Back to Reality

It is always hard to come back from vacation, but sadly it is so. The Heuer House is now back to reality...

Tim and I got back from Europe last Friday after a wonderful, wonderful vacation. We had about 24 hours sight-seeing in Paris, 72 hours drinking wine through the Burgundy countryside, and then approximately 48 hours shopping and touring in London. Our trip can be summed up by EXCELLENT food, even better wine, and good times and many laughs with good friends.


Here are a few pics of our trip:


The view from our hotel room in Paris (with the help of zoom) but really, we had an excellent view. This is the only hotel room we had booked for the trip. Every place else was up to our map and intuition.



Our traveling group during the day:

I think this was Beaune, France. (we really toured from one little town to the next. They all started to run together after awhile.) A view from one of the vineyards.

Ladoix winery. We had an ABSOLUTE blast here. Jean Luc (pictured below with us in the black vest) was the owner of the winery, which we discovered about 30 minutes into the wine tasting as he didn't speak a lick of English. Thank goodness for my (gulp) 3 years of French class in high school and my iPod. Yup, there's an App for that! I had a English/French translation app to help out. It really worked well for the little stops that we made. As did much gesturing and failed attempts at charades.

The last day in France we were in Chablis. Instead of doing another wine tasting plate, we decided to buy a bunch of random yummy French food and do a picnic. It was a great idea as many of us agree it was our favorite meal of the trip!

Before - all the food for our picnic! One bottle of wine, two baguettes, two different cheeses, quiche, three kinds of meat, three kinds of mustard, pears, strawberries, and three different desserts.

AFTER: Not much left!! Plus, I think we could have eaten more. This was such a great, great meal!

The happy group.


And.. on to London.

Can you see the building to the far left? Buckingham Palace. We stumbled onto this one actually as last Thursday was a day of wandering and shopping our way through London. I was kind of happy to see Buckingham Palace after the big Royal Wedding! It was neat to see all the media tents and everything still up to capture the big kiss.





Another view of Buckinham Palace

Tim and I posing in front of London Bridge.

That was it! Our fabulous Europe vacation :-) Everyone had a great time and I owe everyone a big thanks to help make it happen... aka... kid duty! Emma and Evan were happy at their aunt & uncle's cabin, the farm, and then back home. More on that later! I am not sure if I am still a bit jet-lagged, but I am exhausted!

Easter

The kids had a fabulous, fabulous Easter. Thankfully Sage did NOT attack the Easter Bunny and when the kids work up, there were Easter Eggs hidden all over the house along with two Easter baskets.

Emma woke up first and came into our room at 6:30 with Baby Alive and Baby Alive's Easter outfit. She calmly put themon Baby Alive, chatting the whole time about Easter and how excited she was to go downstairs. However,"Mama, I KNOW we have to wait for Evan to wake up."

Evan made his appearance around 7 and promptly crawled into bed for a snuggle. He and Emma usually need to hatch a bit before starting their day. We had the TV on and were enjoying cuddling when Emma just could NOT wait anymore. So, I tried to prompt Evan with "Come on Buddy! Let's go see if the Easter Bunny Came!" He just looked at me without a care and continued to suck on his Nuk. As Emma jumped up and down, I continued to try with the non-responsive boy. "Come on Evan! Remember the Easter Bunny? Let's go see if he came so we can search for eggs! Evan responds with an unenthusiastic "Why? Why Mama?" Finally, he came out of it and he was ready to go. Then.. there was no stopping him. (or Emma!)

Here are pics:











Then... the Easter Egg hunt at Nana & Papa's! By this time Evan had it down and was running around trying to find the eggs. We were going to give him like a 2 minute head start, but realized in like 30 seconds that it wasn't needed.

all-in-all, a very happy day!!

Dear Easter Bunny...

Dear Easter Bunny:
Be careful - do not let Sage out. She will chase you. Do not wake Sage up because she will bark at you. Emma colored a picture for you. We like to find Easter eggs and Easter is Emma's favorite holiday. (and Evan's too.) Thank you for the Easter Eggs. Do you know Santa?

(a letter - said by Emma, penned by her Mother.)




Emma is SO excited for Easter. We were just getting ready for bed tonight after a movie night, when Tim said, "Hey - what if the Easter Bunny is scared of Sage? Sage may bark at him when he comes in the house." This, of course, made Emma's eyes HUGE with this following:

"Mama!" (speaking in her very matter-of-fact tone) "What about Sage? Sage will scare the Easter Bunny. We should put Sage in the laundry room so Sage doesn't scare the Easter Bunny! And the Easter Bunny will not come in through the laundry room because we have the garage doors closed. The Easter Bunny will either come in the front or the back. So, let's put Sage in the laundry room!"

Tim decides to add fuel to the fire and says, "No, Sage will be fine. We just need to make sure that the Easter Bunny doesn't let Sage out of her kennel. If he does, we will be eating Rabbit for supper."
"DADDY! That is not funny. We need to let the Easter Bunny know NOT to let Sage out of her kennel."

So, I offer to write the Easter Bunny a letter to warn him about Sage. Emma wanted to hang the letter on the door, but then finally conceded to putting it on the play table. Evan is just listening to the exchange the whole time, nodding here and there and finally saying. "Yea, poor Eater Rabbit."

Then, as I am writing the letter and we are putting out the carrots and water, she looks up at me and whispers. "Mama?! What if the Easter Bunny does not like Dragons? I should color him a new picture!" (see picture below. The picture she colored was from "How to Train your Dragon.".) "Emma, your picture is fine. The Easter Bunny will like any picture."




It was pretty funny.

Yesterday was the egg dying and it went very well! The kids had an absolute blast. At the end, we had dye all over the table, 34 oddly colored, half-cracked, scribbled on eggs, and a little man who had greenish brown stained hands. Emma was in charge of 6 of the dye cups and Evan had 3. That was because, in Emma's words, "I am almost 5 and remember doing this before. Evan is only 2 and is too little." Tim and I stood back, helped where we could, but let them at it.

Here are some pics commemorating the evening:



















Happy Easter!!

The little Mother

Every day I pick up the kids from daycare, Theresa always has little stories about the kids that day and how the day went. Most times lately, they are not good reports about Evan. We get the "He didn't share well today." or "He and Will were fighting again today." or my favorite "He often does his dragon roar in the little kids faces when they take a toy away from him." .... sigh... My baby boy is turning into a dragon roaring, non-sharing, terrible two-year old boy. I am not ready for this. So, we are working on the roaring, we are working on the non-sharing and the sometimes hitting.


Emma is turning into a little Mother to all the kids at daycare. The Tuesday daycare report from Theresa about Emma was very good. "She is turning into a little Mother to all the little kids. However, she sometimes will tell the boys they need to go into time-out if they are naughty. She will try to stop them from fighting and will separate them if she thinks they need it." Then.. may favorite! Theresa was smiling for this part: "Then, when Emma laid down for nap, she told me that if I needed help with the little boys, I can get her up. She would separate the little boys for me." Ahhh.. my helpful little girl!


Now, some of you know that Tim and I are departing on a pretty big trip soon (YEAH!!!!) and I have been pretty sad lately thinking about the time away from my kids. So, I have been hugging them a little more and talking more about how Mommy and Daddy are going to be gone. Emma is excited for her vacation too and told me when I said I was going to miss her. "Oh Mommy, you will be fine! I will give you a kiss before you leave."


we have some fun Easter plans coming up! I bought a whole bunch of eggs for us all to dye and then bought some Easter cupcakes, frosting, and decorations for the kids to decorate. I am pretty sure we will have a visit from the Easter bunny too and the kids are very excited for that!


One more fun thing... Emma's first t-ball practice is tomorrow! Hopefully it does not rain as she is so excited! We have been practicing a lot in our front yard and she loves running the bases, practicing catch and hitting the ball. Evan of course is right there with her and having a great time as well.

Fun Stuff

We have had a great past few days here! Starting with last weekend, we went on a mini vacation. Last Friday, we headed down to the farm. The kids LOVE the farm. It is a great mini-vacation for them as they get to see Nana and Papa, see the cows, visit the barns and all that fun stuff. So, we headed there, had a yummy fish fry at Lima Church, and then visited with my Grandparents. :-) The kids had a fun visit there and with my sister and her son. However, the really fun and exciting stuff came the next day --- the waterpark!

We went to a fun waterpark in Eau Claire with the kids, my parents, and Kim and Andrew and everyone had a blast. Emma kept talking about how she was going to go on a family slide (even though they didn't have one) because last year when we were in Wisconsin Dells she was too nervous to go down it. I can't say she was too disappointed though. The waterpark in Eau Claire is perfect for little kids as they had a fun water play area for little kids and a few water slides for the bigger kids. No, it does not even compare to Wi Dells, but for my kiddo's, it was perfect. Emma found a perfect water slide for her; it was open, fairly slow and she could do it all by herself. Over and over and over again she climbed up all the steps, waited patiently in line, and went down with all smiles on her face. It was a lot of fun to watch. She did try an all-enclosed slide with me once in a double-tube and did okay... the one time she went down. We got at the end and she said, "Mama, it was really dark in there." But, we got her down once and she didn't cry, so mission accomplished on that one.

Evan enjoyed the waterpark as well. He spent a lot time in the kiddie area playing around on a mini slide. We brought him up to the waterslide that Emma kept going down on and he decided that he didn't want to go. However, then he cried the whole way down the stairs saying he wanted to go. Sigh by Mom. . . then up again we climbed. So, we tried it again. This time he sat on the waterslide (thankfully at this time, it was not busy!) and was staring down the slide and again, he decided no. This time, at least, on the way down he kept saying "Mama, I too little for dat. I too small for dat slide."

After a pizza lunch and a small break, the kids were at it again. We could see how tired the kids were getting, so we gave the "a few more minutes and then time to go." Well, Evan decided he wanted to try the waterslide again, so Tim took him up this time. It was busier at this time, so the wait for the slide was about 20 minutes. Apparently Evan attempted once, then changed his mind. Then, started to cry on the way down the steps. So, again, Tim brought him up once more (and waited in line again) and told Evan, this is it buddy! AND... he did it! I could finally tell, while waiting at the bottom for Evan to come down, when he started as Tim and Emma peered down the top deck, smiling and pointing the whole way down. Finally, Evan makes it, looking nervous and the first thing he says to me? "Mama, Daddy push-ah me! Daddy push-ah me down dat!" After that, it was all over. Evan wanted to go over and over like his big sister Emma! (so yes, we extended the trip a little longer)

So, definitely a successful trip :-)

The next day we hung out at home, which was nice. Emma didn't want to go to Sunday School, which was actually kind of nice, so we had a relaxing, calm morning. Tim and I then decided that we would head to Mendards and buy stuff for the garden and the little greenhouse domes. We do the little greenhouse domes every year and I really think the kids enjoy doing them. This year, they each got their own greenhouse and could pick out their own packets of seeds (only nine cents each!!) So, we came home loaded with 4 greenhouse domes, packets of beans, corn, watermelons, flowers, tomatoes, and more flowers! This is the end result.

4 greenhouse domes!Hopefully everything will come up!

The faithful dog helping out! (and being a nuisance) Proud little man with his sprayer.

His particular dome. He basically just poked a seed through the little holes in the peat moss.

And, my Emma, enjoying the activity!

Then, more of the same. Work, Daycare, homework, both kids fighting colds, and more stuff. Something that Tim and I did decide was that instead of having a bigger vacation with the kids, such as the Dells or something else, we were going to buy something for the kids that we knew they would love.

The gator...

THEY LOVE THIS!!

It was definitely worth skipping out on a vacation this year and putting the money towards something this. They are on this as much as they can be. Obviously, limited battery life, but they love it. The nice thing? Two speeds AND the fact that it goes very well in the grass. So, they can motor all over the yard. Which, is good because Evan has to do what Tim does in the yard. If Tim is raking in the garden, Evan is raking in the garden. If Tim is clipping raspberries, yup, Evan is there too. So, the gator is the perfect thing for both kids to help in the yard! (Emma is pushing here because the battery was not charged here, but Evan could not WAIT to get on it) In fact, Evan is pretty sure the gator is his. Trust me when I say that Emma corrects him every time he says that!

The next exciting thing for the family? A wedding! Our nephew Adam was married this past Friday, so we got all fixed up and had a great time at the wedding! The kids did really well the whole night (I came prepared with snacks, iPod, Leapster, etc) and we enjoyed the food and then we DANCED! Emma had a lot of fun out there dancing with me, her cousin Jordyn, uncle Dave, and of course? Papa and Daddy. Her two favorite men. :-) She tried to dance with Evan, but by the time the dance came around, Evan was pretty exhausted. He did dance with me and Tim, but he had to be carried and basically lay on us.

Here are some new family pics from the wedding. LOVE THESE! Kristen did a great job! Aren't my children adorable?! I love my little man in his cute little suit and Emma with her pretty pink dress! She was so proud how it twirled when it danced!

(I am sorry, I am trying to space my paragraphs, but for some reason blogger is running them all together - grrr!)

The missing kernel

After a wonderful vacation of sorts for our family (which will be posted about later), the Heuer family retired to their basement to watch the newest DVD in their movie collection, Tangled. Tangled is a great movie, full of color, action, humor, great music, and (sigh) a love story. We were almost done with the movie when Tim and I hear from the youngest of the Heuer clan, "Daddy, I got popcorn in my nose." I whip my head around from the other couch and say, "Evan, WHAT?" He looks at Tim, "Daddy, I got popcorn up my nose." Tim doesn't seem concerned and passes over the statement, so I settle back in and continue watching. A few minutes later, once again the questionable statement is spoken, "Daddy. I got popcorn up my nose." Then, Evan starts picking his nose. Tim, once again, doesn't really bat an eye and says, "Evan, blow your nose." So, Evan fumbles with a napkin and starts picking again. "Tim!" (an exasperated wife proclaims) "check your sons nose!" "Yeah, I will." But with that statement comes no action. Finally, I get off of the couch because of the lack of follow up and proceed over to my son, who is still picking his nose. "Evan, Let Mama see." Evan tips up his head and I take a look. I don't really see anything that resembles popcorn, but do see something. So, I take a napkin and tell Evan to blow. Once he does, I take the napkin away from his nose and .... I see it... A popcorn kernel. Evan stuffed a popcorn kernel up his nose. Seriously - Why?? Why would he stuff that up there? What is it in his little mind that thinks.. "Gee - here is a small round object. Maybe I should stuff it up a small hole I have in my nose. Hmmm.. that could be cool." At least he told us and it came out easily. I shudder to think what is next to come.

Out of the mouths of babes....

Emma today while we were eating dinner. . . "Mama? Why do you say I am skinny?" Well, because you have skinny little legs. I always tell you to eat more, even though you never do. Plus, you exercise. We like to run and exercise together, right? So, eating healthy meals and exercising makes you skinny. "Mom? Why aren't you skinny then?" Well (grrring.... to myself) that is because everyone comes in different shapes and sizes. Some people are really skinny, some people are more wide. Others are very tall and some are short. Then, people have different colors of skin and hair and eyes. But, all people are the same, no matter how they look, and everyone needs to be treated the same. "Okay Mommy." Now, I am not taking it seriously. I think I am an okay size. However, it still interesting to discover how little people think.

Yesterday when I was at class, Tim had an interesting conversation with Evan.

Setup...... Evan was laying down for bed and Tim didn't give him his Nuk. So, Tim kissed him goodnight, closed the door, and stood at the door. Evan got up numerous times...

"Daddy, I need water."

"Daddy, I need chapstick."

"Daddy, I not tired."

"Daddy, what doing?"

"Daddy, what Emma doing?"

"Daddy, what Mama doing?"

over... and over... and over....

So, finally, after putting him to bed several times, Evan started crying. When Tim went in there to check on him AGAIN, Evan was sitting up in his bed and crying. Tim asked him "Buddy, what is wrong?" Evan says...

"I don't know Daddy. I am just crabby."

Then, yes, Tim gave him his Nuk and he fell right to sleep. He is a weak one, that guy....

And finally, tonight, Evan unfortunately had an accident while playing outside. So, we came in and stripped him down to his cute little white bare butt. He wanted to take a bath in the washbin in the laundry room. So, he was in there and Emma was taking a shower. Evan looks up to me and says, "I Cute! I cute in here Mama. What is dis thing called?"

Stuff going on. . .

Random stuff that is going on. . .

Evan has been wearing Big-Boy Undies for the past two days and has only had 2 accidents! This is a very big deal and he is so proud of himself! Yes, at times he sits on the potty 4 times in an hour. Yes, other times we have to coax him with M&M's to get him on the potty but overall, he is doing a great job! He loves wearing his Lightning McQueen Undies and riding his motorcycle (aka. sitting on the potty backwards - (thank you Molly for that tip!)) and especially loves his M&M's or treats from the big bowl. Overall, I think we are crossing the other side with this! So many things lately: undies... big boy bed... now just his (gulp) Nuk. I know! I know...... don't say it. This is his last thing. It is just so hard when he looks at me with tear-stained eyes and says, "But Mama, I NEED my Nukie!" (insert sniffle.. sniffle here). It will come. soon....

Emma is in private swimming lessons now (at Tim's suggestion) and is doing very well in them so far! So far, her teacher has nicknamed her "the little fish" and she really has been doing awesome. She has had 2 so far and we have actually seen progression from last week to this week. She is now putting her whole body under water to get rings or their little frogs, she will do the little bird-big bird flap somewhat on her own, and she is really building her confidence. She is also gearing up for T-Ball. I cannot remember if I mentioned this or not. Tim has signed her up for T-Ball and he has signed up to be an assistant coach. Emma is really excited as is Tim to become involved in coaching again. The nice thing is that her T-Ball team will be kids from her soon-to-be school and in her grade. So, she will be meeting some of her future friends! It should be interesting to watch. They are hoping to go shopping this weekend to buy supplies :-) and I am hoping to take her to buy some softball clothes!

Signs that I am getting old. . .

Signs that I am getting old:

1) I want to buy window treatments for my house. Like I REALLY want window treatments for some windows.

2) I am working on a boring list of improvements for my house.
a. new showerhead
b. possible window seat in the front
c. new mirror for the front
d. ORGANIZATION!
e. decluttering
f. fresh coats of paint
g. new carpet and wood floors

3) I am seriously considering "asking" for a Roomba (automatic vaccum thing) for Mother's Day

4) My hip hurts and I am pretty sure my knee aches when it is going to storm

5) I get emotional about the good ole' days with my kids. I took like 10 pictures of Evan tonight in his crib because tomorrow, he gets a big boy bed at home

6) I tend to want to wear sweatpants and comfy clothes when not at work. (could be considered a "What Not To Wear" faux pas)

I guess that is it. Do you ever have those moments when you realize you are not a partying-going out all the time - staying up late - drinking too much - not remembering the previous night - wearing short skirts & tiny tank tops and hailing cabs while going out to clubs in the winter - kind of gal anymore? My girlfriends and I have been discussing having a wild night out on the town again and I think it is needed. Although, chances are we will be looked at and thought of as the "old-crazy-Mom's-trying-to-act-young-out-on-the-dance-floor."


Sigh.... sometimes it is a bitch getting old.

Damn... my knee hurts. I hope we don't get more snow.

Taking it to a new level

So, remember how I mentioned how much Emma apparently "loves" Justin Bieber? Well, yesterday, she drew a picture and this is how she described it to me.

"Mama! Look at the picture I drew. It shows that I love Justin Bieber. Here is me, here is Justin Bieber and here is a heart. Because... I love Justin Bieber." (Yes, I wish I would have kept the picture. She drew this at Kristen's and I am not sure what happened to it.)

Me: "Umm.. Gee Emma. That is, uh, nice."

Then, later she is playing house with her cousins and she comes down the stairs to tell me. "Guess what Mama! I am going on a date with Justin Bieber!"

Grrr..... the influence of other people's children. Yes, I know it will only get worse when she is in school. So, I guess I will have to look up a Justin Bieber song on iTunes. She keeps singing some "Baby, Baby, Baby" song. Which, it is pretty comical to listen to her sing it!

Tim was joking with her tonight about marrying Justin Bieber instead of him. "Emma! I thought you were going to marry me! You cannot marry Justin Bieber." She giggles, smiles with her bright blue eyes and says "Daddy!! You cannot marry someone that is already married! Or, someone that is in your family. But, anyway, Justin Bieber has a girlfriend..."

She has also became very fond of the movie, "How to Train Your Dragon" which, is a very good movie by the way. Anyway, she was telling us on the way home last weekend that she needs a new haircut. She needs half her bangs over her eyes and half her bangs cut short. I glanced at Tim, wondering where this is going and cautiously ask, "Gee Emma, why?" "MOM! That is how Astrid has her hair!" Like Duh! How could I not have known that? (Astrid is the lead female character from that movie. Then she told me that she wants to change her name to Astrid Rose Heuer. I countered that with "Emma, we are not going to change your name to Astrid. How about if you are Astrid for Halloween?" She loved that idea and the rest of the way home, she discussed how the whole family was going to be a character from "How to Train Your Dragon" for Halloween. Tim was going to be Stoic. I had to be Ruffnut. She really wanted Evan to be Tuffnut, but Evan wouldn't have any of that. He had to be Toothless! It was a pretty fun conversation for the way home as she was talking about costumes, decorating the lawnmower, and if her cousins would want to be part of the theme as well.

And, not to forget about little Evan!! Here are some tidbits:
** He calls his bathrobe a robot. So, right out of the bathtub, he ask, "Mommy, where my Robot? I need my Robot."

** Evan got to spend more time with Kate and Charlie these past few days and has loved every minute! He helped me feed Kate yesterday and was totally into it. He didn't do that well holding the bottle very still, but he tried. He got to hold her as well with Tim's help and loved it. He looked up at me, "I kiss her Mommy?" So, he was kissing her forehead, rubbing her forehead with his head, holding on to her hand and just being very attentive to her. When it was time to wake Charlie up, he ran to the room and sprinted back out "Charwie wake! Charwie wake Mommy!" He found some pretend baby-doll bottles and held them up to Tim "Daddy! Fill up with milk Daddy! Feed Charwie" He ran to find the diaper wipes for Nana when she was changing a diaper and was just being a good big cousin. He would be an awesome big brother, but Tim says "Don't even go there...."

We are all kind of getting over colds and trying to find our way to a healthy household here. I had a day on Wednesday where I couldn't really talk, which the kids thought was pretty funny. I took to whispering in the morning and both kids started whispering back to me. Hopefully with the weekend coming up and more rest hopefully and some relaxing we can all get there.

A sign of hope

Sun! and Snow Melting! and almost 50 degrees! Finally - hoorah! Hooray! As much as I love snow, I am so happy to see small signs of hope that spring is coming. The kids are as well. We played on the driveway tonight and Emma kept hooping & hollaring when she saw green grass! I think Spring Fever has hit the Heuer House.

We were up at the cabin this past weekend and enjoyed the days fishing, spending time with family, and just hanging out. The kids were very excited to do some fishing on the lake and we were able to do this without the ice-shack this time. So, we loaded up kids and equipment on the snowmobile (which is always a big hit with kids and dog) and headed out. The guys drilled about 8 holes and the kids set to work cleaning out the holes. That, by far, is their favorite job. Not many fish were caught, one to be exact, but all had a great time enjoying the weather and time outdoors. Evan always claims to catch many fish, as he will constantly reel up his line and proclaim "Mama! I caught fish!" when he sees his minnow. But, whatever keeps him excited for fishing, I am okay with.

The other big news is the fact that the Kellogg twins are home! We ventured over that way on Thursday of last week to welcome them home. I was the only one of my family to have met them, so the rest of the family was excited to meet them. Evan was a bit nervous at first as he thought he was going to have to give them his Nuk's (no.... he hasn't given them up yet) but when I told them he could still keep them for awhile, he was happy to go over there. Earlier that day we were at a local shopping outlet and I told Evan that we should buy Charlie a small Lightning McQueen car. His response? "No.. Chahwee too little for Queen, Mama."

So, we made it over and Emma got to hold Kate for a bit, which she absolutely loved! She was very careful and could be seen talking to her and kissing her forehead every once in awhile. I was holding Charlie and Evan could not get enough of that little boy. First it was "Let me see him. See dat guy!" He wanted to hold him, give him kisses, and many hugs. I didn't let him hold him, but I did lower Charlie many times so Evan could see him and give him some love.

Some pics of the cuties:

Have a great week!

The big girl

Emma has had a pretty exciting few days lately!

Thursday -"We were Fishing for Kindergarteners!" YEA! It was the Kindergarten open house and Emma was beyond excited. She bounded into our bedroom at about 6:15 in the morning wondering when the bus was coming. She was pretty disappointed when I told her that the bus wasn't coming to pick her up, but felt a bit better when she discovered that Evan was going to daycare that day and she was not.

So, at 9:45 that morning, Tim, Emma, me, Kaylee, and Nana got in the truck and headed to kindergarten. The kids went to the kindergarten rooms, met the teachers, and did some projects and listened to stories. The parents went to the other room to hear from some teachers, the school nurse, a lunch lady, and the principal. Very exciting (well, somewhat exciting) but informational. After that was the most exciting part - the actual bus ride. Kaylee and Emma skipped to the bus and found a spot about mid-way on the bus. Nana and I were right behind them and it was fun to poke our heads over the seats to see them eagerly chatting, looking out the window, and giggling to each other. The bus did a quick 5 mile circle and then parked back at the school. When we got there, Emma looked at me and quietly said, "Mama, this isn't our stop." I smiled and told her that the bus wasn't going to drop us off at our house. She tried to explain that obviously the bus knows where we live because it drops Kyra off and we should just tell the driver that we live by Kyra. So, I had to explain that we were just going on a quick bus ride and that was it. Once again, she was a little disappointed.

Here are some pics of the kids on the bus.

Now, I know that I have been constantly thinking this (and occasionally saying this) but how can she be getting this big? How can this little girl, who I swear was just a 7# bundle, be ready for school? The best part is that she is so excited, but it was a little emotional being there. The first day of school is going to be a hard one.

After the kindergarten experience, we had a quick lunch and then Emma spent the afternoon playing with Kaylee. Fun for her and good for me as I had some work to do that day. Then, Emma went back to the school with the neighbors to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss! They listened to stories, did some crafts, and then had cake, ice cream & punch. For Emma, the day could not have ended any better. . . and . . . because of the lack of nap, she fell asleep right away.

Here are the girls at the restaurant after the school experiences:

** side note, Emma has informed me lately that she loves Justin Bieber. Sigh.. seriously...! Her best friend at daycare, Breezy, has older sisters that must follow Justin Bieber as now Emma and Breezy love Justin Bieber. Emma even informed me that it was just Justin Bieber's birthday and that Breezy is going to marry Justin Bieber. Emma can sing one of his songs as I guess they listen to his CD or something like that too. Apparently I need to pick some up from iTunes.

The next day was just as exciting for the little girl, but this time Evan was able to partake in some of it. I took Nana, Kaylee, Evan, and Evan to Underwater World at the Mall of America. My children have never been there before and were so excited. Evan kept repeating "Sharks! Sharks scary!" And Emma was just as excited. The kids did have a great time. It had been awhile since I was there too and it was fun seeing it through the kids eyes. They kept reaching out for the fish, shrieking if they swam "over" them, and running from tunnel to tunnel. After that was Nickelodeon world and rides. I tend to forget that the Mall of America can be a fun little jaunt at times for the kids. Expensive, yes, but really, for a day of fun it is not too bad. We rode many rides, walked around the park, and then had lunch in the food court.

The last big event for Emma was Princesses on Ice. We had never taken her to anything like that before and I really wasn't sure what to expect out of her. I knew she would like it, but wasn't sure if she would get antsy, whiny or what. She did great! Once again, she was very excited and it was fun to do another grown up thing with her. I let her wear one of her princess dresses and she happily chose her Sleeping Beauty gown and fairy wings. We got there early so we could take it all in and enjoy the city. She likes being downtown and driving around the buildings. Princesses on Ice had displays of Princess dresses and different scenes for the kids to see. At the end was Cinderella, a real person Cinderella. Emma's eyes got so big and round and she yanked on my hand, pulled me close and whispered, "Mama, she IS the real Cinderella! She really is!" So, that was very precious.

She did awesome for the show; sat on the edge of her seat the entire time actually. We both enjoyed cotton candy, popcorn, and a Princess Icee ( for roughly $40 - ugh) . So all was good in the world. She fell asleep on the way home, with I am sure Princesses skating in her head. :-)

The rest of the weekend we were at home, lounging, cleaning, and playing. I went for a nice long run with Sage, had Sunday School with Emma, and did homework. Both kids enjoyed a trip to Home Depot for their Saturday morning project. Evan built a piggy bank and Emma built a little kids shelf. It was so cute and the kids really had a great, great time. Evan was so proud of his piggy bank and carried it around the rest of the day. One time, Emma tried to step on it or move it or something and Evan got so upset proclaiming "Emma! I built dat! Emma! No, I built dat!" So, that has churned some thoughts on Tim's head and he is now thinking of little projects to do with the kids at home.

Emma is signed up for T-ball this summer. Tim may be an assistant coach and I think he is pretty excited to get Emma outside to practice. The nice thing is that she will be on a league with kids from her own school & age. So, she will be meeting some of the kids in her future kindergarten class!

Evan has been doing awesome with potty training. He is usually dry during the day, but has not mastered nap time or overnight yet. But, I don't care about that, that will come with time. The daytime is a great start!

Here are a few pics of him saying goodbye to his crib at the cabin and helping Tim take it down. He loved that part and really enjoys being a "big helper! I big helper Mommy!"