Track and Field - Jordan

Jordan likes being active, but I'm not sure that I would call him super athletic (unless you consider climbing anything and everything athletic). That being said, he did AWESOME at track and field this year. He got 4 blue ribbons and 2 red ribbons. The 2 red was for the baseball throw and the 50 yard dash. I was proud of him. In the 50 yard dash it was totally who you were paired up against, they didn't put the "good" runners against the "good" runners, so it was all luck of the draw and he still got 2nd. He got a first place in the "Shoe toss (yes I'm pretty sure they could find a better "sport" than a shoe toss...but the kids seemed to enjoy it. What is it? you toss the shoe off your foot and see how far it goes. Not really something I want him to be good at or practicing at home :) ), jump rope, long distance run and long jump. It was really fun to watch him this year as he tried hard at everything he did. Last year, he walk the long distance track with a friend of his instead of running. This year, he ditched his friend and gave it his all. Jordan's class was the grand champion for the boys at tug of war. I'm sure it was all because of Jordan's super strength :)

Resturant Critic - Osaka

If you want to have not just food, but an experience, Osaka is a resturant you should definately try. I've sat at both the Sushi bar side and the Hibachi side. Kids can come and will have a good time. On the Hibachi side of the resturant, the chefs cook on a grill right in front of you. They entertain while they cook. We ordered a Spicy Crab Roll, the Hibachi chicken and shrimp with salad and fried rice and then ended with an Alaskan Roll. The Spicy crab roll was DELICIOUS! Great texture, wonderful flavor. The Hibachi chicken and shrimp along with the fried rice was made in front of us. It was the best fried rice I've had recently. The chicken was amazingly tender. The Shrimp was cook very well, but I've had better. The salad dressing had an interesting flavor to it, almost like a mix between a thousand island and sushi sauce of some sort. It tasted good, but definately wasn't "Classic" if that's what you like. The Alaskan Roll tasted too fishy for my liking. The cost wasn't terrible. The sushi rolls were only around $5.00 and the Hibachi combo was about $25.00. It was a clean, fun resturant with a great upbeat atmosphere. The food was good, some of it great, but definately a place that we'll go to again.

My mom

A lot of people say that once they become a parent they are really thankful for their parents because they now realize just how tough it is and what a good job they did. I did come to appreciate my parents more after I had kids...however, my mom was honestly so great that I remember bragging to my friends, and people that I knew, about how my mom was the perfect mom. She was patient and kind. Loving, even in her punishments. She laughed a lot. She always included us in what she was doing whether it be cooking, cleaning, crafts...we got to do it to (which me begin a control freak understands that having kids help you is NOT always a help :) ). She ALWAYS seemed to have time for us, whether it was reading our bedtime stories (when it was sad, she would start crying and dad would have to finish reading it...if it was happy sometimes she'd laugh so hard, we couldn't understand her) or watching our many, MANY dance routines and performances. She was encouraging and proud of what we did. She had a great balance, in my opinion, of keeping the house clean to teach us not to be pigs, but knowing that there are also more important things to do than always cleaning. She let us be kids, but taught us responsibility. She had the patience to teach us all the way from K-11th grade (for me), which I know wasn't easy because I would get very frustrated when I didn't know something. She made life fun. She is the most giving person I know. She would give the shirt off her back if she thought someone could use it, and yet she is so humble she wouldn't think that she did anything big. She taught me how to love, how to give, how to be a wife and mom that is Godly, how to live life for the moments and appreciate all the things in life...little and big. I know this sounds cliche, but I would NOT be the person I am if it wasn't for her amazing influence on my life. My mom is the most amazing person I know. If I can become half the person she is, I'll be pretty proud! I love you mom!

A wonderful Mother's day!

Mother's day was wonderful this year. I had to teach my 2 and 3 year old Sunday School (but they were all really good for me). After church was over, we went to a Sushi and Hibachi grill.

I wasn't sure if the kids would like it or not, but it was so cool. They cook all the food (besides the sushi) right in front of you. They light the grills on fire, they toss food into peoples mouths, do cool things with their knives. It's all very entertaining and the food is great.


Sydney tried Sushi (although she decided she didn't like it much). She loved the fried rice. Jordan just had a salad, but loved watching everything. It's Sydney's new "Favorite" resturant. We came home for a short time and then I decided that we should go for walk/scooter ride around Lake Calhoun.


The day couldn't have been better. Arlie and I brought books. We'd walk for awhile until the kids wanted to play and then we'd sit down and read and let the kids play. We spent a couple of hours there...until Jordan didn't get his way and then all went down hill from there. We had to leave. Fortunately, it had still been so much fun that it was worth going! We came home and I read a book for the evening. It was perfect, wonderful and lovely. I loved the time together with my family! God really blessed me by giving me the best family ever :)

Bell Museum

Sydney's class got to go on a field trip to the Bell Museum off the University of Minnesota campus. I love Kindergarten because they don't limit the number of chaperons (in Jordan's class they draw names and my hasn't ever been drawn :( ). I had another mom and 10 kids with me. We spent a good 3-4 hours there and they didn't get to even see a portion of the museum. It is filled with dioramas.
The student tour guides were great. They played games to show how different animals got their food or different habit of the animals.



They have a great touch and feel room where the kids can literally touch almost everything in the room. You could spend hours just in that room.


They did a presentation for the kids about the differences between moths and butterflies. I learned something new and hopefully the kids did as well. I love getting to see Sydney interacting with her friends and getting to know her classmates. It was a fun day :)

May 7th....ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Really? Really? It really is snowing in Minnesota on May 7th/8th? I have nothing else to say other than...REALLY?

Unanswered prayers

I was driving and listening to the radio. The song, Unanswered Prayers (I believe that is the name) was playing. The words are:

Sometimes I thank God, for unanswered prayers
Remember when your talkin' to the Man upstairs
Just because He doesn't answer, doesn't mean He doesn't care
Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.

It got me thinking of all the things I've prayed for over the years and never got answered. Many of them I can look back and be very thankful because God truly did have a better way and was in control of the situation despite what I thought at the time. It makes you think that when there is something you are praying really hard for, that maybe God's gift to you will be NOT answering it. Maybe we won't even know it until years down the road, but ultimately we see the small picture and He see the WHOLE picture. It does make me feel better to be thankful instead of frustrated when God has a different plan than me than I think He should. So...Thank you God for not always answering my prayers!

The new Twins Stadium

The little yellow arrow is where we sat.

Joe (Arlie's brother-in-law) got some great seats for the Twins/Tigers game on Wednesday. I was fortunate enough to find a babysitter and got to go with him for most of the game. The new stadium is SOOO COOL! I absolutely loved it. I'd go to every game if I could. It was windy and cold and rained a little bit, but everyone who said there is something great about being outside for a baseball game was so right. It doesn't seem like there is a bad seat in that stadium. I loved sitting and seeing the skyline, feeling the wind in my face. I love watching the windy blow wrappers across the field. It was so fun. I've always loved a good baseball game, but I think I love them all the more now. I can't wait to go to a game when it's actually nice out. WOO HOO! :)

Having fun at the game!

Joe with Beer and Cheese Curds :) Livin' the good life.

great seats! :) Thanks JOE!

The Corner

#1: Cut down bushes
#2: Pull out stumps with tree wench
#3: Dig out landscaping rocks
#4: Dig out huge cement blocks
#5: Let it sit through out the winter

#6: Stare at the corner over and over again wondering what in the world to do with it
#7: Pester Arlie enough that he finally draws up a plan :) Ok, so he wasn't hard to convince.

#8: Flatten and level front of dirt pile
#9: Lay black landscaping mat
#10: Make a beautiful retaining wall of sorts

#11: Admire Arlie's work and tell him how much better it already looks!

#12: Add a ton of black dirt and compost
#13: Mix in dirt...work those muscles
#14: Place plants where we think they should go, add big rocks
#15: Move them a bit...good enough :)

#16: Plant the lovely flowers


#17: Add mulch
#18: Again, stand back and admire the lovely work

#19: Shovel rock from by the house
#20: Sift all the dirt out of it. Pull all the leaves and twigs out of it
#21: Dump rocks around the edge of the wall...

#22: Pat Arlie on the back once again to a job...amazingly well done!

The Adventures of Jordan and Gramps

Gramps (my dad) used to do what he called "boss dad days". I got to pick what I wanted him to do and he'd do it with me. He did that for Jordan the last time he was down here. So...they (Jordan with my dad following) decided to go for a walk to Jordan's school. When they were almost there they past an apple blossom tree with a lot of blossoms on the sidewalk. Jordan picked up some handfuls and then decided that what he really wanted to do was go to the ice cream store and see if they would trade some apple blossoms for a triple decker cone (that's right...my boy shoots for the moon :) ). He figured because the blossoms smelled so good maybe they could sell the blossoms for Mother's day. Well...apparently at the ice cream store they told him that they didn't think it was a very fair trade and they couldn't do it. He left them a couple of blossoms as a tip. Not letting that discourage him, he decided to go to Little Caesars. There he would ask for a 2 liter of Dr. Pepper, Root Beer, 2 pizzas and some cheesy bread...in exchange for some apple blossoms. He patiently waited for his turn, but again they told him that they couldn't do it, it wasn't a good trade for them. He left them some blossoms as well...as a tip. Well he was born with a pretty stubborn streak, so he decided to go one last place:Blockbuster and see if they would trade him six (not one, but SIX) monster movies for some apple blossoms. Apparently they gave my dad a very strange look, but he just shrugged his shoulders. They told him that no they wouldn't do that for him. He walked out and then remember that he forgot to leave a tip. Gramps told him that he was probably ok not leaving one there, but Jordan was determined that they really needed one. So he went back in and left all the rest of the apple blossoms he had. They walked home without anything.

The only thing that I wish is that I had witnessed this :) After hearing the story from Jordan, I told him how proud of I was of him. It takes guts to keep going and keep trying even after people had told him no because you never know what you might get unless you try!

My favorite summer activities

I love when our ice cream store (The Big Dipper) opens every year. I love to go for walks to the store (it's the best way to get everyone excited about going for a walk). The kids typically ride their bikes and Arlie and I walk. We kinda lolly gag and talk and enjoy the beautiful weather. The Big Dipper opened and we went on our first adventure there :) We got ice cream and sat by the pond and pretended to watch the ducks (there weren't any). The most interesting part of all of this: it's one of my most favorite things to do...but I almost never get ice cream. I just watch them eat it. I just enjoy the time with them and the walking hand in hand with my best friend watching the most beautiful kids ever loving life!

The kids excited when I told them about our adventure.
Sitting by the pond...no ducks.

Jordan: I've come to a conclusion. There should be more land then water that way we get rid of the Bermuda Triangle.
Jordan: Banana ice cream
Sydney: Cotton Candy ice cream
Arlie: Blueberry cheesecake ice cream
My favorite people!