This and That

The boys have had a busy couple of weeks between school and playdates. They've been relatively healthy too, which I'm thankful for. Aiden's last cold has cleared up (with no ear infection - yeah!) and so far we've managed to avoid the stomach flu that has been going around...knock on wood! Aiden came home from daycare last week all excited because they had got to put on old Halloween costumes and he got to be Buzz Lightyear (from Toy Story). That prompted pulling out our dress-up stuff...
My future racecar driver (and heart attack):


My future doctor (to fix the race car driver and my heart):


Such good brothers ;)


Wellyn and I are still working out hard, trying to beat his brothers in this crazy exercise competition we have going. So far we're doing pretty good, but there are still a few months left to go! The kids are always giving us thumbs-ups, telling us 'good job' and bringing us water when we're on the treadmill. And, apparently I sound bad when I'm on there since Brendan always wants to know if I'm okay... Well, it makes sense that I sound bad - I feel horrible! Burning lungs, rubber legs... bad thoughts about my fast brother-in-laws ;)

Last weekend I went to the Mall of America for a girls' night with one of my fellow moms. It was so much fun to wander around the mall at our own speed, try on clothes, go out to eat, and chat. We did visit the American Girl store (holy expensive!) and Legoland (okay, that can be expensive too) to look around. Whew, those of you with girls, it's not just the boys you need to watch out for - those dolls are pricey. Not to mention all the different shoes you can buy girls...literally one for each outfit! Probably a good thing I'm limited by the selection of boy clothes and shoes!

Last summer we took out the canoe and paddle boat with my parents and the kids around the shore of Gulliver Lake and found an old tree stump to take back to put in our aquarium. After getting it back here, we found it was too big so we sawed with a handsaw for awhile, but it was taking forever! Wellyn got his electric chainsaw sharpened last week and was able to cut right through it in no time. So Sunday night we 'redecorated' our aquarium with the stump and some new plants I'd gotten for Christmas.



The kids had an 'interesting' bath night earlier this week... you see, Santa brought them both cans of colored foam soap. They were playing really good together in the tub as we sat in the hall talked - actually caught up. And then, it was time to get them out - and this is what they looked like!! They had used so much of the foam that it made the water look like milk - and they thought it was hilarious; okay, it was, but getting them rinsed off and cleaning the tub afterwards wasn't quite as hilarious. Next time Santa should buy smaller cans... or pay a little more attention to the fun being had!


Look, a floating head!


With a beard (maybe Santa instead of a dr.):

Brrrr....

As in many other places in the midwest - it is COLD here! With yesterday's high topping out around -4 degrees and tomorrow's high expected to -3 degrees with worse windchills, I do expect we'll be staying indoors as much as possible!

A few weeks ago we all headed down to the south metro for our friend Paige's birthday party. The boys had a fabulous time - it was at Pump It Up which is filled with huge inflatables to slide down and jump in. Not to mention there was pizza, chips, pop and CAKE after they were done. Here is Aiden enjoying his pizza:


We did take advantage of the nicer weekend and take the kids sledding. Brendan had a blast and doesn't let some numb body parts from having some fun! Aiden on the other hand, well, it's not as fun for him. He doesn't like having the wind on his face at all and since he's so buddled up, doesn't really enjoy trying to walk or run around. He did take a ride down the hill several times with us though and was fortunate enough to have one of us (okay, Wellyn) pull him back up the hill too.





For Christmas, Wellyn's dad made me a shoe bench and coat rack with cubbies - it is perfect! Wellyn painted it and put it up over the weekend also. It has made a huge difference in our entry and in keeping the kids things picked up. Here it is after first being hung:


And after coming back from sledding (a great spot to hang damp clothing!):


Our past few weeks have been full of fun playdates with others and we still have some more lined up! We also were able to leave the boys with some friends and go on a 'date' by ourselves last Friday. Okay, we really did errands, but it was still fun! Brendan started his next level of swimming lessons last week and is doing great. He was a little nervous because he had a different coach, but she is amazing and has that 'kid humor' down pat. I do believe he's in love ;) And his old coach is teaching a few lanes over from him and always makes a big deal of Brendan entering the pool area - they should get bonuses for how fun and nice they are there! Tomorrow Aiden and I have our last ECFE class; I think we'll take a break from them until spring since we seem to be filling up our days and weeks as it is. Not to mention we're heading into the time of year when we miss the most classes due to illnesses. Other than that, we're just keeping busy with the normal things that make up our lives...

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2009! We have a lot of catching up to do...

We started off our holiday season by packing up and heading for Gulliver to spend a few days with my parents. We had great traveling weather on our way there and enjoyed watching the snow after we arrived. The boys helped decorate the tree and burned of some energy at Burger King Playland while my mom and I shopped.


We took a little time on our way back from town and stopped by the Eva Burrell Animal Shelter with a big bag of food for the kitties waiting for new homes. The kids love stopping and visiting the kitties and this trip was extra special since we ran into an old friend who volunteers there! Brendan was quick to ask her if she could show him the dogs and off we went to visit the pooches! And, no, we did not leave with one ;)

My sister, Katherine, and her family were able to come up also so we could all enjoy some time together. As you can guess, the kids were super excited to open presents. We had a wonderful visit, even though it was too short!

Aiden all happy after having some dinner:


The boys getting ready to start handing out presents:





Christmas morning we packed up and headed for the Pomeroy house! We had a nice lunch before opening up presents in the afternoon. Again, the boys were super excited and helped hand out all the presents. It was even more fun than usual this year as the boys got to play with their little cousins, Ellie and Maxwell - both mobile; and fast!

Brendan in the Santa hat from Grandma Martha...and shorts... I know...




Levi, Lindsey and Maxwell arriving for Christmas!










You'd never know this massaging chair actually belonged to Uncle Colin - Brendan was in it every time it was free!


A trip to the UP wouldn't be complete without going out to enjoy the snow. The boys had a blast being pulled by Grandpa Herb on the snowmobile.


After a couple days there, we headed back to MN. Since Wellyn is at a different company than past holidays, he no longer has a holiday shut-down between Christmas and New Year's so we needed to head back.

Santa came while we were sleeping our fist night back and were the kids ever excited! Brendan was the first one up (like usual ;) and got us up to see all that Santa had brought. This is Brendan's 'excited face' while he was waiting for us to start opening gifts:



Yeah, there are a lot of little legos in these sets!


Me getting a hug from Aiden - he got me some really cute stickers and a craft punch as a gift.


Santa didn't forget mom and dad either, we got a new Blu-ray player! After the kids were in bed we watched Transformers on it for the first time - very cool! Of course, now I want to get the Planet Earth series (thanks to Ashley!).




And, I can't leave my furry boys out of this post ;) Here they are enjoying some toys from Grandma Donna and Jag relaxing under the tree:




The time back home has been fairly uneventful; mostly catching up on laundry, rearranging toys to fit in places (trying to convince the kids to get rid of some they don't use!), and Wellyn building more shelving in the storage area of the basement on the days he didn't have to be at work. The shelves turned out great and have really helped get us organized and free up some floor space. I think we're all about ready to get back into the 'normal' routine of life that this coming week will bring.