Michigan State Basketball

This weekend we went to the Michigan State basketball game with some friends. Campbell had a great time with her buddy Max and we enjoyed watching the Spartans win the game (next time though, lets win by more then 1 point). To make it even more special, we got to sit a few seats over from a great MSU ex-player Mateen cleaves.

Swimming

Campbell kept asking me to go swimming a few weeks back saying she missed it and wanted to go again. After she mentioned it a dozen times, I finally asked if she wanted to start swim lessons again, she of course said YES. I signed her up for a weekly swim class in hopes it would help burn some energy during these cold winter months. She has only been going for 4 weeks and has already moved up to the next class and earned 3 ribbons! Here she is holding her ribbons that she proudly displays on the fridge for everyone to see. She has become a little fish and is swimming on her own (10 feet so far) and floating on her back. When she really wants something, she goes for it......now if I could just get her to want to clean her room?

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree

We have our Christmas tree, its officially Christmas around the Lyons house! Our tradition is to go to Home Depot and get a tree, come home and order pizza and drink hot chocolate. Steve and I started this years ago when we were living in Chicago and have just kept it going. Campbell loves getting the tree and eating the pizza but decided she is not a hot chocolate kind of kid...I guess I will just have to drink hers.

The final product!

This year Campbell convinced Steve that we needed some lights on the outside of the house also. She said we were not done decorating till the outside had light just like the neighbors, how can you argue with that. So in the freezing cold Steve put up lights outside while Campbell ran around and played with the neighbors.

He got them up just in time because we looked out the window after dinner and it was starting to snow. Happy Holiday's Everyone!

Holiday Season Kick-Off

Well we have been busy kicking off the holiday season with lots of fun activities over the last month. The week after Halloween we went to a mall near by and helped welcome Santa to town. They do a nice fireworks display followed by a marching band and Santa in his sleigh. We of course had to watch the fireworks from the sunroof in the car because Campbell said they were to loud. I was fine with this because it was a cold night and sitting on a heated car seat was much more my speed. Here she is right after Santa rolled by with a big smile on her face. She did ask why there were horses pulling his sleigh and not his reindeer, I told her that was his ground transportation and the deer were for flying only.


The next week we went to see Disney Mickey Magic with Auntie Ann. It was a live show with all the Disney characters performing exciting magic tricks. We now say abracadabra for everything.
Recently we went to the mall close to our house and found they had one of Santa's elf's helping send letters back to the north pole. Campbell was very excited to write a letter to Santa and send it on its way. She wrote Bike and Campbell, telling me that's all she wants and by adding her name he will know where to bring it.

Here she is putting the letter in the mailbox and then stepping on the button that shoots the letter 3 stories up to the ceiling of the mall. The tube it goes up in lights up along the way and then clouds at the top start to explode like a sparkler when it reaches them. We all thought this was pretty cool.

We decided to next, go see an outdoor light display, because everyday should be filled with twinkle lights if you were to ask Campbell.

Steve was off from work the week of Thanksgiving. When Daddy is home and Mommy is at work it usually means one thing......FUN! Campbell got a ginger bread cookie for breakfast and a cupcake for lunch.

This brings us to Thanksgiving! Campbell was so excited about the turkey she told everyone we talked to. I found her multiple times standing in front of the fridge with it wide open staring at the turkey. Here she is with the final product ready to dive in. I was sick for Thanksgiving so Steve had to make the entire dinner on his own....nice work Steve you may have yourself a new job next November.

We decided to try and get a little fresh air this afternoon and took Campbell to The North Pole Field Office located in a park in our city. Here she is anxiously awaiting the arrival of big red.

While we were waiting, the jolly old fellow himself came walking up to say hello. Campbell was more then thrilled to go into his little house and tell him what she wanted for Christmas (a bike and a Tiana doll).

As you can see we have had a very exciting November and can't wait for more fun in December.

Boo To You

We have had a very exciting October filled with lots of Halloween fun. Campbell decided she wanted to be princess Belle this year and loved wearing her gown and sparkle shoes.


Here is Campbell and some of her little friends from school marching in a Halloween parade.


Campbell's preschool had another parade around the school. There are 18 kids in her class and majority of them are girls. As you can see by the class photo there was a lot of glitter and tulle in the class that day.

All dressed up and ready to go trick or treating Halloween night. She really got into it this year and loved yelling trick or treat at each house on the block.

First Day of School

Campbell's First Day of School!

Campbell had her first day(s) at school last week. We all went to school last Thursday and the kids played while the parents were given the do's and dont's of preschool. We stayed in the same room for the first half and then the kids went outside as the parents went over more rules with the teacher. The following Tuesday we went back and this time I dropped Campbell off and left the building. Only one of us shed a tear or two....lets just say it was not the one you would expect. I was sitting in the car after I dropped her off and part of me was so happy for her and the other part realized she is not a baby anymore. Campbell on the other hand had a great time and even has a new best friend. They met at the preschool picnic last May and can't wait to play with each other. It's really cute to see them run off together to play and hug each other when its time to leave. Here are some photos of our little "big" preschooler.

Campbell requested cinnamon rolls for breakfast for her first day of school so we decided to make a breakfast celebration out of it. Here she is in her first day royal chair.


Backpack on (and empty) and ready to go.

One silly face before we head to school.



Second first day of school, this time on her own.

Here they are with their teachers at the end of the day coming out to meet the parents.

Campbell and her new BFF.

Campbell at home finishing her snack from school that she had rolled in a napkin and put in her backpack for later. Please note there was only 1 goldfish and 2 pretzels left that she just had to save, the teachers must think we don't feed her at home.

Dickerson Lake

We just got back from a relaxing week at Dickerson Lake. We had such a wonderful time at the cottage. The weather was great and the water was very warm. We had some friends join us for a couple nights which made it even more fun. Here is what we did all week.

Splashed around in the water looking for minnows, turtles, and frogs.



Kristen and Naveen and their 2 adorable boys Kiran and Rowan came to hang out. We determined Kiran loved the boat, the faster the better, and Rowan loved relaxing on the beach.




Campbell helping Kristen feed the boys. Check out her mouth as she is feeding them she would open wide.

Campbell and her boys.

We got dressed up one night to go to the Clifford Lake Inn for dinner. This little Inn is right on the water so you can eat dinner and watch the boaters and skiiers go by.

Campbell tried really hard to catch frogs and minnows. Thank God they all got away so we didn't have any new friends to bring home. If you look close you can see the frog jumping away right between her hands.

We did lots of floating and relaxing in the water. The lake is really deep and really warm so it made for great swimming.

Campbell found her fish fins at the cottage and decided she was going to jump off the boat and swim on her own. She was so proud of herself and so were Steve and I.

Here she is kicking and scooping, she did this everyday.

2 thumbs up

The day that it was overcast we went to a petting farm near by. We have not been there in 2 years and in that time they have added a number of new exciting animals.

Campbell got up the nerve the second time we went to the zoo to go into the pig pen and get a closer look.

Here is Campbell jumping on top of me as the Camel came up to give us a smooch.

There was a bird house you could walk through. Campbell is standing like a tree in hopes one will want to land on her. I was hoping we wouldn't get pooped on.

The lemurs were one of my favorites.

Where else can you pet a kangaroo?

We also found where Santa keeps his reindeer part of the year, this baby one was happy to come over for a pet.

This week was one of firsts when it came to water sports. As I mentioned Campbell decided swimming on her own was great. She also decided tubing was a blast and wanted to do it again and again and again.

I had a first on the water also, I tried wake boarding. It was lots of fun and I can't wait to try it again.
Campbell found a new friend who we really enjoyed hanging out with. As you can see we didn't do anything but play and relax.