Happy Birthday Lindsey!

Lindsey is 4! She brought pink bunny cookies into school & then she had a party at the "pottery painting place" with her school friends and quite a few of our babysitters :) Since she wouldn't allow her brothers to come to her party - "GIRLS ONLY!" - we had a cute little bunny cake that evening with our family! It was a great birthday for a great little girl. Happy Birthday Lindsey!

Shamrockin' on Ice Skates!

The day we got back from FL, Cody went to a Shamrock Party at the ice arena. His whole class was invited & even Mrs. Morris showed up to skate! The kids loved it! Cody had never tried skating before & he was so brave. With a little help from Grace's dad, Cody was zooming around the rink in a few minutes with a huge smile on his face!!!





After skate time, the kids had pizza, cupcakes, & green cookies to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It was super cute - Thanks to Grace & her family for a great day!



Cody and his best buddy, Jack F.

Dancing Soets

So many of my FB friends have asked about the dance contest that I reported on while I was in FL. We were at a fun place near Dad's called Fudpuckers & the kids were playing on their playground after we ate. Soona band started up and the kids were ready to dance!!! Eventually they brought out some hula-hoops and the next thing we knew, Lindsey had won a trophy! That really brought out Cody's best dance moves - He was hysterically serious! It was great and it paid off - He ended up winning a trophy, too! Limbo came after the dance contest and they both won medals at that... It was a big deal to the kids & me! I was so impressed that anyone with Steve & myself for parents, coudl win a dance contest of any sort. Way to go Lindsey & Cody!!!

nothing but LOTS & LOTS of pictures :)

Eventually, I will try to put these pictures in some sort of order and tell a few funny tales of our FL trip...Today, however, I am up to my elbows in birthday preparations!!! Pink bunny cookies, pink cupcakes, and a fabulous bunny cake are on my agenda for today :) Lindsey will be 4 tomorrow & we are all getting excited for the big day!

So check back & I hope to stop neglecting my blog and give a little bit of reason to our trip pictures- Oh, the good old non-treated ADD days of staying up till 2/3 every morning dinking on the computer and keeping up with my scrapbooks.....

xoxo, K


so the water was FREEZING - and yet Cody splashed in it a little - usually before 9am!

/>Not exactly beach weather, but it was in the mid-60's and we did manage to come home with a LITTLE bit of color!







There was a cute aquarium right by Big Daddy's house. We checked it on a day that the winds were around 30 mph. The kids had fun watching the shows and the dolphins swimming in the tanks





We celebrated Lindsey's upcoming birthday with an ice cream cake for breakfast & Big Daddy got her the Barbie mermaid from the movie we watched all week - She was thrilled!

Heading back home...



So in repsonse to my comments - Charlie stayed home with Steve, Gigi & Mimi - COdy & lindsey were dance party rock stars & I will honor those triumphant moment sin a future post! It was truley memorable! Can't get these pictures in order, so I will just keep on, keepin' on!

Next stop - Cody & his class learning to ice skate & Lindsey Kate turns 4!!!!!

House Update

We are still buried in dust & Steve's project list is never ending, but we are starting to see some progress! The last stones have been placed - the fireplaces and the chimney are finally finished!!! We love it!



We have our new appliances almost completely installed - It is so nice to have the stove & oven back after nearly 4 weeks wihtout them!

Steve is amazing - he can do it all by himself now that the masonry work is complete!

Leave a message at the beep...

Did you just see that --- 39 messages! YIKES! I hate checking the machine. I put this in my post so that those of you that are inclined to leave me a message at home understand when I call you back with no idea of what your message said - why. I check caller ID and I usually call you back, but the answering machine is just not my favorite thing. Emails are the best, it is so much easier to respond when the kids are running crazy & loud. Plus, there is such a nice record of who, what,why, and if I replied!

39 was a new record for us - Thanks to Kortney for finally going through them and keeping the important ones for me to review! THANKS!!!

a Toast to my Grandma!

This morning, my almost 91 year old Grandma died. She was ready to go - happy to go - she lived a long life, and what strikes me the most is that she never complained! She could have - I know that on my last few visits she didn't feel good, she could hardly move, she hated the way the nursing home staff did her hair, and she wanted more Christmas lights on her tree. Complaining just wasn't her nature - not now at 90years old, or when she was widowed with 4 kids early in her life. That might be the life lesson that has spoke the loudest to me growing up & living life - Be strong and don't be a victim - don't waste your time and energy throwing pity parties!

For anyone who has ever thought of me as being strong or tough - I thank my grandma!

My grandma was unique - she was tough, wore lots of perfume, big necklaces, and was always photogenic. She believed in "blowing the stink off", calling her grand kids -"fart blossoms", she enjoyed happy hour, & the rejuvenating powers of Vaseline!

This New Year's Eve, my dad & I drove over to the home to watch the ball drop with her as she requested. She didn't want to watch the ball go down alone since we all knew this would be her last year with us and she wanted to be tipsy when it did go down...Kind of funny, but easy to accomplish with a solo cup of some what warm champagne! I am so lucky to have that memory & I know each and every New Year's Eve I live through, I will think of my Grandma Essie & enjoy the new year & the new experiences to come with a toughness I can thank my grandma for!



My dad wanted me to toast to my grandma tonight at 7 - I just wanted to share with him & all of you what I loved & appreciated most about my grandma! I will miss her & I hope to carry on some of her toughness while I sport some really big beads!

-Love you Grandma Ogren!