FAIR

Once again the fair hit town again, and of course we have to hit the rides. The kids had a blast on the rides. I, however, get sick watching rides anymore! 30 is really aging me. ....

Picture Preview.

We had our family pictures taken a couple of weeks ago. One of my high school classmates takes fantastic photos and she did our shoot again this year. The weather turned out great after threats of rain all day. Follow the link to get a good preview of the shots!!http://www.erinvournasphotography.com/blog/index.php/2011/06/grendahl-family/

Slumber PARTY!

Last week the kids and I headed to visit Rogers sister and her kids for the day. On the way home we took Morgan with us for a sleepover. Macie was so excited for Morgan to stay with us. The trip home took a little longer than planned...we got turned around by the North Unit due to a mudslide in the badlands.... long story short, it took us 5 hours to get back home rather than 2 1/2 hours. I am glad I had 3 good kids in the car who didn't complain much! After getting home at 9:00 the girls played and played, then went to bed, then giggled, and giggled some more, before I knew it, it was 11:30! They had a blast though! Girls will be girls... :)

Ft. Union...check!

Our Summer bucket list is getting some checks next to them. We took off to Ft. Union trading post last week. The kids really enjoyed exploring, and looking through the trading tents. Macie and I each got some fun bracelets. Isaac was more interested on finding a way out. "Are we lost Mommy? How are we going to get out of here?" But the best Isaac quote was this..."OH NO! I see bad guys with guns over there, HURRY!" I love that kid!

Water FIGHT!!!

One of my favorite things about summer is the freedom that summer brings.
"Mom can we have a water fight?"
Sure why not!?

Summer Bucket List

Summer has come (kinda) and I want to make the best of it this year. I feel like summers go by too fast. I seen on another blog that they did a summer bucket list. LOVED this idea, so I quickly got ours started. I hope to do everything on our list before summer ends. We have been adding to it daily. Now we just need to get rid of these 50 degree days, and move onto some 70's or 80's. Is that too much to ask?

Adventures in Potty Training.... a boy

I felt pure relief when Isaac finally gave into potty training. Well, I also had to learn myself that potty training a boy wasn't like potty training a girl. Lessons I learned...

Aiming is very important.

AIM AIM AIM

Don't forget to aim

PS: plan on carpet cleaning in the near future.

Potty GUY!

I have posted in the past that potty training Isaac hasn't been the easiest thing in the world, but he finally gave into the bribes. I broke out the prize bag. Every time he went potty for us, he got a prize. Candy, gum, suckers, juice, random 1$ store toys, and coloring sets. We also used bobcat rides, and 4wheeler rides as rewards if he was consistent for a few days in a row. Daddy's shop was a huge ambition for him. In the past he just got bored with it, but this time we kept on going. B I N G O it worked. After a week of the consistent potty breaks every 90 mins, I can officially say he is potty trained. He likes to go by the ultra ego "potty guy," or "underwear guy." He is Potty GUY! WAHOOOO!!!!

Guest blogging, as Sarah...vs Mommy

Geoffrey’s sisters asked me to write a little letter about her in honor of her 30th birthday. I pondered a few days on how to start it. Then I decided to Google her name to see the definition. You see, I am a firm believer in the name meanings. My daughter Macie means “upbeat and happy.” My son Isaac means “one who laughs.” Both meanings are so true to their nature. So I look up Geoffrey, and it means “God’s peace.“ I think that is a good fit as well.
I have known Geoffrey most of my life. She lived down the block from me in a yellow house on the corner. We had many play dates, almost sleepovers, and good times hanging out on the corner of the block. I remember eating cheesy tortillas for snacks, and also cucumbers with salt sprinkled on top. My most favorite snack that I remember from her is popcorn with parmesan cheese on top. That came years later though.
The house I do remember so well is her two story white house close to the cemetery I believe on 8th Ave. She had a room on the 2nd floor with a secret hideout! It was covered in New Kids on the Block posters. She LOVED NKOTB. That’s the house where we had many sleepovers with popcorn covered in parmesan cheese. She has always been very independent. I love that so much about her.
The time she spend in MN after one of her surgeries I remember writing her letters after letters telling her all about school, boyfriends, friends, and just life in general. I had her phone number to the hospital written on a scrap piece of paper and it sat on our family china cupboard. I remember days calling my mom at work and asking “can I call Geoffrey!?”
Then there was the day she calls me shrieking “I just met Sheryl Crow!!!!!!” I can remember it so distinctly. She was SO excited! I was so excited hearing about her experience. Now every time I hear a Sheryl Crow song I think of that day.
Over the years of high school we did drift a bit, but she was always my dear friend. Someone I always called my friend. We have history, and friends with history like that don’t just go away.
Now I am going to fast forward years later . The year of My Space and Facebook. I was very new the social network world. But my dear friend Geoffrey wasn’t. She found me online and we reconnected. Since then our friendship has blossomed so much. We go to know each other as adults and found we still have so much in common.
Our 10 yr class reunion we got to hang out, and my kids absolutely fell in love with her. In reality we hadn’t seen each other in years, but really we just took right off. We still have so much in common. Coffee, books, design, cooking… the list goes on.
Now really I could go on and on and on, but I will cut to the important stuff. We got to spend a week together in the summer of 2010 when I invited her to come and stay with me. I’ll never forget the morning she was getting on the train. I got a text saying “Sarah my train is 10 hours late.” or something like that. It was so late that it didn’t come in till 1:00 A.M.
Geoffrey introduced me to the world of The Pioneer Woman. I immediately fell in love with the website, cookbook, her story and all. We are The Pioneer Woman’s 2 biggest fans. So much that we got to spend a girls weekend together meeting PW in Montana. This is a weekend I will never forget. I can still remember details of the trip and just smile. I wouldn’t have wanted to spend it with anyone else. We rocked that trip!
I have a friendship with Geoffrey that I truly cherish. I find her strength amazing. She has a bravery that I wish I had. She has a faith in God that I respect so much. Her spunk makes me smile, and her sense of humor makes me laugh.
The meaning of Geoffrey, “Gods Peace.” I find it so fitting and perfect, because everything Geoffrey has been through, she really does find peace in it all. Her surgeries don’t define her, but her strength and finding peace in it all does. She is amazing, wonderful, thoughtful, brave, creative, beautiful, caring, loving, faithful, and a fighter. She is Geoffrey, my friend.
Happy 30th Birthday Geoffrey!!!
　
Love, Sarah (T.)
PS: YOU ROCK!!!

Another year older

Roger's birthday came and went. I think he would have rather just pretended it didnt exsist this year, but we we couldnt let him get by without a cake! I made him a Jeep cake, because I knew he would rather be out jeeping than working on his birthday. haha. Happy Birthday Roger!!

On the menu tonight is.....

I made a pan of vegetable lasagna a couple of weeks ago and the kids were eager to help out. Isaac was all ready to get into mixing up the cheese mix. "I will just take one bite ok mommy? Cause."

Macie has a set of her own cooking utensils so she is always eager to help when she can. She decided she would make her own specialty for the dinner called Macies Special. She could not wait for her daddy to come home so she could play restaurant with him. She got all ready with her towel laid across her shoulder, a pen and note pad, and of course Macies special.

Macies Special
coarsely chopped up mushrooms, zucchini, and yellow squash

shredded cheese

lasagna noodle

all rolled up and baked to a crunchy bite

Macies first customer showed up. He was rather impressed with her service, but was a little hesitant of her special. :) She was making sure we all at least took one bite of it.... gulp.