Finally some snow like we're used too.

Jolly Old St. Nicholas lean your ear this way...

Santa Clause came to our ward Christmas Party. Gavin and Madison were very excited! As you can see Madison was keeping a very close eye on Santa making sure he didn't make any sudden moves. Gavin on the other hand kept giving Santa hugs. He probably gave Santa four hugs in the 3 minutes he was on his lap. He must have been buttering him up hoping he would bring him all the toys on his list.

School is Cancelled

We got a phone call at 4:51 a.m. and a recording that said school was cancelled today. You would think that we would have seen this outside....


But instead only this...

I couldn't believe it. There was a chance of freezing rain today so school was cancelled. But so far there has been no freezing rain and I have one upset child at home. It wouldn't be such a big deal but Gavin loves school. He was so disappointed when I told him. He said (yelled is more like it)"Now I won't have school for three days and if I don't go tomorrow it will be four!" In Utah I don't ever recall school being cancelled because of weather. We would still be going to school if it snowed as much as it did in the first picture. Now I can use the famous line that our parents did "I used to have to walk to and from school in a foot of snow" and I'm sure my kids will be amazed just like we were.

Our first snow fall in Illinois

I woke up this morning to my kids yelling that there was snow outside. I expected at least a couple of inches but soon realized that it was barely a dusting. They were so excited and the majority of the morning I heard "Oh cool, look at the snow on the roof" or "Wow there is snow on daddy's truck". I heard Gavin tell Madison that they should go outside and touch it. I am still in bed at this point. I heard them outside and they were having so much fun. I grabbed the camera and went to see what they were doing. They were just enjoying the dusting of snow! I didn't dare burst their bubble and tell them how much snow we used to get in Utah. How quickly they forget. I was worried that this year my kids wouldn't even see snow so I am happy they at least got to touch it. Madison told me the other day that it wasn't Christmas time because there wasn't any snow. We can now enjoy our holiday thanks to all this snow.

Gavin realized that he probably should have grabbed a coat in all the excitement.
This is Madison doing one of the poses she does best!
This is a couple of years ago in our backyard in Utah. There is quite a difference but we will keep that a secret for now.

My New Do

Well as you can see I got my haircut. Some of you may be thinking "It's about time". I have been wanting something different for awhile now, but it's hard finding someone you trust to cut your hair when you move. I have been looking for quite some time and I think I finally found that person. I went in and told her I wanted something new and was thinking about some side bangs and this is what I got. I am happy with it and Mark is getting to like it. His first reaction, well it's shorter than I thought it would be. What is it with men and long hair?

Blow Dryers and Make-up

The other day Madison wanted to go play outside. I told her she needed to blow dry her hair before she went outside. I went to get my blow dryer and she told me she had her own. I was racking my brain trying to figure out what she was talking about because I was pretty sure she didn't have her own. She went to get it and brought back this bubble blower. She proceeded to dry her hair for about 5 or 10 minutes. It didn't do much good. I finally convinced her that it would dry faster if we both blow dryed it. I'm just glad the bubble bottle was empty, or I would have had a big mess on my hands.

Another story about Madison and her obsession with hair and make-up. I am almost embarrassed to share this. Last week when I took her to nursery there was a new teacher. She started to whine a little and I told the nursery leader that she would be fine after I left. Then the door opened in Sunday school and there she was. The Primary President brought her in and said she wouldn't stop screaming. This has not happened for a long time and I couldn't figure it out. I took her in with the sunbeams and she was fine. The next week when we got to church the first thing she asked me was who her teacher was. I told her I didn't know so she went and asked someone else. It was going to be the same teacher it was the previous week. I didn't talk to her much about it until the last few minutes of sacrament. I told her who it was and she immediately started crying. I tried to console her and tell her how nice her teacher was. In between sobs she said but she doesn't wear make-up. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. All this crying and screaming was about make-up! I took her to class and hoped she wouldn't say anything out loud. The nursery leader actually said, "I don't think she likes me". I am thinking to myself if you only knew. I stayed with Madison for a few minutes and then quietly left. She was fine and on the way home she said she had fun. I reinforced the fact that her teacher was nice and again she said but she doesn't wear make-up. I simply said, "That's okay" and she seemed to agree. I hope this is the end of this, but I guess we'll see on Sunday.

Raking Leaves is fun to do....

Well I have a confession. I don't think I have ever raked leaves in my entire life. I guess maybe my brothers raked all the leaves growing up and we have never had a house with big trees so I never had to worry about it. Now I can proudly say I have raked leaves and lots of them. Mark's parents have huge trees in their backyard and we had the opportunity to rake them today. They have about five really big pine trees and the needles are not fun to rake. Needless to say their backyard was covered with leaves and pine needles. I have a made a mental note to myself that I will never have a home with large pine trees. So if I ever mention it please remind me. It was hard work and I have blisters on my hands to prove it. Despite the hard work this was a fun activity for Gavin and Madison. Now they don't have to grow up saying that they have never jumped and played in piles of leaves.

Good News

Well it has been a year since Mark finished his last radiation treatment. He just had a C.A.T scan last week. We found out the results today and everything looked good. We were so grateful! Every time we have to wait for results like that all of the memories come flooding back. Mark is always really confident but there is a part of me that still gets really nervous. Mainly because this was definitely not something I would have thought would happen to us. Now I can actually say that I am grateful for this trial. We have learned so much and are so much more aware of those around us who are experiencing trials. We can actually sympathize (to some degree) with others who are experiencing the same thing. It has been such a humbling experience and I am so grateful for how blessed we have been! I love Mark so much and have been amazed at his optimism and strength. He is such a great husband and father and I look forward to spending eternity with him!

The Fort

Jason left yesterday so I let Gavin and Madison have a sleepover the night before. They spent the night making this fort. The only casualty was the piggy bank, it got knocked over and shattered all over the floor. Oh well, Gavin and Madison will never forget the fort they made with Jason. It was so nice to spend some one on one time with Jason before he leaves on his mission. We left the airport yesterday, turned the corner and Madison said, "I miss Jason already". Gavin didn't say much of anything because he was sound asleep. He didn't want to miss any time with Jason so he was up at about 5:30 every morning running downstairs to make sure Jason was still there. We had such a good time and look forward to spending more time with our family at Christmas.

St. Louis Zoo

Jason came to visit us for a few days, so we took him to the St. Louis Zoo. We had so much fun and I must say this is the best time of year to go because all the animals were out. My kids loved the penguins although we went when they were feeding them so the smell of fish was quite potent. We were fine if we plugged our noses. They loved the black bears, polar bear, hippopatumus, elephants, and giraffes. The giraffe was so close that my kids got to feed it leaves. It made me a little nervous because Madison would pick the smallest leaves and I thought for sure the giraffe was going to eat her hand along with the leaf. They rode the carousel and we couldn't leave without stopping at the gift shop. Don't worry we didn't end up buying the monkey masks because I didn't want my kids to act any more like monkeys than they already do. And to be honest they reminded me too much of the monkeys from the Wizard of Oz and that is not my favorite part of the movie. We all had a great time and it was nice to have Jason around. I'm sure he was exhausted, my kids wouldn't let him leave their sight. At one point he had Gavin on his shoulders and was pushing Madison in the stroller. Only because they wouldn't let me or Mark do either. They sure love their uncle Jason.

Halloween Fun

We have had a busy couple of weeks with our ward Halloween party, classroom parties and parades, carving pumpkins, and of course trick or treating. But we sure had a lot of fun!

One of those weeks

Well it has been one of those weeks and it is only Tuesday. It all started on Sunday. We had our stake conference this weekend. The kids woke up and our clock said 5:30 a.m. so I told them it was too early to wake up and I sent them back to bed. Mark and I fell back to sleep until about 7:00. I was getting ready and I heard Mark rush up the stairs saying it was 8:30. Our clock had been an hour behind all along. We were supposed to leave at 9:00. We hurried to get everyone ready in a half an hour. Needless to say I had to go with my hair in a ponytail. We had also told Mark's parents that we would start dinner in the crock pot. Mark was getting that ready when he spilled meat stuff all over his white shirt. His other white shirts were dirty so we were panicking trying to get it cleaned up. Thank goodness for suit coats. We finally made it to conference and it was really good for about the first hour and a half then my kids got restless. Both of my kids were on a mom kick and would fight over who got to sit on my lap, and they were definitely not quiet about it. I came home and took a much needed nap. I thought things would get better but then came Monday. Both of my kids woke up on the wrong side of the bed. There was fighting from the moment they woke up. I had so many things I needed to get done and it just didn't happen. Today hasn't been any better. Gavin woke up and wanted to draw all morning instead of getting ready. He finally started to get ready and was cutting the tags off one of his shirts and cut a big hole in his shirt (Ahhh). He was so upset about it and felt so bad that it took me awhile to get him to stop crying. Which is why he missed the bus and Gavin does not like to miss the bus. So it was like starting all over again. I need a rewind button!

Guess who's going on a mission?

Jason has been called to serve in the London, England South Mission. When he was reading the letter he joked that he had been called to Coshocton, Ohio. That is where my parents live now and it is in the middle of nowhere. I think he had a few people a little worried. My Dad, Riley, and Mark (my husband) had gone to Utah to see Jason get set apart and do a little hunting. It was such a blessing that he got the call the day before they were coming. So he waited so they could be there when he opened it. That's me on one of the many cell phones in the picture. I would have loved to be there, but atleast I got to hear all of the excitement.

As many of you know my dad has a hard time controlling his emotions. He was crying before Jason even opened it. He always says he took too many water pills.

Riley has inherited the crying gene from my dad too (although he probably would never admit it). We are definitely so excited for Jason. He is going to be a great missionary. Congratulations Jason! We love you. And by the way, you are Madison's favorite muncle.

Tagged

Well I've been tagged by Amy. So here it goes:

1. Best thing you cooked this last week.
We had a ward Halloween party and I made creamy bacon and potato soup for the soup cook-off. I actually took 3rd place which means I probably get my name on a plaque or something.

2. If money, time, and babysitting were no object where would you go?
You would have to ask my travel agent Daisy Wilson. She has been looking into cruises, and she tells me about all the good deals. I have started saving my pennies and have left the rest up to her.

3. When was the last time you cried?
This afternoon when I watched the Extreme Makeover Home Edition that I had recorded. It was a real tear jerker!

4. 5 things you were doing this month 10 years ago.
I am not very good at keeping a journal but this is my best guess. I was probably studying for the chemistry class that I hated. Taking a walk with my roommates around campus, with our ear muffs of course. Listening to the latest gossip about who was my roommate Tara's latest crush. Eating at Craigo's (remember girls). And last but not least, working at JB's as the hostess with the mostest.

5. 5 things on my to do list.
Volunteer at Gavin's school, Have lunch with Gavin at his school, Get caught up on laundry, Take Madison to dancing, and finally take the two garbage bags of clothes (they have been sitting in my closet for a couple weeks) to goodwill.

6. 5 favorite snacks.
strawberries with yogurt, pretzel goldfish, chocolate pudding, fiber one peanut butter granola bars, and ritz bits with cheese.

7. 5 bad habits.
I care too much, I volunteer too much, I work too hard, I sacrifice too much, and I play too little. As I was writing these down I realized they were also my strengths. (This is for those of you who watch The Office).

8. 5 favorite foods
lasagna, halibut, steak, ice cream, and Costco's All American chocolate cake

9. 5 places I've been
San Diego, Mexico, Ohio (Amish Country), Colorado, and Arizona.

10.5 favorite memories
1. My wedding day, August 5, 2000. Everything about it was just wonderful!
2. The day I had my children. They bring so much joy and laughter to my life.
3. The Binks' family reunions at Blackhawk campground. The parades, the horse rides, the stories and music around the campfire, and I can't forget the good food.
4. The day we got the results of Mark's C.A.T scan after all his chemo and radiation treatments. Hearing that the treatments were successful and they got all the cancer.
5. Our family vacations. Whether we went camping at Cherry Hill or to Kings Island Amusement Park. We have had so much fun as a family.

Now I tag Missy, Shelly, Mom, Bonnie, and Mindi

Chocolate and Counting

Madison woke up from her nap yesterday and we had the following conversation:

Kory: Madison would you like a snack?

Madison: Yes, I want some chocolate.

Kory: That isn't a very healthy snack.

Madison: Well, I am chocaly (not even sure how to spell it).

Kory: What does chocaly mean?

Madison: It means I need chocolate.

Well I am guessing maybe chocaly is a combination of hungry and chocolate. And who knew girls needed chocolate at such a young age. I can't imagine what it will be like for me when she is a teenager. Our day went on as normal until I came downstairs to find a line of miscellaneous items from the fridge lined up on the counter. On top of each of them was a gogurt. I asked Madison what she was doing and she simply said, "I am counting". I guess I should be glad that she is creative.

Pumpkin Patch

Grandpa, Grandma, Katie and Hobbs came to visit us. We went to Eckert's pumpkin patch. The kids had so much fun feeding the animals, jumping on the inflatables, riding the airplanes, and picking pumpkins. Grandpa had all the kids on the wagon ride convinced that pumpkins grew on trees. He is such a tease. We had so much fun visiting with everyone and can't wait to see them again!

A day at the park

Gavin didn't have school yesterday so we went to the park. They had so much fun playing together. Madison really misses Gavin while he is at school. They have become such good friends.

Below is the goose that would not leave us alone. It was so mean. Mark really enjoyed tormenting it and trying to get it to chase him. Gavin, on the other hand, is quite scared of the geese because last time we were at this park he got bit by one. Ouch!!

Circus

Grandma Hawk took us all to the circus while the guys were at the priesthood session. We had so much fun! I meant to take all these great pictures to share, but I got so into the circus that I forgot. Gavin's favorite part was when the clown lost his pants and he had to chase them. We all saw the clown's valentine underpants. Gavin thought that was so funny. Madison loved the acrobats and all the girls in the beautiful dresses.

Gavin and Madison got their picture taken with the ringmaster. Madison wasn't so sure about him. This is as close as she would get and she wouldn't take her eyes off his hand. So much for the great pictures but at least it was something that they won't forget. At least anytime soon.

Madison

Madison is always making us laugh. She acts and talks a lot older than she is. She loves animals. Especially dogs and horses. She will probably never have either so that's what grandparents are for. She loves to visit Grandpa and Grandma Binks so she can ride Jeeter. Our last visit to Ohio Madison moved the lawn chair out by the horses and was talking to them while they were eating. I asked her what she said to them and all she said was "they weren't talking to me". She seemed very disappointed.

Madison loves her babies. She spends hours a day changing poopy diapers and cleaning up throw up. She has quite an imagination. She has named her babies Kaitlyn and Moroni. You may be able to guess where we are in the scriptures. She is so funny.

When Madison isn't playing with her babies. She is dressing up and pretending to put make up on. She doesn't leave the house without her purse equipped with her lip gloss, sunglasses, and bracelets. When we do go out she is very observant. Whether its the "big people" at church or the "old people"at the grocery store I am always a little nervous about what she is going to say.

Madison is such a mama's girl. Probably because I do wear makeup. When Mark tells her he wants to hold her she sometimes says "but your not wearing any makeup". I don't know where she gets it from. Most of you know that I was definitely not overly concerned about that kind of stuff.

Gavin

Gavin is so much fun to have around. He is always making us smile. Gavin has a lot of energy and likes to keep busy. He loves to learn about sharks and dinosaurs. He also loves to draw pictures of them. He comes home from school and will sit at the table and draw for hours. This is a picture of Gavin at an aquarium in Ohio. He loved seeing the sharks, although all the way there he kept asking me how big the sharks were going to be. He wasn't quite ready to see a big shark. He was very relieved that they were small sharks.

Gavin loves to hike and climb. We went to the St. Louis museum which has a lot of places to climb. In this picture I sent Gavin and Madison through this tunnel by themselves because I didn't think I would fit. Madison is in the background crying because she was scared. So I found out the hard way that I did fit and it took me several days for the bruises to heal.

Gavin loves school and is learning so much. He leaves for school at 8:15 and doesn't get home until 4:15. So he is gone a long time. Madison and I look forward to picking him up at the bus stop. He always has lots of stories to tell us when he gets home. Some are good and others are not so good. The other day he came home and asked me if he had nickname. When I said no he was very disappointed because Robert at school has one. I explained to him what a nickname was and he was very determined to have one. I asked him if he had one in mind he said he was thinking of Kevin or Bob. Mark and I are still trying to think of a better one.

Gavin just started fall soccer and really enjoys it. His first few games he was very shy and didn't dare get in there and kick the ball. Now he is getting more aggressive and at his last game he scored his first two goals. He didn't quite no how to act after he scored. But he talked to Jason on the phone and he gave him pointers on how to do a victory dance. So we look forward to next week and hope he will try that victory dance.

Apple Orchard

We went camping over the weekend. On the way home we stopped at an apple orchard. We rode in a wagon to the orchard and picked lots of apples. Gavin and Madison ate more apples than they picked but they had a lot of fun. Gavin has been talking about Johnny Appleseed at school and was very excited to get his picture taken with the statue. As you can see my kids are growing up. I can't believe how fast time goes by. They sure have been such a wonderful blessing in my life.