Itty Bitty Witte Family: February 2012

Uncle Alex turns 16

We bought him a nose whistle. Wrote him some letters, and enjoyed fried chicken for dinner.

Happy Birthday to Nathan's youngest brother!

Alex, youngest of 8.

Uncle to 8.

This morning, while we were eating breakfast and talking to each other before Nathan had to leave (kids had no school today) Lucas said to me "When I grow up, I want to be just like my Dad. Except have more hair, and fight fires, and have lots of friends still, not just my wife."

I asked him why he wanted to be like his Daddy and he said "he always stops to serve someone else. He is always kind to other people."

I asked him what made him think about that and he said "when Daddy helped the blind lady get gas at the gas station on Saturday, and when he helped the crazy haired guy who had a dead car on the road. Don't you remember?"

I did remember. In fact, I shared this story with my Valiant 9 kids on Sunday. (we were talking about Enos)

So, here's the story.

We had just left the dealership and we pulled into the gas station for gas. I was teasing that I would be that old lady right there (I pointed to this woman) who had her face so close to the pump just to read the monitor.

Nathan gets out of the new van and can hear her saying "what am I doing wrong?, I just don't get it!" The snow was melting and dripping all over her blue coat and Nathan walked over to her pump to help her. She was 5'1 and hunched over and could barely see a thing. He helped her out and the kids were clapping for Nathan, the do gooder!

Not even 10 minutes after that we are driving along the on ramp to I25 and a cop whizzes right by an old man in a VW bug. He is overweight, hair all over the place and he seemed to be crying. Nathan pulled right behind him and talked to him to see what he needed. He ran out of gas and was on top of the hill and was trying to push his car down it, but there was no way he could do it. So, Nathan told him that he would push him with the van, down the hill to the gas station. We pushed, and almost hit a red light, but luckily we didn't. He was able to coast down the hill with just enough to get it where he needed to be. We pulled up next to him and asked if he needed anything else and he was thanking us over and over again, in tears that we stopped to help him.

I am so grateful to have found someone who is such a great example to me and my children. I couldn't have asked for a better partner in life. I hope Lucas is like Nathan when he grows up, too!

Hair Adventures 4/10, 5/10, 5.5/10

This one is called the Gibson

I have super thick hair. And - it is so hard to straighten it. I don't like putting stuff in my hair so it just looks more..."natural" here. haha.

and this next one is found HERE

That girls orange hair makes me excited for teenager Scarlett! (because HERS is NATURAL!) :)

I actually ended up doing 2 braids, and people thought I was actually wearing a headband!

This one is totally doable with short hair too!

Juliet even got a silly little hair do today!

She loved sitting in the hair doing spot, and laughed and laughed. I guess months of watching her older sister get tortured actually worked! :)

Oh what a Beautiful Day...

My friend Stef has this pancake tradition on Saturdays or Sundays, I can't remember. But it is their thing.

Nathan's sister, Liz gave Nathan a gourmet pancake cookbook and a pancake dispenser for Christmas.

After our little pancake dinner the other night, we realized what a perfect opportunity this would be for us to BE with our children on Saturday mornings.

Church is Sunday, and our busiest morning of the week - so that day was out.

Saturday is our BIG errand/cleaning/outing day so we thought starting out with a big pancake breakfast would be a great idea.

Guess What?

We were RIGHT!

So we made Lemon Sultana Pancakes today.

They were FABULOUS, like - I don't even need syrup, kinda pancakes!

How do you eat your pancakes?

I usually give my kids pancakes with powdered sugar because I don't like the syrup mess, and because forks aren't a requirement. Nathan needs butter and syrup. I liked mine with a squirt of lemon juice and powdered sugar and they were awesome!

***

After breakfast we decided to trade our 237,000 mile van in for a new one.

We were going to sell it, but the trade in was worth it!

We had to drive to Little Mexico (E. Colfax) to get it, but it is fully loaded, 8 leather seats, DVD player...basically, the works. The best thing about this van is that we bought it for the price we wanted, and have NO CAR PAYMENT! It took us about 6 weeks to find the right car, and about 11 pounds in Pretzles and Ice Cream, to make the right choice. (I am a stress eater - Nathan is too)

***

Juliet was sporting some pigtails!
***

After that, we enjoyed our 65 degree day with riding bikes and playing outside.

I made Chicken Sausage Calzones for Dinner and we finished the night by learning some french --

for a little redhead's upcoming birthday party next week. :)

2 points to the person who can name the song reference in the blog title. :P

February Specials

Scarlett and I went to Joann's and then went to McDonald's for a sundae.

While we were ordering, a familiar face gets in line behind us.

"Emma!" Scarlett was thrilled.

We went into the play area, and Scarlett went right inside to play.

Emma was skeptical, so we went to the tall tables to watch the cars go by and to sit next to each other and eat.

Emma's mom taught Scarlett a new trick with straws and when she came home she was so excited to show everyone.

Lucas and I spent some quality time assembling a new lego set and played for a good 2 hours.

He really enjoyed building a harder 8+ set and having someone who wouldn't wreck it - play with him.

Juliet and I took a walk around the block and Mason joined us.

Bridget and I went to buy her some new clothes because she is now in a 6x.

She loved every single minute of it and I told her we could go people watch and sip on some hot chocolate.

She LOVED this so much!

Nathan and I are going to try a new restaurant for Denver Restaurant week on Wednesday.

I am really loving this time with my kids. It is so nice to just be somewhere else and just give them my undivided attention. We talk about all sorts of things and really connect on a different level.

I also love to come home and pat myself or Nathan on the back for a job well done, because our kids are pretty awesome!

Hair Adventures 2/10, 3/10

Using this VIDEO I chose 2 hairstyles for my 10 things I need to try before I chop my hair.

I learned a few things.

One, my hair is "too long."

Two, my hair is too heavy and therefore will not be held up by "just a few bobby pins"

Three, I tried rolling over in bed the other night and it was under Nathan's arm and I felt trapped.

Four, I can't WAIT to cut my hair.

Five, NEVER do my hair in front of the girls, they inevitably ask for theirs to look just like mine after I have spent 20 minutes pinning it to death.

Six, I need a new bra. (okay that one wasn't related, but still a fact!)

Haha.

This one I have done several times and actually like it. I did tuck that little tail in and pin it after that photo. :)

The third style...

My hair is to the top of my pants, and this was mid pinning, only 1/2 of it!

My hair has become CRAZY curly since I had Mason.

I don't quite know what to do with it, so cutting it will be amazing!

Emmaly, if you see this...this hair looked like this when I took it out before bed!

Aww

Bridget is going to give me the MOST grandchildren.

She is such a little mommy.

I think she is more happy that Mason is in FOREVER NEWBORN status, than anyone else. :)

Juliet, on the other hand, will be my child who will never leaves the nest.

I can see it now, loafing on the couch, in her pajamas, till she is 25.

(That is the age when Nathan and I are leaving the country...kidless)

Haha

Konnichiwa and Sayonara

We met Grandma and Grandpa at Flat Irons for some crazy Dinosaur time.

It was weirdly busy, but it was a holiday.

Juliet LOVED this place. It was almost worth the germs to see that cute face!

Lucas found a friend from last year's Preschool. Ashlynn's mom recognized Lucas right away. :)

After an hour of jungle gym time, we decided to go to Benihana.

My Grandma and Grandpa Horn used to take us there ALL of the time when I was little.

Juliet snapped this one of herself. Haha.

Grandma was showing Lucas how to play sudoku on the menu.

Then it was time for Israel, our Hispanic, Japanese chef, to cook. Lucas was enthralled.

It was such a fun show!

Here he is making an egg--roll. Lucas totally got the joke and was laughing and laughing at that.

Here the kids are oohing at the egg cracking. He also did the shrimp tail in the hat deal. Loved it. :)

It was time to part ways, and so everyone got hugs and kisses and a Reese's Heart.

It was a great long weekend, and I am so glad my parents came out.

Tears were shed, and the kids were so sad for them to leave.

For FHE and to cheer the kids up, we played Benihana for Dinner.

Nathan tried to imitate the clanging of the spatulas and such, but the kids booed in a teasing manner.

But, Pancakes and Sausage are always winners in our house. The picture came out weird. Oh well.

A neat ending to a fun weekend. Back to the daily grind tomorrow. :)

JuJu's Bee-Day Party!

I had been checking different pins and websites for a few months and didn't see anything I loved. (as usual) so I did a lot of things on my own. I am pretty proud of myself.

We had the Witte's, RV and their kids, and my parents, for Juliet's Birthday Party. Since Scarlett is having a real birthday party in 2 weeks, we celebrated her birthday with family yesterday too. It was really fun.

I just love themed parties. It is so easy to find things when you have in your head a theme.

Juliet had a Bee themed party because we often call her JuJu Bee.

Also because I found this ADORABLE outfit and my kids always get a birthday outfit to match their party.

I also found ones for the other girls, so they wore theirs too!

I started the day making Olive Oil Muffins (dad's request)

Then they took Lucas and Bridget to the park so I could finish working on the party.

Here are the party favors. Inside the bags were jelly beans!

Here are the cupcakes. They were Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Glaze and Lemon Sugar topped with Blackberries.

I made Marshmallow Bee Pops with Yellow and Chocolate Bark and Pretzels with wings!

I will admit, I went over the top - but again, themes are easy to do!

From L to R: Black, Yellow and White Chips with Salsa, Marshmallow Bees, Lemon Drops, Spring Oreos (yellow and black), Apple Walnut Honey Cake (b/c it looked like a hive), Popcorn, Taffy, Honey Sticks, Corn Pops, and Licorice.

I also did cheese and crackers, and that big jar in the back was filled with Pineapple Punch.

I sat down for a bit to feed Mason. He was being so cute.

And then he sneezed. Haha.

When Grandma and Grandpa came back with the kids they chilled and watched Tangled until the party started.

Uncle Alex (almost 16) and Noah (6)

The two Grandmas!

Uncle Ryan with Macer

Veronica with the kids.

Scarlett (almost 3) and Elijah (almost 4)

Present Time!

Bridget is the best party guest. She is so excited for everyone, even if she doesn't receive any gifts.

Before Scarlett opened this present she got an Ariel card. She shouted "OREOLE!!!!" and then it played music and she loved that card so much she almost forgot she had a present too!