6th Snowiest Winter EVER

With 80+ inches of snowfall this winter, the winter of 2011 will go down in history as the 6th snowiest year EVER (as long as it doesn't snow anymore). And it's only March, which is the snowiest month.
So, this was a good year to learn to love the snow. We didn't really have a choice, but luckily the kids caught on quickly and have LOVED playing in the snow all winter.
Each time it snowed we plowed the snow from the driveway into the back yard, creating a kids dream come true--Mt. Walton-- the best playground for hiking, sledding and playing with dump trucks.
At it's peak, after our 80th inch of snow fell yesterday, Mt.Walton reach a height of 9 feet and the entire length of our backyard, around 35ft.
It's been a lot of fun. With Spring just around the corner I wanted to document Mt.Walton before it's gone. Though, I bet it'll take till June to melt this mountain!

Diapers Be Gone!

We made it! No more diapers in the Walton house... ever again!

Sticker charts, M&Ms and potty prizes finally got the job done. Cal has been diaper free for a couple weeks. He filled up his "Potty Chart" to get a "Potty Prize" today and we'll celebrated tonight with cupcakes! (1 sticker for each accident free day)


Here is Cal enjoying holding his new "James" train he got for his potty prize. By the way, I love these new Target carts. I actually drive out of my way to this particular Target because these carts are perfect for kids this age. Shopping carts can make all the difference when you're shopping with twins.

3 years already!

Can't Force Independence

When can I be done changing diapers?

I'm really tired of changing diapers. We've been changing diapers for over 6 years! Just after we got Ethan out of diapers around his 3rd birthday, we had a break for a few months while I was pregnant with the twins (but that shouldn't really count because of how difficult that time was for us) and then we were hit hard by the double diapers....

And we're still changing diapers.

I'm ready to be done with this diaper changing period of our lives. But that's not my choice. This all lies in the hands of the pooper: Cal.

Cal loves to have people do things for him. He won't attempt to put on his own clothes in the morning. He won't touch his shoes or boots and refuses to learn how to put anything on himself. I've tried everything in the book to get him interested in self-help skills. Bribing with candy didn't even work! He doesn't care. Do you blame him though? It would be great to have someone do everything for you.
But now that Cal is the size of an average 4 year old it feels funny changing a big kid's diaper. His poops are like man-poops.

I know it's bad to compare twins, but Teagan has been doing all of these things for almost 5 months. Teagan does everything herself! She won't even let me pick out her outfit in the morning. Not only does she use the potty she closes the door and demands privacy!

So, what can I do? I can't force him to be independent. And I'm not wanting him to grow up faster. I just want to be done with diapers!!!

Great Review for Great Wolf

We give the Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin Dells a 5 star review!
We had a fabulous vacation at Great Wolf with my parents and sister! The water park is a blast for kids and adults of all ages. There were water slides and zero-depth play areas for toddlers and little kids, and crazy rides for the adults. I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids or the grown-ups.
We pushed the 700lb weight limit on the Tornado ride with my dad, Nick, Shalene and I weighing in at 699lbs. Shalene and I flew down the Raceway face-first on mats so fast that we lost our bottoms. The kids were having the time of their lives on the little water slides water toys. We were in the water from 9am-9pm for 4 straight days! And best of all, we were oblivious to the snow storms outside while we were in our swimsuits in the tropical resort for a long weekend.
I recommend Great Wolf to all families, especially with young kids. We loved it!

Merry Christmas 2010

Love Note

Oh my gosh we have the sweetest little boy!

I just sat down at the computer after dropping Ethan off at school. Sitting on my keyboard was a beautiful little note from Ethan. He left mom and dad a love note!!!

(i luf yoo Walton mom and dad)

Ethan is learning to write in school and he loves writing notes on everything. He leaves notes on his bedroom door, he writes about the pictures he draws and he has fun spelling to us so Cal and Teagan won't know what he's saying.

We love you too Ethan! You are so thoughtful.

Monstrous Weekend!!

Halloween 2010 was a Monster of a weekend!

We started off the weekend with a 10-mile race!!- the Monster Dash!
Nick, Shalene, Mike, Nora and I ran the 10-mile race all together in great time. Our time was 1 hour and 45 min (10-minutes per mile), which included a potty stop and a stretch break when we were greeted by our cheering kids and parents at the 6th mile. The weather was absolutely perfect and the course was fun.

The rest of the weekend was spent carving pumkins, decorating for our 6th annual Halloween Spooktacular, dressing up and eating way too much candy.

The kids had a blast trick-or-treating. I'd say it was the best year so far. Cal and Teagan were running from house to house and Cal was leading our pack of 9 kids. Ethan and Aidan, with Nick and Josh, continued on trick-or-treating for another hour after the rest of us. I'm not sure who was having more fun, the boys or the big boys.