Minnesota

On 'our way' home from Wisconsin, we decided to take a little side trip to visit Mall of America for a few days, and then spend a day with some of our favorite Business school friends the Stansels! Dan and Annalee came to Mall of America with us, which was really fun. The kids both loved being able to spend so much time with them. On Monday, (our first day at the mall) we spent most of our time at the Nickelodeon Universe theme park. The kids loved going on all of the character-themed rides (i.e. Dora, Diego, Swipper, Backyardagains, etc.). One really nice thing about the theme park was that John and I were able to ride all of the 'junior' rides for free as chaperons.

Uncle Dan and Hudson

Makenna 'driving' Dan and Annalee

Dan and Makenna being chased by John and Hudson on the Swipper ride

After grabbing a late lunch, John took the kids back to our hotel which was right across the street, and Annalee and I did a little bit of shopping. I really could not believe how BIG the mall really was. I only made it to a handful of stores, but did enjoy having some kid-free shopping time.

On Tuesday we spent the morning swimming, and then headed over to the mall around lunch. It was Toddler Tuesday at the mall, so the kids were able to eat free, which was great. We then visited the Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium (which is in the mall). It was a nice aquarium, and the kids really enjoyed it, but it was definitely overpriced. After the aquarium, we did a little more shopping. Makenna picked out a Sleeping Beauty dress at the Disney Store, and Hudson got some legos. We then ended up in the Barnes & Noble store for about 2 1/2 hours while John looked at books, and Hudson played with the Thomas the Train table. He had also found a Thomas table at a store the day before. Hudson LOVES trains, and could spend hours and hours playing with them.

At the Barnes & Noble train table
Playing with another Thomas table on Monday


Tuesday night at the hotel, the kids got my camera and took some pictures, without me knowing (not sure how they did that). I deleted about 30 of their random pictures, but just had to keep the following 2 because I thought they were funny.

Hudson's 'angry face' which he thinks is SO funny to make. He usually has a little half-smile while making it. (This may also be the last picture taken of Hudson with his binkie, which we have since taken away.)
On Wednesday morning, we drove to visit the Stansels, who moved to the Minneapolis area after business school. They only live about 6 hours away from Omaha, and are the closest of our b-school friends. The kids seemed to pick up right where they left off, and were off playing upstairs about 30 seconds after we arrived. After a few hours of catching up and eating lunch, we took the kids to a big indoor playground. Sadly I didn't take any pictures, but the kids had a blast running around and playing together. On Wednesday night after eating a fabulous meal prepared by Amy, we then played charades with all of the kids. We loved being able to see and spend a day with the Stansels. Thank you so much for having us!! We stayed with them on Wednesday night, and then headed home on Thursday.

Makenna and Lucas right before we left. Somehow I left without getting a single picture of Jane and Hudson!

Wisconsin

On February 19th, John's Grandma Helen turned 91! We decided to drive out to her farm in Wisconsin to celebrate with her. John's parents were there, as well as his brother Dan and wife Annalee. We had a great time visiting and seeing everyone.

On Saturday, although it was pretty cold, we did manage to get in a few outdoor activities, including driving the Gator (a favorite for Hudson and Makenna), and shooting guns (John's favorite).

We also took a trip to the Dairy State Cheese Co. in Rudolph, WI. Visiting the Rudolph Dairy has become part of our tradition when visiting John's Grandma. You can watch the cheese being made, which is really fascinating. The kids were mesmerized by the whole thing! You can then buy any of about a 100 different varieties of cheese. They also sell ridiculously good ice cream.

On Sunday after attending church at the local branch, we celebrated Grandma Helen's birthday with a lunch, and presents and cake.

John's Aunt Kathy and Uncle Mike

The birthday girl!
Makenna and Hudson were more than happy to help open presents
John's parents
We are so glad that we were able to make the trip to Wisconsin to help celebrate with Grandma Helen. I am always so impressed by her, and the fact that at 91, she is still living on her farm by herself! Hopefully longevity runs in the family!

Valentine's Day

We had a lot of fun celebrating Valentine's Day this year. Makenna is at an age where she gets SO excited to celebrate any holiday, and Valentine's Day was no exception. We started the day with red and white heart pancakes for breakfast, and then got ready for Makenna's preschool class.

For preschool, Makenna and I copied an Indiana friend from last year (thanks Sara!) and made these cute sucker valentines.

I also got to be a mommy helper for her Valentine's Day party at preschool. We played 3 different games: Valentine's bingo, bean bag toss, and balloon relay. We finished by eating heart-shaped Valentine's cookies that I made. The kids had already handed out their valentine's at the beginning of the day, and each got to take home a bag full of goodies. On the drive home Makenna couldn't stop talking about how nice it was that everyone had brought valentine's for each other.

Later that afternoon I was surprised by a delivery of a beautiful basket of flowers that John had sent. I loved the arrangement, and loved that they were different from the more traditional red roses (John knows me well). He also left me a homemade card on the dresser before he went to work that was very sweet.

John brought home a red rose and homemade card for Makenna, and also a little car for Hudson so he wouldn't feel left out. He even bought two little boxes of chocolates for Hudson to give to me and Makenna. He then made us all a nice Valentine's dinner!! This was a real treat for us, since John doesn't cook very often.

For John's Valentine's Day gift, I had been leaving him little surprises in his work bag/car/lunches/etc. during the 2 weeks leading up to Valentine's Day. I enjoyed starting the holiday a little early, and I think John enjoyed discovering what treat he would get each day.

What's not to love about a holiday that is all about showing love to the special people in your life?!

Baby Shower

Last weekend my sister-in-law Jacque and I hosted a baby shower for my cousin Ashley, who is pregnant with her first child, a baby girl. Jacque hosted the shower at her house, so really she did most of the work, but I enjoyed helping as much as I could, and also became the unofficial photographer (as I was the only person who brought a camera).

We found a great printable party pack on pinterest (gotta love pinterest!!) that we were able to purchase thru etsy. The fabulous thing about this party pack, was that it was made to coordinate with the bedding set from pottery barn that my cousin had registered for!! It was meant to be! It also made putting together decorations a breeze!

Some of the decorations
The food
I made little birdie cookies to go along with the theme.
The cupcakes

Opening presents
There was a big snow storm the morning of the shower, so we were worried that not everyone would be able to make it. But luckily only 1 person stayed home due to the weather!
I'm so excited for my cousin, and also excited that we are going to have baby girls that will be so close in age!

Prayers

I love listening to Makenna say her prayers at night. They are getting longer, more unique, and sometimes really funny. Here are two recent examples of some of the funnier things she has said in her prayers.

In November, John had several business trips, and during one of his trips Makenna prayed that he would be safe, and that he would not get into trouble or go to jail!! I don't know where the jail comment came from, but I too was glad that he didn't end up in jail on his business trip!

A few nights ago, Makenna was praying that our baby would grow healthy and strong (a normal part of all our prayers), but then she added the following, "Please bless that if Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus are having a baby that their baby will grow healthy and strong too!!"

Love her and her prayers!!

The Zoo

My sister Amanda and her 2 girls have been visiting this week from Phoenix. We have loved being able to see and hang out with them everyday. Today we decided to head to the zoo. (No visit to Omaha is complete without a stop at the zoo!) We contemplated changing plans after predictions of rain/snow this morning, but lucky for us, it stayed dry, and everyone else stayed home, meaning the zoo was quite empty! My sister-in-law Jacque and her 4 kids joined us, as well as my mom and one other cousin. So with 4 adults, 9 kids, and a mostly empty zoo, we had a great time! We love hanging out with our cousins!!

New Year, New Changes

2011 brought many big changes for us. John graduated from business school and got a new job, we moved to Omaha, NE, and we bought our first house. I thought 2012 might be relatively low-key in comparison, but we do have one big change coming to our house. In May we will be welcoming baby #3, a girl to our family!!

My pregnancy has gone well so far. Of course the first trimester was pretty miserable, but now I feel great. Makenna is SO excited to be a big sister again, and is always wanting to feel the baby kick. She also likes to point out to me on a daily basis that the baby and my belly are getting bigger!