Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family! Hope you eat way too much food today and have a wonderful weekend!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Bolt

I'm sure that everyone out there with kids has heard of the new Disney movie, "Bolt" that opened last weekend. We took the girls to the movie as part of Emmy's birthday present and I just have to say that was a great movie! All 4 of us enjoyed it. I've never watched a 3D movie with the really good 3D glasses before, but we were able to use special theatre style glasses for this movie and it was so much fun! Emmy got a stuffed Bolt and Mittens for her birthday on Sunday and they have hardly left her side since. Excellent movie!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Happy 5th Birthday Emmy!


Happy Happy Birthday Emmy! We love you so much and are so delighted you are our little girl!
Love, Dad, Mom & Bria

Friday, November 21, 2008

The Cake

Spongebob Squarepants' Pineapple House Cake

This weekend we are celebrating Emmy's birthday. She turns 5 on Sunday and the celebrating starts today with a party at our house for Emmy with the daycare kiddos. She really wanted me to make her a birthday cake that looks like Spongebob Squarepants' pineapple house, so that is what we did last night. Bria and Emmy both helped with different parts and the birthday girl was quite pleased with the results! So let the party begin!

Emmy pretending to blow out the candle!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Need a Laugh

Is anybody else having one of those days? It's one of those days around here for a whole world full of reasons. I know tomorrow will be a brand new day and the sun will shine again, but for today. . . we will muddle on through and start fresh tomorrow.
My dear friend emailed me a link to this blog, and if you have just a minute to read the entry "I Wish I Worked in an Office" for November 18th, it will bring a smile to your face - especially if your day isn't going particularly well. If you don't have a warped sense of humor, it might not be too funny, but it was just the thing to bring some smiles around here today.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Welcome Sophie!

Congratulations to Jason, Katie & Reed as they welcome Sophie into their family! They share a few photos with us and I was able to stop by the hospital last night to sneak a quick peek at the newest member of their family. Sophie was sound asleep and beautiful. We are so excited you have your newest member of the family with you now and wish you all the best as you bring her home and enjoy her. Thanks for letting me stop by and visit and we look foward to having her here for daycare after Christmas.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Thankful Trees


On Veteran's Day last week when we had no school, the daycare crew did a fun project. They made "Thankful Trees". I ordered the kits from Oriental Trading and with some help, we all put them together. It was fun to listen to the kids come up with a list of almost 20 things they are thankful for - they had really great lists!

So, what are you thankful for as we approach Thanksgiving?

Friday, November 14, 2008

Favorite Book Survey

Question of the Day: What was your favorite book when you were little?

We love to read around here. We tend to devour books of all size, style, topic and age group. Jon and I enjoy reading and always have and Bria is an amazingly fast reader herself. Emmy has books that are falling apart from the hours she has spent pouring through them or having us read them to her. And we have shelves of books all over the house. So I was thinking this morning about my favorite books when I was little: "Five Beds for Bitsy" and "Polly's Christmas Present" are the two that came to mind. I like to read them to my girls now, but those are kept on a special shelf so that they don't get accidentally mixed in with the kids' books!

Emmy says her favorite books are her Backyardigans books.

So, what was your favorite childhood book?


Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Outside Playing















Just thought I'd post a few fun pictures of the kids playing outside last week before winter hit! I'm having a hard time convincing myself to get them outside this week with the cold temperatures and no snow on the ground. . . . it's taking a bit of time to adjust to the fact that winter really is here! But, as soon as that snow comes down and sticks around it will be great. Good thing we like snow and cold!












Monday, November 10, 2008

Pet Rules

An Email I received from a friend:
PET RULES: To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door - nose height.

Dear Dogs and Cats,

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a race track. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.
I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep.
It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.
For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years --canine or feline attendance is not required.
The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Stay Safe, Dad!

My Dad works for R.E.C. (Rural Electric Co-Op) in Iowa and he is headed out to the Black Hills area to help restore power to the people who are without heat and electricity after the major blizzard last week. It's a lot of long days full of hard work, but I think he finds helping out on a storm is a very rewarding thing to do. So, stay safe, Dad, stay warm and hurry back home!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Blurb

I am not sure if I have mentioned this great website before or not. . . but in case I haven't, I'm going to give them a plug. Blurb.com is a great place to create photo books. I know a lot of you enjoy taking pictures like I do, and my sister, Tabbi, found this website and passed it on to me. I promised her I would always give her full credit for finding this site - so here is your credit, Tabbi!


If you enjoy scrapbooking, putting together photo albums, creating photo projects to memoralize a fun event like a wedding, baby's first year, a birthday party, vacation, etc. . . . check out Blurb. I have made several books now and it is an easy, affordable way to keep all those great pictures you take. I put together a book that shows our life in 2007, another one for our vacation to the Black Hills this summer, and I'm working on some gift books for Christmas for those "hard to buy for or the person who already has everything" family members. I also put together a book of Bria's life where my scrapbooking days left off - age 15 months through her 7th birthday. She can't wait for me to start working on another one for her and Emmy is anxiously awaiting the book of her life. This winter I may even work on putting together a book piecing together some very old family photos and incorporating the photos in with some family history if I can come up with enough material to create a keepsake booklet of my family. I'm also in the middle of creating a recipe book filled with all of the recipes we enjoy and hope to print one out for myself as well as a couple for the girls to have. They're very excited about the recipe book and I'm able to put photos in of the food we have made as well as the girls helping prepare it.


I've used several different photo sites to create smaller gift photo books, and Blurb, in my opinion, is by far the best overall afordable, quality book option.


So, if you are needing a creative gift option for someone in your family or trying to pull together your pictures from your digital camera for the year and looking at what it might cost to print them all out and put them into albums, I'd think about looking at Blurb. There are so many great layout options and design options, that you have endless possibilities in creating a keepsake. Happy Blurbing!!!

Thank you for the great find, Tabbi!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Hansen Visit

We had a great time with Grandpa and Gramasaurus Hansen and Uncle Greg last weekend! Thanks for the visit!
Thanks Megan and Greg for the great Disney Bedtime Story book!

Thanks Tabbi, Trever, Tre & Tru for the fun cooking stuff and the dragon!


Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Invitation to VOTE

Check out this cute invitation to go VOTE!

Go Vote!!!

This year's election is big. Don't forget to go vote!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Lincoln Park

The little kids and I went up to Lincoln Park this morning to enjoy one last beautiful Autumn day before the rain and snow comes later this week. They had a great time playing and I think they are quite worn out and should take long naps today!
Looking at the forecast for the week also serves as a reminder to me that everyone is going to probably need to be bringing a pair of snowpants that we can keep here for the winter - or you can just bring the snow pants with every day this winter - whichever works better for you. As long as we have snow gear to play in!