Cove Point Lodge

Wow, we sure are blessed with beautiful scenery in MN winters. After christmas we headed to Cove Point Lodge and stayed 2 nights in a beautiful brand new "cabin", well, if you consider a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, all wood and beautiful tile, huge kitchen, dining, living room a cabin. The boys even had a bath in the jacouzzi. It was so fun, with daddy as the planner, we went ice skating, sledding, swimming, and played a lot at the resort as well. Thank you grandma and grandpa for a wonderful christmas gift!

Christmas 2010

We had a wonderful christmas with the boys. We went to church christmas eve to see the "real" nativity - the boys were so excited. Then we came home and made shrimp(my tradition growing up), and I'm excited to report the boys already requested it for next year!! Opening presents was a blast - brennan was so excited, he didn't know how to contain it, he was literally jumping with excitement, it was so cute, and so fun!! Both boys were just as excited to give eachother the gifts they purchased, brennan even blurted out what it was while Kobe was opening the one from him!! I just love these times when the boys are little, and am trying to cherish them forever!

merry CHRISTmas

I think the cake says it all. Merry Christmas to everyone.

Brennan's christmas concert

Today was Brennan's first christmas concert!! All 11 minutes of it!! He was so excited, he had been counting down the days since last week! It was adorable - he actually did better than I expected, he was shy a few times, but did a lot of the hand motions and singing. Go Brennan. Unfortunately my pics didn't turn out the best, but I do have an adorable video!!

Thank you to both grandma and grandpa's for attending both concerts, even in this wonderful snowy and cold "fall" we are having!!

Kobe Christmas concert

Kobe had his christmas concert on thursday evening. The kindergarteners were so adorable. They were all dressed as shepherds. The entire concert/play was awesome, and it seemed like they all enjoyed it with the upbeat modernized songs! I just love that they know they can have fun while praising God!!

Unfortunately brennan got sick after the concert with the flu. Now, 3 days later I am sick. Thank goodness the snow kept us from going to our family christmas yesterday, I would have infected my mom's entire family!! God sure knows what he is doing!!

BTW, in the above picture, Kobe is fourth from the left in the top row!

Lost Tooth

My baby lost his first tooth. Wow, it really makes me look at him differently, he just looks like he's growing up. And BTW when I say Lost, I mean LOST literally. Kobe went to brush his teeth monday morning and noticed the tooth was missing. We knew it was loose, but I didn't think it was that loose!!! We searched for hours, I changed all his sheets (luckily mondays I do sheets anyway), troy moved his bed, no luck (seriously, those things are so tiny), Kobe was bummed!! We'll keep looking or we'll just leave a note for the tooth fairy. His other tooth next to it is ready to pop out too, it is as loose now as the first one was, so maybe the tooth fairy can just do a double. Kobe keeps saying "it's a good thing it's not corn on the cob season" - I wonder where that idea came from!! :)

Holidazzle

Yes, that would be Kobe's newest facial expression, nice.

Lots of fun at the holidazzle parade this weekend, daddy is such a great planner, the boys were all bundled nice and warm, had chairs, we parked a block away from the parade route, got our hot cocoa and got back to the street just a few minutes before it started! Thanks for joining us Aunt Shewie, and thanks for trying indian food with me!!

shopping carts

Aren't the car carts at grocery stores awesome (a little dirty too, but thank goodness for those sanitizer wipes). My boys just love riding in them, and it makes the trip fun for them, although I don't know that jett was so sure about sharing with brennan, usually he gets it all to himself!

It's A . . .

. . . GIRL!!! We can hardly believe it! We were so sure we had another bouncing little boy growing, but the Ultrasound specialist said it was Definitely a Girl!! It took a little time to sink in (we never even discussed girl names, I bought boys clothes already, etc), but now it is so exciting!!! Most importantly, she said everything looks very healthy, and the baby (she) is actually measuring a week ahead of schedule! Thank you for all your prayers, and most of all thank you, Lord. God is sooo good. :)

Happy Halloween 2010

My little army boy! We had a fun halloween, the boys were more into the pumpkin carving this year, and they were a LOT more into the trick or treating. I think we did our whole neighborhood in 15 minutes! They were running from door to door, it was so cute, and so fast! Hope you all had a wonderful halloween!

Pumpkin Parade

Brennan had his Pumpkin Parade last thursday. He was sooo cute, he looked so small compared to the other kids, and of course he was the most adorable one!! I'll prove it to you with the video I took! He is so proud to be a "big" boy going to school like brother Kobe!

Brennan's Playdate

Brennan was talking about his "playdate" all day, he was so proud. Now I can see why he was so proud!!! Thank you jenni, for lunch, these pics, wonderful conversation, and letting me slip away to the dentist for a half hour!

www.where'sdaddy.com

Yes, daddy really is under all those blankets, pillows, and whatever else the boys could find! We have the best daddy ever!

Brennan's first . . .

. . . combine ride! He loved it so much, he cried that he couldn't ride again!!!

Thank you Uncle Bill!!!

Brennan's Special Day

My little baby boy had his first special day at preschool! This is what they do since most kids have birthdays in the summer. We got to come for the last half hour of school, see how amazingly orderly the kids are, lining up for washing hands before the snack that we brought, all sitting down and waiting until everyone is ready, praying, and finally eating the snack in front of them. I'm not sure if I'd do well at this patience test! Then we got to read brennan's favorite book to the class, and brennan got to be the first one to leave! We just love our church's preschool!

Farmers Market Fun

Last weekend we took advantage of daddy's day off (a rare occurance between now and the election) and went to the local farmers market, which just happens to have a tunnel straw maze for the kids (they got to borrow flashlights), tons of pumpkins, a huge corn maze (after 45 min and teaming up with another family, we finally found our way out), farm animals to feed, a hayride, and a large assortment of wonderful fresh veggies! Not only was it fun, but all activities were free! We will be back next year for sure, but probably not in shorts!

special person day

Kobe had a special person day last friday, and I was honored that he chose me to bring (he said that way daddy could get clips for john kline). It was really cute, each class did a skit or song for us, then we got to eat lunch together, and play in his class room. Luv U Kobe, thanks for picking mommy (I know that won't last forever), so I'll cherish it as long as I can!

Oh, and I can't forget a big thank you to aunt shari for letting us take advantage of you being jobless. Shari and Brennan had special bonding time. Luv U sis.

Kobe is 6

I cannot believe 6 years ago today I gave birth to my first born, a son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes - oops, wrong story. Seriously, it's amazing that God created this amazing, unique, special little boy right in my womb, and I am so blessed to be able to do it one more time. Kobe had a wonderful 6th birthday, thank you all for being part of it!

Kobe's Almost Sleepover

Kobe had 7 friends ALMOST sleepover for his birthday - they all came in their jammies and we had a lot of fun doing musical pillows, painting pillowcases, burning mini pizza's (ask troy about that one), and decorate your own cupcakes!

First Day of Preschool

Yes, that's my baby; Yes, he's now in preschool; Yes, he did awesome; Yes, I cried like a baby; Yes, he loves school and wants to go back; Yes, I actually got the blog posted on the same day; Amazing!

Orientation

My baby is starting preschool tomorrow . . .

isn't he adorable?? I cannot believe he is already 3, he seems so young!!!

My little school boy

Yep, I'm the mom of a kindergartener!!! Look at those blue eyes! Kobe loves school (except the uniform pants as seen above), he gets to stay for lunch and recess in which he has a blast, so far he's learned about self control, stagecoach game (you'll have to ask him), and what it's like when a classmate loses the popsicle party for everyone! We've successfully made it through one week - only 87 thousand to go, right?!

36 is old

Me and my boys - no better birthday then that! A trip to Red Robin (the most kid friendly place around), and a walk at the "windy" park trails. My favorite highlight was when we got home, and the kids had cupcakes (it's not a birthday without cake to kids), and 10 minutes into the cake brennan rolls out his "little coconut" (aka: acorn) that he has been holding in his little hand since the park (one of his special little traits he's been doing since he was tiny). Thank you troy and boys for a wonderful birthday, and more memories to hold tight.

My Best Friend's Wedding

Okay, so it was her wedding reception, but isn't that the title of a movie?? We had a wonderful time in Milwaukee to celebrate deanna (my friend since first grade, and my second family) marrying a wonderful guy from out east where she has lived for a lot of years (too many to count). They chose to marry in a beautiful resort/estate in virginia to put their families at ease of traveling out of state for a wedding. Congrats deanna - luv U!!

Brennan and his Godparents.

What the Hawk's would look like as a family of four! :)