Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!  It was good to see everyone and for those who couldn't make it we thought we'd share just a few pictures of the girls.

There was quite a haul around here this year.  From giant bean-bag chairs and Nerf guns to American Girl doll clothes; the girls loved it.  And since Elsa and Nora can't stop reading books, they both have their own Kindles now.  They now have a two week break to enjoy all of the loot.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday to Jenna

So as you can see from these pictures, Jenna loves her planes!  She really seems to dig being the party kid too.  Thanks to everyone for bringing the food and indulging her obsession with Planes.

Here's to Jenna!

Polska!

So here are quite a few pictures from the trip so far.  Sorry there are so many pictures of buildings...there isn't much to look at here.  Also, despite what you may think I have not photoshopped the grey sky into every picture, or the old Polish people, those two things are hard to get out of the pictures.

Our two days in Warsaw were foggy, cold, sometimes rainy and windy.  So, real nice by Polish standards.  We put in 8 miles of walking on Sunday and got to see plenty of Warsaw.  It's a good sized city (2.5 mil), so it was busy, lots of stores, lots of people etc.  Almost everyone speaks English, so it's been easy to get by.  We had some amazing meals in Warsaw, from small restaurants to sidewalk vendors selling Kielbasa, it's been the highlight of the trip.

As for Lodz, the cloud cover finally broke for a bit this morning and tomorrow should be sunny as well.  Haven't seen too much of the city yet, but will try to get to it tomorrow.

Later comrades

Warsaw, some palace or something

Old Town Warsaw

Old Town Warsaw opposite

Our Hotel in Lodz

Across from the hotel

Leaf Pile Time!

After seeing all the leaves falling by us lately, Jenna asked for a leaf pile.  She doesn't miss much.  And now that it was finally dry enough outside she got her wish.

CAAANDY!!!

Tonight the Bumble Bee, Lady Bug and the Owl hit the town in search of treats.  The neighborhood Trick or Treating was tonight, finally giving Jenna a chance to wear her awesome owl costume that she's been talking about for 2 weeks.

After coming back home and having some dinner it was on to pumpkin carving.  Jenna didn't seem to care for my method of carving (power tools), or getting her hands dirty with pumpkin guts but she still managed to have some fun.  Elsa and Nora did a great job doing most of their carvings (theirs are the two bottom ones).  Now it's time to hide the candy in case Elwood gets motivated to use his legs one last time to jump up to the counter top.

Another Door County Weekend

Last week we actually made it to a Brewer's game before this great season was over.  It was Jenna's first game and she did a good job making it through the mandatory 3 innings before getting to explore the park.  She was a little hesitant at the fireworks display after a home run, but she seemed to be pretty into it by the end.  There are some pictures up of course.

Last weekend we did a little apple picking and the girls got to play on an authentic see saw and a merry go round.  It was like being at a playground from 20 years ago.  They had a good time flying off the merry go round and no one got sick from it...win/win.

Labor Day in Door County

The family got a nice long break in Door County this weekend.  Campfires, riding bikes and skipping stones filled up the weekend.  Elsa and Nora did a lot of bike riding with the boys at Monument Point.  And the afternoon spent at Peninsula State Park was beautiful.  Lots of pictures are up, enjoy.

Another First Day of School

We can't believe how fast Elsa and Nora are growing up!  Today was their first day of third grade.  As is the custom around here we have a first day of school picture:

State Fair

The girls had a nice evening at the State Fair yesterday. We watched some juggling, got to pet a baby duck, and had a cream puff of course.

Gregory Palooza

So all of the pictures we took are up in the slideshow.  Take your time, there are a lot of them.  Thanks again Mom and Dad for feeding everyone and picking up our messes.

SCIENCE!

Sunday we took the family down to Chicago to see the Museum of Science and Industry.  We tried to get to most of the exhibits, but we still had a few things we had wanted to see.

There was a farming exhibit where the girls got to climb on a tractor and a combine.  An exhibit about the science behind storms, tornadoes, avalanches, etc.  The twins had a great time in there.  The 40' tornado that you can change was pretty interesting.

The model train exhibit and the coal mine were good too.  Jenna covered her ears the entire time in the coal mine exhibit, maybe just because she finally heard something louder than herself.

We got a few pictures up, but there was really so much to see there that we were pretty busy.  We had to make sure we made it to the American Girl store before they closed.  Elsa and Nora finally saved up enough to buy their own doll.  And they we very happy girls afterwards.

National Donut Day?!

Yesterday as we were grocery shopping we realized we almost forgot to celebrate National Donut Day.  At the talk of donuts Jenna started asking "I want donut."  And then she sealed the deal by giving this face:

She seemed so innocent and incapable of causing mayhem, she did a good job selling it.  Donuts were acquired.

Nice hair.

This post is going to be pretty straight forward.  Here's a picture of Jenna when her hair is at it's best:

Enjoy!

North Carolina Trip

It's not often that we just get to post something that Melissa and I have done, but we've got a few pictures up from our trip.  There's also a few new pictures of the girls from before our trip for those of you who only want to see the kids.

Easter and Waterpark

The girls' had quite a bit on their itinerary this weekend. 

First up was a two day stay at the real OC.  It was still a bit snowy and muddy, but there was plenty of fun inside.  We found out Grandma and Grandpa's house has a lot of good hide and seek places.  Lots of Easter candy was consumed. 

Then a two day stay at the Tundra Lodge to get some swimming in.  It took a little bit of convincing Nora that a water slide was fun, but once she found out we weren't lying she was going down it all day long.  Jenna had fun in the toddler area until she realized all the big kids were on the other side of the resort.  Then it was a must that she go down the big slide with Daddy and jump in with Mama in the deep pool.

After two days of that we had a short stop on the way home at Fleming's for another Easter meal and some more candy.  We're going to need some glucometers over here soon.  After some fun playing and getting Jenna new shoes in town, it was time to head back home and post some pictures. 

Happy Easter

Snow Day!

Well the weatherman's error is Elsa and Nora's gain today.  After starting Tuesday with predictions of 2-4" of snow, the 11" that actually fell gave them an extra day off today.  The only downside was their snow gear was still at school.  They got a little bit of play time in the morning and ended up soaked.  But after singing in church this afternoon they got their snow pants and geared up for a bit of playing before dinner time.  With a few flashlights they were able to have some fun well past dark.

Lots of pictures up as usual.

This is a happy kid

So someone just got moved out of the car seat and into the booster seat.  She's been pointing at it every morning and proclaiming "seat, MINE."

Just ask her about next time you see her, I'm sure she'll tell you.  She's a big kid now.

Elsa and Nora Turn 8!

What a day!  First up for the birthday girls was a trip to the Humane Society to learn about pet care, adoption and the laziness of cats...  It looked like everyone had a good time meeting some dogs and trying to meet a willing cat.  Everyone got to see some of the other animals there and pet a guinea pig. 

After some cake and juice and some REALLY loud noise makers it was time to head home for the family party.  Not as crazy, but still a lot of fun...and more cake.  There are a lot of new pictures up in the slideshow.

Merry Christmas, Happy Boxing Day, Happy New Year and

Okay, so we forgot we had a blog for a while there, but it's been busy bear with us.  So we've got Christmas pictures up and some others from the winter break the girls are on right now.  The girls have been busy trying to wear out all their new toys.  Roller skating in the dining room, Jen driving her car all around, then going shopping and working at McDonald's, Little People taking over the Barbie Dream House...like I said, it's busy.  The most recent ones are from Betty Brinn this morning.  Jenna loved it and Elsa and Nora couldn't wait to show her everything.  So be sure and check out the slideshow, lots of new updates.