in Iowa. Bull fried it up and I have to say it was amazing and super fresh. Maybe instead of a lemonade stand she can have a fish stand next summer in Clear Lake;)

A moving present

I am way behind on my clogging updates because I am having issues with internet on my laptop. Here is a pic from my phone... I promised Veda a fish when we got to Ohio (didn't learn my lesson the first time w Bob;). This was Bull and Nana's treat. We went with the 13 cent feeder fish as I will probably have to replace it weekly after I kill it. This one is named Nemo and Veda was told she should only feed it every other day. So I told her she can feed it when she takes her baths... genius because she is back to throwing tantrums about bathing.

The playground by our new house...

Good Times

We just got to Cincinnati with the girls. They were especially excited about the playground in the backyard... second to the spiders in the basement (ewww)!

Halloween 2011

We were sad that Dad wasn't with us in Iowa for all the fun. Veda and Adele took Nana and Mom on an hour and a half hike. They really couldn't care less about the candy... they just had so much fun ringing doorbells and hearing everyone tell them how cute they are;)

Adele putting rocks in her pumpkin... not a good strategy considering she had a long way to haul that pumpkin.

No matter how many times Adele face planted she was determined to keep up with Veda. She would get out and run to the door and then climb back in her stroller for a free ride to the next candy station.

Even the police give out candy. I thought they were after me when they came whipping around the corner...

Neighbors

We are desparately missing our neighbors in California right now. It's been almost two weeks since the move and it's finally setting in that we aren't going back. Veda asks about her friends and misses her playtime just outside our front door. In the weeks before our move our friends demonstrated how amazing they really are. They all got together to throw us a going away party on the lawn... they let us use their dryer when ours was unhooked and we still had a load of laundry in the wash... they even folded our underwear;)... they let us hang out at their home way past bedtime while the movers finished up... they let our children take baths at their house... they took Veda for an entire 24 hours so that she didn't have to stay with us at the hotel... they made us the most amazing homemade Japanese dinner and didn't even flinch when Adele tore up their house...they let us mooch off their wireless when our internet was disconnected... they made us cookies for the trip home... they offered to watch the kids... they showered us with gifts for baby boy laabs and our new home... they offered their homes so we didn't have to stay at the hotel... they made sure we left town with at least one more load of hand-me-downs;)

I can only hope that we find at least one neighbor in Ohio that is anywhere near as generous as the Cali crew. We love and miss you all!