Our Family of Five

Remembering December

2012-01-10T14:14:00.001-07:00

December started out with crazy winds. Here, my neighbors 3 large pine trees went down in the early morning December 1st. They were without power for 3 days. :-( We spent one day near our gas fireplace and headed into SLC for Noodles & Company that evening, but we had power by the next day.

Mike & I have fun getting creative with this Christmas tree every year (well this is our second year, last year we filled it with green wrapped boxes, this year ribbons). We put an artificial tree for the kids to decorate downstairs so all were happy, adults and children.

Temple Square on the Monday before Christmas. Cold, busy and beautiful.

We met our friends from Minnesota there, Ben, Nina and kiddos. It was great to see them!!

The kids were about to tear open their new pjs from Gran & Pa on Christmas Eve at Jess & Dave's in this photo.

Christmas morning! Stuffed reindeer!!

A very cool stress ball.

Another joyous event in December, the birth of Baby Grey, Dec 12th. My sister, Laura and Martin welcomed little Grey into the world in North Carolina. I have pics on my phone but not on the computer. Just imagine a darling, perfect little baby and that's Grey.

Mike and I hit up our first real cooking class at Gygi's. Chinese Cuisine. My confidence soared after I made Cashew Chicken that turned out great!

A month full of get-togethers. Not so full of snow. But full of Christmas cheer just the same. The end.

(For those who care to listen to me ramble even more about December......

A few more highlights:

Christmas piano recitals in American Fork, a ward Christmas party and family Christmas parties, a great time in Cache Valley with Mike's family for the New Year, my first time in the Conference Center for the MoTab Christmas concert, gingerbread cookies with Auntie Connie, a yummy neighborhood cookie exchange, celebrating Jess's Dec 23rd bday, a visit with my Grams in Price, a new haircut, chatting with C & Hil in Texas-their baby is due this week! wishing Ty a happy bday on Dec 31st)

The way to a kid's heart.....

2011-11-22T12:07:00.002-07:00

Jokes!

I found this little book at a local shop and we have been ROTFL ever since.

My kids are too young to do as this book says, "tear out a joke and place it in your kid's lunch box" so we've just been giggling over dinner as I read the jokes aloud.

Some of our favorites:

Q: What do mermaids use to wash their hair?

A: Clam-poo!

Q: What does a butterfly sleep on?

A: A cater-pillow.

Q: What do you call a fairy who needs a bath?

A: Stinker-bell.

Q: How does the ocean say hello?

A: It doesn't. It just "waves".

Q: What did the tree say to the squirrel?

A: Leaf me alone!

I recently went on a field trip with 1st grade. I was in charge of 3 boys. I pulled out my secret weapon (read: jokes!) and by the end of the field trip, the boys wanted to sit by me, an ol' Mama, on the bus ride home. Simple and always a hit, take it from me--jokes are the key to popularity. :-)

Fun Stuff

2011-11-20T22:35:00.008-07:00

Doing some Christmas shopping? You should totally check out uncommongoods.com. These quirky earrings were under my tree last year. These are on my wishlist this year. OK and these too. This cute thing was featured in one of my mags and would be happy on my counter. Gummy Bear lights, felted soap, shower curtains that make you sing and dance.....oh how I love a unique piece!

Happy Shopping!

My Twins

2011-11-20T21:23:00.001-07:00

I snapped this photo of Max and Mae tonight at 4 1/2 years of age. It reminded me of the mountains of pictures I used to take when the twins were young, and when being 'twins' was more noticeable. I'm walking down memory lane for a minute. Won't you join me?

Here come 10 sweet pictures from the past. I could have added SO MANY more, but I was getting teary eyed, so I stopped at ten. :)

And speaking of twins, don't these two look alike?? Love it- like father, like son.

Kids!

2011-11-20T20:32:00.002-07:00

I took the kids to the book fair at Quinn's school. If you want a glimpse into a kid's personality, take them to a book fair. I couldn't stop smiling as I watched them each choose a book. Quinn spotted a mysterious Scooby Doo story and was set. Mae waffled between Dora's Christmas Parade and Fancy Nancy, The Nanc won out. Max perused the book shelves and fell in love with Teeny Tiny Animals. Kids are so hilarious. And awesome. And unique. And fantastic.

Another good personality test is the grocery store bakery. Take your kids to Dick's, line them up in front of the frosted cookies and let 'em pick. Mae treasures butterflies (sadly the butterflies are pretty scarce as of late), Quinn just finished his first 6 week session of basketball, and oh how Max loves a chiwawa.

There is a billboard we pass on the freeway--a woman holding her small dog close to her face and every time we pass it I hear you-know-who coo; "Awwwww! Look at that cute doggy!". Crack me up!

Having kids is such a treat.

My Get-Away

2011-11-10T09:28:00.029-07:00

I just got home from Florida!

My parents and I spent 5 days on Sanibel Island, FL.

Shells! Shells! More shells!

Sanibel Island is known for its shelling beaches.

I brought all these home in my carry-on. :-)

On Sanibel Island many shell lovers do what's called, the "Sanibel Stoop". Here I am, doing what tourists do.

Dad was teaching at a conference held at the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Refuge--that's the reason we were able to embark on this gorgeous Florida adventure. Dad's work has taken me so many wonderful places. Thanks for always letting me come along for the ride Dad!

We drove the 4 mile loop through the wildlife refuge and walked a bunch of trails to get a good feel for Southwest Florida. Where Dad is walking in this picture, we heard alligators-in the wild-bellowing in the bushes near us. I was spooked. Did I mention we were the only 3 people around?? Hello Alligator Bait!

The mangroves were really neat and different looking.

230 kinds of birds live in this refuge. Look at Mom & Dad--we were checking them all out.

My favorite was the roseate spoonbill.

Alligators! Inside the refuge there were some areas where the gator watching was gooood. We saw this guy swim right past us.

After he swam by us, he crossed the road--right where we were standing!

Reading this sign kinda gave me the goosebumps.

There he goes, swimming away on the other side of the refuge.

We left the island for a day and went into Fort Myers. The winter estates of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford are right there in Southwest Florida. We had a great time touring the historic grounds and houses.

Here are some light fixtures in Edison's home that he designed.

Great views of the Caloosahatchee River from the estates. It was good fun to spend time with 2 of my best friends.

Oh and it was wiiindy--the wind whipped us around our audio tour.

Thomas Edison planted hundreds of Royal Palm trees on and around his estate. They are gorgeous and so majestic.

We celebrated Mom's birthday while in sunny Florida (what a way to spend your big day, right?!). Lunch on the beach.....

Famous ice cream on Sanibel....

A tasty seafood dinner....

Watching the sunset on Bowman's Beach (OK, so we actually missed the sunset by like 60 seconds, but the afterglow was pretty lovely)....

Happy Birthday Mom! Love ya!

I had a ball in Florida!

Three cheers for Mike taking time off from work to care for the kids while I was gone. I loved my R&R and came home renewed. I could have used a few more days (read: months!) of 80 degree weather, but the people I love live where its cold, so I happily threw on a scarf and boarded the plane for home.

I leave you with a picture of some beautiful, rose wrapped toilet paper. The luxuries of room service (sigh) I will not soon forget.

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-08T22:32:00.006-07:00

Mae's smiley one. Quinn's toothy one. Max's scary one.

Quinn picked his own pumpkin from a pumpkin patch while on a field trip with 1st grade.

Mae was Tinkerbell this year.

We trick-or-treated with the cousins. We love to spend as much time as possible with these 4 cute girls and their parents. :-)

Quinn strikes a pose as Spiderman.

Captain Hook!

When I told my neighbor that Mae was going as Tinkerbell she said Mike should be Captain Hook (thanks for the costume Jessica!). Mike had fun harassing the trick-or-treaters and carrying Tinkerbell around.

Max was Spiderman too this Halloween.

Every chance I get, I load my family up and take them to Jess's. Love ya Sista!

refreshment for the soul

2011-09-20T14:18:00.001-06:00

I have long wanted to walk through Red Butte Garden.
I got my chance 2 weeks ago when they advertised a free evening of garden delights.

5 miles of winding trails led us through this tree "arch".

We spent a lot of time in the Herb Garden, smelled every petal in the Rose Garden, hopped on rocks through the Waterfall Garden and discovered the Children's Garden just as it was time to leave (the kids made us promise we would come back and explore that garden!).

It was glorious to be among so many beautiful plants. Everywhere you turned, there was something lovely to view.

It feels good to blog again! I love reading and commenting on all your blogs, it's about time I updated mine.

the last few months....

2011-06-20T10:11:00.002-06:00

Hey all! We have had a busy few months of house hunting, but the hunt is finally over. Drumroll please....we are moving to Bountiful! We hope the commute for Mike will be easy, the countryside looks lovely and the home & yard are nice.

Now it's time to get serious about moving and pack up... I'm trying to put it off, can you tell- I mean, I'm blogging! :-)

Here are some pictures from the not-too-distant past:

Quinn and I dying some eggs at Gran & Pa's

Quinn's Silly Sally play in April. Max, Mae and I went to watch, it was singing silliness at its best!

Mae snapped this picture of Max

Max snapped this picture of Mae

Now I'm off to fill some boxes.

Waaayy Overdue

2011-04-19T11:45:00.001-06:00

They're 4!

We played at the Burger King play place, ate sugar cookies shaped likes Easter eggs, opened a mountain of presents (double the gifts with twins!) and smothered these two little people with love on their special day.

Happy Birthday Max and Mae!!!!!

Party On!

2011-03-10T08:21:00.003-07:00

What a day! Quinn turned 6 yesterday.

He was such a funny, cute kid about his birthday. He sure had opinions this year. His requests were: spaghetti for dinner (I threw tacos out there, hoping he'd go for that because it's easier for me to make than b-sketti, but he firmly told me he liked b-sketti the best. We went to Noodles & Co.), a birthday cake (he's getting one on Saturday for his party, so I tried to get away with chocolate covered strawberries for his birthday treat but he wasn't havin' it), that everyone hide and surprise him when he gets home from school (he acted so surprised and thrilled when Mike and the twins popped out from behind the door and under the couch, it was hilarious), twinkies for his school treat, and a rousing round or two of Heads Up 7-Up before we went to bed. Oh, and lots of presents. Quinn told me and Mike several times before his b-day that we had better get him some presents. Because he couldn't see them wrapped sitting on the fireplace, the poor kid must have thought his parents weren't going to pull through in the gift department! We all had a great time celebrating Quinn. I feel blessed to be his Ma (that's what he's called me from the beginning, Ma or Mama, it's precious). Happy Birthday Big Guy!

page by page

2011-02-22T11:05:00.006-07:00

Bookworms!

Right after the holidays we discovered the Magic Tree House series (I was reading Liz's blog and saw her kids got these books for Christmas and I had to try them out!). We are hooked! It's been so fun to read chapter books and have all three kids glued to the pages. We just started book #14, Day Of The Dragon King.

I've decided that my favorite thing to do with my children is read together. Fun for everyone!

Janitors

2011-02-19T10:47:00.005-07:00

My little brother is an author!!!

This awesome tale is going to be released in August. My bro is publishing with Shadow Mountain and Brandon Dorman (brandondorman.com) is the illustrator.

I am so excited for Ty's success.

He's a cool little brother, a great friend, a fantastic Uncle and a brand new author. Congrats Ty!

Quinn hits the slopes

2011-02-17T10:08:00.005-07:00

1st time skiing!

In January, when Quinn's kindergarten teacher asked him what he did over Christmas break Quinn answered, "Well, I didn't go skiing and I really wanted to!".

They tackled a 1/2 day at Beaver Mountain. Mike said it was just about right for this little guys first time. Quinn said he'd like to go again, a sign that he had a great day!

Let's wrap this up with a little Groundhog Day fun.

We drove to my sister's house to see her new baby (so sweet Sadie) and to make a tasty treat with the cousins. We filled cups with "dirt" to make Punxsutaney Phil's home and then plopped him on his mound. Most of the rodents we colored turned out pretty normal; brown fur, brown nose, brown paws. But this snazzy little guy was Mike's groundhog. It looks like he wanted to make an impression for his 125th annual weather forecast.

whoosh!

2011-02-16T11:00:00.003-07:00

Weather is so cool.

Super windy today. And pretty warm (53 degrees as I type).

Sunshine, pinwheels, a breeze & dress-ups make for a great day.

Supposed to snow tomorrow. I'm OK with that.

Weather is awesome.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-09T16:33:00.010-07:00

Remember Christmas?

Here Max is arranging the ornaments on the "real tree". The fun tree that Mike & I made downstairs was not a real tree in the kids eyes.

Looooove my new slippers. Oh, and loooove my son. :-)

We saw the Utah Symphony Orchestra perform The Polar Express.

We cruised downtown on TRAX for a fun-filled trip to Temple Square with Mike's sister, Karie & hubby Keith and their family.

Here is my favorite colored tree on Temple Square.

We spent some quality time with all my family (my Dad is NOT this stern).

See what a good sport he is? I love this about you Dad!

A great Christmas. It's a gift to live near family.

Temple Grounds

2010-11-15T13:47:00.005-07:00

Look at this place. It's glorious.

I took these pictures on a magnificent fall day in early November.

I wanted my kids to walk around the temple while the fountain was still going, the flowers still blooming and the leaves still on the trees.

Mae has been wanting to go to the temple for several weeks now. She's very interested every time I leave the house to attend a temple session. She always begs to come along, last time tears were involved.

She wanted to wear her white church dress to walk along the temple grounds. I was touched at how sweet and excited she was about the temple. It warmed my heart.

I really enjoyed this afternoon and I think my kids did too. I feel immensely blessed to live close (less-than-15 mins-away-close) to a temple. There is so much beauty and peace at this Holy House.

Texas Trip!

2010-11-06T21:48:00.004-06:00

Mike & I flew to TX in October so he could take his pediatric board exams in Houston. We decided to make a trip out of it. A most excellent decision, if I do say so myself.

C & Hil picked us up from the airport and our adventure began (you must check Hil's blog to see more fun TX photos. Click C & Hil on my blog list).

Here we are, taking in the beautiful foliage and enjoying a warm Texas evening, walking around The Alamo.

Sweet, sweet bar-b-q. We savored many good meals while visiting C & Hil. The food in Texas is so different and oh-so delicious!

C gave us a tour of Texas State University where he's getting his PhD. Here I am, shaking Lyndon B. Johnson's hand. President Johnson went to school at Texas State and so does C!

In Austin, we had amazing tacos and hot-chocolate shakes at Torchy's Tacos and Holy Cacao food trucks. That was some good eatin'.

Mike & I rented this Smart Car to take us from C & Hil's home to San Antonio. We were doubtful that both of us and our luggage could squeeze into such a car, but we fit. It was the perfect rental car, one you would never buy, but would love to try out for a few hours.

We stayed one night with our dear friends, Anna & Dell, before flying out of San Antonio. What a treat to see them and their sweet children, Henry & Lizzy.

While Mike & I were away, this picture was emailed to us. The words of the email went, "Sorry to report this, but the last time I saw Mae she was with these two strange little men." I dare say the children had as much fun with family here in UT as we did in TX! :)

Thanks to C & Hil for showing us your awesome world. Thanks to my parents, Mike's parents and Jess & Dave for caring for our young 'uns. It was a trip to remember, for all of us.

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-02T14:24:00.003-06:00

A piece of pepperoni pizza--

Two cute bugs--

Connie's awesome jellyfish--

Captain Jack, getting ready for a night out--

The cousins and the kids enjoying their spoils--

Carving our pumpkins a few days before Halloween--

One of Mike's first-rate photos--

Another fun Halloween! Boo!

An Outing

2010-10-09T13:09:00.006-06:00

We had a family pass to the Utah Museum of Natural History (thanks Liz!), so yesterday we took advantage of a free afternoon and headed up to the University of Utah's campus.

A giant magnetic wall puzzle was our first stop.

Mae and I loved all the glittery gems and stones. The nuggets of gold and beautiful opals were our favorites.

The dino skeletons were a big hit. Behind Quinn and Mae, a mighty allosaurus is sinking his teeth into his prey.

I saw this cool wall background at the museum and had to try for a family photo. Not the best, but I'm glad I tried!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a good picture of the kids favorite spot, an exhibit called Bugs Alive!. Insects were climbing, crawling, burrowing and swimming. Cockroaches, tarantulas, black widows, velvet ants, we saw them all.

Well, the kids are asking for lunch, I better call it quits. Good stuff is happening in Sandy, UT. :)

The County Fair

2010-09-13T15:03:00.002-06:00

I love a county fair.

The cotton candy, the carni-rides, the clean-as-a-whistle livestock, the mammoth size veggies , the kids' happy faces, seriously, what's not to love?!?!

Here are a few pics from the Cache County Fair, taken on August 14th.

Little Mae, pleased as punch, riding her horsey, Chubby.

The boys taking a turn on their horses, Nelson and Nels (the young cowboy who told me these horses names seemed to be making them up on the spot. "Ummm, Nelson and that's uh, Nels." My boys didn't seem to care.)

Rides! Quinn especially lives for the rides.

And here we are, exiting with our arms full of fair goodies (I almost took home a 6 month old pot-bellied pig too, but last minute decided that our landlords might not appreciate a hog sleeping in the kitchen. He was cute!)

Time well spent. :)

Hey Slow Blogger! Yep, that's me....

2010-07-21T15:44:00.013-06:00

The past:

Quinn and Hootz!!

The awesome Auntie Hil made it possible for Quinn to race the mascot of the Orem Owlz minor league baseball team last month. I loved Quinn's response when Auntie Hilary called to ask him if he wanted to race a giant owl. Quinn paused, raised his shoulders, softly giggled then said quietly, "Sure.". I burst out laughing. The Q was really excited and really nervous to go toe to toe with Hootz. I'm sure you can guess who won.....Quinn was one happy 5 year old!

While Quinn was sweating bullets rounding the bases, the rest of us looked like this. Surrounded by family, a little popcorn, some flashy sunglasses......

we're livin' it up in Utah. :)

Here they are, making hooting sounds. Quinn is holding/wearing the spoils of his win---a mini stuffed Orem Owl, a snazzy baseball that Auntie Hil gave him after she threw the opening pitch (she is such a celebrity, love it!), and a big black baseball hat that says Longballing on the front. Oh, what a night.

Even Past-er:

Over the 4th of July we went camping and rafting with Mike's family up in Montana.

Quinn found Uncle Kirk's mountain board and was in heaven, cruising around the campsite.

Mae, Pace and Paige are enjoying Grandma's hot scones for breakfast. Mae is super chill when she camps. She had a blast.

It was such a treat to hang out with Mike's siblings and parents. We ate well, slept well, and had a ball doing things we haven't done in years

(Mike used to talk about going camping during his residency......).

Here, Mike and Quinn (and a bunch of cousins and aunts & uncles) are headed out onto the Clark Fork River. The scenery was amazing, even if it was chilly, chilly for the first of July.

I love Mae's little bed head and sleepy face. Children love sleeping in a tent. Mike & I were making dreams come true that weekend.

Like I said, beautiful, beautiful country. The kids were set on swimming....when this pic was snapped, I was sitting on a rock with my fleece zipped up to my chin wishing I had some hot chocolate in hand! Kids are so incredible.

Well folks, there is more to be said. Much more. But I'm callin' it a night. Thanks to all who are checking in on us via blog. Life is rich here in UT!

Gone

2010-07-10T21:07:00.002-06:00

Here's Quinn, perched in our old tree. Yes, our old tree, in the front yard of our old house in our old town of Rochester, MN.

We've moved from our dear home, our dear neighborhood and our dear friends.

Life is good here in Salt Lake City, UT. Our rental home is nice. Very nice. The closeness to family is unreal & oh-so very much fun. But, you can see on Quinn's face-we were happy in Minnesota and I'm missing it tonight. (sniffle, sniff)

Back from Haiti

2010-06-06T13:35:00.004-06:00

It seems like a lifetime ago that I left Haiti, not a little over a week ago. I feel like I'm finally settling back into work and life, but I find myself checking the news every day for something from Haiti, surfing Facebook for updates from the Haitian interpreters and wondering what else I can do to help.

Basically, Haiti is still in chaos. Poverty is the norm, even before the earthquake in January. Health care is available to those that can afford it (a very few), and provided to the poor only through the outstanding and tireless work of organizations like International Medical Corps, Partners in Health and Doctors without Borders. The world's generosity was apparent with a global mix of clean water provided by Switzerland, Spain and Catholic Charities in the University Hospital (where I worked part of the week). Most of those who lost their homes still live in tents and tarped huts, with plans for more permanent relocation moving slowly in the face of the coming hurricane season. There is no such thing as homeowner's insurance in Haiti, making each and every destroyed home a complete loss, forcing even those who still have jobs to scramble for shelter.

To those who know Haiti's history, these dire conditions may not sound so different than before the earthquake. I've heard some people say that if the Haitian people wanted a more stable government or a more prosperous future, they would have done it by now; that our help is only prolonging their poverty and fostering dependence. I have to disagree with those who use these thoughts as reason to not give help when it is desperately needed. If our aid fosters dependence, we aren't doing it smart enough or with enough compassion. If we find it hard to give, I'm finding it hard to look at what I have and not see excess that could be trimmed and turned into more generosity. As Christ himself related “...when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer, … Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matt. 25:35–40.)

I hope you'll forgive a bit of preaching, when you were likely looking for more of a travel log. I just can't help but return from Haiti changed. Not just in my attitude toward Haiti and Haitians, but in how I view giving and compassion and wealth. I've lived a long time without seeing true poverty, and many live with it long enough to accept it as normal or see it on the news as something removed and somehow chosen by those that endure it. This, for me, has been a call to never forget our humanity and our bond as brothers and sisters, regardless of our situation.

a sweet mix-up

2010-05-27T09:19:00.008-06:00

Mike's in Haiti. That's far away. Jonah went to Nineveh. That's also far away.

Mae spotted Mike's water bottle here at home and asked me, "What if Daddy needs a drink in Nineveh? He will have to come home and get his water bottle.".

Oh, how I love to hear their little thoughts.

(I should say---we're learning a song about Jonah in church. Hence Mae's biblical knowledge of the prophet Jonah. It goes like this:

"Jonah was a prophet, tried to run away

But he later learned to listen and obey

If we really try the Lord won't let us fail

That's what Jonah learned deep down inside the whale")

New Words

2010-05-18T07:43:00.003-06:00

The kids and I were sitting down to lunch when Quinn turns and looks at me. He gets a big smile on his face, opens his mouth and says happily,

"You're stupid Mama!".

Whoa. Thoughts race through my mind, "What was that?! I don't think so! Try that again, Mr.!".

I look at my 5 year old. He's beaming.

New thoughts enter my mind, "He's trying out a new word. He likes the way it sounds. He doesn't get how hurtful that word is.".

Deep breath. Teaching moment, here I go....

I smile. I ask him where he's heard that word. He doesn't know. I tell him that's not a nice word to say to someone. It's an ugly word, a mean word.

The twins are glued this exchange. The next few minutes made my head spin. But it was a funny spin. A new kind of conversation for me and my kids. It went something like this;

"How about stinky?"

"How about big puffy?"

"Hello Cow!" ouch.

Language. Nice words. Mean words.

My kids are growing up.

The conversation ended with us suggesting happy words to replace bad ones. The phrase that everyone liked best was one Quinn used on my Dad just a few weeks ago. "Hi Gorgeous!". Quinn came up with that one all on his own. I think he's going to turn out alright after all.

Mother's Day

2010-05-14T18:41:00.002-06:00

I get to mother these three cuties:

After a wonderful morning of worship and a tasty pasta lunch by Mike (made right before he crashed on his pillow---he worked Saturday, Sat night & Sunday morning) the kids and I took a long nature walk Sunday afternoon to get out of the house while Daddy slept.

Spring, glorious Spring!

It is a joy to walk along the bike trail.

The kids were so cute about Mother's Day. I told them it was a day to give your Mom a gift and tell her you love her. Then I took them to Target (you see where this is going...) and they wanted to buy me everything! It was the cutest thing ever. If I stopped and lingered looking at something (for instance, sunglasses), the kids would say, "I'll get you some sunglasses for Mother's Day!". I laughed as Max held up a Go! Diego watch that he was going to buy for me. Bracelets, rings, shoes, headbands, the kids were ready to put anything I touched into the cart. I could have gone hog wild this Mother's Day! In the end, a nice new red wallet went into the cart, and Mama + kiddies were happy as could be.

Yeah, I'll keep my day job. My co-workers are pretty awesome (Daddy included!). :)

Egg-cellent!!!

2010-04-30T07:37:00.003-06:00

Check out Mike's "devil"ed eggs.

You are too cool Honey!

The kindest and best of men........

2010-04-29T19:38:00.002-06:00

Someone I love very much just turned 60.

We hopped in the van and drove 20 hours to surprise Dad on his birthday.

The next 2 1/2 weeks flew by. Time with dear Gran & Pa, hilarious Aunts and Uncles, darling cousins (contended sigh)......it was a great trip.

Dad, 60 looks great on you. Your heart grows bigger every year. I think you are really something special.

Recent Happenings

2010-04-05T06:02:00.009-06:00

Mike & I threw Quinn a birthday party. It happened on March 22nd, in the a.m., and the theme was "vehicles". This was the first birthday party we've ever done (I took a migraine pill the night before just as a precautionary). I think the 11 kids (plus Mom & Dad) had a "wheel-y" good time.
Here you see the spectacular cake Mike made Quinn. Complete with rocks, pebbles and potholes, this cake was as tasty to eat as it was fantastic to look at.

The Twins celebrated their 3rd birthday on March 28th.

What a pair of cuties.

I adore age 3.

Mike had Friday off (hip hip hooray!) so we spent the day at the Children's Museum in St. Paul.

Our favorite galleries were; Earth World & Habitot. At Earth World, the kids scrambled through an anthill to find the queen ant and played make-believe wearing beaver, ant and turtle costumes. Habitot, was the place where Max & Mae (and too-big Quinn) enjoyed exploring Minnesota's "habitots"; prairie, cave, pond and forest. There were fabric flowers for plucking; mirrors for gazing; buttons for pushing; and peek-a-boo holes for exploring.

The special exhibit; Dinosaurs, Land of Fire and Ice was neat. We have an awesome CD at home called Here Comes Science (the group: They Might Be Giants) on which one track is called, I Am A Paleontologist. The kids LOVE this song so to see a life-size edmontosaurus was truly a treat.

Life is good in Minnesota. We had a wonderful Easter weekend. With the sweet knowledge of Christ's resurrection in our home, delicious holiday food and time spent with dear friends, our Easter holiday was a special one.

Thanks for visiting our blog!

The Big Day: March 9th

2010-03-12T19:21:00.001-07:00

He's 5!

Quinn was crazy-excited about opening his birthday gifts. I mean, like no one I've ever seen before...SO excited.

Quinn has a serious sweet tooth. His birthday meals consisted of; Chocolate Marshmallow Mateys for breakfast, Twinkies for lunch, Chocolate marble cake with chocoate frosting for dinner, and his own bag of jelly beans for snacking throughout the day. This face is a classic Quinn face. He's such a cute, goofy kid!

We all had a great time celebrating Quinn last Tuesday. He LOVED being in the spotlight and having all the attention on him. Max & Mae are looking forward to their turn at the end of this month.

Side note--at the beginning of March, Mike built a snow cave in our backyard. He made this mound of snow by climbing on our roof and shoveling all the rooftop snow into a big pile just off our deck. Mike looked at me when it was done and said, "It's big enough for us to sleep in.". Had I given him any encouragement, I'm sure our family of five would have been sleeping Eskimo-style that very night. Luckily, I was able to maintain a dignified silence. :)

Baby, it's cold outside!

2010-02-28T18:40:00.002-07:00

A couch made of ice! Ahhh, the joys of living in frosty Minnesota.
Check out the Mayo Clinic behind Max's frozen little bod. Impressive, eh?!

Kindof a sleepy picture of me, but check out the size of that rock!

And the clarity! Fantastic.

The sun was shining when we left the house,

so I only grabbed the thin, little gloves for the kids.

Come to find out, it was freezing in the shade!!

Mae was cold, but such a trouper.

Snow pants would have been a good idea...and I call myself a mother?!?!

This fashionista was outside a snazzy clothing store. Mike spotted her handbag and had me freeze for a pic. Squeal! How I love a good bag!

I leave you with a note I just wrote to Old Man Winter;

Dear Mr. Winter,

I have enjoyed your icicle fingers.

I have admired your blanket of white snow.

I've delighted in your frosty windows and your icy, smooth lakes.

I've seen the beauty in your bare-limbed trees.

But dear Mr. Winter, I've got Spring Fever!

I want to see plants bloom recklessly!

I want to feel warm sun and focus on a crocus!

Won't you please go away and take your freezing temps with you?

Hugs,

Molly

The Big 3-1!

2010-02-22T08:06:00.003-07:00

Me & my birthday date.

My date took me dancing.

(check out the Dr. next to me. He's sportin' dance attire inspired by the rap group, Kris Kross. It was one funny night. :)

My date made me this gorgeous cake.

My date showered me with thoughtful gifts.

I have decided Saturday is a great day to have a birthday. My Dear One was home all day. He made me hot chocolate flavored with peppermint and topped with real whipped cream for breakfast. He created some delicious bow tie pasta for lunch (better than Noodles & Co.!). He took me to his work dinner party and wasn't embarrassed when I heard Backstreet Boys coming from the speakers and ran (mid-conversation w/ his colleagues) to the dance floor. Yes, Saturday was a great day.

Twinneroos!

2010-02-18T12:13:00.002-07:00

Look at these cuties!
I snapped this pic just moments ago as I was sitting down with the twins to read stories for quiet time. Even though they're not babies anymore, I still have fun dressing them in the same color when ever I can.

Matching blacks! :)

Max & Mae will be three next month. They are great little friends. Right now they're playing together in their bedroom while Quinn's at preschool and I'm working on the budget. Well, I will be working on the budget after I wrap up this post!

Max's hand was a bit shaky when he snapped this pic. Mae is holding her "Sweet D" (the words, Sweet Dreams are stitched onto the pink bunny's tummy). Lately she and "Sweet D" go everywhere together.

Mae's hand was steady and sure for this pic, perfectly capturing Max's mischevious smile.

A few mins have passed and Max & Mae are no longer quietly playing in the bedroom. They got into a tiff (something about Max covering Mae's head with a blanket over and over again) so they spent 5 mins apart, but now are back together, best buds again, playing in the front room.

Life with 2 two-year olds. It's wild and great!!!!!!

February Fun

2010-02-15T19:47:00.002-07:00

Here he is, newly 31.
Happy Birthday, Mike my dear!!

A few days later.......

Here's a pic of our Valentine's Breakfast (I cheated and made it for dinner Saturday night....with 9am church, a Valentine's breakfast Sunday morning just wasn't going to happen!). It was a very sweet meal. Quinn was disappointed that the milk was made pink by food coloring, not Strawberry Quick. My Mom bought Strawberry Quick once for the kids and they still talk about it! Quinn also commented that my pancakes looked like Y's, not hearts.

Hey little man, I'm doin' my best! :)

Mike gave me a rose for Valentine's. A rich, smooth, perfect rose. I wish there had been a dozen, mmmmm!

Last weekend was a fun one! This weekend should be glorious as well; Mayo is sponsoring a family ice skating activity(I heart ice skating!) and Saturday is my 31st birthday. I'm dreaming of a new handbag, heavily frosted cake and plenty of well-wishing emails in my inbox.

Faster, Mama Faster!

2010-01-24T19:46:00.003-07:00

There's something enchanting about an outdoor ice rink.

Mae and Max managed to squeeze together onto our old purple saucer. Hold on tight you twin cuties!

I'm warming up for my camel spin. And the crowd goes wild! (I did hear Mike cheering for me....)

Here's Max, pulling his new Christmas sled. The children loved being pulled around the ice or chasing after a sled containing a squealing sibling.

It was 34 degrees the day we hit the ice. Too nice.

What's Cookin'?

2010-01-24T19:15:00.005-07:00

A simple play kitchen, darling chef hats and some cute aprons were under our Christmas tree. Quinn's been trying his hand at flipping an egg w/o a spatula. The technique: to gently flick the wrist forward and then back towards you in a quick circular motion to roll the egg over.

OK, here goes!

Upsy-daisy!

SPLAT!

Keep practicing, Mr. Q.

A delecatble omelet is worth all the spills.

And now, a few foodie jokes for laughs;

Q: How do you make soup into gold?
A: Add 24 carrots

Q: What does an astronaut put on his sandwich?
A: Launch meat

Customer asks, "Do you serve crabs here?"
Waiter replies, "Yessir! We'll serve just about anybody."

Q: What's the worst thing about being an octopus?
A: Washing your hands before dinner.

Q: What did one plate say to the other plate?
A: Lunch is on me.

Pampering

2010-01-24T18:54:00.001-07:00

For Christmas, my Mom gave me a Bee Bar. It's a wonderful creation; a hand & body vanilla scented lotion bar that you "apply frequently on dry skin, hands, elbows & feet". Mae found the bar in my bedroom and was fascinated with it. She carried the Bee Bar around all day, moisturizing her own hands and who ever came near her.

Quinn's willing for a little lotion rub to help smooth his rough Minnesota winter cheeks. :)

Funny thing, I didn't tell Mae that it's used to soften rough feet, she just KNEW! I think I may have a budding beautician on my hands here. :)

This Bee Bar, filled with shea butter, beeswax, sweet almond oil & cocoa butter has brought us hours of pampering fun. Great gift, Mom!

Don't lick anything metal

2010-01-03T20:12:00.005-07:00

Our thermometer quit. When I woke up this morning to get everyone ready for church, it was reading -23 F. Some time while we were at church, the sensor couldn't take it any more and refused to work until we brought it inside and rested it next to the stove.

With that in mind, we've been doing a few things to make the most of the cold weather. There's a gymnastics gym in town that had an open house last week. All three of the kids had a blast. Quinn loved jumping into the foam pit

but was seriously distracted by all the action going on around him.

Max and Mae both loved it too. We're constantly looking for more things to do inside while the temperature is so low. To make freezing temperatures a little more bearable, we picked up a little hobby over the past week: making lanterns out of ice.

The neighbors had all sorts of explanations for what we were doing in the backyard, until we finally had a few frozen globes to show for our effort.

Quinn and I took some time a few days ago to make the frozen orbs candle-ready (using this great hand drill and auger I picked up at a garage sale last summer. Here's a testament to buying inexpensive tools even if you don't (yet) have a purpose for them).

Tonight, we lit candles in all of them and they look quite wintery on the front porch. I picked up some tips along the way from a woman in Minneapolis that does an outstanding job of making carrying a 50 lb water balloon in zero degree weather seem easy.

http://iceglobelanterns.com/

Happy Holidays!

2010-01-01T00:07:00.001-07:00

Christmas 2009!

A few things I enjoyed about Christmas Day;

awesome food (think: eggnog creme brule w/ fresh grated nutmeg), our sweet family (kids at Christmas are the cutest!), great company (Jan & Justin + their 2 little ones = good times! Wish I would have snapped a pic of us, oh well :), a beautiful blanket of snow, time in the kitchen creating tasty dishes with Mike (you are my best friend dear, I love you!), peace, quiet moments, and the many natural conversations about Christ that occurred at different times in our home (this last one happened many times throughout Dec, not just on Christmas Day. It was special for me to actually discuss Christ's birth with my children this year. Every morning (well, almost every morning) I would read from Luke 2 and my three would ask questions and repeat the story to me. I was amazed at how much they grasped. I felt the spirit of God in our home several times while eating Cheerios with my children. It was wonderful. :).

Our last Christmas in Minnesota was a good one.

Real Job

2009-12-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

No matter what your current job or profession, I'm sure you remember your first real job. Along the way, I've had a few jobs*, all with glorified titles:

*Loosely defined here as acitivity lasting longer than a single day that involved me receiving money for some sort of work.

1. Professional Lawnmower - This actually was the verbatim title I listed on my 8th grade resume to describe the three summers I spent mowing ONE neighbor's lawn.

2. Fence Painter - People kept running into this fence along a farmer's field when they'd drive by at night. I was hired to paint it white. Still white, last time I checked.

3. Mink Habitat Repurposer - A neighbor had a mink farm and he was transitioning to writing online travel guides for exotic destinations. What this guy should really be writing is a guide to internet entrepeneurship for mink farmers. Enter: computer programmers. Exit: wire mink cages. Benefit: mink + internet surfers wishing they were on vacation. End result: A good friend and I spent most of that summer sitting on buckets cutting apart mink cages piece by piece. Good times Dan!

4. Gas station attendant/motel cleaner/cook's assistant/waiter/concierge/accountant/Navajo rug expert/dishwasher - All in one summer. Not just a bad string of hirings/firings, this was one of the best jobs possible, living in the middle of nowhere on the Kaibab plateau serving up four star food to Hell's Angels and Colorado City socialites in the same afternoon.

5. Ladybug Wrangler - Two and a half summers of undergrad research involving collecting ladybugs in various farmers' fields and from wooded trails near the Logan River. If the job hadn't included raising aphids (a ladybug's favorite food) in a greenhouse, this could qualify as one of the best outdoor ecology jobs ever. Oh, and the trips to collect yellow start thistle. It's as painful as it looks.

And now, 24 years after starting school, I'm signed on for a job that will last longer than a summer, won't depend on tips and has the potential to grow into whatever I make of it.

In August 2010, Molly and I will be moving with the kids to Salt Lake City, Utah where I begin work at Primary Children's Medical Center as a pediatrician in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. I'll split time at PCMC between the ED the Rapid Treatment Unit, where children are admitted when only a short hospital stay is needed. We'll be close to home, close to the mountains but will miss all of our good friends in the Midwest. Salt Lake City here we come!

Quite the ride!

2009-12-10T20:39:00.003-07:00

A trip to Lark Toys in Kellogg, MN was on the agenda when my parents came for a visit (yeah!) this past week. A gorgeous hand-carved Carousel is one of the main attractions at this specialty toy store. A clip from the Lark Toys website; "The carousel at LARK Toys is unlike any other carousel in the world. Hand-carved from basswood and designed with exquisite detail, each animal is a rideable work of art."

And WOW was that true!

Quinn took a ride on a Deer (those are real antlers)

Dad chose a strong bear with a fish clenched in its teeth

Max was a bit nervous and so opted for the cart that was pulled by a Mama Ostrich (you can see her babies hatching behind Max's head)

I jumped on the back of a Pink Flamingo, gorgeous bird! (your eyes do not decieve you, Mike is casually perched on a Chicken behind me, :)!!

Mae straddled a Wolf so Mike got on the next closest animal which happened to be a Chicken! Awesome!!!!

My Mom was the photographer, hence her absence in these brilliant photos, great shots Mom! I wish somebody would have snapped a pic of her riding side saddle atop a fierce and staggeringly beautiful-looking dragon! :) In truth, there was a fantastic dragon, but Mom chose to ride something a bit more tame, a seat for photo takers that was placed right in front of Quinn's Deer. I was surprised at how it truly felt like a ride; you went up, up, up and then down, down, down. It went around pretty fast too!

After 5 1/2 fun-filled days, my parents flew back home yesterday. Tonight in Quinn's prayers he said "please bless us to miss Gran & Pa, but not to cry, just to miss them". :) Thanks for coming Mom & Dad! It was so much fun having you here at my house.

Giving Thanks

2009-11-30T09:11:00.002-07:00

Here's our Thanksgiving gang this year.
What a nice day. I loved our company, Jean & Bryce, dear friends in our ward, and Ryan & Lindsay, dear friends from our med school days in Milwaukee, and a blessing! they matched at Mayo along with us 2 1/2 years ago. Between the three families, we had 7 cute kids running around and both Jean and Lindsay are pregnant with baby boys. I thought about stuffing a pillow under my shirt just to fit in :). I did get to feel Lindsay's baby kick a couple of times, that was precious for me. There's something so special about carrying life. The day of Thanksgiving, I made sure all the toys in the basement had new batteries, the toy tent was up and ready for "campers", the marble maze was within a child's reach and all the cars were set up on the toy mountain ready for play. The kids took the bait. They played for hours and the lucky parents got to sit and relax, chatting and catching up on all on our busy lives. Please pardon the wacky look on my face in this pic, everyone else looks great, so I had to post it!

Here are my fall "acorns". I took a donut hole, put chocolate frosting on the top 1/3rd, rolled it in toffee chips and stuck a pretzel in for the stem. They turned out pretty cute (I could only find assorted donut holes, you're not supposed to have powdery white acorns!) and were quite a yummy little treat too.

Quinn, donning his Turkey headband. Quinn's preschool at the YMCA has been great. He loves going and I love all the cute things he comes home with (this darling headband for instance).

I really enjoy a small group of loved ones when feasting at Thanksgiving. Everyone brings a few of their favorite dishes and desserts, and because the numbers are few we all know who brought what so we can shower them with compliments and beg for recipes. With just 6 adults, we were all involved in the same conversations; we all got to hear about Ryan's recent trip to the Dominican Republic (beautiful beaches and crazy van rides with 15 people aboard, stuffed into a van the size of our Odyssey!) , Bryce's thoughts on personal hygiene (I didn't shower today, Bryce :), what is on Mike's Christmas wish list (Mike went to the computer and pulled up his dream couch shaped like a boulder, $$$$$$, hey Thanksgiving friends, I'm going to need your donations to make that wish come true!!!), and how I am a softie and buy everything that any door-to-door man, woman or child is selling if they have a great pitch!

My prayers were were rather lengthy on Thanksgiving because I have been given much. I hope you too had a wonderful Thanksgiving day.

Now, bring on the snow, the holiday lights and the goodies! Christmas is on its way!!!!

Fall Photo Shoot

2009-11-10T20:01:00.003-07:00

Mike got some great pics during an
'after-church-before-you-change-out-of-your-Sunday-clothes' moment

These three little people are my work. I find myself working constantly! It's a good thing I enjoy my job.

This little guy has so many goofy/crazy/cool expressions. I could have posted at least 5 more funny, but cute! pics of him

What delightful small children. As I'm typing, I'm reflecting. Lately I've noticed that my feelings have changed towards my kids. It's been gradual.....I don't exactly know when I stopped feeling mechanical, frustrated and tired and instead, started feeling warm, happy and proud. I'm noticing that the three people who are in my care have beautiful little souls. I'm starting to see them as real people. People I can interact with. People I can laugh with and tell jokes too, and they get me! We share every moment of every day and it's better than "work". It's rich and fun and rewarding. It's cute and hilarious and loving. It's....what I hoped it would be.

Sugar Rush!

2009-10-31T21:41:00.003-06:00

Check out this pumpkin we grew!
Mike threw a few seeds into the ground and this beauty sprouted.

Then these three cuties sprouted!

My tasty little Candycorns.

We had a really great day.
It was fun having Halloween on a Saturday when Mike was home and we could party from daylight to dusk. At one point, while trick-or-treating our street, Mae asked me to hold her candy jack-o-lantern. It was just too laden down with Halloween treats, her tiny 2 year old arms couldn't take the weight! :)

p.s. Happy Birthday to my dear brother C! Hope you had a spook-tacular b-day!

Winter Strikes

2009-10-25T19:43:00.000-06:00

On Friday October 23rd, Minnesota was hit by winter. Three inches of it. We passed through it unphased and, with 50 degree weather the next day, we are now enjoying a wonderful spring.

In retrospect, this winter wasn't half bad!

Boundary Waters 1

2009-10-18T18:38:00.001-06:00

From 9/3-9/8 I went to the Boundary Waters (along the US/Canadian border) with Ralph Whitesides, C Whitesides, Dave Lund, Dad (that'd be Dave Johnson) and Kurtis Tucker (the other counselor in our ward young men's presidency). The trip was great. Here are a few pictures.

We camped the first night on the shores of a quiet lake just outside of Ely, MN.

This was taken from the short of the campsite on Knife Lake where we spent most of our time. The weather was clear and warm with some beautiful sunsets.

And sunrises, here on Moose Lake as we paddled out on our last morning.

Here's a shot of our campsite on the night before we paddled out (more to follow).

Boundary Waters 2

2009-10-18T18:37:00.001-06:00

Ralph showing proof that the load was shared over our 5 portages.

And Dave, wondering why there's so much walking on a canoe trip.

And Dad making sure that we don't go hungry (fishing poles) and make it out alive (first aid kit).

We all had a chance to carry the canoe on our shoulders. Here's C doing it in style.

Boundary Waters 3

2009-10-18T11:20:00.003-06:00

Kurtis walking the trail.

Dad with photographic proof that fish were caught...

and fried, in a very dramatic fashion, by C. If you look close you could see the hairs on his forearms curling.

And some very fancy-looking food was dished out, garnished with "backwoods lobster".

What's Up?

2009-09-18T13:22:00.005-06:00

I have been remiss in my blogging....
A few fun things have been going on in our household;

1) Quinn started preschool at the YMCA. He's 4 1/2 years old and ready for some fun in the afternoons (he was getting rather bored with Max & Mae napping every afternoon and Ma wanting to clean the kitchen or prepare dinner, where's the excitement in that???). He's gone three times and had a great experience so far. I am giddy when I put the twins down for a nap and have almost 2 hours to myself. So many possibilities!!
2) Mike spent 6 days canoeing in the Boundary Waters of northern MN. My Dad, my brother (C), my brother-in-law (Dave), Mike's Dad and a friend from the ward (Kurtis) joined Mike on this awesome adventure. While they were far from civilization, my Mom and Hilary (C's wife) joined me and the kids here in Rochester for a great girls retreat. We hit Mall of America (LOVE that place), our local mall (we may not have Gap Body, but we've got ColdStone.), stayed up late watching BBC films (North & South and Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell--amazing stories!!), Mom and Hil helped me grocery shop--a chore I detest (when I made them eat waffles for dinner one night and eggs and toast the next they said, enough! we will help you tackle the grocery aisles! Bless them forever.), they spent morning noon and night with me and the kids, it was glorious!
3) Max split his chin open. Again. Mike's talent with steri-strips was required. Again.
4) Quinn is potty trained! YES! This miracle happened just recently and I've never known such happiness. Quinn is quite proud of himself too. I don't know how it happened, what clicked inside his brain, but he just decided that it was OK to go on the potty and that was that. Why did I stress and struggle with him for 1 1/2 years???! I choose to forget those dark times. It's in the past now.
5) Mike's pediatrics residency at The Mayo Clinic ends in June 2010. Just a short 9 months away. Eeeekkkk! Big decisions on the horizon. Go for a public health/academic fellowship or try for a real job? Intimidating to say the least. I find myself looking fondly on those days when we ranked our choices of schools and programs and then waited to find out where we had matched. This whole choosing your future location and final destination could keep one up at night! Mike's a great pediatrician, I'm sure we'll land in the right spot. Hopefully a little closer to family.....
6) The brain boggles. That's all I can come up with.

I tip my hat to all the outstanding bloggers who post daily, weekly or monthly (you've all got me beat). I thoroughly enjoy checking your blogs and hearing about your inspiring lives.

p.s. Mike is not here to help me figure out my picture struggles. Why am I so pathetic when it comes to computer know-how???! If you will, please envision crisp, beautiful photos of my children taken by Auntie Hil. They will be posted and soon.

Obama’s Health Care Speech

2009-09-11T08:12:00.003-06:00

After hearing the health care speech and being in the middle of the Mayo Clinic during all this health care turmoil, thought I'd post this overview of the speech for anyone who's interested.

Obama’s Health Care Speech

And, if you'd like to read the Mayo Clinic's position on health care reform, this is what was circulated internally last week.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthpolicycenter/pdfs/viewpoint4.pdf

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Utah Summer Trip--Good Times!

2009-07-21T13:01:00.006-06:00

Here we are on our way OUT to Utah, three cheers for a road trip!!!

Here we are, 2.5 weeks later, on our way BACK from Utah, three cheers for coaxing family members to drive back to Minnesota with us!!!

And here are a few things that happened in between:

We walked the beautiful grounds at the Logan Temple.

Mike taught the twins the fine art of leg wrestling. (I can't remember who won, probably Quinn intervened and triumphed)

Mae & Max went fishing while at the cabin. You like Mae's fishing hat? We all decided it looks like it belongs to Cookie Monster! I was worried it would blow off and then we'd have tears, but Mae kept it on.

Max found a warm spring at Mike's family reunion in Saratoga Springs, UT. After stepping one foot in and then two, he decided it wouldn't do to just splash in the stream, he must lay down in it. Very amusing for all of us.

The kids went 4-Wheelin' with Pa at the Whitesides Family Cabin.
(sorry I didn't get a pic with Gran driving the 4-wheeler, she really cruises and the kids love it!)

Here's Quinn, cooling off in Grandma's hot tub. Mae also went for a swim, sitting safely on the stairs. Max refused to put his swimsuit on the entire trip, but as you can see from the photo above, not wearing a swimsuit did not stop him from immersing himself in warm, shallow waters.

Pa took Quinn for a ride around the neighborhood in Logan, UT on the motorcycle (it used to be my brother C's until his wife surprised him with a Harley-Davidson a few years ago. Bu-bye Honda, Hello Hog!)

Here's a pic of Mike's river rafting trip in ID/Montana with his siblings. Mike is not in this pic because he's the one snapping it. What a loaded raft!

A day at Mt. Rushmore on the way back to MN. Fun, fun day! Very cool carvings.

Almost all the cousins (Maren was running to the canoe) on their way to the lake. Jess's great kids, Anna, Maren and Kira and my three make all the grandkids on my fam's side. They had such a fun time together!! We miss you cousins!!!

Mae, playing dress up with cousin Natalie's old dance recital outfits. I'm not sure what the "bunny" is doing here. Playing dead? Love that fluffy little tush!

The favorite toy tractor at Grandma and Grandpa's. There is a pic of Mike playing on this same tractor when he was Quinn's age. Some toys are timeless!

Mae, taking a break from life on our road trip out to UT. We borrowed 2 portable DVD players and while I was rather bent on sticking to books and window gazing, I was VERY grateful to be able to put on a movie when we still had 4 hours to go, it was dark, and the twins were DONE!
(Please note that Mae is not wearing a hairbow in this picture. Rare.)

I feel like I blinked and my glorious 18 day summer vacation was over. It was so fun to see family and to be in beautiful Utah. I miss you all very much and look forward to the day when we live closer than a 20 hour van ride! The good news is that Ty and Connie are hanging out with us for a few more days before heading back to Cache Valley. I don't think I could have handled it had we come back to MN empty handed. Having Ty & Connie in the 'way back' made me feel like my summer vacation was lingering a little longer.

whew. Well, this post has taken me about 2 hours, all of naptime. I 'aint no speed machine! I hope you enjoy all these pics! :)

The park

2009-06-19T19:31:00.003-06:00

We have a park. A favorite park. It's a favorite due to how close it is to our house. Most days, it's too much for the kids to resist. "When are we going to play at the park?" Quinn will ask. "Pork?" Max will wonder. We managed to catch some of the joy of the park in video.

struggling w/ photos......

2009-06-12T13:54:00.005-06:00

About to post something amazing and interesting about our lives....but can't make the pictures I want work. Boo hoo.
SoooooOOooooo, something nice in my life right now, the weather. It's currently overcast and 68 degrees. Ahhh. My brother called from Texas yesterday to let me know that the heat index was 106 degrees and he's melting. Sizzle, sizzle. Minnesota is an OK place to be in the summer time. The weather is always something you can talk about when there's nothing to talk about. :)
Stay tuned...more soon!

Must post something, ANYTHING! Just post!

2009-05-26T07:51:00.004-06:00

Here we are on Mother's Day, May 10th.

I had a fabulous Mother's Day. Seriously, it was better than my birthday. A big shout out to my great hubby Mike! You are the best!
(I got a new digital camera--wa-hoo! These first pics are taken with Lumix while the others are my old Fuji)

These next two pictures are of Quinn and Max, snoozin' the big one a few Tuesdays ago. It was 9:15am and they weren't stirring. I laughed and snapped a photo.
I felt like I was living with teenagers!

Zzzzzzz!

And finally, the awesome Burley Train.

Mike found a used Burley Tag-A-Long and life on the bike trail is tons more fun! We weren't sure how all three kids would do behind Mike's bike (FYI, I do own an old school Schwinn bike and I'm not afraid to take off on it-even though the last time I rode it was for soccer practice at Lundstrom park-but when Mike takes all three, it's a nice break away from the kids for me and fun for Mike to cruise on the bike path and end up at some distant park to play for a while. OK, I just needed to explain to the world why I'm not saddled up and feeling the wind on my face too. Everyone is happy with this arrangement! :)

There! I've updated the blog! Who cares if dinner gets on the table or if the van gets filled with gas? Today is already a success.

The Kiwi

2009-04-30T20:20:00.003-06:00

Tonight at dinner we ate a kiwi. I can't remember if I've ever shared a kiwi with my kids before. I think of the kiwi as a rather exotic fruit, one that should be appreciated and savored. Two-year-olds and four-year-olds do not appreciate. They first snarf & then drool. So tonight, I held the small fruit up to the children and asked them what color they thought it was on the inside. I got no response, so I prompted them by saying, "It's a nice brown color on the outside, what color will it be on the inside?". Quinn said, "White.". Max nodded and said, "White.". I turned to Mae who goes, "Hmmmm, pink.". I smiled, cut the kiwi in half and Quinn yelled, "GREEN!". The other two were equally impressed at the emerald color. I passed out slices to everyone and they popped them in their mouths (Quinn reluctantly, as he had said just seconds before that he was sure he didn't like it....). After a few chews Max said he liked it. A few more chews and Quinn calls out, "I like kiweed, Ma!". Kiweed. I hope that one sticks. :)

Easter Fun

2009-04-26T18:22:00.005-06:00

Easter did happen in Minnesota early April.....

I tried several times to get the kids to look at me while holding their newly-found Easter baskets, but the sticky Peeps, speckled jelly beans and chocolate covered marshmallow bunnies were too much for the little munchkins. Mae does get the award for "best effort" in most photos, the boys weren't even acknowledging my existence.

Can't you just hear Quinn's excited kid-growl-grunt over this amazing candy carrot?

We hid eggs in the backyard and around the house for the kids to find Saturday morning. The earth was still very much asleep at Easter time, so it was fun to see some egg-shaped splashes of color hiding in the bushes or in a hole in the ground, which is where Quinn and
Max are headed in this photo.

We did have a few green sprouts on the side of the yard to
hide a plastic egg in. I discovered that yellow eggs in
green flower stems are tricky to see.
Great hiding spot for a two-year old.
Mike captured this darling moment with Mae.
There was magic in the twins eyes when they found an egg.

The children and I found some plastic camouflage eggs at the store and decided they were just the thing for Daddy. He could spot a brightly colored egg from a great distance, but a green, black, brown camo egg?? Not so easy. :) I hid the eggs in his favorite spot, the garage.

We had fun watching him find all 8 eggs. I'm pleased to say that I stumped him with one of the eggs
for a good 5 (maybe 3) minutes!

Trying something new

2009-04-23T07:57:00.003-06:00

It's supposed to be 78 degrees in Rochester today. 78! So I decide that it's time to truly break out the shorts and short-sleeved shirts for the kids. The Twins were totally on board with me. New clothes! I can see my knees! I have elbows?! Rushing air on my legs, strange, but nice!

Quinn on the other hand was not so OK with giving up his winter shirts and pants. When I pulled the spring/summer clothes out last week, he about had a heart-attack, "She's going to make me wear something....different! ARGH!!!". So, this morning I put three short-sleeved shirts out for him and left him (gnashing, crying and complaining) in the front room to choose. I made sure his trusty old jeans were part of his ensemble (don't rock the boat TOO much) and headed to the kitchen to pour some cereal. When I next checked on him, he was hiding behind the rocker, slowly putting one tenative arm through the short-sleeved shirt. I smiled and went to add milk to our Quaker Oatmeal Squares. He emerged from hiding, fully dressed, and gave me a small, un-sure smile. The short-sleeved shirt was on! This 4-year old has sucessfully conquered a major fear! Seasons can change, wardrobes may alter, but life is still safe and good. (sniff) He makes a Mama proud. :)

I am totally lovin' Max in this little sweater vest. He reminds me on his fashionable Uncle Marty. Shout out to you, Marty!

Little Ones, growin' Bigger

2009-04-18T21:00:00.004-06:00

We turned TWO on March 28th!
Can you tell that Mama told us to, "Get close! Put your heads together!"??

We had a Rubber Ducky Birthday Party (the Rubber Ducky theme was a success for Quinn's 4th b-day on March 9th, so I thought, Hey, let's do 'er again!). Mike whipped up this fabulous birthday cake filled with our new favorite thing, ganache. We made Cafe Rio salads and drank fresh lime 7-Up drinks.

The Party Guests; Lindsay and Tyler

More Party Animals; Ryan and Kamrie

Max & Mae relaxing and reading a few of their new birthday books with Daddy.

Our one game was pin the beak on the ducky. It was so cute to see these little kids put on a sleeping mask, hold a cardboard beak, spin around until dizzy and walk/stumble towards a yellow paper duck tacked to our closet door. We all laughed when Mike or Ryan pinned the beak on the opposite wall or way too high! Dads are funny people, we love them! We were going to dance to the Ducky Song (really the Chicken Song/Dance, you know the one) but the kids were happy just playing with friends, so it ended up being a pretty low-key, easy birthday party.

Happy Birthday Max & Mae!
You continue to be Double the Fun!

Some sweet shots

2009-03-26T21:12:00.007-06:00

And now, a few cute photos of the kids, snapped by my Mom during her week long stay in MN earlier this month. Mom flew to Rochester on Quinn's birthday (March 9th, yeah I haven't blogged about that yet, shame on me) and stayed for 8 glorious days. She bought a new digital camera while here, and WOW! the clarity! Her pics are tons better than the ones taken with our old, but loved, digital.

Max & Mae sporting dress-ups for Gran.

Gran whipped out some new headbands for Mae during her visit. Cute, cute, cute work Mom!! And cute, cute, cute little Mae!

Max, playing with the little ducky that was stuck in Quinn's birthday cake.
Eat him with a spoon! Cute!

Quinn, cheesin' for the camera. What a cute, goofy 4-year-old!

Mom, Mike and I ganged up on the kids after church, sat them on a bench and started snapping pictures. Mom got this cute one, I love it! I could look at it all day, but I'm the Mama....

Us, relaxing. I like reading children's books as much as my children do. There are so many fun books out there, so clever, so colorful, so creative.

Thanks for the great snapshots, Mom! It was magic having you in my home.

Ice Skating!

2009-03-01T19:43:00.002-07:00

Valentine's, Obama-esque

2009-02-21T20:23:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Day Food
in Verse

Our hearts may be weighed down
with guilt,
Clouded by
nutritional facts
and scientific medical advice.
But when we ask ourselves

"Can I have another piece of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake"

The spirit within us responds,

"Yes, I can"

When our children cry out
because their stomachs yearn
for more than
broccoli and whole-grain pasta
and in a final cry of desperation they sob

"Can't I have more red Jello?"

We comfort them and say

"Yes, you can"

And when we find
chocolate-covered bacon
for sale at the farmer's market,
and cynicism and doubt begin to
tell us that we can't do this,

Without any hesitation we can
lay down a few dollars and say
These three simple words

"Yes, we can"

"Yes, we can"

"Yes, we can"

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-02-20T19:17:00.003-07:00

I'm 30, folks.
Lindsay invited me for birthday lunch...oOooO, so good. She made home-made bagels (yes, bagels!) served with cream cheese for the moment I arrived, then an hour later she created these scrumptious little hand made pizzas and yummy ice cream sandwiches with b-day candles stuck in the ice cream. Our five kids were having a great time in her basement, so good that we had an amazing heart-to-heart chat for a good 45 minutes, before we finally went downstairs to see what they were up to! It was as good as going out to lunch by ourselves! So nice. Thanks Lindsay for the love.
Later, a few friends popped by to wish me the best, it's always fun to have company. I got some great emails and e-cards (my sister-in-law even dedicated a post to me on her blog!) and you gotta love all the phone calls and Happy Birthday songs sung from miles away. Thanks to you all!!
My dear husband gave me some new work-out clothes (desperately needed!) so I headed to the YMCA for an hour and felt stylish while I exercised. Mike picked up some Chinese on his way home from work, gotta love Chinese food, and once he gets Quinn asleep we're going to get two spoons and go to town on some Cold Stone Creamery that Ben & Nina dropped by (too good!).

Here's a snap shot of us on the couch right before we put the kids to bed tonight.
Let the year of 30 begin! I'm excited!!

Bump, bruise, Owwww!

2009-02-06T20:04:00.003-07:00

No trip would be complete with out some sort of mishap, right? While in Milwaukee last weekend Quinn took a spill on the escalator at Mayfair Mall. He said he wanted to play on it, so I did what any good parent would do, I let him. Bad, bad Mom. We stopped by Walgreens and Mike glued him together with newly purchased steri-strips. His nose has gone through various shades of green and blue, quite a bit of swelling and some soreness. Bad, Molly! Bad, bad Molly!
It's been 6 days since the fall and we're planning on removing the steri-strip tomorrow. Look closely and you'll see the tiny cut and hopefully (cross your fingers for Quinn!) the tiny scar.
Why couldn't he have fallen on his armpit instead of his face??! Poor guy.

Bait

2009-02-06T19:49:00.004-07:00

This morning, I wanted to make spiced applesauce bread and tapioca. Tasty combo, right? BUT, the kids were up and movin' and everyone knows that if Mama is trying to do something, suddenly the kids need your total and undivided attention!
So, I needed a plan (creamy, warm, smooth tapioca, I'm coming!). I call my plan, "laying the bait". It's worked several times in the past, and I'm happy to say that it caught my children again this a.m. I find a bunch of books that the kids haven't seen in a few days/weeks and place them in key places where they are sure to attract attention. Then I tell the kids to go check out what's on the couch and the ottoman. They scamper to the front room and are instantly seized by what they see. I ask you, what person could go into a room peppered with fantastic, exciting, colorful books and not stop to just take one little peek?!
35 minutes later, I was eating warm bread in the kitchen alone. Ahhh. What a plan. :)

Milwaukee, dear Milwaukee!

2009-02-03T19:45:00.004-07:00

We went on a weekend trip, yeah! Mike attended Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and it's been almost two years since his graduation, so we were overdue for a visit back to our old home. My heart strings are tied to Milwaukee for many reasons, and when we got into the van to drive to WI, I was like a little kid, so excited for our road trip!

The kids loved the hotel, as you can see from the pictures. They turned those lamps on and off and off and on, they checked out the bathroom and the little bars of soap multiple times, Quinn opened the drapes and then shut them, and then opened them again. Quinn quickly taught Max & Mae how to leap from one double bed to the other, they looked like little flying monkeys. Mae & Max had a blast putting their stuffed animals into a drawer, closing the drawer and then squealing with delight when they opened the drawer and saw their brown dog and pink bunny waiting for them.

This was our first "long" trip in the van (5 hours) and the kids were awesome. We listened and sang to all our children's CDs, I sat in the front seat and read Winnie the Pooh and lots of Eric Carle books, we threw animal crackers to each other (Mike and I keep talking about rigging up a little pulley-system with a small bucket on the end, so we can ferry Q's and Max's treats to the way back of the van) and played many a game of I Spy.

Places we hit while in Milwaukee: Friday night dinner & dessert at Kopp's Frozen Custard. Oh, my. I am such an ice cream lover and frozen custard is like 10 times better than ice cream. We visited with our good friends, Linda & Jim, Saturday morning and spent Saturday afternoon at Betty Brinn Children's Museum right on the lake front. Gorgeous views of Lake Michigan from the museum and Betty Brinn is such a fun place to hang out! We stopped by Mayfair Mall Saturday night, I know it may sound tacky to go to the mall when you're on vacation, but some of my favorite stores are in that mall. Brighton and Pottery Barn Kids! Church was 9am in the old Milwaukee 1st ward and though much has changed, there were still quite a few faces I recognized and it was very fun to say hello. We headed home around 1:30pm, first driving past our old apartment on the border of Wauwatosa and saying hello to our upstairs neighbor, and finally pulled into our driveway at 6:15pm.

There were more sights we saw and more things we did, but I love Milwaukee so that I could keep you here all night. I'm thinking about going back next weekend!

I wear my sunglasses at night.................

2009-01-20T19:30:00.004-07:00

Quinn's closet is full of stuff. Old med school books, summer pillows for the couch, baby clothes and swimsuits, screens for the windows, Halloween costumes, the list goes on and on. One day while Mom and Dad were looking the other way, Quinn unloaded his closet. He found many treasures, among them, these sweet orange sunglasses. Yes, they were Mike's from his youth. I tried to capture each child sportin' these stylin' frames. They were a hot item for a day or two.

Bring on the sun, baby! We're all decked out.

every last drop..........

2009-01-12T21:05:00.003-07:00

Do you have a favorite food?

(and it was even plain 'ol vanilla!)

Christmas Cheer

2008-12-28T12:33:00.006-07:00

What a joyous time of year! With no extended family in town, we had some pretty quiet, but still fun! days. We miss you grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins!!!! On Christmas Eve, we had some friends over for dinner. It was fun to light some floating candles, eat hot soup and homemade bread and go "seeking baby Jesus" together.
Christmas day, our oven/stovetop died! Argh! Forget about the gooey orange rolls and all-things-holiday that we were going to bake and make. Instead, we plugged in our electric skillet and Mike made "cheetsfata" a Hungarian breakfast dish he grew up eating on Christmas day. Christmas dinner was eggs and toast. Memorable. :)

Daddy gave Quinn a drill, flashlight and protective eyewear and he was so excited!! He kept asking me to watch him, he was going to "drill now". Look closely and you'll see the little "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" characters that Aunt Connie and Uncle Ty gave the twins this year. We had a good laugh when the wrapping paper came of these little blue-haired Dr. Suess wonders!

The Jump-O-Lene!! Mike worked the foot pump all morning to blow this baby up.

After naps on Christmas Day, we decided to go ice skating at a local outdoor rink. It was 19 degrees and a bit breezy, but we all really enojoyed our 50 minutes of outside winter time.

I couldn't find my ice skates (I think I left them in my parent's garage!), so we all practiced skating in our boots. When we get real ice skates, we're going to be amazing skaters. Quinn liked the idea of keeping our boots on because he told me the ice was "too slippery, Ma. That's going to be dangerous".

Here I am taking a break from kitchen work to model a few of my Christmas gifts. Nice hot pink dish gloves from Mike, a darling new handbag made by the very talented Lindsay, my new Sharpie Pen (I love pens!), a great necklace from my mother-in-law, and a very good read: 52 Weeks of Proven Recpies for Picky Kids, also from my in-laws. What a great year for me!

Mike and the kids made gingerbread cookies. The dough was made and rolled out when Mike went a'hunting for the gingerbread-man cookie cutter. Alas, we have no such cutter. So, they made gingerbread "snowballs" (lots of round cookies) and a few Christmas trees (the one holiday cookie cutter we own). As you can see in the photos, they loved this tasty project. Quinn was so focused, I couldn't even get him to look at the camera.

When I told Mae to smile.....................What a hoot!

Isn't she sweet?!

And the final photo---Max, playing with one of our new dress-up hats. YES! What a cool little dude!
I have to be mushy for one second and say how much I love my children and husband. Life is wonderful. It's a wonderful life. :)

Gingerbread House Party!

2008-12-22T07:20:00.005-07:00

I have been looking forward to decorating gingerbread houses all month! My friend, Sarah Ann, invited us over on Saturday and the fun began. Yummy gingerbread, sweet, sweet frosting (my favorite part), oodles and oodles of candy, this should be done monthly, not just at Christmastime!

Check out Mike's awesome house with yard. We made one house to eat and one to give away. This prized-piece was the give away. It looks like this house might get a little chilly on a cold MN night, with the nice "breezeway" going through the middle/top of the house. All good gingerbread houses have LOTS of character. :)

A garden and a koi pond?? When can I move in?!

Can the holidays get better than this?
I submit that they cannot!

And one of the kids all dressed up for the Sunday before Christmas. I love these three! Too cute.

Hope your holiday is sweet!

minus the photos

2008-12-10T06:37:00.003-07:00

I am a picture blogger. I only post with pictures. I am not clever enough to capture ones attention with prose alone. But, we've had a little accident. Our beloved digital camera was found, on the kitchen counter, front panel popped off (obviously dropped onto the tile), 1/2 of a sticky kiwi fruit glued to the shutter, dripping sour green juices onto its lovely silver frame. I have high hopes for our dear camera. She's smart and snappy. :) She'll pull through. Until then, please envision us at our best; always clean and well-behaved, giggling and laughing all the while, the house spot-less, the Christmas tree glorious, and the husband home every evening, spending many precious and tender moments together as a family. Ahhh, that even warms my heart.

Give Thanks

2008-11-28T14:18:00.005-07:00

We hosted Thanksgiving this year (stress! we're in charge of the turkey!). We had our dear friends, Ryan, Lindsay and their little ones, Kamrie and Tyler and a friend we met here in Rochester, Cami and her three cute kids. Cami's husband was on-call, bummer! Check out Lindsay's awesome jell-O salad! AMAZING!

Mike was our amazing in-house chef. He made the turkey moist, the gravy savory and the green beans edgy.
Way to go, Mike!

Here is Quinn chowing down with Cami's two daughters. I was brave and lit floating candles. I think the table was too crowded with food, none of the babies tried to take a plunge into the floating cranberries. Whew.

The men serving up dessert.

Mike and Ryan, wielding the creme brule torch and a wicked sharp spatula.

My favorite things about Thanksgiving; Lindsay's food. All of it. Especially the home made rolls and super tasty sweet potatoes (OK, and the walnut pie and her sassy cranberry sauce). Mike's at-ease personality, especially when I was sure the turkey wouldn't be done on time. Cami's 7-year old daughter reading to the younger kids. How cute is that?! My "Give Thanks" sign, it turned out cuter than I expected. :) All the yummy left-overs for today, tomorrow and as long as they shall last! We loved having you all over and wish you could have stayed even longer. We didn't get to do our craft, or lounge on the couch and do nothing while we feel oh-so full! It's such a blessing to be surrounded by great friends.

Say Cheese!

2008-11-16T20:56:00.004-07:00

Quinn took a picture of Daddy, Max & Mae while at a nature preserve on Saturday. After this picture was snapped, the twins went nuts because they wanted a turn behind the camera.

This is how Mae felt when Max got the camera first. Nice shot, Max!

And here is Max when Mae got her paws on the
digital camera.

Funny sequence of pictures. :) A shout out to Mike who took the kids to Quarry Hill while I was at a stake relief society training meeting. You are one great dad!

Oh, and I got new glasses. I'm pretty excited because I've been wearing the same pair of glasses for 10 years now. In truth, for the past 6 years I have only worn my "Harry Potter" glasses (they have this great nose piece that looks like a caterpillar crawling across my nose) around the home for fear of being seen in my un-stylish frames.

How thrilling to not have to deal with slippery contacts and messy, squirty solution every single day! Not to mention that my prescription changed in 10 years. All the things I've been missing those mornings I have been wearing my ancient glasses!

Quirks? Embrace 'em!

2008-11-12T20:46:00.025-07:00

I saw this on a friend’s blog and thought I would give it a go.
Here are (drum roll please)…..

6 Quirky Things about Me:

1) My taste buds are delinquent. Seriously, who talks about their taste buds being below average?? But mine are. I don’t need to buy the expensive brand of ice cream, I can’t tell the difference between generic or name brand. Cold? Check. Sweet? Check. Satisfied? Check.

2) Banks scare me. Maybe “intimidate me” is a better way to put it. I think everyone who works at a bank is a genius. Wouldn’t they have to be to care for all that money??!

3) I make faces while I cook. I truly can’t imagine how people on the Food Network can remain so composed while preparing a dish. Don’t they feel the need to squint their eyes and bare their teeth while beating their cake batter?? Am I alone here?!!

4) I wear a sleeping mask to bed every single night. It’s navy with silver stars and moons on it. I started wearing it to bed while I was having a migraine a few years ago and I found that it protected me from the blaring light peeking through my window in the early a.m. which was so annoying and painful. So I started wearing it every evening just in case I was seized by a migraine in the night (for those of you who suffer from migraines, you’ll agree that you live in fear of when the next migraine will hit). Another bonus: I feel like a rock star when I wear it.

5) When I’m scrubbing pots and pans, I like to leave one dish un-done in the sink. It makes me feel in control. “Yeah, I could wash that last pot, but hey, these dirty dishes aren’t the boss of me! I’m no slave to the kitchen! I’m outta here. Ha!”. Oooh, I’m bad. I’m sooooooo bad. :)

6) I love to groom my children. If I see a smudge on their cheek or heaven-forbid a boogie in their nose, I rush to their aide. I am totally one of those mothers who licks her thumb and rubs their kid’s face clean before they’re allowed to play on the jungle gym. They’re so much cuter when they’re clean!

Look! It's Glinda!

2008-11-08T08:03:00.008-07:00

WICKED. So WICKED. So incredibly WICKED.

I was dying. SO EXCITED to be there. As we left Rochester, I shouted, really loud, to the bus driver, "Take us there, Chuck!". I was experiencing a natural high for sure.

Our bus dropped us off at the theater at 7pm and the show started at 8pm, so we thought we would snag some dessert at Rock Bottom. Rock Bottom Brewery was one of our favorite places to eat in Milwaukee (we only went there like 2 times, but it was amazing both times!) so when I saw this restaurant across the street, Mike and I had to stop in. But, I ended up chickening out because I didn't want to wait for food and miss the hyper-pre-show atmosphere at the theater, so we just snapped this picture and left. Seeing Rock Bottom makes me miss Milwaukee!!!

Me, feeling Witch-y after the show. I should remember that No One Mourns the Wicked!

Our relaxing ride. We didn't leave Minneapolis until after 11pm, so we were pretty zapped on our way home. When Mike fell asleep, I leaned my head back on the head rest, closed my eyes and replayed every scene on this awesome Broadway Musical in my mind. I've got a migraine today, but it was worth it. :)

So, a little rundown of my favorite things about Wicked---Elphaba singing "Defying Gravity" at the end of Act 1. WOW. My heart was racing, tears were running down my face because I was so into it! It was incredible. Another favorite was Galinda (no, I didn't mis-spell her name :) singing "Popular". Hilarious!!! Oh, she was so funny. Again, tears were running down my cheeks. Have I mentioned that we were 10 rows from the stage??!! Thank you Mayo for the spectacular seats! I kept telling Mike, if the actors are in the lobby when we leave, I will seriously faint (or start crying) because I am such a fan!!! Oh and I can't forget the great winged monkeys, they had the coolest moves. All the dancers were fantastic. My favorite character? Glinda (still spelled right :). She was so peppy and funny. The way she flipped her hair all the time, "Toss, toss!". All the glittery shoes in her closet. The tantrums she threw when she didn't get her way. Her cute little leg kick she did whenever she was trying to be cute. She was so clever. Loved her.

See my $8 Wicked fridge magnet?? Forever to be remembered..... Don't be frightened by our "shrunken head" that's perched next to the Witches of Oz. A friend carved us this head for Halloween and we are watching it blacken and shrink as the air dries it out.

Smooth Ride

2008-11-03T19:04:00.009-07:00

In August we bought a van, and I've never looked back.

(These pictures were taken November 3rd--it was 75 degrees! We broke the high temperature record of 73 degrees, set 30 years ago.
It's been SO nice.)

Our 2004 Honda Odyssey. Let's hit the road!

I tried to find a picture of our Toyota Echo that I've been driving for 9 years now. I couldn't (there's a pic in our archives somewhere, but I don't have the patience to find where it's hiding tonight). Our Toyota has been our sole family vehicle until we got the Odyssey. I love my Echo. It's the most flexible, stylish, versatile car (I'm being totally serious!). We fit three kids in the back seat until the twins were 17 months, not every car could stand up to that challenge. People would ask if we had to spray the children with PAM before we loaded up. :) Often I felt like a clown car, pulling child after child after child out of this tiny machine.
But times change and we really needed something bigger (I had a HARD time fitting Quinn's BigWheel into the front seat of the Echo, on our way to playgroup, since our trunk was full of strollers and Mae & Max's little bikes). I'm happy to say there's been no adjustment period. It's like we were meant to drive a Honda Odyssey with its leather interior, removable captain seats and life-saver automatic sliding doors. Is it appropriate to steal a line from H-D and say that we, "Live to ride, ride to live!"?? No one should be afraid of a minivan.

Halloween Night

2008-11-03T18:32:00.006-07:00

Quinn is pumped to go trick-or-treating!! Kind of a spooky face, for a spooky night!

The doggies on the trail....they were always a few steps (quite a few) behind the dog bone, so I'm sure that some folks thought we had one random child dressed as some sort of skeleton bone and a few scraggly puppy babies.

This picture shows their natures: Max, a little mischievous (who can I poke with this long blade of grass I've just picked?), and Mae, sweet and kind (here you can use my jack-o-lantern, Max!).

We made some awesome vanilla cookies for our neighbor kids. We forgot to photograph the other Halloween edible we created; white jell-o ghosts. You know that super tasty middle layer of the three tiered jell-o that consists of cream cheese, sugar and evaporated milk? Imagine eating that smooth layer all by itself.

The whole gang. Ryan was working, but Lindsay, Kamrie and Tyler came for dindin and some trick-or-treating. We consider these guys family. Lookin' forward to the next holiday we get to spend together---Thanksgiving!

One tired bone.

The kids and I playing our Halloween penny toss. Try for the haunted house!!!

Let's get started on the candy already!!!

We had such a fun Friday Halloween night. I would re-live that day over and over again if I could. The kids were just so cute. Extra cute.

Tired? Maybe just a bit......

2008-11-01T21:39:00.007-06:00

It was 4:15pm. Max & Mae had refused the afternoon nap I offered them. Baby Einstein was downstairs whistling a happy Mozart-y tune to entertain them while I finished dinner. I walked down the stairs and found the twins like this. How awesome is this picture??!

New stuffed animals!!

2008-11-01T08:23:00.006-06:00

I felt like the kids needed new animals. Most of our stash are Quinn's, so he is the only one that can hold favorite playmates such as Snoopy, Neigh and Mr. Monkey. Max has shed many tears over this.

We went to Barnes & Noble and watched the kids pull every stuffed animal off the shelf. After just a few moments, Quinn made his choice. A cute, simple black and white puppy. He could not be swayed. OK, one down, 2 to go.

Mae was holding a very rigid Minnie Mouse (you know the stuffed animals that aren't soft?!) when Daddy spotted the sparkly clown fish. "Memo!" she cried. It was decided.
Mae + "Memo" = BFF.

Now, Max. It wasn't love at first sight. He held many, many animals before seeming to settle on two; a tan guinea pig and a gray wolf. He wanted them both. One for each hand! As we neared the check out counter, it was clear that a crying fit was about to happen when one of the animals was returned to the shelf. Mike decided to take him back to the area full of animals and managed to help him pick a whole new animal. So, with a panda bear under his arm, we got into line. Quinn had just thrown his dog onto the check-out counter, when we realized that Quinn's dog and Max's panda were the same colors. That simply would not do! Daddy and Max headed back to the stuffed animals to search one last time for the perfectly colored, perfectly shaped, perfectly perfect new animal. Could they do it? I was biting my nails. When father and son came into view, a darling red fox with black tipped ears was riding in Max's arms. Yes, that was it. The One. It was magic. And so finally, three smiling children and two beaming parents scanned our B & N gift-card and headed to the van.
Ahhhh, to buy the children new toys! That morning, I felt like an A+ Mama.

Good Morning

2008-10-26T19:12:00.004-06:00

Ever wonder what it feels like to sit in the cafe portion of Barnes & Noble, order a tall double chocolate chip beverage, lazily pick at your $4.75 piece of pumpkin cheesecake and your tasty apple purse while gabbing with your best friend about nothing?? I wanted to find out......

Ahhhhh, bliss!

My friend (thank you Jean!!) volunteered to watch my children and Mike happened to be off work that morning! He's been in the ER this month, so every day is a different shift. We enjoyed two hours of sitting and sipping, reading and relaxing. A fun, different date. We've got an awesome date planned for November......WICKED! Only a week and a half until the coach bus escorts us to the theatre in The Cities. I love time away from real life. :)

Trick or Treat!

2008-10-26T15:22:00.006-06:00

2 Doggies and a Dog Bone!

We had our church "Trunk or Treat" this past Saturday. Everybody and their van drove to the church parking lot and passed out Halloween treats to the kiddies. It was at 2pm, right during nap time, so I feared that Max would spent the entire time moaning and clinging to Mike's shoulder, but once he figured out that candy was dropped into his jack-o-lantern every time he got close to an adult, he got into the spirit of things. :)

I'll take some better pics of Quinn, Max & Mae in their costumes as it gets closer to Halloween. I was only able to snap a few at the Trunk or Treat.

Happy Halloween!!!

p.s. We had amazing weather for the Trunk or Treat yesterday. Breezy, but 60 degrees! I am thrilled that the ward had the party early this year, because today, just one day later, it's 32 and snowing!! Brrrrrr!

Sunday, October 5th

2008-10-13T20:25:00.006-06:00

GENERAL CONFERENCE SUNDAY! I love this weekend when the general authorities of the church are broadcast to the world and we stay home and soak in all that goodness on our computer via the internet. Here in Minnesota the sessions were at 11am and 3pm, so Mike had time to catch a little nap before conference began on Sunday.

I had been battling a nasty cold all week, so when the kids got our attention around 7am, Mike was good enough to go on solo duty. When I got up a while later, Quinn and Mae were running around doin' their thang, and Max was curled up by Daddy. Wide awake, just laying there. He never does that. Sits still I mean. What child does?? It was priceless. I kept going into the living room to see if he was still lying there. So cute.

This year we really tried to get the kids to pay some attention to the computer screen while our prophet was speaking to us, so we pulled out crayons, markers and best of all....scissors. With Mike and I directing them quietly, they were creative at the table for almost all the morning session. Pretty good for two 18-month olds and a 3.5-er. You can see the well-loved picture of President Monson taped to the wall by the computer (that pic stays on our frige and we try to notice it a lot)? Quinn got so excited every time Pres. Monson got up to speak in conference, "Look Ma! It's him! The same as our picture!".

Here are some outdoor shots of our walks in-between and after the sessions of conference. Quinn loves to go fast on his Big Wheel. There's a spot on the bike path where he starts building some speed and then hits a tight curve and he's on 2 of those three wheels! He always stops after he's just done his death-defying trick and we look at each other and start laughing. You know that no-way-that's-too-cool-I-can't-believe-you-just-did-that kindof laugh? That's what you hear comin' out of the boy and his Ma.

Check out the great fall colors on our street! I like to dress the twins in the same color. I figure, hey they're twins, let's do something about it!

Creepy, crawly things.....

2008-10-13T19:58:00.006-06:00

Quinn and I made some "creepy mice" for our windows during naptime on October 1st. I was planning on cutting out some black cats or bats or a witch or some other familiar Halloween character, but Martha Stewart keeps me cutting edge with her website and Halloween templates.
It's all about mice this year. :)

I found this cute jack-o-lantern at Tuesday Morning for $5. YES! One of the eyes had fallen off, but please! I knew that would be nothing for handy-man Mike.

We were out raking leaves with our neighbors last Sat (10-11) when I snapped these pictures. We had amazing weather in Rochester last weekend. High 70s. I was thinkin' how great it would be if it could be that warm on Halloween. Wishful thinking, wishful thinking. Last Halloween Quinn was a carrot (cutest costume ever-- my sister, Jess, made it). Quinn stood there shivering, not even gathering candy at our church party, until Mike whispered to me, "I think we should get his coat out.". I was thinkin' Quinn could make it another 1/2 hour, 45 minutes (it really was the CUTEST costume), but yeah, it was just too cold. We'll see what this year brings.

After all that talk, I went into our archives and found this pic of Quinn, Halloween 2007. See what I'm talkin' about, cute costume!!! I'm going to be hard-pressed to beat the carrot this year. The twins were peas. Peas & Carrots. Thank you, thank you.

Return to the blog

2008-09-28T19:24:00.007-06:00

After a long time away, I think that I should contribute something to the blog and finally feel like I have a minute to dot it. I've been working for a month in Pediatric Gastroenterology. Most of my days were spent giving advice on constipation and stomach pain but I also saw some diseases that I wouldn't see anywhere else. I'm switching over to the emergency department and looking forward to a change of pace. I have some suturing practice to do before the first shift in a few days. Here are a few pictures of Quinn and I camping out with some friends in the ward a few weeks ago.
The park was in the middle of a beautiful green (and wet) forest.

The clouds were thick as we got there and there were a few deer in the field behind Quinn (they were camera-shy).
Part of the park was a zoo with native Minnesotan animals. The river otters were the most entertaining and the most interested in us. They swam back and forth in their tank and down the waterfall to a pool with rocks and logs. I'd have to say the bobcat was interested but mostly in Quinn. It would hide behind the rocks in its enclosure and then run and pounce onto the fence before running back to prepare for another attack. And, if anyone out there is really curious about nature, we have a good story about porcupines.

A very few pictures

2008-09-20T12:01:00.003-06:00

Max and Mae, after church last Sunday (Sept 14, 2008). These are the cute clothes they wore at Ty and Connie's wedding on August 1st. I love dressing the kids up. Thanks again, Aunt Connie!!!

Quinn is not getting up at 3am anymore! He can earn a candy bar for the rest of his days if he'll stay in his bed!!

I'm trying to choose more photos to include in this post, but Quinn won't allow it. Something about me promising to fill water balloons with him while Max & Mae sleep and I'm working on the computer instead??!! NO! So, to the kitchen faucet we go. If you ever wondered why I don't post more often.....one day life will be slower and then I'll have nothing to post about!

Sand. Water. Sun.

2008-09-01T08:06:00.004-06:00

One of Mike's co-workers invited a bunch of friends to her parent's home in The Cities this past Saturday. They live on a beautiful little lake with a great beach house. We played all afternoon. Ahhhh, what a day.

Mae, soakin' up some sun.

Sand! Max was the most adventurous of the three and would wade out until his swimsuit got wet.

This is what I look like on a beach. Fully dressed. I feel so like a "Mom" in this picture! I knew I wouldn't be going on the sailboat or swimming out to the floating tramp because of the twins, so why get in a swimsuit and feel insecure all day?? Sad, but true. I'll have to work on becoming more daring.

Daddy took each of our kids out into the water.......none of them loved it. Mae was keeping it together, only whimpering. Quinn was full-on tears. The Q did make it to the floating tramp and bounced a few times with Daddy. He got more and more courageous as the afternoon went on.

Christina's Dad had a sailboat that Mike took out a few times. As soon as he saw the sailboat, his eyes lit up.

When I cheered for Quinn after he and Daddy went out on the sailboat he said, "I just cried. I just cried on the sailboat." Don't they look like they're heading out on a great adventure?? It was a beautiful day.

We stopped for a "window-shopping-only" trip at IKEA on our way back to Rochester that evening. We had worked on the budget just a few days before, so we could only look, no touching. That was OK. There's plenty to see at IKEA!
Quinn and Mike at the end of one great Saturday. I love this picture. Father and Son.

Have a nice trip? See ya next fall!

2008-08-31T18:53:00.006-06:00

Max took a tumble.....

Down these stairs.....carrying his 3-wheeled bike.

I was trying my best to gather the children and get to the library before it was time for lunch and we'd have to stop and eat (again!) and then it'd be nap time and quiet time and library time would have gone out the window. So, I was running around the house grabbing one more sippy cup, a snack for me (who remembers to eat breakfast as a wild mom??), some mini-marshmallows for the kids (reminder to go to the grocery store SOON, mini-marshmallows are not going to build the kid's muscles!) when I heard real wailing outside. Max was face down with his bike on top of him. I patted and comforted him and we made it to the library. But his wounds were BRIGHT red and looked really sore. People kept staring (or was it glaring?) at me, their minds working hard to figure out why this sweet little boy has scrapes, bruises and the beginings of a black eye. Poor Max! Poor Mama! I'm getting all the "what did you do to that poor little boy?" looks!

Old Scar Face & Mae, taking a break from breakfast to smile for the camera.

Quinn. Crying over Max's sad, scraped face? A tender, sympathetic brother? Hmmmm. More like, "Not hot cereal, Ma!! I want cereal!!!!". Kix, covered in yogurt. 365 days a year. Forgive me, Q, for trying to expand your horizons. :)

P.S. I've been using Vitamin E moisterizing oil on Max's wounds and they're healing really quickly! I'm always worried that my kids will get scratches somewhere really noticeable (like their face, Max!) and then I'll do nothing and let nature heal itself and a scar will linger and then when my children are older they'll blame me, like how could you just sit there and do nothing while my skin tried to heal itself and left this big, nasty mark on my face??? Thanks a lot, MOM!!! Just one of the many things we moms think about.....

P.P.S. And yes, we comb our hair and wear bows to breakfast. The kids are easier to take care of when they look cute. :)

Wedded Bliss

2008-08-11T19:34:00.008-06:00

A Party! A Celebration! A Wedding!!

I spent the past 4 weeks in UT, enjoying the company of my dear family. My youngest brother, Ty was married in the SLC temple on Friday, August 1st, to an amazing woman, Connie. It was great to be around for a wedding shower (the picture below), and a small celebration in Logan where Ty wowed us on his marimba and played a light, beautiful arrangement of "That's All" on the vibraphone for Connie. The temple sealing created such a tender and optimistic view of marriage, it was amazing to be in attendance. The day ended with a fun outdoor reception that night.

Connie is beautiful inside and out. Here she is holding my niece, Kira.

During our UT stay (Mike made it out to UT for 2 weeks), when weren't partying with Connie & Ty, we visited Mike's parents in Nibley and splashed in the kiddie pool that Carol bought the kids, hung out with Mike's sister Kirsten whom I love dearly, slept at my parents home, jumped on their tramp, stayed up way too late enjoying their company and conversation, chatted with a dear high school friend, Layne, into the almost wee hours of the morning, drove to American Fork to be with my sister, Jess,--so fun for children and adults alike--, stopped in Salt Lake and had lunch with my bosom friend, Sharon and her delightful family, spent a night with my grandparents in Price, ate all the ice cream in their house and hugged a whole lot, and finally, savored a few blissful days at our cabin in central UT. The weeks went by too fast and I find myself, once again, alone and lonely in Minnesota (it's not THAT bad, it just sounded good, typing that out :)

I miss you, my loved ones.
Ty & Connie, you have a rich life ahead of you.
You are both so good and talented.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful wedding experience with me.
To my parents, siblings, in-laws and friends; thank you for making me feel wanted. You treat me and my kids so well, I feel like we could stay 2 years and you'd never tire of us. Well, maybe 2 years might be pushin' it.....
I miss you much while I'm far away.
It was a great month.

A Family Photo!

2008-07-07T20:37:00.006-06:00

A decent family picture! Not the best lighting or location, but hey! all the kids are looking at the camera.

Now you can see that we are thriving here in Minnesota. We've been here over a year and the children are growing, Mike is smiling and not dozing off in front of the camera (no overnight call this month!) and I'm dressed. No sign of my favorite pink pajamas anywhere. Life is good.

An hour at the park

2008-07-02T20:18:00.003-06:00

Twin Slides for Twins! Twin-happiness. Twin-giggles. Twin-Wheeeeeees!

Only one baby swing? Not a problem. Twins fit nicely. Until Max starts leaning his head back and bumping Mae. She screams and the ride is over.

Hey big brother!!

This is how Max learned how to walk, 2 months ago. Mae looks so pleased to be shuttled around! Now, if we could just get Max to sit down and ride, maybe Mae could get the hang of walking......