Once upon a time . .

on a sunny afternoon Dad decides that it is a good time to take the kids fishing. So we get our rods, tackle boxes, worms and life jackets and head to the St.Croix River. Mom is a little overly cautious and makes Wylie and Kasey wear life jackets because she has a big fear of them falling over the River wall.

Kasey and Wylie waiting for Mom & Dad to get going.



Walking to the river excitedly . . .
Kasey and Wylie waiting patiently (at first) for the fish to bite.Wylie says, " ohhhh Dad, it's pulling, it's pulling."
Wylie is very proud of his first catch of the day, a sheephead. Not too long later Kasey caught her first catch of the day. She wouldn't get too close to it though.Mom asks Kasey, "How big was the fish you caught?" "It was this big!" ( picture below)Through out all this excitement Tori eats her puffs, chews on Mom's car keys and get antsy waiting for the outing to end so she can get down and move around. Mom then packed Tori in the car and drove to get Starbucks while the kids finished up fishing hoping Tori would fall asleep. Her plan was unsucessful . Tori complained loudly the entire time. We drove by the river honked twice at Dad and the kids but they were too busy to hear mom. Mom parked the car and had to get out and go down and get them.Mom at this point was a bit annoyed because she knew that Tori needed her nap before we even left, and almost always Mom 's right when it comes to knowing the kids. Even still, it was a fun outing right here in Hudson. THE END

My birthday weekend . . .

So it was my 29th birthday on Friday and I have to say I am okay with being in my last year in my twenties . . . next year might be tougher! We had a good day. Jacques didn't work and we took the kids to the park, had lunch together and then had some friends and my Dad ( my mom was at my grandma's celebrating her 97th bday) over for dinner/cake. It was a beautiful day and we were outside 'til 9pm when I realized it was time for the kids to crash, which they did within minutes. Their mean Mom usually makes them go to bed by 8pm, nice out or not! Wylie and Kasey went shopping with Jacques to pick out the decorations, cake and gifts. I knew I was not getting much since I have become a Bon Jovi groupie, attending my 4th concert (in four months) in July in Detroit with three friends for the weekend. I know it is a bit much!! The kids picked out pink decorations and The Car Movie plates, party hats etc. (it went real well together :) ) They picked out a delicious chocolate cake and a few gifts. I did get the ipod shuffle so I have to now try to figure that out in "my spare time." I went shopping with a good friend Saturday afternoon in Stillwater and out to dinner so that was my "my time." It was fun! All in all just had a nice weekend, weather was great, spent time with family and friends. Going out tomorrow ( Monday) with two childhood friends for dinner to top it off! Here are a few pictures.

My Mother's Day

I had a good day. We spent the day together, didn't do anything special, but we did it together. We went to Target to get Tori her essentials, food, food and more food. My parents, Dave and Jocelyn came over for dinner. Jocelyn made my Mom a video of her kids (myself, Dan, Dave) and her grandkids (Wylie, Kasey, Ella and Tori). It was really nice and actually pretty sad.Thank you Jocelyn for reminding me to enjoy each day because it doesn't last long. Sometimes it takes something so small to make you realize how life goes by so fast and how fast your kids grow up. I am ready to be done with the baby stage but I am not ready for my kids to grow up quite yet. I don't want to have nights where I don't hear Wylie and Kasey running around giggling and nights where I don't get all the hugs and kisses WITHOUT even asking. Being a Mom is certainly the hardest job I could imagine. But at the end of the day, I would not want anything else. They are the best thing in our life and we are so blessed.

Signs of summer-

1. Those happy faces !
2. Tori didn't have to wear a jacket or hat today ;)
3. The kids got to play outside two days in a row!
4. My tulips are growing.
5. All the neighbor kids (including our own) are out riding bikes,scooters etc.
6. Jacques had his first softball practice and starts games this week
7. We hosted their pre-season party
8. We have scheduled/planned Tori and Kasey's summer bday parties
9. Wylie finally took off his socks while wearing his crocs, he has an issue switching seasons. He tries to pull down the sleeves on t-shirts cause he is used to long sleeve shirts, pulls on his shorts because he doesn't want his legs showing and as stated above has a hard time getting rid of socks when it warms up :)
10. No snow in the 10 day forecast!!!!!!