Happy Halloween!

The boys had a great Halloween. We went to Mo and Po's first. Then trick or treated around our neighborhood with Luke. Micah and Luke were not sure at first but once they realized they got candy it was a blast. We hit a few houses and then went home to have dinner and play with glow sticks in the backyard.

Halloween Preview

Matt had the idea! He talked Micah into it! Andi made the costumes! Stay tuned!

CLU Homecoming

Cal Lutheran homecoming was last weekend. The school puts on a carnival after the football game. The kids love it. They had bounce houses, face painting, pumpkin decorating, and lots of yummy food.
In the above picture...I graduated in 2000, Karl in 2001, my parents in 1972 and my brother is on track to graduate in 2012! Pretty good lookin CLU family!

MN Trip Oct 2009

Karl and I after the Twin Cities Marathon. We finished in 3 hours 49 minutes. A bit off our planned time on 3 hours 45 minutes but not bad! Just to finish 26.2 miles and complete the training for the race without getting hurt is success in my book! I love that my boys think every mom and dad run marathons!

Hanging out with Aunt Erin, Grandma Andra and Grandpa Tom.

Hike and picnic

Karl and Matt playing on a huge play structure. They were like Spideman climbing all over the rope web.

Lego display at the Mall of America. We went to the aquarium at the mall. The boys loved it!

We met up with Karl's Aunt Jane, Uncle Doug, and cousins Sara and Sonya for dinner.

The aquarium in the Mall of America.

The Aunt among the ants at the MN Children's museum.

Apple orchard in White Bear Lake.

The boys finally got to meet Erin's cat Mittens.

We had a great week vacation in Minnesota. It was great to spend time with family and watch the boys have so many wonderful experiences. In one week we ran a marathon, went to an apple orchard, played hard at a children's museum, went to the MN Zoo, played and picnicked at a state park, and went to an aquarium. All that plus the fun of playing in Grandpa and Grandma's basement and riding bikes and running outside on the parkway. It was a great trip!

Big Bear Pictures

I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures from Big Bear. Enjoy!

Micah was pretending to be an airplane.

Throwing rocks into Big Bear Lake. The boys, Max, Matt, and Micah did this for over 30 minutes!

Matt and Max checking out the ducks below.

My biggest fans!

Matt and I sledding down the Alpine Slide. We rode the ski lift up and sledded down on a track.

The Schneider-Stutelberg Gang.

Bedtime Stories

Big Bear

We spent the weekend in Big Bear with the Schneider family. Dawn and I ran the Big Bear Half Marathon on Saturday. We had a great time. After the race we went to the Alpine Slide where we rode the ski lift to the top of the mountain and sled down. We took turns taking the kids and after some hesitation on their part they were begging to "go faster!" We had a great weekend and I"ll post more pictures soon. Bill put together this collage of us "hangin out" and it sums up our fun at Big Bear Lake! The boys, Matt Max and Micah, were too busy throwing rocks into the lake to participate in our jumping acrobats!
Stay tuned for more pics and check out Karl's blog for some!

Matt's First Day of Preschool

Matt started Preschool Today was parent orientation so Matt was only in his class for a little over an hour. He did great! No tears shed. I was able to choke mine back. We got Matt a new Lightning McQueen backpack and to say he was excited to wear it is an understatement! My friend Dawn came over with two of her kids to watch Luke and Micah while Karl and I went to the orientation. The picture above is of the "boys club," Max, Luke, Matt and Micah. Matt will be going to preschool two days a week for 3 hours in the morning. Hopefully his excitement carries on into next week!
We are off to Big Bear, CA this weekend with Dawn and her family. Dawn and I are running the Big Bear Half Marathon on Saturday. This will be a training run for me because Karl and I are running the Twin Cities Marathon in about 3 weeks. Dawn just had a baby 6 months ago so running 13 miles this soon will be a great accomplishment. Aside from the run we hope to have some good family fun in Big Bear. I read there is a slide you can ride down the mountain. WOOHOO stay tuned for some great pics!!

Ventura Beach

We spent Sunday at Ventura Beach with Grandpa and Grandma Bennett. They drove to our house and brought us Karl's grandma's piano. They then went to Ventura and stayed in a hotel on the beach for the long weekend so we drove out to Ventura on Sunday to spend the day with them. We had a great time playing in the sand and water. It was awesome to see how great Brad is doing since his surgery. He is a new Grandpa! The boys are so lucky to have boogie boarding grandparents! After the boys took naps in the hotel room we went to the harbor and had ice cream, Matt rode a pony, and we looked at the boats. It was a great visit and everyone had a blast. I'm sure the boys will talk about this day for a long time.

Daddy and Micah built some cool sand castles!

Micah has Matt right where he wants him! Matt was buried in the sand and loved it.

Grandma and Grandpa hit the waves with the boogie board.

We dug a "house" of big holes then filled them up with water. The boys quickly "swam" and splashed before the water disapeared.

Micah and his trucks. That kid is happy anywhere as long as he has a truck and his mom close by!
Matt rode a pony at Ventura Harbor. His pony's name is Casper. Matt was in deep concentration during his 10 minutes of being a cowboy. Micah was too scared to ride and we decided not to push it with him.

Sand is everywhere!

The Past Few Weeks

I have a good reason for not posting in so long...Micah switched from his crib to a toddler bed two weeks ago. I'll explain how this is related to me not posting! Usually I post after the kids go to bed. It has been taking us from 30 minutes to over and hour to get Micah to stay in his bed so by the time he is asleep I am too tired to post! The reason we transitioned him to the "big boy" bed was because he started climbing out of his crib. If it was up to me I would have kept Micah in his crib until he was 3 but safety must come first! Anyway, times are better (thanks to the tips from the Super Nanny show) and Micah is going to bed with minimal protesting!We watched Luke last weekend while Louise and Jon went on a cruise to celebrate Jon's graduation. Karl made the boys bunny pancakes on Sunday morning! Having 3 kids age 1,2, and 3 is TOUGH!!! WOW that is the only way to describe it!Last week we took the boys the to AV Fair. They had a good time looking at all the animals, checking out the lights from the carnival and eating funnel cake. Matt liked the swing ride that lifts swings up high and spins in a circle. Yikes, I told him when he is 6 years old Daddy would do that with him!
My sister and I took the boys to Griffith Park last week and let boys do pony rides and ride the little train. Matt was so proud and said "I'm like a real cowboy!" Later that day Matt told me he wanted to be a cowboy when he grows up. He had told me a few days before he wanted to be an astronaut. I asked how he was going to have time to be both and he explained that, "first I will be a cowboy, then an astronaut, then a fireman." Oh, silly me!It has been hard to get an appropriate picture of the boys playing at home because I'm having a difficult time keeping cloths on them! Every time I turn around a little boy has stripped! Here is a pic of them playing in their pool outside and of course minus cloths! Today Karl suggested since Matt is starting preschool soon we implement a clothing rule. We decided that the boys need to have underwear or a diaper on at all times when home. Except if swimming!This was the view from our front yard on Saturday! My sister was evacuated in Acton, CA. The fire looks really close but we are very safe. Hopefully my sister and her family can return home soon. Their house is in less danger because the winds have shifted although I don't think they can go home for another day or so.

"I want that one Mommy"

Micah's language has exploded the past two weeks! He said his first real sentence yesterday. "I want that one Mommy." He was referencing a pink popsicle and after I gave it to him he said, "Tank To Mommy." Actually the sentence that I am bragging about sounded more like. "Iwantatwon Mommy." That isn't the point though, my baby is growing up!
The picture is of Micah eating a "special treat" Drumstick. Grandpa Tom introduced Matt to Drumsticks when he was here awhile ago. Matt definatly remembered all about Drumsticks. That kid has the biggest sweet tooth. I hadn't eaten one in years...sure was yummy!
Three year olds crack me up! Yesterday in the car Matt asked me what goosebumps were. I tried to explain and then asked him where he heard about goosebumps. He couldn't tell me but is now very ecxcited and nervous to see goosebumps this winter! Maybe I will take him to the freezer section at the grocery store to show him!
Our produce box was especially colorful and in a way beautiful this week. The peaches were the size of softballs and so good. The grapes are called Flame Grapes and taste like candy. I ordered extra grapes this week.
Have a happy Friday!
Louise's husband, Jon, graduated from his MBA program, FINALLY! We are celebrating on Sunday with a small party. Louise, Jon and Luke have made huge sacrafices the past two years while Jon worked on his degree. Congratulations to their family! We love you and are proud of you all!