Farewell Red Room

So yesterday was Katie and Allies's last day in the red room at New Horizons. Next week they will move to the purple room and their new teacher will be Ms.Dawn, who used to be a kindergarten teacher. I think Katie and Allie will miss the red room. The red room was special for Allie because it was where she got over her separation anxiety. They will also miss their teachers, Ms. Autumn and Ms. Kelly. I cannot believe that my girls will be in pre-kindergarten this year. How is it possible that they are 4 and will be in kindergarten next year? I am telling you, I am going to enjoy every second of this coming year with them. I have so much to be thankful for and these are definitely the best days of my life!

I love you....

The girls have gotten into the habit of calling me on my cell phone when I am driving home from work. Todd dials my phone number and Allie and Katie converse with me about their day. What is really interesting is that 90% of the time, they talk in unison and say the same words. I must say that I have a very difficult time deciphering who is talking to me. I think their voices sound identical!

So the other night the girls called and talked for a few minutes and we said our goodbyes. My phone rang about 15 seconds later and it was Allie. She said, "Mommy, I forgot to say I love you....". Todd told me later on that after Allie hung up the first time, she started to cry. Todd asked what was wrong and she said, "I forgot to tell Mommy that I loved her. Can we call her back?" I don't think it gets any lovelier than that :)

State Fair

This weekend we made our annual trip to the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul.  We have taken the girls since they were one.  The first year we took them in their stroller, the second year we took their wagon, and this year they walked, well sort of.  Allie was super fussy all day and insisted on being carried and when she attempted to walk she could have tied the record for the slowest State Fair walker ever!  Katie did a bit better but complained a few times that her legs were getting tired.  We first went on rides, then we had malts and visited the dairy and horse barns. The girls were super excited to pet some cows and horses. We then took the sky ride back. Riding on that ride made me so nervous thinking that Allie and Katie could fall out of the chair. There were no seat belts holding us in, just a bar across the front.

The girls had a great day and what made the day even brighter was that our neighbor girls Emma and Avery came to visit our house in the afternoon. They brought Icees to share and played outside. We never want summer to end!

Cannon Valley Trail

On Sunday we took the girls and all of our bikes down to Cannon Falls to do some biking.  Todd and I used to bike quite often along the Cannon Valley Trail before we had children.  What is nice about the trail is that the elevation changes are very gradual and the surface of the trail is very smooth. We all biked for about one and one-half hours, making about 3 stops along the way for  snack, water and potty breaks. After we got home and mapped our bike ride, we were quite amazed that we biked about 4 miles!  Katie and Allie did really well, only complaining at the end that their legs were getting tired.  So proud of my peanuts for their stamina and endurance!

Dinosaur Camp

My girls attended a community education class on Friday called, "Dinosaur Camp."  On of my friends enrolled her daughter Olivia in the class and suggested the class for us.  Katie and Allie had so much fun digging for dinosaur fossils, coloring dinosaurs, making clay dinosaur footprints and making a dinosaur egg.  The dinosaur egg was made out of dirt, sand, flour and water and inside of the dirt is a tiny dinosaur.  We will be able to crack open the egg in 3 days and watch our baby dinosaur hatch. Here are the girls displaying their projects!

Extreme Naughtiness

It seems to me that my little angels have gotten quite naughty as of yet.  I am hoping that it is just a stage and nothing permanent!  Both Katie and Allie had super bad days on Thursday, a day of not listening and quite a bit of sassysness.  There was a point in the day when I took a deep breath, gave them each a big hug and said, "I know you are having a bad day, just remember that I love you so much."  Their response to this was (screaming on top of their lungs), "No I am NOT having a bad day!"  I think this part of parenting is going to be the toughest yet.....please say many prayers for patience for me :)

Back Yard Bash

I always look forward to Emily's annual Backyard Bash party. First off, the kids have tons of fun and second off, we moms have a blast too! Emily's annual back yard bash was last Saturday and after the kids had lunch and ice cream cones, they played for hours in Emily's backyard. The best gift of all was that one of my friends captured some wonderful moments with her fancy camera. Thank you Jane for sharing these pictures with me!

Lake

This last week I really wanted a break from everything, so I called up my parents and asked if Katie, Allie and I could spend a little girl time at my parent's cabin.  My parents graciously agreed so we packed  up the car and headed north last Thursday for a night get away.  I am hoping that this will be the first of many all girl trips in our future!  The weather was not all that warm (only 68 degrees) so I was a bit surprised when the girls wanted to go swimming right away when we got there.  Katie was the first one to brave the cold water and she convinced me to jump right in, YEOW!  What I won't do for my girls! Allie jumped in as well.  We swam to the neighbor's raft but after about 15 minutes in the water, we decided to get out and warm up.  We then went on a few nature hikes, watched some loons, played games and read lots of books, and enjoyed the peace and quiet that lake life offers.  It is too bad that bedtime for all of us was 10:15 PM (both of my girls were so over stimulated!) and wake up time was 6:10 AM. (Katie saw the sun come up and said, mom look it is morning time!)

Grandma and Grandpa came up on Friday morning and we all went fishing.  Allie caught a bass and Katie caught a perch.  After more fun with Grandma and Grandpa we headed home and stopped for a DQ treat at Cold Springs, a tradition that I am sure neither one of my girls will forget!  The girls enjoyed their lake sleep over!

Mismatched Shoes

This Spring I bought Katie and Allie each a new pair of Crocs.  I usually buy the same color shoes for them to avoid many disagreements about who gets to wear which color, but Allie insisted on orange Crocs and Katie wanted pick Crocs.  About halfway through the summer, they each changed their minds about the color they wanted and switched it up.  Lately there have been many disagreements about who gets what color shoes.  One day last week, Allie did a great job reasoning and decided to wear one of each color shoe.  Katie is fine with that as well so this is now how they each wear their Crocs!  I think it is quite cute but Todd doesn't quite see the humor in it!

Farquar Park

Tuesday is usually our pool day but this last Tuesday Katie's tummy felt a bit funny so we decided to skip the pool and have some quiet time at home.  When Katie started to feel better we made a trip to Pahl's Market and had fun picking out sweet corn, peaches and potatoes.  The girls really entertained the entire staff at the market! 

Allie really wanted to take a bike ride so I packed up the bikes and we headed to Farquar Park and did some biking and playing.  Katie and Allie took a liking to some other kids playing and immediately benched me for their new friends.  It was nice to have a bit of alone time basking in the warm August sun.  The  girls and their friends even did a nature scavenger hunt.  On our way back to the car we stopped at the dock and looked for some fish. I was so glad that Katie's tummy recovered quickly so we could all have some fun!

Lebanon Hills

Last Sunday we decided to take Katie and Allie for a bike ride at Lebanon Hills Regional Park. It was 70 degrees and cloudy, such a difference from the warm weather that we have been used to all summer.  Katie and Allie both dressed like it was about 50 degrees out! 

We biked a while and then decided to do some hiking and flower picking.  I so much appreciate a good nature hike.  When we got home we made some home ade play dough. 

I just love their new purple kitty sweatshirts!

Bloody Nose

Kaitlyn got her first bloody nose today and I am so thankful that it was just a bloody nose and nothing more. We all went to the Pink Park today To play and while we were there, Allie decided that she needed to go potty. The nearest potty was quite a distance near an elementary school. While I took Allie potty, Todd stayed with Katie. Allie and I discovered a bigger playground near the Elementary School so Katie and Todd ventured up to the new park to join us. While Todd went back to the Pink Park to get the bicycles, Katie decided to climb up on a bar and let herself drop down. As she was dropping down, her chin and face bumped into the bar. I thought she might have knocked out some teeth, but she just got a bloody nose out of the deal. Needless to say, I didn't have any tissues on me, so my shirt became her towel. I am sure this will be the first bloody nose of many, but as a mom, I was so scared for her. She was a brave trooper and played some more before we biked back to our car.

Lemke fun

This past Friday, Todd and I were invited to a wedding in Hutchinson. One of my dear friend's daughter got married and my girls were not invited to the wedding. My brother and his family babysat Katie and Allie for us. We all had a great time! Renee (the bride) looked so beautiful and so grown up! It was fun to see some of my old Shopko friends and hang out in a town that was so good to me for so many years. Katie and Allie had a blast at the Lemkes. While they were there they visited grandma and grandpa, got to ride on a Gator, saw some cows, played with cats, climbed in a tree house, and had so much fun playing with their cousins that they sure weren't all of that excited when Todd and I came to pick them up. Thanks Jon and Mary for all that you did. The girls want to visit again real soon!

My Cheerleaders

I think it is quite interesting that over the last 3 months my girls have gotten quite girly. Maybe it is because a lot of their girlfriends wear dresses all of the time, but whatever the case may be, Katie and Allie have caught on to the trend and want to play dress up a lot. I have a bag of clothes in Allie's closet that have been donated to us by my family. The clothes are too big for them right now but it seems that a couple of times a week my girls sneak into Allie's closet and dress up. Today they both decided that they want to be cheerleaders. Aren't these the 2 cutest cheerleaders ever?

Minnehaha Falls

Every year we make our annual trip to Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis. I love, love, love going there. This year we decided to take Katie and Allie's bikes with so they could bike the trails while Todd and I walked with them. Let me say that Todd and I had a good workout trying to keep up with our biking monsters. I think from now on all of us will have to bring our bikes. Todd and I had to run at a very fast pace to keep up with them! We are trying to teach them that they must share the path with others, but sometimes they ignore that warning and are quite dangerous on their bikes. Maybe next year when we go there will be no training wheels! The Falls were beautiful and we all were able to enjoy some nature and sun on a beautiful summer day.

Tennis anyone?

This last week the girls took a Community Ed class called Tennis for Preschoolers. Todd thought I was a bit crazy signing the girls up for tennis at such an early age but I enjoy playing tennis and I can hardly wait for them to be the age where I will finally have a tennis partner! Here are a few pictures of my future tennis players. We now all have our own rackets. Olympic fever is catching on at the Blomstrom house!