Fall Family Pictures

We found an area photographer to do some family pictures.  He was insanely affordable and we went with him because we knew we might get approximately 10 minutes out of Kieran for this shoot.  We got about 15 so it was a success. We will treasure these forever!

Grandma and Grandpa D Visit!

 Grandma and Grandpa D came for Svea's birthday party weekend!  We had an absolute wonderful time!  It was a BUSY weekend as well as daylight's savings Sunday.  I don't know about you, but I'm still adjusting:)

 Grandma and Grandpa had Svea open her birthday presents with just us so that we could all enjoy the time because we all knew her birthday party would be crazy.  Svea has been loving her gifts.  We've played memory, flannel board, and used the tray that goes over her car seat to color and draw in the car.  She loves her little Olaf outfit and wants to sleep in it.  We really appreciate the nice gifts for her birthday!  The best part has been the legos for her as she is just a lego nut!  And I can't forget the books....the kids always love books and the Dr. Seuss books are so great because they are entertaining and non-fiction.  Love it!

Someone looooves her Grandma and Grandpa!  Thank you for coming.  Thank you for letting us share our crazy weekend with you.  When Dan and Kathy got here we immediately went to Trunk or Treat at the church.  Then on Saturday it was Halloween and trick or treating with the neighbors.  Then, Sunday afternoon/night was Svea's birthday party.  It was crazy fun, but crazy:)

The Last Two Weeks and Then Three...Four!

I had very good intentions of posting this about two weeks ago to let you know what we'd been up to, but two weeks has now turned into four and I really can't pack in four weeks into one post!  So I'll let you know about a few things and then do new posts on Svea's birthday party and Grandma and Grandpa Dornfeld coming for a visit!!!

My mom was here three weeks ago and stayed with the kids while Dan and I went down to the cities to stay with Pam and her now fiancé Rob. She was having a housewarming party as they moved into a fabulous new house/going away party for her friend Fernando who moved to New York.  I took a personal day on Friday and we stopped in Fergus Falls and bought a different silver mini van.  The post I did a few weeks back was about one in Fargo.  It fell through, however I left the post up because we bought the exact same car/year/trim level! It was so incredibly fun to have some time just between the two of us.  We had a lot of fun, laughed, and I even got Dan to dance!  Well, ok...he waved his arms a bit, but was a good sport when the whole party was dancing and he stood and smiled and waved.  Hahahahah!  We now officially have a minivan then and we are all loving it!  I can't believe I just said that:) Thank you mom for watching the kids for us.  They always love their time with you and we hadn't gotten away for quite awhile.  So fun!

The weekend before that my dad came for a visit and we also had a blast going to the library and just hanging out playing with the kids.  They were both wild about having Papa here and we were all worn out by the end. I think Kieran's goal was to pin Papa the whole time, but that might take a few more years:) Thank you for visiting us Papa!  We can't wait until you can come back again!

Interview With A Five Year Old

1. What is your favorite color? pink

2. What is your favorite toy? Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Legos

3. What is your favorite fruit?  Strawberries

4. What is your favorite tv show?  Movie Ariel and cartoon is Jake and the Neverland Pirates

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Cinnamon life cereal

6. What is your favorite thing to wear?  Striped dress

7. What is your favorite game? Nothing

8. What is your favorite snack?  Candy

9. What is your favorite animal?  Kitty

10. What is your favorite song? Kiss the Girl from the Little Mermaid and Somewhere Over the Rainbow

11. What is your favorite book? The wizard of Oz that we writed

12. Who is your best friend?  Haley 

13. What is your favorite thing to eat for supper? Mac n cheese

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride my bike and Favorite sport is soccer

15. What is your favorite drink?  milK and juice
16. What is your favorite place to go? to the indoor playland
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My bunny

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

19. What do you want on your birthday? Mermaid tail (which she didn't get)

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A princess

Svea's Little Mermaid Ariel Party

This was such a fun party and I've been meaning to talk about it, but our computer won't recharge right now and we have to get it fixed when we do I will post fun pics of Svea's swimming bd party.

Svea has been interested in mermaids lately and after we introduced her to The Little Mermaid movie with Ariel she wanted to have a mermaid swimming party.  We thought that would be a fun birthday party so we got a birthday package at a hotel that has a swimming pool.  A few of the families that we are friends with have kids and Svea is friends with them all.  To say she had a blast is a major understatement.  That girl swam and swam, was giggly and silly, ate cake like it was her job, and enjoyed turning 5 a whole lot! 

Our friends had fun, Dean, Kathy, and Gaga were able to be with us and it's a birthday party to never forget.  The pictures speak for themselves.  

Halloween and More Grandma and Grandpa!

 Svea was a mermaid this year!  She was so excited to be one, but her costume was a little big so she didn't get into it as much as we thought she would.  She had a party at school and they got to go to the nursing home and go trick or treating there.

 Cousin Laura stopped by on Halloween and Iron Man is giving her a kiss before we headed out!

 Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa all dressed up a little bit too!  It was a little chilly so they were mostly all covered up with their coats.  Kieran had gone as a monkey to Jill's for daycare earlier that day, but that night he wanted to be Iron Man!  We walked with the neighbors again....Haley, Ryder, Tony, Angie, and now baby Kate too.  Poor Kate...she kept rolling down driveways in her stroller as we all had our attention on the littles.  We took turns pushing her or rushing to grab her from going into the street.

 I love this picture of Grandpa and the kids reading!

Kieran wasn't having the group picture! Thanks again for visiting us!  We love having you come!

Happy 5th Birthday Svea!

 Svea had a GREAT day today on her birthday!  She was excited and knew the day was about her!  She got a pair of pink boots this morning from us and she picked out her own outfit.  She also did not want her hair done.  Here's our little Beatles original girl!

 Waiting so patiently for her birthday day cake!

 A little pumpkin now and an Ariel/beach themed cake for her actual party!

 Blowing out her candles!  One thing that she was most excited about was when she got to pick out her birthday treats and bring them to school today.  She chose mini Halloween cupcakes and all her friends got two.  She also got to help out during lunch time pasting out cups/plates.  She seemed to be very proud of that.  She got a birthday sticker and got to decorate her own Happy Birthday crown.  She was ALL SMILES when I picked her up.  She could not wait to open her presents so she called Dan on the phone to ask if it was ok. It was and she got a Little Mermaid book and some new legos.  It was a veterinarian clinic and we spent over an hour putting it together and playing with it. By that time Dan got home early and we all had a great night!  She picked out what she wanted for dinner (mac n cheese with hot dogs), took a bath, played some more legos, read books with mom and dad and snuggled in bed with us before drifting off to sleep.  We were glad that she had a great day!

Kieran was so cute saying Happy Birthday Yay-ya and singing her happy birthday, although half the time he sung it to himself!  He enjoyed the cake as well of course!  Overall it was a great 5th birthday for Svea we think. We are so eternally grateful to God for blessing us with our little girl Svea Grace!

We Got a Minivan and Couldn't Be More Excited...

....said no one ever! :)  Jk....I'm actually pretty content about our new minivan.  I'm gonna rock that minivan for the next 8-10 years like it's cool. 

 I love these...I'm glad Dan still will!

I figure I'll just get one of these bumper stickers.  If you're squinting right now and your "readers" are not nearby it says, "I used to be cool".  Because ya....last week and every week before that I was cool, but now I have a minivan so I'm yeah, a minivan driver:)

 

And here is a picture of our new to us minivan! 2010 Honda Odyssey EX.  When you see me be sure to tell me how cool I look in it too! 

Before and After (Our DIY Journey...errrr....or Dan's journey!)

 Before: Honey oak cabinets, blue laminate counter tops, and oak trim

After: White painted cabinets, concrete counter tops, and white trim.  So far we are pretty sure that total with paint, concrete, sealer, and spray paint, etc we've spent less than $1,000.  That's quite the change!  Very proud of all of Dan's hard work even if I do get resentful because he gets busier with these projects than I'd like.  No more BIG projects for the winter!

 Before: Large china hutch of the previous owners with identical wall art on either side

After: It's our cow! Hey cow!

Moo!

Before: Dark and dreary.

After: White and bright!

A couple more just for fun! If you look closely you can see he is in the process of transforming our dining room table as well.  Painting the legs white and he'll stain the tops a darker color.

 I love our "new" kitchen.  I especially love the price tag.  I don't always love the time Dan spends on it (he has self admitted that he is slow), but the end product is a huge improvement.  I am so thankful that even though he has distinct and good tastes that at least he does it himself and for a fraction of the cost.  House value too!!!

Fall Festival Fun

I took the kids to large park where they had a fall festival in late September.  They had games, bouncy house, pumpkin painting, and cookies.  The kids had a great afternoon, but were worn out when we got home.  It was a BEAUTIFUL and warm afternoon.

Svea so focused on her painting! 

I love it when Kieran sticks his little tongue out when he is concentrating.  Svea did this too when she was younger, but doesn't anymore.  My mom did catch her one day opening and closing her mouth as she cut with a scissors!  Hilarious! 

Riding the train!  They sat so nice together and I was so impressed didn't fight.  Kieran got to drive at first and then she did.  I don't know how they worked it out, but they did and I was proud of them.  

Look at that smile! 

There was a hay bale maze, which the kids thought was pretty cool too.  So fun to just watch them explore and be excited!  There was a small little animal zoo too with bunnies and a goat. Kieran loved the looking at the animals and enjoyed pointing at them all and naming them one by one. My favorite thing about fall are these beautiful and warm days when the leaves are just starting to turn color.

 

To round out the rest of our fall festivities the kids and I headed to an organic pumpkin patch north of town and cut our own pumpkins off the vine.  It was a good educational experience too.  Svea also got to go to another pumpkin patch with her preschool class.  Gaga drove down to go with her. They had cold, rain, and crazy wind, but the kids had fun!  Thank you Gaga for going with her on the "bus".  She was so excited for that and to take you with her!

 

If we were from the south I'd say "Happy Fall Y'all"!  I guess I did say it.  I like it.  I think I'll keep it.