love is all around us...

on sunday we celebrated a belated christmas with the urbanski and johnson families. We met up at the Holiday Inn in St. Cloud for some food, fun, and family. Everyone had a great time, and it was so nice catching up with the family. We are definitely blessed to have love all around us...ready to have some fun!

can we open our gifts now?

ready for some swimming...


the withers family...

cousin cailyn (3 1/2 yrs.)

cousin danyka (2 1/2 yrs.)

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love is all around us....

Valentine's Day

thanks, paul, laurie and owen for the care package...the girls loved their presents and copper loved all his chew toys!

teacher gifts

thanks, pinterest for the idea!

love from bobby...

it has been a tradition for bobby to make chocolate covered strawberries for us every valentine's day. i think he should start his own business called, "bobby's berries". what do you think?

that's all folks...

bobby and i had a early valentine's day outing on saturday. We started our evening out by having supper at Masa, a Mexican/Southwestern cuisine restaurant. Yum-O! At supper I surprised Bobby with tickets to Orchestra Hall to see "Bugs Bunny at the Symphony". As a child, Bobby always loved the Bugs Bunny cartoons, esp. the "Rabbit of Seville", a spoof of the classic, "Barber of Seville". When I saw the event, I knew he would love it. Scroll down below to see more. It was an lovely evening with my best friend....I love you, Bobby! Masa Restaurant...the best strawberry margarita, guacamole, and tamales. waiting for the show to begin at orchestra hall (ask us about our "neighbors" in the row with us...talk about making memories!)

we were in the 2nd row from the stage -

as the orchestra plays you are able to watch the cartoon on the big screen!

a new experience for both of us!

snow much fun...

there was no school for students on friday due to parent/teacher conferences. Bobby was able to take the day off from work so the girls did not have to go to daycare. It was a nice day for me meeting with families, but mostly because my family came to visit me and had a picnic lunch in my classroom. Later on, after two LONG days of conferencing, we decided to head outside for some fun. It turned out that we had snow much fun...ready to work and play!
see our little snowman?

sophia had to get in on the fun!

look! he has shoes, a hat, and a cane now!

finally, everyone pulled together to make a special snowman...we decided to call him "teardrop", since there were some tears from one certain girl (take your pick) over the making of the snowman. chalk it up to making some memories with my family!

snap, crackle, love

last weeked the girls and i tried our hands at a new recipe - rice krispie valentines. They turned out pretty good for "winging it". The girls were so proud afterwards (and I was too!). Bobby was making his own "treats", while helping us with out ours. We may just make another batch before Valentine's Day for friends and family...lucky you!
finished projects...

take a bite!

lookin' good!

the sky's the limit...

yesterday we ventured into the cities for some indoor family fun. We first visited the "Sky Zone" in Plymouth. Sky Zone is an indoor trampoline park for families. We had a blast and some of us (Bobby and Livia) are a little sore today to show for it! After working up a sweat - literally - we headed to the Eden Prairie Mall for some lunch and a movie. We surprised the girls with tickets to the 3D version of "Beauty and the Beast". It was special being able to bring the girls to the movie that I enjoyed as a child! Here are some photos from our fun family day... sophia and livia waiting in front of the main jumping court (you have to be at least 40 inches to jump in this court- sophia is exactly 40 inches!)
in front of the dodgeball court...
we didn't try this court, but they also use it for trampoline basketball


livia standing in front of the trampoline foam pit

when you arrive, you can buy your tickets in 1/2 hour increments...these pictures are before our jumping time at 10:30am

might as well - JUMP!

ready for some 3D fun!

bowl-a-rama...

last sunday afternoon we decided to give family bowling another chance. The last 2 attempts over the past 3 years with the girls have been DISASTROUS! Each time we have left the bowling alley with one or two crying children. We talked to the girls and decided we would try bowling as a family one...more...time. Well, three times must be the charm because it was a fun and fabulous afternoon. Grandma Pam even joined in on the fun. I am definitely optimistic that we can go bowling again soon! ready to bowl...

bobby loves getting his picture taken...can you tell?

"that daddy!" (as sophia says)

sophia trying to bowl on her own...

uh-oh, is my ball going to make it?

nope, it didn't make it (twice...)

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

these are the days that i will look back on and smile :)

a mitten for our kitten...

the last day of school before winter break, livia came home with "the mitten". The Mitten Project is a tradition in first grade, and every family is required to do one. This was our first mitten, so we were pretty excited about tackling it! The rules are that you cannot use any crayons, paint, or paper. You are required to use materials that are unique and time-consuming....okay, so I added that last part, but it does take some time. The family had an enjoyable time putting it together (and eating some of the candy). Here is our first (and probably not our last) completed mitten project. materials: m&m's, starburst candies, and spice drops