Off to the Theatre...

Saturday night, Rachael, Mommy, Grandma Rose Ann & Boppa went to the Stages Theatre in Hopkins, to see the Play "Junie B. Jones  Jingle Bells, Batman Smells."  We had a wonderful time & laughed so hard.  Rachael of course thought it was hilarious, as Junie B. can be quite the naughty little girl & says some pretty fun things.  

 This was in the lobby, it looked very similar to the set in the play.  Rachael was so excited to sit in the desk & pretend she was in the play!

 We got there early, so Rachael had some waiting to do, she wanted to go in so badly!  This is her asking if it's time yet, for the hundredth time!

Mommy & Rachael in our seats, waiting for the show to start!  The awesome thing about this Children's Theatre is that they have booster seats for the kids.  They have velcro on the botton, so it sticks to the seat, so it won't shift for the child.  With the booster, she was able to sit high enough to see over people's heads, which was nice.  But, she wanted to sit on my lap for a lot of it, which I LOVED!

Daniel had his first night with a babysitter without Rachael.  He has been very clingy to me lately, whining "Mommy Mommy, I Neeeeed You."  I was definitely a little nervous to drop him off, although I knew things would be fine with Auntie Becky & Uncle Nick.  He ate almost an entire box of mac & cheese, as Becky said "He kept asking for more!!!"  He was fine until the Elmo movie I sent over with him was over & Becky tried to get him to lay down with her in bed.  Then he got upset & wanted Mommy.  Luckily we were about 25 minutes from their home at that point.

All in all it was a VERY fun night!  The next play we have tickets to is "If you Give a Moose a Muffin" in January.  We're bringing Daniel to that one!!! 

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving 2010 was ok.  It was strange not being together as a full family, I think we're still adjusting to this "new normal."  Becky & Nick, Bobby, Kelly & the boys, My Aunt Jean, Uncle Gary & Cody came over, and then all of us.  Everyone brought something which made things much easier on Grandma.  


I got everything set out & ready, we set it all up on the counter which made things go much smoother than trying to pass everything around the table.  Rachael, Daniel, Nick, Becky & I sat in the formal dining room at the "kids table"  Becky even got a place mat to color on, with Rachael & Daniel!

Kelly, Tommy, Bobby & Billy Lopez

The Entire Lopez-Collins-Carson Family

What to choose?  Apple, Pumpkin, Key Lime or Ice Cream?!

No matter who is playing, Daniel is cheering for the Eagles!!!

My Blessings & What I am Thankful For

Coloring at the kids table

We hope that you all had safe & Happy Thanksgivings & were able to take some time to reflect on whatever you're thankful for.  Now, the countdown to Christmas is on!  Tomorrow we are going to get our Christmas tree up & decorate the house.  Also, tomorrow evening, Rachael, Mommy, Grandma & Boppa are going to the Stages Children's Theater to see the Christmas Junie B. Jones Play....we can't wait!!!

Little People

This weekend I listed a bunch of toys that Daniel doesn't play with anymore, mostly baby toys, on Craigslist & Ebay.  I thought long & hard about also listing the two huge bins of Fisher Price Little People that we have.  The kids were gone for the weekend & Rachael hasn't even asked for them since we've moved, so after doing some research, I figured I could get probably $70 for them as a set. I could've gotten rid of them without the kids even knowing!

Today, I had to go into Minneapolis for a meeting.  I was nervous to drive in since we've had two nights of ice storms with hundreds of accidents.  But, I made it there safely & home safely so all was well.  When I came in, Daniel was napping & Rachael was playing with THE LITTLE PEOPLE!  Of course that's how it would go...no interest for a year & now that I want to sell them, she loves them again.  But, it ended up being wonderful & I sure am glad I didn't sell them.  Daniel woke up from nap & we played with all the Little People for hours.  He loved them since last winter he was too little to play, they were all new to him!

Not even HALF of the Little People

 Daniel also played with his new cowboy hat from Tommy's Birthday a lot today.  He walked around with his guitar & pretended to sing.  It was soooo cute.

Playing Guitar with his new Cowboy Hat!

Below is Daniel singing along & dancing with one of his Favorite Songs...We Didn't Start the Fire, by Billy Joel.  He wanted to listen to it all afternoon.  I really like the song too, but over & over & over, it gets to you!

Tommy J. is 4!!!!

Billy, Nick, Taylor, Lauren & Rachael

Little Cowgirl...Tommy had a cowboy party!

Having so much fun with Kevin!

Also Loving "Uncle Kevin"

"Auntie Lara" giving Daniel a ride

Playing with Kevin again

Tommy's Adorable new MN WILD hat

Super Cute Pic of Kelly, Bobby, Billy & Tommy

Tommy, the birthday boy

Daniel pulling Boo Boo (lauren) everywhere he went

Tonight we went to Bobby & Kelly's to celebrate Tommy J's 4th Birthday.  Cannot believe he is actually 4, time has sure flown by quickly.  The kids of course had a wonderful time playing with their cousins.  Tommy got tons of presents, they all had some cake & then we were ready to head home.  Jammies on immediately then some quiet reading time to wind down from all of the excitement of the evening!


Happy Birthday to Tommy J Lopez & also a very Happy 1 Year Anniversary to Becky & Nick!!!

Dreams of Orchestra Hall....

Friday, Rachael's Class went on a Field Trip to Orchestra Hall.  For about 9 months she has been begging me for Violin Lessons & her field trip has made her want to start lessons even more.  I talked to a friend last night who works for Schmitt Music & asked her about what age would be a good age to begin & she said she sees a lot of children begin between 4-7yrs old. I'm not telling Rachael that.  The picture above is from the CMA Awards that we have taped.  She stands in front of the tv & "plays along" with the violin/fiddle solo during that song.  I know whatever Rachael does, she will be successful at....just not sure any of us are ready for the high pitched screech of an early violin learner! 

Daniel & I dropped Rachael at school today & then ran some errands.  At school, Rachael's class had their "Thanksgiving Feast."  They got to eat lunch together, chicken nuggets, tator tots, corn & some dessert.  Rachael was very excited & Daniel was very jealous.  So, we picked up Auntie Michele & had lunch together, before running our errands.  Daniel has been a bit crabby lately.  He hasn't felt 100% and has just cut another tooth!  YAY!   Now he has 2 on top & the front 3 on the bottom.  Finally!  This picture above was after a complete melt down in his car seat.  We had some time to kill, so I pulled into a parking lot near the church, got him out & let him come sit in the front seat.  We took off his coat (the van was plenty warm) & changed his pants.  He danced & sang & when it was time to go pick up Rachael, he was happy to get back into his seat.  


Tomorrow Daniel goes down to the University Of Minnesota to participate in a research study!  I will let everyone know tomorrow, how it goes & what he did.

Snack & Calendar Girl!

Today Rachael got to bring snack for preschool, which automatically makes her Calendar Girl!  She got to stand up in front of her class & use the pointer stick to show the class what the date was.  She also got to be line leader & the whole class thanked her for Snack.  We were assigned crescent rolls, 8 apples (4 green, 4 red) & half a gallon of milk.  They put butter & cinnamon sugar on top, mmm, they were yummy!


The following pictures are of Rachael & Daniel dancing to the Princess & the Frog.  Rachael it seems has a future in musicals as she sings very big & has very energetic dances to go along with the song.  She likes to try to teach them to Daniel, which as you can guess, is completely uninterested in listening to her.  

Singing her ballad from The Princess & The Frog

Trying to teach him a dance

Funny dance she was doing

Winter Has Arrived....

Unbelievable.  We started out the week with temperatures in the high 60's.  Rachael's class spent all of Tuesday outside, without Jackets on, because it was so warm.  We all thought, how wonderful that it's this late in November & no cold weather or snow.  Who knew that Friday night into Saturday we were going to get dumped on.  I watched the 10 o'clock news last night, they predicted 3"-6" at the most for Apple Valley.  Boy were they wrong.  When we woke up, we already had at least 4." 

This picture was taken @ 130pm, with snow falling steadily.  We shoveled, and it just kept coming.  This evening the stupid snow plow came in packing in the end of the driveway.  UGH.  This is that awful super heavy wet snow that is back breaking to move.  Just guessing, but I am sure we got at least 12".

This was taken about an hour later, more snow falling, more to shovel.  UGH!

 My little Angels watching out their window as the snow fell.  They wanted to get their snow gear on (thank god I just happened to buy Rachael's snow stuff this week so she could go out, or we'd be really stuck!) & get out in it & play.  BUT, at about 915am, our power went out!  I wouldn't let the kids go outside until the heat was back on so they could come back into a warm house to heat up.  It was crazy to see how often we rely on energy to flick a switch to turn a light on, or turn on the burner to make lunch, or use the microwave!  The power didn't go back on until late in the afternoon & boy were we happy when it did.  If our power stayed off though, we were going to go to my sister's house, also in Apple Valley that still had power.  

 The middle tree is covered with this heavy wet snow.  My dad noticed first, but it is leaning more & more towards the street.  If the wind picks up, we may just lose it.  All the trees are waving in the wind with this wet snow & there are power lines & trees down.

Helping us shovel...she worked very hard pushing the heavy snow to the side.  She was exhausted & ready for some hot cocoa when we went inside.  She & Daniel napped 2 hours after playing in the snow.

Daniel wanted to help so bad, so he grabbed a shovel & tried.  It was adorable watching him try to maneuver a shovel bigger than he is.  

 My Big "little" Helper!  So so proud of what he did.  Wish I could just freeze him at this age, he's so perfect.  

While we were outside shoveling, an Apple Valley Police Officer decided to drive his rear wheel drive car down our court.  He got stuck at the end, then fish tailed, while gunning it down back up the court towards us.  He narrowly missed our neighbors' car, that was stuck in the street after she tried to back out of her driveway.  Then he whipped around sliding back & forth, sliding towards our mailbox.  My mom kept saying "what an idiot, he's going to take out the mailbox" while smiling at him.  Lucky for him, his trunk was about 1/2 " lower than our mailbox & he missed it.  What an idiot.

The snow has finally stopped.  Our backs hurt & we're tired.  Winter is certainly here.  Hopefully we won't have too many storms like this this year...yeah right, this is Minnesota. 

Playing Trains & Lunch in the Barbie House!

This morning we went with Grandma Rose Ann to the YMCA & went swimming...what a way to start the day.  We had a wonderful time, in the zero depth entry pool.  Daniel loved walking down the ramp to me & then kicking a bit & walking back up the ramp.  I loved watching Rachael swim...she's just like a little fish!  I am amazed at how well she can swim after her two weeks of camp this summer.  She can do the back float, swim under water & back stroke.  It really is incredible to see how much she has improved.  

 Above is Daniel's train table that I bought from Craigslist for $15.  He loves trains now & spends quite a bit of time playing at his train table.  He loves Thomas the Train, but isn't a fan of the trains that we've got from that line.  Most of them move automatically if you push a button, and those scare him.  There is one, Rosie, that he likes even though she is automatic.  Percy, his favorite (the green one) is really scary to him, so he usually stays in the drawer.  His favorites are the wooden ones I bought from Ikea.  They're cheap & very basic & he loves them.  He was playing when I took this but didn't want to be in the picture :)

 This is the kids' Barbie playhouse that a friend of ours gave us.  He was given it for his girls who are much to old for it, so he blessed us with it.  We are very lucky to have it, this is definitely a toy I could never afford to give them.  It has been outside for the past month or so, but yesterday I brought it into the porch & now the kids are playing with it all the time.  I don't like Rachael to play with Barbies, but this house is too fun not to play in. The little doorbell even rings when you push it...too cute.  

Daniel ate his lunch in it while Rachael was at school & felt like such a big boy since my mom & I ate at a table on the other side of the porch.  It was a beautiful day & he liked looking out the window at Grandma's flower garden.  Having it inside now will allow the kids to play in it no matter what the weather is outside!

Happy Birthday to Grandma Rose Ann

Today is Grandma Rose Ann's birthday & their 40th Anniversary!  Rachael & Daniel came home around 4pm & the cake was in the oven so that Rachael could get it decorated.  She worked extremely hard making it "perfect."  

 She got out all of our supplies, including some black & white cows, which she thought was appropriate since Grandma is from Iowa & had cows on her farm!  The green in the middle is because that is her favorite color, and the pink is supposed to be a heart, but decorating cakes with hearts is not like writing on paper (says Rachael).

After dinner & they had some cake, we watched the Polar Express.  I loved that book as a kid & love the movie just as much.  Daniel had never watched it, so it was wonderful having him on my lap, snuggled in watching.  He really loved it in the end & cheered & clapped for Santa Claus!  Rachael cried at all the same parts that she always does.  I just hold her hand & remind her that she knows the end & everything will work out alright.  

Today, I got started on my Christmas shopping.  The kids are going to be very happy this year!  They won't get a lot of presents, but what they do get they will really enjoy!  I loved that there were very few people shopping since I went during the Vikings game...made it home just in time for my Eagles to play  :)

Edinborough Park

Today we met our friends, Mira & Sami (and mom Lina) at Edinborough Park in Edina.  Mira had school this morning, so we quick ate lunch and met them for a climbing playdate.  It is getting much cooler outside, so it was wonderful to be able to go inside, see all the green trees, hear the waterfalls & walk the paths...oh, and to get some energy out climbing!

This is the Huge climbing structure!

So, I have a fear of heights & don't like small spaces.  Daniel of course wanted to go to the TOP.  So, we got up there & oh my gosh, it is soooo high.  He loved it & kept saying "We high, We high."  There is a super long slide that brings you down a few floors & he squealed the entire way down.  He really enjoyed the twisty tube slides too.  

Rachael by a waterfall

There are 3 blue slides that are open & attached that are super fast, you really fly on them.  These happen to be Rachael's favorite slides, so she & Mira immediately headed up to those.  It took Lina, Sami, Daniel & I some time to get up to there, with lots of stops to play along the way.  There are these things that look like punching bags that were just the boys' size & they enjoyed running through them back & forth.  When we got there it wasn't too busy, so we could let the boys run free as we'd move up level to level.  Later it got so busy, we couldn't let the boys go because there were so many big kids running through, they'd just get run over.     

Daniel chowing down his chips

 Sami loved the fast blue slides, Daniel, not so much.  He went on my lap & after flying off the end with me, he looked up at me & said "All done Mommy."  Instead he decided to climb through about a 20 foot enclosed tube to the back of the play structure.  Did I mention I don't like small spaces?!  Well, we made it to the other side & I was able to avoid that location again!

Daniel in the bounce house & Sami just behind him

 On the main floor, there is a big bounce house that Daniel & Rachael love to play in.  Sami hadn't played in one, so he was interested, but apprehensive.  At first, he just sat & let Rachael & Daniel bounce around him, which made him go up & down.  He thought that was pretty funny & as soon as Daniel saw that Sami liked that, he would jump harder to make him move more.  Rachael was really good with the boys & was very protective of them if anyone else got into the bounce house with them.  She would get the boys in an area & keep everyone else away from them.  It was pretty cute.

Rachael loved bouncing with the boys!

 There is also a huge gym there, with lots of basketballs, little floor scooters that you push around, and ones that you use handles to pedal.  The girls played on the scooters & the boys were getting tired, so they snacked & watched all the kids in the packed gym.  Luckily neither of the boys put up too much of a fight when we wouldn't let them down to play in there...it was mayhem with big kids running everywhere, scooters being pushed or pedaled all over the place, balls flying through the air!  The boys were definitely much safer seated with us.

Daniel & Sami snacking...Too Cute

We had so much fun with our friends.  I swear Mira was there, she was in no mood to have her picture taken today....next time!  It's hard to get together since Mira is in kindergarten mornings & Rachael has school Monday - Thursday afternoons.  That only leaves us Friday afternoons.  Oh well, we always have fun when we can make it work!

I don't have the kids this weekend, so there will be no post tomorrow, but I will post one on Sunday when they get home.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!