Cat Naps

We have all been sleepy around here lately.  Tucker and Stella have even gotten into a sleepy routine of napping daily with the kiddos…and sometime myself! 

Shaving Cream Paint

City Hike

It was a gorgeous weekend in Dallas.  We headed over to a local park, Erwin Park, which is about a 10 minute drive from our house.  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how adventurous it was.  I mean it wasn’t a hike in Colorado, Seattle or Northern Minnesota; but it wasn’t walking on a side walk either!  The kiddos got their wiggles out and the one with the littlest legs refused to be carried the whole time.  We did about a 1.25 mile loop, hit up the swings than then headed on our way.  On the way out we stopped and looked at the cows that were happily grazing and nursing in the field.  On Sunday, I got all my seeds planted and we enjoyed some backyard time.  It is hard to think it is January when it is 70 degrees outside, but I am not going to complain!  If I have learned one thing it is that in Texas “winter” a 50 degree weather change is just around the corner!

Uncle Troy and Auntie Molly Come to Visit

Troy and Molly got in on Friday morning and the kiddos and I picked them up from the airport and then headed home for some play timed  As luck would have it Elin had just started to feel crummy and right after we got home, I put her down for her nap, as she was miserable!  Friday we then went to the park and then headed out for dinner before.  On Saturday we made our way over to Fort Worth to see the stock yards and the long horn cattle drive.  Thomas was pretty pumped up about being a cowboy and his Auntie and Uncle got he and Elin some authentic gear.  We saw the cows and grabbed lunch before heading back to home base.  Once home Thomas was fully engrossed in being a cowboy.  He practiced his lasso skills and learned how to great a lady.  Check out the video! 

That night he also woke up about midnight, hysterically crying and delusional, he was upset he didn’t fall asleep with his hat on and he had decided he wanted to buy a real horse.  After we tried to rationalize with him for a few minutes we then resorted to him falling asleep with his hat on and telling him that we could talk about a horse….in the morning!  We spent the rest of the weekend close to home.  Going for walks, creating long horns out of cardboard and a bike and just getting some good play time in.  It ended up being a gorgeous weekend in the low 70s so it was also a nice break from the MN winter Troy and Molly have had thus far. 

The kiddos (us too) loved having their Uncle and Auntie here.  Every night Elin now sings “Night night uncle troy and moweee woves shoe” (night night uncle troy and molly loves you).  Thanks for coming down you two and for the fun memories!

Long Week With Daddy Gone

After having the weekend at home to recover and relax a bit, Mike was off on a Midwest tour for work on Monday morning.  After two weeks together this was a tough transition for the kiddos.  They were tired and emotional.  I did my best to keep them occupied and that meant lots of late night bathtub play.  Why?  If you have ever spent more than a few minutes with these two you know they never stop moving and at the end of the day I am exhausted and ready for Mike to help a bit or to stick them into the tub for some contained play.  Plus the cleanup is so easy in the bathtub!We made some muffins and then did more messy play in the bathtub with cornstarch and water.On Thursday night, Thomas was soo excited to see Mike.  He fell asleep snuggling with him like this…holding both hands wrapped in his arms.  We all like life much better when Daddy/Mike is around.

Coyotes

Coyotes have been a huge part of our lives the past 2 months or so.  It has gotten to a comical point (for Mike and I at least) and we are doing our best to eradicate the coyote infestation in our Plano home. 

It all began with the movie, Barnyard.  If your familiar with the movie you then know that the coyotes are the “bad guys” of the movie.  They torment the chickens and attack the cows.  This happened to be a favorite movie of Thomas’ for some time, even thought Mike and I would fast forward thought the scary parts. 

Then we moved to Plano and there are again coyotes in our area, much like many urban areas, and at our previous home in Denver.  I was making my morning coffee and looked out the window and their was a coyote walking down the sidewalk.  I quickly ran out the front door as it was also the same time that kids start walking to school and wanted to both make sure I saw a coyote and also make sure that the neighborhood kids were ok.   I talked to our neighbor quick and she said with little ears around something along the lines of “my kids are big enough to be ok, yours are little.”  Pretty sure that is when Thomas’ mind started running wild. 

It turned into not running from the “bad guys” but running and hiding from the coyotes.  Elin quickly learned that these “coyotes” are super bad things to be feared and under no circumstances was she to mess with them.  She is down right terrified of “coyotes.” 

Mike and I are certain that what Elin believes is a coyote and what a coyote actually is are two very different things.  After many instances where the thought of coyotes left Elin paralyzed in fear, hysterically crying and with an accident or two out of sheer terror, we decided that we must end the “coyotes” that have take over our lives.  We have done our best to give both the kiddos the magical power to “poof” or “blast” away the coyotes.  We have also talked and read about what coyotes actually are and we are slowly making progress.  It is however a little sad as it was sooo darn cute when you would hear Elin say “shhh coyote,” “hide coyote,” or just plain “COYOTE!”  Thomas is much less afraid of them than she is and is comfortable with his skills to end the coyote with his sword, gun, or poof powers.

The last picture is Elin’s attempt at protection from the coyotes. 

Regardless, in a few weeks we hope the extermination is complete and we will have 2 skilled coyote hunters ready to be hired out if your in need of coyote control. 

Driving Back to Texas

Our original plan was to leave to head back to Texas after lunch, but with the weather forecast we decided we needed to get on the road sooner.  We packed up most of our stuff on Thursday night so we were ready to load the car as soon as we woke up.  We were up, packed up, and on the road by 8:15 a.m.. The kiddos were exhausted from all the Minnesota fun but Thomas (who has stronger will power than most) refused to nap the whole trip again!  Elin fell asleep about 10 and slept until our first stop at 11:45.  We then had a potty break, got lunch and then it was back on the road.  We had very windy, blowing snow conditions which kept us both on our toes as Mike drove.   About 3:15 the kiddos started to get really squirrely as Thomas was tired and Elin was done in the car.  Thankfully we were close to our mid point stop in Kansas City.  Upon our future sister in law’s recommendation we called ahead and found out about a rec center that had a pool for the kids to swim at.  We pulled in not a moment to soon, and just shy of complete frustration melt downs from all of us.   I took the kids swimming while Mike went and took Stella for some exercise.   We then grabbed dinner and packed back into the car for the 2nd half of the trip.  The kids were asleep within the first hour and Mike and I decided that we would drive as far as we could, even possibly ending up at home.  About 10:30 we made the call that we would push on the last 4 hours and sleep in our own beds.  It didn’t hurt that the weather forecast for Saturday was for 70 degrees.  After 2 weeks of freezing temperatures we were ready for some outside time and our own beds.  The kiddos slept and we made a few stops but we again had an uneventful trip home.  We pulled into the neighborhood at 1:30 a.m. ish, it was a long day, 17 hours to be exact! 

Getting inside was a massive scramble as the kids were over tired and confused and Thomas was very upset that he didn’t drive the car?!  A dream I guess, but it made for a very irrational and hysterically sad little boy.  Mike grabbed the stuff from the car and we were all sound asleep by 2 a.m.  Glad the trip was over, but thankful that it went as safe and easy as it did. 

Woodbury

Minnesota’s temperatures didn’t let us get outside in the snow the last few days we were there, which was a real bummer for everyone.  Thankfully they had Nana and Papa and some new toys to help occupy their busy bodies/minds.  After the trip to the fire station, Thomas was also very into his fire/police rescue set he got for Christmas.  He and Nana Kathy played for over an hour and he at one point looked at her and said “it’s the badge Nana.”  As you can see by Nana’s reaction it was pretty funny! 

A Day with the Erdall’s/Savage Fire Department

On Thursday morning I met Tiffany and her kiddos and we went to an indoor play area.  She warned me that it would be crazy, I couldn’t imagine the total chaos that it was!  Nonetheless, it was fun to spend time with her and the kiddos.  After Ben helped Thomas navigate out of the huge play structure, Thomas never went back in.  They played for a few minutes in the gym area and then watched a magic show. 
I then met up with my dad and got Stella after her staycation with my parents in Cloquet.  After we had a quick lunch with the kiddos it was off to the fire station.Thomas’s great uncle Dan, or “fire fighter Dan” as he calls him used to be a volunteer fire fighter at the Savage Fire Department.  His buddy is now the fire chief and he said he would give the kiddos a tour of the fire house. 

Our tour started out with a ride in the fire engine.  Elin slept through the whole thing, she was a tired babe.  Thomas and the big kids rode in the back and were so excited.  It was a pretty cool experience, I mean how many people can say they actually have rode in a fire truck?Then the kiddos got a tour of the fire house.  They got to try on some gear and sit in the different trucks and rescue boat.  It was a very fun experience and Thomas is still obsessed with fire fighters, being a hero and a rescuer!

New Year’s Eve and Day

Tuesday about noon we loaded up and headed back down to Woodbury for our last leg of our Minnesnowta road trip.  When we got to Grandpa and Grandma Laschen’s house the kiddos got to open their presents.  Pretty sure Thomas’ favorite was his astronaut dress up costume and Elin’s was a small baby she named “Baby Mitch.”  After some playtime with the toys, Mike and I got the kids ready for bed as Thomas hadn’t napped and Elin took a very short one on the drive down.  They were both exhausted and there was no way they were going to make it to celebrate with us.  Mike and I then got to join his parents and their friends John and Meaghan for a crab/lobster dinner.  The food was yummy and company was great.  The kids missed out, but oh well.  Mike and I didn’t make it to midnight either!

Wednesday morning, Mike and my brother braved the freezing cold and participated in the Lifetime Fitness Commitment Day 5k.  The kids and I were set to go watch but with the windchill dipping down into the –20s we knew it wasn’t safe for us.  New Years Day the Laschen’s hosted a New Year’s Day party.  Kathy’s side of the family came over and helped us ring in the New Year.  Mike and I had decided that we were going to “fake” the ball dropping and at 7 p.m. we turned on the playback and toasted in 2014!  The kids loved it and Thomas ran around toasting everyone and drinking his sprite.   A lot of the adults agreed that that was the most fun they had had ringing in the New Year in a long time! Cheers to everyone and here’s to a happy and healthy 2014!  I know our family is excited about what is to come!