Happy Easter!

Last night the girls spent the night with Grandpa and Grandma, so the Easter Bunny had to work a little harder this year to find them and hide their baskets.  All worked out well though, and he found them in Belle Plaine instead of Jordan.  The girls decided there were more places to hide things at Grandpa and Grandma's and had fun looking for their baskets!

Later in the day, the girls got to have an indoor egg and prize hunt as a holiday treat from Grandma and Grandpa. The weather was not cooperating well this year, cold, snow and rain ... so we had the treasure and egg hunt in the basement.  The girls didn't mind and still had a lot of fun looking for all their goodies!  Grandpa thinks Grandma forgot she was buying for two grand kids only this year as the rest of the kids are now big kids or adults and still bought the same amount of stuff for just two!!  I think he might be right!

We had a great time with the family and enjoyed terrific food as usual.  Alyssa even managed to sneak a quick hug for Granny M!

Time to Dye the Eggs

The girls and I spent a little time this morning coloring boiled eggs for Easter.  We ended up with 14 good eggs after we removed the broken ones from boiling.  We used those to make egg salad sandwiches after we finished dying the eggs.

The girls did a great job on them and turned out really pretty this year.  They ended up tasting pretty good too!

Figlio

With the girls on Spring Break and daddy home on vacation, we have spent more than our fair share of time eating out ... tonight after mommy and daddy's dentist appointments, it was dinner time and we found ourselves at Figlio.  It was the girls' first visit to Figlio and we had a good time at their new location at the West End.  Mommy and daddy had quite a few date nights at the original Figlio in Uptown and although the food is about the same, the atmosphere is a bit different but still good.

 

The girls and we were very surprised when mommy's to go box with her leftover pizza turned out to be a very large tinfoil swan!

We had the girls carry the swan out of the restaurant and to the car ... they thought it was great!

How We Spend A Day With Daddy!!!

The girls are home on spring break this week and daddy is home on vacation for the week.  Sadly, I have classes, clinicals and my volunteer shift on my schedule for the week.  Today, daddy and the girls spent the majority of the afternoon assembling the new Lego Friends swimming pool set they got at the Lego Store last night.

There were quite a few little pieces to this set and it took a bit longer than any of them anticipated it would take.

Alyssa busy assembling one of the extra little buildings.

 Madison hard at work on her own little building.

The finished product ... one tired daddy and two happy girls ready to play!!!!

Cupcake!

Daddy got home of a trip this afternoon and it happened to be 1/2 price sushi night at our favorite restaurant, Crave, so we decided to take a run into the Mall of America for dinner with the girls.   After dinner, we surprised the girls with a stop at another one of their favorites, Cupcake!  Alyssa opted to try a Blueberry Lemonade cupcake this time and Madison went with the Boston Cream Pie cupcake ... they both were delicious!!!!!

Grand Slam! Happy Birthday Christian!!!

The girls had a GREAT time helping celebrate Christian's birthday today at Grand Slam!  He had over 14 kiddos there and boy was it fun trying to keep up and keep track of everyone.

The kids started out the morning playing Laser Tag and then hit the Bumper Cars.  After that it was a free for all on the mini-golf course.  We had small groups at over half of the holes on the course all at the same time!!  Madison and Heath were taking their time at each hole and bringing up the rear of our large group.

I think Alyssa was all over the place, but was mostly hanging with the birthday boys group on the course.

 Look what Tammy found hanging out in the pirate's treasure chest on the course!

After golfing, the kids split up to do different activities and the girls decided they wanted to try out the batting cages.  Never mind that neither of them has ever even held a baseball bat before.  I put them in the slowest cage and set the machine to toss softballs instead of baseballs as they are a bigger target to aim for ... Alyssa went first and despite the bad form, she managed to make contact with several of the balls!

Madison went second.  She actually did manage to knick a ball or two, but mostly she kept wandering into the danger area where the balls are pitched and injured her fingers and her arms kept migrating up onto the hitting part of the bat.  Still, despite a few tears, she had a good time trying out the cages!

Dinner with Daddy

Sure, fine ... while I am at school stuck in lab until 9 pm, daddy and the girls are out having dinner at Bonfire!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Well, yesterday the girls set their trap and then last night they stayed at a friend's house for a sleepover.  They were super excited to get home and see if their trap worked.   We they arrived home and ran to the trap to check it out, this is what they found ...

So, they guessed that he ate the honey off of himself and ran away ... maybe glue will work better next year???  Regardless, they were super happy that they almost got him and loved the trickets he left behind, minus the jewelry they tried to trap him with of course ...

To Catch a Leprechaun ...

Ever since last year when the girls started Kindergarten and the teachers at the school played up how sneaky Leprechaun's were, especially at St. Patrick's Day, the girls have been adamant about setting a trap to try and catch one on St. Patrick's Day.   Rumor has it that if you are lucky enough to catch one, he will lead you to the end of the rainbow and his pot of gold.

So this year, for their second annual attempt, Madison sketched out a plan for a trap that they were sure would work and then the girls assembled it.  The theory behind the plan is that all the jewelry will attract the Leprechaun's attention and while he is busy collecting it, he will unknowingly step onto the train that will then zoom down the hill and over the edge of the ledge throwing the Leprechaun into a pot that has a layer of honey and chewed up bubble gum that will stick him to the bowel until morning.

Sounds like a plan ... but will it work?????

Oz The Great And Powerful

I have been anxiously awaiting this movie to get to the theaters and finally today is opening day!  The girls and I ventured out to see it and we were all excited!

Results are in ... it received four thumbs up and a foot!   We all loved it and can't wait to share it with daddy when it comes out on Blue Ray!

Girl Scout Cookie Booth Time

The girls and I met with our Troop Leader, Jessica, and her daughter Lily to run our Troop's cookie booth today at Gander Mountain Sporting Goods Store.  Despite the fact that we ran out of the most popular cookies fast, the girls still managed to sell 65 boxes and collected a dozen boxes for our charity, The Ronald McDonald House in Minneapolis.  

After working hard for 2 1/2 hours selling cookies, we stopped by Perkins and had breakfast for lunch!  The girls had french toast and bacon and eggs! 

7 Year Well Child Checks

Today the girls had their well child check ups with our favorite health care provider, Dr. Maus.  They both did beautifully on their hearing and vision screens and we had no issues whatsoever.  Alyssa lungs even sounded clear and her ear infection is cleared as well which is a big relief after the medical runs this past weekend.

Alyssa weighed 56 pounds (25.7 kg) and measured 53 inches (134.6 cm).
Madison weighed almost 44 pounds (19.8 kg) and measured 48 inches (121.9 cm).

So all in all, we have one tall and slender girl and one average height petite girl.  Both extremely healthy!

Here is to hoping we do not have to visit Dr. Maus for another whole year ...  :)