Thursday, August 30, 2012

1st grade-Meet the teacher!

Someone tell our sweet 6 year old to slow it all down! 
Tonight we ventured to her school, walked inside and made our way PAST the kindergarten classes. 
It was onto first grade today. 
Regan was apprehensive this week, nervous beyond words, not sure she was ready to start school again. She even wondered if her teachers name was something along the lines of Mrs McMeanie (that made us laugh, pretty good joke for a kid). 
But she was pretty excited after she met Mrs M (who is not mean at all, but in fact quite funny herself....I wonder if she'd find Regan's joke funny). And she was even more excited after she discovered her desk!
In Kindergarten it was a "table spot". 
But not in First Grade; she has a real desk. 

I'd really like to go back in time 6 years, and start all over. Swaddle this sweet baby, rock her sleepy eyes to sleep and be the one to meet her every need. But alas, it's a part of life and I'm so excited to bask in this moment and help her love every second of her big girl life.  

MN State Fair 2012

Opps! It seems that I've neglected to post pictures from our annual State Fair outing. It's tradition to attend the fair for an entire day, braving any heat and crowds. The girls are clearly activity lovers and they look forward to this outing each summer; this year they lasted 9 hours without so much as a whine. We were joined by Grandma Sheri, Grandpa Arnie and Shane and Amy. The more people who come with means the more food we can try! This year it was: frozen grapes (my fav), caramel apple, frozen banana (Sid's fav, she ate TWO!), cheese curds (Ryan's fav), french fries (oh wait, Ryan's fav), fried pickles, snow cones (nope, now this was his fav), big pickle (ok, maybe THIS was his fav!), red velvet funnel cake, beef jerky, turkey sandwich (now this, he adores), nut rolls, scotch egg (oh yea, and this one too), nitro ice cream. I give up, clearly he loves the fair! 

Regan started out the morning with a caramel apple....keep in mind she's missing her top two teeth so eating it became one. giant. mess. 
Oh for the love of the fair. 
 Lucky Grandma forgot her camera so instead of being behind the scenes, she got to be IN all the pictures! 
 Sidney tried her hand at milking a cow. 
ok, not really, but it really does squirt out water when pulled correctly!
 Rides, rides, and more rides. You would've thought since we were JUST at Valleyfair, they would be tired of rides. Nope, never. It's easiest for me/Grandma to take them early in the morning and spend time on rides so we don't have to be at the kiddie midway all afternoon. This is always their favorite "ride".

Did I mention it was hot hot hot!? There were a lot of snow cones consumed. Ryan may have hit an all-time record number; maybe around 7 or 8! 
 Ahh, and for an hour, this wee one slept. I didn't want to disturb her slumber (remember, she is not good at sleeping), so I didn't get a picture of the corn dog in her right hand as she snoozed. What a sight! 

We tasted a lot of great food, saw a lot of crazy happenings and rode some fun rides. Thanks for a wonderful State Fair outing!


Wednesday, August 29, 2012

School preparations

This week is a full moon. We know that because Regan's emotions tend to ebb and flow with the moon. It never fails. You would believe it if you lived with her. Wowzas she's on a roll lately. I first gave her the benefit of the doubt with the whole "school starts next week, let's chalk it up to nerves". But holy moly she's like a calendar when it comes to that moon. So lately she's overly dramatic, extra whiney and not much can make her happy when she's in one of those "states". Ugh, it's exhausting. Good thing we love her so much!
Speaking of school, tomorrow we get to meet her first grade teacher and check out the classroom. Grandma Sheri took her clothes shopping a couple of weeks back.....
I think she has enough clothes to never have to wear an outfit twice!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Girl time

The girls have been begging to go to a place where they can have their nails done. So after much avoiding, I finally took them. As if it wasn't obvious from the picture below, they were in their glory. Sidney wears her emotions directly on her face, and you could just see her face go from excited, to nervous to thrilled to proud of herself for allowing someone else to do her nails.
And she loves the result! 
Regan sat patiently, having received a mani/pedi before and knew exactly what to expect. This time she even turned on her chair to get a back massage...this girl is hooked! We may need to set up a fund for regular girl outings!

Surprises!

Back HERE, I commented that I had a surprise for Ryan this weekend. Thanks to Leigha for babysitting, we were able to go on an adventure/challenge to remember forever!! Unfortunately, due to the rain, we opted to leave all phones/cameras in the car so you'll have to take our word for it and trust these pix I found on their website. We had done a zipline while on our honeymoon, and when I came across this new place, nestled in Jordan, MN, I knew we had to check it out.
 Incredible doesn't even describe it. The morning started out with the challenge 'high ropes' course. It was overwhelming and made both of us dig down deep inside to pull out some inner strength. We climbed up to roughly 40-50 feet high and started the ropes course. Mom....these pictures alone would make your heart jump out of your chest, I can't imagine having you watch us do this in person! At one point, we both commented "how in the world did we sky dive?!" because we were so scared standing so high off the ground.


Ryan started out first, after all, it was HIS surprise! In hindsight, this wasn't my best decision for the day. So it goes....
He climbed this "cargo ladder" type deal, with his harness clipped to the tight wire above him, and then started on the course. It's set up in a square, so one works their way around each of the various "challenges", all basically with just a tight wire to stand on and often nothing but a harness to really hold onto. 

The biggest challenge proved to be a section, roughly 20 feet long, with separate wooded swings about 3 feet apart, suspended on the tight wire. Our job was to step onto each swing (yes, it's moving, and yes, we're still 50 feet above the ground!), and now it's RAINING pouring! Ryan thought he was going to die, his whole body was trembling as he hung on tight and listened to the staff coaching him from the ground. He made it across, and his arms are incredibly sore tonight. He scowled at me as he watched me quickly hop through the area, using my arms to steady me, not pull me. (he learned that part later). Again, this is all done 50 feet above the ground! We had the safety of a harness holding us up in the event we slipped, but who wants to test that harness!? 


The high ropes course ended with a quick zipline to the ground...making it completely worth the effort. After this challenge, we went on to the "Leap of Faith"....mom, you might just pass out reading this. We climbed a telephone pole, 35 feet above ground....and then I STOOD on top! Yes, I stood on top of a 35 foot pole (again, with a harness); Ryan opted out of this part, figuring he wouldn't be able to balance. After that, I took the "leap of faith", when I jumped off the pole and reached to the trapeeze like I was in the circus! I was the first in the group to actually reach and hold on securly to the trapeez, and the whole group cheered. It was amazing! Except then I had to let go, now close to 36 feet above the ground, with no net!? Thankfully I made it safely to the ground :)

The next part of the adventure was what we were really looking forward to. The zipline. Our previous zipline experience was in Kauai, where the scenery was amazing. Today's zipline was way way way longer at 1700 feet (combined) and 100 feet above the bluffs. Although it wasn't Kauai, it was breathtaking.

To get a short (very cheesy!) video glimpse of the zipline, click HERE.
Another couple we met today mentioned to us that this was a heck of an 8th anniversary present and holds the bar high for the coming years! We all thought a trip back to Hawaii was a good gift :)

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Nearly 4, going on 24

Ah the joys this little peanut brings to our lives. 
In less than 3 weeks, she will turn 4 years old. Where did that time go? 
She melts our hearts, makes us laugh so hard we cry, and sometimes has the power to drive us crazy. 
Sidney is our peanut, having grown an inch this summer and losing a couple of pounds. She eats like it's nobody's business, loving all things fruit. Our healthy eater. 
Tonight she was telling Leigha about her "boyfriend", yes, a term she has come up on her own several months ago. This boy has been someone she has grown up with, 3 days/week, sharing a classroom with him and even a birthday! 
She went on to tell Ryan that "he is cuter than..." insert another boy's name. And then, she shocked us all, had us laughing in surprise, when she said without skipping a beat:
"and someday I'm going to KISS him!".
NOOOOOOO. That right there is Ryan's worst nightmare!
Oh sweet Sidney Marie, we love you to pieces! But please stop growing up so fast!!

Together again

Tonight, both Leigha AND Logan were able to join us for our weekly dinners as Logan returns from summer break. We've missed our regular gatherings and the girls had an impromptu beauty salon nail polish session with L & L doing all the work :) Thanks ladies! 

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Anniversary

Today we celebrated our anniversary, out for dinner as a family of four :) I said to Ryan "don't you wish we'd be catching our flight to Hawaii now!?" as we re-counted memories from our honeymoon. 
He doesn't know what lies ahead this weekend when the celebration continues....thanks to Leigha in advance for babysitting!! 

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Fun with friends

This afternoon we hung around outside and soaked in the gorgeous day with some great friends. These guys are more like family and it's incredibly laid-back, low-key with loads of laughs. They have spent the last 3 summers living just down the street from us and we're sure going to miss them as they move slightly further down the road this fall! Thank goodness it's not too far! 

Regan and Dooley posing for a cheesy picture. 
 Sidney in her bright orange, much too large, adorable swimsuit. She was draping herself around the upper part of the ladder as she posed for me and I commented that some day that could be a graduation picture. Not so fast sweetie, slow down that growing up process. 
 Ahhhh, but alas, she swims! Yes, our little 3 year old is swimming on her own. Not far by any means (a yard or two), but she's doing it and so stinkin' proud of herself!
We are too! 
 Addie, Annie and our girls taking a break from the crazy boys tossing balls around in the pool. 
 Smiley Addie was thinking Ryan was pretty funny 
Thanks again guys! We had a great afternoon!!

Perfect night for a fire

Friday night was a perfect night for a winter backyard fire. We gathered around, enjoyed the warmth (afterall, it was chilly) and some entertainment from the two energetic ones of the bunch. They tossed marshmallows into the fire, watched them pop and then moved on to giving us a dance/gymnastics show. 

And what backyard fire is complete without s'mores! 
YUMMY!!

Friday, August 17, 2012

We have a rider!

Regan had a playdate yesterday, and as Ryan went to drop off her tiny friend, Regan saw her friend pick up her bike (without training wheels) and whiz around the driveway. It was enough motivation for Regan to come home and beg Ryan to remove her training wheels. With much encouragement (as it was approaching 8pm), he obliged and the end result.......click HERE!!! It's official, we have a rider! I got quite the workout running up and down the block beside her, but it brought her confidence so I did it; oh the things we do for our children! These cooler temps have pulled us out of the pool so it was the perfect opportunity to practice, and today brought even more riding time. We're still working on braking, at this point she does a legs out straight and jump to the grass while screaming type of stop. 
I think my parents/brother remember that from me and my purple klunker too! 

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Firsts

Today was a day of firsts. For the first time, we visited a local art shop 
 where the girls created their own masterpieces. Might I add that Regan is the perfect age for this, not to mention has a complete love for art. She was over the moon when she was allowed to pick out any piece to paint and then had paint and brushes surrounding her while she worked. I loved watching her determination (while trying to make sure Sidney wasn't spilling permanent paint on herself because she refused to wear a smock). 
For the first time, Regan participated in a talent show. click HERE or HERE to watch her group performances. Clearly she has absolutely no problems with being on stage in front of a group. Regan isn't our shy child, she'll try pretty much anything and being center of attention on stage is high up on her "love it" list. No stage fright for her!

And finally, for the first time, we visited a beach in Minnesota! I can't say it's their first beach experience entirely, but it's their first MN beach experience. The water was crystal clear! 

I thought Regan would be a little nervous once she swam out to the swim docks and noticed the fish in the water. There was a point where she hollered back "I don't want to hit a fish!". All I had to say was "they're more scared of you" and she hopped into the water and swam back! I thought for sure I'd be dragging her into the water kicking and screaming. 

Sidney was only slightly troubled by sitting in the sand but quickly got over it. I know the days have been successful when each experience this week has gotten a "can we do that again tomorrow?!" from them!


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Busy bodies

Day 2 of my stay-cation was a busy one. We started off the morning with a playdate with Ryan's college buddy and his adorable infant daughter. The girls were IN LOVE with sweet Addie! All that playing sure wore them out as they took THREE hour naps! Yes, both of them. 
3. hours. 
wowzas! 
So as a jump start to their late afternoon, I took them here......
 Oh my goodness were they in love!! 
We had visited a similar place while vacationing in California, so when I happened across a frozen yogurt bar locally, the girls were right at home. 
 After picking their frozen yogurt and several toppings, they topped it off with sprinkles and DEVOURED their treats! Regan ate every last bite and then was bouncing off the walls. Literally.  
 So when they came home and asked to rake leaves (in August) to jump into, I handed them rakes and set them free! 
 And just look at that smile! 
Something tells me she had a great day :) 

Monday, August 13, 2012

Spring board

Official day 1 of my stay-cation part 3 of the summer was spent at a local water park. Logan joined us...THANK YOU LOGS! and we had a great time! Regan is the little dare devil, and walked right to the end of the spring board and was hooked. She desperately wanted to try the high board too and with a little coaxing and a demonstration from yours truly, she did it! Unfortunately, she attempted the zip line into water but the lifeguard told her she was too short this year. She's very excited to grow one more inch! 
Sidney had fun too, she's practicing her skills and enjoying some bravery going down the kiddie slides. 
Thanks again Logan! 

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Dancing Queens

Our sliding glass door gives the effect of a mirror. And lately, we catch Sidney looking at herself in any form of reflection she can get (Regan has done this for years....get her crying, and she loves to watch herself cry!). This afternoon, the girls were dancing around in my clothes (one with my shirt, the other with my cover-up). We had the music cranked and I looked over, to find them busting a move while checking themselves out in the door. They were really rocking it! 

Valleyfair 2012

Yesterday we went we some of Ryan's family on our annual Valleyfair trip (so far we only make it there twice/year and that is plenty for the kiddos). That said, we spent TWELVE hours going up and down, round and round!! 
Yes, TWELVE!!!

Sidney is at the age where she adores rides and could go on them for days in a row without getting bored. She went on the same ride multiple times in a row and giggled the entire time. At one point, she was mid-ride and yelled to me "hey mom, next I'm going on that ride", giving me a point. Seriously, did she just plan out her next ride while still going up and down!? That's my girl :) 


 Her and Paxton were inseparable all day long. She simply loves him. Thankfully Hudson was willing to switch strollers to allow Pax/Sid to sit together in the double while he rode solo in our single. It could have been a long day of fighting otherwise, considering all three were without naps. 


These two, however, not so inseparable. 


Going into the day, I knew Regan was now tall enough to ride all the big kid rollercoasters. Growing up, I had something called Forced Fun; we tried everything once. From Star Wars movies, to Monster Truck rallies to WWF cage-matches (yes, I'm that old), to rollercoasters. Had to try it. And now, so does Regan :) 
So with some prep work, and a little coaxing, Regan agreed to try the White Roller first. We headed towards the line and she said "I want to ride with Logan!"; whatever got her on the ride, I didn't mind. 
Just look at her eyes!! She was sooooo scared! 
Turns out, she LOVED it just as I expected. She proceeded to go on every coaster and her favorite, by far, is the Corkscrew! Guess that girl loves the loop-d-loop as much as her mama!


Regan wasn't the only one who liked Logan to ride with her...Sidney had so much fun with Logie!

Awesome idea Jamie....yes, it does look like they are at Hooter-land.


 What trip to Valleyfair is complete without a spendy face painting!? We had a great day, thanks again! 


Thursday, August 09, 2012

P-A-R-T-Y!

The girls have been in a summer program 3 days/week each summer since Sidney was born. It's a slight break from school but enough structure to keep them on track with discipline, fun and building relationships. Today the program held their annual summer celebration with music, food and of course more fun! 
It was a Hawaiian theme and we joked last night that they were going to have a pig roast...unearth a pig in front of a crowd of 2-6 year olds. 
Thankfully they did not. 
Regan's favorite teacher, Miss Katie, does everything 100%. 
"Bright colors" was the theme.....she did well (rocking out to Kidz-Bop):
 I took my hand at stenciling  face painting butterflies and flowers onto the girls' cheeks. 
 And both girls made lei's out of cut straws and paper flowers. They proudly sported those lei's all night!
 The girls really excel in this program. The friendships they have created are like no other. I'm amazed that sweet Sidney has a group of friends she prefers to be with (and that she tells me who is her boyfriend as well as that of her BFF). Regan has been on more field trips than I could have ever imagined! From building their own burgers at Fuddruckers, to a behind the scenes look at Cub Foods to having a blast at local parks and  discovering indoor adventure lands. She really loves going on these big-kid trips and we love having her experience them all while learning as much as her mind can soak in.