The big 3-5

Tonight we celebrated Jim's birthday. Yep. I made his favorite dessert that his Grandma use to make for him cause I'm a good wife like that. Yep. He's the big 3-5. Officially middle aged. See the gray? Just teasing. To me, he's still that goofy, gangly 19 year old sporting Eastlands and a Jansport backpack, climbing back up "the hill" after a long
night at "the brar."

The fact that we are no longer 19 hasn't just hit me, but the fact that we are middle aged hit me hard today. I was walking into our first day of music class. Jim's mom had just pulled up to pick up Owen. At the same time, I ran into an old resident friend of Jim's, whom he recently recruited to their clinic. I introduced them and she began to gush over Jim and how excited she was to have him as her boss. Boss? Did she say, "boss?" How can my dorky husband somehow have grown into somebody's boss? How did this creep up on us? What happened to the days where we slept until noon? Oh wait, that was yesterday.

I hate my birthday, so when Jim's rolls around, I just automatically start calling myself that age. So consider me 35, too. I can't speak for Jim on this, but I have truly enjoyed my 30's thus far. Might have something to do with my current career choice, or lack thereof. Anyway, I'm glad I don't have to hike up that blanged hill anymore. I'd rather drive up it in my mini van!

Here we are. In our mid-30's. This picture pretty much wraps up our life right now and I love it.

Happy Birthday, Hunny.
Cheers to living the life as the Lucky Letts'.
Love you. ~E

Easter Cookies

We were suppose to go up to my folks' place this weekend, but they are feeling a little under the weather. Usually my mom plans all sorts of fun Easter activities for the kids when we come up, so this year I had to step it up. Since I don't even own a rolling pin, I bought a cookie making kit. All the fun without all the work.
The cookies didn't taste very good, but they're mostly just for decoration anyway, right?

Even Mia got into the holiday spirit. She cheered us on with her ooh and coos from her Bumbo chair.

Easter Eggs!

For years I've hated my kitchen because I didn't have enough counterspace to cook on, let alone do projects with the kids. We finally ordered a cupboard and did our first project on it today. I think it worked out perfectly.

Yesterday we went on an Easter Egg hunt at a nearby park. As we were loading everyone up to leave, Jim set my camera on top of the van. Well, when we got home, it wasn't there. Despite many efforts to find it, it hasn't shown up in any form. So, I'm using my old camera. As you can see, it does do video, but they can only be 15 seconds long and there is no sound. But you can get the point. I just wanted to show this nifty little spinner that we use for Easter egg dyeing. It works so slick with no mess and makes beautiful eggs.

We dyed 18 eggs. It was the perfect amount. They were getting tired of it by the last two. Now we just have to figure out what to do with all these beautiful eggs. Jim and I are the only ones who would maybe eat them, but 18!? Ideas are welcome.

Introducing: Spring!

Although this winter wasn't extremely long or cold, we still did not get out much because Mia was just too little. However, winter is over and our little baby is not such a little baby anymore. Today, after the preschool run, we decided to skip naps and enjoy the warm sun in our backyard. Mia enjoyed her first ride in the swing...



while her brothers dug up the yard.














They are VERY proud of their work.

Then we decided to try out the bikes. I could not convince anybody to take a risk today. Owen only wanted to ride his old Like a Bike or his new scooter.

It took a lot of convincing to get Evan to ride this big wheel. He much rather pretend to be a one-eyed, one-handed pirate. ARGH! Evan really wanted to ride in the push car, but...

it's not his anymore. I cannot believe Mia is big enough to sit in this car! And she LOVES it!

Trip to Sconi

My folks left my hometown shortly after I graduated from High School, which makes it really hard to stay in contact with my high school friends. Seems the only time we get together anymore is for a wedding or shower. This weekend, my oldest friend Nora had a baby shower for our friend Jenny (the adorable girl in the black and white with a basketball up her dress).

The last time we were all together was Jenny's wedding shower.

Whenever I head down to Delavan/Milwaukee, my mom usually meets me. This weekend it was just us girls: me, my mom, and Mia. We hit the outlet stores in The Dells, stayed the night at Michelle and Kirk's in Sun Prairie, and then headed over to Milwaukee for Jenny's shower.

After the shower, we drove down to Delavan and stayed with the Grobers. Liz Grober (Nora's mom) was like a second mom to me growing up. She put us all up for the night and even had a crib for Mia to sleep in. The next morning, Nora came over with her crew.

Here are Caitlyn, Christopher, and MacKenzie holding Mia.

We chatted for a bit and then we all went over to Millie's for brunch.
(From the left around the table: My mom, John Grober, Christopher, me, Mia, MacKenzie, Nora, Weston (Nora's nephew), Paula (Nora's sister), Jessie (Nora's other sister), Lauren (Nora's sister-in-law), Liz, and Caitlyn.

Go Osseo!

My cousin Jody's youngest daughter, Kaitlyn (#30), is playing basketball for the Osseo-Fairchild Varsity team this year. She is only a sophomore, so we are really proud of her. So far, the team has only lost one game. This week they played St. Croix in Amery, which is a little over an hour from us, so we decided to go to the game. This past weekend, they beat Fall Creek (their only previous loss) by one point, sending them to the State Tournaments!

Both Jim and I were amazed at what we saw. These girls can really play ball! And it's no wonder Kaitlyn made the Varsity team. She was the first sub to be put in.

She is calm and energetic on the floor and really puts the pressure on defensively. She caused numerous turn overs throughout the game and scored a basket. As you can hear in the background, the whole town is really proud of these girls.

Even though St. Croix was only about 20 miles from the high school, and Osseo was well over an hour away, Osseo overwhelmed the stands. Their enthusiasm was amazing. In fact, they didn't even have cheerleaders! The student fans were the cheerleaders. They did have a dance team, though, which, of course, I really enjoyed. Such creativity!

Osseo was ahead the whole game... by a lot. The fans were pleased as you can see. Jody painted her boyfriend's face for the occasion. I wonder what he'll look like for the State Tournament!

It was the first basketball game Mia and Evan have ever been to and Owen's first high school game. They all did really well until after the game. While we were chatting in the gym with my extended family, Owen and Evan disappeared under the bleachers. Then again as we were leaving, we lost Evan. He was just hiding amongst a maze of lockers, but my heart had that sinking, panicky feeling and I decided right then and there that we would not be attending the State Tournament. Guess we'll just have to watch it on T.V.. At least we know they will not be lacking fans.

Celebrating St. Patty's Day

Some people in St. Paul take off work to go celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Apparently, the St. Paul natives prioritize celebrating St. Patrick's Day right up there with eating and finding the gold medallion. (Seriously. People take off work. They have an association with a Miss Shamrock!) Well, for some of us, St. Patrick's Day can no longer be filled with Parades and Premiums. These are the future Miss (and a Mister) Shamrocks of St. Paul and, although they cannot crawl, let alone march in a parade, they can celebrate St. Patrick's Day just the same.

When moms walked into my house today, they did not see the usual racing around. We all remarked on how many babies there were again, and how many girls!





The babies were passing out left and right. Much, I assume, like the folks down on Grand Avenue!

Although he hadn't had an ounce of beer, Collin was having a blast. True, he is Irish, but how could anyone resist the non-stop fun of the Johnny Jumper?

We had more than just babies at our playdate, although they didn't stop for a picture until they got hungry and worn out. There was a lot of green food for our party goers. We had green knox blocks, guacamole, veggie pizza, pistachio cupcakes, pear & apples juice, plus an assortment of other pizzas and desserts.

The best thing was that the weather was gorgeous! After some nourishment, we all went outside.

The party didn't go on until dawn, but it did go on well into the afternoon. Hyped up on sugar, these dawdlers made their own band, taking turns being the lead. Their music isn't exactly my style, but who knows, maybe some day one of them will be the next American Idol.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Hope your St. Patrick's Day is all it's "cracked" up to be!
Enjoy & Be Safe

Fundraiser Update

The fundraiser is over for the Earthquake Victims in Haiti. The class filled the jar. When I brought Owen today, they asked me if I could stay and help count the money with the kids. Owen was not interested in helping to count the money. I can't say I blame him. First, I made him count the money he contributed each time he brought some in. Also, who would want to sit and count money when you could put on real goggles and drill holes in an old stump?

Evan helped me, though, and I did find some other eager participants. Don't be fooled by the look on Lilly's face. She loved sorting the change and was really good at it, too. Each kid had their own method. One kid matched the coins up by size. One kid picked out all the copper pennies because they were easy to spy. Lilly picked up a handful at a time and sorted them that way. I was fascinated by all the ways you can go about counting change.

Anyway, ready for the big news? We raised $175.92!

Once the big task of counting money was over, Owen got his comfort spot back. This is what he does almost every day at preschool. Why am I paying for him to sit on the couch and read books? That's what he does at home. I talked to his teachers about this. I'm hoping they will nudge him in some new directions.

Evan loved playing up in the loft. He prepared a nice lunch. He loves to pretend to make food. I wish he'd really eat some.

More Birthday Party Fun!

Owen Yeager, one of our oldest and best buds, turned 5 this weekend. To celebrate, he invited a bunch of his other best buds to The Eagles Nest indoor play area in New Brighton.

Our old buddy Connor was there, too! See his newly missing tooth? I can't believe they are old enough to loose their teeth! Owen is hoping to do a shadow with Connor soon in his kindergarten classroom at Farnsworth Aerospace Magnet. Hopefully Owen will be going there school next year.

Owen was so excited to go to Owen Y.'s birthday. He really wanted it to be a special day for him. He didn't realize at first that Owen Y. had a lot of other friends there that wanted to play with him, too. There were a few emotional moments when Owen Y. ran off with somebody else and Owen didn't feel a part of the group, but he wasn't the only one. When Owen Y. went to the bathroom and none of the boys could find him, I caught these three looking longingly over the fence, awaiting his return.

The Yeagers rented a room for lunch and present opening. There was pizza (which Owen ate), fruit (which Evan ate), juice boxes, soda (for the adults) and Transformer cupcakes (more than meets the eye).

Now, I've heard some bad singing and I've often been an accomplice to bad singing, but this round takes the cake. But isn't it sweet how Owen Y. adores his dad? You can just tell how grateful he is for this wonderful birthday party and how lucky he feels to have a dad as cooky as his. These are the moments that life is about.

I love these guys.

We got Owen Y. a game because his mom, like me, cannot stand playing boy pretend games that entail things like being attacked by a T-rex, stabbed by pirates, smashed by transformers, arrested by Rescue Heroes, etc., but she'll gladly play a game or do a project with him. Turns out he really enjoyed the game.

I love how the kids all are peering over his shoulder to catch a glimpse at his new treasures. I also love the profile of Jackie's swelling belly. Little Bro Yeager is due in June!

Before we left, Owen got some more Owen Y. time in. Here they are announcing to the world that they are FIVE!

Happy 5th Birthday, Owen Y.

Just for old time's sake, check out birthdays three and four.

Impromptu Pool Party

Right after Henry's birthday party, we went to Connie and Neil's condo to meet Tom, Jen, our nieces, Anna and Charlie for an impromptu swim party. Margaux and Mia are getting so big so fast. It's hard to believe that they are 7 and 5 months already. It was fun to see Margaux today and get to know her a little bit.

(Addie & Owen)
Before the kids got in the pool, Grandma set up a table
and they all had a little snack.

Owen and Ellie had a blast... again.

So did Mia... and Grandma! I forgot Mia's adorable little tutu suit, but luckily Grandma Connie had a spare. Although the hot tub water was like bath water today, we held Mia on our laps.

Charlie went swimming for the first time today, too.

Gina & Adam stopped by and graciously held the babies. Mia was really sweet & cuddly with Adam. We're so lucky to be able to get together like this on the spur of the moment.
After swimming, we all sat around Connie and Neil's condo and had pizza. Then Connie and Neil came over to watch our kids while we went to our friend Hawes's annual party. It was a fun, but exhausting day.

THANK YOU CONNIE & NEIL!

Happy Birthday Hen!

It was an action packed weekend. We got up this morning and said goodbye to Anna and Charlie. Evan and Jim set off for theater class, while Mia, Owen and I went to the other side of St. Paul for Henry's birthday party.

Henry is the 4 year old son of my dear friend Nina. Henry wanted a fish theme this year and Nina's creativity shined. The handmade invitations included a drawn hook with a gummy worm strung to it, which Owen and Evan each took a bite off of. The cupcakes also were topped with worms, but the coolest thing of all, was the ice fishing box.
I suggested using magnets to "catch" the prizes, but Nina had a better idea. She stuffed her husband in the box! The kids lined up, stood on a chair, and dipped a real line into the "ice hole." They pulled out all sorts of fun prizes and occasionally a slipper.
However, Owen could not be bothered with this awesome game because he was too busy playing with all of Henry's cool toys. Don't be fooled by this picture. These two are not playing together. They just happen to be playing near each other.

Evan and Jim came after theater and we tore the kids away long enough to get some sustenance.

Even the cupcakes followed the theme. Nina topped them with gummy worms, too!

Finally it was time to open presents. Henry could hardly stand the wait, but I think Owen might have been even more excited about his treasures than Hen was.

Nina and I both look exhausted here, but I had to share the belly shot. I predict a baby girl, named Thea, that looks just like Nina to be born on May 19th.

Where was Mia during all this? Well she certainly was not ignored. She was passed from Nina's mom, to our friend Chris, and even got hugs from the birthday boy himself!





Happy Birthday Hen!