Eli and Sadie

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Priorities

We have a ton to do around the house, but that didn't stop us from having a little zip-line fun in the backyard. I really can't explain why Sadie is wearing her bike helmet and her pajamas except that she's two and she has a mind of her own!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Making Friends

Well, it's official, we're Minnesotan. We closed on our house on Friday, July 10. All of our things arrived on the 16th and most of the boxes are unpacked. We are getting settled and are trying to get used to the crazy-ever-changing weather and having a bigger house, and are trying not to miss our friends in Columbus too much. I have tons of pictures I'd like to share, but until I can find my camera cord you'll have to wait.
Thankfully, I have a good friend who just happens to have two little girls (and is also an awesome photographer). They're the kids' new best friends. You'll probably be seeing a lot of them. So without further ado, meet Nile and Zoe:

Superhero Sadie:

Superhero Eli:

Monday, June 29, 2009

Lazy Summer Days

We are impatiently waiting to hear when we are officially moving to Minnesota. Last we heard it was July 6, but we haven't heard anything since. Dennis has been busy studying for his boards and the rest of us have been enjoying the lazy days of summer.
Hanging with the neighbors (have I mentioned how much we're going to miss our neighbors?):

Looking at nests with Sofia and Dario:

Getting a "summer" haircut:

Going to free summer concerts:

Walking the labyrinth at the arboretum:

Going fishing. Sadie got a new Princess fishing rod for Father's Day (and dad for a new rod and reel too for all that fishing he's going to do in Northern Minnesota):

Sunday, June 14, 2009

The Pharmacist

It only took 4 very fast years but here he is, Pharmacist Extraordinaire. Dennis was told he was winning a "major award." We were hoping for a leg lamp, but instead he got a plaque acknowledging that he graduated first in his class. I guess ya'll know who to call for all of your pharmacy needs. Yea for nerds!!

Yesterday was Dennis' Pharmacy hooding ceremony.

Receiving his hood:

A family photo following the ceremony:

A New Bike

Sadie got a new-to-her big-girl bike handed down from Sofia. Here's a ride and a crash:

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Summer Vacation 2009: The NE Trek

We left on Sunday, May 31 for our vacation of the Northeast states. We were gone 11 days and overall had an amazing trip. The kids are at a great age for traveling. They can sleep almost anywhere, can usually go without a nap, and are excited about everything. These are most of the pictures I took, you see, I forgot to bring the battery charger and my battery light started to blink on the first day. So, I only took a few pictures at each place.
We started our trip in Lewisburg, PA visiting our great friends the Rosenbergs. We love to visit the Rosenbergs. Our kids are the same ages, the food is wonderful and the company the best ever. I hope they come and visit us when we're in MN!
Somehow, Dennis convinced me to go to NYC and I'm so glad we went. Dennis drove right into town and found us an awesome parking place. We had a busy day in Times Square:

At Rockefeller Center:

Playing the piano at FAO Schwartz:

Eating a frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity's:

Playing at Central Park with Chuck (while Sadie napped):

Riding in a taxi:

At the Empire State Building:

And riding the ferry to the Statue of Liberty:

Then, we headed out of town and stayed in Bennington, Vermont:

The following day we drove to Hampton, NH and the kids got to see the Atlantic Ocean for the first time:

The weather was cold and the water was colder, but the kids had fun anyways. I got to eat my first Lobster Roll and I found my first sea glass:

Then we headed back through northern New Hampshire and into Vermont. We toured the Ben and Jerry's factory:

And camped several nights along the way, including a night on an island on Lake Champlain in Burlington, VT:

In Burlington, we also toured Shelburne farm which was built by the Vanderbilt's:

Sadie collected eggs and managed to pull one right from under a chicken. She was tickled pink:

We rode the ferry, car and all across Lake Champlain and went through the Adirondacks in upstate NY. We stopped at this not-very child proofed gorge with beautiful views of waterfalls. I was beautiful, but I was a wreck. There's something about kids overlooking a plunging waterfall with nothing keeping them back but chicken wire and plastic ties that puts a mom on edge:

We took in a beautiful hike:

Then we drove to Buffalo to see aunt Pat. She just moved into a new apartment and I'm sure her neighbors were excited to have two young screaming kids in their midst. On the last day of our trip, we visited Niagara Falls on the Maid of the Mist and got very very wet:

And spent the rest of the day at Niagara Falls State Park enjoying the falls:

Saturday, May 30, 2009

A Quick Update

I keep forgetting to post this picture of the kids with their cousin, Reid. The great thing is that Reid, Eli and Sadie will get to grow up together because Reid lives in Bemidji just like we're going to in a month!!

Yesterday, Dennis finished up his final rotation for pharmacy school and he also had his last shift at Children's hospital. Today Dennis is at a review for his boards and tomorrow we leave on vacation. We're touring the New England states with a stop in Pennsylvania to visit the Rosenbergs, NYC to see Chuck, and Niagara Falls with a visit to see Pat. There will be some camping and hiking along the way along with some heavy duty dvd watching in the car! We should be back on June 10th. Dennis has his hooding ceremony on Saturday, June 13 and graduation is on Sunday (though, he's skipping that!).

The last we heard he should be starting his job on July 2, but really we don't have a final date on that yet. (I guess that's what happens when you take a job with the govt.) We really hope that we're there by then, because we're supposed to close on our house by July 1:

Yes, we found this perfectly cute house in Bemidji while we were house hunting and hopefully it will be ours! We'll keep you updated...

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Bowling

We finally took the kids bowling at a little karoke/bowling/bubble tea store near our house. Actually, this is the second time, the first time we went with our friends the Rosenbergs and it ended after 3 frames as the children started to have simultaneous melt-downs. But, this time, we actually made it through the game. The kids enjoyed their smoothie and throwing the ball. They even managed to knock down a few pins!