and here are the crocus to prove it. The weather has been great in MN. In fact, the weather man says that this will be the first March on record with no snow. Apparently we typically average about 8-10 inches so that is pretty impressive.
Kasson had an Easter egg hunt for the kids last Saturday. It was a little chilly but we bundled up and had a blast. Carly even found these bunny ears to get in the mood.
"Are you sure they aren't too much mom?"
"Nope, you're right. I look fantastic!"
How is it possible for someone wearing bunny ears to look so grown up?
Carly wasn't too sure about the bunny but he did give us candy so she decided he was ok.
"Can we start yet?"
"Come on mom, you're slowing me down!"
Sunday was another beautiful day and we decided to get some yard work done. Carly was a big helper.
Don't let her fool you she is not looking for direction she is telling Mommy what to do next.
After all that hard work she decided to lay down next to Columbo (who opted not to stay for the photo shoot) to look at the neighbor kids who's parents let them play with cool toys rather than work as groundskeepers in their own yard.
That's all for now. Hopefully we'll get some yard work videos uploaded soon. Hope everyone has a great Easter!
It seems like we haven't seen the Gerken's in forever. So we were very excited for their visit. I wonder who is more excited to see who.....
Carly loved to hug and kiss Cassidy
Cassidy wasn't so sure about all the love.
On Sunday we decided to load the Gerken's and the Schahl's into the swagger wagon and head to Wabasha to see some eagles, play with some toys and find some lunch. Carly made sure she had the essentials....a beverage, blankie, a movie and don't forget the shades.
Our first stop was Lark toys a great place for the little kids (and the big kids) to explore. We took a ride on the very cool carousel. It sounded like a good idea at first....
Then not so much....
At least someone liked it! Take note of the big smile on Cassidy and the death grip by Carly in the background.
Carly much preferred playing with the toys that she had some control over.
This shopping cart was a favorite and she pushed it and the baby around for a long time while she perused the books. Sadly mom and dad weren't willing to fork over the $50 required to take this shopping cart home with us.
Fortunately, Carly got over it pretty quickly and still likes us.
After the toys and a nice lunch (followed by some ice cream) we headed down to the river to watch the eagles.
Carly decided to work off that ice cream by doing a little rock climbing.
It was such a nice day that when we got home we decided to forget about nap time and play outside while we grilled some dinner. Carly loved showing all of her outside toys to Cassidy.
She didn't even mind sharing.
Carly's getting close to figuring out how the trike works. It looks like those fancy boots help.
It's always feels good to back in your own house.
Just a random shot of Carly enjoying her books.
The Rocky update: Kim had another ultrasound on St. Patrick's day. Everything still looks good and Rocky is doing everything he/she should be (growing and kicking). He's not the most photogenic (at least by u/s) but here is a profile shot from that visit.
Time seems to be slipping by and we only have about 12 weeks before the due date. So for those of you thinking about a visit (we do love visitors) the "guest room" will be going away so make your reservations soon!
So we've had quite a bit of time, and gotten several phone calls asking where the updates were. It's been quite busy around here. So much in fact that we haven't had the camera out nearly as much as we probably should have.
Carly had a sick day, and she and Kim just laid around the house. Carly got up on the loveseat and pulled her blanket up all by herself.
After she was feeling better and the temps co-operated, we decided we'd better at least make an attempt to get her out on a sled. This snow isn't going to last forever! She wasn't exactly sure about whether or not she liked the sled. Although she did put up with it, I'd lean toward not enthused. Figured we'd better get a couple of those "remember the snow when you were a kid" posterity pictures. Here's Carly in the driveway. And this was after they'd already melted down a little... She is getting big enough to almost fall in to and out of the toybox all by herself. And fast forward to today. While enjoying Jason's morning coffee, Carly found this very interesting advertisement to look at. It was full of interesting things like patio blocks, decking materials... and hey, what do you know... pages full of swingsets! This one daddy... that's the one. We've been hearing good things about the "House of Bounce." It's a place that has a large open space with a bunch of those inflatable jumpy things. Carly's been cooped up so much this winter, we thought we'd give it a shot. She took a little while to warm up, but overall had a good time. Sorry it's blurry, but she loved the big 20 foot slides. The trip was a success. We'll be back. Then we came home, and after all that excitement it was nap time. After a brief one of those, it was too nice to stay inside. It was nearly 50 degrees out! With all that sunshine, we had to head out back.
Carly was happy to get back to the summer cottage, and start getting it cleaned up for the seasonal use. Checked out the coupe too, made sure it was still in working order. Hrmmm... who says we're not role models? She was also very excited to try out some new stuff... This wagon fits just fine. And for a little comic relief... Jason has been working late several nights each week. He calls home and talks to Carly and Kim around dinner time. Carly has been increasingly active in these calls. Here's a sample.
And now a quick and short Rocky update. There he/she is. That's it... you know as much as we do.
Ok, everybody take care. we hope to see and talk to you soon.
Been a couple weeks, been super busy up here lately. Jason is back into the winter long hours at work, so the home schedule has been modified. All are making do, and still finding time to snap a few pictures here and there. Hope you enjoy. Looking forward to spring and seeing you all.
Carly's new pet... the hand mixer. Carly has been very interested in the idea of "potty" lately. We decided it was time to invest in that next step in parenthood. And by step, I mean that thing that you have to have in the bathroom so you can trip over it at 2 in the morning.... the potty chair!
Carly was so excited she even helped put it together. We can only hope that this enthusiasm will carry through to actually learning what the whole thing is about.
Seems comfy.
Yep, this will do. (Hopefully in the future it will "doo-do"!
As many of you know (and have experienced in your own areas) it's been butt cold this winter in Minnesota. There was one weekend however that the temps made it into the 20s and we decided to see how Carly would like to see the backyard.
She enjoyed it, only lasted about 5-10 minutes though. Once she took her gloves off we had to head in.
She didn't really mind though, as long as we let her wear her snow pants for a little while.
Gram and Baka came up to visit when Gram had a long weekend from school. Since Carly was such a great help with Christmas cookies, Gram went ahead and picked up a little chef hat and apron for her.
So our little Betty Crocker helped make some lunch for Gram. (yummmm.... soup)
What?!... Isn't this how you dress to clean YOUR house? :)
Carly's friend Ryan won a bunch of John Deere toys and such at a Christmas party. These slippers were too small for him, and he wanted Carly to have them. She loves them!
She even wears them for "jam" sessions.
Please... no paparazzi!!!
No comment. Just look and smile.
So I mentioned that Jason is working longer hours. Carly has dutifully taken up the "couch potato" role and wears it pretty well.
That's all for now. Rocky is doing well, Kim reports some noticeable activity in the form of kicks and punches. Our next checkup isn't for a while yet. More later. See ya!!
