field trip fun

Olivia & Violet went on a daycare field trip this past Wednesday. They rode a school bus about 45 minutes to an apple farm. When we pulled into the daycare parking lot, they were all excited because the school bus was already in the lot. They bolted into their room and started getting all riled up with excitement with their friends. When I left, they were talking about who they wanted to sit by on the bus and what they were going to do at the farm. I was eager to pick them up at the end of the day to hear how it went. When I walked in, Violet came running up to me and started talking a mile a minute. "I saw piggies! I cried at the moose! I saw a baby cow! I picked apples! I sat by Maddie on the bus!" etc., etc., etc. I couldn't get a word in edgewise. Olivia was a little more subdued, but came around on the car ride home and told me about their experiences. They said their favorite animals were the goats, and they were able to color and read books on the bus. Violet said she was scared of the moose, but liked all of the other animals. Olivia said they were able to eat lunch on the bus on the way home. They both were proud of the apple and corn they picked to bring home. All in all, their teacher said they were very good and it was a fun day!

Last night, the girls slept in underwear for the first time. Violet has been dry all night quite a few times now, so we thought we would give it a try. I was more worried about Olivia, but she was quite determined that she did NOT want to wear pull-ups at night anymore. They both woke up dry this morning, so they were pretty excited! Oh, how great it will be to not have to buy nighttime pull-ups anymore! Ahhhh.......one more baby/toddler stage gone.

The girls are SO MUCH fun right now. Some of the things they come up with to say are sometimes hilarious and sometimes just priceless. Such as:

Violet [playing with a pair of matching stuffed poodles]: "Mommy look, they're twins!"

Violet: "Guess what?" [Mommy: "What?"] Violet: "Chicken butt!"

Olivia [after I asked her to pick something up]: "I can't because I don't have legs. Swiper swiped them." (this is a reference to Dora the Explorer)

Olivia [after she does something for Violet]: "I am a nice sister."

Olivia [as I was putting her in the car from daycare]: "Where is Daddy? I want to see him lots and lots!"

Olivia [any time she sees a letter O on anything]: "There's an O for Olivia!"
Violet's follow up is: "Where is the V for me?"
(Unfortunately, there are not many words with the letter V in them.)

busy, busy, busy

It has been a very busy few weeks. We've had many fun family events and get togethers. On Tuesday, August 31, we took the girls to the state fair along with Grandpa and Granny Thronson, Auntie Terri and cousin William. All three of the kids were very good and we all had a lot of fun. Olivia's favorite part was the merry-go-round (or "the horsies" as she called the ride). Violet really enjoyed the animals and the dog agililty demonstration. And all of us enjoyed the food!

Violet & Olivia in the swine barn:

Granny, Olivia, Mommy, Daddy, Violet & Grandpa:

On Saturday, September 4, we participated in Jill's 3rd Annual Memorial Highway Cleanup (in memory of Jim). We gathered together to clean the two mile stretch of highway in front of Jill's house. Afterward, we had a delicious meal and spent time with friends and family. We will never forget Jim, and we realize how much all of us miss him in our lives.

The cleanup crew:

Olivia & Violet:

On Sunday, September 5, the girls went camping with Grandpa and Granny Thronson. They stayed overnight at a campground and had a great time. Since Jamie and I were home alone, we decided to go out on a date. We went to a drive-in movie theatre east of St. Paul and we had so much fun. It was just how you would imagine a drive-in would be. It was basically a huge parking lot where everyone lined their cars up. There were people tailgating all over with food being grilled and footballs being tossed. You pay one admission price and you get to see three movies. It was 12:30 am when the second movie ended, so we decided we were too tired to stay for the third movie. But we had a great time; I would highly recommend it!

On Labor Day, September 6, we went to the Twins game with most of Jamie's family. Our family friend Esther was visiting from Germany, so we thought she would enjoy going to a game. The weather was a little rainy but not too bad. We had a lot of fun at the game and we even got to see two homeruns and a Twins win.

The gals: Chelsey, me, Jill & Esther The guys: Jamie, Paul, Nicholas & Joey

Esther stayed with us for the rest of the week following Labor Day. On Tuesday, we spent nine hours at the Mall of America. Esther had to buy another suitcase to have enough room to bring everything home! On Wednesday, we took the girls to the Minnesota Zoo. We had a great time. The girls loved the farm area and were running around there like crazy. Wednesday evening, we went out to eat downtown at Annie's Parlour. Thanks Terri & Aaron for babysitting! We stuffed ourselves with homemade malts and burgers. So yummy! We relaxed on Thursday, and then Jamie took her to the airport on Friday for her return home to Germany. We miss having her around! Olivia & Violet are already using their imaginations to take their babies to Germany to visit Esther.

Geez, only a pane of glass separating Olivia & Violet from the leopard: Violet, Olivia & Esther in front of the scarecrow guarding the farm's pumpkin patch:

Violet & Olivia in the chicken barn:
Olivia in the pig barn:

Violet in the pig barn:

This week we have been trying to get back to our normal routines. Olivia & Violet have been very good considering all of the variations lately from their usual schedule. The girls are so much fun right now, I wish I could freeze them for awhile and keep them at this age!