Emily and Olivia

Olivia LOVES being girly. She loves her jewlery, purses, make-up, and anything else that has to do with girls. Don't get me wrong - she can hang with the boys and hold her own very well but given the choice, she'd like to have lip gloss on and her toe nails painted.

When Emily arrived on Saturday Olivia was in her glory. Emily had on boots so Olivia quickly showed up with her boots on. You'll notice in the picture that they are purple and black snow boots but boots none the less. It was absolutely adorable.

They were buddies the whole night. Olivia is so lucky she has her Aunties (Emily, and Chris) and her cousins (Nikki and Jill) to help her be girly - she loves every minute with them all.

Party Number 2!

After naps on Saturday, we had a family party for Braden. His Nana, Papa, Grandma, Bapa, Uncle Marc, Uncle Sam and Auntie Em all came to help celebrate.

We had Pesto Pasta, a dinner requested by Braden, followed by cake, ice cream and of course presents. We are so thankful that everyone made the time to come and visit. We love you all.

Celebration number 3 will come this Thursday on his actual birthday - wow, what a lucky boy!!

The Dinosaur Party

Braden had his first "kid only" party this year. I was in my element planning fun games and activities and I believe it was a success. Braden had a great time and felt really special which was the goal!

Evan, Andrew, Isaac, Daniel, and Patrick arrived at all about the same time and we began by decorating goodie bags in the dining room. We had dinosaurs all around. They drew on their bags and put on dino stickers. I was excited with how cute they turned out. When they were starting to finish we put on tattoos from Ice Age 3 (Dawn of the Dinosaurs). This was quite exciting!

Our first game was pin the horn on the triceratops. I had been planning on making the game but changed my mind at the last minute when I found one online for $5. Well worth the money - it was cute!! When they were finished they got to take a set of "grow dinos" and put it into their goodie bag.

Next we came into the living room and they tossed rings onto plastic dinosaurs. They did a pretty good job and they each got to choose a dino to add to their bag when they were finished.

The last game we played was heading into the backyard for a dinosaur egg hunt. It was beautiful so we were able to be outside - otherwise the plan was to hunt in the basement. They searched all over the yard for dinosaur eggs (easter eggs in the shape of dinosaur heads which were filled with treats) and again added them to their bags as they were found. Each boy found seven eggs. They were super excited about their discoveries.

Since it was so nice out Steve got out our bouncy house and the boys (and Olivia) played while we made pizza. We had a pizza lunch followed by cake and ice cream. I was impressed by how much they ate - good growing boys!!

After eating we went to the living room and played spin the bottle to figure out whose present to open. He got very fun gifts and beautiful drawings and cards!!

After opening presents the boys played with their dinosaurs outside in the bouncy house for the last 15 minutes before heading home.

It was a perfect way to celebrate Braden turning 5. It's fun to watch he and his buddies interact and I'm so glad that he had a good time.

In Love

Last week Braden and I went to his school for a keepsake plate night. He was able to color on a piece of paper which will be transfered to a plate. I remember doing it when I was little so it was fun to watch him fill the space with all sorts of monsters. I can't wait to see his face when we get it back.

While we were there he saw a few friends. He was very excited to run into people he knew and instantly wanted to play with everyone. Towards the end his friend Emily came in. He was instantly smitten and wanted to go and sit by her. She and her family were already seated in another spot so we just said hello and I told Braden we could go see Emily when we were finished.

When he told me he was done, he said, "Mama, I love Emily." I confirmed that Emily was indeed a very nice girl and we walked over to where they were sitting. He decided he wanted to sit next to her and add some more to his picture and after a bit I heard them giggling so I bent down to see what they were talking about. Emily said, "I keep telling Braden he shouldn't be in love with me but he keeps saying we should get married." I don't even remember what I said but I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that they were both silly.

We left soon after and Braden told me a few times on the way to the car that he was in love with Emily and wanted that he and Emily were going to have kids. He asked me if he could marry her and I explained that we couldn't get married until we were big but if he still wanted to marry Emily when he was big than yes, he could marry Emily.

So... the crushes have started I guess. :) I am just hoping that Braden is not the little boy chasing all the girls to kiss them on the playground!

Packer Game

Steve and I drove to Appleton yesterday and dropped off the kids (and Magnus) at my parents before heading up to Lambeau. We joined one of his good friends in the Vikings Suite for the game. Before the game he gave us some field passes so we were able to walk around on the sidelines while the teams warmed up. It was really cool to be so close to the action and see how LARGE some of the players really are!

Despite the game outcome it was a really fun time. It was nice to spend an afternoon with Steve and fun to be there watching the action live. Thanks honey! I'm glad we decided to go. :)

Trick or Treat

Like last year, Darrell and Judy came down for the weekend. We had Braden's last soccer game on Saturday morning and then spent the afternoon running errands, catching up on a few other projects around the house and getting geared up for Halloween.

This year Braden was Darth Vader and Olivia was Princess Ariel. We had a great time despite the cold and the kids came home with lots of candy that I am trying to avoid today. :)

It was a really fun day/evening. Thanks Darrell and Judy!!

Cleaning and Organizing

Steve took the day off on Friday and we deep cleaned the entire house. I am sure it is not what he had envisioned when he originally decided to take the day but I appreciate his help more than anything. It meant more to me than a fancy dinner, a massage or a gift... My mind is so much more at ease since it's done and the house looks great! We even reorganized the living room to open it up and fit in another chair. As you can see Braden and Olivia had fun helping!!