I suppose it's time to update this thing!

Wow it's been over a year and a half since I have been on here! Lots has changed! Well, not too much, but life keeps moving so we're trying to keep up. I'll just throw some highlights/pictures on here since my last post, and hopefully I will keep up with it from now on!

My good friend Naomi took some family photos for us in July 2012. Seems like forever ago! Here are a few of those...

In August we added a kitten to our family, and named her Moo Shu. She was found wandering on the patio at Henry's restaurant in Stillwater, so I went to pick her up. We ended up keeping her after nobody claimed her. She's been a lot of fun!

Lara decided to audition for a competition line at the dance studio, and she made it. We had a very busy spring last year with that, but loved every minute of it. They did about as good as they could possibly do! She dances with some awesome girls from some wonderful families, and is doing it again this year! She is in her 6th year, and Ayla is in her 3rd. Lara also started piano lessons last June and is doing well.

We lost my dad in December 2012, just after Christmas. We all miss him like crazy and think about him every day.

 Henry and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas in January 2013 and had a lot of fun! We swam with the dolphins at Atlantis. I would love to take the kids there someday!

In July, Henry, the girls, and I flew out to Phoenix, rented an SUV, and road tripped home, stopping at the Grand Canyon, spending a couple days in Utah where we rented a UTV and climbed rocks, (kinda scary at times) did the alpine slide in Jackson Hole on our way through, spent a couple days in Yellowstone, saw Mt. Rushmore, and Bear Country USA. It was a lot of fun!

Lara tried out for the competition line again and made that, and is also in lyrical and ballet this year, so that, plus Ayla's dance class have been keeping us busy 2 nights a week.
In October we found out we're expecting a baby, due in June. We just found out it's a healthy little boy! This should be an exciting adventure! I'm hoping he comes a few days early because I'm due just a few days before recital week starts with the girls. Eeek!

We all (Henry, me, the girls, my mom and brother, Henry's mom and sister) traveled out to Los Angeles for Christmas to visit Henry's brother Larry. The weather was awesome and we had a great time! We didn't make it in to Disneyland because they were at capacity, so that was a disappointment, but it was still a great trip!

 I decided to buy a sewing machine just before Christmas, and have been sewing baby bibs and burp cloths. It's a lot of fun. My mom and I opened an Etsy shop, so go check it out here... Sew For Babies

 That's all for now, I will try to stay on top of things from now on!

A New Adventure

Henry and I have been wanting some baby ducks for a while now. We have a pond out in the woods that would be perfect for them. I found some ducklings for sale over the weekend and went and picked up four. They are Call Ducks. The three smaller ones were about 5 days old, and there is one that is a little older and quite a bit bigger than the others. After a few hours of having them we decided they will be better off staying around our yard, and having a coop closer to the house because they are so domesticated. They will follow us everywhere we go. It is so cute! They love to swim around in the little pool we bought for the dogs, and hang out on the rocks. Henry built them a small home for now, but will have to get moving on their permanent home soon because they will be full-grown in no time!

The girls checking them out for the first time.

Their first night at their new home. 

Relaxing.

Going for a swim.

I will update with more pictures as they grow and get their new house to live in. The dogs met them last night. Zoe wants to eat them, of course, and Lucky is just curious. Ozzi couldn't care less. The plan is to let them roam around during the day while we're home and the dogs are inside, and be in the coop while we're gone, at night, and while the dogs are out. 

A Project for Henry

The kids finally got their big birthday present put together. Henry spent a few days working on it and they are so excited that it is finally put together.

This doesn't look like any fun at all.

Waiting, not so patiently.

Here she is! Zoe even likes to go up the steps and hang out on top.

Lara's giant hopscotch.

Easter Weekend/Lara's Birthday Party

Our Easter was a little different this year. Lara decided she didn't want a "friend" party this year for her birthday, and instead wanted to go to a waterpark with just family. She had the day after Easter off of school so we decided to celebrate then. My parents came down on Sunday and we had a little egg hunt, more Easter baskets, Lara opened gifts, then we all took off to Waterpark of America. We had a great time! Lara even braved one of the bigger tube slides, and loved it. She also tried the surfing/body boarding. She got a little hurt on that one but I was proud that she did it, because there is no way I would have. Not with a bunch of people watching, anyway. We went to dinner at Outback then the kids hit the water again. The following day we headed over to Ikea for a bit, then to Mall of America to get Lara's American Girl doll. My mom and I had to convince her to change her mind a couple times on her choice. They didn't have one that looked exactly like her, but we found one that was close. She just has green eyes instead of blue, but it's not that noticeable. Hopefully they make some more combinations before Ayla gets one, otherwise they might end up with the exact same doll. Yesterday, the 16th, was Lara's actual 7th birthday. We went to dinner and had Dairy Queen cake.

We went the tie dye route this year for eggs.

Ayla with her basket.

Lara and her basket.

Opening some presents.

Now they each have their own toothfairy pillow.

My mom made this for her American Girl doll.

Here's Annie!

Ayla's Birthday!

Ayla turned 4 yesterday! We had a party for her at the house. It was mostly family, and a few friends. The weather was beautiful so we ate and opened gifts out on the deck. The kids then played with the new toys and also did a little four wheeling (so did the big kids). It was a perfect day! Aside from slamming my finger in the door. My fingernail is a real pretty shade of red right now. Here is a little bit of our day!

My cousin's daughter Norah

She had a rainbow theme

Joe playing with the kids

DQ cake. Mmmm

Nobu, one of Henry's sushi chefs put this together. : )

I ordered the kids a swingset for their big birthday present (Lara's birthday is in 3 weeks) so we look forward to the arrival of that. Not so much looking forward to putting it together, but hopefully that happens soon after we get it. We might also do a little shopping trip to MOA since I didn't have a chance to get Ayla anything yet without bringing her with me. Now that her party has passed I don't mind letting her pick something out for herself. Her Build a Bear is in need of a new outfit. She's been wearing the same dress for a year now. In 2 weeks we are celebrating Lara's birthday at Waterpark of America. We haven't been there yet, so we're really looking forward to it! Thank you everybody who came yesterday!