Long time no see....

I've begun to reconnect with some of my cousins that I haven't seen or spoken to in a long time via Facebook. I've realized how bad of a cousin I've been when I started to think when the last time that I've actually seen my cousins on my dad's side (I think the last time I saw one of my cousins was when I was 10 and in my aunt and uncle's wedding...how sad is that!). I've been so happy to find them on facebook and have loved just hearing their little updates and being able to see pictures and comment back and forth. It's been wonderful.

I updated my facebook account that I was going out to Vegas for a conference. Matt, my cousin that I haven't seen since I was 10, saw it and asked about when I was going, what I was doing..etc. (He just recently moved down to AZ, although, where he moved is 6 hours from Vegas...I checked in hopes maybe my dad and I could rent a car and go and see him). He said that he has some continuing education classes he was probably going to take that weekend, but some friends of his were also going to be in Vegas the same time we were, so he might change his mind and come up there. I left my phone number with him and said we'd love to see him if he indeed came to Vegas!

We arrived in Vegas on Friday night. Saturday morning, I received a text from Matt saying that he decided to go to Vegas afterall and he'd love to get together sometime. I was so incredibly excited. I know he didn't come up there just for us, but I loved that he came when we were there! It meant SOO much to me. We decided to meet at Fat Burger for some lunch. He brought a friend of his and they were both so nice! I knew he had several friends that had come to Vegas so I assumed that he would eat lunch with us and then jet to hang out with his friends, but after lunch he asked if we wanted to go walk the strip or do something else. It was great. We went to Mandalay Bay to see the shark display, but decided after seeing that it would be about $20.00 each, to do something else. We ended up walking the Miracle Mile Shopping as well as seeing the Bellagio and Ceasar's Palace. We spent hours just talking and walking. My only regret is I didn't take the time to get to know him earlier in life. He's a great guy and so much fun! I'm so incredibly thankful that he took the time to see my dad and I and spend time with us! We finally had to leave to go to a show that we had gotten tickets for, but it was definately one of the highlights of my trip! We have such an amazing family, including cousins, and I'm just so fortunate to be a part of it.

What I crave....

We were driving to church and Jordan was sitting in the back seat chatting away.

"Mom, do you want to know what I crave, I mean REALLY crave?"

Stifling a laugh, "Yes, Jordan. I'd love to know what you crave, really crave."

"Well, the things that I crave, the things I'm really addicted to are:
1. Yugioh
2. Yugioh 5D
3. Webkins
4. Pokemon
5. Bakugans
6. Strawberry Milk
7. Chicken
8. Ice cream
9. Whip cream
10. Pie

Those 10 things are what I'm totally addicted to."

SO...there you have it, the cravings of an 8 year old :)

Busy hands

When I have time to watch TV (besides at 2 in the morning when i'm falling asleep waiting for Arlie to come to bed), I like to keep my hands busy. I enjoy feeling like I'm doing something and not just wasting time. Since I spend most of my time on the computer lately, I haven't had much time for crafts or creative things like that. I've always loved the idea of crocheting, but pretty much stink at it. I've tried my hand at it in the past. I got myself a book on how to learn the basic stitch and tried to learn. I made a scarf. I was amazed at how well I could add and take away stitches and make it look very zig zagged without even trying...sometime while counting my stitches to make sure i did the same amount every line. So...instead of practicing more (so that I can really learn how to do it and be good at it) I put it away and every now and then think about doing it. Well...I LOVE the olympics! I love to watch them every minute I can and decided that if I was going to spend that much time watching the Olympics, that I wanted to be doing something...so I picked up my hook. Funny thing is...I haven't improved much (weird isn't it? ;)), but this time I've been looking at it as I'm practicing and not like I'm trying to "make" something that turns out really cute!!! I made a "scarf"...but it wasn't long enough, so i crochets the ends together and made a neck warmer for skiing instead. One end is only about an inch and a half longer than the other. Not terrible for my first time back "practicing". Then I tried my hand at a gray scarf this time not as wide and longer so that you could actually wear it. I think the ends were less then 1/2 inch difference....getting better ;). My very favorite thing that I've seen crocheted is hats. I love knit hats. So, me being the "experienced" crocheter (after all I've done 3 whole things now...none of which have lined up...but it's ok...i'm practicing ;) ) I decided I'd make up a way to crochet a hat. I have to say, it was a lot of fun. I had a design in my head, had no idea how to do it...just tried something and for being as inexperienced as I am...it didn't turn out so bad!!! I could really enjoy doing hats! I have to say, I am enjoying it so much more now that I took the pressure off of me and no longer have to have a perfect piece!

Sushi Date

Arlie and I are starting to enjoy Sushi (not that we hadn't before, we just hadn't tried it). My parents were down this weekend and watched the kids, so we took advantage and went out to Sushi. We tried some called the Black Dragon. It had Eel and Caviar and one other fish in it. Some bites were awesome and others a little fishy with the eel. Our favorite was called TNT. I don't even know what all is in it, but it sure is scrumptious. Sometimes it's probably better to NOT know what's in them :) If there are any sushi people out there and have any advice on what's good...let us know :)

Yeah me!

I've been skiing with the kids for the last 4 years. That way I can show them things and help them better. All the while, wishing I was snowboarding. Wishing for the day when I could strap on my board and watch them ski while doing what I love. My wish finally came true! On Monday (President's day) we went with some friends to Wild Mountain....AND I GOT TO SNOWBOARD! Can you tell I am/was excited? I brought my skis just in case it wouldn't work and I had to help the kids, but they did great and I got to snowboard the whole day! The weather was GREAT...although the wind a bit cold. Sydney made her very first attempt at a black diamond and just cruised down the hill! Jordan made his first attempt at a double black diamond. It was pretty much straight down (granted it was short because it's Minnesota). We were so proud!



We went in to warm up TWICE! (not every other run with sydney like we had all the other times). In fact, when she woke up and got all excited and said, "Yeah, I get to wear my new boots so I don't have to go in so much to warm up". She is a fan of ski boots that fit and so are we. We got to ski so much more!

Valentine's day

This year for Valentine's day we went to Chanhassen Dinner Theater and watched a friend of mine, Brendan Bujold, perform in Footloose. The food was amazing as always. The pot of coffee or more that i drank, made me have to use the restroom a ton...like always ;) The show was wonderful...like normal! Neither Arlie or I knew anything about it, so we didn't know what to expect...but it was another great production by CDT! And of course the best part, was the company! I sure love our date nights! Arlie is definately the world's funnest, sweetest and most wonderful person to be with! :)

Our cards...addressed so similar!

Bad Mommy Moment

At the beginning of the ski season we had the kids try on their ski boots. Jordan's fit just fine, perfect size, didn't hurt his feet at all. Sydney said hers felt a little bit tight. So we pulled out the lining and felt and her toes went right to the end. Well, being we didn't think to do this until the week before we were going for the first time, we asked her if she thought her feet would be ok in them. She said yes and so we went skiing. Her feet got pretty cold while skiing and we went in quite a bit, but she didn't complain that they hurt. We went skiing again on Saturday. Friday night I asked her if she wanted to go and get new boots. We were in the middle of something and she said she'd be fine. Saturday the weather was beautiful. The trees were frosted and gorgeous. We met our friends and skied all day long. It was a lot of fun. The kids did great as always, but Sydney still needed to go in quite a bit. On the way home we decided to stop at the ski shop. We went in and they measured her feet. We had her in boots that were 16.0. She needed 18.5 boots. Hmmm...that could explain why her poor feet were so cold. They must have been squished in their so tight that I'm surprised she could stand. The poor girl and she rarely complained except to say they were cold. When she put on the boots that fit her, her whole entire face lit up. She was so excited that she could actually move her toes. Yep...bad mommy moment when you realize you were making your kid wear boots 2 and half sizes too small for her.