Go Mommy GO!

Tonight I had my 2nd night of softball. It's the only sport I play and I just love it. The kids came to cheer the team on. In the past years Isaac has had no interest in watching the game. The first year he ate dirt, last year he ran away from his Daddy and thought he was funny, but tonight he stood by the fence with his hands clutched to the chain links, and his eyes peaking through the holes. He melted my heart.
This is what I heard as I was up to bat.
"Go Mommy GO!"
This is what I heard on 1st base...
"Good smack Mommy!"
And on Second base....
"Oh no!!!! Mommy doesn't have her bat!"
And as I was running into home base.....
"RUN Mommy RUN! they have the ball!"

We got home and he asks, "Was that baseball or softball?"
And we said "Softball."
"Oh cause I like Softball, can we go again Mommy, cause!?"

This gives me a glimmer of hope that he does have baseball in his blood, and maybe he will play, and not the be guy that grates the field. Ok, he can still be the guy that grates the field too. I know he has motors in his blood!

Goodbye preschool! Hello Kindergarten!

Last week our little 5 yr old Macie graduated from Preschool. She was so excited! She also did a very good job keeping her songs to herself so they could be a surprise for us at her program. She sang so loud and proud.

I often look at her in awe and can't believe how much she has grown and changed in her 5 yrs. She once was very shy. So shy she would not even look at people when they talked to her if she didn't know them. She would hide behind my legs and hold me. Now she is very social and outgoing. She is a lot like her daddy. A once shy little Sarah, is now an outgoing little Roger.

She is so excited to move onto Kindergarten in the fall. It almost makes me sad that she is so ready to go, but I also feel relieved and confident that she will do great, make lots of new friends, and help others that are nervous. I will definitely miss my little girl during the day.....sniff sniff.....

PS I think she got the "most liked" award in preschool. When I was there the last day with the kid at the park, all i heard was "Macie! Macie! Over here Macie! Macie sit by me Macie! Macie come and play!"

Makes me smile.....

Adventures in Baking

My most recent baking adventure, Macie's preschool graduation cupcakes..

all 22 of them!

Issac's tractor cake...

and... Macies 5th birthday cake, otherwise known as the 12 hr cake. But I'd do it again in a heartbeat...

The past 17 days I have baked and baked and baked. I used to hate baking, nothing ever turned out, but I have found adventures in baking cakes and cupcakes. I love it. I have a friend that I email or text and she gives me all the tips I need to get me through my adventures. One last cake of the month will be for Roger's birthday.

An American Girl turns 5

Macie has been dreaming of this American Girl doll for months. From the state of Hawaii came Kanani! She's not too sure about our ND weather though.

Macie loves loves loves her.

The Kanani themed birthday cake.

We made it 5 years!!! and at times I didn't think I'd make it through the first year! :)

Such a big girl, she was so proud to be 5!


So the official big day came. May 8th, 2011. It was also Mothers Day. So we got to spend a special day together. She woke up to her her big surprise of her American Girl doll. She could not be happier.

I had planned a Luau themed party for the late afternoon. This idea came with her doll of course, and Macies idea of wanting steaks and mushrooms for her birthday supper. Our once very picky eater what ate chicken nuggets and french fries 5 out of 7 days of the week, has become a great eater now. I guess it comes along with the big kid title. The menu also worked well for Mothers Day. The day was great, and the party was very fun! Family always makes for a great birthday!

Macie went to bed that night saying "I had the best day ever Mommy!" Shes 5, and shes a big kid now. sniff sniff....

Tangled up in a Cake...

For Macie's 5th birthday I went all out. She wanted a Tangled theme for her friends party. So I started googling Tangled cakes and got some good ideas. I think I bit off a more than I could chew with the cake, but all in all it didn't fall over, and it was a hit with the kids.

Her party was a hit as well. Sugar highs from cake and juice, they all ran it off outside. They also bounced it off in the new jumping castle Macie and Isaac's new jumping castle.

One party down, one more to go.......

Macie Mabel

May 8th, 2006, our world was changed forever. Our little 5lb 12oz baby girl was born. She came a week early, and throughout her life that just makes sense now. Shes been an early bird for everything. She really did shift our life around. She was a complete joy. She taught me more in her first year of life than I learned in my 25 years of life. Patience being the number one thing. As a baby we always said she had spunk. She was also determined in her own little world. Rolling over at 3 months, and crawling at just 6 1/2 months. She was our world.

Fast forward 5 years, and things really haven't changed. Shes still a spunky, determined and eager little girl. She is so determined to do things on her own, eager to learn, and has spunk that makes us all smile.

Macie couldn't wait to turn 5. She even said a few weeks before her birthday "I am sick of being 4, can I just be 5 already!" The thought of her turning 5 actually made me sad. I kept telling her I might cry on her birthday, but she was very stern in telling me that I was not allowed to cry on her birthday, so I didn't. :)

I am so proud of the girl Macie is. She is an official big kid now. 5.... 5 is kinda a big deal!

After the Blizzard...

I call this picture the calm after the storm. I looked out our window the first night of the storm and seen the sun going down. I really felt that tomorrow was going to be a better day.

Just a day before we were outside riding bikes!

After the storm blew over on Saturday, it still left us with no power for 3 days. 3 days! I would've never imagined the town going without power for that long. I felt very grateful that we had a generator, but felt for the people that did not. Life could have been worse. We weren't scooping out water from our basement like many other residents. We had heat that ran when we needed it, and a few outlets working. We had it pretty good considering.

Monday morning came and still no power. So, myself, my sister, and my mom piled in the car with the kids and headed to Minot. Shopping always makes the day go better! We spent the day in Minot, shopped till we dropped and headed back home hoping for power to come on soon. Later that night, around 10:00 I seen lights come on across the alley and jumped for joy! We had POWER!! This meant hot showers, coffee, and morning cartoons!

Life can move on.....with POWER!

and the Blizzard continues....

What do you do with no power during a blizzard? Well, dress in layers because it gets cold.

Talk on the phone, if you have cell phone battery left. Watch a movie on the portable DVD player .... if that has battery power left....

Blow out birthday candles, because IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!

and finally.... ride a bike indoors, because you can, and it's new, and its your birthday!

ok, and watch more movies on the DVD player.... because once we did get the generator hooked up, we made sure we had an outlet saved for the DVD player to plug into.

Birthday Blizzard, continued..

Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!

"Like this mommy?"

May 1st, day 2 with no power. I was having Isaac's birthday party no matter what today, besides the cake was already 2 days old! We had some power to make due, and all of the party supplies were waiting to be decorated with. Isaac had originally decided on a menu of Macaroni, sloppy joes, chicken fingers, and doritos. Well we had to alter that to just sloppy joes and doritos. Thank goodness for our camping supplies. The propane stove worked out perfect for the sloppy joes. The party worked out just fine, and we were all able to celebrate with a John Deere party!

We still went to bed without power that night.....

Birthday Blizzard

this really is a picture of what we could see outside in the morning, not just a white blur...

The cool new Jeep bike!

Isaac looking at his bike...

Party plans have been rummaging through my head for weeks now. Isaac decided on a John Deere Tractor theme for his party. So the theme was tractors and green! I ordered a tractor cake pan online and had the cake all baked and decorated the day before his big day. We were all so excited for Isaac's birthday.
We had just enjoyed weather in the 70's and even got a little sun burnt on Easter Sunday. So we were all hoping for good weather for the day of the party. Days before the weatherman forcasted rain and snow. 1-2 inches possible. Oh well, we will move the party inside I thought. The night before Isaac's birthday they started forcasting a blizzard warning for our area. Really? Well really was right. 3 A.M. I woke up to high winds rattling the house windows. Wet, heavy snow pelting the ground, house, and trees. Then an hour later we lost power.
A couple hours later Isaac wakes up to see his birthday surprises waiting for him in the living room. We still had no power, and we could not see out our windows. Good thing the new birthday toys and bike kept the kids busy. I was still planning on having a birthday party at 12:00. Until we started to realize that nature had other plans. A birthday blizzard for Isaac.
Once we were able to see outside we were all amazed with all the snow. I think it was 10inches of thick, wet, heavy, snow. Roger was on a mission to get our generator out at his shop. He was expecting the worse with the power but I never thought we would go a whole day without power!
His first attempt to get the generator failed due to a 3 foot snow drift that blocked the front of his truck on his way to the shop. He stirred around the house all day trying to figure out a way to get it so we could have heat. I stirred around the house all day crabby that we had to postpone Isaac's birthday. The kids didn't seem to care at all. Isaac was a good sport about the whole day. They did notice the house getting cooler, and there was no cartoons to watch, and that mommy was crabby, and daddy was pacing back and fourth.
Finally around 3 the storm cleared up and Roger tried a 2nd attempt to get the generator. The road had been cleared to get to the shop, and he was able to bring home some power! He got our furnace wired to the generator and some outlets working. He was our HERO of the day! He also went and picked up Papa and Grandma so they could spend some time with the birthday boy! We ended the night with some burgers on the camper grill and some more brave company to celebrate Isaac turning 3. ...

To be continued....

Isaac turns 3!

April 30th, 2008 11:43 A.M. Isaac was born. 7lbs 6oz, 20 inches long. He was what I call our easy baby. So content to just watch the world around him. He would fall asleep easily, and sleep during most car rides.

Fast foward 3 yrs later, April 30th 2011. Isaac turns 3! At 3 he considers himself still a "little guy," but after getting a bike for his birthday he says "I'm a big guy now cause I know how to ride my bike, but still a little guy cause puzzles are hard for me .... cause."

At 3 he asks a lot of questions, and doesn't stop talking until he is heard and gets his question answered. Hes starting to have more say in what he wears for the day, and is getting to be more of a picky eater. He still loves trucks and bobcats, and John Deere tractors. He has a very sensitve side and loves his baby Isaac, monkey, and blankies. He has a new found independance where he doesn't always want to do what Macie says when they are playing. He makes sure his input is heard too. I know 3 is going to be a great year!