Houseboat Heaven

This past weekend, we took our 2nd annual trip on a Voyagaire houseboat with good friends Chelsea and Paul. Being that our kids are all so small and not at a good age to bring along, it is typically a "kid-free" vacation. However this year came a little snag in our plans...my grandma got really sick and my parents couldn't watch the kids anymore (just in case something happened, and at the time the nurses were making it sound not so promising). So...the girls came with us.

It was a fun trip. Any time you venture out into Voyageurs national park, it is a good time. It is absolutely gorgeous and so peaceful! However, this fun trip was more of an "active, busy" fun, rather than the relaxing sort of fun we had been planning on. I am definitely glad that we had the experience with the girls but at the same time, I wouldn't bring them again if I had a choice. Not for another few years anyways. Once they are old enough that they can do more for themselves and not require *quite* as high of a level of supervision, it will be nice. And I can't wait for next year, when we hope to make it a 3 nighter instead of a 2 nighter, and hopefully nothing that changes our plans like it did this year.

Anyways, we did get a tiny bit of fishing in, were able to visit kettle falls, had some good food and laughs, and had awesome weather on both Saturday and Sunday. Here are some pics of Houseboat: 2010!

The girls enjoying orange push-ups from Kettle Falls


Family pic at Kettle falls and Brianna sleeping on the way there (or back, I can't remember).


Kaitlyn sleeping on Chelsea on the way home from Kettle Falls and a cool waterfall


Andy navigating and Andy and Paul doing fish fry (yum!)


Our houseboat this year was Proud Mary, and there is the sunset on our 2nd night.


Sunrise on the day we left.

New daycare adventure

Today was the first day of their new daycare. Right off the bat, I am sad and I miss our old daycare. However, the drive to our new daycare is awesome....almost a straight shot from our house, no highway and best of all no 35 (ie: no construction!!!).

The day went well. Kaitlyn did good in her preschool and got a "great job" rating in all of the things they mark down on their daily reports to send home with parents. Except for "follows directions"...she got a "needs reminders" in that one. However it was her very first day and she is a 3 year old so that is nothing worrisome or shocking lol. They noted that she is a nice, very talkative girl. When I came to pick her up, she was not in much of a hurry to leave with me, which is a good sign, I suppose! It means she had a good day and that makes me happy.

Brianna had a bit of a rough time letting go of daddy at drop off in the morning, but after that she did well. Her class played in the sprinkler and she was the first one to run into it...she had a ball! When I arrived she was playing and had a yellow hard hat on her head, so she looked to be doing just fine. She had a good nap as well which is awesome. I was worried about how she would adjust but looks like she will be ok. I mean, I knew she would. I am just a worry wart. You know. Typical mommy.

Summer goes too fast!

Pics will come soon, but I just wanted to quickly blog an update on what we've been up to.
We have been up in Cook more than usual this summer, but it has been great. Doing lots of fun stuff with the grandparents! The girls love it. This weekend we changed it up a bit, and headed down to Maple Grove where Andy's sister Danika lives with her hubby and two daughters (same ages as Kaitlyn and Brianna). We always have lots of fun going there. We spent time at a play area at the community center, at a fun play area at the mall, and in the play area in their back yard. Fed a duck family and some fish (cheerios and crackers). Had some Kabobs for supper and more people over with more kids for a little pool party. Andy's other sister even happened to be in the area, and stopped by with her 3 kids for awhile. It was fun having all 7 cousins together, even if just for a shor time. (Aaron, Brandon, Sydnee, Kaitlyn, Taylor, Brianna and Kaitlyn sure are a fun bunch!) Plus, I was able to get some shopping in (YAY CARTER'S and YAY SALES!). We were good and stayed away from the Coach store. Then when we got home to Duluth, we relaxed and cleaned up and put stuff away. Tonight I was even able to get out and have some "me time" at Target. More shopping, I'm not complaining! I got lots of fun stuff, like new socks. New socks are the best thing ever!

This coming week is a short one, and on Friday morning we are heading out with good friends Paul and Chelsea for our 2nd annual houseboat adventure! I can't wait, it really is such a great time! We will arrive back on Sunday, so its just a couple of days. Just enough to recharge and get some relaxation in. And some adult time - no Barney, Dora or any cartoons of any kind. Hopefully the weather holds out for us, and if not then we will still make the best out of it. I am so excited!

Then, next Monday, the girls will be starting a new daycare. This daycare is closer to home than our old one. The drive is going to be much easier, especially from my work and especially in the summer with this major project going on for I-35. We are very sad about leaving our old daycare because it has been wonderful, however we are excited about something new as well. Kaitlyn will be starting Preschool so that will be fun for her, and Brianna will be in the toddler room with lots of other kids her age. I know the girls will miss their old friends, and we will miss our old provider, but I know we will all be alright. It's a sad yet exciting time. I can't wait to not deal with construction anymore, and that was one of the major factors in moving. It was a hard decision.

Other than that, life is just a lot of working, cleaning, sleeping, and getting the most out of all our free time with the girls. I am currently super optimistic about where life is about to lead us. I can't wait to see where we end up 1, 5, 10 years from now. I can't wait to see the girls grow up as beautiful, smart, successful, talented, selfless and amazing people. I just feel very nice right now :-)

Have an awesome night!

Rockin Robin

Robin friends:


Mama built the nest, laid eggs, the eggs hatched, and we ended up with 3 cute fuzzy baby robins. Mama and dada were both around, taking turns feeding them. We've taken pictures over time and pointed them out to the girls a lot. The picture above, btw, was taken a minute before the following story unfolded.

So on Sunday when we got home from a weekend away, Andy went to point them out to Kaitlyn again. They were getting big. Impossible for them to hide down in their nest, their heads were always sort of resting on the side. And this time, instead of just sitting there like they had previously when we've walked by and even pointed, they flipped out. One, two three, they all jumped out and started twittering and fluttering around. I was just inside the house, watching out the door with Brianna behind me. Kaitlyn and Andy were outside on the porch. And what happened next? A very angry mama bird came. She was PISSED and she had her eyes on Andy. She was fluttering her wings and making all sorts of noise and she looked about ready to dive bomb poor Andy. It was complete and utter chaos. He managed to sneak into the house (after pushing Kaitlyn in first of course) and I was a bit worried she was going to follow him in (just what I need in my house, a pissed off mama bird). She didn't follow him though. However the birds did leave their mark on both him and Kaitlyn - with poop. He had it on his arm and Kaityn had it in the hair. (Straight to the tub for her!)

For quite awhile, mama and dada were outside making a ruckus and I think communicating to each other and probably their babies. I had to unload the van, but I used the side door because I was so afraid to go in front. Plus, Andy and I were worried, thinking what if the babies weren't ready to go yet? What if they can't feed themselves? They went running off on the ground, what if they are hurt or get lost and mama doesn't find them? We thought they seemed pretty big and strong, but what do we know? Luckily, awhile later as we were spying at the tree in our yard, we were able to spot: Mama, dada, one, two, three fluffy spotted babies. Eventually mama led the babies away, but later that evening she was back by herself, making lots of noise in front of our house. I think she was still pissed and wanted to make sure we knew it. I don't blame her, I'd be pissed too. I'm just glad it all turned out okay. I am glad that we were able to see the babies with our own eyes, and know they were with mama and also that they can fly already. If we had never seen that, we would be wondering for the rest of our lives, and feeling guilty for the rest of their lives! I don't want that on my conscience - being a seagull killer AND a Robin home wrecker? NO THANK YOU.

I'm thinking that they were probably about ready to fly the coop any day anyhow, since they were so strong and able to fly already and what not.

They were so cute, I wish I had gotten a pic of them in the tree after all this went down! So fluffy!

Kaitlyn Rose, our huge personality in a small package!

Over the last few years, we've had lots of nicknames for Kaitlyn. The first was probably "Peanut", as she was born 6 lbs 4 oz (the day after her due date, so its not like she was early) and was just 5 lbs 11 oz when we left the hospital. Since then, she has grown quickly and has been healthy as can be, but she is still a little on the shorter side of the "charts". She has beautiful green eyes and gorgeous, super light, very wavy (curls at the bottom) blond hair. She has been talking up a storm for longer than she has been able to walk without stumbling around - she definitely developed her verbal skills earlier and more so than her physical ones. And since she started talking, she hasn't really stopped - she talks our ears off. She is sometimes a little shy with new people, but as she has gotten older she has lost some of that initial shyness and will just talk a stranger's ear off too. She loves telling stories, playing make-believe, and having us read to her. She would let us read 100 books in a row, if we had the time. She has always been huge into books, even as a young baby she would quietly listen through entire books (whereas, if you read the blog about her sister - she is almost 2 and still won't sit still for longer than a page). Part of the bedtime routine with Kaitlyn HAS to include reading to her in bed. Our little Kaitlyn is friendly, funny, smart...and dramatic!

She has always been a bit of a drama queen. Now that she is 3 1/2, her favorite phrases include "It's NOT FAIR!", "I don't WANT TO!", "I won't I won't I won't I WON'T!" and "I will never ever ever get to...(insert activity here) again!!!!!" (For example, it is bed time and we tell her it is time to put away her puzzle and get up to bed. She might yell something like "It's not fair! I will never ever ever get to do my puzzle AGAIN!" or if we tell her no, she can't have juice right now, she will say "I will never ever ever get to have juice AGAIN!"). When she is in the middle of throwing a fit (like all 3 years olds do) she likes to scream in short bursts in response to anything we try to say to her. Drama, I tell you! Another issue we have as of late, is that we have to tell her 2, 3, 4 or 5 times to do something (or stop doing something) before she actually listens. It's like she pretends we aren't even there, let alone that she hears us telling her to "Let the cat's tail go NOW". It is so frustrating but I have faith it is a phase that will pass. Speaking of phases I hope will pass - she is afraid of the dark lately. I mean, it's not like that is uncommon, and it's fine. I'm not concerned, we will just keep working on it until she is ready to be un-afraid on her own. She loves the moon, I should start telling her about how the moon is out only at night because night time is a peaceful time, and the dark is ok. After all, the moon likes the dark?! lol

Just like Brianna, Kaitlyn has all kinds of awesome, amazing traits (I love her random and frequent declarations of love- "I love you mommy!"), and others that are frustrating and challenging at times. But she is our little Kaitlyn - she scared the crap out of us when she was born (emergency c-section under general anesthesia and a vertical incision, due to fetal distress) and we hope she doesn't decide to be a rebellious teenager and scare the crap out of us some more later in life! lol

It is good to say "I love you" to show others that you care.
And the nice thing about "I love you" is, you can say it anywhere.
Say "I love you" to your friends for being so much fun
It makes them feel loved for the nice things they have done.
Say "I love you" to your brother. Say it to your sister, too.
It shows them you are happy that they are there for you.
Say "I love you" to your parents for the happy life you live.
Your love is the greatest gift you will ever have to give.
Say "I love you" when you pray to God.
Give thanks for his care and love.
It tells him you are thankful for your blessings from above.

-"Saying I Love You" - Life Lessons series.
Thanks Target $1 section.