Easter Blessings

We were blessed with another wonderful Easter. We were able to spend time with our wonderful family and the kids enjoyed many egg hunts in the beautiful weather! As you can see from the pictures, there were many, many smiles!!

Happy 36th Birthday Brett

What can we say, we love this guy! God blessed Brett with another wonderful birthday! (And yes, I made the cake with a little help from my sister:)

The reward for hard work

Claire has started to compete in dance competitions with her dance class. I love the competitions, I have a competitive spirit at heart. Claire always tells me she is embarrassed when she watches the video playback of her dances because I am always heard shouting and cheering in the background. I am a very proud mom, what can I say? This past competition was very exciting! Claire's class had been practicing so hard perfecting every move of their routine. Their showing at the competition was near flawless and thrilling to watch. Their hard work was rewarded when they received the first place trophy! It was so awesome to watch the girls become so excited over their success. It was fun to see all of their hard work payoff!

My beautiful ballerina

Greta enjoyed another dance show this past weekend; she always enjoys wearing her pretty costumes and wearing make-up. She is my girly girl. The best part about her dance show was that she was able to enjoy it with her best friend, her cousin Ava. They were so much fun to watch! Ava was careful to ensure that she danced perfectly while Greta wanted to add her lively "spirit" to each dance step. God has blessed me with wonderful children and with a lively, independent little spirit in Greta!

Hitting the slopes

Minnesota delivered beautiful weather this past weekend and we took advantage of the sunshine by hitting the slopes at Powder Ridge. Claire, Charlie and Greta all attended "ski school" and loved every minute of it! Claire had some previous experience and was gliding down the big hills within minutes. Charlie and Greta were first timers but were going down the big hills with mom and dad by the end of the afternoon. The best part of the kids' day was the chairlift; best part of dad's day was crusing on skis that have been in storage for the past year, best part of mom's day = NO INJURIES!!

Yep, his teacher's LOVE him!

As I have said before, Charlie is a five year old like no other! He reminds all of us how to live life, love life and love others! He even tells his little cousin Ava how beautiful she is; Charlie is our little sunshine.

Greta's first dance show

Greta was so excited to partake in her very first dance show. She has always wanted to be just like her big sister and now she is! Greta has always been very proud of Claire when she dances and now Greta dances like a princess just like her big sister!

Christmas (a little late)

We enjoyed another wonderful Christmas with our family. This year, we had a fun twist to our Christmas festivities; we were living at Grandma and Grandpa's house! While we were "in between" houses, we were lucky enough to stay at my parents' house. The kids loved it and quickly started to enjoy the luxuries of living with Grandma and Grandpa. They enjoyed constant attention, pancakes and eggs for breakfast even on a "school day", lots of bedtime stories, running "errands" with grandpa, cooking with grandma and much, much more! We hope everyone has a wonderful family like our family! We love you grandma and grandpa!!

I will be back soon!!

Well, many of you know that our life has been a little chaotic the last few months. We have moved, in addition to the normal chaos of our lives. I will post pictures soon of our new house. Keep being patient, I will be back!!!

Greta's first day of preschool

Greta had a delayed start to preschool. The deal was, she had to be completely potty trained before she could start school. Needless to say, she was not completely trained by the beginning of school, so Charlie went to preschool without Greta. Greta quickly realized how much fun was had at preschool and almost over night, she was potty trained. Greta was so excited her first day, she made up a song about her preschool. She squealed in delight when she arrived at school the first day. She loved school and her princess backpack. My little girl is growing up right before my eyes.

Happy Birthday Charlie!

I can't believe my little guy is five years old. It seems like yesterday that we were painting his room and getting the house ready for a boy. Our house has not been the same since the day of Charlie's arrival. Charlie has brought many smiles and sounds of laughter to our house. He never ceases to amaze us with his creativity. Since Charlie arrived we have learned how to:
1. Unglue a hand super glued to the fridge
2. Perform first aid if a finger is caught in a razor scooter (and needs to be re-attached)
3. Swim with a very large cast
4. Remove a fish hook from the dogs mouth
5. Remove a potty chair seat off a child's head
6. Remove a toddler sized head from in between the railings on the stairs
7. Start an ant on fire with a magnifying glass
8. What to do when handle bars fall off of a bike
9. How to tell a mom "she is a beautiful"
10. how to give the biggest hugs in the world
11. How to do the amazing thumb trick
12. The best time and place for a good wink
13. How to cuddle in bed on Saturday mornings
14. How to giggle with a full belly laugh
15. How to get excited about life everyday!

We love you Charlie and we have enjoyed everything you have taught us over the past five years. Happy Birthday!!
Charlie enjoyed having his "friend" birthday party which involved his cousins Jack, Eli and Ava, friend Jackson and sisters Claire and Greta having a blast at Space Aliens playing games and eating pizza. The evening concluded with Eli and Ava having a sleep over at our house with Charlie. They had so much fun! We also enjoyed a family party, where more cousins, grandmas and grandpas came to help us celebrate Charlie's birthday. Charlie celebrated a fun, filled birthday week!

A birthday weekend for Mom

This will come as no surprise to most adults, but birthdays do not have the same excitement now (in my 30's) as they did when I was younger. This year, my family made my birthday a surprise and memorable. Brett surprised me with a night away in Duluth without kids! What a wonderful surprise to be able to sit and talk with my husband over dinner without any interruptions. We took long strolls down to the piers without worrying about a curfew and when the babysitter needed to be home. Claire, Charlie and Greta had a wonderful night at their Aunt Jennifer's and Uncle Gerry's house. They feed animals, picked veggies in the garden and just ran free for hours! Greta befriended a wounded chicken whom she carried around with her everywhere; definitely something she would not get to do at our house! Claire loves all the animals and just loves being "up north" while Charlie loves keeping up with his 16year old cousins Kevin and Jake.
It was a wonderful weekend, thank you Brett, Claire, Charlie and Greta. I love you all!

Watch our world, here comes Claire!

I enjoyed another exciting weekend at Camp Lake Hubert Girl Scout camp with Claire this year. There is always plenty of fun activities (and lack of sleep). Claire had fun tie dying t_shirts, holding reptiles, and learning how to shoot a rifle with real bullets! I was brave and learned how to shoot a rifle too! It was kind of fun and Claire turned out to be an expert marksman! I think Grandpa may need to reconsider letting a female into the Kelm hunting world, Claire is a natural!

1st Day of Preschool

Charlie has been eagerly awaiting the first day of preschool. It was time to use his new backpack and new school shoes. I am so happy he loves school, but sad to see that my little guy is growing up right before my eyes. He no longer clings to the security of his mom, he runs to the excitement of trying something new. I am proud of him but miss my little guy. He constantly reassures me that he will still cuddle with me "even when I get big". What can I say, he will always be a momma's boy. We love him so much. He loves all of the fun at school, I hope it lasts when he gets older!

First Day of School

Claire started school again today. She is officially a 4th grader! Where does the time go??

More Summer Fun!

We have enjoyed a few rainy weekends at the lake this summer. When the kids can't swim, they head out in the boat for some serious fishing expeditions! Claire and Charlie fish for the "big kid" fish with their dad while Greta just tries to keep herself entertained. Needless to say, we have lost a few fishing poles in the lake this summer. I hope the fish are enjoying their new Barbie light up fishing pole! Daddy has even had a few moments where distraction led to a pole on the bottom of the lake. With the sacrifice of some wet clothes, Grandpa's smart thinking and a HUGE fishing lure, Brett's fishing pole was retrieved from the lake! Greta's pole did not again see the light of day but I am sure the fish are enjoying it as much as Greta!