THREE!!! (And Some Easter Fun Too)!

Everyone always says "enjoy this time because it goes so fast." On March 30, 2012, I couldn't have agreed more as my "baby" celebrated her third birthday complete with a Chinese food party and an Olivia (her favorite books) birthday cake! Olivia did not last long however (as Evie decapitated her pretty quickly in order to eat her) but we celebrated into the evening a very special little gal! We even got a special visit from our friends, The Thousands, all the way from Wisconsin to wish Evie a special day!

Evie got a new sandbox from Grandpa Dave and Grandma Allyson! She and Titus both love it (Titus mostly loves eating or throwing the sand), although the box proved to be the favorite toy the following morning!

That same weekend, Evie and Grandma Lucie made a popcorn ball lamb in honor of Palm Sunday! It's hard to say who enjoyed the lamb more: Evie making it or Mommy eating it! No wonder Evie stated that same day, "Mommy, I don't need a treat after lunch. Grandma Lucie can be my treat. Not to chew on, but to love on!"

The morning of Evie's birthday, Dad took time off work and we headed to her favorite place "Mall of My Mericas" to visit the sharks at Underwater World and have lunch at Rain Forest Cafe. We solidified our thoughts there that Titus is indeed afraid of storms, but pretty ladies sitting next to us oddly suddenly made his tears stop!

The following Monday, we took Evie, Titus and three neighborhood friends to Pump It Up to continue the celebration! I have never seen more red and sweaty three year olds than I did that night! They had a blast jumping in bouncy houses and sliding down slides that were so fast, they had to have bumpers to stop them at the bottom! Thank goodness Grandma and Grandpa joined us to help, as we were almost as sweaty as them by the end of the night, just trying to keep up!

Decorating Easter Eggs with Jackson and Krista Bull...

We headed to Little Falls for Easter this year and the kids enjoyed their Easter Egg Hunts (especially the nickels Grandpa Dave put inside the eggs), as well as playing with their "cousins" Molly and Luke and driving Grandpa's Purple Jeep (I would suggest staying off Highway 212 in about 13 years...yikes!)!

Office Chair races.....................Triple T not happy about his Easter Outfit!

Phoneix Phun!

It's hard to complain about MinneSNOWta when we have had such a mild, easy winter. But even with that, we were excited to escape the snow and cold for a 5 day visit to see Grandma Allyson and Grandpa Dave in Phoenix! Evie and Titus were excited for the airplane ride and handled themselves pretty well...all things considered!

It's hard to tell who liked the water more: Evie or Titus! Evie is very much looking forward to swimming lessons this April and loves to put her head under water, eyes wide open and come up with a huge smile on her face while Grandpa Dave discovered Titus fit perfectly in a pink princess tube and loved to bob around the kids pool, barely bouncing off the bottom and swimming for hours (well, at least 45 minutes)! The two of them kept the four of us on our toes, but we loved our fun in the sun. Evie also loved jumping into the hot tub, although we are not sure what the other guests trying to relax in there thought about that one!

Titus and Dad swimming...and enjoying their first In-N-Out Burgers!

Thanks to Daddy's friend, Julie, we got a behind the scenes tour of the Red's Spring Training Facility on the outskirts of Phoenix. It was fun to get up close and personal! Titus loved all the baseballs!

Another highlight for Chad was getting to introduce Evie to one of his former college teammates, "Wolfie." We think he got quite the kick out of Evie and especially enjoyed her hugging him good-bye and telling him she loved him! Golf, hiking Camelback Mountain, visiting friends and taking lots of walks were also part of our Phoenix Phun!

Before we left, we headed to the Phoenix Zoo! Evie loved all the animals, especially the "rhino." Titus could have cared less until lunchtime when he got to feed the ducks a good portion of his chicken nuggets. All we heard for the next half hour was "duck...duck!" We will have to make a trip to Noonan's Park in Alex this summer for him to get his fill of feeding those little ducks!

"Hok!" (Titus speak for Hockey!)

Last weekend, we headed to Minnesota State Mankato for their hockey Alumni Weekend. The best part was getting to play on the ice before the Mankato/Duluth game (in which Mankato came away with a great 4-4 tie)! It's safe to save Titus LOVED the ice and the action! He seemed to also love the penalty box, which may lead to nothing but problems in a few more years! All in all, he enjoyed his first Unofficial visit there (Evie's second)!


On Monday afternoon, Titus was not feeling well and not a happy camper about it while vacationing in Phoenix. Nothing could settle him down and he definitely did not want to do anymore swimming. Finally, I tried walking him around the complex. After about 10 minutes, he said "ball, ball, ball!" We had come across the basketball court and he finally got a smile on his face. For awhile, we watched the boys who were playing and then Titus practiced his own moves on the court!