Time with my Ellie-girl

E "helping" me paint V's room (stayed tuned for more pictures on that soon!)

Time with both my girls (and yes, that's #3 poking in between!).

I've been fortunate to have had quite a bit of quality time with my little E lately.  Whether it involves potty training (not going so well right now), painting Victoria's new bedroom together (the girls are both moving into their own rooms downstairs soon - time to make room for baby #3!), or allowing me to play with her hair, we seem to be having lots of time together lately.  Love you, E!

Like Father, Like Daughter

Victoria may be my little mini-me, but she's sure got some of her daddy, too!  Nick and Victoria were sporting identical mohawks one day, and the photo op was too much to pass up...

Girls Weekend in Chicago

The day after we got back from Amanda's birthday weekend, I had the opportunity to head to Chicago for a couple days and meet up with my friend, Aeleah!  It was a short but sweet trip and I am very glad that she thought of inviting me to join her (she had a work conference there that weekend) since I don't get to see her too often anymore now that she is living near San Fransisco.  I flew in to Chicago and met Aeleah at O'Hare, we took the train into downtown, checked into the Sheraton, and had an evening at the spa that night, complete with massages, manicures, and pedicures.  After 3.5 hours at the spa, we enjoyed a nice meal out then back to the hotel for some visiting.

The next day, we spent the day walking around downtown and doing a little bit of shopping.  We enjoyed some REALLY great sushi (oh, how I've missed you, sushi!), and hit up the South Side of Heaven comedy show at Second City comedy club in the evening (if you've never heard of it, check it out - most of the Saturday Night Live comedians have gotten there start there!).  Back to our room for room service and more girl talk (until 2am!), and then off to bed.

(Obviously we must have been busy having fun, since the only pictures I got were of our hands and feet after our mani/pedis!)

I had to head home again the next morning, and was pleased with myself for being able to figure out where the heck I was going.  It was a long day of travel by the time I finally got back to Willmar, but I was happy to see my girls and surprised at how much I missed them after only 2 days!  Thanks for a great couple days, Aeleah!

Amanda's Surprise 30th Weekend

Yep, my younger sister turned 30 this year!  Kinda makes me feel a little old... isn't that supposed to be HER on her birthday?  Anyway, we had a great weekend celebrating up north near Brainerd over New Years.  My brother-in-law, Steve, had been planning her surprise party for nearly a year and he pulled it off without a hitch!  Way to go Steve!  He treated our whole family to a weekend getaway at a hotel/waterpark for 3 nights.  We were all able to keep the secret from her and I think she was quite surprised when she saw us all waiting for her in the restaurant.  :)

Steve and Amanda (and Kenzie)

We spent the weekend swimming, eating, playing games, visiting, and relaxing at the hotel and every single one of us enjoyed ourselves.  Ellie was most excited about the waterpark, though.  At first, it was just the idea of being there (a chilly dunk the first night left her a little hesitant), but by the end of the weekend, she had had a GREAT time and was relishing in her time in the water.  Unfortunately, Victoria didn't share her sisters love of the water as she was not feeling 100%, but she was so well-behaved anyway!

Steve, Mom, and Dad on New Years Eve

Amanda, Eliana, and John on New Years Eve

Me, Heather, and our goofball, Victoria on NYE

Having fun playing dress-up!

John & Nick enjoying their beer on NYE

Not sure what was up with all of Victoria's faces that weekend...

Eliana enjoying the waterpark

It was tough to get her out of the pool on our last night there.

It was a great weekend away as a large family and something I hope we can do again someday!  Thanks again, Steve, for including us all in Amanda's birthday weekend!