Birthday Eights

Today, Christy turned eight years old! Even though we aren't having the party until next week, we still had a fun day celebrating at home! I cooked all of her favorite meals (for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner), and she opened a few of her gifts. She loved everything that she got, and she had plenty of time today to enjoy her new "toys".

The highlight of the day was when we all worked together to make the birthday cake! Christy drew up the plans for the design (literally, on a piece of paper), Becca mixed the batter, and I put the cake into the oven. After icing it with white icing, I attempted to follow her design as accurately as possible. If you look carefully, you'll notice a definite theme (eights everywhere!). And, for those of you who might think otherwise, those tadpole looking things on the sides are actually supposed to be balloons!

Sticky Situation

I made a dessert, and Sam just happened to reach a bowl with a little bit of it left on the bottom. He was so hilarious, walking around the living room with the bowl covering his face as he attempted to lick every last bit out of it! Of course, we didn't think to take a picture until he was almost done. So, here he is, on my lap, finishing it off.

Texas!

We drove down to Texas last week to visit my parents and family! It was a very long drive (about 20 hours), but it was worth it! We had a great time with the family, and the weather was fantastic! The temperature when we left Minnesota was -9, and when we arrived in Texas it was about 80! The daytime highs ranged from 60 to 88, and the nights were cooler at about 30. One night, a cold front blew in, and the wind blew so hard all night that I could hardly sleep. But, it made for some good fishing weather the next day, and everyone caught some fish (except for me). The kids loved all of the sunshine and fresh air, and they were outside most of the day, every day. Some of us came back sporting a Texas tan, and others of us...just a sunburn. We all had a great time, and made many memories!

Cowgirl Christy enjoying the wild West Texas wind!


Holding hands by the duck pond...


Sam was surprised and delighted by all of the fun toys in the garage!


Who can resist that smile?!


The only incident of "road rage" we experienced was in the garage! ;-)


Doesn't Becca make the "Mud Warrior" look cute?


The 4-Wheeler was a hit!


Sam preferred the larger bouncers over the toddler-sized ones.


He did pretty good at staying on his feet!


Christy loved the Jumping Party!


Isn't Sam cute in his hunting hat?


Christy enjoyed spending time with her Grandpa!


On the last day of our trip, we were blessed by a glorious West Texas sunset!

Bathtub Ball

They say that time flies when you're having fun, so I must have had a lot of fun lately! I can't believe it has been almost two weeks since my last post! I will try to do better in the future. We are leaving on Monday for a trip to Texas, so I should be able to take some interesting pictures to blog about while we're there (or when we get back).

Here is a cute video clip of Sam playing "Bathtub Ball"! He keeps asking Eric to get the ball out of the tub, but since Eric is recording the video, he can't. Sam gets a little bit frustrated, but it's still cute!

Ice Skating

We had a great time today ice skating at Centennial Lakes Park! It was a perfect day for enjoying an outdoor activity! The temperature was in the 30's, and there was absolutely no wind. I was surprised that Becca seemed to do better at staying up than Christy! They both had a lot of fun, and I think their Dad did, too! Sam kept Mom company, and we just strolled around the park, enjoying the lovely winter landscape. Maybe next year we'll try him on the ice!

Saturday Snow Forts!

You'll never believe it, but it got up to 40 degrees today! The snow was perfect for making snow forts, so Eric and the girls brushed up on their architectural skills and went at it.

Here is Christy holding up a frozen "acorn" since they were in "Squirrel Ice Kingdom".


Here is a view from outside the "Castle". As you can see, the sun was really bright today!


Here is Becca trying to figure out what Christy was building...it turned out to be an ice shelf to hold the frozen "acorns".

Field Trip

Friday, we took all the kids to the Mall of America and Underwater Adventures! It was a great day, and we all had so much fun! We learned quite a bit of interesting information about marine life, and the girls even got to "pet" sharks and manta rays! We tried to contain Sam in his stroller most of the time, but we gave up about half-way through. He wanted to get out and join in on the fun! When we left, he zonked out in the van, and even stayed asleep when we transferred him to his bed at home.


Our children are true treasures!


Here is another treasure!


We all enjoyed the "Minnesota Trail" environment before the aquarium.


Becca always looks so sweet! :-)


Sam was pretty impressed with the play area!