Renaissance Festival

Nate and Brooke riding the camel

Brayden riding the Llama

Me restlin with the rope ladder!

Brooke and Brayden riding the whimsical butterflies :)

Yesterday we went to the Renaissance Festival. We had such a great time! Brayden was set on riding the Llama and he had so much fun! Nate took Brooke for a ride on the camel and they were all smiles. She kept trying to pet the camel as she was riding it. I tried to climb the rope ladder and fell 3 times. It hurt a little, but I am bound and determined to go back and do it! :) We enjoyed these HUGE tukey legs and chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick and bannana on a stick. Yumm! Nate also threw some knives and hit 4 out of the 5! All in all it was a great day. We didnt get to stay as long as we wanted or see everything because Brooke was a little fussy, but we definitely plan to go back and see some more :)

Grocery Store Catastrophe

Yesterday the kids and I went grocery shopping and normally I get one of the carts that has the car on the front of it for the kids to ride in and have some fun, but none were available. So, I got a normal cart, put Brooke in the front and had Bray walk with me. Well, Brayden is infamous for wanting to touch EVERYTHING. I told him if he was a good boy, and kept his hands to himself, he would get a treat when we were leaving. Well, for about the first 20 minutes he was doing really well, but when were nearing the end of our shopping trip he decided he was going to disregard what I had said and touch everything he walked by. I have always seen in the movies where children knock over big displays of things, and I freak out about that happening to me. Well, that is exactly what happened yesterday. I had stopped to get some meat and Brayden kept leaning against and touching this big tower of canned mixed fruit. I told him to stop. He did it again and the second time he did, all the cans came crashing down, scattering all over the floor! I was mortified. Everyone in the store stopped to stare, and of course Brayden broke out in tears. There I was trying to pick up and rebuild what must have been 50 cans of this mixed fruit. I couldnt believe that no one even offerred to help me. So, I finished setting all the cans in this, ugly crooked tower and we finished up our shopping. Brayden was quiet for the rest of trip and as we were getting in the car he puts his hands around my neck while I was buckling him in and says "I'm sorry mom. I wont touch the cans again. Please dont tell daddy." I just giggled. He was so sincere.

Update

Today Brayden got major owies!! I feel so aweful! We were in his room which looked like a disaster hit it and he kept talking back to me about cleaning up the mess so I went to grab him to take him to time out and he ran away from me, tripping over blocks and fell face first, scraping his face on the board the blocks stick to. There was blood everywhere! This is what he looked like after we cleaned him up. Poor guy. I feel so bad. I know these things happen, but I still feel like its my fault. He just keeps saying that daddy is going to come home and give him kisses and hold him. Poor guy!



Last night we went to check on the kids before we went to bed and we found them sleeping together on their little couch! Silly kids! When I went back in to take a picture, Brooke was waking up, but it was still so funny. I dont know how in the world that can be comfortable, but I guess they just wanted to snuggle together?

Recently I have been taking the kids to the mall often because they LOVE to play in the little play area! They will run around for over an hour, then we will head to Barnes and Noble to read some new books! They ask me almost every day to go. Now that its getting nicer outside, I would rather take them to the outdoor park.

I could kick myself because this past weekend we had Nate's mom, brother and sister in law in town and I did not take a single picture! I dont know why, I guess we were just busy having fun. We had such a blast! Luckily Nate had Friday thru Monday off, so we got to spend quite a bit of time together. We enjoyed the nice temps in the 70's and 80's playing outside some basketball, sand volleyball, and dipping our feet in the freezing pool water! It was funny because they had to leave early Tuesday morning, so Brayden did not say goodbye to them and when he woke up he stared at the air matress in the family room and said "mom Jenny forgot her bed! We need to go take it to her!" haha he is so silly.

How well do you know your Husband?

This was fun, I tag anyone who thinks they can do it !

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen ? Friends, Seinfeld, Sports, Greys Anatomy (or any of my shows!! lol)
2. You're out to eat, what kind of dressing does he get on his salad ? Ranch
3. What's one food he doesn't like ? He doesn't like anything with Tomatoes on it or Mushrooms
4. You go out to eat, what does he order to drink ? Lately he has been really into iced tea so probably sweet tea, or a beer every once and awhile
5. Where did he go to high school ? Westbrook/ Walnut Grove
6. What size shoe does he wear ? 12
7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be ? Probably sports memorabilia
8. What is his favorite type of sandwich ? Anything with lots of meat and mayo
9. What would this person eat every day if he could ? Haha that's a hard one... he likes so many kinds of food... Probably just his moms cooking. He loves everything she makes! :)
11. What would he never wear ? A vest (unless it was a tuxedo)
12. What is his favorite sports team ? All Minnesota Teams, Gophers, Vikings, Twins, Timberwolves
13. Who did he vote for ? He doesn't vote... I know I know... haha
14. Who is his best friend ? Me : )
15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? get all stressed about the house being a mess
16. What is his heritage ? Honestly I am not sure I know Bakke is Norwegian?
17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake ? Either Chocolate with Vanilla Icing or Vanilla with Vanilla Icing
18. Did he play sports in high school ? Yup Football, Basketball and Golf
19. What could he spend hours doing ? Watching horror movies... oh he has done it! Friday the 13th marathons lol
20. What is one unique talent he has ? He is probably one of the most patient people I know. In situations where most people would freak out, he stays calm and happy.

They are so fun!

Today the kids and I got out some of the craft stuff and did some sponge painting. Brayden said "This is the toy Jason gave us for a present huh mom?" He is so funny! Jason and Aimee had gotten them these sponges for Christmas and he totally remembered!! Silly boy! He did Dinosaurs and Brooke did farm animals. Brayden and I also practiced our ABC's by sponging the alphabet. He is actually doing really well. He can remember what letters comes next...

After we were done with the painting we went outside and blew bubbles. It has been so nice here so we thought we would appreciate the day and play a little. It was so funny! Brayden would blow the bubbles away from him, Brooke would stomp on them, and Mojo would chase after them and eat and bark at them! Its amazing how long kids (and even puppies) can be amused by bubbles!

Lastly we did some sidewalk chalk. Brayden's favorite shape is the circle! He will draw circles all day long. It is so funny! They are actually pretty good circles too. Brooke just kind of ran around with the chalk in her hand watching what everyone else was doing. Anytime I would draw a shape or name, she would color on top of it! So silly :) Brayden was naming off everyone's names he wanted me to write and he actually remembered which ones were which!

Brayden is so So SO excited for his Uncle Chad, Aunt Jenny, and Nanna to come out and visit in a week! Every thing we do he says he is going to do with them, or show them! Its so cute!! :)

My Valentine's Surprise!

Nathan was so sweet for Valentines Day this year! He wouldnt tell me what surprise he had in store for the evening, just what to wear and the time. We dropped the kids off at my dads house for the evening and he drove us over to the Awhatukee area, I kept wondering what we could be doing? We pulled up and lo and behold, we had reservations at The Melting Pot! I was SOO excited! I had always wanted to go there before and I LOVE fondu! It was really nice and intimate inside. The hostess took us to our table and waiting there for me were these beautiful roses! They had this cute "lovers quiz" that we answered questions about one another at the table. We enjoyed a Cheddar Cheese fondu with bread and veggies to dip in it, an awesome ceasar salad, our main course an array of different sirlions and chicken and shrimp with dipping sauces and of course dessert the Chocolate/Carmel turtle dipping with strawberries, cheesecake and more! The food was awesome! They also took a picture of us at the table and framed it for us to take with us on the way out. It was the best date I could have imagined. Nathan really went above and beyond! I am so lucky to have such a thoughtful and loving husband! :)

Our Sea World Vacation

Brayden and Nate with their 4D glasses on


Sea Lion Show

Kids were swingin like monkeys

Nate and the kids in the Polar Bear Cave

Me and the kids in the Polar Bear Cave

Brooke and Brayden checking out the Walrus

The Polar Bears were awesome

Brayden showing off his Sea World sword

Budweiser Clydesdales

The indoor exhibit of the pengiuns

Shamu jumping high in the Believe show

Me and the kids checking out the Penguins

Braydens sad face after the Seagul snatched his lunch

Bray and Brooke smiling pretty despite being soaked from the rain

Braydens favorite! scary sharks

I couldnt open my eyes cause of the rain!

The Seals and Sea Lions were really noisy!

The Dolphins were amazing to watch

Oh my goodness where to begin?! We left for San Diego bright and early Friday morning and arrived there a quick 5 hrs and 20ish minutes later! Boy did we have a great time!! Despite all the RAIN the kids were in good spirits!!

Brayden's favorite animals were the SHARKS! When we went back the 2nd day that is ALL he wanted to see! He didnt really care much to see the other animals... silly! Brooke loved the Penguins! We actually got to see them getting fed the 2nd morning we were there. It was pretty cool to see how they could force these big 'ol fish down their tiny little throats!

Of course we went to all the shows! Shamu was super impressive and the dolphins could sure jump high, but surprisingly to us, our favorite show was the Sea Lions. They were so funny and little sea otters joined them a few times. So cute! We also saw a 4D Sesame Street movie and a Pet/Dog Show that were pretty cool.

I am so glad that we got a 2 day pass because really we could not see it all in 1 day. The funniest part of the whole trip though, was the 1st day when we sat down to lunch. Brayden got a personal pizza and all the sudden a big Seagul swooped down and snatched it right off the table!! Brayden was devistated to say the least! He sat there for a good 15 minutes just staring at the bird with a sad face saying "the bird ate my pizza!" We tried to ask him if he wanted another one, something else? No response. Poor guy. haha (Sorry for all the pictures but we took 94, it was hard to choose them!! lol)