Zoey's Shopping List

Had to take a picture of the list that Zoey made me for our shopping trip the other day. She wrote down everything that I told her too and didn't ask for help on the spelling at all! I am so proud of her! My personal favorites on the list are in no particular order--the toofbrushes, the chicken in a can, and the Mountain Dew 4 mom.

You may notice where it says fre Zoey and fre Zander. When my kids go shopping with me they like to stand in the aisle or on a bottom shelf and yell "Free Zoeys! Get your free Zoeys!" Then of course Zander gets in on the game and says, "Free Zandas! Get your free Zandas!" So I go over and inspect them (when I am in the mood for this game) and say, "Oh this one is too dirty." To which Zoey replies, "They're washable AND free!" My only fear is that someday someone else is going to realize what a great deal that really is and take these two joys home with them.

Thank you Zoey and Zander for making us laugh each day!

Zander and Nana's first theatre outing:

The weather was rainy and threatening to freeze up everything, but we carefully took a window of opportunity for a 2 p.m. show of "A Christmas Story." Zander was happy to go with no hesitation. Judy got him hooked into the car seat and I drove the big SUV very carefully taking many side roads away from freeways. Zander was very quiet. I was expecting the Zoey chatter of earlier days. Not so with Zander. He fell asleep on the way to the theatre. I asked him to sing a song before he fell asleep and he said, "I don't know any songs." His eyes glazed over and the next thing I knew he slept. As we exited the downtown area he was wide awake. We had to look for parking - there was nothing available in the free ramp but I found a free outside lot just across the street. It only took me 5-6 minutes to get him out of the car seat... whew! I was willing to break a nail if I had to.

Again, I have to make a distinction between Zoey and Zander. Zander took my hand and we walked together to get to the door, to get the tickets, hang up the coats, stand in line to give the ticket to the lady and walk to our seats. I had to chase Zoey on her first trip. Zander was always near and never wandered or ran away. We sat in great seats. Just perfect for the little guy to see everything. He kept saying, "what movie are we going to see?" I explained he would see real people acting as different characters. This would be a story about a boy who wanted a "Red Rider BB Rifle" for Christmas and his adventures leading up to Christmas. This is called a play. He said, "Oh."

I read a book to him as we waiting for the light to go out and the play to start. This play was done very well but wasn't as slapstick as "Cinderella" and "Mulan." He didn't belly laugh real loud like Zoey - he'd smile as the story went along. He was fascinated by the kids in the show. One kid pretended to be a pig for his mother. This way she got him to eat his oatmeal and he got oatmeal all over his face. So, if Zander tries that at home you know where it came from. We spent the intermission eating a rice crispy bar and some juice. He wasn't interested in any of the toys for sale...

He sat in my lap a couple of times but mostly he paid full attention to the play. He applauded at the right times. Very little conversation because I think he was taking it all in. As we walked back to the car he held my hand with one hand and held his program with the other. All buckled up again, we drove past the theatre he said, "Can we go to this play again, Nana?" Wow, I think he liked this.

How can two children be so very unique. I'm looking forward to more fun times individually so I can experience the extremes the Z's are capable of. They are so fun! Next time I hope to pick a more raucous show for Zander.

What the Zs do when they think no one is watching. . .

Because I know what I was like to my brother when we were little, I am posting this video to myself as a reminder of how well my kids get along and enjoy each other. After a full day of Halloween, the kids helped pass out candy to a few trick-or-treaters. They were super excited and very impatient for people to come for our candy.

However, I am always amazed at how well they entertain themselves and what actually keeps their attention. This video was taken without them ever knowing I was spying on them. It makes me smile.

October has been a GREAT month!

This weekend has been fantastic! Tyler and I had two days off of work and we spent Thursday getting things done. That included some of our school work, house work, and earning our right to say "WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!!" Twenty-eight months ago, Tyler and I made a commitment to get rid of all of our debt based on the teachings and guidance of Dave Ramsey. I have to admit when Tyler first brought it up, I thought we would be joining a cult, but that was not the case.

It turns out that when you are purposeful with every dollar and live on less than you make, knocking out debt is pretty easy! Not to say that we didn't have rough bumps and things come up, but over all it has been a great experience. Tyler and I looked forward to each budget meeting as we watched our 100K of debt (cars, 2nd mortgage, student loans) dwindle.

Last Thursday night we decided to make it official. We sat the kids down with us in front of the computer with us and explained the momentous occasion. The kids have been subjected to many hours of listening to Dave Ramsey, so they knew that this was a big deal. Both Zander and Zoey know that borrowing money is bad. We all pressed the mouse button to pay off our student loans.

To celebrate we had Family Fun Day on Friday. This consisted of running errands, painting pumpkins, a family bowling trip, and dinner out! A fun day!

Zoey enjoyed a blue drink at the restaurant.

Today we went over to the annual Pumpkin Carving party at our friends' Randy's and Sharon's house. The kids had a blast jumping on the trampoline and eating, while the adults all carved the pumpkins. (That doesn't seem right to me. . .)

Zoey and Zoe!

In other news. . .here is a picture of one of Zoey's latest writings. I absolutely love watching the development of her writing and reading. You really get to know what your child is thinking when you watch her write. She did all this writing on her own. Here is the translation. The title is at the top: I Know a Fruit That Grows on Trees. The song starts at the bottom left and goes up. I know a fruit that grows on trees and apple is its name-o. A-P-P-L-E. A-P-P-L-E. A-P-P-L-E and apple is its name-o.

Zoey is very envious of our neighbor's Halloween decorations. They really do go all out--a graveyard, lights, pumpkins, webs, ghosts, and bats, etc. Zoey has been trying to duplicate those decorations in our yard. Below is a picture of the trash bag ghosts and the scarecrow that we made.

Another cute picture from the pumpkin patch.
This is an oldie--but worth mentioning. This is a picture of Zoey on the morning of school picture day. I am looking forward to seeing if the pig tails stayed in long enough for them to get the shot.

Some Artsy Shots from Uncle Eric

Thanks Eric for the pictures! You always manage to get some pretty cool shots!

Beautiful Day at the Pumpkin Patch

No trip to the Pumpkin Patch and Apple Orchard is complete with out a bag of mini-apple donuts! And that was the last thing we did today before coming home to our chores. These pictures are out of order, but I am too lazy to put them in order. They do, however, paint a good picture of how we spent our day. It was GORGEOUS! Almost too hot, but we won't complain!

We headed out to McDougall's Apple Orchard in Hastings, MN again this year. It is our 3rd consecutive year and they really do put on a good time for the family. Nana, Auntie Tammy, and Uncle Eric came with us--which the kids were super excited about!

Here are the 3 pumpkins we picked out for our family. They are such jokesters! Oh, the glasses? It was the prize that the kids picked out for successfully completing the corn maze.

Zander thoughtfully roaming through the pumpkin patch.

Tyler found himself a pumpkin!

Tammy took it personally that the kids kept sticking their tongues out when she tried to take a picture of them.

What a cute bunch!

One lap around the race course.

How tall this fall? Taller than last year! I am pretty sure that Zoey is at least a half a foot taller than this time last year.

A Little Detail

Zoey came home from school about a week ago very happy because her teacher gave her a compliment. Zoey said that each day the teacher picks about 5 people to give a compliment at the end of the day and they each get a pretzel. The compliment was that Zoey always puts so much detail into her drawings. Zoey didn't think that I knew what "detail" was--so she worked on the picture above during her quiet time that weekend. The picture shows everything that we can see outside our windows at our house. How is that for details?

Time flies. . .

. . . when you are really busy! I can't believe that it is already October! There has been so much going on. It is always interesting getting back into the routine of school. So far Zoey is LOVING kindergarten. She adores her teacher and comes home everyday with millions of stories to tell about what happened and who said what, etc.

From the brief conversations that I have had with her teacher, it seems that Zoey is doing quite well. Mrs. Kostuch told me that she is amazed at Zoey's ability to make connections to stories. The example she gave me was that in class they have read Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems (which is one of Zoey's favorites and she has heard it many times in the past few years.) Her teacher started to read the book That's Good. No That's Bad to the class and on the very first page there is a little boy floating away with a balloon. His parents are at the bottom of the page trying to get him back. Zoey raises her hand and says, "This story is just like Knuffle Bunny!" Mrs. Kostuch asks her to say more about that--not really sure what she was talking about. Zoey explained, "In Knuffle Bunny, Trixie really really wanted to find Knuffle Bunny when he was lost. In this book, the parents really really want to find their son!" Mrs. Kostuch said that she has never had a kid who made such interesting connections to stories. That's our girl!

In other news, Zoey started Karate class last week and also signed up for Girl Scouts--she is a Daisy. So watch out. . .we'll be selling cookies on your doorsteps before you know it!

Yesterday, our daycare was closed for the day. I stayed home with the kids, got Zoey on the bus and then was SO excited to spend the day with Zander--all by himself! Zoey has gotten to do so many new and exciting things, that I really felt like Zander needed some extra attention. So we took advantage of the beautiful day and went to Como Zoo. It was perfect! Not crowded at all. Zander is such a neat kid!

Here are some pictures from our September!

Zander in front of the polar bear window.

Raking leaves in our yard is an endless job. . .but the kids love jumping in them!

On Sunday, Sept. 26th, we participated in Light the Night with Tyler's friend JJ and his family. It was our second year doing the walk. This year it was at the new Target Field--which was amazing! I had never been there and as part of the walk, we were able to be right on the field.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!! (and my birthday)

Today was eventful for many reasons. It was my birthday (which I am perfectly happy with it coming and going) and Zoey's first day of Kindergarten. She was so excited! It took her a while to finally calm down last night and get to sleep. But she was ready to go this morning. I did play hookie from work for a bit to watch her get on the school bus. It all happened so fast! The bus came, she got on, and it took off. Then I made it at the end of the day to watch her almost not get off the bus! It was scary for just a bit. The bus stopped and three kids got off and none of them was Zoey. So I ran across the street and flagged down the bus driver asking where she was. Zoey came to the door looking a little overwhelmed and confused. But she was fine and we went and decompressed a bit at Mary's.

Overall she seemed like she had a really good day. She was happy to see kids she knew. She loved going outside and playing. Her teacher called tonight to see how Zoey felt about the first day. Mrs. Kostuch said that she really enjoyed Zoey today and that she worked really hard, especially on her first day of school picture--lots of details! I can't wait to see it. Mrs. Kostuch also said that when she was giving the kids a tour of the classroom, she got to the writing center and told the kids that this is where they will be able to write their own books. Zoey raised her hand and said, "I'm already a writer."

Zoey got off to a great start and I am so looking forward to watching her grow and learn this year. I just hope that time slows down just a little--I kind of like her and Zander the way they are right now.

All the kids from daycare walked Zoey and Makaelya to the bus stop this morning.
It was very sweet and made Zoey feel extra special.

Annual State Fair Outing

It was 10 hours of State Fair frenzy! A little cold and windy, but a good time had by all! We ate lots of stuff: turkey leg, deep fried twinkie, cheese curds, french toast tots, pronto pups, corn on the cob, chocolate malt, ice cream, and of course Sweet Martha's cookies!

Grandma and Grandpa Nyhlen took the kids on the rides. Zander's favorite was the motorcycles. Both Zoey and Zander also truly enjoyed the Giant burlap bag slide. (I did too!) When Zander and I got to the bottom and finally slid to a stop, he turned to me and said, "Let's do THAT again!"

Zoey and Zander also got to be helpers on the farm again. It is fun to see them do things year after year and see how they have grown. Zoey remembers everything from previous years and had specific things that she wanted to see or do again!

A little bonus time with Dora the Explorer as we left the Eco Experience.

"Let's do it. . .a break it down!"

Deep fried Twinkies. . .on a stick of course.

"I'm an Auggie!"