Halloween Preparations

This year's Halloween preparations were a little more involved than sometimes.  Since Olivia wanted to be Amelia Earhart, we decided to build her a plane.  Eric took the kids to work one Saturday to start the building process.  He built a very strong and sturdy model, complete with working propeller.  He spray painted it yellow so it would look like Amelia's plane, The Canary.  Livi helped out when she was able and it turned out super cute.

We put off the pumpkin carving until the night before Halloween.  The kids helped scoop the seeds and design the faces, while Eric and I did the carving.  Bring on Halloween - we're ready!

Seven

Dear Nolan,

Happy 7th Birthday, buddy!  You are such an AMAZING kid! I can't believe how big you're getting!  This year for your birthday, we took your besties and Grandpa Jim and Grandma Marcia out for a lunch at Culver's.  Daddy was gone because he was standing up in a wedding, but you definitely felt loved.  After lunch with your favorite people at your favorite restaurant, we went out to the cabin for some more fun.  We had tacos and all your grandparents, Grandma Ruby, and Tom and Sara came to celebrate with us.  You had your first ever ice cream cake.  When you found out the whole thing was made of ice cream, you were in disbelief and so unbelievably excited.  It was a great day.

You continue to wow us with your intelligence, bravery, and compassion.  You are such a sensitive and loving child and you make us so proud.  You love to learn new things and ask so many questions every day.  You are doing well in school and really excel at reading.  You are working hard at getting better at following directions.  At home, you are a good helper - you know to cook, unload the dishwasher, clear the table, take care of Miles, and do laundry.  You absolutely adore your baby brother and can't get enough of snuggling with him and playing with him.  You continue to love Pokémon and playing video games.  You like to read and have recently begun reading Harry Potter with Mom (which she is so excited about.) Dad continues to be your superhero and you admire him so much.  I love the special bond that you two share.  

Noli-Oli-Ravioli, you are fun and silly and so smart.  We couldn't possibly love you any more than we do.  Seven is going to be a great year!

All my love,

Mommy

Livi at CAVOC

I love it when I get to chaperone the kids' field trips, but on Olivia's first trip to CAVOC I had to miss out.  My lithotripsy procedure for my kidney stone was scheduled to be the day before, and I didn't envision feeling quite up to hanging out with 18 four year olds.  Our neighbor, Katie Kremer, was nice enough to send me some pictures of Livi and Alayna throughout the day.  It looked like they had a blast and I look forward to hopefully being able to join in next year!

Olivia Evelyn Goblin Frankenstein

This picture perfectly illustrates the reason we call our daughter a goblin... In fact, she often introduces herself as Olivia Evelyn Goblin Frankenstein Ory.  We are so proud.

Twin Cities Trip - Day Three

The third day of our trip was spent at the St. Paul Science Museum.  I remember going there when I was a kid and loving it, so I was excited to take the kids there.  It ended up being an amazing place for them.  There were hundreds of awesome displays and activities for them to try.  They were news anchors, put their face on an astronaut, pitched baseballs, and even outran a T-rex!  While we were there, we took them to an iMax movie called SuperDogs.  It was all about dogs who do amazing work to help people.  Our whole family loved it.

Afterwards, Grandma Jim and Grandma Marcia met us at Luke and Annalyse's house for a birthday celebration for Lucas and Nolan.  We had Caesar salad, wild rice soup, and focaccia, along with homemade apple crisp for dessert.

We had such a great time on our trip.  It was great to reconnect with Luke and Annalyse, and to get to spend a little more time with Everett.  The kids were really well behaved and we made some wonderful memories together as a family.  We can't wait for our next trip!

Twin Cities Trip - Day Two

Our second day of our trip was spent at the Mall of America and the Aquarium.  The kids were probably most excited about this day.  We had stopped by Nickelodeon Universe a year or so ago, and they couldn't wait to make a repeat appearance.  The kids each did a couple of rides and we visited Lego Land, as well as the Disney Store.  They loved it all!

After lunch at the food court, we headed downstairs to the Aquarium entrance.  We got our passes and went to line up to start our journey through the dark tanks when all of a sudden, I realized Olivia was missing.  I remember thinking to myself, "We are NOT those people.  This does NOT happen to us!" I was terrified.  I found a security guard who called on her radio that there was a child missing.  The terror I felt was unbelievable.  After a good 5-10 minutes (felt like 3 days...) little Livi came wandering back out of the entrance, looking so brave and trying not to cry.  She had slipped into the entrance when we weren't looking and was paralyzed in there because of the darkness and loud thunder noises for the rainforest display.  She is scared of thunder.  I was so relieved that I shed a few tears.  She wouldn't let me put her down for at least 3/4 of the walk through the aquariums.  I didn't mind holding her.  I was so glad she was safe.

The fish in the tanks were beautiful and impressive.  They even had some big sharks and an amazing sawfish, who was 8-10 feet long!  The jelly fish were beautiful, and the kids got a kick out of seeing the little Nemo clownfish.  But between the trauma of losing Livi and the loud elevator style music playing on repeat in the aquarium, we were more than ready to head back to Luke and Annalyse's.

Once we got back to their house we had more fun planned!  The kids got to spend some time in the hot tub, which they absolutely loved.  After dinner, we snuggled on their deck next to the fire and made some s'mores.  It was a wonderful, action-packed day!