Little Fish

Thomas and Elin love swimming. If it is chilly out we have been heading over to the Frisco Athletic Centers indoor pool for some swim time/exercise. 

Elin has also decided that she loves to swim underwater and won’t stop practicing.  She holds  her breath, goes in face first and kicks her legs like a crazy woman.  She continues to be fearless in water, which is also pretty crazy!  We are going to have to watch out for her!

Thomas is able to do it as well, but he is still more confident with a life jacket or water wings to help keep him afloat.  I see a lot of water time in our future this summer with the Texas heat!   They both loved going down the water slide and the play structure.  The best part about swimming is once in the car they both crash within minutes and take great naps, which is an extra Mama bonus!

SuperBowl 2014

Super Bowl 2014 was fun for Mike and I as it had our two former homes going up against one another…Thomas started off the game chanting “Go Hawks…Go Broncos…Go Hawks…Go Broncos!”  He was just as confused as we were.  Mike and I were both pulling for Denver, but like we said if they were going to loose we were glad it was going to be to the Seahawks! 

We made some Super Bowl food and stayed in with the kiddos.  It was a chill night in, even if it was a hard game to watch, as the Broncos really didn’t show up to play. 

Elin’s Hairdo

As you can see the littlest one has a pretty wild do these days!  It seems like in the last month or so her hair has just started to grow quickly, or it is just longer and a little crazier because of it.  She is presently refusing hair pretties, but we still try all different kinds on a daily basis.  If any of you mamas out there have ideas let me know!  So far the best case scenario is when she does it herself.  If we put barrettes or ponies in she will take them out after 2-5 maybe 10 minutes. 

For whatever reason she will let me braid her long hair in the back as long as there is not a pony to hold it in. 

This was her own hair stylin’ last night…she is so cute with her hair “done” hopefully she will let me start doing it more often!

Start of the Garden 2014…

Mike finished the 2nd garden box this weekend.  The first one, out by the brick, needs the back on it and then it will be completed.  Then he needs to level the ground, stain them, fill them up, and then we will be in business!  The curvy garden box is facing East and will have lots of sun and heat.  The long rectangle is in the North East of our house and is going to be a bit more shaded.  The small cedar planters next to the fence will have our spring/fall peas and summer lettuces, we are considering hanging them on the fence to keep the bunnies from enjoying them before we can!This year we will be trying a few new things and some old favorites.  The plan is to plant: carrots, onions, lettuces, spinach, tomatoes (cherry, a standard red variety and black krim a heirloom variety), red and orange peppers,  jalapeños, cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumbers, beans, parsnips, leeks and peas.  Yum!  Can’t wait to see what works and doesn’t! 

I started all our seeds as the last freeze date is mid March.  I am excited and nervous about growing in the Dallas heat.  I have been reading a lot of books and blogs and we will give it a whirl and see what happens. 

Chill Weekend

We spent the weekend close to home.  We had stuff to get done around the house and the Super Bowl on Sunday as well.  We made a quick trip over to the park and Elin rode her bike.  It was one of the first times that she actually rode it the whole way and kept her feet on the pedals!  Huge success for her!  Once at the park, Mike invented a game with the swings where he ran in circles giving the kids underdogs, they thought that was pretty “Ab-some!”

Smorgus Board of Our Lives

After 2 weeks not being able to lay in the sun, the giant one was so excited to be in her spot in the yard!

I celebrated my 32nd birthday…can’t believe I am 32!

Batman undies…check…frog boots…check!

Getting ready to leave the house and this is what Elin gets together

All of a sudden he is almost a 4 year old

Those buns watching their morning cartoons

Snuggle time with their Mama and Tucker

Stelly Puppy

Ice cream treat

Thomas teaching Elin about hockey

Elin invented her own oven mitts

Elin’s outfit choice for the day…sun hat, bib, sweater and tutu

Bare Buns Cowgirl

Naptime Love

Thomas sporting the “other” teams sweatshirt.  Go Sioux!

I love Elephants

Sleepy time with Daddy

How I found them one morning before we left the house.  Thomas was getting “handsome” and he had pulled Elin into the stylin’ adventure

Friday Play date

The kiddos and I started into the weekend with a near perfect play date and picnic lunch.  It was a gorgeous day here and the kids were outside from 10-3 playing in the sandbox, jumping on the trampoline, playing on the riding toys and then enjoying a picnic lunch.  After lunch we got out the water tables and the boys decided it was time for their clothes to come off.  After a week inside in cold weather a little extra vitamin D can’t hurt anyone.  Elin took a quick nap over there and I ended up heading home with  two very tired kiddos.

Playdoh and Play date

On Thursday morning, Thomas’ buddy came to hang out with us while his dad had a few meetings to go to.  The boys played great together and Elin and I used that time to get some Valentine’s themed play doh made. Elin loved dumping and stirring and being a big helper.   Even more so I think she liked that she got to do it all by herself and didn’t have to take turns with Thomas!  Once the play doh cooled the kiddos had a blast rolling, stirring, shaping and cutting the doh. 

Grandpa Jeff in for a quick visit

Grandpa Jeff got to come to Dallas for a meeting and that meant a quick visit to see us too!  Although quick it was still great for the kiddos to spend some snuggle time with him. 

Dallas Zoo

It was a gorgeous day on Sunday so we decided to head to the zoo and see some of the animals.  We all had a blast and the weather was unbeatable.  Elin in true fashionista fashion, wanted to wear her stocking hat most of the day.   Once we arrived we headed over to the Giants of the Savannah and saw the elephants, giraffes, lions and some other animals.  We also fed the giraffes some giant lettuce leaves.  The kiddos always think this is cool, but don’t know if they are ready to hold the leave on their own yet!We then walked through and saw some of the other animals, the gorillas, crocadiles, chimpanzees and more.  Then it was off to the Children’s area so the kiddos could feed the birds and ride a pony.Thomas let the bird land on his arm for the first time this trip.  He was so excited and pretty proud of himself, so were we.  He also helped Elin so she could feed the parakeet. Then Mike waited in line for the pony ride and the kiddos and I explored the rest of the children’s zoo, which is mainly farm animals.  Elin had her first pony ride, and she was pretty excited.  She even work up at 5 a.m. and was talking about “hold on tight,” “ride horsey,” “Elin do it.”  Thomas still swears he wants a horse and is trying his hardest to convince Mike and I to get him one. 

After a quick ride on the carousel we headed home.