It's spring! Just kidding!

Today the temperature reached 45 degrees! We couldn't believe it! So we headed to the Minnesota Zoo and enjoyed the Tropics Trail, the Minnesota Trail and the outside loop that goes past the grizzly bears, leopards, buffalo, moose, caribou and finally the tigers! The girls ran like crazy and thoroughly tired themselves out. Our favorite part of the whole zoo trip was the TIGERS! One of the three tigers was pacing back and forth in front of their glass enclosure. The girls thought it was so funny that they could "walk" with the tiger. They are so huge! There was even a little cave where the girls could hide and the tiger could peek in on them. They giggled hysterically!

While the girls were napping Jason and I tackled the glacier that was in our driveway. For the most part all of the 6-7 inches of packed icy snow is gone. But at the end of our driveway there's still a huge bump. At least the car won't bottom out anymore. Too bad our warm temperatures from today aren't gonna last too much longer. Bummer!

The girls taking their first look at one of the tigers.

Upclose and personal with the big cat!

Annika running with the tiger.

Kate running away from the tiger. What fun!

Cupcakes!

Tonight Jason was craving cupcakes so we all helped out and made a batch of chocolate and white cupcakes. Annika and Kate love helping in the kitchen. They put all of the liners into the pan, cracked the eggs and even helped stir the batter. Their favorite part was putting on frosting and LOTS of sprinkles!

Annika with a couple of nice big bites!

Kate puckering up for a nice big cupcake kiss!

Kate trying to smile. Mommy's over here honey!

The girls enjoying their cooking creations.

A New Beginning....

I couldn't pass up the chance to share my excitement for today's inauguration of President Obama. At school today all of my first graders got to watch history being made. How awesome! Someday we will be able to tell Kate and Annika all about it. To think that four years ago Jason was in Washington D.C. for the last inauguration with the Lakeville HS Band. My how times flies....I think that I write that all the time, but it is SO true!

Yesterday we both had the day off and got to stay home with the girls. We tried to go to the Minnesota Zoo and it was literally a zoo! They had some special events for the long weekend- Dora was even there. Needless to say we ended up going outside on a chilly January day to see the sleeping grizzly bears and the tigers. It was fun, but a short zoo visit. Afterwards I took some pictures of the girls for their valentine cards. So I thought I would give you an early preview. Hugs and love to you all!! Oh and by the way here is a video of Jason and his brother Chad acting like....well....acting like middle schoolers. They decided it would be fun to jump into a snowbank after sitting in our hot tub. Oh dear......

Snow Storm!

This whole week we having been trying to stay warm as the temperatures dipped to -25 degrees with a -35 windchill. Brrr! Besides the cold we also got more snow! Another six inches fell on Monday, right before the artic air came into town. The girls wanted to be outside so badly that we bundled up and "helped" daddy shovel the driveway. We found new uses for their sandbox toys. Ha!

I am hoping it will warm up soon- I am going out of town this weekend for a scrapbooking retreat with a few high school friends. We went last year in January and had a great time, so we decided to do it again. Uncle Chad and Aunt Jenny are coming to the house to help Jason with the girls on Friday and Saturday. Kate and Annika are so excited to go on a bear hunt with Chad and Jenny. They love the book titled Going on a Bear Hunt and so we usually have a few bear hunts right before bath time. The girls hide under the covers of our bed and giggle like crazy. Then the bear comes, aka Daddy, and tickles them. They scream, "Save me mommy!" It's so funny! I will have to try and video tape it some night so you can get the full effect.

Yesterday we went to Kate and Annika's friend Natalie's 3rd birthday party at Edinborough Park in Edina, MN. It is this huge indoor adventure park with rope climbing, tunnels, slides, stairs. It was amazing. The girls loved it so much they didn't want to quit playing. Jason and I were right in there playing with them, but we could hardly keep up. Check it out for yourself at their website. http://www.edinboroughpark.com/content/facilities/edinborough_park/adventure_peak/index.htm It's a great place to go when the girls can't run around outside and are starting to get a bit of cabin fever if you know what I mean! We plan to add it to our list of fun family places to go.

Fun at the Hotel

The girls LOVE swimming in the pool! We are staying at the Country Inn and Suite in Grand Forks and they have a large pool, two hot tubs and a kid pool with a huge polar bear slide and umbrella. Annika and Kate were jumping for joy as we walked to the pool last night and this morning. They had a great time kicking, splashing and "swimming".

Marc and Tina's Wedding

This morning we headed out from Lakeville at 5:45 a.m. and drove 5 1/2 hours to Grand Forks, North Dakota for my brother's wedding. Marc and Tina had a small ceremony and tonight we will have the reception. I am so excited for Marc and my new sister Tina to start their lives together. Marc even got a little choked up- typical Cloutier style...ha! I'll post more pictures later from the reception and the swimming pool fun at the hotel.

Night Time Stories

Here are some pictures of the girls that I took using my new camera. You might notice one child with a band-aid and the other with a huge scar on her nose. Annika got a little wild and crazy dancing to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer music and ran into a kitchen chair and Kate mysteriously got a huge cut on her nose during nap time- who knows!! We just hope that all of the scars and bruises disappear by next Friday for Uncle Marc and Tina's wedding in Grand Forks, ND.

Happy New Year!

It's very hard for me to believe that it is already 2009! That means my babies are going to be 3 years old. It just can't be! We had a fun New Years at Uncle Chad and Aunt Jenny's house in New Prague. We also celebrated with Grandma Bakke, who drove up from Westbrook. The girls had fun with their party hats and noise makers, but unfortunately my camera decided to die on New Year's Eve. So today I went and purchased a new Canon Powershot SD790 Digital Elph to replace my trusty old PowerShot A75 that I bought almost 6 years ago. It treated me well up until two days ago. I can't wait to try out my new camera and post some pictures really soon. Also, thanks to my friend Jenni for designing a new header for our family blog. I think it looks great! Happy 2009 and God's blessings to you all!