Our FUN Weekend!!

This last weekend we went to Crosby to Andy's sisters house. Her husband is working in Iraq and won't be home until July(ish) so we went to hang out with them and help with yard work. Danny, Andrea and Mya came too and so we all just had a blast!! Here are a ton of pictures of our fun weekend!
We all got there Friday night and brought pizza's. It was a fun night of American Idol Wii and hanging out. Danny and Andy singing and dancing is a sight to see!! So funny!

Saturday morning Andy and Danny woke up early and went to St. Cloud to look at a car for Andy. I didn't really think they'd get it (Andy had been so back and forth on cars) but they traded his car in and came home with this.
2007 Mitsubishi Galant. VERY nice car! We really like it!!


Then we all got busy and started doing wood. Andy and Danny chopped it and us girls loaded, unloaded and stacked it. Then we built a brush pile to be burned but it was too dry to start fires. The following pictures are from Sunday. We got up and started the yard work again. More chopping and stacking wood. Then we built another brush pile. This one was more out in the open and it had drizzled a bit that morning so it was kinda wet. So Danny and Kim got the brush pile roaring (took a bit and Danny almost started on fire ;) but it got going!!).

One really strong, brave, amazing woman!

Jared is seriously the nicest kid! Worked hard with us!

We had such a good time together. The kids all played so nicely together and had so much fun. Eric and Alex didn't want to leave and talk about going to Kim's everyday! They play so hard and just have so much fun there.

Look at those two! So beautiful!

Katelynn! She is so beautiful!!

Saturday night we got all cleaned up and had a girls night. Andy and Danny were kind enough to watch all the kids so the girls (big girls) could go to a movie. We went to Brainerd and saw 17 Again. We all now have crushes on Zac Efron. So cute! It was a really good movie!! Then we went shopping for Sunday dinner stuff. It was just a really fun night giggling with the girls! Thanks Andy and Danny!! :)

Sorry Katelynn and Kim!! I'm not good at taking pics. in the car!

Sunday after we finished outside we had a so so yummy ham dinner. Ham, funeral potatoes, pink salad, green bean casserole, watermelon, and rolls. YUM!!

I cannot wait for Becki, Ryan, Klous and Aysha to come!! We are all going to have SO much fun! Can you imagine Becki, Andy and Danny all together?!?!? Always so much fun and lots of giggles! Wish we could ALL be together. Maybe at Christmas?!?!?




Just a couple pictures of Ryleigh. She has a new interest...getting into everything on the bottom of the bookshelf! She entertains herself for long periods of time and thinks she is so big!! She isn't happy until she pulls the diapers off. So cute!

Venting!!

So I just turned off my workout video... AGAIN. I start it, get 2-3 minutes into it, and shut it off. I used to LOVE to workout...mostly I loved not being soft...but I loved the workout. I decided today is the day to get started on getting skinny! I started warming up but Andy was here and I cannot work out with him watching so I decided to wait until he left. He left and I started again. But then Ryleigh had to have a nap. So I put her down and started the video. Then I remembered I had to put a load of laundry in the dryer and start another one. I ran down and did that but then the load I pulled out of the dryer to put the other one in had to be folded. I HATE wrinkles so it couldn't wait. I folded them and started again with the video. But then I had ZERO desire to workout with Denise Austin. I can't breathe, it hurts, and I can hear the kids upstairs destroying their rooms. I cannot concentrate and therefore...the video has been shut off again. Maybe I'll try the treadmill...I wish I had a workout partner. Maybe that would make it easier?!?!? Or maybe I just need to get up really early before the kids are up and my mind can be only on working out. Why does losing weight have to be so hard?!?!??! Why did I even let myself get to this point?!?!?!?
SO FRUSTRATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eric's Birthday!

We cannot believe it!! We have a 5 year old!!! How crazy is that?? Eric turned 5 yesterday! He keeps saying that he's not 5 because he isn't bigger. I really think he thought he was going to be all grown up when he turned 5!! He is so funny. We started the day by having his birthday breakfast request...french toast. (Andrea, I've been so hungry for that since church on Sunday! Smelled so yummy!) Then we just kinda hung out at home. Had his birthday lunch request...Mac and Cheese and baked beans! Then we got ready and went to buy balloons. He HAD to have balloons! He really wanted to have a party with friends and family but didn't tell me that until the day of so...maybe next year! He wanted to go to the playground and play and then out to eat so that's how we celebrated. We came back and had cake and opened presents. I think we all had fun and he was so excited with his Lincoln Logs he got and water balloons! He also loves his Frisbee but that needs to be a park thing I think! I had to run all the way down the block to retrieve it today. He threw it and then it rolled and rolled and rolled and kept on rolling down the street! WHEW! Gave mommy a good workout!
Castle Playground

Ryleigh watching everyone else play

Lovin it up for the camera!

Such a fun playground. I didn't know about this one!

Taco Johns. Yes, Ryleigh is eating the napkin!

Ryleigh was so fascinated with the table edge!

So excited to get his Lincoln Logs!

SO handsome!!

Happy Birthday to the BEST 5 year old in the world!!

I'm a little behind on my blogging but here are a few pictures of our FUN Easter weekend! We went to Danny and Andrea's for a nice long weekend! I'm bummed I didn't take more pictures of our weekend. The kids had so much fun roaming Danny and Andrea's LARGE house, their LARGE backyard and playing at the playground right across the street from their house! We spent a lot of time at Andrea's parents house and had a blast there!! They also have LARGE everything!! So the kids had so much fun!! Andrea's parents were so kind and good to us and our kids! Made us feel right at home. Alex just fell in love with her Dad, Doug. He was so super to her! She is usually so so so shy but made best friends with him instantly. These pictures are mostly of Easter morning. The whole weekend was amazing and it was so good to spend time with Danny, Andrea, Mya and Jax!!
Easter or Christmas?? They love their toys though!

Look at how long she looks reaching for her book!

Loving her Easter presents! (She got some sun the day before.)

CANDY + TOYS = ONE HAPPY ALEX!

Found his Easter basket!

Easter Egg hunt!!

Danny with his son and daughter! So cute!!

Sweet little family! Danny, Andrea and Mya

So funny story: We went to Andrea's church on Sunday. In our church they pass around bread and water in what we call Sacrament, each of us partaking of it. So we are sitting in her church and they have a collection plate type of thing going around. It passes across Eric to me and I pass it off...Eric calls out (not super loudly but loud enough that me and anyone close by could hear) "Hey! I didn't get some of that!!" What was the plan Eric?? Help ourselves to money?!? Wouldn't that be nice?!?!?! :)

One CLASSY Family!!

I'm sure our neighbors think we are rednecks as my children feel the need to escape outside without my knowledge every once in a while now that its getting nicer outside. Nicer, not WARM...just a bit nicer than it has been. Alex can be found outside coatless, pantless and shoeless all at the same time and I just caught Eric yesterday taking his shirt off as if it were 90 degrees outside! We still have snow on the ground!!
So here are some pictures to show how truly classy we are!!

What on earth happened?? Was he burping Ryleigh and she got him good??
Haha no, that's not what happened at all! I was being very immature...getting lots of laughs from the kids... copying everything he said one night while I was feeding Ryleigh her cereal. I was sitting on our exercise ball (the only action that thing sees!!) feeding her and Andy was sitting on the floor. He thought a good retaliation would be to kick the ball out from under me. I went flying to the floor, landed on my butt and HE ENDED UP WEARING THE CEREAL!! haha Joke is on HIM!! I got a tiny little bit on me but as you can see it mostly landed on him! Funniest thing ever!!
Poor ball! That's about how much landed on me too!!

Maybe it's time to take 'em to dat der dentist??

THIS NEXT ONE IS FOR MY SISTER LISA!! She knows Alex so well and will appreciate this and love Alex even more!!

We were coloring Easter eggs...what on earth is on her chin??? Is that a...piece of a... shell??

That's right! NOTHING can stop her!!

So gross! It was pretty nasty hearing her chomp that shell. I tried to get it all out of her mouth but I think there were MANY tiny little pieces!!

Ryleigh wanting in on the fun!

There would have been more but mammoth mommy enjoyed a couple of them!! See the scared look on the pink ones face? I was eyeing him next!! Eric even tried eating one!! He feels pretty left out that he never gets to eat eggs so I let him try some. His eyes didn't swell shut!! He didn't have a reaction at all!! (He didn't have the yolks though. So...hard to tell...maybe they were just cooked long enough??)

Watch out little pink one...breakfast is coming soon!

The Journey To The Ocean Has begun...

Well...the dreaded day came sooner than we expected...

We had to send Tank Marlin (Eric's fish) down the toilet so he can swim in the river and eventually ~hopefully~ he'll find the ocean. Eric was pretty bummed but he said his goodbye and wanted to flush him himself. He was very brave... but then got pretty sad that he flushed his fish down the toilet. ...Then he went back to watching his movie! He got over it pretty quickly!! I'm glad its a pet he wasn't able to hold and love so he didn't get too attached. He wants a new one so we'll get probably keep up with this fish thing. Hopefully they don't all die that fast though! That could get to be a real waste of money! His fish was always funny acting so I don't know if it had something wrong with it to begin with?? I would put the food in there and it wouldn't eat...the other one gobbles his up no problem and is a fun active fish. Eric's was mellow and I don't know...just kinda funny acting??? How are fish supposed to act though?!?!?!? His was just different than Alex's. I'm kinda glad it happened to Eric's first...that way if (when) it happens to Alex's she knows that its ok. I think she would have been a lot more sad had hers died first. Now she saw that Eric didn't cry and that fish like to swim to the ocean! I don't think I could handle it if they started crying. That would break my heart!! I remember my mom crying with us when our pets died. We would get so attached to animals and then cry and cry and cry when they died. I don't think my mom would've ever cried because a calf or chicken or especially a stray cat died but I always knew she was crying because we were so sad!!...she was such a good mom! (still is!!)

Have a good swim Tank Marlin!!

I need a break from cleaning house. I've been working on this house ALL day and am exhausted. I'm just going to blog about nothing interesting to anyone reading this. This is just me wasting time!
With watching General Conference in the comfort of our home yesterday I didn't feel the need to get all prettied up...I didn't shower. And last week I tore the bedrooms apart switching them all around but never completely finished the project so that's what I've spent all day today doing. I didn't take the time to get all prettied up just to get all sweaty and gross...I didn't shower. Now I'm still going through puberty so if I don't shower EVERY day I look like I haven't showered in a month. LOVE PUBERTY!! So I'm lookin real HOT right now!! With my big project today of finishing the switching of 3 bedrooms (clothes, books, toys, beds etc...) and rearranging the living room our house looks like it got hit by a tornado. The first tornado (me) hit the house pretty hard doing lots of damage. But then 2 more little tornado's (Eric and Alex) followed behind the first one and hit over and over again the damage made by the first one. Seriously, it's like they've never seen their toys before! I'm so frustrated at making ZERO progress with these little angels following behind me making mess after mess. So I asked Andy to take them out. He's taking them shopping and out to eat. (I'm fine that they are being rewarded for being so naughty...as long as they are out of my hair for a little bit!) And so here I sit on the computer while I could be using this time to finish up. I should shower...I feel so gross. But I have way too much left to do. Showering now would be pointless. I have a feeling this project might take all week. We'll just call it spring cleaning. I'll definitely have to shower before tomorrow... someone is bound to come knocking on my door and I wouldn't want to start rumors of me being on my death bed. (Yes, I look that awful!) And I'm sure I'll end up having to go out of this house at some point! Some days I just don't love being a girl... Guys can put on a hat and it's all good.
Eric said the funniest thing to me before they left. Maybe I just thought it was funny because I'm so tired??
He was getting ready to go and kept asking where they were going and Andy wouldn't tell him. He was guessing with me and I wouldn't tell him so then we were upstairs and I noticed he was wearing this ugly blue necklace he got at a parade last summer.

Me: Eric take that necklace off. You can't go out in public wearing that thing.

Eric: OH!! THAT'S where we're going! - IN PUBLIC!! DADDY! I KNOW WHERE WE ARE GOING!!! -IN PUBLIC!!!!

Smart little guy! I wish I were 5 again! Life is so simple!

....BLAH....BACK TO WORK....

The Attack of Ryleigh Girl!!

I've always known Ryleigh is a long baby (maybe because they tell us at each of her checkups that she is off the charts) but I REALLY noticed it the other morning when the kids wanted to hold her. I'm kinda sad at how big she is already. She's moving all over the place, eating cereal and holding her own bottle. She just seems so much bigger than the other kids did at 6 months. Seeing how big she is while the kids were holding her made me want to compare them all. So they all got down next to each other on the floor and I measured them. Eric is 3 ft 8 inches (44 lbs), Alex is 3 ft 1 inch (30 lbs), and Ryleigh is 2 ft 4 inches (14 lbs 12 oz). Then I put their info into this chart on the computer to see where they are compared to other kids. Percentile- Eric is 72nd for weight and 71st for height. Alex is 49th in weight and 59th in height. And Ryleigh is 9th for weight and greater than 97th for height. HOLY CRUD! She IS long!

Ryleigh can't be next to the kids without attacking them! If they are on the floor she is doing everything in her power to get them. She especially loves picking on Eric...I think because he is so sweet and easy going with her. Alex tends to get mad. :) If he is sitting next us on the couch she reaches trying to get him...usually his ears or hair! We went to a movie last night and with the theatre being so dark I don't think she even knew he was there. But then Andy handed her to me and Eric was sitting next to me. Once she spotted him I knew she had! She got all excited kicking her legs and then practically lunges her body towards him reaching for his hair. It was so funny! She just adores him! I couldn't get her to leave Eric alone so I could measure him... I ended up measuring him standing up!

See how she uses her legs to attack him?!?!

"Lets see how Alex will react if I attack her!!!"