Baby, It's Cold Outside

A few pics from our first snowfall.  Francesca wanted nothing to do with being in front of the camera because she was busy trying to catch snowflakes!

Santa's Visitors

Breakfast with Santa

It was a milestone year visiting Santa.  Georgia called him "The Big Man," Francesca had at least 15 things on her list & Addi ran up and sat on Santa's lap by herself.  She has not wanted anything to do with "the Big Man" until this year.  Such a big girl.  She asked for a teddy bear, which I'm pretty sure Santa will oblige. Georgia is on the cusp of knowing who really stocks the house with gifts, but not quite sure.  Francesca still completely believes in St. Nick & as you can see, Addi likes him a whole lot. It's precious watching them grow & I wish I could bottle their innocence forever!

Francesca Earned a White Belt

It's a long way to a black belt, but Francesca earned her first belt in Kung Fu. She performed in front of 6 judges & she was a bit nervous, but she stood strong and did the necessary moves very well & scored an 8.5 out of 10.  She was very serious & relieved to get her white belt. I love that she is a lot like me; it's all about the accessories!

Front Row Seats

Abigail Bloomingdale & the Angel

The Sneaky Creature

 

This past Sunday we had front row seats to our girls' musical performance called "The True Meaning of Christmas".  No it was not at the State Theater or the Ordway, just Francesca & Addison's bedroom.  I was very impressed with this special theater! They made arrows pointing to where we were supposed to sit & they dimmed the lights when the show was going to start.  So my little brunette is quite the playwright.  This play had a great plot, characters, songs, dance & a little villain to nearly ruin Christmas, but goodness prevailed & Christmas was saved. The story started with a little girl sad that her Christmas tree didn't look very nice & had no ornaments.  An angel appeared and told her that the true meaning of Christmas wasn't about fancy lights and ornaments, it was about the birth of our Savior. (yes, in those exact words!!!) Then the Sneaky Creature came & tried to steal the ornaments, but the little girl said it didn't matter because she believed in Jesus & that's all she needed. So the angel gave her a bunch of ornaments to make her tree beautiful & a candle to light her path & remind her of Jesus.
WOW! As my good friend Colleen would say,"Out of the mouths of babes." I was stunned & thanking God that they get it! What a fabulous way to start our Christmas season with the best seats in the house.

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treating started at dark & the girls went to the the townhouses then we headed over to our friend's neighborhood.  Wish I would have had the camera to take a picture of the crazy house we saw in their neighborhood.  There were about 15 life size characters from Star Wars, another 15 lifesize pirates, a fog machine & people were led through these people's house to see an amazing village that would put Dept. 59 to shame. Weird but it was a great house to end trick or treating.

Happy Halloween!

The Witch

The Angel

Scooby Doo

Francesca is Kung Fu Fighting

Look at my little Princess!  She has taken up kung fu this fall & she loves it.  The instructor is related to Bruce Lee; something like a nephew in-law twice removed.  Regardless of familial lines, the instructor is excellent & can take command of 50+ (yes 50!) kids. Francesca has learned some basic punches & last night she got an intro to kicking.  I think momma should take up kung fu to keep up with her skills!

Beautiful Bike Ride

We took advantage of one of the few sunny days that we had in October.  The sun was out & it was warm, so we grabbed our bikes & headed out. I had to capture a few pictures with fall color. Since we have had so much rain, the colors don't seem as brilliant this year.  Even though the color may be duller this year, I still love it.

We biked to the Light Rail Trail that is very easy to get to from our townhouse. One of the perks to townhouse living. See the townhouses in the background? That's our temporary home until the lakehouse is finished.

First Day of School

So the first day of school was 2 weeks ago. I know, a little late, but better late than never. All 3 girls have new schools this year & so far, they all are enjoying them. I was so concerned if they would like it, if they would make friends, would they find the lunchroom, bathroom, and would they fall into a routine quickly and seamlessly. Well, momma needs to learn a lesson from my beauties, because they have transitioned so well. Not one complaint or whine about school yet. Addison loves her preschool, and in fact, she cries on the days that she does not have preschool. Is it too early for all day every day preschool??? Yes! Maybe not for Addison, but definitely for mom. The apron strings are still tied tight on the Redhead! Good luck girls for a fabulous year & I pray that you hang on to this wonderful resilience.

Great Minnesota Get Together

Our summer ends each year with a trip to the Minnesota State Fair. It is the best fair ever! We eat lots of deep fried goodies & we see things that we don't normally see every day. Francesca's favorite thing to see is the Butterfly House, and Georgia typically shys away from the butterflies. This year Georgia was really into catching them & seeing how many she could get onto her shirt. Hmm...I think it's weird, but the girls love it, so I keep my opinions to myself! Addison got to go on rides this year & the big highlight for me was that she is out of diapers & she stayed dry the entire day. Big milestone! We love the fair & we always leave wanting to go back. So until next year, we'll dream of corn dogs, cotton candy, and all kinds of fun.

The Pups

Mimi

Rosie

Our furry four legged friends are 7 months old now & we're in full on training mode. After many accidents in the house & a threat to surrender them to a local rescue, we had a dog trainer come to the house last week to help us teach these little gals some rules. They are the sweetest pups, but A LOT of work for mom. However, I'm enjoying taking them for walks & I like to teach them tricks. So far they've learned "sit", and I will work on "shake" next. Any tips? I welcome ALL suggestions!

Weekend Getaway

A couple weekends ago we saw the forecast & decided to get out of town. We headed to the Kalahari in the Dells & had a fabulous time. Addison has no fear of the water & loved dunking her head under. Georgia & Francesca swam & swam & played on the water slides with Dad. I love that they love water!

The One That Did Not Get Away

The girls have been enjoying fishing off the end of our dock this summer. It's been unseasonably cool this summer, which is bad for swimming, but great for fishing. Francesca caught this 2 1/2 lb. bass a couple of weeks ago & this is Addison's first sunny, caught with the Disney Princess pole & a rubber worm. So far it's catch & release, since I haven't learned how to clean a fish. I didn't have to do that when I was a kid. Thanks, Mom! So sometime Grandma Clare will have to show us how to clean a fish & have a good old fashion fish fry. However, my girls usually want to keep their catch as pets. Frying them up probably wouldn't go over very well!

It's Birthday Week for Addison!

Birthday Party with Grandma & Grandpa Molldrem

Happy 3rd Birthday Sweetie!

Park Playdate

Playing at a park with our dear friends was a great treat on Thursday. The girls were camera shy (actually... camera bothered!) but Diana got this cute shot of my redhead with her healing forehead. Diana was my inspiration to start a blog, visit her's here. Our oldest daughters have been friends since our first ECFE class back in 2001! And our youngest daughters are only 3 days apart. We have fun watching the antics unfold with our girls & there's always plenty with this crew. :-)

All American Fun

The Blonde's Big Smile

Little Bro Erik catching big air

Big Bro Rich, Katie, Alex & Jenny livin' la vida loca

The Redhead (nice pose!)

The Brunette chowin' on the All American Feast

Granny Clare

Our 4th of July was spent with my family on Lake Minnetonka. Despite the cool temperatures and the rainy afternoon on the 4th, we had a great time together. We watched the fireworks right in our bay & it was spectacular! The fireworks are set off right by our bay so all the bays surrounding were completely covered by boats. I think I enjoyed seeing all of the lights from the boats more than the fireworks. Lake Minnetonka became this little city of lights when the sun went down. Thank you to my family for spending the weekend with us. So happy to have all of us together!

Summer Lovin'

Lake life suits the girls just fine!

It's Been Awhile

It's summer for sure! We've been busy finishing the school year, swimming, boating, tubing & just plain having fun. I have not downloaded photos from my card for over a month. Finally a full card forced me to get on the computer & get these photos taken care of. I'll get you caught on the blonde, brunette & redhead soon! Hope you are having a great summer. We are!

Happy Mother's Day!

My Mommy

First of all let me wish all of you moms out there, Happy Mother's Day! I had a great day. It's the first mother's day that I've gotten to spend with my mom since becoming a mother myself.  So it was extra special.  We went to church this morning then had a fabulous brunch at Hazelwood & I stuffed myself.  Totally yummy! No cooking, no cleaning...Perfect!  I got a wetsuit for waterskiing from Kevin & the kids, so I will give that a try very soon.  It hasn't arrived yet, otherwise I'd post pictures of me sporting my new suit.  That post is coming up. :-)  Today at church we sang, "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow." I'm praising God for all my three beautiful blessings.

Redhead is Growing up!

Just thought I'd share a pic of my big girl.  She's used the potty twice with success & we will be visiting that milestone more this summer.  I'm in a hurry to stop buying diapers, but not in a hurry for messes & inconvenient trips to the Target bathroom. She talks a bunch & tries her hardest to keep up with her sisters. Her favorite show is Caillou (much to Daddy's & my dismay).  We've been through that phase twice already! Her favorite book is Cat's Pajamas. And her other favorite thing is the Rainbow playset in our backyard.  She loves to swing.  She really wants to accomplish all tasks by herself & I frequently get the comment, "I do it." She is a funny little girl & we get great laughs from her antics each day.