How time flies when you're having fun!  Last week was full of excitement. Tuesday was Chris' birthday. He probably didn't care too much. However, certain members of the family thought this was a most exciting event - and made sure it was celebrated appropriately.The girls are no good at keeping secrets.  So, I saved all the birthday shopping for Tuesday. As soon as Chris left 

for school, we baked his cake, and then left the house by 825 to do our shopping. Each store was more exciting than the one before, and every salesperson learned that it was Daddy's birthday. It was a really fun/cute day.

The best part of the day though, was their insistence that we have a "surprise party" for Daddy.  So, I woke them from naps in time to get set up before he arrived home. They took all of his presents and his frosted cake, and sat in the living room. This offered them the advantage of watching from the 

window to know when he was coming, but also decent hiding - in that he wouldn't see them as soon as he walked in the  door.  The giggles were contagious as we waited with excitement. Chris was certainly surprised when he walked through the house to find us and was bombarded with hugs and shrieks and squeals.  He will tell you it was one of his better birthdays!

The rest of the week was routine. Saturday we braved the winter storm warning and went to swimming class. It was only 5-6 inches of snow - enough to be annoying, but not enough to change any plans.  I will admit, I do feel a little sorry for Maggie by the end of class - she's usually FROZEN and shivering with blue lips.  She actually had trouble getting dressed after class this week because she was so cold!  But she loves swimming and is making progress - what can you do?

On Sunday, Gram and Pop Pop came and Chris and I escaped for the night.  We went  to Lake Geneva - just one night away from the children. The girls didn't even notice we were leaving - they were too busy playing "stairball" with Pop Pop. We enjoyed our time away- we even ate at a real restaurant with no children's menu! But of course we were glad to come home. Maggie was excited that Gram and PopPop got to take her to school, and Katherine decided her favorite part was reading stories with both Gram and Pop Pop.

One last note. Maggie has been spending hours and hours coloring in coloring books for the last few months. She LOVES to color. Yesterday she took out a sketchbook and started coloring her OWN picture. She refused to show it to me until it was all done. It was supposed to be a special surprise.  Finally she let me see - it was "Mommy and her 3 girls." I tried to take a picture of it to share - not sure how well you can see it, but  Mommy in the middle has Maggie and Katherine on either side, and "new baby" is in Mommy's arms. We each have sleeves on our outfits as well. It is  one of her more impressive artistic creations so far.