Winter Break 2012

Winter Break is finally here!

We began our break with family games on the Wii.  There was plenty of crafting and laziness.  I got to purge some unneeded items from the house. (The Virgo in me loves that!)  We picked up some gifts and things for ourselves on Saturday which was our only venture outside of the house.

Sunday was comprised mostly of the girls and I making cake pops.  It was about 4 hours to complete them!  Samantha had the idea of making holiday bags for the neighbors, so on Monday we put them together and both girls delivered them to all the houses on our street.  Both Daddy and I are very proud of her to be so giving and thoughtful.

Adam (Daddy's friend from kindergarten) brought his girlfriend and new baby over for dinner on Christmas Eve.  We ate a wonderful dinner with Grammy and all got plenty of turns to hold baby Caleb.  Ely was very good as well!

Tuesday we kept it low-key excepting some craziness trying to fix Nana's printer and sledding down a very large hill near Grammy's house.  The hill was too big to risk putting Ely on the sled so he enjoyed a stroll and was very concerned watching his "people" go down the hill!  The Chinese food we got for dinner was yummy too!

I worked at home the rest of the week while Daddy ran the girls around with errands and shopping, Sofia had a friend over and our summer nanny Lindsay stopped by too!  Both girls were so excited to see her and it was nice for all of us to catch up.

Then Lily came over for some playtime.

 Daddy also took the girls for another sledding adventure.

I'm happy I got to play lots of games with the girls, Daddy got a lot done outside the house and we all played the Wii.  Ely got to go to "camp" twice this week and loves it there.  We relish having a tired and happy dog!

On Friday, Daddy took the girls to a movie.  You can see them in their glasses below.  That night, Samantha went to a friend's sleepover birthday party.  She was so excited to finally have some friend time!  Sofia was indulged with another trip to Chucky Cheese's with both her parents followed by some cuddle time with Daddy during a movie.

Samantha came home from her sleepover Saturday morning and then Uncle Todd and Aunt Shelly brought their kids over.  Jordan and Dylan had a ball playing with the rocket launcher Sofia got for Hanukkah from Samantha.  Dylan did a great job dancing to the Wii too!

Daddy went to the last Vikings game of their season while I took the girls to Grammy's house for dinner.  Uncle Bill and Leana joined us with her mom, Pat and it was a relaxing and good meal.  Sofia stayed with Grammy overnight while I took Samantha to a movie and spent some time on our own.  Samantha is growing up so fast and I see a wonderful young lady in her.

On Monday I worked at home and Daddy took the girls to Papa and Nana's to keep our New Year's tradition.  (We've never spent the new year with either of our kids.)  The girls got to go to a hotel for swimming and loved their room.  I'm grateful that they get to have these experiences with Papa and Nana!

Other August Highlights

Here are some other highlights from August:

Lindsay's last day was early in the month.  They had a ball for their last week together going to the pool and beach, Mall of America and just playing.  We will miss her!

The girls got to sleep at Nana and Papa's 3 nights!  They've never done that before, but being true to form they didn't eat one vegetable (because french fries don't count)!  The girls got their fill of TV and got in some fishing too with Papa.  They came home exhausted, but happy.

I took Samantha to a playdate at her school.  The weather wasn't optimal, but Samantha had a ball with her friends and we marveled over the rainbow that we saw.

We survived a weekend trip to Ikea and managed to get everything assembled the day we got it.  Samantha loves having a chair in her room to read at and Sofia likes her new nightstand.  It's nice to be rid of so much toddler stuff!  

I finally got to take the girls to swim during my week with the girls and Nana.  It was a hectic day, but I'm glad I got to see the girls swim in water that was 12 feet deep.  This is a huge source of pride for the girls!

State Fair

Since we had house guests we weren't able to fulfill the tradition of visiting the State Fair on my birthday so we went the first weekend.  The girls and I spent time in the horse barn talking to owners and petting horses. Both girls went on the rock climbing wall.  Samantha cut her first try short after Daddy told her she was doing a good job.  She asked to do it again after I said I didn't think it was a good choice to give up because Daddy (or anyone) said, "Good Job" and that I knew she could reach the top.  I told her that encouragement doesn't mean you are done and can take it easy, but she should appreciate it and keep moving up.  If that isn't a life lesson, I don't know what is.  Not surprisingly, she made it to the top on the next attempt.  Both Daddy and I told her that we were proud of her because we are!

And of course we did the Big Carpet Slide.  This time Daddy took Sofia and Samantha went on her own.  In the video they are on the left side.

Foods we ate this year:

Falafel
Coconut macaroons
Stuffed olives
Foot long hot dogs
Big Fat Bacon
Malt
World's greatest french fries
Pickle dog
Snow cone/ ice cream cone
Buffalo shrimp
Cheese curds

Our New Nanny

Lindsay is our new summer nanny and we couldn’t ask for things to be going better! She is fun, always willing to play games and the girls have been out and about enjoying their time with her. Lindsay is loving the time too and says she is learning a lot! My hope is that we will stay in contact with her after she returns to college because she’s a delight! We got right into a new routine with Lindsay starting last week. She is enthusiastic and the week went very well. Lindsay showed the girls her house, chaffeured the kids to and from their activities, made multiple trips to the library (Samantha is a voracious reader) and went to the beach. Yesterday Sofia had a friend over too and since it was a rainy day, they made cookies and decorated them.

They love her and it gives us peace of mind. We are grateful for Lindsay!