Craft Time

Today while Charlie was napping and I was taking a shower, Olivia decided to have some craft time. This is what she made.

It is a family of caterpillars and just in case you are wondering why that yellow one is so much higher than the rest, that is a balloon that is flying above all of them :)

Look what Olivia can do :)

A couple of weeks ago Jesse took Olivia to his parents to teach her how to ride bike without training wheels. We have been working on it for quite some time now. I didn't realize how frustrating it can be until I actually tried it. Well...she did fantastic. Today was her first time riding without training wheels at our house and she did awesome!! She still needs a little help getting going, but once she is going she can go all the way to the stop sign by herself.

Charlie's New Tools

Charlie got his first tool set today. Well...I actually have had it for almost a year, but he is finally old enough to play with it :) He loves it and tries to fix everything (including us...we are working on that one). It is amazing how it just comes natural to those little boys!

Vacation Bible School

This week was Vacation Bible School at our Church. Olivia had so much fun being a "Rockstar".
A big thank you to Karla Z. (also our daycare provider) for taking the time to organize and make it all happen. Here are some pictures of the family night at the campfire.

Splash Pad with Talia and the Kids =)

Today I headed to the splash pad with kids and we brought along Talia!!

We had lots of fun :)

Date Night!!

On Saturday night, Jesse and I got the opportunity to go on a date night to the Twin's Game. We had so much fun. We were given the most amazing tickets. We were in the second row behind home plate with all the food you can eat and all you can drink. Needless to say, we took advantage of it. The Champion's Club is amazing. We felt like celebrities and of all nights to be there, it was the night that Bert Blylevin's jersey was retired. After the game we went to Roy Smalley's Bar and hung out with our good friend Steve. We ended up getting a really good deal on a hotel room, so we were able to stay down there too!! A big thank you to our friend Talia and Jesse's mom for watching the kids.

Before the game...

Entrance into the Champion's Club



Checking out the 1991 World Series Trophy


After amazing food like lamb (no I didn't eat that), beef, sea bass (nope...I didn't eat that either), gourmet salads, foods, steamed vegetables, pasta, I had to have a treat. I sort of felt like a rebel...for the first time in 8 months I feasted on sugar. After all, there was as much candy, ice cream, and dessert as we wanted.



Heading to our seats...

Behind us is an indoor batting cage for the players to practice in. This is just behind the Twin's Dugout.


My seats view of the dugout


Just in front of our seats


And the best part...we were so close to the players.
My favorite - Michael Cuddyer :)
Oh...and I guess I can include Joe Mauer too!!
These pictures were taken without the zoom!!


During the game we walked up to the Legend's Club. I have only been in there one other time and that was at the Twin's open house. This was the first time I was able to see some game action from up there.


Of course we couldn't leave the Plaza without a picture in the glove!!



This was an amazing night. We had such a great time and felt so lucky to be given these tickets. We will probably never be able to sit in these seats again, but so glad that we were able to experience it.

Charlie's First "Owie"

Today Olivia and I ran some errands while Jesse and Charlie stayed home. When I came home, Charlie looked like this...



He face planted into the rocks :(
I know Jesse felt really bad, and I was glad I didn't have to see him so sad. Of course now, he is back to his normal busy self. He just looks a little different.

Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!

Today Olivia received her very last Imagination Library book. A little bittersweet. This is one of my favorite books. I love Nancy Carlson and it is so fitting for five year olds. Every year at Kindergarten Round Up, I read this book to the preschoolers who are about to be in kindergarten. I read it to them once again on their first day of school. It is hard to believe that in just weeks Olivia will be entering a whole new chapter in her life.
She is so excited to join her friends at school everyday (and to be able to drop her brother off at daycare and go to work with mom)!! We are anxiously waiting for her letter from her teacher and to get her school supplies =)

Look Who Is Five!!

Today our little girl turned 5!! So hard to believe. On Friday, she got to have her very first friend birthday party. She had 3 friends over and had so much fun. It is hilarious listening to 4 and 5 year old girls...so much drama!!

We had a great time, here are some pictures



All four girls and Charlie


Grandma Ruth generously came over to help the girls decorate Watermelon cookies.



Olivia's pillow pet from Jesse and I. She also got a T.C. pillow pet from Grandma Ruth and Grandpa John. She is very excited to have both!!



Today we headed down to the Mall of America and then to the Waterpark of America. We had a great time. Charlie stayed with Troy and Pam and we took our nephew Owen along with us. We went to the American Girl store for Olivia today. She pooled together her birthday money and got herself an American Girl doll. She has been wanting one for a long long time and we would not spend the money on one, so we made a deal with her that if she wanted to get money from her Grandmas and Grandpas for her birthday, she could buy one herself. That is was she did...she was so excited. We also stopped at the Lego store for Owen. After that we headed to the waterpark which was a lot of fun, but we didn't bring a camera in so unfortunately I do not have pictures of that. The kids were great, but very tired on the way home.

Olivia picking out her doll


Owen and Olivia at the Lego store.


Here she is...Ruthie. Olivia couldn't wait to get her home and take her out of the box. She has lots of rules for her doll. Ruthie doesn't get to leave the house, she can't comb her hair, and she MUST keep it away from Jack.


Happy Birthday Olivia...we love you!!

I did It!!

Normally I do not post things about myself, but today I am going to. 8 months ago I decided to make a life changing decision and stop eating sugar (thanks to the help of some co-workers who encouraged me to do it with them). For those of you that know me, this was very difficult. I have never stuck to any kind of diet and I LOVED sweets. Now that we are done having kids, I was ready to make a change. The first couple of months it was low carb, high protein and lots of green vegetables. I even started eating healthy things like hummus. I remember when my college roommate tried getting me to eat hummus and I thought she was crazy, but now I actually love it :) Slowly I added a few more carbs. The first time I had any sugar, was a couple of days after my appendix surgery. So many generous people were bringing meals and sweets for us that I had to just have a taste. I went over 4 months without anything. I now fudge every now and then, but rarely eat sugar and honestly don't crave it anymore.

After losing over 35 pounds, I decided that I was going to set a goal of running a 5K race. I started training a little over a month ago. Running every other day and following the "Couch to 5K program" iPod app (which totally Rocks by the way and I highly recommend it). Well, yesterday I completed my first 5K run. Which was one week earlier than my original goal date. I was slow...I ran it in a little over 33 minutes, but I didn't stop. I ran the whole way. Jesse also ran the race, and of course was WAY faster than me. He ran it in just a little over 20 minutes. He did a great job and once again placed 2nd in his age group. Olivia ran the kids race and she loved it too. This was her second race of the year and she says that she wants to continue.


So here we are approaching the finish line...





We both feel great now that we have started making healthier decisions
We are hoping to continue running and do a few races a year and hopefully in about 2 years Charlie can start running with us =)

Fun Pics from Donn and Pat's Cabin

Every year we look forward to the Fourth of July weekend at my aunt and uncle's cabin. It has become a family tradition. We have great food, including Uncle Donn's Amazing Walleye. Then usually get in a little swimming, then drinks and music on the patio.

Family Picture after a long day of fun :)


Olivia and Dad hanging out on the dock


Here is Uncle Donn, My step-dad Kevin and Charlie getting into karaoke.


Of Course Grandma joins in the fun.


And I could never forget the annual picture of grandma enjoying a cocktail on the patio. That she always asks for "just a little in there" and yet always takes what she gets ;0)


So hard getting both kids to look at the same time.


Such a daddy's girl...


Uncle Donn opening with "Ring of Fire."


Katy and Charlie. Great Picture of Katy, Charlie of course was too busy moving as usual.


Grandma and Charlie...he was so tired.


He loves looking out windows :)


Jesse likes doing crazy things


Our little camera girl


And swimming...Mel and Olivia had a great time in the water. It is the best place to go swimming. The water is so shallow. Perfect for little kids.


Charlie also LOVES water