Tornado Warning!

We had a very bad storm come through on the 8th (Saturday) which sparked a few tornado warnings. Unfortunately, Tara's cell phone was broken and she was at Target.

I heard the siren go off shortly after I put the kids to bed (around 9 or so), and ripped the sleeping babies out of bed. They were SO good! Jake (who has been very nervous about tornadoes anyway) bolted downstairs, followed by Emma. The two of them played with Abby and didn't complain at all, which was amazing as I didn't have a bottle for Abby or any food.



Tara got a hold of a phone at Target and called to tell me that they had brought her to the back of the store. Most of our friends in the cities were on facebook talking about what they were doing with their families. All told, we were in the basement for about an hour.

The next day, I asked Jake what he was worried about and he said, "well, two things: tornadoes and cash-for-clunkers" (driven by his fear of us trading the car in - he hates change). Tara and I almost fell over.

Nice Day at the Trabin

We had a nice time at the Trabin again. The morning started off looking awful, but beach weather was in full force by the time we got there.



Grandma provided some floats for the kids and blew them up (which we were more than happy to let her do).







And the grown-ups hung out on the five square feet of beach that is Lake Sturgeon Beach.

More Lake Elmo Park Reserve

This week for Family Fun Night we went back to Lake Elmo Park Reserve - this time to the beach and to cook out. I got to use some of my homemade BBQ sauce that I've been bottling and Jake set the table while Emma, Tara, and Abby played at the beach.





The kids really love the beach. It was a real struggle to find a grill to use, but a nice family let us use theirs.





The park was crawling with people. We love the fact that there is a lifeguard there (not that we get more than a few feet away from the kids at this age).



Dinner really came out. I LOVE that BBQ sauce!! Next time we're going to need to bring more chicken.

Lake Elmo Park with the Small Group

Family Fun Night this week was at Lake Elmo Park Reserve with the Small Group.



Piper and Emma love to hang out together at Small Group events.

They’ve got great equipment and the kids really had a fun time. Nice to visit with everyone, and it was sort of (kind of) quiet enough to have a 2 minute conversation between bathroom trips and such.

I got some great pictures of Sam and Tiffany’s youngest at the water fountain (I love little kid at the water fountain pics).



In other news, we got some cute new PJs for Baby Abby who continues to amaze us with her walking and how interactive she is.

Weekend at the Trabin

I’m sitting in the trabin on Sunday watching baby Abby sleep and listening to Connie and Debbie read Grandma Brown’s journal on the porch.

There’s a fly that keeps landing on Abby and waking her up a little. I’ve been chasing it around with a fly swatter between reading a biography of Carly Fiorina (former HP CEO).

We’ve had a nice weekend. Tim was here till about 6 last night with Dorothy and then took off (timing the drive around the Twins game so he could listen to it on the way home). I got in an afternoon nap then we had a dinner of brats and hotdogs.




This is what Emma looks like when she is up TOO late!

The little bar here promised to save some bottle caps for Jake’s collection, but when we came back in the morning (per the agreement) they had been thrown out. A promise of getting some from Uncle Adam’s job at Acapulco and two choco-taco’s made everything better.

Tara and I got a run in down Pumpkins Seed road and enjoyed a nice time by the fire and S’Mores (a trabin favorite).

Sleeping arrangements are notable… Shelly slept where the table is, Karen took the couch (against my protests), Jake and Emma slept on fluffy blankets on the floor, Abby had the playpen, and Tara and I got the… BIG BED. We were woken up in the middle of the night by a white horse neighing really loudly right outside the window and Abby getting up several times.



Breakfast was sausage, pancakes and eggs cooked in the grease from the sausage.

It’s fun listening to the ladies read from Grandma Brown’s journal. Lot’s a family history mixed with world history. Notable was the comment about Clinton. Something to the effect that ‘he did have an affair with that Lewinsky woman… bad news for our country’.

Tara is 33!!

We had a really fun day Monday, despite some disconcerting news from home about mom.

We took the day off and relaxed. In the morning I took the kids to Karen’s and let Tara sleep (she’s running at 4:45 am these days, so it doesn’t count as “sleeping in” per se). Afterward, we went to Best Buy to scope out Tara’s gift: a new camera lens with a higher aperture (for portrait shots).



Then it was off to brunch at one of our favorite restaurants: Victor’s 1959 Café, which is the only place in Minnesota to get good Cuban food. We sat at the table below which has a lovely portrait of the Terrorist Che Guevara.



Then we saw The Hangover at the Rosedale AMC. Very funny movie, if not way inappropriate.



Afterward, we played with the kids at Teddy Bear Park.







Then met up with Grandma, Papa, Shelly, Adam, Emily and Kelly at Acapulco’s in Stillwater. Karen took the kids overnight, freeing us up for a little date at another of our favorite spots: Ingredients.

Abby's First Steps

Abby took her first steps on Friday… and finally it was for daddy. Jake and Emma both took their first steps at grandma’s house.

It’s funny when you can see those little wheels turning in their heads and this was clearly one of those situations. She was upstairs behind the gate with me when Emma came to the top of the stairs. She was standing and wanted to be closer to her big sister. You could see her contemplate the dangers of taking a step versus sitting down and crawling. Too cute.



Later, she took several steps for Tara. Even a couple multiples. This is clearly a baby on the go and she has no intention of being left behind in the fun.

Abby's Feats of Daring

Monday or Tuesday of this week Abby started to stand-up unaided. I'm sure she'll be walking soon.

Emma & Abby in Trouble

The kids have a way of keeping us on our toes. We slipped up a little this week with funny results.I suppose that the pictures speak for themselves. Emma’s issue was Sunday right before church… thank heaven for washable markers! Jake colored his hands and Emma did her face. They told us that they wanted to look like Jedi. I don’t remember Obi Wan having war paint, but oh well.

Abby was this morning. The downstairs is fairly well baby proofed, so we let her run around while she has her morning bottle sometimes. This is the result of not putting the tissues up. She was so proud of herself! There’s a real passion in her for taking things out of things these days.

Sunday's Picnic

We had a nice little picnic after church this week, which worked well with Jake’s lesson at church: celebration (which was apparently taught via a heavy dose of the Kool and the Gang song – as he came out teaching it to Emma). So the theme of the picnic quickly turned to Celebrating Christ.





Tara found some little Lunchables (a favorite) that were make-your-own pizzas. Big hit.

After lunch, I took Jake and Emma on a little hike while Tara and Abby hung out. Jacob was worried about poison ivy and skunks. I had them concerned about elephants for a little while as well before I let them off the hook.




We had a stick race in a little creek that came to an abrupt end when Emma’s stick (which had just started to take the lead) was pulled out by a fisherman. Jake was elated to win, and Emma took it in stride (which is so like both of them).

As an aside, I’m on a work trip to Tampa today (mid-flight). It was a year ago that our close friend Greg Jones passed (leaving a young daughter and a pregnant wife behind). Greg and his family are on our minds and hearts today. I’m thinking a lot about how fleeting life is and how thankful I am for all that God has given us.

Firsts for Abby and Other Fun Stuff

Abby cut her 3rd tooth this week. It was her first top tooth. We are learning that we can't take our eye off her for a minute...we did this 2 times this week and it resulted in her getting all the way upstairs. She's a girl on the move.





Jake had Lego club and book club and went to Jack Skare's Birthday. He's been really shy at first at them as of late, but quickly warms up. Emma went to story time at the movies.



Invites went out for the infamous Odepalooza...the do not miss party of the year! Jake & Emma also received new books in the mail from Mom-mom which they LOVED! Emma's new book was 'Lllama Llamma Mad at Mama' and Jake's was a 'Choose Your Own Destiny: The Way of the Jedi'.

 

After the Holiday

After a long weekend it was back to work and daycare as normal! Abby had an exciting 1st this week: she figured out how to crawl up the stairs! She is so cute and determined! I have a feeling she is going to give us a run for our money! Abby also spent time doing one of her current favorite pastimes - emptying anything!! She loves empty bags, boxes, drawers and cupboards.



Emma spent as much time as possible on Monday night swinging in the back yard. She learned to "pump" her legs, so now she can swing for hours on end. She also spent some time as the Odebrecht Photographer and Videographer. She took some great video of Abby climbing the stairs.



Jake was a little under the weather getting his 6 year molers this week. Yuck! Jake loves to learn. He is such a sponge. Today he learned about the Greek and Trojan war. He can re-tell those stories so well! It's amazing to me.

More 4th of July

We had such a great weekend at the Trabin. It was great time with Grandma, Papa and Shelly. We have really learned to relax and enjoy our time at Stugeon lake.

The weekend was truly filled with all of the fabulous things that 4th of July should be:

• A Parade: The perfect way to start the weekend. We loaded the family into the car at 8:30 am on the 4th and drove directly to Moose Lake for the parade. It was a great small town MN parade. Lots of candy which makes the kids happy.


• A Kiddo Bike Parade: We decorated the kids' bikes and the had a parade with the other camp kids around the campground.


• Time sitting by the lake enjoying the kids and the sun. Abby got her first lake experience. She loved playing in the water and feeling the wet sand in her hands. Of course, her big brother added some mud on top of her head for good measure! The kids love just playing in the lake.

• Great Food (Buttermilk soaked fried chicken & lemon raspberry pancakes)! So yummy! Cooking the chicken was fun (albeit long). Probably came really close to starting a grease fire. Larry's not good at frying yet, and there was a good ¼ inch of grease on the stove in the morning.
  


• Fireworks...a must for the 4th of July. We have the perfect spot in the campground since we are the trailer right before the big field where they set them off. The fireworks lasted for an amazing 60+ minutes. For a little camp ground, they sure have a great show.


• Games: The kids really enjoyed all of the great kids games that were organized by a fellow camper. She did it last year and does a great job with the kids.
  

We ended the weekend with a pontoon ride and a little fishing on Sunday afternoon before the drive home. No fish biting, but that's okay it was still fun for all. Jake and Emma both got to drive the boat. They love that. Captain Grandpa is in charge, but even the captain needs help driving every once in a while. Although Abby didn't like the life jacket, she managed to fall asleep 1 minute into the ride.

The weekend ended nicely too...grandma drove the kids home and mommy and daddy got to sneak in a mini-date at ingredients. I am told that Emma let go of the table while she was standing next too...looks like she it preparing to walk...mommy and daddy aren't quite ready for that. Abby & Emma eating a freezy!



More highlights:

1. Took Jake to the bar (you kind of have to see this place to understand why it’s okay… but trust me, it’s more family friendly than a normal bar) in his Superman pajamas. A couple bought him and Emma some ice cream, so they were thrilled.
2. Sitting on the beach yesterday and catching up with grownup time while the kids played.
3. Watching Abby fall asleep on the pontoon.
4. Getting kicked out by Karen for doing too much cleaning.

Lowlight: Tara left her laptop. We figured it out after we’d been on the road for an hour. Fortunately, grandma and papa were nice enough to go back for it.

What an awesome weekend! Happy Birthday America!!