A busy, fun weekend!

Claire and I spent Friday night sleeping with the animals at the Zoo Snooze at the Duluth zoo. We enjoyed the wild, fun night with her girl scout troop. We slept at the zoo and went on a hike at midnight observing the animals in the dark. We couldn't bring flashlights so all I concentrated on was trying not to trip and fall. Thankfully, we all survived the night!
Brett took Charlie and Greta to the Children's museum while I had a mom day with Claire. They loved petting the snake, playing with the bubbles and singing along with Shrek. It was a fun day spent with daddy!!!!
On Sunday while Brett was at the museum, Claire and I had the wonderful opportunity to see the Phantom of the Opera play at the Orpheum. Claire has loved this play since she was four years old (I know, so cultured for her age!). I took Brett to see the play when I was pregnant with Charlie and Claire fell in love with the music from the soundtrack. When the movie came to theaters a few years back, Claire insisted that she see it. She loved the movie and it is still one of her favorites! I always promised her that I would take her when the play came back to Minnesota. She was quick to point out the commercials for the play on TV, but I played dumb by telling her the tickets were too expensive. OK, I told a little fib, but I wanted the day to be a surprise!! She was so surprised when Brett dropped us off in front of the Orpheum under the marquis that read "The Phantom of the Opera". She squealed in delight and now she new why she had to wear a dress to the "museum" when Greta and Charlie did not. The show was awesome and Claire loved it! What a wonderfully crazy weekend!

The need for speed....

Charlie has officially found his new passion, BMX bike racing. I signed Charlie up for a class through community ed to allow him the opportunity to do something all by himself that was totally boy stuff and outside. He loved it; he loved catching some air on the hills, racing the other children and even crashing. He believes he looked "awesome" in his racing helmet. He enjoyed it so much, we plan to take him back for more. I guess I should be thankful that I am a nurse who will be prepared to bandage the wounds, bumps, cuts and bruises from future crashes and falls. As long as he has his cute little face protected, I think mom will be to handle his new past time.

A rainy night, spiderman and a ballerina

With rainy nights comes boredom for some people, but for Charlie and Greta, it lights their creative minds. First, Charlie dressed up as batman and Greta dressed as a ballerina. Batman saved the ballerina from the haunted island (couch cushions in a heap on the floor) and challenged her to a game of basketball. The laundry basket became the hoop and the plastic ball became the basketball. The ballerina, with her independent spirit, won by default when she stole the basket and ran away. I wish I could find that much fun in a laundry basket!!!

Piano recital

Along with dancing, Claire also takes piano lessons. While she admits she HATES to practice her piano, she is always very proud of her progression on the piano at the end of each year. We enjoy watching her play during her recitals and listening to her practice throughout the year!!

End of the Year Fun

Charlie officially finished his first year of preschool. To kick off the end of the year festivities, Charlie's class went on a fieldtrip to a farm. It is amazing how exciting children find simple things like farm animals, tractors, dirt, and eating lunch outside in the grass. Brett and Greta accompanied Charlie on his fieldtrip, they all had a blast!!!

A blustery day....for running

We spent our saturday morning enjoying the sunshine, wind and cold at the Sartell 5K My way event. I ran the 5K with a horrible head and chest cold with my almost 5 month pregnant sister, we were quite a pair! Despite our challenges and the 30 mph wind gusts, I somehow managed to beat my personal best time which made me very excited! Our official time was 28:37 (despite what was posted for results, they messed up everyone's times because the papers were blown by the wind!). Many of our friends also participated in the race which made the day even more fun! Greta ran her first 1K with daddy, Claire and Charlie. She had so much fun and ran the whole time! She even managed to grab the hand of the Sartell Lion and finished the race hand in hand with daddy and the Lion. That's my Greta!! Claire and Charlie ran their little hearts out, both finishing the race toward the head of the pack. Charlie's hair flew in the wind because he will not allow mom to cut it because his teacher "likes it this way". I guess he is trying to impress the ladies at a young age. Claire was excited about winning prizes after the event but very upset when her little sister broke her new umbrella. Never a dull moment here. What a fun way to spend a Saturday morning!

Best of buddies

Charlie and I enjoyed his end of the year preschool festivities including a "mother's tea". All the moms and preschoolers get together spending the evening playing, eating, having fun and doing crafts. Charlie was so excited to get to sit next to his friend Jackson and eat dinner. They are the best of buddies and tackle each other every time they see one another. I enjoyed my evening with Charlie and his friends. Many playdates for the summer were planned by the end of the evening.

Following in big sister's footprints....

Greta adores her big sister Claire. Greta loves to watch Claire dance and loves dancing along with the music even more than Claire. Greta and mom enjoyed dancing in a "mommy and me" class this spring. Greta loved every minute of it! She listened to every instruction her teacher would give her and danced liked she was the center of a show. She loved her pink leotards and ballet shoes. Mom had just as much fun as Greta. She is going to be my little girly girl. The photo for this blog entry is courtesy of a very proud big sister named Claire!

We go together.......

Claire had her last dance show of the season last weekend. She was perfect, as usual! I had the wonderful opportunity to watch Claire dance with her dad. Brett was a good sport and signed up for the father/daughter dance with Claire. The dance was a spin on the movie "Grease", pink poodle skirts, pony tails and all. Claire and Brett were a perfect match as Claire flew through the air and Brett jumped in the air! Brett amazed us all with his dancing ability!!! They were, by far, the best Danny and Sandy in the bunch. I was so proud of them both!

Good times with old friends

Last weekend, we were fortunate to be able to spend time with some old friends up in Crosslake, MN. Our good friend Joe was back visiting from Arizona, so we felt the need to celebrate his visit. Many of Brett's friends from highschool came out for the occasion. It was wonderful to spend the evening with friends and have a fun Aunt Becky who was willing to play with the Claire, Charlie and Greta at the hotel room. We are blessed with a wonderful family and with wonderful friends.

Tea Time

Claire's friend invited her to a Princess tea at her church. The girls dine using proper manners and etiquette while dressing in their pretty princess dresses. Claire was so excited to wear her dress since she was unable to wear it on Easter because she was slightly under the weather. My princess is growing up, so I cherish every moment I am given where she will allow me to dress her in a pretty dress, put glitter in her hair and snap photos. To Claire,my beautiful princess, your mom and dad love you more than you will ever know!!

Guilty as charged!

Ok, I admit, I love my laptop. I could spend hours surfing the net, checking my emails, reading blogs, checking my facebook page... you get the idea. I find myself doing something productive for work and get sidetracked by all of the fun things found on the world wide web. Charlie decided to catch me in the act and grabbed my camera to snap a picture of me "working". It is hard to imagine a time when technology wasn't at our disposal but part of me misses the times when no one expected you to check email 24/7 and people talked to one another instead of IM'ing them. I wonder what the next decade will bring us????

Just keep running, running, running....

This year, I challenged Brett to run the Earth day 5K with me. Needless to say, he slacked a little bit with getting ready for his first race, but he pulled through like a champ! Congrats Brett on completing your first official 5K!!
The kids enjoyed running the 1K and receiving a medal. Charlie thought that all the people had to be clapping for him because he did such a great job. He grinned from ear to ear while running his race (with mom). Claire ran with the big kids and was excited about finishing in 25th place (there were hundreds of kids running). Greta was very patient, and enjoyed drinking all of the free bottled water. I think she is still slightly water logged. It was a beautiful day to be outside enjoying God's beauty in nature!!

And the rose goes to.............

Charlie loves to buy flowers for his mom. One evening, Charlie helped Brett get groceries and was very disappointed that Brett didn't purchase any flowers for mom. To satisfy his sensitive son, Brett, Claire and Charlie created a rose for mom; one made out of ice cream. Let's just say that I got my rose and ate it too! Yum!

Happy Easter!

Easter is a time to rejoice. I am reminded of the love our Father in heaven has for us every year at Easter time. It is a time of new life, new beginnings and happiness. It reminds all of us of our many blessings.
The kids had a wonderful time decorating Easter eggs and finding their treats in the house on Easter morning. They all were very excited to wear their new Easter outfits! Charlie needed a little convincing because "boys don't wear pink"; but when he saw that his daddy was wearing pink, he was happy to wear his outfit. By the end of the day, he was remarking about how handsome he looked. Greta loved her dress because it would fly up when she did spins and twirls; she looked like a princess, hat, gloves, purse and all! Our dear Claire woke up Easter morning with a fever and had to miss some of the day's festivities. She did get the chance to find eggs with Charlie and Greta, but was very disappointed that she did not get to wear her pretty dress. I promised her that we will find a special occasion appropriate for her pretty dress!! We hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter!!

Happy Birthday Brett

I would like to take this opportunity to wish Brett Happy Birthday. You are a wonderful husband and father, we all love you very much!!!