take me out to the ballgame

We went to the Twins game yesterday. It was Olivia and Violet's first baseball game. We had such a great time! The girls were super excited when they woke up and found out that they were going to the game and were going to wear "baseball shirts." I told them we were going to a baseball game and Violet said, "No Mom, it's a TWINS game." Boy, they must think I am clueless! They wanted to wear baseball hats like Daddy so they were very worried that Daddy didn't have his hat with him. I had to call and make sure he had remembered it.

We met Daddy downtown about an hour before game time. It was sprinkling, so we decided to let a guy on his bike give us a ride to the stadium in his bike cart. The girls thought it was awesome. They were in awe as we walked onto the Target Field plaza. We approached the Kirby Puckett statue, and Violet ran right up to it so I could take her picture. Olivia just wanted to admire it from afar. Then we walked to the "big glove," which both girls thought was pretty neat.

They were very excited as we walked into the stadium. They even handed their own tickets to the ticket guy so he could scan them, and then they ducked under the turnstyle because they are so short. We walked around a little bit and then arrived at our seats a little before the game started. They sat pretty well throughout the game, although we did have several potty breaks. Olivia danced to the music that played between each batter. Violet kept begging to go out on the field. I told her only the players could go on the field, and she said "But I'm a baseball player too!" We managed to stay warm even though the weather was a bit chilly. Unfortunately the Twins lost 15-3, but we still had a good time. The girls didn't want to leave and are already asking when we can go back.

Afterward, I asked the girls what their favorite things were about the baseball game and this is what they said:
1. The fireworks (after Cuddyer's homerun)
2. Eating (we brought a cooler filled with food)
3. The people kissing on the TV (otherwise known as the Kiss Cam)
4. The bear (we could see TC Bear on the field - Violet said he has funny eyes)
5. The bike guy (who gave us a ride to the stadium)
6. Their baseball shirts (which they later did not want to take off and ended up wearing again today)

Violet & Olivia showing off their baseball shirts:

Riding to the stadium in style: Walking onto the Plaza: The big glove:
Daddy and his girls in the big glove: Violet & Kirby: Violet wondering why she couldn't go out on the field:
Olivia loved the atmosphere:
Daddy & Olivia watching the game:
The excitement became too much for Olivia:

our new guest...and fun Easter times

We have a guest that has made herself at home in our yard. A female mallard set up a nest at the base of a tree in our backyard, just outside of our deck door. We've had a blast watching her over the past few weeks and have enjoyed watching the egg laying process at work. Every morning for the past two weeks, she has been sitting in her nest, laying an egg and then leaving by the afternoon. She sits on the nest through rain, snow and shine. Jamie and Olivia left some grass by her nest, which she used to cover up and protect her eggs. Jamie also built a little roof over her head so she does not get wet. We have counted about thirteen eggs, although it is getting difficult to count them because she buries them so far down in the grass. Just this past weekend, she started to incubate her eggs. She sits on the nest for 23 out of 24 hours, and uses the other hour to go get something to eat. The incubation period will last about 30 days. Jamie is getting a little worried about how he is going to mow the lawn without scaring her away, but she has gone through so much work that we hope we can see the babies!!


Olivia and Violet have become fairly helpful with some chores around the house. They like to set the table and help "clean." I say "clean" because their idea of cleaning really doesn't cut it, but I am certainly not going to discourage them from trying to help! Olivia set the table for supper one night. I gave her a bowl of pears to set on the table, but she decided to pass them out on everyone's plate. Guess whose plate got the most pears?

We had a great Easter weekend. Jamie's parents, sister Jill and Chelsey visited us on Good Friday. Our daycare was closed, so Chelsey and I hung out with the girls all day while the rest of the group went to a medical appointment with Jamie's dad. Chelsey was a great help! We decorated Easter eggs, played games and even scrapbooked a little bit.

On Saturday, my sister Rhonda and her family stayed at our house. My sister Terri and her family came over for supper, so we had a great visit with everyone. It was fun to see Olivia, Violet, Emma and William play together. On Sunday morning, the kids looked out the window when they got up and saw eggs outside! They were so excited that they dashed outside in their pajamas to go on an egg hunt. Olivia, Violet & Emma had a great time finding eggs! Later in the day, we went over to Jamie's aunt and uncle's house. Olivia and Violet went on another egg hunt with Athena, Mason & Faith. The weather was so beautiful that we spent hours outside and the kids had a great time playing together.

When the girls woke up on Monday morning, they asked if it was Easter again!

Olivia: "I found one!" Violet: "This is a little one!"
Violet and Olivia:
Violet and Olivia "shaking their booties" (their idea):
Violet, Emma & Olivia:
Opening eggs at Debbie & Al's house:

fun times

We had a lot of fun last weekend. We traveled up to our hometown for the first time since Christmas. On Saturday, we went to a waterpark with my family to celebrate our nephew William's second birthday. The girls had a blast with their grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles in the waterpark. As soon as we got there, Olivia took off with cousin Alex to go down one of the bigger waterslides. She didn't hesitate, and when she got to the bottom she stood up and yelled, "I went down the big waterslide and I wasn't scared!" Violet was content to just play in the water and ride down the Lazy River in a tube. She didn't want anything to do with the waterslides, but that was okay! After supper, Auntie Rhonda walked her around the Lazy River for over an hour while I went down the waterslide with Olivia and her cousin Evan. We had a lot of fun.

On Sunday, we went to Auntie Jill's house for breakfast. Olivia and Violet met cousin Nick's 70 baby chickens for the first time. They enjoyed petting them, but they didn't want to hold them because they were too squirmy. After seeing the chickens, Olivia declared "I want to name them. The black ones are Butler and the white ones are Florida." These two teams were in the recent NCAA March Madness basketball tournament, so we cracked up that they remembered those teams from watching the game on TV! Later, she named the brown chickens "Yogurt." We really enjoyed seeing our families and spending time with everyone!

Alex and Olivia heading to the waterslide: Olivia going down the waterslide: Olivia: "I went down the big waterslide and I wasn't scared!" Riding down the Lazy River: Nicholas showing Violet & Olivia a baby chick: Nicholas, Violet, Olivia & Chelsey:Chelsey & Olivia: