Enjoying the 4th of July

This year we spent our holiday a little differently. We still enjoyed boat rides, the lake, playing cards, panpakes (according to Patrick) and staying up far to late. But we had the pleasure of enjoying these things with our friends Ali and Art.

Why they were interested in traveling through the back country of Minnesota to spend the weekend with us is beyond me, but we are glad they did!

2011 starts off with a smile

Well, my baby girl is getting to be the perfect age for pictures, so I'll have way too many of her again.



We enjoyed our first day home without Ryan. I like this stay at home mom thing. We had a great day.
We had shots at the Dr. in the am, then a trip to Target, then home to play with Elizabeth and Juliette.
Here is our attempt at a group photo.

Home again today before work Fri and Saturday. Annika is home with me as well as she has a bit of a fever from the shots, poor girl!

updates galore

miss us? yeah, I've been buried in photo stuffs, so the blog has taken a back seat. Here is what is up in our lives lately.
Patrick decided to cut daddy's hair for him.


We've been doing a little serious potty training this past week. Patrick went without underwear for most of last weekend. He did really great with hardly any accidents. He got a sticker for each trip to the potty and when his sheet was full he got some new Legos. He was super excited about them and has played with them a lot lately.

Elizabeth joined us one morning as well since we were pretty much house bound.

One of the first outings was a trip to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch. Super fun for the kids since Miles and family joined us as well.

Find a cozy spot wherever you can!





and one more of miss Annika looking adorable in a sweater that my mom made for me!

more weekend fun

Saturday night we added one more fun toddler to our crew. I really don't know how care providers do it, we had 1 adult for every kid and our heads were spinning in every direction!
I love a great summer day, especially when it is warm enough to play with the hose!

We enjoyed a very messy cookie(although being outside makes for easy clean-up!)We also spotted an airplane or two up in the sky.

We enjoyed a very large red ball. (although not sure if they are "sharing" or not!

The sandbox was a hit, although I think we just need a pile of sand on the ground because that is where it all ended up anyway! Well, that and in their hair!

Three cheers for Elizabeth! Who apparently had a tough time keeping her diaper on!


Snuggles with my two boys.

Someone thinks someone is funny at least.

Time to go.

Weekend with friends

We had a great weekend with friends. We do this little swap each month where we take a kid, so the parents can go out alone and then they take Patrick. It is a nice little deal and we all get to spend some unique time with the other's children.

The first night was this fun little trio of toddlers.

I appologize for the 5million wagon photos, but kids and wagons are just so stinkin' cute!

And kids pulling kids in wagons is even cuter!

Hugs for everyone! and some bribery photos

I did a little photo shoot with Elizabeth the other night. Patrick tagged along for a few. I just love seeing them interact, it is so sweet!

That evening, I was sitting in the nursery while Ryan was finishing up Patrick's bath. Then all of a sudden a naked boy with my necklace on runs in to give me a hug. I just busted a gut laughing. He is just too cute. Of course I grabbed the camera so I can bribe him later in life!

and yes, the necklace came off before bed, but not without a fight! Poor kid was so sad that he couldn't wear them to bed.