Vegas

Well, like always, we've had a lot going on! Last week started out with some pumpkin painting - always a lot of fun.

Aiden was very meticulous about painting his little gourd.


The final product:


Here's Brendan with his pumpkin...


And then, they found the glitter glue... and it turned into this!


On Thursday, Donna and Herb arrived to take care of the boys while Wellyn and I headed out for Las Vegas to relax and celebrate our 10 years of marriage. The kids were super excited to see them and were ready to wrestle!



We had a good flight to Las Vegas with just a little turbulance over the Rockies. It was a few hours before we could check into our room so we walked through the courtyard at the Flamingo and grabbed some lunch. The flamingo habitat was beautiful and I loved the koi - I need to put a koi pond in here; heated of course, so the poor little guys don't freeze in the winter!



Our plan for the trip had been to take it easy and relax... we packed lots of books, sunscreen and planned to hang out at the pool for hours. And then we got there. There was so much to see and do, we ended up trying to fit as much as possible in - and the pool didn't make the cut!

After checking in, we headed out to explore. We walked through the Venitian which has such beautiful detailing. This is at the fountain in front of the Forum Shops by Caesar's Palace.


Of course we had to see the fountains at the Bellagio too.


We did a bus tour to the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead - a truly amazing sight. They are building a new bridge over the river since trucks are no longer permitted to use the dam for travel due to the risk of terrorism.




No trip would be complete without the sign!


Us (very tired!) after dinner at Caesar's Palace.


As much fun as we had, it was great to get home and see the boys. They were excited to see us and had all sorts of things to tell us about and show us. Grandma and Grandpa had kept them busy while we were gone!

Now, I'm really excited about planning our next "big" trip!

Play, play, play!

This past weekend we went to see Playhouse Disney Live. The boys were super excited about going and we left early - good thing because we had to compete with Vikings fans to get downtown Minneapolis. After parking we walked to the Target Center...only to find it all locked up. Well, after checking our tickets a little more closely, we discovered the show was at the Excel Energy Center - in St. Paul! We raced over and amazingly only missed 20 minutes of the show...and didn't get any speeding tickets either! The kids had a good time seeing Mickey Mouse and the Little Einsteins.



Aiden cuddling up afterwards - it was way past nap time! Check out the cathedral in the background...


Here is a picture of the boys being cuddly and watching tv together.


And Brendan climbing the walls (well, door frame)...


Brendan giving Aiden a ride on the tractor...


And, play-dough is very popular at our house... you never know what is going to get made. This night, it was "noses"...

Videos

Well, it's been another crazy week here... Aiden is currently on his second cold in 14 days so we're both sleep deprived and at least one of us is feeling a little cranky ;) I doubt he will be well enough for gym class or ECFE class this week and has already missed his morning of daycare. I'm hoping Brendan and the rest of us can avoid getting sick...

We (mainly Wellyn) spent the weekend at the duplex ripping out carpet and pad that was stapled down every 4 inches. He also put in a new kitchen floor and I painted behind the kitchen cabinets and touched up the stain on the cupboards. We had our new babysitter over on Friday night so we could power shop at Home Depot and then again on Saturday morning so I could help with the painting. We hired the rest of the painting as it would take us too long on our own with all the priming, etc. The plan for this weekend will be to put in the pergo floor and take a break to go see Playhouse Disney Live downtown with the kids.

I have few short videos to share. This is Aiden eating creatively...


Brendan trying to splash me at swimming lessons yesterday (he did!):


And Aiden jumping in the pit at gym class last week. Wellyn and Brendan came along to watch:

Twins Game

It's been a busy couple of weeks around here so I've been slow to update. Aiden came down with a cold and shared with me so we weren't feeling so good for a few days. Now it seems Wellyn is a little under the weather.

Wellyn traveled to South Dakota for an overnight trip last week for work. One of their vendors is out that way so he had the opportunity to tour their site and discuss the work they will be doing for St. Jude Medical.

The ducks are gathering in force as the weather continues to cool. Friday morning we had 22 to feed! Here is Aiden and our neighbor throwing them bread:



Friday was our 2nd annual girls' spa weekend so I hit the road with three other ladies and headed north to Brainerd, MN, for some rest and relaxation. We had a fun time shopping, eating out, going to the movie, shopping some more, watching TV, being pampered at the spa, and making up our own schedules with no concerns about working everything around naps or bedtimes. I'm already looking forward to next years trip.

While I was gone, Wellyn took the boys to a Twin's game. Very brave if you ask me - what a cool dad! The boys had an awesome time and got to buy some foam fingers, eat popcorn and hot dogs at the game. Here are some pictures from the game:

Ten Years!!

I'm not sure where the years have gone, but Wellyn and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary today! The years have been filled with numerous home projects, trips, movies, but the most fun has definitely been the past 5 1/2 with the boys.




The weather is going to be beautiful for the weekend so I think we'll be priming and painting the shed. Maybe go out to dinner at some point, but our big "celebration" will be next month when we take a trip to Las Vegas.

And, today is also our nephew Bryces' birthday - Happy Birthday Bryce!

Big Jump

Aiden had his second gym class last night and again loved it! It was his first time getting to jump in the pit "like Superman". Here is a short video of it:


It's been another busy week with school, swimming, gym class and today Aiden and I started an ECFE class. The weather has been warm and sunny this week so we've been outside when possible. But, the ducks know it won't last and are gathering up to head out. The boys feed them almost every day.


These are from earlier in the week, just being boys ;)

Our Little Fish

Brendan totally didn't want to go to swim lessons today...begged me not to make him. He did get changed and once in the pool area I told him he had to at least go sit on the edge - it was the "rule". Next thing you know, here he goes, after telling me repeatedly that he would sit there, but wasn't going to do anything.

Face in the water:


Next with the noodle:


And finally floating on his back:


By the end of the lesson, he was wanting to do everything by himself and wanted to stay longer ;) Hopefully he remembers how much fun it was next week! I have to say, the coaches there are very patient and so much fun...I think we'll be sticking with them.

We did practice last night in the tub with the goggles - if you don't have the book Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea, we totally recommend it! It's about a boy exploring in the sea and seeing lots of ocean life - at the end, it turns out he was just pretending in his tub with toys. Our boys love this book so we used it for inspiration. Wellyn would hide a toy under his hand in the tub and when Brendan put his face in the water he would uncover the toy and Brendan would be all excited about the surprise! It was like bringing the book to life...