painting time

Today after school we had painting time!!

BBQ Night!

Tonight, we had an end-of-the-year BBQ at Mrs. Vagts' house! It was so much fun! The kids had a blast, and the grown ups had such a nice time just talking & relaxing! I am so going to miss seeing these people every day!!

This is a picture of Seth & Avery going for a sunset ATV ride!! Aren't they so cute??

Preparation for the week ahead...

I was under the impression that things were going to get less hectic after the holidays... I was soooo wrong!! I think that things just keep getting busier!! This is the first year that I have felt like this, so I am assuming that it is because Lauren is in school now & she keeps me busy. (You would think that with her gone 6 1/2 hours a day that I would have more time on my hands!!)

So, this week I have so much to plan for. Monday Girl Scouts, Tuesday Work all day & Swimming, Wednesday TAX lady, housework and packing for the weekend, Thursday Work all day, Friday leave for Coon Rapids!!

At our Girl Scout meeting on Monday, we will be having our Investiture Ceremony. This is a candle ceremony where the girls become official Daisies. We also will begin writing to our pen pals in South Carolina, and learning about them and their state. We will be getting ready for World Thinking day as well. We are going to be researching Ireland. We will make food, wear clothing (instead of traditional Irish dress, we will be dressing in the uniforms of the "Ladybird Guides" the Irish Girl Scouts!!) & learn and share all about Ireland. Ethan will be joining us too...

Here is a pic of the kiddo's relaxing watching a movie before bed tonight... aren't they sweet??

Daddy time

Daddy helping Lauren learn math in a workbook.

Daddy helping Ethan learn to be a man and tie his tie!!

Lazy Sunday

Today, we just hung out around the house. Brad was off, so hanging with daddy was a pretty cool idea!! Here is a pic of the kids with their new tatoos (thanks to dad!!)

Heat wave in Brainerd!!

Today was warm enough in Brainerd to finally come out of our igloo and bring the kids outside to play!! The temps hit 46 degrees!! We brought the kids to Gregory Park for some ice skating! A man who I work with at the YMCA was having a send off party for the Special Olympics!!

We were able to borrow skates at the rink for Lauren, and Ethan wore the double blade skates that Lauren used in the past. At first, Lauren was pretty timid, but as she kept on, she gained a lot of confidence!! Ethan did not need much help from us at all!! He actually did extremely well!! I have never seen a kid as little as him do so well!! The rink also has little PVC "trainers" that help the little ones to balance on the ice and Ethan really took to these well.

After the rink, we brought the kids to the High School for a little Sledding. The sun had just gone down and the wind really got cold, so 2-3 times down the hill and we were all looking forward to hot cocoa (not to mention dry clothes!!)

Visiting

We are visiting Coon Rapids this weekend and it feels so nice to be able to relax with friends!! Today, the kids and I were able to spend a good portion of the day with my best friend, Andrea. Lunch, shopping and yummy dessert from DQ were a perfect combo (even though it was below zero most of the day!!) After our all day excursion, we had the chance to just relax here at Grandma's house. In this picture, Lauren & Andrea (and Lauren's newest baby named Glowagail) were posing inside Lauren's creation, the "Tinkertoy Picture frame".

Boat

A trip to the cities had me running frantic to get the house in order after a crazy week!! Lauren had off of school today (teacher inservice), so my big helper stepped it up to keep me on track. While I was packing, Lauren kept Little Man busy. In this picture, they were playing in one of Ethan's most favorite toys, his blue tunnel. Ethan has named his toy simply "boat". Although we are not totally sure of the reason for this name, we think it may be because when it is all folded up, he likes to sit in it (kind of like sitting in a nest, or perhaps a boat??)

Wednesday in St. Cloud

Today, we had to bring Lauren in to the allergist in St. Cloud. She has been having a few more problems when it comes to her breathing, so we had to recheck her. She had a few breathing tests & we talked about triggers and where she is having problems (which is mainly during swimming and at night). Our appointment lasted over 2 1/2 hours!! Seeing that the Dr's office was also an hour away from our house and our appointment was so long, Brad & I decided that it was kind of silly to rush back to Brainerd and get her back to school in time for her to come home. So, we ended up spending the day in St. Cloud. Lauren and Ethan had received gift certificates to Toys R Us & Borders (which we don't have here in Brainerd), so I thought that I would let them use them up. Then we ended the day with a little break at the "PlayPlace" in the Crossroads mall.

Ethan chose "Tickle Me Extreme Cookie Monster" from Toys R Us. He lovingly calls him just plain "monster". He is still a little bit scared of him, but I think that he will be ok... We were really happy that he did finally pick this out, since we walked every single inch of the store & were there for about an hour...

Lauren found a bunch of books today at Borders. She bought a Planet Earth workbook set. It includes 4 workbooks & 4 sets of flashcards about land animals, water animals, air animals & earth geography. She also got a fantasy (long) chapter book called the king in the window. Lauren and I are going to try to chip away at this one at night and on the weekends. She also got Ethan a set of Baby Einstein Animal Discovery flash cards. What a nice sister!!

We also went into the "used" book store to see if they had any copies of Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince. I really want to read it to her, it would be such great "girl time". Plus it comes out this summer & we have seen all of the rest of the series!! Well, we could only find a hardcover copy there, so no such luck. However, I did find 3 other books for Lauren. Junie B. Jones is a series that is geared towards Lauren's age group, and I found a few books from that series for her. I also found a book called The Tail of Emily Windsnap. Hope this one's good too!!

Ready... Set... Sell!!

Today, Lauren, Ethan & I went to Lauren's Girl Scout Cookie Kickoff Party!! When we arrived, there was already a sea of Daisies and Brownies with a few Juniors scattered thru. We were congregated in the school cafeteria, and they had set up stations for the girls to visit. You hear the bell, you switch to the next station!! We sang songs and got our faces painted. We also made "thank you" cards for someone who the girls thought would buy cookies from them. Lauren made hers for Mrs. Vagts, her Kindergarten teacher.
They also got to sample the new cookie, the "Daisy Go Round" at the snack station. Now this, for me, was the scariest station of all. I did come prepared with a snack and a drink for Lauren & Ethan to have while the rest of them ate cookies, I always do. However, They chose to serve vanilla pudding along with the snack, so my nerves were on HIGH!! Lauren opted to sit at the end of the next table, so that she was not sitting directly next to anyone with pudding (her choice, not mine, but I was relieved when she did). Ok, we got thru this without incident. (You just don't know how scary it is to be in an environment that you can't control when your kids have severe food allergies. There is nothing scarier in the world to me.)
Next, we moved on to heads up 7up. The girls had a great time, but it was pretty funny(not many knew how to play, so let's just say that it was interesting...) Now, it was time to wait... We could not receive our paperwork until 9pm on the nose, so we waited & watched the clock for a while. It was nice to be able to sit & talk with some of the moms, I don't get that chance too often. Brad showed up at this time too, kind of a nice break for me & the kids (Ethan was sooo tired & bored out of his mind) so it was really nice to have Brad get there & want to play with him!! (Thanks Honey!!) So, after a looooong night, we finally got our cookie papers and we were on our way!! Sell, Sell, Sell!!

PS the close up of Lauren?? Yeah, she took that herself. It is her new obsession!!

Friends

There is nothing better than having a great day with a friend. Except when your kids are friends too!! Today, the kids and I went up north to a friends house and spent the day, and had a great time!!

Lauren and Hannah are "best friends forever" and they spent the day playing dress up, Barbies and making necklaces for each other! They also got to exchange Christmas gifts!! Lauren got a cool little build a bear (that they will do next time that they get together). Hannah got the game "Kerplunk" which the girls (attempted) to play for a bit. They put on many "performances" ranging from music to dancing. They had such a fun day!!

Ethan & Sammie spent the day trying to fit in to the "Big Girls" play. There was a bit of confusion when they were not invited, but it was all good.

Michelle & I spent the day being lazy (which felt really good!!) Lounging on the couches covered in big fluffy blankets!! We both really needed it!!

This picture is of the girls this summer as they played together at a park in Baxter!