Thursday, September 27, 2012

summer recap


Wow, I can’t believe it has been two months since I've been able to post an update. Our summer has just flown by with our busy lives. I am actually welcoming the cooler fall weather and the change of seasons; our seasonal “wardrobe swap” has been made so we are ready!

Olivia and Violet have been such a blast this summer. They are at such a great age; I wish I could freeze them for awhile. They are still young and innocent, but yet they are hilarious, and have become very independent (wanting to get themselves dressed, for example). They are already bringing up their birthday (November 29) and our tradition of going to Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America. I can’t believe my babies are going to be five!

So, what have we been doing the past few months? Here is a glimpse.

Daycare Circus
On August 23, the girls put on a circus with their preschool friends at daycare. Violet was a ringmaster and Olivia was a tightrope walker, so they dressed the part. The show was about 20 minutes long and featured a parachute sequence, introductions, and lots of tumbling. They even served the viewers some popcorn. The girls did great; I was so proud of them!

Olivia (tightrope walker) & Violet (ringmaster)

The circus crew!

Getting ready for their parachute performance
State Fair
On August 29, we went to the Minnesota State Fair. We rode the bus from downtown to the fairgrounds, which Olivia and Violet thought was pretty cool. Their favorite things were the All You Can Drink Milk booth, the Big Slide, the rides, and of course the food. We went through most of the animal barns, and tried two of the new exhibits: the Giant Sandbox and the Mr. Bubble foam pit. The weather was very hot that day, but it wasn't very crowded, which was nice! Uncle Joey came with us, and we also met up with Auntie Jill for awhile. The girls had a blast.

Waiting for the bus to take us to the fair
Watching the cow competition in the Coliseum
After we visited the Oink Booth in the pig barn

All You Can Drink Milk!

Posing with Mr. Bubble

Olivia in the Mr. Bubble foam pit

Olivia & Violet ramming bumper boats
Camping
On Labor Day weekend, we went camping with Grandma & Grandpa Thronson. The girls loved the resort; they made new friends, went swimming, and had a blast on the water slide (after Granny’s bribe of $1.00 if they went down it by themselves). Grandpa also treated them to ice cream, and Olivia loved climbing on the water mat. We also spent time with our friend Esther, who flew up to visit us from her internship in Georgia.

Olivia going down the water slide

Violet going down the water slide

Eating supper at Granny & Grandpa's camper
T-ball
On September 9, the girls started fall t-ball. This is their first time playing t-ball, but they can’t wait until Sundays roll around because that means they get to play. The first two weeks consisted of practice (I use that term loosely), where they learned to throw, field grounders and run bases. Last Sunday was their first “game” against another team. While they were in the field, Olivia and Violet spent more time drawing in the dirt than watching the ball. Their coach had to keep reminding them to put their gloves on. Oh well, it was a beautiful day and they had fun, which is the most important.

Violet & Olivia, ready for practice
Anniversary Party
On September 22, we celebrated Grandma & Grandpa Thronson’s 40th wedding anniversary. My entire family gathered at my sister Nikki’s house. It was great to have everyone there, as this doesn’t happen very often. Olivia and Violet sure enjoyed playing with their cousins. We had a delicious meal, watched some old home videos, and reminisced. I think it is pretty neat that my parents have been together for so many years! Congratulations Mom & Dad!


Granny & Grandpa with all of their grandchildren

Field Trip
Yesterday, the girls went on a daycare field trip to an apple farm. They picked out their own outfits to wear and therefore thought I should take a picture. They were pretty proud of themselves for picking out their clothes! They had a great time on their field trip; they saw many animals, jumped in corn, picked apples and came home with a coloring book, apple, corn cob and gourd. They thought it was pretty neat to ride on a school bus to and from the farm. When they got up this morning, they asked if it was field trip day again!



Friday, July 27, 2012

Tea Party Extraordinaire

Last Saturday, we went to a girls only tea party at Olivia & Violet’s daycare friend Sylvia’s house. It was quite exquisite (we were told to use fancy words)! We all dressed up, with Olivia & Violet picking out their own accessories to their outfits. The table was neatly decorated with cups and saucers, and each girl had a name card with Ms. preceding their name. We also had fancy finger foods such as cucumber sandwiches, melon balls, heart shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheese, cupcakes and cookies. Olivia & Violet learned how to drink out of their tea cup with their fancy pinky finger in the air. We also played some tea party games such as drop the tea bag in the cup, pass the tea cup, and stack the sugar cubes. It was a lot of fun!

Fancy Olivia: ready for the tea party

Violet all dressed up and ready for the tea party

Olivia drinking in a fancy way!

Tea party!!

Violet drinking in a fancy way!

Playing "Pass the Tea Cup"

Playing "Drop the tea bag in the cup"

Violet (with a mouthful of cookie) & Olivia with tea party hostess Sylvia

A few days later, I told Olivia & Violet that it would be nice to send Sylvia a thank you card, to say thanks for having us over for the tea party. Olivia found this checklist paper with the thank you cards and decided that she wanted to write her own "to do" list. She came up with all of the items on her list, and she wrote them down herself as I spelled them for her. She has a goal to complete one item per day. The first day, she conquered item #1: Fix Daddy (apparently he had a pretend broken arm). She got out her doctor kit, fixed his arm up, and then crossed it off her list. She has not forgotten about the list, and each day when we get home from daycare she completes an item on the list. So far she has also crossed off Check Baby (who was sleeping in her play baby crib) and Check Grill (to make sure it was off). It is quite cute to watch her be proud of her accomplishments!
  
Olivia's to do list

Olivia completing item #1: fixing Daddy's arm






Sunday, July 8, 2012

fun family times

Last weekend, we enjoyed spending time with our families. On Friday night, we went to our niece Chelsey's play "School House Rock." She did a great job; we sure enjoyed watching her sing and dance!! Olivia and Violet enjoyed the play as well, although they asked about a million questions during it.


On Saturday morning, Jamie and I golfed in the annual Suchy golf tournament. The weather was just perfect! We had a great time interacting with many of Jamie's cousins, aunts and uncles, and their families. Jamie and I were on separate teams but we both finished 1 under par. Neither one of us was on the winning team but we had fun anyway.

Chelsey, me and Joe Suchy (Jamie's cousin)

Jamie acting like he knows what he is talking about :)

After the golf tournament, we went over to my parent's farm. All of my sisters and their families (sans Uncle Aaron) were there so the girls had an awesome time playing with their cousins. My parents borrowed some of their neighbor's animals, so there was a pony to ride and other animals to pet. They also had fun staying cool in the pool. We went on a family hayride, which Grandpa and Grandma Suchy enjoyed with us. We ended the evening with a bonfire and firworks. We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed spending time with everyone!


Cousins! Maya-9, Emma-6, Alex-6, Evan-5, Olivia-4, Violet-4, William-3, Owen-3 & Noelle-11 months
Olivia driving Alex & William
Olivia riding the pony
Violet riding the pony

Push me higher, Uncle Jeff!

Violet in the hammock swing
The guys playing bean bag toss
Family hayride
Olivia & Grandpa Suchy enjoying the hayride
Violet & Auntie Rhonda enjoying the hayride
Violet & William enjoying the hayride
Sisterly love...

Olivia helping Grandpa drive the tractor

Olivia & Maya playing with a kitten

Staying cool in the pool


Popsicle break!

Violet, I bet you can't get me!

Violet enjoying her s'more (or "sandwich")
Family bonfire