Nice weather means LOTS of photos...

After I got back from FL we had a straight week of cold, rainy weather. Blah. Our spirits brightened when we got out of the house and went to Ashley's birthday party. The kids had fun running around and playing with friends. Here are the girls, clockwise from left: Maddy, Elsa, Violet, Lila and Ashley.


The next day was supposed to be cloudy with a chance of rain, but ended up being the first beautiful day since probably October. We headed to St. Paul and walked around Como Zoo.



Then we zipped over to Minneapolis for lunch at the Longfellow Grill. The kids ran around outside while we waited for a table. Lila did her Turkey Walk and made people laugh. It was going on 20 mins and kids were growing impatient, and hungry.

Our little Lake Street gang. Pink jackets and Converse only, yo.


Suddenly, a miracle occurred. After we were seated, the waiter brought by a bucket of toys for the kids. Toys that still had hot water drops on them from being freshly washed. Brilliant.


Nice Daddy let them order chocolate milk.


Later in the afternoon we walked around in the woods. Both kids did pretty well getting around in the brush.


Until...

Help, we're stuck behind a pile of sticks!


RARR! Lila and her wild face. This is actually how her face looks most of the time.


Monday was another nice day. After Tim got home from work, we headed to the park. Lila, as usual, wearing whatever goofy accessories she could get her hands on.


I'm special.


Elsa can't stand wearing footwear for very long. She hates wearing socks. Look how happy she is that we had some barefoot weather!


Hippo models one of the seashell necklaces I made for the kids. They're lovely until the girls realize they're actually wearing them, and then they want to trade, or fight over the purple one, or whip each other with them. But I'm still giving myself an A for effort.


Finally, the lovely view from our living room this morning. The girls, sitting quietly, reading and getting along. Just as good as any Florida sunset.

Back to reality

That was then...


This is now...

Got home early Tuesday morning. Just after breakfast that same morning, Elsa laughed maniacally and said,"I'm all done! Wash my hands, take my plate, wipe my butt!" That pretty much sums it up. Vacation officially over.

Before I left, I took a photo of the kids at school.


I also started putting their summer clothes into drawers, and they love wearing them. Hopefully it'll be good practice for the HOT summer we're wishing for.


Wasn't sure the t-shirt souvenirs would be very popular, but I was wrong. Before I could even wash her shirt, Elsa put it on and has been living in it ever since. She won't take it off, even for bedtime.


They also got some flavored lip balm. Watermelon was the first to get chomped into.


Then I gave them both a pedicure, just like the one I have.


While they were with Daddy they did a ton of fun things, including making costumes out of paper bags.


They also learned some new phrases. At dinner last night Elsa said,"Mom, you're really going to town on that!"

I ran across another good quote from earlier in the winter; not sure if I've shared it yet but will again just in case.

Me: Lila, you can't leave the table until you use your manners and say, 'all done'.
Elsa: She's going to be there all night!

Florida or Bust

5 hours until my friends arrive so we can leave for the airport! I'll leave you with some cute videos of the kids:

Lila and her "turkey walk", as Elsa calls it. What a ham.



Heard some commotion coming from the bedroom the other day and found this.



Lila has a tough time pressing the button on her flashlight, so she figured out a way to turn it on with her teeth!



Fare thee well!

Saturday Night Special

Here are some pics of the kids in the bath. As you can see, Lila is still doing her move: the ear pull, two-finger-in-mouth combo.



Today we went to Tim's work to see what he's been up to. 6 foot tall Snoopy figures! Too bad you can't see the photos because of confidentiality. The kids thought he was cool. Lila thought he was Barney the dinosaur.

Drawing with dry erase markers in the conference room. One minute later, Lila drew a big black stripe down Elsa's jacket.


Elsa's latest thing to say when she's happy with me is,"You are a kind and thoughtful Momma!" I think she got it from a book. Either way, a good thing to retain and use when describing me. A+. Elsa has an active imagination, and usually likes to play something dramatic, such as,"RUN from the thunder and lightning!" or "SAVE Hippo from the deep, dark waters below!" She also likes hide and seek and tag. She runs around the house a lot. While Olympic figure skating was on, she liked to skate around the house with paper on her feet. The teachers at school say she's doing great; she's quiet in the classroom, but really lets loose in the gym.


Lila grabs oranges off the counter, throws them to the ground and yells,"Bowling ball!" If it's time to head to another room, she'll start out running and yell,"Yee haw!" In the middle of the night, she woke me to get some water. I was whispering to her that this was the last time I'd fill her cup - no more water after this. She interrupted me by sticking her face 1/2 inch from mine and exclaimed,"Peek!" I don't know how many books she's shredded. Rips them apart, shoves the torn pages in my face and as I start scolding her, she dances and runs away with a huge grin. The other day I told her to "be careful of the puddle". The next second she was down on her stomach, moving her arms and saying,"I swimmin'!" She's something else.

Happy Valentine's Day

Elsa made this at home last week. I love her name in the corner! This was one of the rare times it was ELSA and not ASLE.


Elsa decorating cookies.


More cookies. Mmmm!


Last weekend we had fun on the snowmobiles at Grandma and Grandpa's house. The kids took a ride on the sleigh through the woods and had a blast.






The girls love to play hide and seek. "Ready or not, here WE come!" They never grow tired of it. Here they are just after I found them hiding in the closet.


When they're not running around trying to "seek" me, they cuddle on the couch and watch DVDs.


Elsa took her pillow and my new leopard print Snuggie and made herself a bed on the chair. Ahh, winter.



Quiz time.

Which looks better? The dreary winter wasteland that is our front yard...


OR


Clearwater, Florida?


I'll be going there with 4 of my girlfriends in the beginning of March! CAN'T WAIT.

Sledding and stuff

A few days ago we headed to the Stacy Lions Park to go sledding. A decent sized hill with lots of room and a playground to boot.

The kids had fun on the playground equipment; they really miss going to the park everyday.


Lila June, arctic explorer.


Elsa wanted to go down the hill by herself. It's hard to tell how big the hill is from the photo, but it was pretty steep for a first solo mission.


We went on a Thursday morning so nobody else was there.


Tim thought it was a good idea to slide down this ice jump. I was all, "Tim! Be careful!" Well? Look how huge he is on that sled! I think he did a 360 or something. Boys.


Lila had fun too, but ended up getting a lot of snow in her face.


Today they had fun in the snow fort Tim made.



Lila's latest thing is to say "yeah", but she says it like "WAYah". She's also into asking "Why?" all the time. I wonder who she got that from? Here's a conversation I overheard yesterday between Elsa and Lila:

Lila (looking at Elsa's foot): Band-aid. Dora. Why?
Elsa: Cuz I got a owie.
Lila: Owie. Why?
Elsa: Cuz I fell down and got hurt.
Lila: Got hurt. Why?
Elsa. Cuz I just did, okay?!

I had to laugh. Now she knows how I feel!

Hiding under the covers. The kids looove it. "Hide me under the covers!" is all we hear. It's even more fun with the flashlights they got for Christmas.


Hiding in the closet is fun, too. This one of Lila is a little scary if you ask me.


Look at those dimps! I must kiss those cheeks a thousand times a day.


Elsa has recently started telling us we need a bigger house. I'm not sure where she got that from! I know she loves sharing a room with Lila because it sounds like a party in there every night after I tuck them in. I'll go in and find piles of books in Lila's crib, toys all over, etc. At first I was afraid of them sharing, but it's working out pretty well. Elsa still likes school, and we just signed her up for preschool for next year. Lila will be in a class next year, too. They're totally in school already! How did this happen so fast?

Well, I don't know what to tell ya. It's still winter and we're still inside most of the time. Elsa's preschool is Mondays and Wednesdays. Within the past couple weeks she's become friends with a girl in her class. It's her very first friend that she's made on her own. Up until now she's played near other kids, but not really with them. Last week she actually asked the girl to play, saying, "You hide, and I will play seek!"

They come out of gym class holding hands! So cute.


Elsa throwing a ball at my face. That's always a good time.


Lila being her usual charming self.


For awhile they were hooked on morning cartoons, but lately they go straight for the books. I can't believe how many Elsa has memorized.


Tim and Lila. Awwww. This precious photo was probably taken just before she smacked him in the face or jumped on his stomach. That's how she rolls. Beware the baby!


This is what winter does to you. Last weekend I watched a football game, in its entirety. We all did. It was before the kids bedtime, so we ate popcorn and made it a family event. Then tonight, I made popcorn again (which is something the kids don't usually have). When it was ready, I gave Elsa her bowl and she looked at me warily and said,"Now do we have to watch the Vikings again?"

One night we were eating peas and pizza. Elsa of course wasn't touching her peas, and asked for more pizza. I said,"More peas-za? You want more PEAS-za?!"
She looked at me and laughed like I was super lame and said,"Are you trying to be funny or something?"

Every morning Lila runs to the kitchen, puts her finger on the chair and says,"I want mo ba-na-na, right there!" She probably eats 2 bananas a day.
In the middle of the night I'm frequently awoken by,"More water, mommy! Fill it up! Right now!"
She's still talking and singing like a maniac, and hollers,"Hi guy!" to random guys. I really need to be writing down more of what she says.