The Morrisons

New PJs!

2009-01-04T17:16:00.000-08:00

Aunt Sandy and Uncle Louie bought Courtney this Bitty Baby outfit last Christmas. This year, Courtney received the matching nightgown. She wants you to note the matching cozy socks!

Christmas!

2008-12-26T07:50:00.000-08:00

The kids were up by 7:00 looking to see if Santa came, and of course he did. Jason's favorite gift was the Hulk Smash game from Santa and Courtney loved her Ariel head from Jason. We then went up to Uncle Rick and Auntie Stacey's house for round two. You know that everyone had a good Christmas when the six year old said that he got too many presents!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-26T07:41:00.000-08:00

The kids had a fun filled Christmas Eve by playing in the snow. We went to 4:00 mass and then got ready for Santa coming!

He did it!

2008-12-17T17:12:00.000-08:00

Jason passed his karate test today. Unfortunately, I put my camera in the car early so I wouldn't forget it. When I went to turn the camera on, nothing happened. My guess is that the cold affected the batteries. I changed the batteries when I got home and was able to take Jason's picture with his new belt.

Karate Test

2008-12-14T14:33:00.000-08:00

Jason tested for his yellow belt w/ white stripe today. He had to perform two katas as well as show his basics. I didn't get many pictures since Kevin was home with Courtney nursing a stuffy nose, but I did manage to get video. Hopefully we'll find out this week if he passed!

Trimming the Tree

2008-12-14T14:23:00.000-08:00

We put the tree up on Saturday. The kids were so excited and no ornaments were broke!

Letters to Santa!

2008-12-07T16:26:00.000-08:00

Neither child wanted to sit on Santa's lap this year so we decided to write him a letter. Macy's is donating $1 for every letter they receive to Make a Wish foundation. The kids wrote their letters to Santa this morning, and we mailed them off this afternoon. We also decided to walk past Santa and just "wave" our hellos.

Christmas Cookies

2008-12-07T16:23:00.001-08:00

We decided we needed a little Christmas cheer and started making Christmas cookies. I'm sure they'll be gone in a day or two and we'll be able to make more!

Snow!

2008-12-06T12:40:00.000-08:00

And I think we're getting more tonight!

Lost Tooth!

2008-12-06T08:58:00.001-08:00

Jason lost his first tooth today!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-28T12:31:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful turkey day except that Courtney hadn't had a nap for four days! She wasn't happy until the turkey was done! I was amazed how quiet she got once the food was served!

Santa arrives!

2008-11-17T15:26:00.000-08:00

I would say its hard to believe that Christmas is only a few weeks away, but with the little bit of snow we received last night its beginning to feel a bit like Christmas. Santa arrived last Friday via Fire Truck. The kids were excited to wave to Santa (the line to see him was about 2 hours long) and view the fireworks. They already know what they want Santa to leave under the tree. I guess we'll just write him a letter.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T17:36:00.001-07:00

Jason of course was Batman for Halloween and Courtney was a bluebird. She actually wore my 1st ballet costume. The kids loved trick-or-treating. We knew it was time to go home when Courtney started looking in all the houses and anouncing what they were watching on tv! I think they got enough candy to last until next Halloween!

Halloween Parade

2008-10-31T17:15:00.000-07:00

Jason had a Halloween parade at school before his Halloween party. Courtney wore Jason's old Cookie Monster costume to it.

Jack-O-Lanterns!

2008-10-26T08:06:00.000-07:00

We carved the pumpkins that the kids picked out at the pumpkin patch. They have been begging to do this since about September 5. We finally agreed last night and are hoping the pumpkins last until Halloween! Both kids designed their own pumpkin. I love the mustache that Jason put on his. Jason put hair on his pumpkin last year so of course Courtney had to try out her new scissor cutting skills on her pumpkin's hair this year. Jason also wanted to carve his pumpkin he got on his school field trip, but Courtney was more than done with carving as well as Kevin.

Didier Farms

2008-10-26T08:01:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to Didier Farms, a.k.a. Mud Feast. What a muddy mess it was as well as cold and windy. The kids looked a few animals and luckily were ready to leave!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

Sunday we took the kids to pick their pumpkins. There were pumpkins as far as the eye could see. We took a hayride out to the field and of course the kids chose the biggest pumpkins we could carry. They also played on the corn playground and climbed up and down the big stacks of hay bales. Their favorite part of the trip was the pumpkin launcher which lauched pumpkins across a corn field!

Fall Leaves!

2008-10-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

Bitty Baby

2008-10-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

My sister bought Courtney Bitty Baby when she was born. I bought Courtney the matching nightgown shortly afterward to ensure they had matching outfits. Almost three years later, she finally fits in it. I can't believe she actually use to be the same size as Bitty!

Mini vacation

2008-10-10T08:50:00.000-07:00

Kevin had a couple of days off in September so we took the kids downtown and to Kohls Children's Museum.

Apple picking

2008-09-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

Today we went apple picking! It was lots of fun until the mosquitoes and the humidity came. Jason liked finding the biggest apple he could reach and Courtney kept taking a bite out of one apple from every tree we passed.

Family Fun Day

2008-09-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday, Jason's school had a family fun day. The kids competed in the obstacle course. I think Courtney came in just under five minutes!

New room!

2008-09-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to redoing Jason's room. It was very hard to say goodbye to the cutesy little boy room. However, I have to say I really like the new Batman room!

Dress up clothes

2008-09-08T15:21:00.000-07:00

Courtney loved all her presents from her party. She wanted to try on all her dress up clothes from Auntie Stacey, Uncle Rick, Paige and Cam.

Courtney's Party!

2008-09-08T15:09:00.000-07:00

Courtney had her birthday party on Saturday. Even though she was upset her cousins couldn't come, she still had a wonderful time. The theme of her party was Abby Cadabby.

May the force be with you.

2008-09-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

While I prepared for Courtney's party, Kevin took the kids to Pottery Barn to see the Star Wars characters. They stood in line for twenty minutes to take this 20 second picture. At least I was able to vacuum the house!

Courtney turns 3!

2008-09-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

Courtney celebrated her third birthday today! We had a whirlwind weekend. Saturday, we went to a birthday party for Timothy who has the same birthday as Courtney. Sunday, we had two Bar-be-ques, ending with fireworks and getting home at midnight. Monday, Courtney picked lunch at Red Robin then games galore at Chuck E. Cheese. The kids traded in their tickets for the pink ball. (I think it only cost us about $150.00) Tuesday, being her actual birthday, Courtney and I went to story time and had lunch with Grandma. We finished the day with opening presents and eating birthday cupcakes. It was a very happy birthday!

2008-09-02T18:33:00.001-07:00

First Day of School!

2008-08-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

Jason started 1st grade today. Courtney fell and hurt herself right before we left for school. About six thousand of our closest neighbors were dropping their kids off as well. Otherwise, the transition went well. His teacher seems very nice and Jason said he liked her. Tomorrow is his first full day. He is so excited about eating at school and having recess everyday!

Brookfield Zoo

2008-08-25T07:42:00.001-07:00

Thank goodness the humidity left and we had a wonderful day at the zoo. Jason loved the gorillas. Courtney loved the geese who kept wandering up to us at lunch. Jason, on the other hand, was not so thrilled with these geese who wanted to see what he had for lunch.

Pirates Cove

2008-08-25T07:26:00.000-07:00

Jason starts school tomorrow so we decided to take advantage of every last ounce of summer vacation. We took the kids to Pirates cove on Saturday and then to Brookfield Zoo on Sunday. Jason's favorite ride at Pirates Cove was the paddle boats and Courtney's was the merry-go-round. It was extremely hot but everyone had a great time.

He did it!

2008-08-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

Jason received his yellow belt today! He was also told that he had the most spirit out of all the other testers!

Kiddieland

2008-08-20T07:29:00.000-07:00

The kids had a blast at Kiddieland this year. Courtney's favorite ride was the enclosed ferris wheel while Jason wanted to do Tilt-a-Whirl until you puked. I unfortunately was the one who almost got sick. Seven seems to be the limit for riding Tilt-a-Whirl. It seems as if every picture I took of the kids, I only got the back of their heads. If you look real close you can see the original safety belts (a rope). Even with all the new technology and research I guess that string works the best for securing your children on a flying ride.

One more week

2008-08-15T06:32:00.000-07:00

Test results won't be in for another week!

Yellow Belt

2008-08-10T18:53:00.001-07:00

Jason has been working so hard to test for his yellow belt today. Only about half as many kids as last time were invited to test. Luckily, that meant the testing only lasted about two hours. Courtney couldn't stand the excitement any longer and fell asleep during the last 15 minutes. We'll find out Wednesday if all his hard work paid off. We couldn't be prouder.

They're Here!

2008-07-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

When we came home from vacation, Rachel, Reagan, Aunt Sandy and Uncle Lou all came in for a visit. Jason was pleased to realize that he has two Aunts. Courtney was very pleased she had someone younger that her to boss around. On Sunday, we all went to Stacey and Rick's for a visit with all the cousins.

Wisconsin Dells

2008-07-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

We just got back from the Dells on vacation. The kids had a great time. We spent most of our time at the water park (thus not many pictures)

and at Riverview Amusement Park. Jason and Courtney loved the roller coasters and put their hands in the air the entire time, while mom held on dearly. They also finally got to play mini golf. Jason even got a hole in one! Courtney just wanted to pick the pretty flowers. Overall it was a wonderful and exhausting vacation!

Lincoln Park Zoo

2008-07-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

We finished our marathon weekend with a trip to Lincoln Park Zoo. The hit of the zoo was the gorillas. The kids were out cold by the time we reached the Kennedy. I think we wore them out this weekend!

Jason's First Baseball Game

2008-07-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

Jason had his first baseball game on Saturday. He had 2 grand slams! (Well, actually he was last in the batting order, and the last one gets to run everyone home.) Kevin is so excited that baseball season has started!

Great America

2008-07-14T14:46:00.001-07:00

We took the kids on their first trip to Great America on Friday. We arrived at the park at the 10:00 opening and stayed until the 10:00 closing. The kids loved every bit of it, including the four hours we spent at Hurricane Harbor. Jason rode the Wizzer 6 times and then went on Viper. Although he seemed very excited when he got off the Viper, when we asked him if he wanted to ride again, he said "NO WAY!!" Courtney loved Wiggles World and colored with Wag the Dog and Dorothy the Dinosaur. Jason got to meet Batman, the Green Lantern, Cheetah girl and whoever that purple guy was. He still can't believe that Batman visits Great America. Thanks for the extra ticket Linda!

Golf

2008-07-05T16:15:00.000-07:00

Jason wanted to play mini-golf today, so we compromised and went to the driving range. Jason went through about 30 balls in 10 minutes. Courtney hit about 3 balls and was bored. What she really wanted to do was collect all the balls in the field. Maybe next time we'll play mini-golf.

Happy Fourth of July!

2008-07-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth of July! We celebrated by going to the parade in the morning, having Culver's for lunch, going to Chris and Jessy's for a BBQ and finishing the day off with fireworks. It was one fun filled day. Luckily, Courtney had a short nap during the parade.

Freedom!

2008-07-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

After two weeks of mostly video games, Jason got the all clear to go play. Although we have a few more days left of only soft foods, he's finally allowed to swim, play and have fun again. Beach, here we come!

No more tonsils!

2008-06-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

Jason had his tonsils out today. Everything went well but he'll be out of commission for about two weeks. So far he doesn't seem to mind. The pain medication seems to be kicking in and he is happy as can be playing X-Box (although he's a little upset we won't let him play Wii). As you can see from the pictures, he's eating his Popsicles (thus the purple lips!) Even lil' bulldog had his tonsils out today. He had a name collar just like Jason's. Auntie Stacey, Uncle Rick, Cam and Paige sent Jason the Batman to cheer him up. It seemes to have worked.

Which one do I use for my blanket?

2008-06-18T12:55:00.000-07:00

Courtney is adjusting very well to her new bed. Unfortunately, every night when I check on her she has her pillow and pillow case on her legs as if it were her blanket. I don't know if she thinks it's a sleeping bag or if she is very confused about what each piece of her new bedding does.

Finally, Sleep

2008-06-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

I just tiptoed upstairs since it finally was quiet. She seems to have fallen asleep in her new bed just fine. Let's hope she sleeps in tomorrow!

Big Girl Bed

2008-06-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

Grandpa came over and built Courtney's big girl bed today. We've been talking this up for a long time so we were hoping for an easy transition. Courtney was very excited to build the bed, put on her new bedding and lay down in her new bed. Unfortunately, she had absolutely no interest in sleeping in her new bed. After the bed was built, we had a lot of clean up to do. Courtney must not have had a good night sleep in her crib last night since she fell asleep on the living room floor awaiting her new big girl room. Needless to say, she had no intention of taking another nap, new bed or not. She currently is out of her bed, at the baby gate shouting "I can't sleep!" This has been going on for about an hour or so. Let's keep our fingers crossed that she'll fall asleep sometime tonight!

The Ants have Arrived!!

2008-06-14T18:53:00.000-07:00

Jason received an ant farm for his birthday from Jeff, Linda and Jimmy. Everyday we checked the mail to see if the ants came. Today they finally arrived and we deposited the ants in their new home. They already have made two tunnels and several ant "hills" or "buildings". Jason is able to view the ants all night long due to the blue illuminating lights on the bottom of the farm. I'm not sure he'll ever go to sleep again. It's currently an hour past his bed time and he is still watching those ants!

A Day at the Beach

2008-06-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

Before Jason goes into surgery next week, we made sure we had one day at the beach. Fortunately, Courtney loved the beach this year and we did not have to bribe her with Oreos.

He did it!!!!!

2008-06-07T10:53:00.001-07:00

Bye Bye Kindergarten, Hello Summer Vacation!

2008-06-04T06:42:00.001-07:00

Jason's Karate Test

2008-06-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

Jason had his first karate test today. Unfortunately, the parents has to sit in the adjoining room with a glass wall, therefore some of the pictures are a bit grainy. Jason was invited to test for his white belt w/ yellow stripe (currently he is a white belt). He was tested on his basic karate skills as well as his Japanese vocabulary. He also had to perform Taikyoko Shodan, the first of the katas (routines). At the end of the testing the kids were allowed to spar with the black belt judges (last picture). He did wonderfully and hopefully will be receiving his belt at karate next week.

Courtney is ready for Karate

2008-06-01T16:05:00.000-07:00

Courtney was very good today at Jason's karate test. She sat for over two and a half hours!

Jason's Kids Party

2008-05-26T17:16:00.001-07:00

Jason had his first kids birthday party this weekend. He invited the boys in his kindergarten class to Chuck E. Cheese. The kids played the arcade games, had pizza and cupcakes and got to meet Chuck E. Cheese. Courtney loved every minute of it. She was the only kid who kept running out of tokens and yelling "More Money Please!!!!!" Jason announced at the end of the party that "This was the best day of my life!"

Who was that masked birthday boy?

2008-05-17T19:58:00.001-07:00

Jason had his family birthday party today. As you can see it was a Batman/Superhero themed party. Luckily the rain held off till after the last piece of birthday cake was eaten!

Jason turns 6!!!

2008-05-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

Jason turned 6! I don't know where the time went. Jason celebrated his birthday at school with animal crackers and chocolate covered pretzels and the class singing Happy Birthday. After school we went to lunch at Sweet Tomato with Grandma. Later, we opened presents and had Batman Birthday cake. Jason loved his Power Ranger stuffed action figures.

Pink toes!

2008-04-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

I'm usually not a fan of kids with painted nails, but of course I was talked into it. Courtney was amazed that her pink toes didn't wash off in her bath!

Happy Earth Day!

2008-04-19T08:53:00.001-07:00

Today was Jason's favorite day of the year. We were able to tour Waste Management. They had bale and forklift demonstrations. The kids were able to make their own fans, bookmarks and plant a seed. Jason loved every minute. Courtney, not so much.

Kevin's Birthday

2008-04-17T07:09:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Dada!

Spring finally has come!

2008-04-17T07:03:00.000-07:00

Finally, some warm weather. The kids couldn't wait to get outside to play. If only it wasn't so windy!

Courtney & Kitty

2008-04-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

Courtney and Kitty tried out the new couch. They both found it extremely comfortable.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

The Easter bunny came! The kids received lots of new books and toys. Jason played with his army men all day, while Courtney preferred to run around the house with the plastic eggs and baskets declaring "Easter!!". (If anyone was wondering, we are missing our couches. That's why the the kids look like they're in a line up. The couches should be coming soon. The Easter bunny had a very hard time hiding the eggs this year!)

Coloring Eggs

2008-03-26T07:28:00.001-07:00

Easter arrived even though there was almost a foot of snow on the ground. The kids colored eggs the night before. Jason was an old pro at this and wanted to two-tone most of his eggs. Courtney of course wanted to dye most of hers purple. By the end, Courtney insisted that she put the egg in the dye all by herself. Surprisingly, most of the dye was on the eggs and not all over the kids!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!

2008-03-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

The leprechaun came to visit. He did a little trick and hid a small gift for each of the kids. Jason was surprised to see his milk was green.

Happy Superbowl!

2008-02-03T10:52:00.000-08:00

Will the Bears win this year? Oh, maybe I'm behind a year.

Will the snow ever end?

2008-02-03T10:41:00.000-08:00

After 9 inches of snow fall the kids had to play in it. The snow wasn't sticky enough for a snow man, however, it was just fine for a sled run!

First Hot Chocolate

2008-02-03T10:35:00.001-08:00

Courtney had her first taste of hot chocolate. She savored every sip!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-26T14:44:00.001-08:00

Santa came! He brought just what everyone asked for. Believe it or not, Jason's favorite gift was a garbage can. He even carried it off to bed with him Christmas night. Courtney loved her pound puppy that Santa brought, her groovey girls and new bitty baby outfits. She (or should I say mom) must have tried on Bitty's new swimsuit a thousand times. Kitty also loved her new toys.

Christmas Eve

2007-12-26T14:29:00.001-08:00

With the kids decked out in their Christmas attire, we ventured off to church. Although we were there for over two hours the kids were on pretty good behavior. (Santa hadn't come yet). When Fr. Ryan asked the kids to join him for the homily, Courtney ran down the aisle. Jason didn't want to go at first, but he didn't want his two year old sister to out do him even more. Courtney, unfortunately, ran up and down the aisle the whole time. Jason, on the other hand, sat quietly and even answered one of Fr. Ryan's questions. His answer was Christmas carols. Fr. Ryan was very pleased with his answer as well as the congregation. I can't tell you exactly what the question was since I was too busy corralling Courtney. We were so proud of Jason volunteering to answer!

Karate

2007-12-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

Courtney just had to try on Jason's karate Gi. I think it's as big on her as it is on Jason!

Christmas picture

2007-12-21T12:13:00.000-08:00

It's always a battle to get the kids to sit for a Christmas picture. Here are some of the pictures that didn't make the cut.

Christmas Cookies

2007-12-21T11:50:00.000-08:00

Alright, so it wasn't the picturesque scene that I envisioned. The kids fought over who got which cookie cutter and who got to stand where. Jason just wanted to play with and eat the dough and Courtney tired of the whole thing within a few minutes (there weren't any cookies to eat yet). I still don't understand how the people in the TV commercials are able to make cookies in their "Christmas best" attire. I'm not sure if the cookies, my children or my floor acquired the most flour (my guess is the floor). After about an hour of chaos, we finally had homemade sugar cookies that the kids gobbled up. Maybe next year I'll make two batches and do it at separate times. I'm sure Kevin won't mind the extra cookies.

Look at me!

2007-12-12T15:16:00.001-08:00

I just loved this picture and had to share!

Snow!!!!!!

2007-12-05T13:34:00.000-08:00

The kids could not wait to get out in the snow today! Courtney had never played in the snow before. She was not thrilled with the white stuff that kept getting in her face but eventually ventured into the snow drifts. She also did not understand why we couldn't play with the sidewalk chalk, bubble machine or golf. I think she may remain our bathing beauty. Jason on the otherhand could not get enough of jumping around in the snow. Even after Mom and Courtney retired to the house, Jason still wanted to throw snowballs. He liked hitting the tree trunk in the front yard. Unfortunately, I think it was a fair match since every time he hit the tree with a snowball, the wind blew all the snow bits in his face!

Congratulations!

2007-11-24T07:35:00.000-08:00

Jason did very well on his first report card (even though he won't receive "real grades" for a few years). Grandma and Grandpa bought him his first Webkinz for his hard work. He wanted the bulldog since it's his school's mascot.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-24T07:29:00.001-08:00

Visit to Santa

2007-11-18T14:22:00.000-08:00

Santa has arrived! We took the kids to see Santa. See was the operative word since the line to talk to Santa was over 3 hours long. The kids were overjoyed to see Santa transported in via firetruck. He walked right passed us on his way to his chair. Grandpa was pleased to met Mr. Moose. The night finished off with a show of fireworks. As you can see by Courtney's expression, she was quite skeptical about the whole experience.

Trick or Treat

2007-10-31T18:27:00.000-07:00

The kids trick or treated for about 2 hours. I think they came home with about 10 bags of candy between them. Jason went as a firefighter and Courtney went as Abby Cadabby. For those of you who are not avid Sesame Street watchers, Abby Cadabby is the newest member to the show. She is a 3 year old fairy godmother in training (doll is in Courtney's hand). Sesame Street is still both the kids favorite show!

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T18:19:00.000-07:00

As you can see, Halloween was a success. Jason had a Halloween parade and then party at his school. Courtney attended the parade as Elmo just to be sure her "real" costume survived until trick or treat time.

Carving Pumpkins

2007-10-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

Today was a very eventful day, however, I didn't bring my camera. We went to the Kildeer Police open house. Unfortunately when the police officer asked who wants to be locked in the jail, Courtney was the first to respond "MEEEEEEE". Jason was hesitant but was led into the cell by his sister. As the police officer closed the cell door he told all the kids here's a sound you don't ever want to hear. Courtney of course just broke into laughter. I think she's the one I'm going lose a lot of sleep over! Later in the day we went to Jason's school to play Bingo. On the last game I got a Bingo and won a magic kit. As I was leaving the prize table Kevin was walking up, who also just got a Bingo! His prize was a new pair of Sara Adams School pajama pants for me!

Lastly, we carved our pumpkins tonight. Neither child wanted to stick their hand in the pumpkin at first but once they saw Mom scooping out all the pumpkin guts they really got into it. Jason designed his pumpkin all by himself. He drew the face that Dad cut out and insisted that his pumpkin needed hair. Of course I think its the best pumpkin I've ever seen!

Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-14T09:31:00.001-07:00

We took the kids to the pumpkin patch this weekend. The kids had a blast stomping through the mud to pick out the perfect pumpkin.

They had a corn launcher called the Osama bin Laden bomber. (Look closely at the target they're aiming at). They rammed a piece of corn cob down the barrel of this makeshift launcher which we believe was hooked up to an air compressor. Only $1 for five shots! What a wonderful family event! They also had a pumpkin launcher but unfortunately it wasn't working that day. The things we teach our children!

Pigtails and the Cubs

2007-10-03T12:35:00.000-07:00

Courtney had her hair put in pigtails for the first time today. Hopefully the Cubs will have their first playoff win today!

Fall Fun

2007-10-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at a blog.

Here's what we've been up to lately. We went apple picking, to the pumpkin patch and raked the leaves. To everyone's delight, Jason loves to rake leaves!