The circus came to town

Thanks to the generosity of Grandma, most of the Tower family headed to Muskegon to the circus on Saturday afternoon. Eric was away in Chicago for the weekend with some friends from Taylor, so Grandma decided to keep the rest of us from getting bored without him. This was Bryan's first experience at the circus since the last time we went I was about 7 months pregnant with him. Ashlynn and Elizabeth remembered so little from that time 4 years ago that it might as well have been their first time too. They were all so excited.

One of the girls' highlights was riding a full-sized elephant around one of the rings. Bryan wanted nothing to do with that...

...but he did get to go on the Screamer slide. That was much more up his alley.

Silly boy.

A few not so quality pictures, as our camera doesn't handle large, dark places very well.

Mom and I both had sweaty palms for this one. The boy on the top was 13 years old and he was the only one with a rope attached to him.

Lastly, the elephants. We had a wonderful, exciting time. Thanks, Grandma, for the great memories!!!

We're back!

I know it's been a long hiatus from the blog. I think I got a bit tired of taking pictures over Christmas and my stack to be scrapbooked is now about 8 inches high which is way beyond my comfort zone. :-) A scrapbooking weekend needs to happen soon.

As always, winter in Michigan is a time to feel a bit cooped up but compared to past years we have been amazingly healthy. Thank you, Lord. We have enjoyed several special activities, mostly over the past week or so.



When Grandma Kregel took a short trip in January, Grandpa was able to join us for dinner one evening. This is what joining us for dinner means for Grandpa. I'm sure he slept well that night!

Helping the children release all of their energy before bed. Thanks, Grandpa!!!!! :-)

What would winter in Michigan be without the snow family? They ran out of time before Elizabeth's likeness was created.

This is a snow caterpiller. A great alternative to tradition when the snow is not packing well.

I had the privilege of planning 3 Valentine parties this year. It's really a fun way to revisit teaching without all of the pressure. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend Ashlynn's party as both hers and Elizabeth's parties were at the same time and first grade has been blessed with many more available mothers willing to help. She had a great time as well. Here is Bryan running to say hello during his Valentine party.

My boy.

Playing the candy heart sort game with his friends.

The bean bag throw.

Elizabeth's table enjoying their snack.

Playing the heart matching game.

Valentine party day ended with a special night for all of us. Daddy and the girls attended the annual Daddy/Daughter dance (Sock hop) and Bryan and Mommy had a date at home playing Lego Batman on the Wii.

Daddy and his girls. At 6 and 8 they are growing up way too quickly.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Tower family. We hope your Christmas was as special as ours and that you were surrounded by those who love you. The celebration of Christmas is always a balancing act for our family as there are so many wonderful things vying for our time. This year our celebrations stretched from December 25th through December 29th. It was wonderful to be able to spend time with most of the family God has blessed us with.

When Elizabeth came along 8 years ago, we decided to carry on the tradition my parents started when we were young of staying home as a family on Christmas Day. It's important to us that we have one day that's devoted to celebrating with our children in our home. The highlight of that day for our children is having their grandparents over for part of the day. This year all of the grandparents joined us for brunch and a few rounds of Beatles Rock Band.


The girls picked out gifts for each other and Bryan this year at their school Christmas shop. It was fun to see their choices.



"Thanks, Elizabeth, I think." :-)

So much love. :-)

Introducing the grandparents to Rock Band. They did very well for beginners. :-)

The day after Christmas we celebrated with Eric's family.

Sunday was Eric's mom's family and then Monday was spent with Brenda's family.

Tuesday, we were able to spend a gorgeous sunny day out sledding with Brenda's sister's family and dad. It was so nice out we were peeling off some of our winter gear. Alivia and James had never been on a "dedicated" sledding hill before, so it was fun to be able to experience their excitement. By the end, Alivia and Bryan were going down together and on their own.

Grandpa was the daredevil of the group and is probably very fortunate to be all in one piece.

It's a long way up that hill, isn't it, Ashlynn?

We definately got our exercise.

Almost the whole group.

Because our times together are so few, it makes them so valuable. We had an awesome weekend and can't wait for the next time we can get together. Thanks for making the trip, Shari, Stephen, Alivia, James and Josiah. We love you.

We finished our party spree on Tuesday night with Brenda's dad's family. We've had a two day break and then we will celebrate with Eric's dad's family today. Elizabeth was put to bed at 8:30 last night with her books, but was told if she was still awake at midnight she could join us for the ball dropping. She was determined and got her wish. I'm not sure if it was as exciting as she hoped it would be. :-)

December Fun

December has been a busy month as I'm sure you can tell by my delay in posting, but when is it ever not? We have had a great deal of fun and are all eagerly awaiting the celebration of the birth of Christ. My parents gave us a book, Jotham's Journey (published by Kregel Publications :-) ) , that has greatly enriched our advent experience as a family. I would highly recommend it to families of school-age children. It's the story of Jotham, a small boy in Israel and how he journeys searching for his lost family and finds and experiences the birth of Christ through that journey. It brings the story to life and our kids have begged for more each time we've read it together.

Here's a picture view of some of the fun we've had the last week.

I was responsible for all 3 of the kids parties this year. A friend and I are working as a team to be able to cover both of the girls classes as she has sons in each of their rooms. We plan together and then switch back and forth for the actual parties so I got to be at both Bryan and Elizabeth's parties this year. Here Bryan is working on a popsicle stick Christmas tree.

and decorating his cookie,

and expressing in his own special way his admiration for his teachers whom he really does love!

That evening we all enjoyed attending the girls' school Christmas program. They both did a great job with their special parts.

Elizabeth was thrilled to have a chance to play the xylophone and did very well.

Two girls all dressed up for Christmas.

Thanks for coming Grandma and Grandpa Kregel...

...and Grandma and Grandpa Tower.

We are so proud of our girls. :-)

The next day, Elizabeth's class made spiral Christmas trees.

and played a fun gift exchange game.

Off to Great Wolf Lodge 1 day later. Eric's parents treated the family to our 3rd annual Great Wolf get-away in Traverse City. Mark and Christine were able to join us the first day which was a rare and special treat.

Part of the fun includes all of the children receiving disposible cameras from Grandma and Grandpa which they can fill up with any pictures they so desire. They filled them up quickly with lots of full face shots, as well as the lovely carpet in the room and the ceiling in the lobby. We always get a good laugh when the pictures come back, but it is a highlight of the trip for them.

The girls playing a fishing game with Christine.

With the whole week off from school for everyone, we took advantage of the time and stayed an extra night at the Lodge. The kids played the Magic Quest game which is a scavenger hunt in which you find items that are activiated by the wave of your wand. They had a really good time with it.

Of course, swimming in the middle of winter is always a highlight and we were all waterlogged by the time we needed to leave.

Bryan and Daddy having a water fight.

Bryan just kept coming back for more.

Elizabeth was much more understated in her excitement.

You'd best watch out for this one though.

Time to go home. Everyone has had a wonderful time.

Oh, that life was always like this. We'll take in when we can get it. :-)

Have a very Merry Christmas from our house to yours!!!!!