Snow has come and gone

 Winter finally started here and we made it out for a few days of sledding and to the Holiday Train.

 Peter and Emelia LOVED sledding and he even went down the hill on his own a few times! 

 Pete went on the train ride at the Holiday Train for the first time!

 Here is little Emi, the elf- you can't see her shirt very well but it is an elf costume. It came with a hat that said "elf in training." I decorated their house with lights and the kids just love playing in there at night  and reading book!

Part 3

 We also went to the Como Zoo and Conservatory. We've been there a bunch, but the kids always like to see the flowers and fish inside and run around.

 And outside we saw the Giraffe's tongue, ROARED at some bears, searched and searched for Como the Monkey (His cousin Jackson has a monkey that he named Como) and best of all PETER WAS NOT SCARED OF THE MONKEYS! He has been between scared and nervous everytime we have been there and has even screamed and ran away from the Gorillas. He told me that he did like the little ones the best, but he watched every single one of them play and even told me that he was a monkey! I couldn't agree more!

Part 2

 We went to the Children's Museum next, They have a great new exhibit that is all different story books- Peter was especially excited about the Snowy Day (he loves that book- I think mostly becuase the main character's name is also Peter) and the best part was when you walked on the foot steps lights lit up and it made the crunch sound- just like in the booK!!

 He got he picture with his buddy: Peter!! He was so excited!

 Emi spent a long time pulling the cards off of the shelf and putting them into the basket

 Pete drove a bus

 And Emelia devilered the mail!

 Pete learned about teamwork and mechanical advantage

 And Raced some boats.

 

While Garrick and Peter were exploring the ant hill, Em and I snuck off to the baby room, went down some slides, played with HUGE sunflowers and looked out some BIG windows!

Our Trip to the Cities Part 1

Last weekend was LEFSE weekend at Grandma Linka's house so that means Friday night ricing potatoes and Saturday night lots of work {and fun!} to be done! On Saturday day Linka has to turn all of the potatoes into lefse balls which means there is no room for 20 little fingers which in turn means that we got out and explored the cities. The only disappointing part was that Grandma and Grandpa didn't get to come with us!
We started at Bandana Square and watched a lot of trains travel through the twin cities.

This area was Pete's favorite- it had lots of tunnels, snow (it was made to look like where Grumpy Old Men was made) and the train stopped and the kids got to push a button on the railing to make it go, to make lights work and the gates go up and down at the railway stop.

Downtown was also depicted complete with a trolley car:

As well as the river:

There were all different sorts of trains running around, passenger trains, steam and diesel trains, some fast and some slow. They also had train tables set up in front that Pete spent a good amount of time playing on as well. All in all a fun first part of our little vacation!

All Dressed up and ready for school!

Emelia LOVES to go to school- the teachers there are AMAZING and they are just on the go all day long! Here she is ready to head out for a hard day's work!

The Halloween that NEVER ended

I am not going to even tell you how many times we celebrated Halloween, but let's just say that Kimberly's costumes got PLENTY of use this year!! I have been putting off doing this post  and you'll see why... there is a LOT to share! Peter was a HAMburargr (as he would say) and everyone LOVED his costume- everywhere we went he was the center of attention.

 The first place we went was SMU for their trick-or-treats in the dorms. The first dorm we went through was Benilde which is the all boys all freshman dorm... they went all out- lights out, scary costumes, lights, and music. Pete wasn't fazed in the least- he went right up to every person and got his treats and said thank you!

 We met up with his buddies while we were there so the three boys got to trick or treat together.

 The next place we went was to the library. They do an arts and crafts project, a story time and then a trip through the haunted bookshelves. The library has a translucent floor that lets some light shine up with the lights above turned off. It was really spooky and fun up there.

 On our way home we stopped at the house on Main St that goes all out! Pete of course liked the train.

 Next, we had a Halloween Party at our house. 

 All of the kids lined up on the couch. There is a witch hiding behind the chicken on the right.

 We carved pumpkins with grandpa and grandma.

 Stuck the kids inside.

 And took a few pictures!

 Then we went trick or treating around our neighborhood! Pete did a great job of ringing doorbells, asking for his treats and telling everyone what he was. We also then went to Oscar's house for their Birthoween (Chris's birthday) party afterwards.

What a FUN week! Hope you also had a spooky week!

Playtime at our House

 Playtime is busier and busier every day at our house. Peter is still spending lots of time with trains, playing in his playhouse and reading books. Emelia is now right in the middle of it all! She loves to play in the playhouse and play peek-a-boo and really loves to wheeliebug around the house. She has learned the small loop and the big loop through the kitchen/dining room. Her other favorite thing is to climb the stairs and this is our go to for the crabby afternoons.

 I also have been trying to get the kids out for a hike before naps at least once  a week before it starts to snow. Emelia has been making it about halfway through before she konks out.

Peter always has more than enough energy to make the distance!

 They also LOVE  bath time alone or together. I usually stick Emi in first and let her play on her own and then Pete jumps in for the last 10 minutes. While I dry her off he gets to play and jump in the tub. He loves telling me that he is a dolphin in the tub. And of course wearing his "ga-goos"

I'm not sure what is going on here... but it looks like Peter is going to bite Emelia's butt!

 We also have gotten into fort building and everyone has lots of fun in the tents that Garrick makes for the kids.