caitlins 4th bday

Well, our little princess turned 4 yrs. old on June 23rd. It seemed to have snuck up on me this year and so the day before I asked a couple of her best friends if they could come over the next day for lunch and cake. She only wanted girls this year so it worked out perfectly to do it on her actual bday and have lunch. Luckily everyone was available. I made a cake the night before. I also took her out the night before to get her ears pierced and to get a new bike.

Caitlin makes us laugh everyday. She has a very strong personality and knows exactly what she wants in life. I don't worry about her too much. She has brought such joy and laughter to our family and we can't imagine our family without her. We love you so much little princess!!!!

MN trip-May 2010

tire swings were a hit!!!

feeding the geese in fergus falls where my parents live.

visiting the huge pelican

down by the lake with cousin Peter

Paul Bunyan and Babe in Bemidji where one of my sisters live.

grandma and caitlin at the science center

cameron loved the snakes at the science center but Kris was very intent on us not bringing it home with us.

some of the cousins that were able to go to Itasca with us.

crossing the mississipi headwaters

this dog will play fetch until he collapses.

smores by the bonfire

this kept caitlin entertained the entire plane ride

The kids and I took a trip to Mn to see my side of the family. I have not been back there in over 5 years(Cody was a baby). Cameron was the only one who has flown before so I was a little nervous taking the 3 of them on the plane by myself but they all did so good. One man told me that the kids were really good on the plane but my little girl sure talks a lot; it was non-stop talking on a non-stop flight. We were there for 9 days and seemed like we packed a lot into those days. We had a bonfire, went to Itasca and walked across the mississippi headwaters, visited my other sister on Tuesday and Wednesday and went to the science center where she works(Camerons favorite thing). We went to my parents house on Thursday so the kids could see where they live and play on the tire swing. It was a busy few days helping my sister get ready for a graduation party at her house for 2 of their sons who graduated this year. My brothers daughter also graduated so there were lots of parties over the weekend. Memorial day was spent back at my parents house again, the kids were fascinated with the creek and also a turtle who was laying eggs. We had so much fun running around and visiting family and watching the kids experience grass,trees that could be climbed, so many lakes, frogs, woodticks, deer, a bear cub and even poison ivy. I sure hope to get back there before another 5 years pass by. I hope to get pictures posted but my camera is acting up:(

5K

So, a friend of mine had a flyer on her fridge about an upcoming 5K for her daughters school. I asked her if she was going to participate in it and she said she was thinking about it and I told her I would do it with her. Neither of us has run in a VERY long time and this run was to take place the following weekend. We only did one 3 mile run/walk the next day. The day of the race which was yesterday was a little cold in the morning so we had lots of layers on. I know this isn't very far but if you aren't used to running it is VERY far. I did manage to run almost the entire thing but I did walk for about 1/2 mile. It was a fun time though and I would love to try and do more of them. It will be a good motivator to try and beat my time-shouldn't be to hard it was not good at all. We had somebody take a pic of us but unfortunately I didn't check my camera to see how it turned out and I think she had pushed the power button and turned it off instead of taking a picture. There is an upcoming 1 mile in March that I want to do w/ Cameron. He is excited to try and do it.

christmas 2009

christmas Eve we went over to friends house for an appetizer party. We had a great time and it is fun to be able to spend the holidays w/ friends when you don't have family in town. We are fortunate to have such great friends down here.

The kiddos on christmas Eve.Poor Cody is wearing a "christmas sweater" but isn't he cute.

Cameron on Christmas morning, looking to see what Santa brought. Caitlin got the baby she wanted.

We had a great christmas and feel so blessed to have a healthy and happy family!!!

New Years Eve

Kris and I had a few friends over for New Years Eve. We had a good time but it was pretty laid back and the last of our guests left around 11.

Some of the kiddos calming down w/ a movie.

Here is who was left and awake in our house at midnight. Cameron was so excited to be awake for the New Year and it was fun that he spent it with us. Cody is conked out on our lap and Caitlin is on the floor in this pic.

Santa visits ballet

Santa came to visit the kids at the ballet class; Caitlin was terrified when he started talking and was screaming. She did love her gift from Ms. Lisa though. Isn't the crown super cute. My little ballet princess:)

He gave candy canes to all the other kids.

This was the look from Caitlin and the other girl when they saw Santa.

Cody's fight w/ a display stand at Fry's

This picture is a little blury; the bleeding has finally stopped. We were at Fry's and apparently Cody jumped on Cameron and he fell backwards and hit his head on a display shelf. I was holding him and I didn't realize it was anything more than a bump. One of the pharmacy workers came over and told me that he was bleeding and I realized my hands were full of blood-a little scary. They called 911 and the EMT's came and bandaged him up. They said that because the bleeding had slowed down, even if they transport him to the ER they would've sent him to Urgent Care for stitches so I decided to drive him to urgent care myself. All of the kids were crying because they were scared. Kris was called by somebody but didn't give him any information other than the impression that Cameron and Caitlin were at Fry's alone because I had to go w/ Cody in the ambulance. He made it to the urgent care before I did-lucky he didn't get a ticket on the way. Our good friend met me at Fry's and took Caitlin. I am so greatful to have people to call in an emergency. Cody ended up getting 5 staples in his head which need to stay in for 8 days. We have a friend w/ a staple remover so at least he shouldn't need to go back there to have them removed. No anesthetic and he did so well, he cried but took it like a champ. Cameron took this pic in the car on the way there.

why is there a baby in my shirt?

So, Cody was looking at a picture of when Cameron was a baby. Kris, Cameron and I were sitting on a quad and I was very pregnant w/ Cody. Cody asked if the baby in the picture was him and I said "no, it is Cameron, you are in my belly" Cody says "what, why would you just shove my whole body into your shirt to hide me, that is so weird?" He is a very funny boy:)

ELF on a SHELF

My friend has used the Elf on a Shelf with her kids for a couple of years now and she loves it. She bought it for us last year so I was excited to get it out and start this new tradition w/ my kids. Last night I took the little elf out of his home in a box and set him up on the shelf. Nobody seemed to notice it all day so after baths and dinner tonight I told the kids I had a surprise for them. I told them it had been sitting there all day and Cameron was surprised that he hadn't seen it. He asked Cody and Cody said "yeah, I saw him just sitting there doing nothing all day" They were very excited, so we sat down and read the story about this little elf and how he is Santas helper and he flies back to Santa every night to report on the kids behavior and any wishes that they may have. You get to pick a name for your elf and the kids chose "Scooby". You are not allowed to touch him and every morning he will be in a new location. So here is where the story gets funny. I opened up the book to the first page and right away Cody says "this looks like a very boring story"Cameron was interested though. So we read the story and half way through Cody says " he is not going to fly to Santa, he is just a fake doll sitting on our counter" So I finally make it to the end of the story and Cameron is about to talk to Scooby and he says "mom he is so not a real elf, he has a tag coming out of his butt" After I finished laughing so hard and wipe the tears from my face I try to explain to him that maybe he puts his pants on inside out like Cody and Caitlin sometimes. Well, I am not sure if they really believe in this friendly little elf named Scooby but hopefully they will at least pretend to in order to start a fun tradition. Cameron has already told Scooby that he wishes for a hotwheel toy.

camerons 7th bday

Cameron turned 7 years old on Thursday. It was a very busy day. I was at the school that morning and than I told him I would surprise him w/ lunch at school. He kept asking what kind of sandwich I was going to make him and if I would put a treat in his lunch. My plan was to go to McDonalds and bring him a happy meal. Unfortunately, they eat lunch at 10:45 and I went through the drive-thru at 10:15 and they wouldn't make me lunch yet so I had to back out of the drive-thru and I ran to Subway which is actually his favorite anyways. He was so excited when Caitlin and I showed up to have lunch w/ him. They allow the kids to sit outside if they have a parent w/ them. It was a quick lunch but I am so happy that we got to spend it w/ him. Later that day he was able to share cupcakes w/ the class that I had brought in. I forgot my camera in the car but there were many blue faces and Cameron gave me a big blue kiss. It got a good laugh out of all the kids. I am so proud of Cameron, he is such an amazing and kind boy. People are always telling me how sweet he is. The time has gone by so fast but I look forward to watching him grow even more. I love you little man!!!

cody's field trip to the pumpkin patch

Cody's preschool class took there first field trip to the Agua Linda Farm to go pumpkin picking. The kids seemed to run nonstop, I wished we had more land so the kids could just run like this all day, they had so much fun.I am so greatful that I have the opportunity to go to these special things w/ my kids. the boys spent so much time running through this corn maze......... and going up and down this mountain of hay bales

after searching forever and going to the end of the pumpkin patch, we managed to scrounge up a couple of OK looking pumpkins

Cody ran through the whole patch yelling back at us that we are wasting time.

Caitlin finally realized the maze looked fun and ran for a little bit

There was a little petting zoo and the kids had fun chasing the goats.

They had a lot of tire swings and they were, of course, a big hit. I think Cody tried out every one of them.

We went on a hay ride. Caitlin didn't want to get on and screamed but she did manage to calm down once she realized it wasn't scary. I wish I could've found a pumpkin as cute as this one. Maybe we'll have better luck in Wilcox.