Sever's

We went to Sever's last weekend with the Murphy's and had a great day! We love the Murphy's because it's always a great time! We didn't get far into the infamous maze before the words, "Mom, I have to go potty" came out of Samantha's mouth. Needless to say, we didn't make it through the maze. Namaah and Sam were also enjoying running way ahead of us, which was not okay for the mommies. I got to see the pig races which was great to pay homage to my childhood, a wildlife show for all, the Super Slide for the girls, cheese curds and cookies and the best thing ever, the corn pit! I stopped counting after finding 20 pieces of corn doing laundry the next day. There was so much to do and see, I hope we make this an annual tradition!

Here's a video of Namaah and Sam enjoying the corn pit...

Here's the "babies", Sofia and Kian checking each other out...


More of Samantha and Namaah, including the corn pit!

It was a perfect family day!

Life with two kids (more than twice the work!)

I recently took the girls a Halloween party. With Sofia moving at high speeds and Sam being everywhere at once, I learned a lesson on how life is going to be with 2 active daughters. Both had their best friends to play with and seemed to be on the opposite sides of a very large room ALL the time. I didn't think ahead to eating dinner (booster chair needed!). I was almost as messy as Sofia with her on my lap! I didn't really eat anything since I didn't have enough hands and Sofia kept taking my food. Sam ending up mostly eating cookies and meatballs for dinner, but as long as it's not the norm, I think we'll all live.

Witness Sofia after having "Slime Cake"...

I have a feeling though that it's going to be like this from now on. There is never a dull moment and hopefully I'm being realistic in not expecting one! As a smart woman once offered, "Parenting is one big game of whack-a-mole. You think you've got it, and then another one pops up.'' It's a good thing I love adventure!

All in all, I cannot believe how blessed I am to have these wonderful monsters...

Birthday parties

With Jason and Sofia's birthdays coming up, we were discussing plans and options we would like. Then we asked Samantha what she would like to do for her next birthday.

Dad: Would you like to have a party this year?

Sam: Yes!

Dad: Who would you like to invite?

Sam: Ella, Ava, Naamah, Angelica...

Dad: What about Clay?

Sam: No boys Dad. Only girls can come to my party!

Dad: Oh, really? What about Papa?

This went on for some time. Sam finally relented that her dad could stay, but he would be the only boy.

Is it just me, or is she really growing up fast?

Sam's song

I couldn't resist this one! Watch for Sofia!

Sam is singing a sing that goes like this...

5 little monkeys hanging from a tree
teasing Mr. Alligator, "Can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Alligator, quiet as could be
then SNAP goes the monkey right out of the tree.

Orchards 2008

In the month of October, we went to 2 orchards. Sam missed the daycare and preschool trips, but we still went on our own!

There was Emma Krumbee's with one of Sam's best friends and her family...

And then off to Afton with the Mewes family for a hayride, raspberry picking (mostly eating), lunch and a quest to avoid the crowd in pursuit of Honeycrisp apples.

(I didn't get many pictures, but it was still a good time!)

Explaining death to Sam

Almost 4 years ago, our friend's daughter was killed crossing a street. It's every parent's nightmare and to their credit, our friends have shown courage and strength unlike anything I've ever seen. Emmy is never forgotten and will always be terribly missed, but somehow our friends still live their lives.

Samantha knows that her former "heerio" (hero) Clay had a sister and that she died. I've reminded her about it as an explanation of what can happen if you go into the street without an adult and why we hold hands in parking lots. (This is not to say that his sister was at fault because it was an accident.) She asks where Emmy went after she died and I say I'm not really sure (because I don't really know), but that some people think she went to heaven (a really warm and peaceful place), of course to which she said she wanted to die and go to heaven. At that point, I took a deep breath and another. I told her that I would be really sad if she died because I would miss her and so would Daddy and Sofie, her grandparents, Leslie and so on.

My parents never taught me to fear death, it's inevitable and you usually don't have a lot of choice in how you die, so I choose not to worry about it too much. I'm trying to instill that in Sam too because as the saying goes, you can't fight death.

Sam has brought it up a few times that she's not going to die and that she doesn't want me to die either. I casually tell her that I will die someday because everyone does and that doesn't change. I also tell her that I'm not afraid of it because what matters to me is how I live, not how or when I die. I need to make my time here and now count. Needless to say, this is an ongoing topic but I hope she understands the message as she matures.

Again, it's how you live that's important, not how you die. Emmy is a great example of that, being passionate in her variety of interests and accepting of those around her without judgement. I aspire to be that way in my life and I hope that Samantha and Sofia choose to do so as well.

When Daddy is away...

Daddy has to travel a bit for his job, so tonight it will be a girl's night (and Fonz.) It's rainy, so we'll probably turn on a CD for dancing (always fun) after dinner and maybe have a game of chase with the dog (always loud). Sam usually ends up in bed with me at some point and Sofia hasn't been enjoying her room all night at all lately, so we'll end up with a slumber party of sorts. Musical beds, anyone? We make the best of it and have our special time!

We do miss Daddy when he's gone though because we love him so much! Have a good trip and sleep while you can!

St. Louis Road trip

Yes, we're nuts and this should not be news to those of you who know us! Due to airfare being so expensive, we opted to drive to St. Louis for a family gathering. Door to door, it's about 8 hours with one stop. It took about 9.5 hours to get there and about 8.5 to return home. Sofia did not appreciate the car seat as expected and Sam was edgy so I ended up in the back seat smushed between the two car seats for most of the trip both ways. Other than a couple of bathroom breaks, we only had one stop (McDonalds with a PlayPlace, of course.) Mom finally had an idea to keep Sam entertained while Sofie slept on the return trip by using our imaginations! We took a magic carpet to Egypt since she's been learning about ancient Egypt in preschool.

Here's a strange tidbit... both times we stopped at McDonalds there was the same girl that Sam and Sofie got to play with. How weird is that? Dorie, we'll never forget you and thanks for playing!

These were taken at the beginning of the trip home. I love the expressions here...

Shana Tova!

St. Louis - Part II

Highlights of St. Louis: Ted Drewes for lunch (and nearly getting lsot with Nana afterwards), Bounce U (Sam and I got the top of the elastic climbing things 2 times and Sofia's love of bouncing on a ball), Papa's cleaning stamina, Sam showing Dad flips at Skyzone and the buggiest walk ever after leaving the kids with Uncle Todd and Aunt Shelly! Thanks for watching them!

Here's a few pictures...

Uncle Bob with the smallest Cardinal fan!

Nana helping Sam get CRAZY hair at The Magic House (awesome place for kids!)

Awww... we are so blessed with our wonderful kids!

I had to throw this one in... aren't they cute!
Sofia knows what she wants and she's probably strong enough to lift it! I hope we go back with both girls next year to this pumpkin patch.
Our family about to head home...

St. Louis - Part I

We got to stay with Antie and Uncie again, along with Nana, Papa, Uncle Todd and Aunt Shelly. It was fun to see everyone and we are grateful again for Antie and Uncie's unparallelled hospitality!

The T-shirts read: "If U think I'm cute U should see my Aunt!"

Antie is the most humble person we know and we love her and Uncie so much! We miss them both already!

The biggest highlight is finally getting the cousins together! All the kids had a blast and thanks to Jennifer for organizing the "Duck, Duck, Goose" game! Sam had so much fun over the weekend!

The 2 babies are Sophia and Sofia, born 4 days apart!

We finally got to meet her and as you can see, both Sophie/Sofie's are beautiful!

Sofia takes on The Fonz!

Fonzie is our very large Siberian Husky. He's 10 years old and definitely is the coolest dog in the world, at least as far as our family goes.

Sofia had already taken Fonzie's new toy (the ball in the picture), so I gave him another toy.

Followed by Sofia seizing the opportunity to amass more toys...

Witness Sofia's triumph and Fonzie's concession!

Sofia does this constantly while Fonz follows her around hoping that she'll drop the toy so he can grab it back. He tolerates it well thankfully!

Sam's apparent dislike of yogurt

Dad: "Why didn't you eat your yogurt?"

Sam: "I didn't like it."

Dad: "What didn't you like about it?"

Sam: "The eating part."


I guess we can't argue with that logic even though she has enjoyed eating yogurt up to this!

Mom's weekend away 2008

I took my turn at getting away with a friend too! We headed to Lutsen for some great fall color, exploring Grand Marias and hiking. The place we stayed was alright once we got over housekeeping's apparent fear of vacuums... let me just say I did not go barefoot.

Here's a few highlights: Buying "The Daring Book for Girls" for my girls and I at Drury Lane books no less, the Rustic Inn and Cafe's lunch combos (unbelievable pie with meringue crust), watching "A Philadelphia Story", the fall colors viewed from the Oberg Loop (including a stare-down with a squirrel) trail and the observation deck in Lutsen, the Alpine Slide, the sauna, a never-ending playlist, good wine and great company!

Being landlocked in Minnesota means that the closest thing I get to an ocean is Lake Superior, awe-inspiring as it is. It was magical with the reds and oranges peeking from the forest.