Lake Day

On Thursday I got to share the love of the lake with our friends Karen and Emily. My parents were so gracious to host us at their lake home for the day. We had planned this outing a while ago and we couldn't have picked a better weather day. 80 degrees, sunshine and blue skies the entire day. After leaving Apple Valley and making at least 3 stops along the way for potty breaks and DVD troubles, we finally arrived at the lake around 11 AM. After a quick lunch we changed into swimsuits and headed for the dock.  Our first order of business was fishing.  Being that we are dealing with 4 year olds, our fishing lasted only 20 minutes and during that timespan we managed to tangle 2 lines, lose 1 hook and catch 3 fish.  Allie caught 2 fish and Emily caught one fish - her first time ever fishing and catching a fish! 



Then we jumped in the lake and did a bit of swimming.  Katie and Allie did so well - they floated in the water on noodles and swam with me for a while.  So proud of both of them! 

Grandpa then fired up the boat and took us tubing.  Super fun - Allie was a bit apprehensive but her mood changed as the boat took off.  Emily and Karen had a blast - the first time tubing for both of them! 

We finished our lake trip with ice cream on the deck.  Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for a great day!  We love you both so much!

We managed to keep the girls awake on the ride home with Clifford and Dora videos. The only snafu was running  into rush hour traffic and sitting on 494 for about 30 minutes.  During that wait time, Katie declared she had to go potty.  Poor little thing held it all the way home and my first priority when we pulled into the driveway was rushing her inside to go to the bathroom.  We all were tired but had so much fun!

Strawberry Picking

On Sunday we went the the Berry Patch in Forest Lake and we picked strawberries and raspberries.  It was quite the adventure trying to find a farm that was still open for strawberry picking.  Last year we picked strawberries on the 4th of July so I thought there was plenty of time left this summer to pick berries.  Well I guess the warm Spring had an impact on the strawberry harvest and picking started 2 weeks earlier this year (and also has ended 2 weeks earlier.)  So when I called Afton Orchards on Saturday, I was shocked to find  their strawberry season ended.  I frantically began searching for a farm that was open.  The Berry Patch was the only farm that I found and Sunday was their last day of picking.  We were able to pick from the entire patch adn the strawberries were pretty easy to find.  Katie and Allie had fun picking but I think Katie only put 5 berries in the box and Allie didn't put any (the rest of the berries that they picked went right in their tummies.)  Their picking reminded me of the book "Blueberries for Sal." We also had a chance to pick some raspberries.  We came home and I made 8 jars of strawberry jam (with the help of my 2 little cooks).  I hope strawberry picking will always be this much fun!

Water Day

Today we spent most of the day swimming. This morning we went to Cascade Bay in Eagan for Little Mates. Olivia, Mia, and Emily joined us. I remembered to bring goggles with today for the girls and it was amazing to watch how brave they were in the water wearing their goggles.

Both Katie and Allie were doing dolphin dives in the shallow water.  This afternoon we took out our new swimming pool and played in our back yard.

I think Katie took her extra sweet pills today. Despite her lack of sleep from the previous night (and my lack of sleep as well!), she was just such a charmer the whole day. One of her cutest statements was, "Mom, thank you for giving me my goggles for my Birthday. I really like them."  And then she colored me a picture with her crayons and wrote mom on the piece of paper 2 times without any help from me.

The day ended with some silliness as my two little cutie pies decided to ride their bikes wearing their backpacks pretending that they were biking to school.  They can be so grown up at times!

Zoo

This morning while we were running some errands, we drove by the Minnesota Zoo.  Katie and Allie have really become very interactive while riding in the car and they immediately saw the sign for the Zoo and said, "Mommy after lunch we want to go to the Zoo."  Well I became quite excited at the thought of them showing interest and helping me plan our day!  After we ate lunch we headed to the Zoo.  I was a bit nervous because I have not taken them to the Zoo by myself for over a year.  Last year when I tried it was a but of a disaster because they both decided about midway though the trip that they couldn't walk and they both needed to be carried.  So because of that precedent I reminded them about 10 times that if they want to go to the Zoo they both needed to walk the entire time. 

I was so proud of them.  We had a great time, all of us walked about 1 mile, and we saw some tigers, turkeys, caribou, monkeys and we even watched the bird show. And to make the trip even more special, on our way to our car we ran into my cousin Sandy and her children. 

I hope we can make more Zoo trips in the future.  It is a great place to spend an afternoon!

Soccer Finale

Despite all of the rain that we have had this Spring, we have played soccer every Monday and Wednesday night for the last 8 weeks.  The girls showed some great improvement in their soccer skills but they just didn't like to get too aggressive with their play during the games.  On Monday night there was a point in the game where Allie was laying on her back in the middle of the field daydreaming.  Wednesday night was our last game, but because of rain, thunder and lightning, the game was called and our team decided to meet at Culver's for the last hurrah.  I think Katie and Allie enjoyed the ice cream! 

After the kids enjoyed their ice cream treats their medals were given out.

 I enjoyed my soccer evenings socializing with other moms and meeting some really nice families.  We will miss Olivia, Mia, Will and Jacob.  Hopefully we will all be able to get together sometime this summer for a kids vs. parents game.

Rain, rain go away

Enough with the rain I say. We were awakened on Tuesday morning around 3:30 AM by some strong thunderstorms that rolled through our area. Surprisingly Katie and Allie slept through the entire storm. We got about 2 more inches of rain (which adds to the 3 inches that we have already had this week.) No storm damage at our house but about 2 miles away from us, there were power lines and trees that were damaged. Todd was going to watch the girls for me that morning because I had to work for an hour, but he was called into work so I brought the girls with me to work. They watched Little Bear on my IPad, ate apples and were quiet as little mice in the pharmacy office. After I worked we went to Pump It Up with Emily. The girls played on the giant slide and obstacle course for about an hour. The highlight of our day was going to Emily's house in the afternoon and playing on her new water slide. Super cool! After Emily's house I tried to fix some of my broken tomatoes while Katie and Allie put on their rain boots and played in the mud.  We had so much fun for the day that everyone in our house was asleep by 9:30 that night.

Father's Day

This last Sunday we celebrated Father's Day. Katie and Allie made Todd personalized coffee mugs and a super cute "Dad" frame.

The day was even more special because Katie and Allie sang in church to conclude VBS week. Grandma, Grandpa, and Auntie Jen came and watched their big performance. Being typical 4 year olds, Katie decided to not face the audience while singing and did her thing and during the last song, Allie decided not to go up front and sing at all. Oh well, at least they were cute!

After church everyone came over for lunch on the deck. The weather stayed nice until after we finished our meal and then it started to rain. It rained the rest of the day. So much for the forecast of perfectly sunny skies :(

Rainy Thursday

Today was the last day of VBS.  Allie and Katie had so much fun with their teachers, Callie and Paige.  We can hardly wait for VBS next year!  Here is a picture of Allie, Katie, Emily, Paige and Callie.

It rained most of the day so we had a lot of fun inside making daddy his Father's Day gift and playing princess dress up. 

My little Cinderella and Belle! 



Spunky Allie

My little Allie can be so spunky and sassy at times.  Today was one of those days that I just about lost my patience with her about a dozen times.  It seems that when she is in one of her spicy moods, anything that I say or do is just not right with her.  She snips and screams at me and shows her dissatisfaction in many not so charming ways.  I think part of it is jealousy and part of it is her short temper and lack of patience. 

This afternoon she wanted to bike to the park and wear her pink paton shoes that are too small for her.  I proceeded to tell her many times that her shoes were too small and her toes would hurt in them but she insisted on wearing them.  At one point she was so mad at me she took her shoe and threw it as hard as she could across the room. We biked to the park and when it was time to leave the park and bike home, she got so mad at me because her toes hurt from her shoes.  I tried to tell her I told her so but she just snipped at me even more.  We made it home, after much arguing, and she had about 5 more snippy fits the rest of the day.  But what made my day, and it must be my angels looking down on me, is when it was time to put her in bed, she looked at me and said, "Mommy, tomorrow morning I want to make you a special breakfast and give you a special cracker, just for you."  And then she told me, "Mommy my new favorite color is yellow because it is your favorite color too."  I sometimes can get so caught up in the negative part of my day that it takes a few special words to make me feel like a million bucks.  I love you Allie and thank you for making my bad day end on such a special note.

Busy Wednesday

This is turning out to be one busy week.  Today I worked and my lovely friend Karen was so gracious to watch Katie and Allie the entire day!  Usually Katie and Allie attend New Horizons on the days that I work but with Vacation Bible School going on all week, they would have missed a day at church.  Karen's daughter Emily, who is also 4, really wanted the girls at VBS.  I dropped the girls off at Emily's house at 7:30 and all of the girls were super excited.  Karen took them to and from church and then watched the girls until about 4:30.  The girls made thank you cards for their teachers, played outside, played dress up and read a lot of books.  Karen said at one point she had 3 girls dressed up and walking around her kitchen in high heels.  After Todd picked up the girls, we all headed to soccer.  Katie and Allie took turns playing on the red team.  Katie played pretty well but Allie just wanted to sit on my lap and cuddle.  I think everyone was pretty tired  (Emily was in bed by 7:00.)  Allie got her spunk back at the end of the game when it was her turn to hand out the snacks that we brought for the team.  I am beginning to think that the best part of soccer for my girls is the snack at the end!  I am so thankful for all of the nice and generous people in my life.

Vacation Bible School

Today was Katie and Allie's first day of VBS.  I was quite nostalgic as I dropped them off at church, hoping that they would have fun and make great memories.  There are over 200 children participating in VBS at Shepherd of the Valley this week. For as many kids as there were, it was quite organized and not the least bit chaotic. Katie and Allie have 6 kids in their section and their teachers are high school girls. 

Katie and Allie were super excited to go and to make the week even better, their friend Emily is in their class with them!  VBS is scheduled this week from 9:30 until noon.  While they were at church, I was able to workout at Lifetime and run some errands.  After VBS I dropped them off at daycare and went to work.  This evening they had soccer.  A very busy day for us at the Blomstrom house!  I decided to volunteer at VBS on Tuesday and Thursday in the craft room.  Our church sent our an email desperately seeking extra volunteers, so I prayed about it and decided that I could volunteer my time at church.  Here is hoping for a great fun and learning week for Katie and Allie!

Little Gym

One of Katie and Allie's favorite activities is going to the Little Gym.  I have taken them there since they were 18 months old.  I will never forget how scared I was when they did their first flips on the bars or balanced on the high beam all by themselves.  Now they have gotten to be quite good little gymnasts! I don't know if gymnastics is in their future but right now they are really having fun in the gym!

My Little Monkeys

This has always been one of my favorite pictures of my girls.  I think it captures true happiness.  I will never forget the day that I took this picture 2 years ago.  I was so scared that one of the girls was going to fall off of the monkey bar.  What a difference 2 years makes. It is fun to compare the pictures.  I hope they are always this happy and carefree.  They will always be my little monkeys :)



Lydia's Birthday Party

Our good friend Lydia turned 4 on Tuesday.  We were so excited to get our Little Pony pool party invitation in the mail!  Lydia and her family live in a townhouse that has a swimming pool.  Tuesday was the party and the weather was perfect!  The girls were so excited to spend the morning with Lydia and all of her friends.  It was the first time that Katie and Allie swam with noodles and no life jackets!  I was in the pool with them right by their side while they each kicked and paddled on their own.  Allie actually jumped into 4 feet of water by herself and grabbed onto her noodle and pulled her head up without being scared.  I am so proud of my little swimmers!  After swimming we celebrated Lydia's Birthday by having cupcakes and opening presents.  What a great day we all had!

Jia's Baptism

On Saturday, June 2nd, we were able to spend the day with my family celebrating Jia and her baptism.  What a fun and special day for all of us.  Jia did so well during the ceremony and she looked so beautiful.  It was so emotional for me.  I think of how lucky we are that we have Jia in our lives and how lucky Jia is to have the family that she has.  God is so good to all of us.  We all just have so much to be thankful for. 

We spent the afternoon at Jennifer's house playing on the swing set and going to the park.  On our walk to the park Jia and Katie held hands and Jia kept saying, "I hold Katie's hand."  It just touches my heart to witness such innocence and love.

Soccer in PJ's

I am trying to practice soccer with the girls.  Katie and Allie do well during soccer practices but during the actual games they really don't participate too much.  Allie is busy sucking her fingers and twirling her hair and Katie is too busy looking at the grass and daydreaming.  I set up a practice soccer field in our backyard and I thought it would be fun to be their opponent.  It went well for a few moments and then there was a lot of silliness.  Katie and Allie ran in the house and came back with their PJ's.  We then proceeded to play soccer in our pajamas.  Maybe there won't be many soccer games in our future.

Mall of America

Today we spent the morning at the Mall of America. One of my friends had some extra ride points that she had to use up by June 1, so she invited us to go on some rides for free. Now that the girls are over 36 inches tall, they can ride some rides by themselves. Mia, Olivia, Katie and Allie had a blast! It was fun to watch their expressions from the sidelines. There was a point when Allie had a look on her face like she was about to cry, but then the look quickly changed to a big smile. Allie and Katie wanted to ride on the Ghost Catcher, which led them through a dark haunted house. I rode with them in the same car.  Halfway through the ride, Katie told me that she did not want to be on the ride anymore. Allie also wanted to get off but I managed to talk my way through their fear and we made it! What a great way to spend the morning with some really great friends.