The Limit?!?!?

So apparently you only get 1 GB of picture storage through Blogger for free (but you get 7GB of email storage!), so the fact that I routinely put 10-20 pictures on my blog for some bigger posts is apparently a problem (and I'm guessing my new camera from Christmas 2009 is putting "bigger" (i.e., higher quality) pictures up).  I attempted to upload a few pictures today and was told I'd reached my limit!!!  Unreal.  I've only been blogging for 3 years!

I'm going to have to figure out what to do.  I don't want to get rid of the old stuff.....maybe I'll just use my "junk mail" e-mail account to do some posts for a while..... I don't use Picasa web albums, but apparently they are linked through Blogger somehow.  I will have to figure all of this out and find a work-around.

So frustrating!!!

Sorry to all of the family out there that uses this as their connection to us and what is going on!!!

Bowling!

Hmmmm..... How can we torture ourselves on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with no school and no work?  I know!!  We can take the kids bowling!  Yes, that's right.  5 adults took 5 kids bowling.  Even with a 1:1 ratio, there weren't enough adults!  Curtis & Sheri, Jon & me, and Rachel took all of the kids to the bowling alley (with the "no smoking indoors" laws in Ohio, it's actually family-friendly!).  We had Hannah (3), Jake (2), Gavin (2), Megan (1), and Lauren (2 months).  

We used the bumpers, which helped somewhat.  We did have a lightweight kids ball, but without a ramp to roll it (which we discovered only handicapped kids could use), the kids really struggled with getting the ball to the end of the lane.  On a number of occasions, the ball would ever so slowly roll past the sensor near the end of the lane and the bar would come down to sweep the pins before the ball actually made it to the pins.  The guys in the lane next to us found it amusing, I'm sure.  We walked down to retrieve balls, used other balls in an attempt to knock balls that stopped rolling in, and had VERY low scores.

Despite the guys thinking it was absolutely ridiculous to take such young kids bowling, the kids had a great time.  Plus, I like exposing Hannah to new things whenever I can.  So, enjoy the pictures.  After bowling, we treated the kids to McDonald's, which was also a highlight of the day!

Jon helping Hannah

Jake bowling

Jake wanted absolutely NO HELP from anyone.  He'd yell at his parents if they tried to help.  As a result, many of the "slow rollers" were his, but he had a good time anyways!

Waiting for his ball to come back

Uncle Jon, corralling Gavin

As the youngest of the 3 older kids who actually bowled, Gavin was probably the least interested in bowling.  I'm not entirely sure he had a good time, as he just wanted to run around and eat snacks, but I'm sure he liked playing with the other kids, even if he really didn't like the "bowling" part of bowling.  Our biggest challenge was keeping him safe with the other bowlers around, since we couldn't quite explain "stay in your lane"!

Gavin with his ball

All smiles!

Super Dads!

Jon, Jake & Hannah

 

Pile on Curtis!

Chuck E Cheese

So we took Hannah to Chuck E Cheese .... her first trip with us, but she'd made one previous trip with her Grandma and Grandpa Woolley when she was spending a week with them while Jon & I were on vacation.  Hannah mentions it to us every time she sees the advertisement that comes with the newspaper, and we finally gave in. 

Jon thinks Chuck E Cheese is like a casino for kids....they don't use money, there are no clocks, and lights and bells and whistles go off all of the time.  It was insane.  Jon, Sheri and I took the four kids for a late morning/lunchtime play date -- and we felt like we just didn't have enough hands or eyes to watch all of the kids.  We had Lauren sleeping in the carrier, Megan trying to walk all over but being too little, and Hannah and Jake running around like crazy.  Jake wanted to be with Jon the whole time, and Miss Independent didn't care who was around her!

Here are a few pictures we took of our morning adventure.  I didn't get any pictures of one of Hannah's favorite things.....the mouse tube to climb in up over top of everything.  She loved that thing.

Jon disappeared with some tokens for a while when Sheri and I were feeding the kids lunch.  He came back to our table with a big grin and said "no kid is ever going to beat the 64 that I just scored in the pop a shot [basketball game]."  At least he found something fun to do....and it will be interesting to see if that score sticks.  He did does have a nice shot : )

Jake

Hannah driving the school bus

So serious

Jake's adoring audience

Hannah with her monster truck -- this was a favorite ride.

For as little as she is, she was dead serious about driving the giant truck!

And she's off!

Jacob

Hannah

4-wheeling

As a side note, we discovered after our trip that not all parents are good about keeping their kids home when their kids are sick.  A few days after our adventure, Hannah and I both came down with a nasty case of the flu.  Hannah spent most of the week home from the babysitter's with a high fever, and my fever even got up to 103.  We ended up together on the couch bed in the family room watching PBS Kids one day because neither of us could move!  Thankfully, Lauren stayed healthy, even though she was around me for feedings throughout the day (and night).  We've since learned that winter probably isn't the best place to go to a germ-filled indoor play place : )  Rookie parent mistake!

Gifts from Great Aunt Rose

Jon's Aunt Rose (from California) sent us a few things for Lauren...and to make sure Hannah didn't feel left out, included a bunch of goodies for her too.  Hannah was OH SO EXCITED to get the purse, jewelry, tiara, and wand from her Great Aunt Rose.  She is wearing/holding everything she received in the pictures below!

Hannah loves to wave the wand and make it make noise and "turn us into a princess."  It is so funny.  She'll also wave the wand at Lauren and tell her to stop crying and wave it at Abby and tell her to sit or go to her mat.  She's got the right idea; now if Lauren and Abby would cooperate she'd be on to something!

Thanks so much Aunt Rose!  We hope we get to see you soon so you can meet the girls in person.

Sleeping Babe