Week 7

The kiddos are with Grandma and Grandpa this weekend because Derek and I are both working.  Don't worry, we plan to sneak away for a Valentine's date.  I was able to drag them outside last weekend for our annual Valentine's photo- even though Punky wouldn't smile and she insisted on wearing her jacket despite my attempts at a pink and red color scheme.  Luckily, it still turned out pretty cute.

Week 6

It was a nice weekend with no plans.  We haven't had one of those in a long time.  On Saturday, I took the kids to Home Depot for one of their Kids Workshops.  When we got home, the kids painted their wood Valentine Boxes and I snuck in a few pictures.

They were both concentrating so hard.  Buddy's mouth was wide open.  I looked over and this is what Punky was doing...

Week 5

A guest post by Derek this week.

Erin worked this Saturday, so the kids and I had the day to entertain ourselves.  Once we got up and noticed that it was definitely going to be a nice (by Minnesota January standards) day, I decided it might be a good day to have the kids give ice fishing a try.  Buddy asked to go to Cabela's, and I told him that we would do that, and then we'd have a surprise.  Buddy sniffed it out right away - "I know what the surprise is Dad.  Ice fishing!" with his little smirk.  No idea how he figured it out - hadn't said a word about ice fishing for weeks - but he nailed it.  After a quick (by our standards) trip to Cabela's, which doubled as a bait shop stop, we headed out to Fish Lake.

We got set-up relatively quickly - they were both pretty anxious to get their lines in the water even before I had started drilling holes!  Unfortunately, it was No Fish Lake for us on Saturday, but they still had fun for the 1/2 hour we were out before Punky's hands got too chilly.  I was very proud of them for giving it a try.  Maybe next time I need to convince Erin that I need to do a little scout fishing ahead of time to guarantee I get the kids on the fish!  I definitely see more fishing time in the future for both of them. 

Week 4

Our little girl has gone and turned six.  How is it even possible?  I can remember the day (and weeks leading to) she was born like it was yesterday.  She is growing so quickly.  Today alone, she discovered three wiggly teeth.

Punky is a friendly, sensitive, sweet, silly and smart little girl.  She seems to make friends wherever we go and enjoys playing with all of the kids in her classroom.  I worry about her sensitivity because I know how difficult the middle school years are going to be.  Punky is a sweetheart and always includes her little brother.  I am so thankful that they are friends.  She also can be very silly and goofy, especially when with her brother or friends.  And of course, she is smart.  But what mom isn't going to say that about their little girl?

Happy Birthday Punky!  We love you to pieces!

Week 3

One of my favorite things on weekday mornings is the first half hour after the kids wake up.  Fortunately, Punky's school bus doesn't come until 9:10, so we are able to take our time getting ready in the mornings.  I don't work until 11 or 11:30 and that is only two days a week (once every two weeks I need to be there at 9:30).   The three of us are slow to wake up and we ease ourselves into the morning on our various devices.  When Punky wakes up, she heads to our room.  (Buddy is already there sometime during the middle of the night.)  She unplugs my phone and her kindle from the wall and we spend the next half hour playing games (or checking facebook and blogs).  I feel so fortunate to get to spend this time with the kids, even if we are tuned in to technology.  It's still bonding, right?!?

Week 2

For Christmas, we gave the kids gift cards to Build-A-Bear Workshop and promised them a fun day at the Mall of America.  We let them choose which restaurant to go to for lunch (McDonalds) and then we visited Sea Life Aquarium.

She is definitely her father's daughter- she had to read every single sign!

At Build-A-Bear, Buddy chose a saber tooth tiger which he named Stripe.  And Punky chose a panda bear which she named Rainbow.  They each wanted to add a sound button in their animals too.  Punky chose a monkey sound for the panda- ???  Whatever, I guess it's her's!

We browsed the Disney Store and the Lego Store and let the kids each chose a ride at Nickelodean Universe.  Buddy chose the ghost ride which is completely in the dark.  I thought he was going to be too scared, but he was more interested in shooting things to even notice.  Punky chose a real roller coaster.  This was her first time and she loved it!  It was a fun day and we timed our trip right- the crowds were getting to be too big by the time we left!

Week 1

I'm back.  I seemed to have quit blogging for the last few months.  It felt good at the time but I realized I was not happy about not having a place to record special memories.  I am ashamed to say I hardly picked up my real camera in November and most of December.  So, here I am, back in blogland.  Hoping to pop on each Sunday night with a quick photo of two capturing something special (or not) we did that week.  Words may be at a minimum because that is the hardest part of blogging for me.  Hopefully I still have a reader or two (Grandmas and Grandpas, I suppose).

On New Year's Day, we took the kids ice skating.  We attempted to go ice skating last year, and it didn't work out.  This year, though, was a blast.  Punky had so much fun that she was in tears the whole way home.  She loved it so much, she didn't want it to end.  She picked it up quickly and was skating on her own after an hour.  Buddy enjoyed skating, as well.  He was fearless!  He had the most fun when we let him take his skates off and run around the rink in his shoes (like our neighbor boy was doing).  Punky has been asking when we are going to go back.  Maybe we'll have to get them in lessons.  Hockey, no.  Ice skating lessons, sure.