Are you comfortable? Good. This might be a long one. Sorry about going MIA for a while there--life got busy. Hopefully I can make up for it with lots of pictures!

So between busyness, what have we been up to? Oh, a little snacking...



a little painting and sewing...



a little hugging...



aaaannnnnnnndd...a little more snacking!



We took a break from eating to try on a new diaper! This diaper is soooo soft! It's light blue minky fabric in the back and tabs and dark brown minky in the front--I had a little trouble getting the model to stay still...



and an embroidered bum!!



Them's some fancy pants!

Ok, enough cloth diaper commercials, now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Auntie Karen turned 20 this year-she and Abby share a birthday. On Tuesday we surprised Karen with a birthday dinner at Russel's On the Lake--she never saw it coming! It was fun...then we surprised her even more with Faith Hill concert tickets. I'd say it went over pretty well...



Thursday was Abby's birthday--since her party wasn't until Saturday, we let her open a gift, then took her to Burger King for breakfast...



She's a bakin' animal! Thank you Grandpa and Mimi, for the baking set and princess game! Abby can't remember what the mixer is called, so she calls it her "thing", lol!

Finally THE day arrived--the day of the PARTY. Abby didn't believe she was actually 3 until she'd had cake and candles.



The weather was ideal for the park! We flew kites,






blew bubbles,






got and gave wagon rides,







had swordfights,



and played a LOT. (That's our good friend Ezra climbing with Abby!)





Of course there was food, cake and gifts! (And that's our good friend Tirzah noshing on the pasta!)









And so, tired, dirty, sticky, and scraped up...





this happy girl says goodbye to 2 and welcomes a new year! Thank you all so much for coming and making it a fun time!

I can't believe it's been 3 years! The time has gone by in a blink-my little baby is a little girl now! She's learned so much this year--her ABC's, how to count, lots of songs and rhymes, she potty trained, she grew 3 sizes, and doesn't stop talking. We're so proud of her!

I hear the big girl "helping" by washing her brother up in the tub...I had better go initiate a little damage control...I hope you all have a wonderful week!

No new pics today, but I thought maybe since it's Friday, I'd throw some fun stuff out there:

Click to take the test yourself!!




Here's another...
http://www.allthetests.com/tests/smart.php3

Some fun vids:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lBQWUR3u7U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_mBLWpdwnI&mode=related&search=

This is in realtime, wow.
http://www.dumb.com/emilyfoxsworldrecordsportstacking.html

Hope you all have a good weekend!

Woop--just got this in an email and thought it so true that I needed to add it to the Friday funnies!

Americans are always on the lookout for a new diet. The trouble with
most diets is that you don't get enough to eat (the starvation diet),
or you don't get enough variation (the liquid diet), or you go broke
(the all-meat diet).

Consequently, people tend to cheat on their diets, or quit after 3
days, or go right back to stuffing their faces after it is all over.
Is there nothing you can do but give up and tell your friends you have
a gland problem? Or is there a slim (groan) hope?

Well, now there's the new Toddler Miracle Diet!

Over the years you may have noticed, as I have, that most
two-year-olds are trim. It came to me one day over a cup of black
coffee and a carrot that perhaps their diet is the reason. After
consultation with pediatricians, X-ray technicians, and distraught
moms, I was able to formulate this new diet. It is inexpensive,
offering great variety and sufficient quantity. Before embarking on
this diet, however, be sure to check with your doctor... otherwise you
might have to see him afterward. Good luck!

DAY ONE
-------
Breakfast
One scrambled egg, one piece of toast with grape jelly.
Eat 2 bites of egg, using your fingers; dump the rest on the
floor.
Take 1 bite of toast, then smear the jelly over your face and
clothes.

Lunch
Four crayons (any color), a handful of potato chips, and a
glass of milk (3 sips only, then spill the rest).

Dinner
A dry stick, two pennies and a nickel.

Bedtime Snack
Toast piece of bread and toss it on the kitchen floor.

DAY TWO
-------
Breakfast
Pick up stale toast from kitchen floor and eat it. Drink half
bottle of vanilla extract or one vial of vegetable dye.

Lunch
Half a tube of "Pulsating Pink" lipstick and a handful of
Purina Dog Chow (any flavor). One ice cube, if desired.

Afternoon Snack
Lick an all-day sucker until sticky, take outside, drop in
dirt. Retrieve and continue slurping until it is clean again.
Then bring inside and drop on the rug.

Dinner
A rock or an uncooked bean, which should be thrust up your left
nostril. Pour iced tea over mashed potatoes; eat with a spoon.

DAY THREE
---------
Breakfast
Two pancakes with plenty of syrup, eat with fingers, rub in
hair. Glass of milk: drink half, stuff pancakes in glass.
After breakfast, pick up yesterday's sucker from rug, lick off
fuzz, and put it on the cushion of your best chair.

Lunch
Three matches, peanut-butter and jelly sandwich. Spit several
bites onto the floor. Pour glass of milk on table and slurp up.

Dinner
Dish of ice cream, handful of potato chips.


FINAL DAY
---------
Breakfast
A quarter-tube of toothpaste (any flavor), bit of soap, an
olive. Pour a glass of milk over bowl of cornflakes, add a
half-cup of sugar. Once cereal is soggy, drink milk and feed
cereal to dog.

Lunch
Eat crumbs off kitchen floor and dining room carpet. Find that
sucker and finish eating it.

Dinner
A glass of spaghetti and chocolate milk. Leave meatball on
plate. Stick of mascara for dessert.

Another Easter here and gone. Late last week we got a happy suprise when Mr. UPS showed up with a package addressed to Abby and Alex...it was a friendly bunny who brought cookies!



See how friendly? He (she?) and Abby are already best buds!

Oohhhh the cookie glee!!!



With a milk 'stache to match!



Thank you Grandpa and Mimi for the sweet and tasty treat!

Saturday night was a flurry of laying out Easter clothes, getting kids bathed, monkey bread started (yay, I remembered!), Easter baskets put together and hors d'oeuvres
and dessert made for Easter dinner at Grandmama's. Sunday we started with breakfast at church (my monkey bread was dubbed "The Best", yay!), followed by the service, then off to Grandmama's for Easter dinner! The food was yummy and plentiful, the kids got sugared up and spoiled and a good time was had by all!



Did you note the ball in each hand? Alex always has a ball nearby...usually 2 or 3. He would honestly be happy as a lark if balls were the only toys he had!



Try as I might, I couldn't get the kids to stay in the same place for long enough to get a happy picture of both of them!

Sounds like their patience is running low, so I suppose my blogging time is up.

In sad news, my uncle passed away last week, so tomorrow we'll be heading up to Grand Forks for the memorial on Thursday. Although the circumstances aren't anyone's choice, it's an opportunity to see family we rarely connect with. Send good traveling vibes to the kids--5 hours is a long time for them to be tied down!

Of Things Easterly...

Being that it's Easter this week, we were reading the Easter story with Abby from her children's Bible. When we reached the part after the resurrection where Jesus appears to the disciples and Thomas doubts that it's really him, I was struck by the phrase, "Touch my hands and feet so you will know it's really me." Seems like a pretty good reason to get close enough to touch--so we can know it's really Him! I wonder what it was like to truly be there 2,000 years ago...somehow I doubt that Mary was terrified that she was going to forget to make the monkey bread for Easter breakfast at church.

Anyway, what's Easter without bunnies?







Since we're talking critters here, this afternoon a flock of robins stopped by the backyard. I've never seen so many in one place before! I tried to get a picture of all of them, but Abby hollered out the sliding door, "Mommy, where ARE you?" So this guy's all there is, lol!



And yes, that's snow. It's April for Pete's sake.

On the few sunny warm days we had before it started the Big Rain (it's been drizzling, raining or snowing for...a really long time.), the kids were enjoying the deck so much! But they kept digging in the flower pots...soooo here's a solution that everyone seems pretty happy about! Note Abby diligently avoiding the camera...and Alex seizing his chance to jump ahead of Abby in the "Who's the Cutest/Fastest/Smartest/Funniest/Snuggliest/Whatever" game they play.



A big fat Happy Birthday Kristine! Cousin Kristine is a whopping 6 years old today. When she first came into our picture, she was a little older than Alex is now, but probably a little smaller. Almost as cute, but not quite. ;o) (But I'm biased.) Today Abby and I shared lunch and a movie with Kristine, Karolyn, Jon and Grandma to celebrate-wish I had the forsight to bring the camera, but no. This year she learned to tie her shoes, ride her bike, read, and a billion other monumentous skills! It's amazing what you can pack into a year! There must be more recent pic's somewhere, but this is all I can pull up right now-it's over a year old, so she's even prettier now.



And that's all for now. Have a good rest of the week!

It's April, the first real spring month! It's raining, raining, raining...it feels like weeks and weeks of wet, drizzly weather. I think it's really only been a week or so, but the damp and dark feels never ending! We're all so antsy to see some sun. We're in a picture slump too, which I'm also blaming on the lack of sun, lol!! Abby's taken to turning her head and refusing to look at the camera whenever it comes out, and Alex...well, Alex just doesn't stay in one place long enough. And there's been NO sun. So, sorry the pictures are probably all a little gray, and there are no big Abby smiles, but here they are!

Despite the grisly weather, we've gotten to get to Como Zoo twice in the last little while! The first time was with Karolyn, Jon and Kristine. We all had a great time, since we don't get to see them as often as we'd like. Abby loves her cousin Kristine, and Alex loves Auntie Pug, because she smooches all over him and will hold him as long as he wants her to! The weather was cold and windy, so it was a little bit of a rushed zoo trip...




Hehe...see? I told you pictures are lacking lately! Despite my supposed smile inducing antics, no one would look at me or smile, lol! Oh well, you can get the idea...

Since we're talking cousins here, here's a "Holla" to cousin V!




Ok, back to the zoo!! Our second trip to the zoo was with our buds Jon, Michelle, Ezra and Tirzah! The weather was warmer, but still overcast and drizzly...

Did I mention Grandpa Rob was able to make it to the zoo with us? He graciously posed for pictures...



Ok, not really, I'm just "monkeying around"! *groooaaan* (Actually, Bj was the one who said, "Hey, the title of this picture should be 'Alex and Grandpa'!" so kudos to him for the lame humor.)

Is it? Could it be? I think...wait, yes! It's an "almost smile"!



Ok, more of a "If I give mom this lame fake smile, maybe she'll just take the picture and leave me alone" kind of smile, lol!



Abby was so much fun at the zoo! She loves seeing the animals! She talked about how big they were, told us who was the mommy monkey and who was the daddy monkey, barked like a seal, made "fishy lips", and repeated, "Come on mommy, let's see more animals!" fifty thousand times.

Well, there's more to add, but it's getting late, so it's quits for now. But before I go, does anyone have any idea why Wanita can't see the pictures here? Is it the picture host I use? I tried switching from Photobucket to Snapfish, but didn't like it much, and I think they wanted me to pay for good quality (correct me if I'm wrong?), and I'm just plain cheap. Help poor Grandma show the babies off at work!

Happy April, and I hope you all have a wonderful week full of lots of aping around! (Rob, you might want to make a visit to your man spa...from the looks of the zoo pics your eyebrows need a wax...)