My handy point and shoot camera is in the repair shop(that's what happens when you drop it lens first on a concrete floor-d'oh!!)so I have only been using my big camera which means I never have it on me so all my photos are from home. I missed taking photos of dinner at our friend's beautiful new house Friday night.They made us yummy fajitas and margaritas. Saturday night I ended up in St. Paul at some fabulous places-La Grolla, Salut, and the Happy Gnome. Lots of girl talk, had a great time.Forget how much I love that area of St. Paul. I came to realize how much I use my little Sony camera.Hmmm.. what else happened?? Oh,Cooper spent the night at a friends house,Ron, Quinn, and I had a nice lunch at a local sandwich shop.I took my dog walking 2 days in a row...that has not happened since October! We had friends over to play and the kids had their first yoga class at the gym which they loved.
Here are my random pics.....

where creativity happens on a daily basis....at least that's what I tell myself when I walk by the mess 100 times a day. For some reason I was compelled to buy 60 waffles for the kids
at Costco...they are way better than Eggo

After my fun Saturday night, I needed this..

Sunday afternoon playdates are the best. As a bonus it was 40, which is approaching heat wave status in this area

football in the snow

namaste...ready for downward dog.

Barbie Girl

My "postapalooza" continues...we had Quinn's birthday party at a local beauty institute where Q and her friends had their hair styled and nails painted.it Then back to our house for games, crafts, a cupcake decorating party. One pal was sick so we just had five which kept us plenty busy.She received some wonderful gifts from friends and family...

Birthday Girl

Things about you at this age:

You are into all things animal...Webkinz, Fur Real animals,you want a stuffed animal everywhere we go.

You also love to draw and write and make us pictures everyday at school and at home...and play school alot and be the boss!

You are learning to read this year..Dick and Jane books, Dr. Suess, and some of your favorites for us to read to you this past year were Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Fancy Nancy, and Pinkalicious..

you love jewelry and clothes and dress up still but also like to run outside and get dirty

you are not a morning person(just like your dad)

You take forever to eat a meal...especially when we have somewhere to be

You finally love playing outside in the snow...you want to play in it after school and on weekends you can play out for a good 2-3 hours

You have met so many nice friends at school and have had lots of playdates to satisfy your social butterfly self...and getting better at playing by yourself too

you have done swimming lessons, love dance class,started piano lessons and are a Daisy Scout and you told me you want to take tennis again

The other day we were walking in the parking lot and you said "mommy, let's catch snowflakes on our tongues....you looked so cute catching them...

you wanted bangs just like me...and will never have them again!

We are so blessed that you are our daughter....

My Baby is Six!

Quinnie turned six today..This morning I let her open a few presents from family to tide her over until her party on Saturday...she received a Barbie DVD as part of her gifts from Gigi and Pop and my parent's good friends sent her kid's sized bakeware-mixing bowl and cute spatulas and whisks.For her birthday dinner she wanted hibachi...we had sushi..the kids loves caviar! and Cooper loved the wasabi and the sushi...of course she had shrimp for her entree. It was so cute they came out and played a birthday song with a disco light and had Quinn put on an asian mask..then it was time to have cake....hmmm...no wonder they are not tired!!!

Love is in the Air

We had a nice relaxing Valentine's day....Ron and I took the kids to the movies....and they were happy with their Valentine gifts from mom and dad and a Barnes and Noble gift card from their Gigi and Pop....

Snow Tubing

Ron was off from work on Monday and the kids were off from school so we decided to take the kids snow tubing. We had so much fun..Ron asked why have we not been here before?? good question...I know we will be back...the kids were impressed with all the snowboarders and skiiers..so now they want to try skiing...I told them next winter....I'm hoping this one is almost over!

It's Party Time

We had an extremely busy weekend but it was so much fun next weekend will feel downright boring. Friday I met a friend for lunch and a little shopping before I had to head to Cooper's Valentines party. where I had to deal with the craft from hell...Note to self...ALWAYS have one already made..we improvised and the kids had fun anyway and the parents had a lot of laughs. Saturday evening we had a Mardi Gras party...which was a blast but none of those pictures will make it on my blog..only took a few but some of my friends had the cameras out in full effect...some people should be nervous ;-)

Like my new wine chiller........ Sunday we were invited to my friend Allison's daughter's birthday party and my kids had a blast. So nice to meet all of her family and hang out with friends. They have an indoor pool which blows my kids minds.....they are so going to sleep well tonight.

oh and they also have a cool hoops set..

and a hot tub

A shot of Leah, me, Jodi, and Kendall...

and then, as if we were not busy enough Ron and I took the kids for father/son and mother/daughter movie dates. Good thingwe have Monday off to recharge...I am off to bed.

A House Divided....Sort of

Cooper is a huge Vikings fan(goes to every home game with Dad,keeps up on all things Vikes related) and after their loss to the Saints he had a major meltdown- stomping on his Brett Favre jersey and throwing some of his Vikings stuff in his garbage can(man, what a sore loser!!)I told him if you're a true fan you support your team no matter what. I, of course, planned on rooting for my home state team the Saints in the Super Bowl...I'm not a giant follower of football but have been watching the Saints during the season and hoping they would do well...along with cheering on the Vikings too. So my Mom sent us some Saints stuff to wear on Super Bowl Sunday. Cooper vowed he would not wear his Saints shirt and told me he was rooting for the Colts by wearing his Peyton Manning jersey....Well, in the last half of the game he appearantly had a change of heart...................

Because now he WANTS to wear his Saints t shirt and is asking for a hat and a Saints jersey!!Hey, he's eight...he likes to be a part of a winning team.....although the Vikings will remain number one in his heart.....at least when football season starts in the Fall.

Spur of the Moment

On Saturday evening the planets aligned and three ladies were able to meet for a few drinks and lots of laughter.This needs to happen more often.

They're Here!!!!!!!!

My blog to books arrived this week and I am thrilled with how they turned out. I now have copies of my old blog 2008 and part of 2009 and then my new blog the rest of 2009. I also made a vacation album on Shutterfly too. Thanks to my pal Sarah for her instruction-she might have created a digital monster. I am hooked...still like to dabble in old school scrapbooking but I love how quickly these are done. Plus, I don't have to store all the paper products...which I cleaned out last weekend. 2 bags of scrapbook stuff is being donated to Quinn's classroom for the art table.My loft is looking less like a storage room. Cooper also had his friend Riley come for a sleepover. They had a blast but eight year old boys are silly little things.Listening to them kept me giggling all night.

Not to leave Quinn out, she is going to a playdate with some friends from school at her friend Kai's house. I am going for a run at the gym and Coop and Ron are going to Coop's basketball game. We have to do something to break up the monotony of the February doldrums.Thank goodness we have some fun things planned for the next couple of weekends to help endure this month and bring us one step closer to spring.Now, I'm remebering why we take vacations in Feb-it should be a Minnesota law and everyone in the state should get a vacation voucher to somewhere warm and sunny. Think I'll send our governer my proposal ;-)