Morgan's Party

Today was Morgan's Birthday Party.  The plan was to meet at Kids Hair in Eden Prairie and then spend some time playing and having a pizza party back at their house afterwards.

The girls were SO excited to see Morgan.

They were all able to pick out a hairdo with two colors and glitter.

They also got their nails done and got to watch (and sing along to) Frozen during their beautifying!

 

In a few weeks Morgan will stop going to Jackie's and she will start at the Summer Bound program for Pre-K kids (like Hannah did last summer).  Hailey sure is going to miss her.

Hannah is super excited that Morgan is going to CBPA for school so she will be able to see her.

 

 

You're Killin' Me!

We headed out to Buffalo Wild Wings tonight only to find that they have made a very horrible decision.  What are they trying to do to me?!  Who eats buffalo wings and then washes them down with a Diet Pepsi?!  The kids were disappointed to see that the 100+ flavor coke machine is gone but they were over it in 3 minutes when they were introduced to the new Pepsi flavor machine.

Looks like noone is on my side for this one.

-Sigh-

While waiting for dinner Hannah was next to me working away at decorating the inside of her BW3 crown.  When I looked over I almost broke out in tears when I saw this adorable little note: 

 " 8 more days I will be in first"

Seriously kid?!  You are killing me!  It's so fun as a parent (or even just as an adult) to see kids grow up right in front of your eyes.  Watching them turn into little people that have thoughts and feelings and ideas.  Tonight I felt so happy inside knowing how excited and happy she is that she made it.  She is an established elementary school student who 'gets it'.  She actually gets that there are 8 more days of school and once she is done she will 'move up' to the next grade.  

Only 8 more days!

Cereal Stalker

Hailey has been a HUGE fan of Lucky Charms cereal lately.

The first few times she ate it she would eat it all together on the spoon but lately she has a different method.  She eats all of the cereal first and saves the marshmallows for last.

She was not too happy with me taking her picture/

Batter Up!

Tonight at Tball the girls learned how to hit.

Hannah has done this before but this was Hailey's first time.

She looked so sweet standing in her little batter stance.

She still isn't so sure she wants to keep playing.

Good thing there are still MANY years left for me to convince her!

Should we or shouldn't we?

We have been talking with our landscaper about some options for the backyard.  

We have been interested in putting in some type of wall into the berm to take away from some of the steepness of the hill.  We have been debating and going back and forth on whether or not we should spend the money to do this or put that money towards a deck this year.  Both are things that would be really nice to have and although a deck would be fantastic to have right away, this hill/wall is a once in a lifetime.  Well, ok, really it's not but both of us agreed if we don't do it now we would never want to tear up the yard to do it later.  If it's not done now there is a super good chance that it would never ever happen.

While we were discussing it we remembered some nearby houses in the older part of the neighborhood that had walls recently done so we decided to drive on over and ask if we could check out their yard to get an up close and personal look.

When we got home we 'drew in' the idea.  At this point we have decided to at least get it quoted.  No decisions can be officially made until we know how much this idea is going to cost us.

You can see the yellow flag in the ground, that's the height of the wall (potentially) and the 'dug in' lines are the sides of the walls that would gradually get taller.

Waiting for Jacob

All the girls could talk about on the way home was Jacob.  They wondered what he was doing and whether or not he would be home.  They wanted to know if they would be home in time to be able to play with him.  When we got home they pulled up some chairs and here they sat and waited until Jacob noticed them and came out to play.

 

Cabin Visitors

Today we had some visitors.  Dad brought grandma and Bob up.  It was nice to see them up there enjoying the nice weather.  Mom was able to sneak away from her daily duties of taking care of Tom  for a few hours.  Just enough time to eat lunch and catch up with the neighbors before it was time again for her to head home to tend to Tom.  Hoping he can work through this illness and get up strength again so mom can join us on the weekends.  It's been real hard to see them this way.

Hailey took a liking to Jennie's cabin shoes (not a joke) and when I brought the camera out to snap a picture, she knew just what to do.  We are screwed!  Look at this girl!

Schmidty sure enjoyed the lake today and for the first time that I can remember we actually saw him laying down.  He has so much energy that usually he wants to play and fetch and wander.  

A little swimming and some fresh air was just what he needed :-)

Brian to the Rescue!

It's time to open the cabin!  

Last night we started things right with a trip to Pizza Pub to enjoy our dinner we have been waiting months for.

After dinner the girls, my sisters and I ran to Walmart to stock up on essentials and grab some groceries for the next few days.  When the cart was full and we were making our way to the checkout I got a text from Brian asking for a propane tank.  The pipes burst and once again Brian had himself a repair project (will it ever end?!).

Luckily the water was off and the damage was minimal but without the repair there would be no water.  Not the end of the world but definitely not how any of us planned to spend the weekend.

As usual, it didn't take him long and we were back in business, cabin life as usual, Brian saved another weekend.  What a guy!

Today we were able to enjoy the lake a little bit.  The water was pretty cold but the girls did not mind one bit.  We even got Schmidty to try it out!

We ended the night with a campfire and gorgeous sunset.

Summer is back!

Color Me Happy

Got home today to see that the painter was there.  Our trim and accent pieces finally got painted!

I almost forgot what my house was suppose to look like and started second guessing our decision to go with the cream pillars and trim.  That lighter brown was starting to grow on me.

I had to snap some pictures as we were on our way out of the driveway heading up to the lake for the weekend.  I wish I could just sit out in the yard and stare at the house.  It's going to take a while to get used to the new look but I think once I do I am going to LOVE it.

 

Before          and         After

Let There Be More Holes!

Ever since we hung the TV I have been feeling more and more brave.  So brave in fact that tonight we took on two projects.  Two!

We started in the office.  I am very happy with how things turned out.  I probably could have hung things a little higher and maybe pushed the shelf over just a hair but overall I think it turned out good.

Eventually I would like to get rid of that smaller dresser and then get a black shelf/printer stand for the left wall.  At that time we can center the desk more too.

 

Next was a smaller project next to the front door.

Then add some flair and Viola! (much better)

Blue Team Take 2

Tonight the girls had Tball again.

They were to pick a partner to play catch with.  As soon as they announced to pick a partner these two linked hands and then stood there the whole time they were being given their instructions.

They played catch with a partner and then at the end of the night got to run the bases.  Look at my little Hailey monster go!!

Let There Be Holes

I have been anxious to start decorating.   I have been purchasing things here and there since before we moved in and have yet to hang one thing.  I guess I am afraid that I will make a mistake and hate what I have chosen.  Maybe I am rushing it.  If I just waited until 'next season' I could see if the styles are going to change and then could get something really nice.  I keep thinking that maybe I should look at more stuff.  I haven't been to every store.  I have only skimmed some of the websites.

Am I suppose to match each room, should there be a theme?  Can one room have black accents and another room have brown?  How do I do this?  How do people make it look so easy?!

I started by making some brown bag templates of each of the items that I have to hang.  I saw on Pinterest that you should get a good idea of the size of the items to assure you have the right spacing, etc.  Brilliant!  So, I made some templates and started to lay stuff out on the floor.

Only trouble is.....I couldn't bring myself to do it.

While I was in the office trying to convince myself it would be ok I heard pounding from the other room.  I walked into the kitchen to see that Brian had wasted no time on his project.

We decided that there should be a TV above the door and during the build phase we put a cable jack there for that reason.  

Tonight it happened.  Yay Brian!

Mamahood is Tough

I walked into Hailey's room to wake her this morning and found her like this.

When she woke up I asked her what happened.

Hailey:  "My baby wanted to swing but I was soooo tired"

I love that she was so considerate of her baby that she took one for the team. 

Our New Reader

One of Hannah's favorite things to do lately is to sit on the front porch and read or color.  She is getting better and better at reading and can sound out almost any word (if she takes her time to actually do so).  She reminds me of myself with this- if she is in the mood she loves it and does really well.  If she isn't in the mood or someone tries to force her into reading words for them she is over it and doesn't try at all.  Although at other times she reminds me of her auntie Kari and can not get enough!  She will find herself so desperate to read something that I will catch her pulling things out of the pantry.  Boxes of crackers or cereal, peanut butter container...

Nearby Oasis

 Last night Elyse and Amy were talking about a new park that was near us.  Within walking distance even.  Mike and Chase were over tonight when we saw a group starting to make their way across the street so we joined in and within a few minutes had arrived to the park.  The Northwoods Park in Brooklyn Park has been around for a long time.  Recently the playground area has been reborn.

Everything is wheelchair accessible/ADA friendly.  Instead of sand, rocks, or wood chips under the playground equipment there is turf.

There are all of these little instrument things that the kids can play with.  You can reach them while sitting, standing or laying on the ground.

Large swings and tunnels to crawl through.

There are sun shades, picnic areas and restrooms.  Well done, Brooklyn Park, well done!

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Tonight we joined the neighbors for a bonfire at Elizabeth and John's.  As always it was a good time.

Most of the kids ran around the yards while Hailey and Grace choose to sit by the fire snuggling under a blanket.   I love being able to hang out with other families in our new neighborhood.  

It's nice being so close to home and becoming part of a community.

What the?!

Walked into work today and was greeted by this.

As much as I am looking forward to our new windows, it's gonna be a long few weeks.

It is finally starting to get nice outside.  The trees are finally starting to get leaves, the sun is finally starting to shine and now for the next month or so we will be invaded by this plastic barrier and the sound of jack hammers.  I guess it's only fair...it is construction season in Minnesota now and for the first time in years I don't have a road under construction during my commute to work.   I couldn't get off that easy. *sigh*

Another One Bites the Dust

Hannah has had a another loose tooth for a while now.  I almost forget because she isn't the type of kid to play with it all the time.  She doesn't try to gross us out by bending it forward or wiggling it too much.  She doesn't freak out about it until it's ready.

Tonight during supper she made a comment about how it hurt to bite down on food.   Then she showed us how wiggly it was and it was clear that this little guy was on his way out.

During supper we tried to pull it out a few times and each time as I tried to get a grip onto it she was wincing and acting as though it hurt so we would stop.

After supper we went back into the bathroom to try again.  This time when I went to grab it it fell right into my hand.  No pulling, no twisting, no blood, no tears.  Ok, well there were a few drops of blood and maybe a few nervous tears that turned into tears of relief and excitement but nothing much.

At the end of the night as she prepared for bed she asked if she could leave a note for the tooth fairy.

She placed the note and her tooth and then informed me that she was so excited to wake up because she just knew that the tooth fairy was going to leave her a Heath bar with some money.  

She couldn't wait!

I love having a wiggly tooth.  I love you.  Love, Hannah

 

The tooth fairy got the memo and delivered.  One king size Heath bar and one dollar.

Next up- the top tooth on her left side!

The girls also started Tball tonight.

This is Hannah's 2nd year (3rd round) and Hailey's first.  Thankfully they are on the same team so we can travel with one group as they practice.  This round is the instructional/skills round.  They will learn to throw, field, run bases, hit, etc.   They seemed to enjoy themselves but I have a feeling they are going to be bored with this in a few weeks.

6:04 am

Mornings are getting more and more difficult.

These poor girls need to wake up so early so that they can get to daycare early so I can still get to work at a decent time.

We wake them around 6/6:15 when I am done getting ready and then usually leave the house between 6:30 and 7:00.  

Lately it has been harder and harder to get them up.  They are obviously tired and not getting enough sleep and then when I do wake them they don't want to take any part in getting themselves dressed and ready to go.  For the past few months, I spend 20 minutes wrestling them, yelling, and sweating trying to get them up and ready to go.  I hate it.

I was at Target last night and decided to see how things would go if I got Hannah an alarm clock.  She's old enough to try it out.  She likes to be treated like she's growing up so maybe if I give her a little independence it would work in my favor.  Worth a shot at least.

When I got home and showed her what I had bought she was super excited.  She thought the idea to get herself up was a really good idea and she was ready.  So, we set the alarm for 6:04 am and then walked through how it would sound when it went off and how she could either hit the snooze button or turn the alarm off.  We set a goal of only hitting snooze one time and only if she really really needed to.  We picked out her clothes, I kissed her goodnight and then we waited.....

Her alarm went off today and instead of screaming from the surprise (which I honestly thought would happen) I heard a little girl making little noises in her room.  A few minutes later she came out dressed and ready to go.  OOH MY MG!  I LOVE THIS THING!!!

She had no problems and after we talked about how it went we agreed that we should keep this up.

All the moms

Tonight was the annual Mother's Day dinner at Jackie's.  It has been raining a lot so instead of having our party outdoors tonight we ended up staying in.

For the first time ever I was the first mom there and boy did I have a wonderful greeting!

The kids had heard a car door close and they had all ran over to the gate to see who it would be. As I got closer I could hear them discussing amongst themselves and then cheers and shrieks as I opened the door.  I always enjoy Jackie's Mother's Day meal.  It's nice to visit with the other moms for a while and even better to watch the kids interact with each other and Jackie.

Mama's Day

Brian's family came over last night after the recital to celebrate Mother's Day.  Again, so appreciative of my Mother-in-Law that is so flexible and understanding.  The girls and I went to grandma's to celebrate with my mom, grandma and sisters.  It was a nice relaxing afternoon just hanging out and catching up.  We don't get to visit with grandma enough and I know that she can't get enough of all of us either.

 

 When we got there we were greeted by Benji and his cone.  Well, he attempted to greet us.  Poor little guy had his eye removed this week due to an infection or pressure that was building behind his eye and causing a ton of pain.  He was already starting to go blind but now with only one eye and his ears covered with the cone he can't really tell where he is going.

He came to meet us but then just stood there facing the wall.  Grandma finally picked him up and he spent the rest of the day hanging out on her lap.