Thursday, February 28, 2008

Happy Birthday Anna!!



Finally I am getting to this. I should be washing dishes, but everyone needs a break - right?!?!?

Anna turned 3 this year!! My how the time is flying by. She is such a little joy and keeps me on my feet. She is talking up a storm and learning things left and right. She can count to 15, say ABC's, knows how to spell her name, can pick out an 'A' in words, knows a few other letters by sight, and can race dump trucks with the best of them. She can be bossy at times, but is usually just reminding others of the rules of the house. (Does that mean I am bossy??) She is 98th % for height and 75% for weight so basically she is happy and healthy. She is turning into a little princess and just loves to wear dresses. She has found that it is hard to race dump trucks with her princess heels though!!


For Anna's birthday this year we spent the day in Sioux Falls. We did some shopping and then went out to eat. We had lunch at Gigglebees. It is along the lines of Chuck E Cheese so we decided to give it a try. The kids had a lot of fun. They tell you where to sit so they can get your pizza to you. A little coyote on a bike delivers your order to the table. It even talks to you, so everyone around us knew it was Anna's birthday. Of course, the kids loved the coyote until they had to get close to it to get the food. =) Since it was Anna's birthday, she got to go in the booth to win more tickets. It was so darn funny because she had this apron on and goggles. She did manage to catch some though. She was having more fun throwing them back in the air to watch them fly though. heheh


After playing some games, we were off to more shopping. Then for supper, we managed to find Ruby Tuesdays. That was exciting because that is where Doug and I met for the first time and since we were between my birthday and the anniversary of meeting (8 yrs already) we had to eat there. We haven't had that for a couple years now so that was very yummy!!


We also had a small "kid party" for Anna with the babysitting kids. They had fun and enjoyed a cupcake after lunch on Friday.


Sunday, February 17, 2008

Happy Birthday Renee!

My birthday was on a Wednesday this year. Wednesdays are busy for us -- dance class, choir, and now church -- so Doug decided to take me out to dinner on Tuesday. We were even able to leave the kids at home!! How exciting is that? The funny thing though is that we just stayed in Slayton instead of driving the 45 minutes to go somewhere else. So, we left about 7p to go to the Royal Loon. We were the only ones eating, so we were done with our meal by 8p. I told Doug that we couldn't go home yet it was barely an hour out. So, we talked a little while longer, then took the "long" way home and we were home about 8:20. At least it was a little while out right?

Since we were celebrating on Tuesday, Doug had beautiful flowers sent to me on Tuesday.


Wednesday I got more pretty flowers from a friend and I also got to open my present from Doug and the kids. We ran out of time at lunch (Gabe has preschool at 12:30) to do cake, so we had cake after choir that night. The kids were thrilled to get to stay up late!! (Special thanks to Kathy for providing the cupcakes for the kids to decorate for my bday!!)

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Catch Up

I know most of you have been waiting and waiting and waiting for more news from the MN Mintons. Well, here are the excuses....we have been busy, busy, busy.

I have started babysitting 2 more children. They are a family from church and mom got a new job in town, but didn't have childcare. We have added, Luke - 6 months and Zoey - almost 3 yrs. So, the kids now have a couple new faces to play with. Anna adores "baby Luke" and has tried to pick him up. Needless to say she was not happy when she learned she couldn't carry him around like her babies. Things are going well and I think we have finally settled into a routine so that makes me happy! With 5 kids in the house most days I barely have time to check email let alone post to the blog. At night, I still find things that need to be finished for the next day. Not to mention we have had FRIGID temps and the window in the office leaks a little. So, I get extremely cold sitting here to type.

Doug has started 2 mid-week Bible studies in January. I think he is a little crazy doing that since Lent is upon us starting the Wednesday, but I am just the wife. =) We are still trying to do home visits, dance class, choir, and have family time, so time has just gotten away from me.

COMING SOON:

Renee's Birthday
Anna's Birthday