John-Makynna-Livia

Christmas

2010-01-13T13:58:00.000-08:00

Livia and Makynna before their Christmas program at preschool.

The girls with their "gopher gear" they think they are pretty cool when they get to wear what Johnny wears.

A few shots at Christmas. We were able to make to all of our destinations, but some of our family didn't :(

What's on your calendar?

2010-01-13T13:24:00.001-08:00

What's on your calendar? This is a glance at ours...
What fills it?

Gymnastics ~ fills part of Wednesdays on our calendar.

"I LOVE my nymnastics!" "There's MY nymastics, I'm so so cited mama!" Livia has so much fun at gymnastics - front rolls, backwards rolls, hanging on the bar and walking on the beam. With the best part - stamps! On her legs, arms, feet, hands. Taa Daa! It has taught her how to wait in line, listen to instructions, patience and feeling special. It's something that she does with just Mom and in our family, doing something one-on-one isn't a common occurance.

Yes, the leotard is getting a little small - hence the underwear showing. She's just growing up so fast.

Ready for a roll mama?

See the stamps? It's hard getting her to wash them off - or covering them up. She doesn't want to "hide" them.

Makynna enjoys Sparks (Awana) on Wednesdays. We go to our friends' church (Jody and Elliana) for supper and then Makynna and Elliana go to Sparks with Jody (she teaches). They learn bible verses and plays games. She has a blast!

Hockey ~ is pretty much a daily occurance on our calendar. Practice, dryland and games. It has been part of our life since John turned 4 - when I thought he might as well join hockey...nothing else to do in the winter for his age. 11 years later... We have met a lot of great families, visited places in Minnesota we probably wouldn't have and spent some quality time together. The girls have grown up in the rink and Livi wants to play hockey like her "brudder".

Dance ~ fills our Tuesday nights.

Makynna has been in Just for Kix dance, since she was 3. Now, at 27 months Livia has started as well.
Livi is the youngest in her class, they are supposed to start at 2.5 years - but the teacher said that she could try. She would sit and copy Makynna's moves while she practiced and I already had her outfit from Makynna from when she was that age. The pictures below are from the Winter Show in December. Livi, my strong-willed, independent, sometimes subborn daughter would not let me put her hair up and would not wear the headband that they were supposed to wear. I, personally, was worried about her not wanting to dance in front of a crowd so I didn't press the issue. She did very well.

"Liv, one more picture?" **I guess that was a no.**

Livi's first peformance.

Makynna loves dance too! She's loves to be in front of the camera too.

Well that's a glance at what's on our calendar. It may seem busy, but we enjoy it. :) :) :)

Soon, very soon...

2009-12-30T13:29:00.001-08:00

I will be updating the blog this weekend - I am soo excited. Might even be a couple of posts...if I'm lucky and the pics download faster. John only has one hockey game this weekend out of town and I decided to stay back. Wahoo...a weekend to catch up on laundry, cleaning, rearranging toys to make room for new, swap out "too small clothes" for ones that actually fit Livi, putting away Christmas decorations and blogging. Wish me luck :)

San Diego Trip..and a couple others

2009-11-08T09:47:00.001-08:00

John, before Homecoming Dance - Sophomore year. No pics with his girlfriend, Audra, someone didn't order any :(
A couple pics of John playing football. He ended up getting a concussion and missing about 2 weeks of football and 2 weeks of hockey tryouts...
Zachary, Chelsea's oldest, playing soccer this fall.

The following are from our trip to San Diego. We decided to take John to see a Chargers game in San Diego. We thought it would be fun to do something, just the 3 of us. Other than hockey, most of our activities are centered around the girls. With a great deal on airfare, snagging some pretty sweet seats for a Monday night game and surprising John one week before we left - we all were pretty excited.

We flew into LAX and had to go check out the Hollywood sign, drove around and had supper.
Made our way down to San Diego - about 2 hours south of LA. We stayed right on the bay and could see the ocean right outside our window - so awesome! Below is a picture from our window.

We did a little shopping and had lunch at Seaport Village, there were a lot of neat shops within walking distance of our hotel.
Brad and I - seaport village in the background.
John
Statue by the USS Midway
Brad and John with USS Midway in the background.
Brad and John on top of the USS Midway.
Watching Naval ships coming in, aboard the USS Midway.

We took the tour of the USS Midway and this was in the control room. It was pretty amazing to see everything - from where everyone slept, ate, worked.
John in the captain's chair. :)
John, Brad and at the Chargers/Broncos Monday night game. The game was pretty fun, even though the Chargers didn't win.
LT warming up.
Pre-game spat...
Ok, this pic is for me...

I thought this boys' sign was pretty cute. :)

We did take a day trip to La Jolla, 1/2 hour north of San Diego and did a kayak tour in the ocean/caves. Brad and John did a little "boogie boarding" - those pics will be coming later, we took them on a waterproof disposable and haven't developed them yet.

As summer comes to an end...

2009-10-03T12:44:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe that it is October already and that we'll be carving pumpkins soon. This summer went by way to fast. It was filled with t-ball games, hockey camps, lake trips, family get-togethers, grilling out, swimming lessons, switching daycares and enjoying time outside.
John's highlight would have to be his New Orleans trip. They had such a great time exploring the southern part of the country, growing in his faith and making new friends along the way. Well, getting his permit probably ranks pretty high up there too. It's amazing how much he "wants to come along" to run errands now. It's like I have my own personal driver. I wouldn't call them "stress free" trips, but he is getting better. After a couple of hockey camps in August, football practice started and so did sleeping in. He mainly plays a wide-receiver, that get frustrated that he doesn't get the ball more. Hockey actually starts this week, with clinics and tryouts at the end of the month. I'm looking forward to the season, but I was told not as much as John - he couldn't wait to get his skates on again. He will be a second year Bantam this year, and we're looking forward to a successful season.
Makynna's summer was spent learning the game of T-Ball. I guess there were a few things I took for granted that she already knew: which hand the glove goes on, where you stand to bat, how you catch the ball, and which way you run after you hit the ball. It was great entertainment. She also also pasted the preschool level in swimming lessons. That is a HUGE accomplishment for her. She has been VERY afraid of the water for the last couple of years. But by the end of the summer she was dunking her head, swimming under water (with a noodle) and jumping in. She is VERY proud of herself. She started kindergarten this fall. She was so excited! Mom and Dad were very nervous. She just seemed so small in such a big place. Of course SHE didn't have a problem adjusting and us, well, that's a different story. She is in Spanish Immersion, which means that the teacher speaks 90% Spanish during school. The teacher has a puppet that only speaks English, Queen English, that the kids can ask questions and get answers in English. I think this will be a great way for her to learn and pick up a second language as well. They have all Spanish classes through 5th grade. She has shared some words that she's learning along with a couple songs. She doesn't seem to be frustrated with the language barrier. Conferences are in a week, so it will be interesting to see what the teacher has to say. Makynna has also started her dance classes, Just for Kix, which she really enjoys. Wednesday nights are spent at our old daycare provider's church participating in the Awana program as a first year Spark.
Livia Grace has spent her summer enjoying the outdoors. She always wants to go outside to play. Her vocabulary has just exploded, knows most of her ABCs, counts to ten, loves singing: "Itsy Bitsy Spider," Twinkle, Twinkle," and anything else that her big sis teaches her. Although she does have a sweet side, her diva personality has let itself be known. She has her tantrums that she throws that usually end by her saying, "Happy now Mama." She sometimes will even put herself in timeout when she "loses it". Her and Makynna are virtually attached at the hip. She loves playing house, doll house, reading books and eating :) She is very independent, wants to dress/undress herself, get into her car seat and buckle (just the top Jody:)) We haven't mastered the potty training, heck, she's only gone once - and that was an 1 1/2 hour ordeal - on and off the toilet 257 times. There should be a toilet training camp that we can send her too.
The girls enjoyed a week with Grandma and Grandpa Ribstein this summer. They were joined by my niece (3) and nephew (5) for the last half of the week. I think my mom knows exactly how old she is now. We really appreciated the time alone, it was really different without any kids. We had a lot of dates, went to the movies, and put in some extra hours at work.
We had to switch daycares, from the one that has had Makynna since 15 weeks, because of school. We needed to be at one that was close to Makynna's school and that one was in a different town. It was sad, not that we don't still talk, email, and see each other. Jody has just been such a big part of the girls' lives and helped in making them who they are today. Yes, I have shed many tears over this :( Makynna adjusted well, and it took Livia a couple of weeks to actually not mind going to the new one. Everyday, she still asks me "Mama, pick me up?" just to make sure that I'm not going to forget her come the end of the day.
Enjoy the photobook below, and I'll be posting pictures after our "getaway" later this month.
Just tried something with my new photoshop - kind of cool!

Dilworth parade. Makynna, Zachary and Livia by the giant shopping cart.

I took Livi to see Elmo Live - she had a blast!

My little fish.....now.

John leaving before his trip.

My cousin Kim's girl, Alaeyah.

Cousins: Makynna, Chloe, Livia and Alaeyah

Kolby

Smiley - pig-tail girl

Making and eating smores at the lake.

Livia's 2nd birthday party

Her cake I made.

This one cracks me up! Livia is opening presents and apparently Makynna doesn't think much of it.

My blue-eyed girl.

First day of school.

Football: John is 26.

Getting the play.

June 2009

2009-07-03T14:46:00.000-07:00

So did you notice the "new and updated" look of the blog. I thought it was time for a change so...taa daa.
The summer has been busy so far:
John had to take summer school to improve his Science grade, which meant early mornings for 3 weeks - start time of 7:40am. Hopefully that will help come fall - motivation to get his work done. He also took driver's ed classes, so he is ready to get his permit when he turns 15 later this month. He is now on a trip with our Church and 94 other high schoolers. They are heading down to New Orleans for the Jesus, Justice and Jazz ELCA youth gathering. There will be 37,000 kids filling the Super Dome next week. Wow. They saw the arch in St. Louis, spent a couple days in Memphis. He said that he LOVED Beale Street - enjoyed the shops and food. They tired alligator gumbo - sounds good?? As I am typing they are on their way to Pensacola Beach Florida - and looking forward to the beach time. When he gets back he'll have a week free - which I think he's going to spend with Brad's dad and Brad's mom. Then it's a week of hockey camp and then football starts. Practices are 8am-1pm everyday....busy!
Makynna has been enjoying the summer's outside as much as possible. Her and Liv love to be outside. She took 4 weeks of swimming lessons in June. She isn't a "water baby" by any means, and I believe last year she was still clinging onto the instructor and didn't want to try anything. This year she started out cautious, but by the end was doing awesome. Jumping in, swimming with a noodle and putting her face in the water. She ended up passing the preschool level - she was so proud. She was also in "Big Booper Baseball" in June as well. Probably not one of her "callings", but she had a blast. The first night, she had no clue what hand to wear her glove on, or what way to go on the bases. Her time in the outfield usually consisted of playing with the sand/gravel. Good times. **quick side story** I picked the girls up from daycare before one of Makynna's games. On the way there Livi said, "Kenya, elmost dere?" Makynna responded, "no not yet." Not even ten seconds later, "Kenya, elmost dere, t-ball, elmost dere?" Makynna responded again, "no, not yet." This went on every 10 seconds until Makynna's response changed to an annoyed tone, "well, we're almost there, but not really almost there." I had a hard time keeping back the laugh. So funny. I just dropped her and Livia off with Grandma for a week. She was really looking forward to it :)
Livia hasn't had an activities this summer other than following her big sis around and insisting that she do EVERYTHING that she does. Definitely Makynna's "little me." She's very active and loves to be outside too. Jumping on the trampoline, swinging on the swing **higher, higher**, going to the park and playing with Makynna.
We have been out to the lake a couple of weekends this season, hopefully a couple more to come. I've been busy with work and working most weekends :( Looking forward to some down time at work.
Picture book below :)

Brad took the girls to the lake one Friday this summer. Having fun.

They love their shades.

Livi eating "shake, shake" ice-cream. We bought a ice-cream ball that you shake for 20 minutes to make ice-cream. It was really fun. They thought it was pretty cool to make ice-cream.

Shaking the ice-cream ball.

Silly!

Had to insert some pictures from my new lens. Love the blurry background look. Thanks MckMama :)

Aww...why so blue??

Liv on John's shoulders, watching Makynna play ball.

Makynna playing ball. Check out the girl in the back :)

Livi yelling, "Go Kenya!"

Tank, our neighbors/friends' new puppy. The girls LOVE him, until he starts to try and bite their toes :)

Chels and Jaden at Mall of America. Our May trip.

Cousin Owen. Matt, Sarah, Carson and Owen were able to meet us on our trip. It was fun to see them :)

Carson and Makynna.

Umm...Livi having fun with the powder??

Jaden and Makynna at the lake.

Makynna, wearing her motto on her shirt.

2009-07-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

April-May 2009

2009-05-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I seem to be on 2 month blogging streaks, not too good. I promise to try get on here more. Seems like life slows down to only get busier?? Doesn't make sense, yeah, but I'm going with it :) Here's what we have been up with the last couple of months.

Riding a pony at the circus, last time we went she wouldn't even get close to them...now Livia was that girl :)

Chillin' out after getting her face painting.

Makynna's friend Elliana was able to go with us to the circus, this is her getting her face painted.

Makynna's birthday, which was 2 months ago...ehem..Grandma Cheryl sent her balloons and a candy bouquet to daycare. She was pretty confused by the whole thing, just one of those things that she hadn't experienced, but was super excited!

Makynna with some of her gifts.

From Mom and Dad...

Ariel cake that I made. She had a pool party with her friends...had a blast.

Livia enjoying the pool.

Makynna's cubbies celebration. She was always excited to go to cubbies every Wednesday. She had to memorize a bible verse every week, normally on the drive over to the church (I didn't just say that did I). Next year she will be in Sparks and is already excited.

Makynna's friend Elliana.

Makynna's preschool graduation. It was such a good program! On her last day both Daddy and I made the comment on how sad it was that she was done with preschool, with her reply "why is it sad?" ...well, guess just for mom and dad...
John's confirmation. We are so proud of him, it was a lot of work!!

John and Uncle Cory

John and Great Grandma Phyl and Great Grandpa Neil

Brad and I

Brad's mom, Cheryl, John, Brad's sis Becky, Brad's sis Ericka, Brad's bro Bob, and Brad.

Grandpa Randy, John, and Grandma Rinda.

Cousins: Kolby, Livia, Chloe and Makynna

Jan-March 2009

2009-03-05T18:01:00.000-08:00

Well, it really took me a long time to post an entry this time. Jeez, where does my time go. I probably should be doing my taxes, since they aren't done yet, but this sounds like much more fun.
Below are some pics from our neighborhood of the blizzard in March, since then we've had a record crest with the Red River and another 10-12 inches of snow. I must say that I am proud to say that I am from Fargo/Moorhead after being involved in the fight against the flood. Our communities joined together filling over 5 million sandbags and saving countless homes. It was nothing short of amazing.

There's supposed to be a road in between the tree on the left and the mailboxes.

Grandpa Ribstein and Livi reading a book - Liv's absolute favorite thing to do.

Makynna and Grandpa and Grandma Ribstein's new puppy. He is a Yorkie, born in November and is now known as Keister (IV i think).

Isn't he cute??!!

The proud parents :)Liv was able be in this session of gymnastics, they can start at 18 months. It is a parent/child class, and I wasn't sure how she would do. Livi is much more active than Makynna ever was or is. She did really good though. Above she just got done with a station and had to raise her hands and say Ta Da to get some stamps.

Getting stamps. Once she realized what she needed to do to get them, there was no stopping her. She was covered!

In the foam pit...looks like fun, but Mom has to pull her out. Talk about a work out - whew!

Makynna did these. She drew hearts and cut them out herself, I thought that was really good! She worked hard to get them just right (I would say there were 10 practice ones that she drew that were just right). She colored the picture too, she is getting really good at coloring. Will do the whole picture now, instead of just part. She pays attention to detail, coloring the flowers red and putting stripes on Arthur's sister's shirt (not sure what her name is).

Makynna took this picture of John, one of the rare ones that we get of him...

Brad and Makynna made snowmen after this last blast of winter. Note - it was just this week. Ugh!

Makynna and the snowmen.

Liv

John buried Kynn in the snow.

For valentines day from Brad, all of us girls got matching pjs aren't we cute :)

Sisters - so much fun. Although Makynna has a "devilish" look about her...

Makynna before her dance.

Makynna's group danced during half time of the DGF boys basketball game. She loved it!!

This is a picture of John and his team. Livia decided to color on it. Makynna brought it to me and in a very tattling voice said, "Mom, Livi itched it all up!" Itch - Scratch, I can see where that would be confusing.

Once last pic of John playing hockey. The HS boys ended up going to state and getting 2nd, which was awesome. They (unrated) beat Edina (ranked 1) in the first round and was included in an issue of Sports Illustrated. Pretty cool!

Some cute pics of Liv :)

December/January....fun stuff.

2009-02-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas, the kids were spoiled as usual and it was very busy. We headed to South Dakota on the 23rd and spent time with my parents and headed to Brad's Dad and Elaine for the day. We had a great time playing games and spending time with the family. All the kids have cousins that are close to their age so they had fun. All the gifts were associated with Disney, since that was the main gift from Stan and Elaine, see the pics below. Christmas Eve night was spent with Brad's Grandma Fannie and his aunts, uncles and cousins. Christmas Day started at Brad's Grandma Clark's, then to Brad's moms, and ending up at my parents...back home the next day. It was great seeing everyone, just wish that we could have had more time with everyone.
We had to skip my Grandma Phyl's and Grandpa Neil's so that we didn't feel so rushed Christmas Day. It gets hard to travel when Livi's schedule is messed up. I missed seeing my cousins, aunts and uncles but we'll be there next year :)
As you can see I don't have a lot of pics from Christmas, I forgot the cameras at home. The sister-in-laws took pictures so hopefully I'll get a few from them.

Livia FINALLY getting to go outside and play in the snow. She had fun on the sled with Makynna, didn't want to get off. The only problem she had was getting up when she fell, too many clothes on....reminded me of the Christmas Story.
We stayed out for over an hour on Saturday.
John digging a tunnel for Makynna in the snow. I thought this was hilarious, so I had to take a picture.

Surprise, had the camera ready when he came up for air :)

Liv, again, outside....

Makynna in the tunnel that John built :)
Makynna is doing really good. Loves preschool and I think that she'll do well in Kindergarten. We had to sign her up last week for that, doesn't seem like it's time already. She asked me the other day why God put "naughty" in us. I told her I wasn't sure (she caught me off guard). She said that Jody (daycare) told her that it was so that we learned how to make good choices. (Pretty good Jody, if she got it right). I told her that made sense, I didn't want to go into the devil with her. Since monsters don't sit well with her (nightmares). She said that she wanted to ask God to take the naughty out of her, cause she doesn't like to be naughty. I told her that she'll have to pray. :) The things she comes up with.

Livia saying "cheese" for the camera.

Hello?? She has to be just like the big girls.

Happy girl!
She has started to say more and more words. I finally ventured out with her last week to Target we were in the toy isle looking for a gift and she is looking at all the toys and says "Dora" and points. Then I hear "Pooh", "Mickey"...didn't even know she knew who they were. I'm sure it's mainly because of her big sis. She says "Thank you" very clear, but please is "SSS". She is constantly asking for something whether it's a book or something to eat (is it bad that she knows how to say "candy")? If she doesn't know how to say the word she just says "this". Probably from me holding things up when she wants something and asking "do you want this?". So why wouldn't she say that she wants "this" when asked.

John at hockey. The season is almost done, and it's about this time of year that I'm glad it's almost done. Practice 4 nights a week and games on both days during the weekend gets a little old. Luckily my parents came up for the last tournament in Cloquet (4 1/2 hours away) so we didn't have to take the girls. The ride there and back was so nice...and peaceful. Hopefully Brad's mom will be able to come up for Districts at the end of the month. :) At the last tournament John learned an important lesson. Restraint. He has been pretty physical/aggressive this year, probably because this is 1st year Bantams so there are kids closer to his size. He tends to retaliate when someone checks him or does something that he thinks should have been a penalty but wasn't seen by the ref. It usually results in a penalty for himself, and a lecture from his mother. "The team does better when your on the ice then when you're on the bench...." blah, blah, blah (I'm sure is all he hears). Well this time was different. There was a minute left in the game and he was pushed/hit in the back and he turned around swinging. Ended up hitting the guy in the face (helmet) and he went down. He ended up going off the ice on the board/stretcher and taken to the hospital. John is a very caring person and wouldn't intend to hurt someone like that on purpose. Brad went to get him out of the locker room so he could see he guy getting taken away. He was pretty emotional, and so was mom. Brad and him when to the hospital to see how the kid was and found out that he was going to be fine (played the next day). That was a wake up for John and happy to say he hasn't had a penalty since then... On a happier note...he has reached top scorer for the team, pretty excited about that! :)

2008-12-23T07:02:00.000-08:00

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations..
Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
t he heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom ..

2008-12-20T05:59:00.000-08:00

Makynna and Jaden wiped out after playing all day on Thanksgiving. Looks like they just fell where they were playing...
Makynna and Livia sporting the shades.

John playing hockey.

...and John playing hockey.

Makynna with the ginger bread house she made at preschool.

Makynna at her preschool program, she was one of the Kings.

Kitty is thinking this is his new home....hmmmm...well at least he doesn't climb the tree.
This is Makynna all ready for her dance program. Now for the worst mommy in the world story...I shouldn't admit this, but maybe it will be therapy for me. Let me preface this with her preschool program yesterday, I completely forgot to get the teachers their Christmas gifts and felt pretty bad. I just figured that we'll have to bring them after break. Well, her dance program was last night and I wanted to make sure we had time to get gift cards for their gift so we were ready to go at 6:40. I stopped at Starbucks and got the gift cards, but they didn't have any envelopes left. I thought it would be tacky to just hand them the cards so I stopped at the grocery store on the way and got some 99 cent cards. Well on our way there was an accident, we weren't involved, but it was backing up traffic pretty good. We didn't get there until 7:20 and the show started at 7:30 so we were a little late. I thought it was odd that there wasn't anyone going into the building so I started walking faster. We got up to the door and I noticed that the doors to the gym was shut. I started to panic. We ran in and I found one of the mom's helping another girl (older one). I said that I think we're late, do you know where her group is? She said she thought they were out dancing. My heart stopped. I ran over to the gym doors and looked in. Sure enough, they were out there - just started. I told Makynna that they had already started and that we were too late. The look on her face just destroyed me. "But I want to dance with my friends mommy." ...and then the tears....and then my tears.... How could I have got the time wrong?? It started at 7, not 7:30. Why didn't I check the time before we left?? Why didn't I get the gift cards before??? Why didn't I just skip the gift cards?? Why??? Why??? So we left, both crying, me apologizing over and over. Crying when we got home, my eyes are still puffy. I feel so bad. I don't want this to be the one memory she remembers when she's older of her 4th year.... :( :( :( :( :( I'm sorry baby!!

Disney pics are under this next blog...check them out!!

2008-12-06T13:24:00.000-08:00

I'm trying....

2008-12-03T09:59:00.000-08:00

So..I have been trying to update my blog with all of our Disney photos, ok maybe 25 out of the 600 we took, but things have been going against me. I have all the photos uploaded and just need to write the commentary below them. Sounds easy, doesn't it. Well, last night was a night that was fairly free and I thought I could get a good chunk done. Ummm, yeah, didn't happen.
I took Makynna to dance class, and was home by 6pm. John was doing his homework because he wanted to go to the first home HS hockey game. Livi was off playing with Makynna, and wasn't tugging on my pants for me to read her a book, so I took advantage of the extra time and tried to get a few things picked up and put away. It was a good 10 minutes later, maybe a red flag should have went up before that, but hey I was getting something done... Makynna says, "Livi what do you have on your face?" I perk up...hmmm... "Mom, Livi has boogers all over her face." ...great... I go into the living room and see my daughter with, not sure what, all over her face, hands, clothes. I pick her up - yeah, not boogers. There is at least 1/4 cup of something all over her face. I smell it. Still unsure. I'm trying to wipe it off - not working real well. I sent John in to investigate while I continue to clean. As Livi is saying "AaahKee" and holding her hands up. John comes back to say that it's Bag Balm! You know the stuff that you can put on diaper rash that is the consistency of Vaseline. Oh, boy. So I strip her down, get her cleaned off and go to explore what she touched. Praying that it wasn't on our semi-new couch. I should have prayed when I got home...it was a little too late. There it was, hand prints going down the long side of our L shaped couch (did I mention that it's swede). 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...hand prints. So, I'm trying to clean that up - not sure what I should use, but when I'm wiping it you can't tell where the spot is because everything when wet looks dark. 20 minutes later. Entered said child's room. It is on the changing table's door, inside, all over the floor. She had wipes everywhere too, I'm assuming that she was trying to clean it up or get it off of her hands. So I start cleaning in there. Time goes by, hadn't seen Livi for awhile. Red flag? Should be. I come out of her room and see her in the bathroom, with TP all over, in the toilet and out. Wet TP on the floor. Seriously. Can this be happening. Stay calm. Yeah. I flushed the toilet, praying (again) that it flushed. First time did, second, not so much. Plunged it and all was good.
At this point I needed to take John to the game. I put clothes on Liv and we're gone. Have to stop at the bank to get cash for him, ahhh yeah, no cash card. It's in the coat I wore earlier when I was getting gas... nice. Head back home to get it, get back to the ATM. Sit there. Pin. What's the pin? I know it has a 5, 9, and 0. Two of one number, but in what order. 0059? no. 5009? no. 9005? no 5900? no. Urgh. Stress is getting to me. It's not like I just got this pin. Come on. Decided to stop, didn't want them to cancel the card. Called our neighbor to see if I could borrow $10. Got it and took John to the game. Grabbed McD's for the girls - still hadn't had supper and it was 8:30. Got home fed them and put them to bed. By then it was almost 10. Recleaned the coach. Got stuff ready for today and it was 10:30. End day. Picture? uh. no. wasn't thinking of that at the time. Brad was in Bismarck and lucky enough to only HEAR about he experience and finding it funny. Yeah funny. Maybe I'll think it's funny - in a week.
So, didn't really get any time to do the post. Sorry. Maybe tonight? After confirmation, cubbies and running to the store for a b-day present. Maybe.

Disney World

2008-11-30T13:03:00.000-08:00

Grandpa Stan and Grandma Elaine took the family to Disney World for Christmas on November 16-21. There were a total of 17 of us, which included 3 babies under age 2. The preparations started about a week before...well I wish I started a week before. I had really good intentions, but I started a couple of days before we left. Brad insisted that we were bringing WAY TOO MUCH stuff, I felt we need everything. We packed the van with 4 suitcases, 4 carry ons, the stroller and Livi's carseat. I was exhausted already :)

We flew out of the cities so we drove down the day before (I was able to sneak a little shopping in at the outlet mall on the way). Woke up at 4:30am so we could catch the shuttle to the airport to get our 8am flight. We slept with the girls in our room and with Livi's cold and Makynna's snoring I don't think Brad and I got more than 3 hours of sleep. Not a good way to start the trip... We made it past security...thank goodness we only have to do that twice on the trip! I'm pretty sure the people behind us weren't very impressed with our lack of knowledge on how and what needed to go through the scanner (who knew the stroller PACKED with stuff had to be folded and sent through....not us).

We board the plane with few problems and before we knew it we were in the air. The girls were very well behaved - I was worried about their ears, but they seemed to be ok. We landed at noon and were at Disney by 2:30 or so. We stayed in the Boardwalk Villas which were in walking distance of Epcot and Magic Kingdom. We couldn't check in right away so we decided to go to Epcot for a few hours. ...no nap for any of us...still had a lot of patience though (not sure how).

One of our first stops was at the Nemo ride, Makynna really enjoyed this one. She lists it as one of her favorites.

Makynna and Livia in the shark outside of the Nemo ride.

The next morning we had our first of three character breakfasts. This was something that everyone enjoyed. The food was awesome and the characters went from table to table for picture opps and fun. This one had Lelo and Stitch, and Pluto and Mickey Mouse. We had to get up "super early" again, but it was worth it.

John and cousin Wyatt with Stitch.
Makynna with Stitch. She was in heaven and was really enjoying meeting the characters. She loved them all. I was a little surprise due to the fact that she doesn't like Halloween with all the scary costumes - I guess these weren't so bad. :)

The mom's with the little ones and pluto. Becky and Josie, Carson and Makynna, Me with Livi, Sarah with Owen. (L-R)

Pluto "trying" to get Livi to come over to him. She wanted nothing to do with a puppy THAT big! Sorry Pluto.

John and Wyatt with Pluto.

All of us with Mickey.

After the breakfast, we were off to see Magic Kingdom.

This was Makynna's first stop, she REALLY wanted to see Ariel. Even with the 45 minute wait, Daddy took her. When I first told her that she would get to meet most of the princesses she said, "They're REAL". Oh, she was just amazed that they were real! Livi and I went on the carousel and the Dumbo ride while we waited. When Makynna was done we all went to purchase the signature "mouse ears". All three kids got some. Fun.
That night we went to a Pirate Ship fireworks show. We were able to meet Captain Hook and Mr. Skee. We took a boat out on the lake by the Magic Kingdom and watched the fireworks from there. They had some that looked like falling stars and were playing "Make a wish upon a star..." Grandma told me afterwards that Makynna told her that she made a wish and that her wish was to get a Minnie doll. The morning that we were going home she woke up and found a Minnie doll laying next to her. When she asked me if I got it and I said no, she KNEW that it was her wish coming true. She was so excited and wanted to tell ANYONE that would listen. She still talks about it. It's true, Disney really is magical!
After the pirate show we were able to meet Robin Hood. He wasn't all that excited to stand next to John, he said he he though John was a pirate. He was very animated. :)
Afterwards, Bob and I took Alex and Makynna to see the princesses. Unfortunately they were not there (to late), but we did run into Donald Duck.

The next day was our trip to Sea World and the ocean. We rented a 15 passenger van. ***thanks to our friends, Rick and Brenda for the tickets***

Feeding the dolphins was AWESOME!!! We were able to touch them and everything. This is John feeding one. Makynna was a little tired to start the day. She didn't want to feed them, and then when we had to go she started crying. Well, the person that was working there told her to come with her. She told the dolphins to come over and they started talking to Makynna, they did tricks and she told us to cover our eyes and then say "boo". When we did, the dolphins made a noise like they were screaming (like we scared them).

The dolphin show.

Shamu show, both shows were so fun.

Makynna and Alex on the kids rides at Sea World. This one made Makynna's tummy feel funny.

Makynna and Alex on the Shamu roller coaster. She wanted to ride with Alex and not mom. She's gotten so big since last summer at Valley Fair and she didn't want to ride hardly any rides.

Bob, Alex, me, Makynna in front. Wyatt, Becky, Livia and Shane in the back.Well, the trip to the beach wasn't what I was hoping for. We went to Daytona Beach after Sea World and got there around 6pm. It was already starting to get dark, it was cold, and very windy. There was NO ONE and I mean NO ONE on the beach but us. John and Brad did take off there shoes and go in the water, but Makynna wanted NOTHING to do with it. The waves were probably 6 feet tall. Yikes.

Next day was another character breakfast.

Makynna with Goofy.

Off to Animal Kingdom

Tree that has one of every animal species carved into it.

We all went on a African Safari, this is some of what we saw.

Makynna with Baloo and ?? (can't remember)

Next day...character breakfast.

Makynna, Livia and I with pooh.

Sorry Tigger, Livi still doesn't want anything to do with you guys. Can't you see, she's trying to eat?

Makynna with Alice in Wonderland.

Off to Hollywood Disney...

At the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playland.

Livi by a blade of grass.

These were the green soldiers from Toy Story. It was so cool how much they looked like the toy, fun to watch them too.

Mickey's magical hat at night.

Thursday night we had tickets to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom - it was so much fun.

At the parade, I really like the toy soldiers. They were so in sync and some of them had horns that they played.

At the parade, I told Makynna to wave at the princesses and they might wave back. Well, some of them did. She felt so special that they were waving right at her! They were here!

Cinderella's castle at night, just beautiful.

Grandpa Stan and Grandma Elaine - Thanks for a wonderful trip and lifelong memories.

The five of us.

I just liked this picture of Brad and Makynna. (He has John's ears on...)

John....kinda wish I had one of these at home. :)

Livi - enjoying every minute.

Makynna with Sleeping Beauty.

Makynna with Cinderella. It was funny because the princesses were all calling Makynna "Princess" She asked her what kingdom she was from. :)

Us with Mickey after a LONG day!!

Livi said that we were there LONG enough, but would like to go back when she doesn't need a stroller :)

LONG...overdue post

2008-11-09T20:03:00.001-08:00

Busy...busy...busy. I apologize for not getting to this sooner. We have been super busy at work with all the election stuff going on. Our office is in charge of sending out all the absentee ballots for the county, not to mention all that came in and voted early. It was a long night on November 4, but the result will be one that I will remember for a lifetime. Not only do we have our first African American president, but we (the State of MN) have a close race for US Senator. We had 4 million votes cast with only approximately 450 separating Norm Coleman and Al Franken. This means a recount of all the ballots....did I mention, it's a HAND recount. Each ballot cast will have to be separated by hand and then counted by hand to verify the votes. In Clay County (Moorhead) there were almost 30,000 ballots. So while I'm thrilled that we had a 96+% of registered voters who voted on November 4th, I cannot imagine recounting them.
Luckily for me I will be gone when the recount will take place. We are now a week away from Disney World! We are so exited! ...and a bit nervous, Livi isn't the most patient child. I FEAR the plane ride there. I'm one that likes to be prepared, but tends to procrastinate. So have I packed yet? No. Does that stress me out a little? Yep. I know I'll get it done, but it won't be without a little sweat and worry.

This is a picture of John and his girlfriend, Larissa, at the homecoming dance. The quality isn't the greatest because I scanned the photo in, but they look so cute together. She came over this past weekend, to "hang out" and watch a movie. Very nice girl, but I'm not ready for John to date. How has 14 years gone by so fast??
Hockey is now in full swing. Practice 4 days a week and games on pretty much every Saturday and Sunday. How I wish the driving age was 14 in Minnesota!! ...I can't believe I just said that...
I just drove by the gas station yesterday and gas is at $1.89 a gallon. John made the comment that he doesn't remember it being under $2/gal. Hopefully it stays for awhile. John is also busy with Confirmation, which means sermon notes, volunteering, reading the lessons during church, tests and hopefully a bit of fun mixed in. He hasn't been complaining about going lately, but I figured out that Larissa goes to our church. hhhmmmmm.... whatever works, I guess.
This is a picture from our window at the resort that Brad and I got away to. ***Thanks again Mom!!!*** the view was awesome! The trees were turning colors and I was wishing I could stop and take pictures of everything. It was truly breath taking. We both got massages while we were there, for the first time, it was so relaxing. It was funny though, because from the moment we left home we felt as if we were missing something. It took 5 minutes to pack, we didn't have to stop on the way down, we didn't have to plan around nap time, and it took less than 5 minutes to get a table at a restaurant. It was great to catch up and enjoy some us time.This is Livi after bath, pretty "innocent"....

This is her getting a "little" annoyed with the camera. She has changed so much the past month. She is practically running without fear. She is so different from Makynna at this age, such a dare devil. Climbs on everything, digs in everything, and is very opinionated. She does share in Makynna's love for books. She constantly is wanting to sit down and read a book. From the minute we get home she has a book in her hand and is literally chasing me around the house. If we would read to her 24/7 she would be in heaven! She likes to turn the pages, point, and ask "What's that?" to everything. She has started saying "No, don't" to Makynna. It's pretty cute, and much better than the normal screaming when she doesn't like what big sis is doing to her.

Makynna's pumpkin face that she drew.

The end product with Daddy's work next to it. She carved it all herself, and was very proud. She continues to love preschool and has a great time. The stories are great. She also has gymnastics on Mondays, dance on Tuesdays, and cubbies on Wednesday. She's at the age where she gets up in the morning and asks "What do I get to do today?", instead of the "What do I HAVE to do today" that is the common response from her big brother. A couple of little stories with her: I picked her up one day and she told me that she could spell her name backwards. I said, "really". Thinking that she really didn't know how to spell it backwards. When I asked her to do it, she did. Then I got to thinking that maybe they practiced it in school, why I don't know - you would think it would be hard enough for them to figure out how to spell their names the right way. So I decided to test her, I asked if she could spell John's name backwards, N-H-O-J she says. Ok, that's a short name...so I asked about Livia, A-I-V-I-L...I'm pretty much speechless at this point. I, yes I, really have to think about how it goes and my four year old has no hesitation in her voice. I don't know what kind of use this has in everyday life, but I was impressed. She also likes to add. 3+3, 2+4....anything that she can use her fingers for she can figure out. I think that's pretty good too!

We have had some issues with nightmares this past week. Sunday night she woke up around 4am and said that she had a bad dream. Normally, I stay with her awhile and she falls back to sleep and is fine. Not this time, she was terrified. Will not lay down, nothing. She wants to sleep in our bed, which I wasn't about to give in. But after 1/2 hour of trying to convince her that she was ok, I let her sleep on the floor by our bed. She still didn't want to fall asleep, and was up every half hour until we got up. We figured out that the dream that she had that night, had to do with going to the park with John and a robot picked her up and put her in it's mouth. She hasn't watched any shows with robots, so I'm not sure where it came from. ...other than my roomba (robotic vacuum) that she is freaked out by... We have be fighting with it all week. She doesn't want to go to sleep, because she is afraid that she'll see it in her dreams. The next night she DID sleep with us (just so we could get some sleep too) and the second she fell asleep in our bed, but Brad took her to her room after she fell asleep. She's a little better now, but it took A LOT of convincing.

Makynna in the leaves.

Livi - that first flash gets her :)

Candling Makynna's ears. Makynna has a huge fear of doctors and her ears. Ever since she was 2 and had to get them flushed, she has NOT wanted anyone touching her ears. Not good, since she has a huge ear wax problem. This was the first time that we had tried this, you would not believe how much wax came out of those little ears. Gross!! but, she says she can hear better :)

Makynna's cross that she made at Sunday School. Their 4 year old faith milestone is celebrated by making a wooden cross necklace. She is very proud.

I promise to post after our trip. Hope all is well with everyone.

walking, writing and first dates

2008-10-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

Once again the past couple of weeks have been full of milestones. It's funny how far apart the milestones are with Livia and John. I know they are 13 years apart, but it's interesting to be experiencing them at one time.
Makynna is drawing and writing notes like crazy. I bet I get at least 10 every night, and that doesn't include the ones that she is doing for other people. She wants to know how to spell everything (and reminds us only 2 letters at a time or she might mess up), and is very detailed with her descriptions of her artwork. We have conferences with her preschool teacher on Wednesday and are interested to see what they have to say. I don't mind going to hers. :)
For a few weeks Livi has been, shall we say "moody", if this is a sneak peek into adolescence with her....look out. She can go from laughing to screaming in .4 seconds. I'm not sure if it was her teeth coming in (she was getting 4 on the top all at the same time) or if it was her frustration with walking. She has gotten thru both and is a very happy baby - for the time being... We got her first shoes at Stride Rite and that has made a huge difference. They are made for crawlers that are beginning to walk, so they have rubber soles but are very flexible. She's zooming everywhere. She'll probably be running by the time we go to Disney - scary thought.
John had his first "official" date. It was homecoming a couple of weeks ago. John doesn't say too much about the girls that he likes or is "seeing", so I didn't think much of it when he said that he was going to the homecoming dance. He called me when we were at the pumpkin patch, wondering if he could go to the Olive Garden with Hans (one of his friends he plays hockey with)before the dance. Of course that meant that they were going with their dates too, but that was just to be implied. I started to wonder if he was supposed to dress up for this dance... When we had homecoming back when I was in high school it wasn't a big deal and you didn't dress formal by any stretch of the imagination. I just figured that he would wear a nice shirt and jeans, since he didn't ask to go shopping earlier in the week. So, I get home and there he is in Brad's dress pants and dress shoes, but is wearing his own shirt. I guess he had another growth spurt and his pants didn't fit from last year. He did look nice though. Hans' brother brought them all to the restaurant and I got to pick them up. I was impressed when I picked them up, John introduced me to all of them. His girlfriend's name is Larissa and is very pretty and I guess she goes to our church; no wonder why he hasn't been complaining about going lately. :) He said he had a good time and even danced - trying to picture that...hopefully he takes after me... He is also going to start his first job. He'll be working for Chelsea at Raising Bread in the mall. I think it will be good to work with her, but she's been told not to take it easy on him. He needs to experience the real world and understand that money doesn't grow on trees:) He'll only be working every other Saturday when he doesn't have hockey, and on school breaks. Just another place to haul him to...
Grandma and Grandpa Ribstein are coming up this weekend to watch the kids while Brad and I go to Cragun's Resort on Gull Lake, near Brainerd, MN. We are sooo looking forward to some time away, hopefully the grandparents know what their getting into. :)
Happy Livi...and just 1 second later...
Look out!! Makynna had an assignment for preschool to bring pictures of her family glued on a piece of construction paper. I didn't realize that Brad and I haven't a picture taken since Livi was born. Here we are...
Getting a picture of all three kids was difficult. Makynna was making every silly face imaginable, Livi just wanted to get down, and John was just trying to hold on to Liv and look at the camera. Gotta love it!
A couple of weekends ago Chelsea and I took Jaden, Makynna, and her friend Sophia to the pumpkin patch. They had a blast. We took a wagon ride in the "not so scary" forest, went in the straw bale maze, saw a real cowboy and learned how to twirl a rope. What fun!
Everyone being silly.
Jaden, Sophia and Makynna.

This last week...

2008-09-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

Livi was caught going through my purse.Making herself familar with credit cards.
What??

John at the football game last Thursday.John The fans: Grandma and Grandpa Ribstein and Grandpa Stan and Grandma Elaine came up to watch John play football. It was a great day, temp wise, which doesn't happen often for football. Unfortunately, the team lost - but it was still fun to have the Grandparents there.
Livi just loves her babies now. She gives them kisses and hugs and will carry them around. She is starting to walk on her own now. Mostly from point A to point B (dad to mom, or furniture to John), not from room to room. She is pretty proud of herself.

Makynna at gymnastics, she is in the foam pit.Jumping into the foam pit.
She is jumping from lilly pad to lilly pad.

Makynna started Cubbies this last week. It is a church class (Awana) on Wednesday's for 1 1/2 hours. It is at Jody's church and Ellie was in it last year (but is in Sparks this year). She loved it, and has been asking when she gets to go back. Waking up and asking if it's Cubbie day today, Wednesday can't come fast enough. She said her favorite part was singing this song that they were able to stick their tongues out for. "and I didn't even get in trouble" Funny, what amazes her at this age.

More from the photo shoot...

2008-09-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

Additional shots..

I even got one of John, without his permission - of course.

The Gingerbread Man

2008-09-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

So I pick up Makynna from Preschool today, and she is super excited to tell me about her day at school. Normally it's the usual, played with this...made that... She said that they read the book "The Gingerbread Man"....and she actually SAW the gingerbread man. I said "Really?". She said "Yeah, I saw him run by our room. He's real mom, I saw him. He took our box of cookies. We found a note in our room that said he was there and took the cookies and to come to the Start Room. When we went there I found another note, that said he wanted to check out the office. So, we all went to the office, and it took us awhile to find it, but there were our cookies." I said, "Wow that was an exciting day." She said that it was and "that the fox tricked the gingerbread man into climbing on his tail and then his back and then his nose - and ATE him. It's not nice to trick people is it Mom?" It was so cute.

2008-09-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

Chelsea and I were taking pictures of the kids on Friday. I wanted to get some shots of Livia for her 1 year old pictures, and took some of Jaden, Zachary, Makynna and got a couple of John. I'm having trouble loading some so I'll try the others later. We ended up with 300 pictures and narrowed it down to 180 some. We had a great time!

Jaden, Chelsea's youngest, he'll be 3 in November.
Makynna...
Zachary, Chelsea's oldest, on the train at the depot.

Makynna and Livi at the fountain.
Makynna on the "coolest" tree at Concordia.
Livi - I just love this picture.

....more to come.

2008-09-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

Livi on the dock out at the lake. She loves the water, and would actually jump in if you were to let her. She isn't too fond of the boat right now either. The life jacket makes her mad, and the fact that I won't let her go over into the water doesn't make her too happy either. Hopefully next year will be better.
Brad reading the girls a story before bed. It appears that Livi is going to share in Makynna's love for books. Makynna starts her new preschool tomorrow and she is so excited. She received a postcard in the mail from her teacher, saying that she was excited to have her in class and that they have gotten all the books, dressup, dolls, trucks etc ready to start the year. She will go M,W, and F from 9 - 11:30. She has been writing on post-it notes (tons) she writes to: (whomever) From Makynna and writes the words: Mom, Dad, Dog, Cat. She has one for her teacher too.
Cute picture of the girls before bed.

This is a hornet's nest that was on the boat trailer at the lake. It was HUGE!!

We were playing dress up this last weekend. I thought this was hilarious. Makynna has her glasses on that are missing one of the eye pieces and she was putting on lip stick for at least 5 minutes.
Liv enjoying playing dress up too. Livi has been starting to be brave in the walking area. She'll try and walk from Brad to me and make it a few steps before getting ahead of herself. She will also walk by just holding one of our fingers. I don't think it will be long until she's walking on her own. Brad's determined to have her walking "good" by the time we go to Disney World. She is getting her top 4 teeth all at once, so hasn't been the happiest baby this last week. But I'm not blaming her, it's gotta hurt.
I am trying to get her new found "drama flop" on video and attach it, but I've been too late. If you put her somewhere or go somewhere she doesn't want to go she sits on the floor and flops between her legs to the floor and cries.

John's first day of High School was today. I dropped him and a friend off at school and I think I was more nervous that either of them (shocking, I know). He said that he had a good day, and likes most of his teachers. I hope this year goes well.

He's been doing really well on the football team this year. I'm not sure if I mentioned, but there are 52 guys on the freshman team and they only have one team. The first game he played all the defense plays (as a corner) and some of the offense as a wide-out. He is really enjoying it.

Was Dat??

2008-08-18T16:09:00.000-07:00

This week was full of "firsts" for all the kids... John started football practice, his 1st high school practice. He decided two days before that he wanted to play. So that left us running around getting stuff from his doctor and the gear. **that's not the first time that he's waited until the last minute** They work him pretty hard at the 3 hour practices.

Makynna had her first dentist appointment this last week. She has been watching a video at daycare on how to take care of her teeth and has been asking when she'll get to go to the dentist. When I told her that she was going to see the dentist she said she was excited, then a few minutes later she said that she was just a little scared. She was VERY brave!! She let the assistant and the dentist do what they needed to do and didn't complain once. On our way out she asked when she could go back. When we got home, I think she "flossed" her teeth for an hour!

Livia had her first birthday party this past weekend in South Dakota. She shared the party with her cousin Alex, who was turning 7. She had a great time, I've attached some pictures below. For awhile now, every time we pick her up she points at something and says "Was dat?" It was cute at first... She also loves to talk on the phone, she'll pick up the phone or a toy one and hold it backwards and say "hi". I remember Makynna doing the same thing. She's still "speed crawling" but wants to walk with your fingers all the time.

Here are the cakes I made. Alex's is in the back and Livi's in the front. :)- Yummy!
Alex and Livi...and me.

Here is Livi with one of her gifts, she couldn't wait for me to take it out. She loves to play with it and all the accessories - including the phone...

Livi before cake....

Livi after cake... YUM!

Had to include this picture of Brad's sisters, Ericka and Becky, I love it.

Being without mom and dad...

2008-08-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

I had to drop off John and his friend Mike at Bible Camp last Sunday. I was a bit nervous, John has spent time away from us of course, but only with family. This was a little different, and just another milestone that Mom had to get through. When we got there we had to go and register. On the way over there all we saw were little clusters of girls - where ever you turned...there were more. I made the comment that "I thought I signed you guys up for an all boys camp," and before I could finish my sentence Mike said... "If it were all boys we wouldn't have signed up" Look out for that one!! John said that he had an "OK" time, but I think he enjoyed it. I'm pretty sure that I missed him more that he missed us...
Makynna on the other hand, must still like to be around Brad and I. I had a good friend's daughter, Beth, come over and babysit the other night so I could go out to WeFest. Beth said that after she put Livia to bed her and Makynna were coloring. Mid-coloring Makynna looked up at her and said "You know, sometimes it's really hard to be without your mom and dad and be with someone else." How cute!! BTW Beth when she got up she said that she really had fun with you and whenever she needed a babysitter she wanted to get you :)

Loco Dayz

2008-08-09T21:29:00.001-07:00

Makynna and Mom went to Loco Dayz in Dilworth last weekend, while Daddy stayed home with Livia. She wasn't feeling well that day. It was a good time, we went to "another parade" and Makynna has enough candy to hand out for Halloween this year :) After that we went to Penny and Pals with our "pals" Jody and Ellianna. The girls had a great time dancing and singing.
Makynna is at a Penny and Pals workshop. Penny is a children's singer that Makynna just LOVES. She had a good time dancing and singing. She's in front of "rockin' robot" and Penny is in the pink shirt.
Ellianna and Makynna
The girls enjoying the inflatable games.
Jumping...
.....and more jumping.

Honey Days!!

2008-08-05T18:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm finally able to update, it's been driving me nuts! John, Andy (John's friend), Makynna, Livia and I went to grandma and grandpa Ribstein's the last weekend in July for Honey Days. This is my home town of approx 250 people which was turning 125 years old. We had a great time.
Thursday night was the fireworks. The show was great, better than the 4th of July here in Moorhead. This picture turned out pretty neat, and Makynna pointed out the fact that it looks like a jelly fish. Hmmm....didn't know that she knew what they were, but it does.
This is Livia during the fireworks, my grandma - her great-grandma is holding her. She said that everytime one was fired Livi would jump. She is holding on pretty tight to her tank top. She was still holding on when we went into the house too. I don't think she knew what to think.

This is Jed and Kacy with the twins- Hunter and Talan (L-R). I hope I got that right. The baby shower was really fun. Livia wasn't real sure of the babies. She sat next to them and acted like she wanted to touch them, but would get really close and back away. They just weren't like her dolls at home.
This was hilarious! Everytime that Livi would crawl to the cement from the outdoor rug at my parents house she would come up off her knees and walk on all fours. I'm sure the concrete hurt her knees, but it was a funny sight.

This was in the parade on Saturday, in case you can't tell the theme for "honey" days had to due with honey and bees...

Kolby, Makynna and Chloe waving during the parade to get candy. The parade lasted 1 1/2 hours! This was the FIRST time that Makynna sat by me and said that she was "too tired" to get any more candy (with only 5 minutes left).
My Uncle Russ came up with his Model A and John and Andy got to ride in the back and throw candy. I think the boys had a good time. There was a teen dance on Friday that I wasn't sure if they went to or not....the bedroom door was shut when we got back from the baby shower. I opened it and got a big whiff of cologne, that answered my question. Normally you don't open the door to a teenage boy's room and smell anything good.

Just a cute picture of Livi eating ice-cream.

They had free rides at the park on what I would call a "wagon train" it was a bunch of little carts/wagons pulled by a 4 wheeler. This is Makynna with my cousin's little girl Alayah (sorry if I spelled it wrong Kim)....isn't she adorable!!

This is my brother Cory's car (which used to be Brad's in college) taking part in the "burn out" after the car show.

They had a kid parade on Sunday that the kids took part in. The sign says "They "THINK" they're queen bees". Kolby drove while the girls threw candy that was in the trailer that he was pulling. They had a blast.
Makynna decided to take part in the tractor pull after the kiddie parade. I was suprised that she wanted to do it - being a "city girl" and all.

She ended up getting 2nd place for 4 year old girls (out of 3) and cousin Kolby got 1st place for 4 year old boys (out of 5, I think). He qualified for the "state tractor pull" in September. I thought there might have been an issue with the fact that Kolby got a trophy and Makynna only got a medal (especially with the lack of sleep for the past few days). Makynna just said that "Even though I got a medal, I think I'm just going to pretend that it is a trophy." That works!!

We had a great time, we'll be back next year!!!

Happy 14th Birthday John!!

2008-07-21T19:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to JOHN!!! Happy Birthday to JOHN!! He's going to be 14 tomorrow! I CANNOT believe that my "baby" is going to be that old. Man, where does the time go. He's going to be THRILLED that I put this picture up here, but if he'd let me "take" some pictures he wouldn't complain. Enjoy your day John - Love you!!

I made this diaper cake (with help from Brenda and Chelsea) for my cousin's baby shower for her twins. It was fun to make, especially attaching double of everything. The shower is this Friday and I can't wait to hold those babies! :)
I was in charge, or I should say volunteered, to do the invitations for the baby shower. I had fun doing them and LOVE how they turned out. They are two boys, Talan and Hunter, and although you cannot see it they have red hair, just like their (late) Grandpa Ribstein. He would have been so proud of these two boys! He loved babies/children. Congrats Kacy and Jed - their gorgeous!!
Well this seems to be the view that we have of Livi now. She isn't walking yet, which is fine by me, it's hard enough to keep up with her crawling. It seems that SHE has a hard time keeping up too. She goes so fast that her arms can't keep up with her legs and she ends up "tripping" and doing a head plant on the floor. She just has to slow down. ...I wonder how many times I will say that.... Jody, the girls' second mom (daycare), weighed her last week and she's up to 23lbs 8 ozs. Just this last weekend when we were in Walmart I had two women come up to me and ask how old she was (she's 11 months today) they guessed 18 months. Crazy!!
Here is Makynna at the lake a couple of weekends ago. She was messing around with daddy's fishing hat. It was kinda cold and rainy that weekend so we had to entertain ourselves (no TV out there). We have a seasonal camper on Little Toad Lake that we share with our neighbors and friends, Rick and Brenda and their son Riley who is the same age and friends with John. We have the camper every other weekend. It's a great time to relax and to spent some good quality time together. Our lives are so busy and this gives us a chance to reconnect. The campground is really nice, we have docks for the boat and lift, a swimming pool (that's always freezing), and a lodge where the kids can go and play pool and just hang out.

4th of July fun...

2008-07-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July we went to the MSUM parade. Makynna loves parades, or I should say she LOVES getting the candy. I told her that she has to wave to the floats or vehicles in the parade to get them to throw candy her. So she's consistently waving and gets upset when people don't throw candy. She'll say, "But mama, I was waving". I don't understand why they don't all have candy either. That should be one of the requirements of entering a parade. After the parade Brad took the kids to Hartford, SD to his brother's house for the 4th. I stayed back to get some things done at work and at the house. It was a productive weekend for me, I told Brad this will have to be an annual thing. Maybe not always on the fourth, but at some time during the year. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Makynna "waving" during the parade.

At Uncle Bob's house: Cousins (L-R) Alex, Makynna, Wyatt, Josie, John, and Livia.

Livia sharing some food with Josie.

In Madison, SD with Brad's grandma Clark: L-R Makynna, Brad, Livia, Wyatt, Becky with Josie, Travis, Grandma Clark, John, Bob, and Brandi.

Birthdays, cousins and fishing

2008-07-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

Makynna, Owen (1), Livia (9 months), Josie (11 months). Just wait until this Christmas when these "little cousins" are going to be running around. Look out!!

Makynna with cousins Kolby (4) and Chloe (2). They always have a blast together.

Makynna and Daddy on the boat at the lake. She was SO excited to try and catch a fish, and he so determined to make her a fishing partner. After 1 1/2 hours of trying with no luck we headed back. While Livi and I headed up to the camper, Makynna put her pole in at the dock. Almost has soon as it was in, there was a fish. She was so surprised, but once it started to flop on the dock she was done. The princess came out and the screaming began.

Welcome!!

2008-07-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

I decided to start a blog to keep everyone updated on how and what we are doing. A few of my friends and family have blogs, and I've always wanted to start one. So here it goes...