Prayers for Annika

Well it seems that once one child is over a sickness the other will get it. Today I stayed home with Kate- her temperature was still border-line feverish and she got sick again last night before tubby time. We had a quiet day watching movies and reading books. Annika was fine and so she went to daycare. Needless to say it was very quiet in the house today- hehe! So now that Kate is nearly 100%, Annika came home from daycare and within a half hour was throwing up and running a fever. Super fun! Especially when I am pretending to be a single parent in the evenings with Jason reffing basketball games around the metro area. So please pray for Annika. We were planning on spending the long weekend in Two Harbors, MN with Grandma and Grandpa Cloutier- but we called them tonight and canceled our getaway. They will be here in Lakeville next weekend and hopefully we will be completely recovered from the sickies! Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. God bless!

Prayers for Kate

Please keep Kate in your prayers. This morning she woke up with a 103 fever and had gotten sick in the middle of the night without anyone knowing. I feel like a terrible mother. She is home resting and watching lots of Dora and Diego movies and getting lots of love from momma and daddy.

Sisters!

I just thought I would share a new picture of Kate and Annika. The last few days I have been thanking our Lord for two beautiful, healthy, loving little girls. Remember to cherish every moment! God bless!

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.