Cut Me Some Slack...The Entertainment Budget is Tight!

I guess you could say I have Disneyland taste on a SouthTowne Mall budget.  I know that everyone is feeling a bit of the Economic Pinch these days, but come on...that pinch must hurt pretty bad to make the Bears resort to the mall for family recreation!

Somebody please tell me that there will come a day when we will look back on these times and laugh! 

We will say, "Remember when we used to take the kids to Hot Dog on Stick for dinner and let them play at DinoTowne for a night out!"  

It will be funny then right?

The way we were snapping pictures you would think we were at Disneyland! :)

Look at the action!

You can't beat an evening that ends with an IceCream Cone!

I don't care where you are!

Economic Pinch or not...the Widdowson Bears will find a way to stay entertained!

Easter "Hop"penings

We had an amazing Easter Weekend with our family.  

Here are a few pictures to document the fun we had together!

Grampa Bill and Gramma Minnie came to spend the weekend with us!  We had a wonderful time planting flowers, decorating Easter bags, EATING, listening to Grampa Bill share his testimony of Jesus Christ with his family.

Mia and Jordan connected at the hip!

Jada lookin' cute!

Auntie Jen and Vivy blowin' bubbles!

LaToya and Jada enjoying the fruits of the hunt!

Oooo...Jon so Suave!

You might be wondering where Jon and Mia are in this "family picture"?  

It is Easter...the Widdowson Bears never get a family picture at Easter...it is becoming a tradition.  Mia is always pouting in some bedroom because she hates her Easter clothes and Jon is trying to patiently coax her out.  

Oh Well!

Benj' Go Over There and Be a Man...

"Benj' go over there and be a man!"

WHAT!!??

This is coming from a man who literally threw me to the dogs to protect himself! (Another story for another time! :) Jon will try and deny that he is not deathly afraid of dogs, but I have too many Jon vs. Dog stories to verify and validate that he in fact is MORTIFIED of dogs.  (This personal little detail about Jon makes the following video clip that much funnier!)

(For those of you who might wonder if the kids were in any danger...let me ease your mind.  This dog named Riley is a super kid friendly dog who has been raised around small children.)  

Sticking To My Goal...

I challenged a friend to a post a week with pictures.  Looks like he is not rising to the challenge...what's up Michael Hill!?  Since I can not back down from a challenge I will continue to post despite the lack of interesting events in my current life.

Today, I am sharing some pictures of my little ones.  They are all so very different and I think these pictures show their differences better than I can describe.  So humor me and  take a look at my little bears in all their GLORY!

This is Mia learning to shred on her new Tony Hawk Board.  Kinda scary!

Lil' Lito lookin' like a Ladies Man already!

And yesterday

VivyAnn came upstairs dressed as this beautiful princess.

She said, "Mom, would you like to take a picture of me?"

Who could resist.  Thanks for indulging me guys!

Love,

Mind'

For Those of You Who HAD to See MORE!

A Sensational Six Year Old!

My baby is growing up! 

 

She was born March 13th, 2003 at 1:30 a.m, and from that time forward she has blazed her own trail!  

Without knowing it Mia has helped Jon and I become the kind of parents we want to be.  She keeps us on our toes and challenges our thinking.  In many ways Mia & I are extremely different from one another, but one thing we are exactly alike in is our need to have the last word!  Let's just say it can get interesting between the two of us. :)   Lots to look forward to when we hit TeenageHood!

Here is a list of 10 Things I LoVe about my MiaBia!

1.  She is a deep thinker.

2.  She takes risks, but knows her limits.

3.  She absolutely loves all of her family, immediate and extended.  She is constantly thinking about her Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles and Cousins.  She anticipates their visits more than she does major holidays and her birthday! :)

4.  Mia loves to read!  (Another thing we have in common.)

5.  She takes being a big sister very seriously and she is fantastic at it.

6.  She reveres her Papa Bear.  It is very sweet the way she looks at him.

7.  Mia has amazing Faith in Prayer.

8.  Mia loves to play hard.

9.  She loves to take treats to her friends.

10.  Mia does things according to Mia!

The following pictures are of Mia's Birthday Weekend...done Mia Style!

Friday the 13th turned out to be a great day to turn six.

Mia enjoyed a (before school) breakfast at Kneaders!

She met this little green turtle at Kneaders and could not bare to part with him.

Mia didn't want a traditional Widdowson Birthday Party this year. 

I was a little bummed about this...but tried to be enthusiastic about her choice of party venue.

Nothing like the good ol' bowling alley to celebrate a momentous occasion!

She absolutely loved every minute of it though!

She got an authentic Jack and Jill bowling pin for being the Birthday Girl!

A group of professionals!

(These are just a few pictures of the things we did this weekend.  Please see slideshow if you are dying to see more of the action! )

We had a fantastic time celebrating Mia this weekend!  She brings her entire family immeasurable pleasure!  We love you Meetla Beetla! 

Ok...so it has been awhile!

I haven't blogged for awhile.  What can I say Facebooking is so convenient!   Convenient, but not necessarily as satisfying.  

I miss hearing all of the details about your day to day lives.  I miss your rantings and ravings. I miss your pictures and I miss your sweet kid stories. 

I hope you haven't forgotten about me.  Check in on the Widdowson Bears from time to time.  Can we go back to the way things were before I fell of the blogspot! :)

Love,

Mind'

The First and Maybe the Last

What a magical Christmas we had!!  This is the first year all of our kids are old enough to believe in the magic of Santa Claus and his eight tiny reindeer.  We had a close call with Mia this year though. 

An older cousin decided to share his thoughts with Mia on whether or not there is a jolly ol' man who resides in the North Pole.  Mia came to me and said, " I know that Santa is not real, Mom."  Despite my shock, I replied with a smooth face, "Ooooh, I am sorry honey.  Did you know that once you say that you don't believe in Santa anymore the magic stops for you and he doesn't know how to find you on Christmas Eve."  I rapidly continued on with, "I would believe for as long as I could if I were you."  She had a drastic change of attitude after our little conversation. She was eager to do all of the good things that you would do to stay on Santa's Nice list. :)

I don't know what was more fun, making all the preparations for Santa's arrival on Christmas Eve or actually enjoying the fruits of our labor on Christmas Morning.  It's a toss up!  The kids were actually sparking with excitement!  Which of course means that I was too!!  

Although, on Christmas morning I realized that with little kids like mine, less is more! Benjamin was completely content with the little "Knock-off"Hot Wheels cars he got in his stocking.  We could have just stopped there for him and we would have been completely satisfied!  And it was pretty much the same with the other two.  My Mom advised me to enjoy that while I could, because that will change the older they get.

Soooo anyway, Christmas was everything I hoped for this year!  We had all of the necessary components for a Rockin' Christmas.  We had family, friends, the magic of Santa, and most importantly, we had and HAVE a love for our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We are so grateful for Him and the Love that He gives so freely.

A Testimony Building Experience...

I spent the weekend in California with Jon and his family.   I wish I could say we were just feeling spontaneous and felt like getting away, but we went for a much different and much more important reason.  

Jon's grandmother better known as, Nanny, was admitted to the hospital for the last time.  She is 85 years old and has lived a full and happy life.  She is the kind of woman, I think we all hope to be.  People are drawn to her vivacious way of living and her sparkling personality.  I have only known Nanny for 10 Years, but in that short amount of time I could see for myself that she was truly a rarity!

I am thankful to Jon's family for letting me be a part of those very special last days with their Nanny.  The love was deep and Heaven felt very near.  I know that the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ offers a special comforting peace for those who have a testimony of Eternal Families.   I am thankful for a Father in Heaven who has a perfect plan and has given us a clear understanding of how to return home to Him. 

We love you Nanny.

If I May Have a Moment...

...to bask in the glory of my 5 year old's "Kindergarten" accomplishments!  We got our first official report card for little MiaBia and I am  proud to announce that she is a "Kindergarten Master"!  

Great Job Mia!  We are so excited to see what you will do with your bright future!

Love,

Mama and Papa Bear

Once Upon A Time!

A Fancy Festival Fit For A Princess!

Hear Ye...Hear Ye...Princess VivyAnn has officially turned 3 years old!

She was graceful and grateful on Saturday for an afternoon of fun with family and friends.

The Festival took place here at Widdowson Castle and all of the kingdom was in attendance. The Good King and Queen Wella and Wello graced us with their presence.  And the Evil Queen Mommy also infiltrated the scene.  [So maybe my character choice was not exactly flattering, but every good "Fancy Festival" needs an Evil Queen right?] 

We had a delicious feast of "Fancy Junk Food" and bubbly pink Magic Potion to drink.  The Royal Court put on a delightful puppet show that was a hit amongst the commoners and real treat for the Royal Princess.  Next the entire kingdom hunted for the magical unicorn that was the keeper of many tasty delicacies for all to enjoy.  Thank you to the STRONG Daddies who helped relieve the magical beast from it's tasty burden.

Next the Royal Choir sang not only once, but TWICE a beautiful rendition of "Happy Birthday" to the princess.  This really was her high point of the afternoon.  All morning long she followed me around asking if it was time to sing "Happy Birthday to You".  It was the moment she had been waiting for.

And finally, the Princess was adorned with a spectacular pile of beautifully wrapped packages! She tore furiously through the packages looking for toys, but unfortunately the Evil Queen had previously told all of the kind gift bearers that the princess didn't need anymore toys!  The Evil Queen felt very bad about this.  Nevertheless, the princess was spoiled with a wonderful assortment of gifts.  

A special thank you to all of the well wishers who came to show their love for our little princess VivyAnn. What a memorable afternoon for all of us here at Widdowson Castle!  It would not have been as wonderful as it was without all of her friends and family!!  (Please check out the above slideshow to see all of the fun pictures.)

Playing Catch Up!!

So I am not exactly efficient at blogging anymore! It is one of those things that is always in the back of my mind to do...but is the first thing I leave undone!!
This post is a hodge podge of recent happenings! Not exactly thrilling stuff...but at least it is recorded!

Mia in her school costume parade!
Mia's Kindergarten Teacher, Mrs. Melzer.  We love her!
This is Mia with her buddies Ivy and Taylor.

Pumpkin, Mouse, and Glamorous Mom!
Pirate and Ninja Cousin!
The Trick or Treating Crew!
 My little Pumpkin!  He was actually soliciting pictures that night!

I am pretty sure we had about a foot of snow on the ground.  I had to change the kids in and out of their snow clothes....oooohhhh...about 100 times that day!  Lots O' Fun!
Soooo.....we don't exactly have snow clothes for Benj' yet.  We made do with what we had OK!!
The Last of our Amazing Indian Summer!

Ok, so there is a little bit of a catch up.
Coming Soon...
VivyAnn's 3rd Birthday Party, or should I say "Fancy Festival"! I know, I know you are all on the edge of your seats!