Happy 2nd Birthday Heath!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Heath!!!! Where the heck did the time go?????? Today was Heath's 2nd birthday and the we all met up with the Hokanson's at their town home for cake, ice cream and gift opening. The Toy Story cake was a huge hit with the kids and we are happy to report that Heath now is the very proud owner of the Toy Story toy isle from Toys R Us ... he has everything now!!!!!

After the birthday gifts and treats, we all jump in our vehicles and headed to the Mall of America to enjoy a night of unlimited rides. Tammy made up a snack bag full of goodies that all the kids enjoyed eating from through the evening. Heath was all smiles on Swiper's Car Ride and he and his mommy got a good workout riding that one a few times.

Mommy, herself, is happy to report that Alyssa and Madison are both officially tall enough to ride the majority of rides by themselves, so gone are the days of mommy and daddy having to cram ourselves into vehicles made to hold children ... awwww ... the little things in life ... :)

There were a few rides that the girls were tall enough to ride provided they had an adult chaperon riding with them ... but they were the good rides, like the Pepsi roller coaster (which Alyssa proclaimed to the "the best ride EVER"), the swings and the Ferris wheel. They were also ready to ride the flume ride, but we will try that one out another time.

Another big hit of the night for the three older kiddos was the Splat-O-Sphere. A thrill ride that takes you 60 feet up into the air and then drops you to the ground at various heights up and down. Yes, the kiddos went on this one without an adult riding with them ...

Yes, that is their little feet 60 feet above us ...

And yes ... all smiles ... they even got right back in line to do it again!!

It was a great night of fun and hopefully next time Heath will be able to do more of the rides with the older kids, but we know he had a wonderful time too ... Thank you to the Hokanson's for an evening of nothing but smiles!!!

Willy Wonka at Stages Theater!

Mommy and girls had front row center seats for Stages Theater production of Willy Wonka today!! Hopes were high as the girls absolutely love both movie versions on this beloved story.

The curtains opened and the cast and crew of Willy Wonka didn't disappoint ... the girls loved every minute of the play and were thrilled when they got a chance for a photo opportunity with Willy Wonka himself ... what a way to end a wonderful experience!!!!

Happy 85th Granny B!

Happy Birthday Granny B!!!!! We hit the road this morning for a whirlwind trip to La Crosse, Wisconsin, to surprise Granny at a little family get together for her birthday. We made the drive there and back in the same day but it was worth the six hours in the car to be able to share her special day with her.

All of her children were able to be home for the party and it was nice to see them all together with Granny. Many of her 13 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and even her one great-great-grandson were able to be there ... it was a good afternoon.

There were a lot photos taken and we even managed one of our little family with Granny when everyone not only looking at the camera but also smiling!

We can't say it enough ... we love you Granny ... the girls adore you and we were so happy to have been able to make it over for a visit and share a day with our Granny B ... you are an amazing lady!!!

Good-Bye Maggie ... Welcome Hello Kitty

After swimming lessons today, daddy dropped the girls and mommy off at home and then we said a fond farewell to our beloved "Maggie", our Dodge Magnum which has been our family car since the girls were one year old. They love Maggie ... seriously, she was a member of our family, only referred to as Maggie.

We started preparing the girls a month ago for the fact that she would be leaving our family to be replaced by another new vehicle. This preparation even led us to a last minute visit to a dealership in order to show a very emotional Alyssa (tears and all) an option for a new vehicle to replace Maggie. She wasn't happy ... not at all ... but once she climbed inside the potential new vehicle and saw the built in movie system ... Maggie received her walking papers, now being referred to as old and ready to break down any minute. At least she was over her grief ...

So that brings us back to today ... saying good bye to Maggie, posing for a picture and giving her a kiss, then waving good bye as daddy left to trade her in and pick up our new family member.

Maggie was a great car for us and she will be missed for sure ... especially by daddy who loved driving her 6.1 Litre SRT 8 Hemi ... *sigh*

So now we welcome an Acura MDX to the family ... the girls are happy, after all the navigation voice is still programmed to be a girl and she has that fancy movie system with wireless headphones. They love her so much that they decided her name would be "Hello Kitty" ....

I am guessing Maggie got the last laugh ... as daddy proudly calls his big bad ride "Hello Kitty" ... now tell mommy that Miss Alyssa and Miss Madison do not have their daddy wrapped about their little fingers!

Swimming Lessons with Hanna

Today the girls meet their new swimming instructor for our Littles 3 class. The girls both took to her immediately and they had a great first day of lessons for this session.

Madison working on her back float:

Alyssa working on her back float while Madison watches from the waiting deck:

Madison being Madison:

Alyssa proud of herself:

Play Time with Christian & Heath!

After enjoying the morning and early afternoon at the zoo, we got another fun surprise when Christian and Heath arrived for a later afternoon play date and our first official guests to try out the new play area!

The boys seem to have fun exploring the new play stuff and all the kiddos took turns trying everything out! Christian especially liked cooking in the play house and Heath had a great time in the sand box and water table!

Mommy forget it was Thursday in the neighborhood and was surprised when Alyssa and Madison announced that they could hear the ice cream man's music! Christian got excited too as the kids waiting impatiently at the curbside for the truck to get into view.

All four kids got yummy treats and had a great time sharing them between each other. I understand the Christian is excited to return again in hopes of seeing the ice cream man again!

Visting the Minnesota Zoo & The Butterfly Garden

Today the weather was absolutely beautiful and mommy decided to head out to the Minnesota Zoo for a picnic lunch and some exploring with the girls.

The girls were really excited to be able to spend some time at Dolphin Cove and always love the extra huge aquarium. The sharks seemed to get the most attention with the sting rays following close behind!

The zoo has really been lacking for dolphin sighting as their main show dolphin is now too old to perform, the other dolphin was pregnant at the time and not doing shows and the third dolphin is too young and not fully trained yet. We did catch a glimpse of the young future performer swimming a few laps. We look forward to next season and hope there will be dolphin shows returning soon!

After touring dolphin cove, we headed outside to a shaded picnic table and enjoyed a lunch we brought with us from home. As the summer heat was starting to take hold for the day, we decided rather than walking the outdoor trails of the zoo, we would take an indoor tour on the tropics trail.

Our two little monkeys posing outside the tropics trail ... unfortunately it was a little bit too high for Alyssa, but she managed to peek through the money face a little bit!

After the tropics trail, we headed to the butterfly garden. We had a lot of fun seeing all the beautiful butterflies and examining ourselves in the mirror for "hitch hikers" before leaving the protected garden.

No hitch hikers, but lots of pretty things for the girls to enjoy!!! We had a lovely day and can't wait for our next trip to the zoo!!