Summer

It is amazing how fast a few months can be! It doesn’t feel right that summer is nearly over, but, sadly, it is! We have had a busy and fun summer.  This is what the girls have been up to…

Leah continued with guitar lessons with Joe. Both continued with gymnastics. They have spent time with Grandma Mary. They have spent time up at the cabin with Nonna and Grandpa all by themselves and with their cousin Delila! There were sleepovers, birthday parties, cabin time, trips to the zoo (Como and MN), trips to Mall of America, a day at the Blaine Carnival, trips to Stillwater, and a couple of days at Bunker Beach.  They also went to the start of the Mississippi at Itasca State Park. Fun times spent with family and friends. Wow, what a fun summer.

Now, we get ready for the start of School. One more weekend to cap off a fantastic summer! Amber will start soccer and return to swimming. Leah will continue with guitar and gymnastics. She will also try volleyball this fall. It is going to be a busy fall as the girls are in completely different activities for the first time. Wish us luck!! 

Cruise in Review 2014

Allure of the Seas 4/27 – 5/3/14

Eastern Caribbean

“Drinking Before Noon Makes Me a Pirate”

#winewench (Andrea)

#ridemepegleg (Joe)

#sb2k14never2oldforspringbreak

Day 1:

·         Bon Voyage from Fort Lauderdale, FL

·         Ocean view balcony 9568

·         Pool, drinks, friends

·         OceanAria Aqua Show

·         Nauti Shark

·         But first let me take a selfie

Day 2:

·         Nassau, Bahamas

·         Hard Rock – Wait, what do you mean it closed!!!

·         Senor Frogs – drinking and dancing

·         Formal Night

·         Captain’s Welcome Party

·         Sailor Joe

Day 3:

·         At sea

·         Pool time

·         Karen’s Bachelorette Party

Day 4:

·         St. Thomas

·         Karen and Boone get married

·         Beautiful ceremony at Magen’s Bay

·         “Reception” following at the beach! Great times!!

·         Too much Rum Punch, wait, never can have too much rum punch!

·         Incident #1: Cab to go back – transmission broken, had to wait for another cab

·         Continue the party on the Ship

Day 5:

·         Philipsburg, St. Maarten

·         Power Rafting Excursion for our group of 30ish: Snorkeling and Beach tour

·         Super fun, Snorkeling – Check, Beaches – Check, but the plan for more beaches had to be adjusted when one of the engine blew (Incident #2) and it took us a bit longer to get back to the ship! We got a great tour of St. Maarten!!

·         Quest Game Show

Day 6:

·         At sea

·         More pool time

·         International Men’s Belly Flop Contest

·         Zip Line

·         Formal Night

Day 7:

·         At Sea

·         Soaking in as much sun as possible knowing that it was the last day

·         Mini Golf

·         Robe time

·         Kentucky Derby (2 hours later…)

·         Dinner for 17 at Samba Grill (A Brazilian Steakhouse)

Day 8:

·         Departure

·         Shuttle to Miami to go to Hard Rock for lunch then catch our plane home

·         incident #3– The shuttle gets a flat, but no worries, another came to pick us up from the side of the freeway

Day 9:

·         Back with our babies

So lucky to have met wonderful friends while cruising!

So lucky to be able to go on an AMAZING vacation!

So lucky that we have fantastic parents who will watch our girls!

Dare we say it...Spring is finally here!!!

Wow! It is hard to believe that it is already April. The snow is FINALLY melting, and maybe will be gone by the end of the week (one can only hope). We have been trying to survive the winter from…well, you know! It has been long, cold and full of snow. We are so excited to see a hint of spring finally.

So, how did we pass the last few months, you ask…

Leah – well, she is addicted (yes addicted is correct) to her rainbow loom and is constantly teaching herself new bracelets, headbands, charms, etc with the help of you tube videos. She is trying to learn how to play the guitar. This is a bit of a struggle. I don’t think she really understood how much practice would be involved. And, as always, she is working on her gymnastics!'

Amber- well, she is addicted to “Elsa” (or Frozen to most). She watches it almost every day that I think Leah is starting to avoid watching it when she can! She is also working on her matching skills by playing her favorite Disney Matching game. She loves to color and write as well. Oh, and she loves to play on her Leap Pad too. Yes, the age of technology! Amber is taking swimming lessons as well and she is doing amazing!

Some fun activities over the past month to survive this brutal extended winter:

2/17/14: Mall of America to celebrate the girls’ birthdays – lunch at American Girl, Rides and Sea Life. So much fun!!

2/24/14: Amber went to her first Sleepover birthday party to celebrate her friend, Nataleigh’s 5^th birthday. Leah was also invited. They had such a wonderful time. Amber is so excited to have another sleep over at her house!!

3/5/14: Nonna, the girls and I drove to Eau Claire to meet the newest Duffy – Little Miss Ava! So precious. Apparently, Amber is still very possessive of her mommy. I was really not given much opportunity to hold Ava as Amber would need me as soon as I tried to hold Ava!!

3/23/14: the girls celebrated their cousin Thea’s 8^th birthday.

3/29/14: Family celebration of Thea’s 8^th birthday!

3/30/14: Mommy/daughter shopping day with Leah, Kaylee, Jaci and me at the MOA! So much fun!!

What else did we do?

We also played in the snow when it was not brutally cold outside!  The girls and daddy played legos.Oh, and we watched movie, played games on our nook/leap pad, and we bugged each other!! :) But we did survive!