"Mama, I love when we go to Home Depot!"

I'm ba-aaaak! So sorry for the hiatus, but the last two weeks just flew by. Busy, busy...go, go, go! The pictures in this post are from the end of January when we were all getting spring fever REALLY bad due to the long cold snap we had. The kids were going stir crazy so I called my Aunt Kala to see if her and Evan wanted to meet us at Bounce Depot. Bounce Depot is a place with a bunch of big inflatables that you can play and bounce in. It is really fun for little and big kids alike! We have gone there once before so Grant knew what it was all about, but this was Tootie's first time being big enough to enjoy a little excitement!

First, she had to get acclimated to the new scenery. She found the toddler area and had to try out each of the toys. First, the blue dog rocker...

Then the police rocker. Oh, and check out her crazy hair! I put a little mousse in her locks to attempt a curly look, but after the winter hat had it's way with her hair, it looked a little more like I forgot to even brush it!

Next, she tackled the little slide.

This is Queenie at the top of her castle. She thought she was pretty cool hanging out on the top of that little slide.

After a little toddler play time, it was on to bigger and better things...with Mom of course! I love getting down and actually playing with my kids so I had a blast going through the maze and bouncing with my Little Bity!

Then it was off to join the 'big' kids in another bouncer.

Sorry about the dark pictures. The lighting was terrible and I kept getting bounced while I was inside trying to take pictures so my camera had trouble trying to focus. I missed some pretty good actions shots!

I love this one because you can see the little monster coming out in Grant. And then there was Tootie. She was having fun simply falling down.

You can almost hear her squealing with delight in this picture.

This is my cousin, Evan. He is Kala's youngest and is two weeks younger then Grant so they love to get together to play.

Grant was playing like a wild hog! I barely saw him the entire time we were there because he was cruising around playing so hard. We did have a couple of obstacle course races and he beat me every time (or at least he insisted he did!)

I just love spending "fun" time with my kids. I don't ever want to get too busy to be able to do stuff like this with my kiddos.

Our little Champer-Champers!

THEN, there is the BIG daddy-of-all-daddy double slide Grant and I were racing and as you can see I kicked his little booty!

Here is Kala and Evan tackling the bid slide. Isn't Evan's expression priceless!

I think this picture is adorable too. It looks like Kala and Toots are having a little conversation about her funk-a-licious hair! Or, maybe she was asking Tootie if she wanted to do this...

YEP! The BIG slide! And she LOVED it!!!

She had Olivia take her. Olivia is Kala's oldest daughter - by the way...Happy Belated 18th Birthday, Olivia!!!! I took her about 10 times also, but the pictures were dark or blurry so I'll spare you and not post any of them.

And then I saw this....PLEEEESE! Again?...No, honey. Mama is tired.

FINE! I'll do it myself!

And then there was this...a tantrum when I told her it was time to go! Oh no, not already!!!!!

I know, I am a meanie. How could anyone say "no" to this face?????

When we were leaving, I was buckling Grant into his car seat and he said, "Mama, I love when we go to Home Depot." I just smiled and said, "Me too, Bubba!"

One more thing before I go...please pray for our kitty Gabby. She at the vet AGAIN with another kidney/bladder infection. She has been "inpatient" since Monday morning and they have her on 3 antibiotics, fluids, appetite stimulants, something to help her retain protein and special cat food. Wonder how much this one is gonna cost??? So please pray that she gets better so that I don't go broke paying vet bills!!! Now I know how my vet can afford to buy and renovate a new building...I think I am going to own about half of it (or at least all of the light fixtures!) by the time this is all over. Seriously, I am a softy when it comes to animals, especially my own. When I adopted her I made a promise to take good care of her and I feel like I have to live up to my end of the bargain. I just hope she is feeling better and back to her sassy old self very soon!

Nighty-night and blessings to all!

Ever seen a snowman quite like this????

First off...some people have way too much time on their hands. When I make a snow man, it takes about 15 min and he's lucky to end up with some rock eyes and a couple of twigs for arms. Check out this snowman that I found in Avon...

At first glance, it really doesn't look that tall.

But a little closer look and you can tell that it was probably (and this only is a guesstimate) about 12' tall.

Funny thing was that I was actually looking for a snowman to take a picture of with my new camera because there is a photography store in St. Cloud called Central Camera (where I bought my new lens) and they have a monthly photo contest. January's theme was "Snowmen" so I thought I would give it a whirl. These were the pictures I took in hopes of entering one of them. Well, I was a little late because the picture apparently has to be in by the 21st of the month so I guess I will just have to try another time. Either way, I got some pretty cool pictures to share with you!

Grant was with me "scouting" for snowmen and he thought this fella was super cool. That is until...

...we found this doozy!

Closer look...he is almost as tall as that silo!

This is the famous snowman on Co. Rd. 9 between Avon and St. Anna in case you ever want to drive by and check it out. Can you believe the family that lives at this farm builds this EVERY year! Not sure how long it takes, but I do not like the cold enough to help sculpt something this big. How do you suppose they get it so big anyhow?

Can you believe that I'm not even sharing any pictures of the kids tonight? Audrey has been sick since Sun so she hasn't been in the picture taking mood if you know what I mean. More like the "Hold me, Mommy" kinda mood. Grant has a cough but is still going strong. Well...he's a "big kid" you know and he now thinks he can skip his daily nap. The majority of nights he does this, he falls asleep on the way home from daycare and I don't see him until morning. That is like 13 hours of sleep. I WISH!

Oh, and I keep forgetting to mention...a couple of posts back I posted two video clips of the kids. There is sound with them, but if the music was blaring you probably couldn't hear it very good. To solve the problem, scroll ALL the way to the bottom (or hit ctrl end) and in the upper left hand corner of the black "music box" you can pause the music. Hope that helps!

I'm gonna hit the hay because I have a cold and could use some rest after tending to my poor little baby the past 3 nights. Hopefully she will sleep through the night tonight. Crossing my fingers.

Sweet Dreams!

Apple Shoot: Take #2

So these are the black-n-whites I was telling you about. It is funny how color can completely change what a picture looks like. When it is in b&w it almost feels like it takes you back in time. Sometimes I can't decide which I like better so I am glad that I am able to take both with my camera. Don't you love digital? I was SOOOOO sceptical of it when it first came out..you know, I needed to have the pictures in hand. Now, it is a rarity if I print any of them! But my pictures are my pride and joy. I believe I have somewhere around 6,000 pictures (maybe more) since Grant was born. I am on my 4th digital camera too. I have always said that if my house starts on fire I would of course make sure my kids and hubby were out safe, but I wouldn't leave without my hard drive! Now, I think I will grab my new camera too!

I got a new lens for it about 2 weeks ago and I love it! It has more of a range so I can zoom in on things that are farther away now. That means I can be sneaky and get pictures of the kids from a distance! The lens is a little bigger but the versatility it gives me is an even trade-off.

Don't worry, they get cuter...

Just kickin' back havin' a little snack!

Mom, do you have to take pictures of everything?

Oh, you think so, huh!

Look at those big eyes!

What a little sweet pea.

And her CRAZY big brother!

Nice hat ya got there, Tootie!

HEY, that's not a HAT! Its a plastic bowl, you silly pants!

Such a little stinker!

Ooop, one of those pesky apple peals again!

Audrey ate and ate on this apple and she carried the thing around for over an hour. If I tried to take it away from her she would scream and swat at my hand. Very protective of her prized possession. She set it on the floor a few times too, but if I tried to rinse the hair and fuzz off of it I got the same reaction so I just let her eat the dirty old thing! I would have never let that happen when Grant was little. His nuk was washed every time it hit the floor...NOT Tooties. She's lucky if I wipe it on my shirt to clean it off! I also figure, whats the difference? I am sure daycare doesn't' have time or doesn't see every time that nasty thing is dropped on the floor so why bother at home? Hey, it's good for the immune system, right?

This little bugger is ADDICTED to his LEGO Batman game. I can already tell that I am going to have to limit his play time. He could play that thing for hours. And it is funny to watch because he gets SO into it and his little hands don't fit the controllers very well so he has figured out a way to bypass his handicap. Hard to explain, but cute to watch and actually very impressive. I am often blown away by everything that kids pick up on. Sometimes he even out wits me!

I suppose I better find something "productive" to do. I may get to go out for a bit tonight if Lisa would ever call me! Starting to think I have been stood up.