He's a good project-maker.

Walter is doling out compliments left and right lately. He likes to tell Jer he likes his shirt, me that this is a good dinner and today when Owen came up to us with a plan to make a rainbow with a flashlight and a glass of water, he told me that Owen is a good project-maker.

We had a lovely family vacation in Lutsen. We left Thursday evening and came back yesterday. We won the cabin at the gala on a whim...I decided the item should go for more than it was going for and we got it! It ended up being an absolute steal and a really enjoyable, memorable vacation.

To begin, the cabin was steps from Lake Superior - the view was stunning. We spent a lot of time throwing rocks in the lake, exploring the shoreline and woods, playing games and enjoying warm fires in the cozy cabin.

On Friday, Owen had a day of ski lessons that ended up being private as no other kids signed up that day! He absolutely loved it and will tell you now that skiing is easy. He is proud to tell you that he tackled the blue squares no problem and is wanting to do the black diamonds...too bad his mom is too nervous to let him try yet. He and Jer spent Monday on the mountain together and he says Owen is quite comfortable cruising down the runs. He is sure an athletic and able boy.

Saturday, we spent the morning hiking through Cascade River State Park, carefully walking around the ice patches. After, we went back to the cabin to wait for Lindsay & Lydia to come. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the cabin and the beautiful lake and sunshine. Late that night, Kindi joined us, too, for a nice warm fire and a bowl of chili. On Sunday, we let Jer and Griffin relax at the cabin and everyone else went for a dogsled ride through Superior National Forest. All our visitors left us Sunday afternoon and we enjoyed the rest of the evening with dinner, games and warm fires in the fireplace.

On Monday, Jer and Owen headed back to the ski hill while Walter and I enjoyed some more coastal exploration. Unfortunately, on our way to meet them at the mountain and go for a gondola ride the fun came to an end...

I was about 3 minutes from the ski chalet and called Jer to tell him I wasn't feeling well and ask him to meet us outside. I got an overwhelming nauseous feeling and felt like I was going to get sick, but thought I could easily make it to Jer first. Well, shortly after making that call, I blacked-out and hit a couple of cars. Thankfully I was going slowly, thankfully, there weren't any people in the parked cars, thankfully Walter was totally fine, thankfully I was pretty much fine. I made my way to Jer quite disoriented and was taken to the ski patrol area. I was later taken by ambulance to the hospital and ended up spending the night there as they could not get my blood pressure to stabilize. It was a long night in the hospital being away from Jer and the boys, but they gave me tons of fluids and ran a bunch of tests and aren't sure why I blacked out (and continued to do so in the hospital) or why my blood pressure was so low, but I am home now and happy to be here. Jer and the boys picked me up Tuesday morning and we went back and relaxed at the cabin for a few hours before packing up and slowly heading home. I am not supposed to drive until I have a follow-up appointment, which will happen on Friday. Until then, Jer is working from home, bringing Owen to and from school and taking me on a date to the grocery store in the morning. It stinks that it happened, but it could have been much worse. We'll see what happens Friday...

Dad got a strike.

Jeremy turned 34 on Saturday and the boys loved celebrating the special day. By the time we got out of bed, Owen had decorated the basement, our stairway, and our bedroom walls. He also had a mini-golf course set up for the birthday boy. He was very anxious and happy to help wrap and decorate Jer's present. He decorated with a bowling theme and wrote "Dad got a strike" on the gift.We celebrated Jer's birthday with his parents and brother at Joanne's house with a delicious meal. We kept the party going with some bowling with some of Jer's good friends from Augsburg. It was a fun, busy day.
Valentine's Day was full of love as we decided to get the boys a new Planet Heroes toy in honor of the day. It has kept them occupied ever since, so it was worth every penny! :) Jer agreed to attending an introductory yoga class with me to celebrate. It was the perfect way to show his love!

It's going to be a surprise.

This evening Owen and I went to Sunny Hollow together and I got to see some of the work he has been doing there. When I asked what he was going to show me earlier in the week, he'd always tell me "It's going to be a surprise" and then smile. The surprise ended up being the 'hundreds chain' and helped click a few things for me. He came home last week counting by 10 up to one hundred and after seeing the hundreds chain tonight, I now know why. I can't tell you how much I enjoy watching and seeing him learn. It almost makes my heart hurt I'm so proud.After spending some time in O's classroom, he and I went out to dinner together. My friend, Deb, watched Walter for me and graciously offered to keep him for dinner. It was really nice to have some special time with Owen. He's no longer work at a restaurant, but total and complete fun. Its like going out to eat with a good friend, he's really a joy to be with. We went to the Chatterbox because they have board games you can play while you wait (& eat!). We played Connect Four and Owen now has a new addition to his wish list.

Jer has started a new work schedule and it is completely awesome! He is now working from home on Mondays and then goes to Steven's Point for work Tues - Thurs. This week is the second week of the new schedule and we are enjoying it thoroughly. Its been really nice to have family dinners on Mondays and conveniently, the past two Mondays we've had snow and Jer's been home to shovel! :) We started a new tradition the boys hope to maintain - Monday Sundaes. (ok, I think they are pretty sweet, too.)This will come as no surprise...we hit up the local alley this weekend and enjoyed a game of bowling. Jer's birthday is this weekend and the boys are counting on a bowling birthday party. I have to say, its a perfect February past time in MN.

No, I'M the rockin' egg!

Owen is learning more and more at school these days. Especially some important phrases like "na, na, na, boo-boo, you can't get me" and "last one in/out/down is a rotten egg." The other day he proclaimed the last one downstairs was a rotten egg, so Owen bolted down the stairs and I let Walter shimmy down so I could be the rotten egg. When I got down I said "I guess I'm the rotten egg!" to which Walter said "NO, I'M the rockin' egg." I giggled and thought it was a fluke, however he has been saying it ever since. So cute.

So I've been taking some heat from people wondering what's up with my blog. My apologies, I've just been taking a bit of a break. Hopefully this is the end, right?

Two weeks ago I was going a little crazy - tired of this cold, cold weather. It was ridicously cold that week, too, so to prevent us from going completely crazy, we forced ourselves out of our house and made many playdates and did plenty of outtings. Last week, I decided that we needed a rest from our busy previous week and we did lots of art projects and games and reading of library books. Maybe this week will be a nice balance...

When can I go to a wrestling tournament?

Yesterday Owen asked me when he could wrestle in a wrestling tournament. I had promised him that I would take him to one this year. So I jumped on my computer to see if there were any kids wrestling tournaments in the area. Luckily for us, there was one scheduled at Simley High School, which isn't too far from our house.

Owen and I got up early, had a big bowl of oatmeal, and headed to weigh-ins. Owen check-in and was included in the Pee-Wee division (for 5-6 year olds). He weighed in at a lean but strong 39#. (note for wrestling fans: the infamous Jim Short weighed him in).

Owen wrestled three matches. He won 1 and lost 2 matches, but kept all of the matches pretty close. He had a fun time and left with a 3rd place trophy. We were only able to get video for one of the matches, but check out the highlight reel below:

Can me watch a bideo?

I've been having fun with my new flip video camera and iMovie on my computer, which means the boys, too, are enjoying watching new AND old videos. Whenever I open my computer lately, this is the first thing that comes out of Walter's mouth.

Here are some dancing (and flipping) highlights, starting from August 2008 going through a few days ago. Let's face it, my boys have some moves!

Who was the first person on earth?

And then, who took care of it, because it had to be a baby, right, mommy?

Who knew 5 year olds asked the same questions as scientists and theologians and philosophers?

Jer took the boys sledding this weekend after the boys spent hours decorating the box that our new front door came in. Owen loved sledding down the hill over and over again. Jer was thankful that Walter wasn't as keen on it as after carrying him up the hill one time he was winded. He said the sled and monkey-man were much more bearable.

How many strikes did you get?

We went bowling as a family on Friday evening and everyone was happy to get out of the house after a rough week of illness around the house and a very busy week of work for Jer. Its always easy to know when Owen is excited, as he jumps around and around and generally can't stop talking. Here is a little proof...and a strike!

Yeah, another fun night together!

So, a combination of waking up a good 4 times in the middle of the night, canceling yoga, not showering in a few days, wearing the same sweats for three days, knowing your husband isn't coming home tonight and realizing at 6:30 p.m. that you didn't brush your teeth yet today can kind of make you wonder how in the world you got here.

Well, last night Walter went to bed at 7 and Owen and I started doing some projects and reading The Magician's Elephant together. Before I knew it, it was 8:45...and a school night! Tonight, when I told Owen I was putting Walter to bed again early (and I had just put all those negative thoughts together) Owen gave me the sweetest, truest smile and said "Yeah, another fun night together!" It all went away and I realized how awesome it is to be here...although I do hope to brush my teeth tomorrow by 8 a.m.!

Of course, we had another fun night together, prepping some projects for tomorrow, playing a game of Candy Land, and finishing our book. And again, we were having too much fun together to get to bed on time!

Walter is hanging in there. He's still feverish, but played a bit more today. When he gets tired of playing, he'll tell me and Owen "I'm sick". Sweetie.

Can we listen to 'Yellow Submarine'?

Owen heard this song at school today and asked to listen to it at home. We did, about 15 times in a row tonight. It completely brought me back to being at my Grandma Harala's house as my cousins would play this song (on the record player...not the iPod) over and over again and we would all dance around the house singing. Oh those lovely flocked hallway walls...

Sweet Walter is feeling quite sick today. He's been asking me to cuddle him, hold him and read him books all day. That is about all we did today. Owen asked if he could cuddle him as they watched a couple cartoons, too. Hopefully a good night's rest will help him heal.

This is the skating video I wanted to share but it was too big...until I did my very first editing job! Hopefully it will work now...

All the single legs.

Walter was playing with his cars and singing the other day. I stopped to listen when I heard some Beyonce coming out of his mouth. I was quick to call Jer when I realized he was singing "All the Single Legs" instead of "All the Single Ladies." (For those of you unfamiliar with wrestling a 'single leg' is a wrestling move!)

My mom came home from Hawaii yesterday (kicking and screaming) so my dad came back to Mpls last night, too. We dropped the boys off at my sister's with them so Jer & I could go out for dinner and a movie. The boys ended up sleeping over there and we came by this afternoon to go skating. After, we left them there again to do some cleaning around the house...yes, even Jer (now he was kicking and screaming). We better get rolling so we can pick the boys up!

Slow down, you move too fast.

I never told you about Owen's winter concert. I didn't have our video camera, so here are Owen and Walter giving you a taste of one of the songs CH3 performed, I'll let you decide who is Simon and who is Garfunkel (please excuse my 'slow down' prompt, I lost my voice a few days ago, so when I need to talk its quite squeaky):

I started out the new year doing 108 Sun Salutations, also called a mala. It was completely exhausting, but really a fun way to start the new year. It is supposed to bring me prosperity...although I think I already have it! My shoulders are finally feeling normal today, my hamstrings, however, continue to remind me of the new year.

Hand shoes.

We are happily enjoying lots of cousin time over the holidays. Here are Walter & Isabelle playing in Owen's top bunk, with a little ABC duet, followed by some hand shoe fun.

I just dropped the boys off at Joanne's for a fun sleep over. Jer and I are heading to a friend's to ring in the new year. We had a lovely 2009 and are excited to see what 2010 brings. Owen was asking me what year it would be when he was 11, 16, 8 etc. tonight as we were driving to Joanne's. It was strange to say 2015, etc. Those years seemed so futuristic to me as a kid and now, we are heading in to that decade.

Happy New Year!

Now I know mine ABCD's...

This will forever put a smile on my face. Enjoy!

I want Peace Around the World.

Such an appropriate title for a Christmas post, right?! Tonight Walter was having a hard time staying in his new big boy bed and falling asleep. After about 10 attempts to stay up later, sleep with us and have us sleep with him I finally convinced him of one last serenade. As I started singing our normal bedtime song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Walter quickly interupted me and said "No, I want Peace Around the World." So we sang Peace Around the World together.

Owen woke us up this morning at 6:30, after going to bed at 10:30 last night. He was so excited to tell us that Santa had come and was kindly begging for us to get out of bed so they could open their presents. Once we gave him the o.k. to go through his stocking, he ran downstairs to get Walter up and they run up and down the our stairs, showing us all the different goodies from their stockings. Santa was good to the boys, Owen was pumped to open his new hockey skates and Walter played and played with his new planet hero space ship.

We've had some busy days prepping and enjoying the holidays. We spent Christmas Eve at Joanne's house, after a delayed start thanks to a sewage backup! Santa even stopped by to give the kids a few gifts in person. As soon as Santa left, Owen quickly told me that was Grandpa Monster, not the real Santa...he recognized his shoes!

Kindi came over this morning for brunch and after we went to Jer's Grandma's for more celebrating. Its been fun having the Hipps family together. Owen and Walter are enjoying having their cousin Isabelle around and are anxious to have her sleep over this coming week.

The snow storm has been completely welcomed by our family (especially since Jer is home to shovel!). Its so beautiful and Owen can't get enough time outside building and sledding. Today he and Jer built a snowman and we think he'll be around for quite some time this winter.

Crunchity crunch!

We have a special guest in our home for the holidays, Cassie, the tortoise from Owen's classroom. It is quite exciting having her here. We get to bathe her, give her exploring time out of her cage in our house and feed her daily. Walter says this every time he sees (& hears) her eating her lettuce. She's a peaceful little tortoise and we are hoping Santa brings her a strawberry on Christmas morning.

My parents were in town this week before heading to Hawaii on Thursday. Owen was out with my dad expanding the roof top snow slide daily. On their way to the airport, we stopped for a couple quick sled rides on the big Nokomis hill.

Friday night I had Christmas with my GNO ladies. We stayed a night in a hotel and had such fun catching up, remembering old times and swimming in the pool-sized hot tub! We were up until 2 a.m., which I thought was quite late... Well, last night, you could say Jer had his Christmas celebration with his Augsburg buddies. He spent the night at a friends, where they all stayed up until 6:30 a.m. playing poker and laughing and laughing, I am sure.

Mom, I'm on the roof!

I really should have taken a picture to describe this quote, but there will be plenty of opportunities to take the photo this winter. Owen and Jer started building a snow slide in our backyard yesterday. They set up a slide we had in our garage and put it against our garage in the back yard. They then piled and piled up snow under it so Owen could (eventually) walk up the pile and get on the top of the roof and then slide down the slide. Yesterday the pile of snow wasn't quite big enough for Owen to climb up to the roof so Owen was ecstatic when he realized it snowed last night. Today we were out sledding, shoveling and working on his pile and when I wasn't looking, Owen yelled this to me. He had piled enough snow to shimmy himself up to the top of the roof!

Good dinner, mom.

Walter told me this tonight at dinner. He says such adult things sometimes. He's doing pretty well with potty training, assuming we help remind him. Still no luck in the poop department, so I'm certainly doing my share of laundry lately. We are now trying to bribe him with the dilly bar and a new toy. We joke we will be tossing out a trip to Disney World soon. May that remain a joke...

We celebrated Joanne's birthday on Friday over Chinese and cream puffs. I'd tried to get Owen to make a card before we went, but the snow was just too tempting and he played in it until we had to leave...so they both enjoyed drawing people, hearts, birds and flowers for Grandma once we were there.

Yesterday the boys enjoyed a long bath together. I used five clean towels to soak up all the water that was splashed around during the fun. There were lots of laughs happening in the tub and they came out extra silly, making funny faces and trying to get goofy hair. Owen requested sharing this picture through the blog with you all.

I want to go again!

I started potty training Walter on Thursday and was so impressed with his abilities on day one. He was super excited about having a sticker chart and getting a new sticker after each time he used the toilet...so excited that he had twelve stickers on his chart by the time he took his afternoon nap. He would go to the bathroom, get a sticker and then tell me "I want to go again!"

Yesterday we had a rude awakening when our babysitter called us to tell us our car windows had been smashed in. We went outside to find broken glass on both our vehicles and three other cars in our neighborhood. The punks didn't even go through my van, they stole Jer's satellite radio, went through one neighbor's truck, and didn't go through the other two cars. Whatever...enough on that!