Fire Safety Day!

A few weeks ago (or a month) we visited the fire station with the moms group. I think I forgot to post about that. Fail.

Well, they watched a video that suggested that we should be doing fire drills at home. At first I thought, "Really? At this age I'm trying to keep them confined, not teaching them all the ways to get out." But, the more I thought about it, the more I started to think it was a good idea. What if I was injured, or couldn't get to them, or the furnace (which sits under our bedroom) exploded? My children had the best chance of survival if they knew what to do. Then we attended a fire safety dinner that, quite frankly, scared the bejeebers out of me and I decided that we needed to have a fire safety day right away...as in the next day.

Hooray! It's Fire Safety Day!

You know me and theme days. I love them! I wish I would have had more time to put some things together. I would have reserved books and materials from the library, collected some fun items, maybe done some shopping and purchased things (like fire blankets, which I'm currently convinced I need). But I pulled together what I could.

We started after their morning quiet time with snacks and a few kid-friendly fire safety videos from youtube!

From the videos I wanted 3 things: 1) pictures of firemen in full gear. I had heard it could be scary for little kids to see them like that and many hid. I wanted my kids to know it was helpful firemen inside! 2) both real and cartoon kids acting out the steps I was going to teach them 3) a catchphrase or two I could use for later training to connect it all.

After videos we began practicing our fire drill.

They started in bed, pretending they were asleep.

I would push the test button of the smoke detector in their room and they would jump to action!

Test the doorknob with the back of the hand to see if it's hot.

For the most part, we practiced what to do if the doorknob wasn't hot (as you will see below). Why? Well, because we keep our windows locked, and even with a step-stool I couldn't get them tall enough to unlock them. And if they could unlock them, our windows are heavy, and they wouldn't be sturdy enough on the step stool to get the leverage they need to open it. And if they did open it, we have screens on the window that are tricky to pop out. And that would require such herculean effort that they would probably be too tired to get out. But they needed an option if the doorknob was too hot, right? Well, we practiced that too (with a heating pad to warm up the doorknob and everything!). I taught them to jam their blanket under the door to stop the smoke, and beat on the window yelling, "We're in here!" until someone came. Not the best solution, but better than nothing, and the best I have until they are a little bigger...

Stay low and go, go, go!

The biggest thing was teaching them to open the front door. It's heavy, and it sticks. Sometimes it's even a little tricky for me to get open. But I taught them how to push with one hand against the wall while pulling the door handle, and we practiced a million times, so I think they have it!

Hold the door for each other - I taught them to work together.

Run to our meeting spot!

Hold onto the tree. Stay there until mommy and daddy come. Don't go back into the house for anything!

They loved it. They are at the age where they love to repeat something over and over - which was perfect! I know the number of times we repeated was well into the double digits! I finally convinced them we should practice something else, so we switched to stop, drop, and roll!

In the afternoon we made cookies for our local firefighters. The twins just happened to paint a couple dozen card-sized, watercolor paintings yesterday, so we turned them into cards! I taught them to say, "Thank you for being heroes," and we took them in. It was so cute!

The firemen were wonderful. They talked to the twins about what they learned, showed them the firetrucks and ambulances, let them see their gear, and then gave them fire hats! I wanted to at least get a picture of the twins with the main fireman we spent time with, but I forgot both my camera and my phone! Fail! We also went to the library to pick out the 1 fire safety related book they have there.

By the end of the day, they were getting a little silly...

Hopefully, we never have to use the things we practiced today, but at least I feel more confident in my children's ability to stay safe if there was a fire. They might not remember everything, but between the 2 of them, I'm sure they could do a pretty good job :) Next on the emergency preparedness list...tornado drills? We are entering that season...

Easter for the Twinners

I figured our Easter posts would end with the Twinners since, let's face it, they are the main attraction. They have been so excited about "Easter time" - as they called it - arriving. Mostly because I was in charge of the church Easter Egg hunt and they saw the plastic eggs and bags of candy every day for about a week (yes, I hid them...they kept finding the spots...). For them, Easter meant candy. And since they had JUST eaten the last of the Valentine's candy earlier in the week, this was big.

I'm going to start earlier in the week because this year I really wanted to start telling the twins what Easter was about. On Thursday, our church always does a Maundy Thursday service. Every day, we talk about Jesus' love and showing it to others. So, I asked them if they knew why this day was special, and then told them it was because this day Jesus had his last meal with his best friends. He told them He was going to have to leave them, and wouldn't be there to show everyone His love in person. He gave them a new commandment (or mandate...where the word Maundy comes from) to love everyone like He had loved them. I told them that is why it is so important for us to show people Jesus' love. He asked us to especially because He can't physically be here to love them Himself.

On Friday, we missed the Good Friday service because I had to take them to the pediatrician. Ear infections. Lovely. But we did talk about why this day was special. I know that they have no real concept of death at the moment, so it was tricky. I simply told them that this day was important because it was the day when Jesus rescued the whole world. I said it was a sad day because his best friends thought He was gone forever. I said that Jesus knew what was going to happen, but everyone else was very confused. It wouldn't be until Easter Sunday that it would make sense. Then we read the story from the Jesus Storybook Bible. I'm telling you, best Bible ever. Seriously, get it. Even for yourself!

Saturday morning was the community egg hunt. You may remember last year, when they ended up filling their buckets with dirt instead of eggs...this year was COMPLETELY different! They almost filled their buckets. There was a bit of a snag when Allie accidentally popped one open and discovered there was candy inside. She looked around like "why are we picking up he eggs when we could just be gathering the candy?" But we got her back on track!

Part of our entourage. Nana made it! She hasn't missed an Easter yet!

Gathering the eggs!

Holding up their plunder!

Checking them out.

They spent the rest of Saturday with Nana and Little Grandma, who were helping us out by watching the kids so we could go to the wedding and really get to spend time with all of our friends there. Sunday morning we got them ready for church. And then headed off bright and early to church for our traditional Easter breakfast. I didn't get any pictures because I was busy chatting and meeting people. This year our church sent out invitations to our Easter festivities to about 3200 homes. So there were some new faces to meet (not 3200, but enough to make it worth the effort!). I was in charge of the post-service Easter Egg Hunt, so during the service I left Ry-guy with Nana and Allie with Auntie Becca and went out to hide the eggs. I missed the majority of the service (it took longer to hide 460 eggs than I thought it would!), but Stina took this beautiful picture of Lucas doing the children's message:

As I was hiding the eggs, I noticed that it was a bit windy. A beautiful day whenever the wind wasn't blowing, but a bit chilly when it was. My concern at the time was the wind moving some of my eggs (I hid a few in low hanging tree branches). When we unleashed the kids and they ran outside, I realized I should have had a very different concern. We happened to go out right when there was a huge gust of wind. And when I say huge, I mean blowing the children over. It reminded me of Nor'easters when we lived in MA. It was strong. Allie fell over and started crying. Kids were fighting the wind to get to the eggs. This picture below is my favorite that shows the wind (note: because she was a visitor and I don't even know her mom's name to ask for permission to post, I blurred her face...in case you were wondering):

The wind died down a bit, and the kids were able to continue the hunt and find all the eggs...including a few that had been hidden in past years and were never found...they were pretty disgusting in side, if you can imagine! And if you are curious to see how different the twins look from last year, you can see them at the church egg hunt last year here.

This Easter was so special because we got to enjoy it with so many friends and family. In fact, we had so many guests that we ventured away from our traditional Easter meal (pizza), and I made food that was a little more common (ham, cheesy potatoes, green beans, rolls, salad, etc.). It was the prefect way to celebrate the resurrection! He is risen!

The Reunion

I have these wonderful friends. We met in college. Freshman year we were all in the same dorm. Before the end of college we had almost all lived together in some combination. They are my Hillsdale family. But somehow, over the years, contact slowed down. We got in touch about the really big things in our lives (expecting twins, a parent with cancer, nieces and nephews born - the life changing things), we knew we would all be there for each other at a moments notice if needed, but the day-to-day relationship fell by the wayside. In fact, we hadn't all been together Rebecca's wedding - 5 years ago. Sad.

But then our friend Michelle announced that she was engaged. She lives 20 minutes from me and mentioned that she was planning on inviting our group of 4. Soon I heard that Christina was coming...and then Lauren...and then Rebecca! And they were all staying with me!!! I was certainly happy for Michelle, but more happy for me. I was going to see my friends again!

We used the airport trip as an opportunity to go to Ikea...where my friends taught my children to play Angry Birds.

Like the community bathroom at Olds...only smaller :)

On Saturday, they joined us at the community Easter Egg Hunt.

with Auntie Lauren

All 4 of us (if you haven't figured it out yet, you will see a lot of pictures like this...)

Roomies!!!!!

Stealing...er...helping the kids get their candy out of the eggs.

Saturday afternoon, we went to the wedding. It was beautiful. It was also about a block from our old campus. So, we took a stroll down memory lane and toured the campus (a LOT has changed).

Trying to get a picture making fish faces in the room dubbed the "fishbowl" - one of the places that haven't changed since we were there.

We visited our old dorm. Where we met. Somewhere I have a picture of us all on this couch 10 years ago...with dear Metta in the background!

We checked out all of the new buildings - including the new student center and cafeteria. It's so much nicer than when we were there, but one thing hasn't changed - Saga Steve! He was one of our favorite people and we were so excited to see him there!

Next was the reception where we spent the entire evening hanging out with good friends. One dear friend commented that it seemed so natural to all be there together. It was as if no time had passed. There were husbands and children that were a clear reminder that time has indeed passed. But we talked and laughed as if the years/months (Lucas and I had seen many of the friends at the wedding at homecoming), were days or hours.

Even Lucas was reunited with some college friends!

The bigger group with the bride.

The bride and groom.

Sunday morning they all came to church with us and heard my husband preach for the first time! I would like to say that I loved sitting next to these friends through the service...but I didn't. I mean I didn't get to sit with them. I was outside hiding 400 plastic eggs for our Easter Egg Hunt (more details in another post). They did help keep an eye on my children, and that was wonderful.

Becca and her husband, Kevin, watching the egg hunt. It was COLD.

Lauren was the first to leave on Sunday. But we didn't send her off without a trip to the local ice cream place!

We also managed to get a few games in with these wonderful friends. Bananagrams, Friends Scene-it Trivia (Christina always was the Friends Trivia Master and she finally got to officially prove it!), and Quelf (one of the only times we have played where the other players actually enjoyed the game!)

Kevin drinking water upside-down as part of a challenge in Quelf.

Sadly, everyone is gone. The weekend together was so wonderful. It was great to reconnect and catch up, and I think we all left the weekend with a renewed commitment to do a better job of keeping in touch and make seeing each other a bigger priority. Friends like this aren't a dime a dozen, they are a treasure to be cherished. I'm so blessed that 10 years ago I shared a dorm with these wonderful girls.

In front of the dorm where it all began...

Easter Outfits

I have plenty of pictures and stories about our packed Easter weekend and all of our adventures, but - I'm not gonna lie - I really love these pictures and their outfits. So I'm doing an entire post. Just for them.

Why do I love the outfits so much? I made them. Not her cardigan or his shirt, but I made her dress and her teggings, his hat, tie, and pants. It was amazing. I have never really trusted my sewing ability. But I decided to jump in and try. The outfits were made from things I had on hand (her dress was made out of a shirt I loved but didn't love how it looked on me, his pants and hat were made out of a pair of pants that didn't fit, and his tie was made out of another old shirt of mine, I used an old pair of tights and various odds and ends that I had on hand). I spent a total of $9 on the cardigan and the shirt. I am amazed at the results, and how much I love them. I'm basically a kindergartner showing you their first fingerpainting. I'm just so excited about what I made! Granted, there are a lot of mistakes...but that's why I'm not showing any close ups :)

I couldn't get Allie to look up, and this is what Ryan does now whenever we say, "Smile!"

I think perhaps one too many people posted about the Newsies musical...because I definitely was feeling that sort of inspiration when making Buddy's outfit. My one sadness was that I couldn't find suspenders for him. Suspenders would have really made the outfit.

Hugs :)

Kisses (they missed...)

Wave to the grandparents!

I love the picture below the most because it looks like they are in a musical. He looks like he is singing and snapping his fingers while she does some great choreographed dance. I can almost hear him singing "Seize the Day!"

I didn't get a single picture of Allie looking at the camera with her eyes open. But there are still so many that I love. I'm thinking I might have to edit them to look a little "old-timey" and hang them on my wall. I might also have to put them in their Easter outfits and get video of them saying things like, "Extra, extra! Read all about it!" or singing a Shirley Temple song...

Popping In

We've been busy. We're always busy, but it seems like lately life is moving at a frantic pace and I can barely keep everything straight in my head. And since I want to attempt to enjoy every minute, I have to give things up. And lately it has been blogging...and picture taking...which affects the blogging. But I wanted to pop in quick before the Easter madness hits!

We have this pair of morning doves (at least that is what I think they are...) who have graced our deck since we moved in. We look for them every day, and frequently hear them cooing when we are outside.

They had a baby! They have been bringing him/her to our deck to hang out every day. It's like we are chick sitting. They leave and bring back food and fuss over him/her. It's been so much fun to watch!

This year I took over some of the Easter Activities in the church. Part of me feels like it was only natural. I'm an Activities Director. I can plan egg hunts and egg dying parties in my sleep :) Unfortunately, the twins woke up the morning of the big dying party with fevers (this was AFTER a night of waking Allie up every hour to check for signs of a concussion...yeah...it's been a fun week). Boo. So we dyed eggs at home!

Of course, an hour later Allie had hives all over her neck, chin, and chest. Turns out they cracked a few eggs while dropping them in (I didn't notice), and even though I had them thoroughly wash their hands after, the contact was enough to trigger an allergic reaction. Ryan broke out a teeny bit, but his eggs weren't nearly as cracked. I guess we have confirmed they still have an egg allergy...

Tonight is the first of the Easter week services at the church (We do Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and then Easter morning). Tomorrow, my dearest friends from college (we're talking my bridesmaids) are flying in from various parts of the country!! I can't wait! We haven't all been together since 2007! And we have a full weekend of Easter festivities planned, and another dear friend's wedding. So I'll have lots of pictures to share sometime later this month!