The exciting life of Shanna and Brent, starring Audrey

Just The Three Of Us

2012-01-17T19:43:00.000-08:00

I imported my blog over to wordpress, so follow me at this new link:

http://shannaandbrent.wordpress.com/

I am still trying to figure it all out, but I think it transitioned pretty smoothly.

Hope to see you all at my new blog: Just the Three of Us!

What we have been up to

2012-01-15T18:39:00.000-08:00

Basically what we have been up to is playing Candyland, Candyland, and more Candyland. Audrey got it for Christmas and it's a must every day. It's the perfect game for her, I actually love it too!

We got an Ipad2 this week and I am having some problems with my blog on there, I can't upload pictures onto the blog from the Ipad. So, I am possibly going to start a new blog on Wordpress, I will see what I can find out about that. I'll fill you all in if I switch over.

First time skiing

2012-01-08T20:09:00.000-08:00

I know I already put these pictures on facebook, but I have to blog it too. Audrey had a blast skiing on Friday night with Brent. After the second time down she wondered when it would be time to go home. We were both bummed and then the next time down it all changed, we couldn't get her to go home. She just kept wanting to go down time after time. She was totally interested in all of the other skiers and snowboarders. One of her favorite things was riding the lift to the top. Brent took her up one of the big lifts and they came down a different hill besides the bunny hill and she loved it and said their was even room for me and Grandpa next time, ha.

The funniest thing was when we were in the rental shop and they were sizing her up for boots and skis and she got the boots and they were black and red and she said, "These are boys boots." Ha, I think she was expecting some pink ones.

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

2011-12-31T19:56:00.001-08:00

We have never been ones to whoop it up on New Years Eve, it was nice this year to hang out just the three of us at home. We had a blast playing Candy Land and Princess Dominos and eating nachos and little weiners, or as Audrey would say, "They are not weiners, they are hot dogs."

Lots happened in 2011:

Audrey turned 3, love this age!

Welcomed our new nephew Elliot!

Had a visit from Uncle Adam and Aunt April!

Had two vacations, one was the rainiest week of the summer and the other was the hottest week of the summer!

Audrey took swimming lessons for the first time!

Brent ran the Mankato half marathon!

I ran my first ever 5k!

Audrey went from awesome sleeper, to not so awesome sleeper!

We joined our new church and Audrey started Sunday School!

Audrey started Pre-School!

Brent and I celebrated 9 years of marriage, I think 10 years deserves something big!

We look forward to 2012 and the wonderful things this new year will bring!

Do you see what I see?

2011-12-23T20:39:00.000-08:00

Audrey got her ears pierced today!!!!!!

My mom always said, if Audrey wanted to get her ears pierced she would take her and get it done. Well, today we were at lunch with my parents and out of the blue Audrey said she wanted to get her ears pierced. We asked her again if she was sure and she said, "Let's Do It!"

Ornaments

2011-12-18T19:27:00.001-08:00

I remember blogging last year around Christmas about all the different ornaments on our tree. I thought this year I would do all the ornaments that relate to Audrey, it's amazing how many we have. I love them all!

This ornament we made last year for the grandparents, it was super frustrating, but finally turned out great. I was using the wrong paint and the snowmen hats and scarves kept peeling off.

Audrey got this cross in Sunday School today, she turned the "G" upside down:)

This was her ornament she made in school last year for Christmas.

She picked this out at Michaels this year while shopping, it was full of yummy candy.

My coworker Gene got Audrey this candy cane "A" this year. He loves getting Audrey presents at all holidays.

This is the gingerbread ornament Audrey painted in preschool this year, she wanted to keep it in the box she brought it home in, but I insisted on getting it on the tree.

Lefse Night

2011-12-17T19:20:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night we went over to Doug and Bev's and made some lefse while Audrey helped Grandpa Buddy(that is what she calls him now) build a gingerbread house. She totally didn't understand the gingerbread house at first, she thought it was going to be big enough to go inside it. So, after we were done putting it together she asked when it was going to grow, ha. We had a great time!

Turdologist?

2011-12-15T19:53:00.000-08:00

This ad came with our newspaper this morning. I guess I have never heard of anyone refer to themselves as a turdologist.

Fashion

2011-12-13T20:24:00.000-08:00

Lately I feel like when I go clothes shopping I come home empty handed. I remember a time when I could go to the mall and just buy, buy, buy. I don't know if I am just getting pickier with age or their are just no clothes out there for me. I could not find a thing to wear for my Christmas party a couple weeks ago so I just went with something I already own. Last weekend we went shopping for a new winter jacket for me and I didn't find a thing I liked. Wow, getting old rules!

Elf on the Shelf

2011-12-06T20:06:00.000-08:00

Brent and I went to a movie tonight and my mom came over and brought the Elf on the Shelf for Audrey. It's funny, I think it looks a little creepy in a way, so I was wondering what Audrey would think of it. I guess she told my mom they have him at school, ha. The story is, the Elf on the Shelf hangs out in your home until Christmas and watches if you are naughty or nice and reports to Santa every night, so every morning when Audrey wakes up he will be in a new place. First thing you are supposed to do it name your Elf, we have not done that yet. Maybe tomorrow he'll get a name:)

Audrey's Answers

2011-12-05T16:00:00.000-08:00

I asked Audrey a bunch of questions , I highly recommend doing this, we had a blast:

1. What is your favorite color? Purple

2. What is your favorite toy? ballerina, like Ariel (Isn't she a mermaid, ha)

3. What is your favorite fruit? colored fruit

4. What is your favorite tv show? Barney

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? hot dogs

6. What is your favorite outfit? princess outfit

7. What is your favorite game? big chalkboard game (I have no idea what this is)

8. What is your favorite snack? fruit snacks, like Spiderman and Spongebob!

9. What is your favorite animal? bunny

10. What is your favorite song? Mr. Grinch (we have listened to it over and over on youtube)

11. What is your favorite book? Animal book

12. Who is your best friend? Alexis

13. What is your favorite cereal? princess cereal

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play in the snow

15. What is your favorite drink? water

16. What is your favorite holiday? singing

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? stuffed animals

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? oatmeal

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? pizza

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Shrek, and then Donkey (we were all laughing hysterically with this answer, she wanted to make sure we knew she wanted to be Shrek first, then Donkey)

Audrey's First Trip to the Dentist

2011-11-29T19:21:00.001-08:00

She doesn't look scared one bit does she? This was after they tried doing x-rays on a 3 year old, why would they do that. This was her first trip to the dentist, she has no idea what going to the dentist involves. I thought that was weird. But , after that whole scare (no, they didn't get any x-rays) Audrey was awesome and let them clean all of her teeth. She was sooooo excited afterwards when she got to pick out a brand new princess toothbrush and sparkly toothpaste. Lets hope for happier teeth brushing from now on!

Audrey kept pretending tonight she was the dentist and putting a washcloth over her face for the mask and putting gloves on, too funny.

A lot alike

2011-11-28T13:28:00.000-08:00

Angelina Jolie Always Wanted to be a- Funeral Director

Angelina Jolie's success in Hollywood means she doesn't need a backup plan. But she had one once: to become funeral director.

"It sounds like this very strange, eccentric, dark thing to do but in fact I lost my grandfather and was very upset with his funeral," she said during an interview on 60 Minutes Sunday night. "How somebody passes and how family deals with this passing and what death is should be addressed in a different way. If this whole acting thing didn't work out that was going to be my path." But it did work out, and now the Oscar winner is promoting her directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey, which is set to be released in the U.S. on Dec. 23. In her interview with CBS's Bob Simon on 60 Minutes, Jolie, 36, spoke about various topics, including her dark past.

I always knew that Angelina and I were pretty similiar, ha, but why do people think being a funeral director is a really strange, eccentric, dark thing to do? I never thought that when going to school.

Getting Into The Christmas Spirit

2011-11-27T19:11:00.000-08:00

We spent our weekend getting into the Christmas spirit. Saturday morning we went tree shopping with Grandpa and Grandma Wood, it was lots of fun. We have a fake tree at our house, so it's still nice to enjoy the fun of going on the hunt for the perfect tree. I think Doug's quote of the day was, "Shanna, I am glad your taste in men is better than your taste in trees!" So, I think you can figure out that we didn't go with the tree I picked.

Saturday afternoon we decked out our house for the holidays, it's looking great. Audrey has a blast decorating the Christmas tree and going through all the boxes trying to find her stocking.

Today we got together with my mom and grandma and baked some holiday goodies. It was a success.

It was so much fun watching Audrey go through each individual ornament, she got sooo excited about each one. She tends to group her ornaments all in one area of the tree. She did the same thing last year. Multiple ornaments on one branch:)

Audrey had a big job of opening caramels for making turtles, do I see one in her mouth? Sneaky!

Audrey goes a little heavy on the decor on her cookies.

So proud of her decorating skills.

Thankful

2011-11-24T19:15:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving today with Brent's family and my family. We had lunch out at the lake and Audrey got some cousin Sebby time. It was so incredibly nice outside and they really had a blast playing on the slide and in the sand. We enjoyed supper with my parents and Audrey was pretty much worn out at the end of the day.

Elliot pretty much chewed on his hands all day, except when he was sleeping:)

"I saw Christmas!"

2011-11-21T20:12:00.000-08:00

Audrey and I went to the mall tonight and we were walking past Santa's Workshop and Santa was sitting there waving at Audrey and she pointed him out to me and was just staring. We have never taken her to sit on Santa's lap before so I didn't know what she would think of him. After we walked past, she said to me in a super cute little voice, "I just saw Christmas back there!"

Silly Fun

2011-11-16T19:50:00.000-08:00

Sick days! Audrey has been home from daycare the last two days with a bad cough and fever. You would never know it from these pictures, we were having fun while she was doing puzzles tonight. I kept telling her to give me her crazy face, these are what I got. Lets hope tomorrow comes and she is fever free:)

Oh No You Didn't!

2011-11-10T16:53:00.000-08:00

I sooooooo listened to Christmas music in my car today, ha! I was flipping through cds and accidentally put in the Christmas one and kept it in:) I love it, I am so excited to decorate the tree this year with Audrey, last year was fun so I can only imagine what this year will be like.

Polka Dancing Dan

2011-11-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

I completely forgot to blog Brent's Halloween costume, he borrowed my dad's polka dancing get up (sorry dad, hope you are not offended), but Brent did pull off a 3rd place win at work for the costume contest. I think it had lots to do with the polka music he downloaded on his phone and came hopping into work with.

Trick or Treating

2011-10-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

Audrey's friend Alexis and her mom and dad came over tonight for pizza and a little trick or treating. The girls had a blast, they had to mention to everyone about their tails, it was hilarious. Glad the girls had similiar costumes to share in the fun!

Pumpkin Carving Party

2011-10-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

Today we had a pumpkin carving party at a friends house. A bunch of Audrey's friends from school were at the party, it was a blast. I think the parents did most of the carving, but Audrey definately did her share of helping. We had a great time!

Here is Brent getting started cutting the top off the pumpkin.

Here is Natalie all ready for pumpkin carving, doesn't everyone wear a helmet to carve pumpkins?

Audrey digging right in!

Alexis playing with pumpkin guts

Audrey kept stirring the guts in the bowl and saying she was making muffins. We have been making lots of muffins lately and she has been helping me.

Audrey and Gwenyth eyeing the snack table

Finished product, nice job Dad!

The whole gang and their pumpkins

Gwenyth and Audrey chose to just sit on their pumpkins

Let me take your picture

2011-10-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

Audrey has been wanting to take my picture lately. She needs a little work, but is getting better.

I wanted to take Audrey's picture tonight, check out the cute way of keeping her bangs out of her face, it took a lot of convincing for her to let me do this. She is very independant and likes to disagree with my ideas lately.

2011 Wood Salsa Competition

2011-10-16T18:44:00.001-07:00

Another great year for the Wood Salsa Competition. Doug won the 6th Annual Competition for the first time, with a little "In Your Face" attitude. It was all good fun, some great salsas this year. It was lots of fun and it was great to have my brother and April here this year from Washington, April came in 2nd and the rule was if they won they were having the contest next year in Washington.

Doug with the winning trophy

Lucy and Audrey enjoying a little bouncy ball fun, these two were awesome all day, had a blast together. Audrey was so worn out after so much activity today.

Adam and April

Heidi, Keith, and Bonnie

After the party we felt the need to get this chick outside for some fun, I hear it's going to get cooler this week so it was only right to get outside and play.

Swimming with the Mavericks

2011-10-10T20:13:00.000-07:00

Audrey is getting so much braver in the water ever since we started her swimming lessons this fall. She takes lessons at Minnesota State and the women's swim team coaches the kids. I love it for the one on one attention the kids get. She feels really comfortable with her teacher and has come a long way. Brent says she already is a better swimmer than him, ha.

Weekend

2011-10-09T20:49:00.001-07:00

Saturday Brent tried taking Audrey to the Corn Maze in Montgomery and when they got there Audrey would not get out of the van and wanted nothing to do with going through the corn maze. So, it just turned into a great drive while Audrey napped. Bummer, she has no idea the fun she was missing.

Today Audrey went to Sunday School and then her and I went over to her friend Natalie's house for the Vikings game. Her family invites friends over every Sunday during the game. It's a perfect chance for Audrey to play with her friends. Today the girls got Vikings pedicures during the game. Natalie's mom Jenny always provides the best game day food. It's incredible.

After the game we went with Grandma Julie to get our fall pumpkins. Audrey had a blast picking out pumpkins, except she tends to like the ones with all the lumps all over them, ha. Audrey and I spent a good 45 minutes wearing ourselves out at the park before meeting up with Grandma Julie and Grandpa Dan for pizza at Boomtown.

Funny story from the park:

Audrey: Stay there mom, I am going to work now.

Me: Where do you work?

Audrey: At the clinic

Me: What do you do there?

Audrey: Eat candy

Me: What is your job at the clinic?

Audrey: Play Hide and Seek and eat candy

This girl cracks me up, her stories are amazing.

Mom, I found some corn!

Any advice friends? We are trying to grow out Audrey's bangs, they are insane and her Preschool picture day is in a week, what can I do with them, they are pretty thick?

Night out Bowling

2011-10-08T20:13:00.001-07:00

We had a little bowling outing tonight with Heidi and Lucy. The girls had a good time bowling! Every time Audrey would pick up her ball, she would grunt and makes noises the whole time she carried it to the ramp. She only dropped it a few times, whoopsie.

They spent a lot of time dancing around while waiting for their turn again.

Every time Audrey would roll the ball down the lane, she would turn around and not even watch it. I guess it's all over once you let go of the ball.

All Things Loved

2011-10-05T20:25:00.001-07:00

I am really loving metal wall art, I just can't seem to find the perfect piece for my home.

I love this time of year for the yummy pumpkin lattes.

We got a sleep number bed in August and are loving it, the whole king sizedness of it. By the way, my sleep number is 40 and Brent's is 50, that isn't tmi is it?

Love the colors outside right now, I drove out of town last weekend and absolutely loved the drive, the colors are beautiful.

I love it so much that Audrey is just like Brent in photos, eyes closed. I love it, but makes it hard to get a great picture of the two of us.

Let Me Read to You!

2011-10-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

Audrey loves reading to us lately, she even has to be professional and get out the stool! I absolutely love listening to her version of the story, short and sweet.

Camping and Mud Run

2011-09-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

Brent and Audrey enjoyed a night out in the backyard last night camping. We had a campfire and then they headed into the tent for story time. The minute they got into the tent Audrey was ready to come into the house to sleep in her bed. Brent talked her into staying all night in the tent. I woke up at 7a.m. and couldn't believe they were still out there sleeping. She made it all night! After lunch she was ready to head back out to the tent to sleep, ha.

Brent participated in the first Mankato Mud Run today. In Brent's words, "It was a challenge." Here he is post race with Audrey.

Trip to the Vet

2011-09-20T20:30:00.000-07:00

Today was an interesting day at the Wood house. It was the annual trip to the Vet for Tina and Thor. It's a horrible experience for the cats, they absolutely hate it. They can't even go in the same kennel anymore because once you open the door to put the other cat in the other one gets out. Brent decided he would take Audrey with him becuase she seemed interested in going to the "animal doctor." I offered to go along, but Brent said they would be fine. Brent was trying to get Thor into his kennel and he was not cooperating and he jumped out of his arms and took off. This is when Audrey just started crying and was freaked out. Brent sent her up to her room to hang out while he rounded up the cats. They were finally on the road to the vet and the cats cry and cry and cry the entire trip there. They got into their appointment and Tina had pooped and peed all over in her kennel so they had to go back and wash her. So, they got Thor out of his kennel and he hissed at the vet and so Audrey started bawling then too, so Brent had to take her out of the room. Both cats were ready to go and Brent was paying for everything when Audrey was looking into Tina's kennel and saw poop. So, out Tina went again for a bath so she didn't have to lay in her poop the whole ride home. The minute Audrey walked into the house when they got home she had to tell me all about Tina peeing and pooping all over. Brent asked her if she was going to go with next year and her answer was, YES!!!! Sounds like a good time to me!

Fashionista

2011-09-18T19:34:00.000-07:00

Audrey is totally into picking out her outfits again. We went all summer with actually matching out shorts to our shirts , but something about the fall really brings out her sense of fashion.

Audrey got a nightgown that came with one to match her baby and she put in on "creepy" Baby. She has tons of baby dolls and lately she has been playing a lot with this beauty.

Perfect Camping Weather

2011-09-11T19:53:00.001-07:00

Last night was the perfect night for camping. We went out to Bray Park and visited my parents at the campground and had supper with them. Audrey had a blast and my parents got her all sugared up and sent her home with us. She was crazy and talked a mile a minute the whole way home.

This is me realizing my bread is sticking to the top of the piemaker, not cool.

I think Audrey is enjoying her pie. We looked over at her at the picnic table and she was just putting spoonfuls of sugar on top of her pie before we noticed.

Gorgeous sunset from the dock

Book Time

2011-09-08T20:29:00.001-07:00

Weezer Concert, Family Time, Apple Farm

2011-09-07T20:17:00.000-07:00

Can you beleive I took no pictures this past weekend, how boring. It was such a nice long weekend to have off of work.

Saturday Brent and I headed to the State Fair for the Weezer Concert, it was such a great day for the fair. We went up early to check things out and it was so nice and relaxing, if you can beleive it on a Saturday at the Minnesota State Fair. I am not sure what was my favorite part: the proposal at the bmx track, the horse trailer race at the colliseum, or the little 10 year old girl with her dad at the Weezer concert. I wasn't sure if the dad came with the girl or the girl came with her dad, they both were having a blast and I couldn't help but think to the future when Audrey and Brent will be hitting up concerts together, ha, it was tooo cute!

Sunday we got to spend the morning with Cousin Seb and Elliot and Curt and Christine. They came down for breakfast with the Wood Family, it was fun. Audrey and Sebastian have so much fun together, they were running around like crazy. Their favorite game was playing "Nite, Nite". They would just race into the bedroom and pretend to go to sleep and just scream and squeal with excitement, hey, whatever it takes.

Monday we headed up to Jim's Apple Farm near Jordan and checked out all the candy at Minnesota's biggest candy store and ended up with some Hello Kitty jelly beans and a carmel apple for me, yummy. Brent and I ended the weekend with a date night. Audrey had a good time with Grandma Julie while we were out.

Cousins

2011-09-01T19:28:00.001-07:00

Audrey and I went and visited Christine, Sebastian and Elliot today. It was tons of fun, Audrey and Seb had a blast playing and just running around being crazy. Sebastian wanted to be everywhere that Audrey was, even in the bathroom:) They got along so well, it was really nice. It was fun chatting with Christine and watching Elliot sleep, being a newborn is hard work.

They loved using all of the noisy toys, but nothing interupts Elliot's sleep, he can sleep through anything.

Audrey was cleaning up after Sebastian, he tore through his diaper bin and then took off running, ha.

Audrey Update

2011-08-31T13:36:00.000-07:00

Audrey has been so hilarious lately, I just have to document some of these things for my own memory. She tells stories all the time that make us wonder sometimes does she know what she is talking about or is she making this up.

~We were out on a family run the other night and we went a couple miles and I asked Brent if he wanted to keep on going so we continued on and Audrey said, "Mom, you are a running machine."

~I was getting Audrey ready for bed and she was looking at my hair and said, "Mom, you have some white hairs." Thanks Audrey!

~Now that she is riding her big girl bike she wants to ride a lot, her and Brent went on an epic bike ride the other day and ended up getting too far away from home. Audrey told Brent, "Dad, I am worn out."

~She has been so cute lately and always telling us "I love you soooo much!" and hugging and kissing on us all the time, we love it!

~Audrey loves cicada bugs, she picks them up all the time (dead ones of course) and keeps a little collection of them on the bricks out front, it's really kind of gross.

~Brent was pulling the van into the garage and Audrey asked him, why does mom hit the snowblower when she drives in. She totally tattled on me!

~She is obsessed with the word butt right now, everything is "tooty butt" this and "tooty butt" that. It's hard not to laugh at it, but we try our best to not encourage her.

Big Girl Bike

2011-08-28T20:01:00.001-07:00

Just when we put up pictures of Audrey learning to pedal her little three wheeler, she asked to get out her big girl bike. She took off like a pro and has been riding all over town all weekend long. She needs a little work when it comes to braking, a lot of times she just rolls down the street and hits the curb to stop, kind of scary. But we are so proud of her, she looks like such a big girl on her bike.

Latest Happenings

2011-08-22T19:52:00.001-07:00

It's been busy around here, most exciting of all is the birth of our new nephew and Audrey's cousin, Elliot. We got to go up and meet him on Sunday, he is super cute! He was 9lbs 12 ounces, but yet seemed so much smaller than Audrey when she was born. He is super long and skinny. I thought Audrey would be more interested in the baby, but she was just having too much fun with Sebastian.

Other happening, Audrey has been giving piano lessons to her new baby, DeeDee.

Finally Audrey has mastered pedaling her three wheeler. It was really frustrating to teach her how to do it, she is not ok with us telling her how to do something. She is determined to figure it out herself. We are so proud of her! Maybe now we can move on to the big girl bike:)

She freaked out Grandpa plenty to times cruising down the driveway, it's time to break out the helmet.

Audrey and Sebastian hanging out , you can see Elliot in the background, that is about the only picture I got on Sunday, bummer.

Today Audrey and I went with Grandpa and Grandma Wood to Cascade Bay in Eagan and met up with Randy, Rachel, Brianne, Lucy, Emily and Richard and had a blast going down waterslides and playing in the pool for hours.

Audrey even went down this orange slide twice, we were pretty impressed.

Reptile Zoo

2011-08-16T13:03:00.000-07:00

Brent, Audrey and Bev went to the Reptile Zoo in Owatonna on Saturday. I guess it was fun, but kind of expensive for the amount of time it took to get through the zoo and the atmosphere. Bev thought they could spice up the look of the place a little and Brent said it only took an hour to go through. But, overall, Audrey liked it and even got to hold an alligator. I couldn't beleive it when they told me, but I did think they actually were talking real live alligators too.

3 Years

2011-08-14T20:23:00.001-07:00

Heidi took Audrey's 3 year pictures a couple weeks ago and Audrey was so good and hilarious the entire photo shoot. I knew having pictures this year would be sooo much different than last year. Last year she was just go, go, go and this year she likes getting her picture taken and actually asks us all the time to take her picture and even likes to pose. It was really fun!

Just for fun, Audrey wanted to show her big lip!

Audrey Funnies

2011-08-09T13:59:00.000-07:00

Last night my mom and I and Audrey went to the Y's Club Corn Roast and were driving to the park afterwards and we came upon a road that was closed, Audrey said, "I am impressed the road is closed." My mom and I were laughing so hard, it's hilarious to me that she used such a big word and that it didn't totally fit into the sentence, all the more funny.

I got to take Audrey to school this morning and her friend Alexis saw her and said, "Audge, Audge, come over here, do you want to play with one of my horses." I love that her best friend has a nickname for her and came up with it all on her own.

Sweet Corn Days

2011-08-06T19:31:00.001-07:00

We took a short trip down to Estherville, IA for Sweet Corn Days and stayed at Mindy's parents house, they were soooooo good to us while we were there. We were taken care of that is for sure. This morning I ran the 5k and Brent and Jon ran the 10k, "Run for the Cob." In Brent and Jon's age group, Jon finished first and Brent finished second. We were so proud of them.

After running we headed off to the parade and the kids were pumped. Audrey kept telling us the whole time, "I need more candy." We just about had finished off our 4th of July parade candy and now we have a whole new bag, ugghhhhh.

As soon as the parade is done it's time for free sweet corn, you would think it would be so caotic with insane lines, but it actually works really slick and we all enjoyed some great food. After lunch Natalie and Audrey enjoyed a little time in Bounch Land.

This was the best picture I could get of the three kids hanging out on the couch. Audrey and Natalie kept pretending to take a nap, ha and Harvey thought he could just lay right in the middle and all would be cool.

The two studs!

Hanging at the parade

I love this sign for the sweet corn "Butter Alley"

Yummy corn

Mindy, Anna, Brenda and me, we all went to school together in Estherville

Enjoyed one of the bounce houses

Check out that hair!

Tinkerbell

2011-07-31T19:54:00.000-07:00

This is Audrey's Halloween costume from 2 Halloween's ago, it was a little snug, but she wanted to keep it on, it was too funny! I have a hard time remembering back to when she actually wore this costume and it fit her.

This is how happy she was pretending to be Tinkerbell!

Screaming Child

2011-07-27T09:18:00.001-07:00

I was recently sitting in the lobby of the urgent care and their was a screaming child (approximately 2 years old). The mother could do nothing to make this child stop screaming, she walked around with her, held her, passed her off to others that were with her. Several people waiting in the lobby were getting really annoyed by this child. I sat there and thought to myself, before I had Audrey I would have been extremely annoyed by this small child screaming and the parent "not doing anything about it." At one point, a lady that had been waiting got up to leave and mumbled to herself, "All I needed was to come to Urgent Care to remind myself why I never had kids in the first place." It goes to show you how others just have no idea what it's like to have a child going through a tantrum and feeling helpless at the time.

I felt really bad for this mother, she had several kids in the waiting area and they were there for one of the kids to get checked for an ear infection. She was at her wits end and said I will give them 5 more minutes for us to get called back before we are leaving. I started to feel really bad for the kid with the ear infection thinking he wouldn't get treated because his little sister was being so naughty.

All of a sudden a woman walked in with her 10 year old daughter to be seen for an ear infection also and the mother could sense this woman was totally flustered and just went over and said hi to them and asked the little girl if she wanted to color and just whipped out a pen and paper out of her purse and just took over the situation and talked to the girl for probably 20 more minutes until the little boy was finally called back to see the doctor. This woman totally saved this frazzled mother from leaving the clinic.

I thought this was so awesome that this stranger just totally saved the day. It was really cool.

Audrey Funny

2011-07-25T19:25:00.000-07:00

Audrey got a blister on her foot today at school and we were riding in the car on the way home from the mall and Audrey said, "I need to see a new doctor." I asked her if she needed to see Dr. Williams and she said, "No, Doctor Foot."

Chicago

2011-07-24T19:54:00.001-07:00

Brent and I had a really great time in Chicago. The one downfall was the extreme heat, wow, it was really hot, but other than that it was just nice to get away for a few days just the two of us. It was great to sleep in, not have a schedule, and just do whatever we wanted when we wanted. We went to a movie, Horrible Bosses, which was awesome.

Tuesday we went to Six Flags and enjoyed some rollar coasters, but determined we are getting old and did not enjoy the amusement park as much as we once did. The heat maybe played into it a little bit. I remember complaining the whole time during one rollar coaster that it was the most horrible ride ever made and I couldn't beleive they could operate this it was so bad. I think I need to see a chiropractor after that ride. Some of the rides were really really fun!

Wednesday we spent the day in Chicago since our hotel was actually in a suburb of Chicago. It was fun to walk around downtown and check out some stores. We went to the top of the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), 103 stories high. It was crazy. We enjoyed some good Chicago style deep dish pizza. I think we walked about 12 miles downtown.

Thursday we just spent the day hanging out until later in the day when we went to Cirque dus Oleil-OVO, which was awesome. Thursday was the hottest day in Chicago, at one point the temperature in the van read 116. It was miserably hot.

It was soooo much fun to get away, but man did we miss Audrey. We have never both been gone and left her for that long. She had a blast with both sets of grandparents and was actually kind of bummed when we returned, ha. She was spoiled and has been telling us stories all weekend about her week.

I forgot my watch and absolutely could not go without for a week, so we hit up the dollar store and I scored this awesome purple watch for you guessed it, $1.

One evening we walked along Lake Michigan, it was a really nice night.

Brent out on the skydeckk at the top of the Willis Tower. I couldn't even do it!

So ready to eat some pizza at Lou Malnati's after walking so far on Wednesday.

Brent on the SeaDog boat, we were on it for about 5 minutes when they told us we wouldn't be able to go on the ride because of some problems they were having. Not cool.

This cat cracked me up at a rest stop on the way home. You just don't often see a cat in a vehicle.

Big girl room

2011-07-17T19:57:00.001-07:00

I know right, Audrey is 3 and we are just putting her into a big girl bed. It's just been too good to be true. She never tried to get out of her crib and she slept pefectly from very early on. Last Sunday we finally got her big girl bed ready to go. I painted the bed frame we have had in our spare bedroom from brown to ivory and let her pick out her own bedding. She absolutely loves zebra print and wanted the walls pink. My mom painted her room on Saturday while she was gone and it's super bright pink. I love it and can't wait to decorate the walls and find some fun new curtains.

The transition wasn't as easy as we were hoping for. The first night did not help since it was storming, she woke up a few times and wanted us. Now she is absolutely loving her new bed and likes just hanging out in it whenever she can:)

Here is a picture of Audrey's new room. If you don't remember, her old room was blue. It was time to be girly!

2011-07-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

Party Time!

2011-07-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Audrey's third Birthday on Saturday in Hello Kitty and Dora fashion. She just couldn't decide what she wanted for her party, every time I would ask her, she wanted Hello Kitty, Dora, Map, Backpack, and on and on and on. She is too funny. She was so excited for her party and asked all morning if it was time yet for her party. She had a blast and wants to thank everyone for coming and for the cool gifts. We started off the day with breakfast at the Wagon Wheel, it's kind of the way we all like to start out our birthdays. Audrey's birthday is actually Monday but we did all of our celebrating Saturday.

Natalie and Audrey at the kids table:)

I think Natalie looks like she is about 10 here, love it!

This was the second go around with the candles, we could hardly get them all lit the first time before Audrey had them all blown out. She loved everyone singing to her.

I love how interested the other girls are with the gift opening. I also love how Natalie is still wearing her party hat. Audrey refused to wear her hat at all.

Sooooo excited for a brand new tutu.

The Hello Kitty pinata.

I think it was all the kids first pinata, it was really really fun, I loved it. They did really well with sharing all the candy and toys. It was pretty impressive.

Audrey had a blast and was completely exhausted by the time everyone left. I think she was actually telling people to leave so she could nap, ha.

Fun Days

2011-07-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

Last night we met up with three of Audrey's best friends from daycare at Fun Days in North Mankato. The girls had a blast going on rides and hanging out together. They were so excited to see each other outside of school. It was lots of fun for us parents to hang out too!

Not easy to get all four girls to pose for a picture. Gwenyth, Natalie, Alexis and Audrey
Audrey, Gwenyth, and Alexis are all just a week apart and Natalie is just a couple months older.

Showing off their wristbands.

Audrey couldn't wait to go on the train, thank goodness their was one. Every time I told Audrey we were going to the carnival, she wanted to ride the train:)

Natalie and Audrey enjoying the slide with their dads.

Beeping the horn on the motorcycle.

I got to enjoy the maze with the girls.

Natalie and Audrey on the alligator rollar coaster. This ride was actually pretty fast and all the girls just loved it.

The last ride of the night, I think Audrey was exhausted by now.

Hooray for the 4th of July!

2011-07-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today was a fun day, we had so much going on, but Audrey was awesome and just had a blast all day. We started things off with the St. Peter Parade with Heidi, Jason and Lucy, it was good, but really really hot, no shade. The girls were awesome and even shared candy. Audrey really surprised us and didn't want any of her candy until she got home, wow, what a change from last year when the girls were so hyped up on sugar by the end of the parade.

After the parade my coworker Blake had a party at his home in St. Peter and we went there for a bit. Audrey needed a nap before the barbecue in the afternoon at Brent's uncle Randy's place, so we left and she had an incredibly short nap and then off to Randy's for swimming, fireworks and great food! We had a fun filled day in the sun.

Not a bad look for Brent!

Great-Grandpa even showed up for the barbecue.

Squirt gun fun!

Fun in the pool with Sebastian

Audrey could not get enough of the pool, here she is hanging out with Richard having water fights. I think Audrey finally got out of the pool around 8.

A very fun day, but exhausting.

4th of July, Golden Heart style

2011-07-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

This is Audrey and her friend Natalie at the Golden Heart Parade today!

Pretend

2011-06-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

Lately Audrey has really gotten into pretending, it's awesome to watch her imagination working in overdrive to come up with the things she does. Last night she was making tootsie rolls in her swimming pool with a bucket of water and then she brings them to us and we eat them. I asked her to stop dumping all the water out of the pool and she looked and me and said very seriously, "But, I am making tootsie rolls, do you want some?"

Brainerd 2011

2011-06-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

The week has come and gone, it's nice to be home again, but I really am not ready to go back to work tomorrow. We had a good time in Brainerd again this year with my parents. The weather could have been nicer, but the last couple days were really nice, so it made up for the two days prior that we were stuck indoors due to the rain. Days can get long with Audrey cooped up in a little cabin. We were thankful for the indoor pool at the resort on those days.

One rainy day we went into Baxter and hit up an indoor water park. Audrey was so brave this year going down waterslides all by herself and just loving it. We couldn't get enough of that smile on her face every single time she came down.

Us ladies went into Nisswa one day and did some serious shopping, although I didn't buy a thing except for chocalate at the Chocolate Ox, can't resist that. Brent started his marathon training while up in Brainerd and I ran with him for a couple of his 3 mile runs, it was great.

Our last day there was absolutely perfect weather, so we enjoyed it to the fullest. I am still suffering from being out in the sun too long:)

We returned from Brainerd just in time for the North Mankato Triathlon where Brent did an awesome job. I did the bike portion of a relay, it was really, really fun. I am thinking I should try the whole thing next year.

I couldn't help but post this picture, this swim suit is too cute!

My mom and I drinking wine in our fanciest glasses we could find! I am not a real wine person, but I read somewhere about this cheap wine called flip-flop wine and it's pretty good, you should try it if you like wine.

Hitting up the indoor pool, Audrey loved it there until Thursday when she fell while running and skinned up her knee.

Guys turn at the dishes!

Enjoying a little chocolate ice cream.

Grandma had enough sitting inside on a rainy day, she forced Audrey out to stomp in puddles.

Audrey developed some sort of cheesy smile for pictures while on vacation, this is what she does when I tell her to smile:) I hope we can get some decent pictures of her this summer, we are ready for her 3 year pics.

I don't really remember what is going on here, but I know she was watching Tinkerbell.

Finally warm enough to go in the lake. It was absolutely freezing, but I think kids don't even notice.

We loved to walk out on the dock, the nice thing is she could probably still touch bottom at the end of the dock, it's very shallow for a long way out.

Audrey's favorite thing to do on the dock.

We rode our bikes into Nisswa on Friday to get some ice-cream.

Enjoying our ice-cream in the gazebo.

Brent and I kyaking on Friday.

Another one of those cheesy smiles:)

Audrey kept hauling water in her bucket and pouring it into a hole she made in the sand. Kept her busy for a long time.

Audrey's first attempt at fishing, her main goal was to catch a bug.

Thanks Mom and Dad for a great time at the cabin!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T20:58:00.000-07:00

Audrey wants to wish her Daddy a Happy Father's Day! I couldn't ask for a better husband and dad for Audrey, she absolutely adores him. They get to spend so much one on one time together when I am working, she is one lucky girl:)

This picture is up in Brainerd last summer and we are heading up to the very same cabin tomorrow for the week, we are sooo ready for a vacation!

Peace out

All Things Loved, special edition "Audrey"

2011-06-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

Their are sooooo many things I want to remember about Audrey right now, so I am just going to randomly list things that I am absolutely loving about this stage in Audrey's life:

-Her love for dresses, basically her whole fashion sense.

-The way she licks her lips if some food misses her mouth.

-When she brushes her hair out of her face

-The way she says chapstick, "scap lips"

-When she gives us hugs and kisses before bed and always needs to add in a nose rub

-The fact that is upsets her when Tina (the cat) is in the bathroom if she needs to use it.

-She will hold hands with her friends but not with mom or dad

-The way she reads books to herself, it's amazing how much she can remember and how she recaps everything on the pages

-Her awesome questions: "Why do we have 2 hands?", "Why am I all white?". Then she made a very valid point, "I have 2 hands, 2 feet, and one butt."

One Nice Day

2011-06-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the nicest day of the weekend, wow, I thought it was supposed to be nice all weekend. We started off the day on Saturday running the 5k in Janesville for Haydaze. It was the perfect morning for a run, Brent ran with me and pushed Audrey in the jogger, it was great! Audrey felt awesome being in a race and this older man next to us at the start leaned down and told Audrey, "Just think, you will cross the finish line ahead of your dad!" It was pretty cute:)

I went shopping with Heidi in the afternoon, which is always good. It's not often we get to hang just the two of us without the girls. Then Brent, Audrey and I went over to Owatonna Saturday evening and visited my parents and aunt and uncle at the campground. We had supper with them and just hung out by the fire. It was nice and relaxing.

Three Amigos

2011-06-10T10:19:00.000-07:00

Today is graduation from the toddler room at daycare for Audrey and her best pals, Alexis and Gwenyth. They are all three moving together to preschool on Monday. I am so happy they get to move together, they are the best of buds.

I hope it's a good transition on Monday. They have a bit more structure in preschool, which I think Audrey is totally ready for. She has been getting to spend time over there off and on for different activities, so I think it will be ok.

Last week she spent the morning over there and then they started setting up the cots for nap time in preschool and one of the teachers looked over and Audrey just had tears rolling down her cheeks and they said "Audrey what is wrong?", and she said "I don't want to nap over here." So, I am worried about her naps at first, but I don't think it will take long to get it all down.

All Things Loved

2011-06-09T08:45:00.000-07:00

Lately all things loved have a lot to do with the summer, first of all I am loving flip flops. It's so easy to slip them on and head out, Audrey is also digging the flip flop look. She seems so grown up to have flip flops without a strap in the back:)

I have a serious addiction in the summer and that is cookie dough blizzards from Dairy Queen!

We are thinking it's time to upgrade our pool at home from the little circle plastic pool with fishies on it to this blow-up pool, it's called the "family pool". Sounds perfect, we can all hang out in it. We figured now is a better time than any while our lawn is a mess and we could care less if we flatten the grass.

I love the On the Go packets of lemonade in the summer, so refreshing!

Yummy

2011-06-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

Brent made an awesome supper tonight and even took pictures of his step by step process. It was really easy, but lots of prep time. it was two crescent rolls, one layed out on the pan in a circle.

Then he grilled 3 chicken breasts and shredded them and mixed them with diced tomatoes, mozarella cheese, sour cream, taco seasoning, and lime juice.

After he spread the mixture on top of the first layer of crescent rolls, then he topped it off with a second set of crescent rolls and walla. It was really tasty.

Then we cooled down with some cherry slushies, Audrey loved it.

First Date

2011-06-05T19:39:00.001-07:00

Friday night we hung out with Audrey's best friend from school, Alexis and her mom and dad. It reminded me a lot of a first date, we really didn't know these people, although our daughters get to spend all day with each other during the week. We went to Sibley Park and checked out the animals and they held hands most of the time and Alexis started calling Audrey, "Audg", it was hilarious. Then we went and had ice cream afterwards, the girls were so excited to hang out together outside of school. They had a blast. Ever since Audrey and Alexis have been old enough to crawl they have always been drawn to each other at daycare. Their teachers have said how unique it is when kids bond at such a young age. They have been friends from the beginning, it's pretty cool!

Action Packed Weekend

2011-05-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

We had a busy weekend. Saturday Brent and I headed to Redwood Falls for my coworker Jeff's wedding. Audrey stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Wood. She kept asking Saturday morning when she got to go over to their house, so we knew she was excited to spend the night with them. I did my internship in Redwood Falls, so before the wedding we met my old coworker Nathan and his wife Val for lunch at the Golf Club, it was a great time catching up.

The wedding was so eventful it's hard to even explain everything, from the sound system going crazy at the wedding to the bridesmaid fainting, it was seriously action packed. We had a great time at the reception at Jackpot Junction and even enjoyed a little gambling. It was nice to have a night away, it's been a while. We are very happy for Jeff and Brandy, she was seriously a gorgeous bride.

Here is the happy couple leaving the church!

My coworkers Ben and Jack at the church

Hanging out at the reception.

Last night we went to Chaska to a barbecue and Curt and Christines house and I failed to take any pictures. Audrey and Sebastian had a blast running around chasing each other, Audrey was worn out and slept the entire way home.

Meet Sanzel, Audrey's new baby doll. Yes, she was uppie free for the week, so after the big play on Thursday we went to the store and she picked out this beauty. She is really into reading to us lately and even holds the book out to show us the pages. We are thinking "teacher" in her future.

Brent ran in the Kato 10K today and did an awesome job!

My friend Erika ran today also, I didn't get a picture of her running during the race so she reinacted it:) I am doing the North Mankato Triathlon at the end of June as a relay, Erika is swimming, I am biking and another friend of hers is running. Stay tuned for how that goes.

While we were waiting for Brent to finish the race we hung out with Heidi and Lucy at the park. It was a really really warm day today, wow.

The girls had a blast playing together, it's been too long!

Pinkalicious

2011-05-26T20:23:00.001-07:00

We met Mindy and Natalie up in Hopkins today at Stages Theater for the showing of "Pinkalicious" It was so much fun. The perfect play for little kids, it was an hour long. We bought this book last week and have been reading it every day since then. Audrey loved the play and I really did too! Audrey's favorite part was when the bike came down from the ceiling. I have never seen so many little girls in pink, it was crazy. So much excitement!

We had lunch at the Big Ten across the street from the theater and Audrey enjoyed her very first sprite pop.

Big Doings in the life of Audrey

2011-05-24T11:25:00.000-07:00

So, I think I can safely say we are "uppie" free in our house. Ever since Audrey could talk she has always called her pacifiers her "uppies." She has only been able to have them at naptime and night time for the past year. Finally on Friday night she wanted to wear underwear to bed (she has been dry for the past month in the morning) and I found it to be the perfect trade off, wear underwear to bed, no more uppies. It worked perfectly and she even told us, "I don't really need my uppies actually, I am a big girl and I will wear underwear to bed." The next couple of nights she wanted to switch back to diapers at night so she could have her uppies back. We said their is no backtracking. They are gone for good. If she does a good job this week her little reward that she has picked out is a new baby doll with a bottle, undies, diapers, and food. Ha, I can't wait, she is so excited and talks about her new baby doll every day.

Strange weather

2011-05-22T19:43:00.001-07:00

The weather this weekend has been so strange. It would be really nice out side and then it would just start raining while the sun was shining.

I took this picture Saturday night while I was waiting for Brent and Audrey to return from a bike ride. The thunder was rumbling like crazy. They made it home just in time.

We got our flowers all potted today, after a short 5 minute downpour. We went with the bright colors this year. Super fun!

The bike trailer is now more of a hang out and Audrey can really enjoy doing things while sitting in there. She actually looks comfortable for the first time.

Camping

2011-05-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

Audrey and I spent Friday night camping with my parents. It was so incredibly cold, we spent about 10 minutes total outside cooking our hot dogs over the fire and then roasting a couple marshmallows. Audrey said, "I'll just have two plain ones please." She didn't care for them roasted as much as straight out of the bag.

Saturday we stayed in the camper all day while it rained. Brent spent his entire day riding his bike in the Almonzo bike ride by Rochester. What a horrible day for a bike ride. Him and his friends ended up having some problems with their bikes and didn't end up finishing. It was a grueling 85 miles though before they had to call it a day. What a challenge.

We were actually nice and warm inside the camper and Audrey really did well, she enjoyed doing some painting with Grandma Julie.
Reading books with Grandpa Dan, it is pretty hilarious to hear Grandpa read spanish from the Dora books.

My dad whipping up some bloody mary's for breakfast.

Saturday afternoon us chicks heading into Wells for my grandma's 93rd birthday party at her assisted living facility. It was really fun and Audrey really put a smile on her face that day. We enjoyed cake and ice cream with her and all of the other residents.

This is what Audrey thought of her cake and ice-cream.

Recent Happenings

2011-05-10T19:11:00.001-07:00

Things have been great lately. Work has slowed down for me a bit so I am finally able to spend more time at home, it's been a really long winter for me, I don't remember ever being this busy at work. I have been gone lots on the weekends I work. I was fortunate to get to spend Mother's Day at home all day and it was wonderful just being lazy all day, not getting dressed until noon:) The perfect day.

We enjoyed a lunch of Audrey's choice, princess spaghettios, Audrey chose to go shirtless since they can really mess up her shirt.

We have been enjoying watching Brent play softball on Monday nights with our church men's softball team. This week we met some new friends and Audrey really had fun with a little girl, Esther:)

Brent was the catcher this week, which he surprisingly liked.

Tonight was so incredibly hot, I couldn't believe it. Audrey is getting braver and braver at the park, this is her swinging "super high."

Braving the rock climbing wall, she made it to the top!

Hoppity-Hop

2011-04-30T09:50:00.001-07:00

Audrey is loving this ball she got for Easter, she is surprisingly really good at using it too. She pretty much hops to her bedroom, to the bathroom, it's hilarious.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

Nothing says Happy Easter like this picture:)

We actually had a nice Easter, we went to church with Brent's family and enjoyed lunch, well, I basically enhaled it because I had to go into work at 1. After work we hung out outside, the weather was awesome. Audrey couldn't get enough of "Easter Day", she kept talking all week about Easter Day.

All Things Loved

2011-04-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

I am just enjoying the time to be able to blog finally. I have been soooooo busy lately, work is busy and never seems to let up, this entire year has been busy. I have worked the last two weekends in a row and am really looking forward to a day off. I even get to work tomorrow on Easter. So, for now, here are some things I am loving lately.

My little gymnast, not sure about her pose when we ask her to do some gymnastic moves.

I don't even think I need to say anything about these, they just rock!

I am loving planning my very first vegetable garden for this year. It's basically an experiment, but I am excited to give it a chance.

I am loving spring and the flowers that are blooming.

Soooooo Funny!

2011-04-12T20:10:00.001-07:00

It's amazing what sipping a little juice out of your fruit cup can do, it was sooooo hilarious the sounds you can make it made this chick laugh and laugh and laugh.

Last night

2011-04-08T19:43:00.001-07:00

Last night we made a super easy supper, pizza on the grill. We used tortilla shells and just put pizza sauce and all the pizza fixings you want and set them on the grill for about 5 minutes and it makes a great, super thin crust personal pan pizza. Everyone loved them and it was really easy. Gotta love that. We then headed out for a little sidewalk chalk fun. Audrey really loved it although it just turned into telling me what to draw. It was serious, I even had to draw an alligator. This was Brent's drawing of Audrey. Looks pretty accurate.

We then headed out on a little photo shoot.

Audrey quote of the week

2011-04-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

This morning we were sitting at the table eating breakfast and I was talking about how we had a body coming into the airport tomorrow for work and I said, "Maybe I will be going to the airport tomorrow to pick up a body." Audrey said, "I want to pick up a body too!"

Audrey's quotes of the week

2011-04-02T18:59:00.001-07:00

We went to McDonalds for ice-cream with Grandpa Wood Thursday night and Audrey had to go to the bathroom, the minute we came out of the bathroom Audrey went running back to our table and just screamed at the top of her lungs, "I POOPED!" It was hilarious and I think everyone around us laughed. This morning Audrey was helping with washing dishes and Brent told her it was time to shut the water off and she replied, "You are not a teacher."

Day at the Zoo

2011-03-31T19:59:00.001-07:00

Today Brent and I both had the day off so we enjoyed a trip to the Minnesota Zoo with Audrey. It's the first time we have taken her there, she loved it. They had a great deal going, if you bring old cell phones to donate you get free admission. Audrey loved the fish in the aquariums and the monkeys. We road on the monorail and she really liked that. After the zoo we hit up Bucca de Beppo for lunch, I love that place. We got out just in time before the rain. It's impossible these days getting her to pose for pictures, we try.

Enough pictures mom!

Audrey's favorite part of the zoo... watching the tractors digging for the new penguin exhibit. Ha, she could watch this guy all day.

Audrey and Jack

2011-03-27T19:26:00.001-07:00

Last night we had our friend's son Jack over for a couple hours while they went out. Jack is 6, it was fun to watch him and Audrey interact together. In some ways he understands that she is younger and can't quite do everything he can, but then in some ways he would expect too much out of her. They were playing hide and seek and Brent was hiding and then Jack and Audrey would go looking for Brent and Jack wanted to split up and each go on the hunt for Brent, but Audrey just wanted to tag along with Jack. It was pretty cute. Then at one point they were both trying to decide what cartoon to watch and Jack wanted Spongebob and Audrey wanted Dora, Jack leaned over and whispered to Brent, "Don't tell Audrey, but I hate Dora." All in all, it was a great night and I think Audrey really liked having someone over to play with her. She did a great job sharing her toys. Let me tell you though, a 6 year old boy really wore me out. Brent and I were both exhausted at the end of the night. Playing our new game, Elefun. Jack totally did not even try to let Audrey win, he was basically just like, I have more than you, I am better. Audrey was a good sport. Here is Audrey pretending she is the elephant. She would copy everything Jack just did. Audrey and Jack fighting over a little Brent time.

We enjoyed dying our milk, Jack had quite a mix of colors. Audrey had purple milk.

All Things Loved

2011-03-25T11:13:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the things I am loving right now:

I am searching for new curtains for our living/dining room, right now it's just some ivory curtains from the 70's. I want a flash of color with our green walls. My mom things this color is not going to work, but you just wait and see mom!

I am really enjoying running right now, I would be much happier running outside if the weather would cooperate, so for now I am running indoors on the treadmill. I kind of promised my old neighbor Judy I would do the North Mankato Triathlon (I haven't yet promised myself though) so I am working on 3 mile runs right now. I guess I need to swim and bike too:)

I recently got new glasses that are pretty similiar to these, I really like them and they help me see:)

If you have not yet tried these chips, the are the bomb! I find them at the local organic section at Cub Foods. I can basically eat the whole bag in one sitting, now it's not a huge bag, but maybe big enough that I shouldn't be eating it all in one sitting.

Fashionista!

2011-03-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

Audrey continues to pick out her own clothes. I finally just relaxed a little and just let her go, she looks so proud of herself when she pulls something together. The combinations can be so flashy! I don't let her go to school like this, but when not in school I just let her pick out anything. She has a unique sense of style. It usually involves a dress of some kind, she is soooo into dresses right now.

127 Hours

2011-03-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

Brent and I watched 127 Hours last night and it was incredible. For those who don't know, it's the movie about this man who was out hiking and got his arm stuck under a rock and amputated his own arm after being stuck for 127 hours. I tried so hard to put myself in his shoes and it's just impossible. I cannot even imagine how scared he was and the thoughts going through his mind through the entire experience. They really did a great job with the movie. I read the book also and the movie was much better.

Good times, not so good times!

2011-03-20T15:05:00.001-07:00

The weekend started out great on Friday night we went to the Chanhassen Dinner Theater with Brent's parents and Curt and Christine and saw "Jesus Christ Superstar", it was great, we liked it. Audrey spent the night with my parents and had a great time, except for the fact that she was developing a bladder infection. She had a couple accidents in the past couple days, in which we assume she was just putting off going potty because it hurt too much and then she would just have to go so bad she would pee her pants. So, we finally took her in Sat. morning and she was a real trooper giving a sample at the doctor and we got her some yummy medicine to fix her right up. (Tip out there for the parents, when Audrey was constantly asking for purple medicine, Mindy filled me in on a tip, you can request any flavor of medicine at the pharmacy for only $2 extra, so grape it was:) Audrey is doing much better and back to her regular bathroom routine. Whew, what a terrible sickness for a little girl.

Yesterday I met Mindy in Owatonna for lunch, which was wonderful. We don't often just get together without kids to hang out and have conversation, it was nice. We also shopped and hardly got anything for ourselves. I guess I don't need a new wardrobe every season like someone else does. Last night Brent, Audrey and I went out for pizza and walked around the college campus, it was really fun and Audrey enjoyed running outside in such beautiful weather. They have a telephone booth like contraption at the college where you can skype.

Today Audrey and I went with my mom to visit my grandma in Wells. It was good to see her and a nice little drive for us.

Besides Audrey's infection all is well.

Monster Cookies

2011-03-16T20:31:00.000-07:00

Audrey and I whipped up some monster cookies the other night and she loved helping. Every time I got out a new ingredient, she said , "I will do that." She was such a big help.

What would you pick, a monster cookie or a clementine?

Audrey would pick the clementine. She is not a big fan of cookies. She did take one bite though because she wanted a yellow m&m. What a health nut.

Relaxed Weekend

2011-03-13T18:55:00.000-07:00

Finally after many weeks/months of being incredibly busy at work, things have slowed down a bit and I didn't have to work nonstop all weekend. It's been a long winter of hard work. Saturday evening we went to supper with Grandpa Doug and then to a birthday party for Brent's cousin Brianne's little girl, Emily. Audrey had a blast with the little girls and loved all the new toys to play with. She could care less about cake and ice cream, which I just cannot relate to.

Today we went to brunch with my parents to Whiskey River, a great place for brunch, including a chocolate fountain. My parents just returned from a cruise and of course spoiled Audrey with many new summer dresses. Tonight Audrey spent some time with Brent's parents while we went out with some friends for pizza. I have met a lot of new people working out at the Y. People who work out there and people who work there and we have started meeting up a couple times a month for drinks and supper. It's great getting to know new people.

Hat Day

2011-03-11T19:42:00.001-08:00

Today was hat day at daycare. Audrey's teacher said that was the exact hat she had imagine Audrey would have, one with lots of color! They had a hat parade and they walked right past Brent's office, she wore her hat proud today:)

The Wagon Wheel

2011-03-05T13:42:00.000-08:00

We ate breakfast at the Wagon Wheel this morning, a perfect home town diner, it's the best. We have never taken Audrey there, she loved it. It's a hot spot for my coworkers and I since it's right down the street from the funeral home.

Our waitress gave Audrey 50 cents so she could pick out three songs to play in our booth. Isn't it the best. We even played a classic song by a local band. My friend Leslie's dad was in a band in Mankato and they have their songs available on the personal juke box.

New Wheels

2011-03-04T20:54:00.001-08:00

My dad got Audrey a bike at work a while back and we got it out tonight and Brent got it all put together, we wanted to see if it would work out for her this year. It says ages 3 and up, but Audrey is pretty tall so we figured it would work. It's definately a good size, but she has trouble figuring out the pedaling. Brent and I were trying to figure out the easiest way to explain how to pedal, it's not easy. She absolutely loves the bike and the colors, she just kept saying over and over, "It's purple, and blue, and pink!"

All Things Loved

2011-03-02T20:27:00.000-08:00

Another blog I read was doing a post about all things loved recently, here are the things I am loving lately:

chile flavored mango-yummers!

McDonalds Mocha's (this is your fault Heidi)

I am loving watching the Bachelor, I was loving it more when the funeral director was on, for some reason Bachelor Brad was creeped out by her embalming talk, ha.

I am loving my new running shoes, they are the best!

Weekend Happenings

2011-02-27T20:27:00.000-08:00

We had a nice weekend here, considering I worked this weekend. Friday night we hung out with some of Brent's coworkers and had a guitar hero night. Audrey had a blast sitting at the snack bar eating lots and lots of treats. She was so hyped up by the time we left, which was far past her bedtime. She even jammed out on the guitar showing off for a bit. Usually when Brent takes Audrey to visit his coworkers after work she is so shy, not once she gets a little sugar in her:)

I guess at daycare Audrey keeps talking about gymnastics, we didn't sign her up again after her last session, but I guess we need to. I told her I need to sign her up. So, whenever someone asks her about gymnastics, she says, "My mom needs to sign me up." I didn't realize how much she loved it.

Whenever I ask Audrey to smile she closes her eyes, hilarious.

So, lately when Audrey wakes up from nap her bangs are absolutely crazy, remind you of "Something About Mary?"

Today Audrey said she had to go in our bathroom and that Brent needed to stay out, not sure if that is being bossy or independant, but when Brent went to check things out, this is what she was doing. Hanging out on our bed with the cats.

Testing the Limits

2011-02-22T19:36:00.001-08:00

Audrey has really been testing us lately, I think that is what being 2 1/2 is all about. One minute she can can make me so incredibly frustrated and the next she is the cutest thing in the world. The real problem right now is listening. For example, tonight we told her numerous times to throw away her wrapper from her snack and she kept saying, no, no, no and then finally was on her way to throw it away and just busts into a verse of "Where is Thumpkin." How can you not laugh at that and think she is so incredibly cute. Anything we say no to, she just gets a huge smile and thinks it's hilarious. I am so ready for this to pass.

We were wondering if their are any takers, we'll drop Audrey off and pick her up in a couple days:)

What to do on a snowy day

2011-02-20T19:05:00.001-08:00

Drink Smoothies

Cheers to hot cocoa

Paint fingernails, a fine blue color.

Grandpa and Grandma Wood even showed up for supper, they walked over. Here they are getting ready to head out with their headlamps on:)

We had a nice weekend besides the fact that the snow came and alterred some plans and Audrey was in a "mood" today.

Brent and I enjoyed snowboarding last night, it was really fun. During the day we hit up story time with Heidi and Lucy, really it's an excuse for us moms to get some coffee. Story time is at Barnes and Noble with a Starbucks:) The stories this week were hilarious, they were called Elephant and Pig, I highly recommend them. Audrey sat through three stories and then they get to color afterwards.

My Strange Addiction

2011-02-17T19:49:00.001-08:00

Has anyone ever seen this show? Their was a marthon on TLC the other day of My Strange Addiction, I mean these people are addicted to some crazy things: eating couch cusions, picking scabs, having a manequin as a girlfriend (this guy actually would buy clothes and other gifts for his manequin girlfriend), death, wearing make-up. Those were the episodes I saw anyway, I couldn't stop watching, I mean seriously the guy dating the manequin was just bizarre. I guess that is why the show is called My STRANGE Addiction.

Obviously not much has been going on here since I have no great pictures to post and nothing else to talk about but this show. We are looking forward to a fun weekend since I am not working, I will try and take some pictures.

Call me a Cougar

2011-02-07T20:02:00.000-08:00

So, I had a fitness assessment at the Y a couple weeks ago. I wished I had done this before I ever started working out just to see how much I could improve. They go through tons of little tests, the sit and reach, sit ups, bench press, then height and weight to come up with your metabolic age. My metabolic age is 22. I was so impressed that I came home and bragged about it to Brent. He decided he best go have a fitness assessment also and see where he is at with his metabolic age. He just had his on Saturday and couldn't be more excited to be living in a 12 year olds body, ha. So, there you have it according to metabolic age, Brent is 12 and I am 22!

Happy 13th Birthday tomorrow my love!

Hockey, Biking, and more!

2011-02-06T19:07:00.000-08:00

We had a great weekend full of fun! Friday night we enjoyed supper with my parents and then Saturday morning we decorated cookies with Heidi and Lucy. The girls had tons of fun together.

Saturday my boss had given me his tickets to the Mavericks Hockey game, so we decided to take Audrey and see what she thought of it. Brent and I had no idea what she would think of it, it's incredibly loud, but tons of things to check out to keep her entertained. It was great, Audrey did really well and really liked all the action. When they were introducting the players it gets dark and Audrey just reached over to hold hands with me, she was such a trooper. It was really cute. She really liked the cheerleaders when they would cheer on the steps near us and really seemed to like the student section right next to us, atleast she couldn't quite understand what they were saying, usually it's not for small ears. We made it through the first two periods, which was way past Audrey's bed time. It was a great night out!

Today it was such nice weather so finally we spent some time outside. Audrey isn't usually too excited about playing in the snow. She had a blast today and really liked cruising her bike down the driveway, it looks incredibly dangerous, but you should see the smile on her face.

The Latest

2011-01-30T18:43:00.000-08:00

We had a nice, busy weekend. Friday night we enjoyed a fish supper at my parents house. Suprisingly enough Audrey loved the fish. Saturday Brent and Audrey went to Chaska for Cousin Seb's 1st Birthday Bash, I had to work this weekend, so I didn't get to go. I once again enjoyed supper with my parents since my family was not home.

Today we officially became members at Messiah Lutheran Church. We have been wanting to find a church home for a while now and we can finally say we found a place we love and look forward to going every Sunday. The music is fantastic, the pastors are wonderful and we just have felt incredibly welcomed ever since we started going. We are really excited and Audrey actually does really well at church every week.

We ended the eveninig with make your own pizza night, doesn't get better than that.

Some funny things Audrey has been saying lately:

1. She put her baby (named Baby) in the corner yesterday and Brent asked her why Baby was in the corner and she said, "She needs to listen the first time."

2. Brent and Audrey were riding in the car and she really wanted to listen to "Wheels on the Bus" and so Brent gave in and played her favorite song and Audrey said, "You're my hunny!"

3. Audrey went into the potty, she likes to go in by herself now and she said, " I will go in by myself, it will just be a minute."

Biketard

2011-01-25T20:29:00.000-08:00

Instead of having a leotard for gymnastics we got Audrey a biketard, ha. The tag actually says that on it, how perfect, she can use it for biking this summer:)

Blog Party

2011-01-23T19:11:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Katie, Mike, Quinn, and Vincent for hosting the 2nd blog party. It was such a fun time to have 12 little kids together for a couple hours. They all got along so well, I was impressed. Quinn is awesome at sharing all of her toys. It was fun to have some new little guys at the party too, Kai, Vincent, and George. I hope we are able to do this again this summer, I am looking forward to a party outside. I also like the idea of us parents getting out together without kids, that would be fun.

This picture of Natalie cracks me up, she is so grown up looking.

Sebastian is so ready to take some steps on his own.

Quinn is so darn cute and not shy at all, it's amazing. She was climbing all over me within a half hour of me being there.

George doing what he does best!

Callum should be in gymnastics with Audrey, he would fit right in.

Yeah, Audrey refused to sit with the girls for the pictures, this is the best she would do:)

Scap Lips

2011-01-21T14:09:00.000-08:00

Audrey looooooovvvvves chapstick, except to her it is called "scap lips", she cannot say chapstick very well so it always comes out as "scap lips." It's really cute to listen to her say it.

Sensitive Chick

2011-01-19T19:53:00.000-08:00

One of Audrey's teachers asked us today if Audrey has been more emotional or sensitive at home lately. I guess in the last couple of weeks at daycare she gets pretty upset when someone bothers her or if she is told "no". I guess I didn't really pay much attention to it, but she gets upset even if the cats bother her or try to take any of her toys. I think Audrey is just a sensitive little girl, which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing.

I know she has a tough side to her also, just wait until we get a picture of her in her new leotard for gymnastics, it's awesome, very tough looking!

Happenings

2011-01-13T20:19:00.001-08:00

The other night we decided to head outside and sled down the driveway before Brent used his new snowblower. We went down one time and Audrey wanted to go in. She isn't much of a winter outdoorsy chick.

This picture just absolutely cracks me up, she looks like a little wrestler.

Mix and Match

2011-01-09T18:43:00.000-08:00

This is why I usually fold laundry after Audrey goes to sleep:)

2011-01-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

Tonight we went bowling with Jason, Heidi and Lucy. It was fun, first time for Audrey and Lucy to go bowling. All was good with the sweet ramp the girls got to use. We had a good time, but one game is about all the girls could do. After bowling we had supper together at Big Dog, where Audrey and Lucy spent tons of time playing under the table, ha.

I think this is when Audrey looked up at the scoreboard and realized what was happening.....

Lucy was kicking her moms butt in bowling.