Things are getting out of control!!!!

In more ways than one!!!! Maybe it's because the weather is cold? Maybe it's because I simply have to pick my battles with these three? Maybe it's because I am out numbered here? No matter the reason, things have been getting out of control and it's making for some really great fun! As you can see here! Brayton had a BLAST throwing cereal off of the high chair and onto the floor where the twins had an equally good time eating it. Since they never get to eat cereal, I would have thought that they would savor every bite and not waste it but then again, they did eat every last morsel off of the not so clean floor. Like I said, things are out of control!

Here is just another area that things are. . . well, building to a not so controlled status!

I do need to get out there and start shoveling but I don't know if you know this but IT'S COLD!!!! On the good side of all that snow, it puts the kitties at eye level with the children when they are at the door! Always a positive!

I guess I won't be using this door anytime soon??? And yes, those cats are COVERED in snow but they REFUSE to stay in the barn all day. Even though there is warmth and cuddley hay, they think we need to see them 24/7. Silly kitties!!

Yep, that's more snow out our front door. Again, this needs to be shoveled by little old me but like I said, things are getting out of control. This pile is about 2' deep too so I am in no hurry to get out there. Not to mention, it will be back there all too soon. Glad we think it's so pretty!!! Hope we can get things in control some time soon!!

It doesn't take much

That's right. It doesn't take much these days to impress or entertain a group of toddler's.

Not much at all I say.
But if you look close enough in some of these photos you will see what was keeping them busy for 20 minutes before bedtime tonight.

Incase you aren't certain, I will help you out. That, my dear friend's, is a box elder bug. We have lot's of them. LOTS! Since it's so cold outside we have decided to let them live inside with us. Or rather, Annelise has decided since she is the animal/insect whisperer. A few years ago this would have NEVER been OK with me but you know what? I just can't think of a thing that it will hurt if we let them live here. In fact, that 20 minutes was rather enjoyable for us all. So I guess we now have 2 horses, 2 dogs, 3 cats and an entire population of box elder bugs. Sweet!

Once if we like it, a few more if we love it!

You aren't seeing double. This is the same place we were at in the last post. I guess we are no different no matter what state we live in. If we like the activity, we go back again and again and again and again!!! The Polar Patch seems to be one of those return trips. It so much fun to be all bundled up, zooming down slides, riding behind those beautiful horses, and breathing in some fresh air. Last time Daddy was able to join us so it was even more fun! Never thought I would say we are getting use to the chilly weather but really, we are! (Today it was 10* and all I wore to the YMCA was a sweatshirt.) Anyway, here are a few more pictures from the other day. Great times once again!

Then, here are a few pictures of New Year's Eve at the local Wilton Bar with some new friend's and neighbors. Now our closest neighbors are a few miles away but we sure lucked out and have the best neighbors!

Misty and Randy! Bodie just cracks up laughing at Randy all the time! This is one fun couple that we have really enjoyed getting to know. With their two young girl's they have been a blessing for us all!

This is Doreen and me. Her and her husband are actually our closest neighbors in general and are the family that we acquired the cats from. A super sweet couple that have proven to be loads of fun as well. What more could we ask for?I don't have any pictures right now but we also started our second session of swim lessons this week. Great new instructors and even Brayton has joined in on the fun. I am just blown away at how much quicker they learn to actually swim from an instructor. My children have always loved the water but they seem to be becoming more like fish with every lesson. We hear the coldest two months are upon us now and I am glad we have some activites that force us out to play every week. Our New Year really started off in a frenzy but we hope to see all our family and friend's this year on some great vacations! We hope 2011 will be a joyous one for everyone!!

Making lemonade. . .

What does lemonade have to do with all this snow? Well, I will tell you at the end but for now I will show you what we did yesterday.

We bundled up and headed out to Papa's Polar Patch. What a great idea! The local Pumpkin Patch gears up for winter and thrills the children with a winter wonderland after Christmas.
A great picture of all three rarely happens and Annelise was working hard at not smiling for the camera.

In the background you can see a great big slide, the blue bales are the exterior of the ice skating rink, and some great climbing structures for the little ones.

All Aboard!!!!!!

Bodie LOVES the snow. He was in heaven here!

We went on an old fashioned sleigh ride where Anna was loving the horses. What I didn't get a picture of was of us on a sled ride being a 4-wheeler. I was curious if the children would be scared of it but to my surprise they all laughed hysterically the entire time!

She has been one of the greatest gifts ever!

Their favorite part was the maze. Brayton loved bouncing around in my arms as we chased the twins.

Now, to my lemonade part. Yes. We are making lemonade out of lemons. We are happy to be doing it. We are excited about the adventure we are on and we are all happy to be together in a beautiful state with some of the sweetest people we have ever met. WE are doing great. I realize that many of you would NEVER come here to stay or to visit though most have never set foot in the state. We totally understand that not all people like the cold weather but what we don't enjoy is hearing how everyone else thinks they would be miserable here. We understand but we are busy making lots of lemonade over here in North Dakota and hope that everyone will stop in for a glass! You might find you like lemonade. . . and if not, that's ok too but we will still be enjoying ours! :)

Jump!

A few days after Christmas we met my cousin Brandy and her little ladies at Fun on the Run to do a little jumping! Sadly, I busted out the camera before they got there and it never did surface again that day but we all had a great time even if I have no proof! We love that they aren't too far away and the children all play so well together that the time we have together is always a blessing! We followed up the evening with dinner at Space Aliens where the kids loved the games and food. Great day!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night~

Merry Christmas!!!! A few days ago, our new friend's from a few farms down called and inquired what we were doing for Christmas. We hadn't planned anything other than doing a whole lot of nothing so when she declared "We will be your family here!" I was very touched. So on Christmas Eve afternoon we loaded the children and kitty cat snowmobile to head on over. The children had so much fun playing together and everyone was excited when we suited up and headed outside. They have so many animals to play with that Annelise was in HEAVEN!!! Chickens, ducks, turkeys, goats, kittens, dogs, cows, horses, and even a few rabbits! Anna told me "I wuv it here!" and I was so happy to hear that she continues to love our move to ND and all her new adventures. Bodie and Daddy became snowmobile crazy with their older daughter Austyn taking numerous runs around the farm. Bodie was so serious about his riding and we are pretty sure we have a future pro on our hands!

Here he is taking the Kitty for a spin!
Austyn taking Brayton for a ride. She was such a great little host making the kids feel so welcome and invited. We can already tell that the 5 of them will be fast friends!
Annelise in one of the barns observing some of the animals. She has loved animals for as long as I can remember and was just so happy to be surrounded by them!

Misty showing Annelise how to feed the birds. She was a great listener and happy to do the work! The afternoon was followed up by some snacks and chatting and ended all too soon for sure!

After a great afternoon at the Schafer residence, we headed home to eat a little dinner, get in our jammies, and write the Santa letter. Annelise is seriously certain she wants "nothing" so that is what I wrote. She is too funny but not an ounce greedy. They also decided that Santa should drink water instead of milk. Guess he's lactose intolerant in their minds? They also left him some art work just incase he needs a little something for his wall!

Leave a letter. . . . .

Get a letter!!! Sideways, but if you think I know how to fix that now, you would be wrong!

So bright and early, we were up as usual and so happy to see Santa found us.

The rain boots have been the big hit around here so far although, give it an hour and I could repost a new favorite.

So now we are just enjoying the afternoon of nothing and playing with our new stuff. The children didn't get a lot but they were sure happy with it all. What a relief to know that you don't need a tree mounding with gifts to make the holiday special. We hope all our friend's and family are having a wonderful day filled with love, peace, and all the joy in the world! It's a beautiful, chilly, white wonderland here and we are loving every minute. Just wanted to pop on here so the grandparent's could see what the kid's were up to!

Merry Christmas!!!!!

"Da Da, Wasch B!"

What you say? What on earth am I talking about? "Da Da Wasch B!" is exactly what I meant. Brayton's first sentence is what that is! Bodie and Annelise were running back and forth and yelling "Daddy, watch me!" when Brayton decided to join in. So he promptly ran to the step and yelled for Daddy to watch him. Love it.

On a more holiday, festive, seasonal type of note. We put up our tree the other day and oh boy, what an event! We put on our jolly Christmas/Holiday music, sipped warm cider by the gallon, broke more ornaments than you can imagine, and danced like fools. The day was not so smoothe but we had a great time anyway.

This is just part of the mess that we had going on that day. After the broken snowglobe and coffee mug filled to the brim with cider, the mess traveled to the family and kitchen as well. :) I like how a three year old has to lay EVERYTHING out in order to see what must go on the tree first. I didn't understand their logic but I did say that they were in charge and that is exactly how it went.
Brayton in the highchair sipping cider while I was sweeping up one of the numerous broken ornaments. At least he looks jolly!

What you can't see from here is the serious lean our tree has going on. Notice how short it is? Well, like I said, we decided to let them do everything but the lights and that is why we chose the Mini tree!

Brayton testing lights. . . .seems logical to let the 17 month old do this right? He was a bit determined all day to play with the light sockets. So, there you have it. Our day of putting up what could be the most interesting tree we have ever had. I will have to post photos of the finale later!