The Holgrimson Happenings

Living life....

2012-02-08T16:07:00.000-06:00

I don't have anything really great to blog about today but I found a few pictures from the last week that I thought I would post!

Last Thursday, Marissa got her costumes for her dance recital in May. She was so super excited to try them on! Pictures are in the next few weeks and she even gets to take a picture with her daddy since he is going to be doing the father/daughter dance with her. She LOVED the dresses which makes it all worth it to see her excitement!

We've been spending lots of time enjoying the warmer weather. The kids like to explore in the yard and play on their bikes, take walks around the neighborhood and just enjoy the fresh air! Brody insists on wearing sunglasses so poor kid always gets stuck with girl ones! I need to get him a pair of his own soon!

To finish up this picture post....this happened yesterday. Both kids wanted a kiss and it was so cute! Couldn't help but snap a picture!

Mad Hatter's Tea Party!!!

2012-02-01T16:41:00.000-06:00

Marissa and I had a fun afternoon at the "Mad Hatters Tea Room" in Anoka. We went to afternoon tea with our friends Betsy & Emma! We indulged in some delicious and dainty food & tea! The girls enjoyed TWO pots of little girl tea (Pink Lemonade) and I think Marissa ate about 15 sugar cubes! The sugar rush definitely caught up with her! They even got to make a wish in the wishing well! What a fun, girly afternoon with great friends! Here's a few pics from our day!

Me and my daughter the ever lovely, Rapunzel!

Marissa and Emma in their princess dresses

Waiting patiently for our table...

Group pic

Our delicious food!

When we got home Marissa wanted to take a picture....I thought Brody looked cute so I thought I would include in the post :)

India and more....

2012-01-26T14:29:00.000-06:00

Last week, Tony had to travel to Chennai, India for a week long trip for business. I was a little nervous having him so far away but the week went smoothly and we survived! Marissa got a geography lesson as we talked a lot about Daddy being on the other side of the world. She had a lot of questions about how the sun and how Daddy couldn't see it when we could, etc. Hey, we could always use more frequent flier miles :) He picked a good week to be gone since the wind chills were -40 and he was basking in the 80 degree weather! Here's a few pics he took on his trip!

So, while he was gone we continued with our normal routine: School, YMCA, Church, Cubbies, Dance, Playdates, Library visits....you know the usuals of our life :)

Here's some pics I took of our week!

Marissa trying on my water belt for running. She is ready to run her first race this summer!

Brody trying to drink from the DOLL bottle.....think he is trying to go backwards in time?

Ready for school!

Make-Your-Own Pizza's at Emma's

We even got a trip into the Children's Museum in St. Paul! Both kids LOVED it! We will be going back soon for sure!

Playing in the kitchen!

Brody loved the grocery store!

When Tony got home on Sunday night, he told us that he would take the day off on Monday so we could have a family day! So we took the kids to Caribou and then we went Bowling. Marissa LOVED it and has continually asked to go back. Brody DIDN'T want any help....that was interesting! We enjoyed having some time to be with Tony before he had to go back to work! Here's a few pics from our family day!

Sharing a snack at Caribou

Ready to bowl!

Getting a lesson from Daddy!

Brody kept saying, "BALL, BALL, BALL"

Another lesson given....

Girls WON!

To end this post, I found Brody a minute ago like this....what a goofy kid!!!

Now we are caught up again! I am so glad January is almost over! I'm SO ready for Spring! Until next time....

A look back.....Marissa at 18 months....

2012-01-17T16:11:00.000-06:00

So feeling a little nostalgic on how quick my little girl is growing up....I thought I would take a quick look back at pictures of her at Brody's age. So here is a quick trip down memory lane.....Marissa at 18 months old....who remembers this like it was yesterday??????

January Update!

2012-01-16T15:11:00.000-06:00

So it's already the middle of January which is crazy! Usually January drags on but not this year! We have been keeping super busy so far! Brody turned 18 months last week so today I brought him to the doctor for his check-up! Here were his stats!

Height: 32 inches (42nd percentile)
Weight: 25 pounds 7 oz (44th percentile)
Head Circumference: 18.19" (12th percentile) HA!

He is not a HUGE little boy! Doctor said his Height to Weight ratio was in the 72nd percentile so he looked perfect! The other good news is that his tubes look perfect and he hasn't had an ear infection is 7 months!

I just looked back to see what Marissa was and she was exactly the same weight: 25 pounds and 32 inches at her 15-month check-up! HA! So Brody is running 3 months behind his sister!

****************************************************************************

The other part of this post will be my catch up post! We've been keeping busy doing the little things in life: Cubbies, School, Church, the gym, and errands....all the blah things! Once in awhile though we get out to do something fun! Here's a few pictures from the last few weeks!

On Saturday, Marissa got to go on a Daddy-Daughter date to the movies. She had seen a commercial for Tangled "Ever After" which is a 5-minute mini-movie and she REALLY wanted to see it. So it was playing before Beauty and the Beast in 3D. So they went to that hence the glasses......

Best Buddies!

Later that day, Marissa was still wearing her "souveneir" glasses so Brody wanted a pair too. He had settle for his big sister's heart glasses :)

Loving the glasses!

Last Monday, we enjoyed an unusually warm day so I took the kids for a long afternoon walk! It was 50 degrees and beautiful! Marissa ran literally 2 miles. She says she wants to try some kid races this year when I run my races so I think we will get her signed up! We came back home and swept out the garage, rode bikes, Marissa made a hopscotch on the sidewalk with the her chalk and Brody loved exploring the backyard! It was a wonderful day!

Loving the warm weather! Look who had to bring his ball with!

Marissa came downstairs the other day all dressed up with everything in her hair drawer. She had like 6 things in her hair. It was so funny that I couldn't help but snap a picture :)

All Dressed Up~

So that's our little catch up for now! Hope everyone is enjoying this snowless winter! I know I am! However, it's supposed to snow tonight! YUCK! I'm sure Marissa will want to sled immediately!!! Guess I see that in my future tomorrow!

Christmas Vacation!

2012-01-03T11:48:00.000-06:00

Well, today is back to reality day where we try to settle back into our "normal" routine! Tony went back to work after 19 days off. WOW! What an awesome gift for him to be home with us for that long! Last week, we were able to go out to Chanhassen Dinner Theatre to see Hairspray with John & Beth. I didn't get ONE picture that night but needless to say we had a great time with lots of laughter.

As part of Tony's Christmas gift, I arranged for a "date day". We were supposed to go Cross Country Skiing but since there was no snow we will have to do that another time this winter! We did get to have dinner at a new restaurant to us called, The Butcher Block followed by a performance of Triple Espresso. We even got to stay downtown for the night thanks to my mom babysitting the kids which is always fun to get away even for one night!

We also celebrated Christmas with the Holgrimson family on Saturday. We were spoiled with lots of great gifts, yummy food and time spent together. We had our New Years Eve party at our house and did the countdown at 7:00 PM since the kids obviously can't stay up until midnight! Here's a few pics of our Christmas together!

Happy New Year Everyone! We are looking forward to seeing what this year brings us! It's going to be a big year for us! Celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary and Marissa starting Kindergarten! Wonder what other exciting things this year will bring!

CHRISTMAS 2011!

2011-12-27T09:33:00.000-06:00

We have had a very busy week of celebrating Christmas this year! It started on Thursday morning with the FOUR family Christmas. We baked a butterbraid for breakfast, opened presents, went out for lunch, played with the new toys, had Emma & Kolden come over to exchange gifts,prepared a fancy (including getting "dressed up") steak & crab leg dinner and went for a car ride to look at the Christmas light displays in our neighborhood! Marissa picked out her favorite dress and then picked out a dress for me. You'll notice in the pictures that we are dressed exactly alike. I even got a very special necklace from Marissa. She has been so excited to give it to me and it will always be special because she picked it out especially for me! Here's a few photos from our day.

Kids posing before opening their gifts!

Marissa making a "HEART!"

My very special necklace from my VERY special girl!

Marissa, Brody, Kolden & Emma

Matching dresses!

Our Christmas Dinner

Daddy and Marissa

The boys!

Friday morning, we headed over to my mom's house for Christmas with her! We ate a delicious breakfast, opened our presents, worked on installing the light that we had given her, did some more eating of a fabulous lunch, took Brody into the doctor (he had a sinus infection) and worked on putting together all the toys, watched Christmas Vacation movie and then I passed out on the couch!

Marissa making dessert!

Barbie DREAM HOUSE!

Brody's new bike!

Saturday morning, we loaded up and headed down to Iowa at 7:00AM! We enjoyed a Christmas Eve lunch with my family, did some baking at Grandma's house and after we got the kids down watched, "It's a Wonderful Life." Christmas Day, we went to church and then spent the day with family playing games and catching up! Monday, we packed up and headed to my brother's to celebrate Christmas with them. The moment we got there Lukas & Marissa were off and running! They are such good friends! Lukas cried so hard for Marissa to stay!!! I felt so bad for him!

Baking with Great-Grandma

Playing with Drew!

Great Grandkids minus two

Brody wanted nothing to do with this picture!

Best Buddies! Lukas & Marissa

The Christmas celebrating isn't over yet! We have next weekend to celebrate with the Holgrimson side of the family! Hope everyone enjoyed their 50 degree Christmas! I know we sure did!!!

Marissa's Preschool Christmas Program

2011-12-21T12:45:00.000-06:00

Today we enjoyed Marissa's school Christmas program! It is always fun to see her perform with her class! She even got to have her cousin, Meghan along with Grandpa, Grandma & Grammy come see her program! She is enjoying having Meghan over for a playdate today! It's cute to listen to them play! Here's a few pictures from our morning!

Marissa & Meghan

Marissa and Grammy

Grandpa and Grandma

Marissa & Emma with their teachers!

Marissa and Emma

Birthday Weekend!

2011-12-19T20:36:00.000-06:00

I just had an amazing birthday weekend! My family surrounded me with lots of love and made me feel incredibly special! Tony planned a day & evening out just the two of us. It has been a long time since we've had some time together so it was super nice! It's amazing to just have dinner without being interrupted 105 times!

We started the birthday weekend with dinner in Uptown at Amore Victoria with my mom on Friday night. It was the BEST Italian food! We will definitely be going back SOON!

Dinner with the girls!

Me and my baby!

On Saturday, the kids gave me presents from them. One of my favorites is this hat!

The new hat!

Me & My kiddos!

Tony took me to a park in Maple Grove to spend a few hours tubing down the sledding hill. Since we have no snow yet here, they made snow so that we can enjoy some winter sports :) Who would have thought that they would need to make snow but I'm loving this warm weather! We warmed up with hot chocolate in the chalet afterwards before heading home!

Tubing

Self-Portrait

Saturday night we headed out downtown Minneapolis for dinner! The city was vibrant along with the warm weather that it was fun to just walk around the city. We had an amazing, yummy dinner and loved the live music over dessert!

Night out!

Self-Portrait

Sunday, we met up with the Holgrimson family for brunch at Granite City and a birthday party at Craig & Marley's. We ended the night with a pizza party and a DQ ice cream cake with my mom! Wonderful, awesome weekend!

We are looking forward to having an awesome Christmas week!!!! More posts to come for sure!

Marissa's 5-year appointment.....

2011-12-06T11:56:00.000-06:00

Marissa went her for 5-year check-up this morning and got her last shots! It was a horrible experience but FINALLY she is done with shots!

Her 5-year stats are:

Height: 44 3/4 inches (90th percentile) So she is staying tall for her age!
Weight: 44 pounds (74th percentile)

Funny how she was 44 for both height and weight!

Happy 5th Birthday, Marissa!

2011-12-04T20:49:00.000-06:00

Today was the big day.....Marissa's 5th Birthday!!! We had a VERY busy weekend and we are all exhausted! Yesterday, we spent downtown Minneapolis going to the Macy's Christmas display THREE times, eating dinner at the Spaghetti Factory and the Hollidazzle Parade with my mom and brother, Cam & his girlfriend Tara and my nephews Degen and Lukas. Here's some pictures of our day!

Today, we had Marissa's big birthday party at Gleasons Gymnastics! The kids had a blast playing on all the gymnastics equipment and it was AWESOME that everyone could be there to help Marissa celebrate!

Marissa and Emma

Charlie, Marissa & Emma

Cousins: Marissa & Meghan

Marissa with big cousin Jake

Kyja & Marissa

All the kids!

Group Picture!

Marissa's Birthday Blogs

2011-12-02T16:55:00.000-06:00

So if we want to go down memory lane, here is the the blog posts for past birthday's of Marissa:

Marissa's 4th Birthday Party:
http://holgrimsonhappenings.blogspot.com/2010/12/happy-4th-birthday-marissa.html

Marissa's 3rd Birthday Party:
http://holgrimsonhappenings.blogspot.com/2009/12/3rd-birthday-party.html

Marissa's 2nd Birthday Party:
http://www.totsites.com/tot/holgrimson/journal/

PHOTOS from 2nd Birthday:
http://www.totsites.com/tot/holgrimson/photosS/g184396

Marissa's 1st Birthday Party:
http://www.totsites.com/tot/holgrimson/journal/6

December: Let the chaos begin!

2011-12-02T16:41:00.000-06:00

Ok, 2nd post of the day! Now that we are through Thanksgiving, we now have moved on to the busiest month of the year! We are going to celebrating Marissa's 5th birthday this weekend and I'm sure I will have lots of pictures to share with you next week! Yesterday, we went out with Marissa's BFF Emma and of course Betsy & Kolden for a birthday lunch. Here's a couple pics that we took in between all the screaming!

Group Picture

Marissa got to celebrate at school today! She brought in birthday cookies and got to be the "leader." The teachers gave her a Fancy Nancy book as a present and everyone sang, "Happy Birthday" to her! She sounds like she had a great time!

Now for a WAY overdue Brody update! He is getting so OLD already! He is SUCH a happy boy! The fact that he will be 17 months in a week or so just seems unreal! He is into EVERYTHING but he is getting to such a fun age! He has been shaking his yes or no when you ask him a question for a few months now but his latest thing is to actually say NO when he means it. It's quite adorable if you ask me. He has so many words, I think I counted 30 the other day of ones he knows. His latest is "Happy". He runs around saying Happy Happy all day long. When you ask him if he is Happy....he always says YES!

He STILL loves being with his sister and doing everything she is doing! He is such a joy and we love our little boy!

Thanksgiving Weekend!

2011-12-02T14:42:00.000-06:00

So today is my time to catch up on blogging before the big BIRTHDAY weekend begins! Well, it kind of already has but that will be my next post. First things first, we had a wonderful FOUR days of FOUR family FUN!

It started with Family Game Night on Wednesday. Marissa loves her Curious George game. So while they played that, I baked some chocolate chip cookies! Win=Win Situation! Everyone was happy!

Game Time!

Thanksgiving started as always has the last 5 years, with an early morning wake-up call from early risers. We got the coffee brewing and the butterbraid baking right away. Another highlight of each Thanksgiving is sipping our coffee and looking through the Black Friday ads. Marissa started coloring the Turkey page and had a little help this year from Daddy & Brody.

Coloring!

We then got ready to go out to Grandpa and Grandma Meyer's for Thanksgiving! Here's a few pics we took throughout the day!

Marissa & Meghan

Holgrimson Cousins

Uncle Tony & Meghan

We finished out our day with a family movie night watching Beauty and the Beast with some carmel popcorn! Delish! Fun, full day!

Now on to Friday, we didn't shop this year at all on Black Friday instead we decided to decorate our Christmas Tree. To say that was a challenge would be putting it lightly. Brody wanted to get into EVERYTHING! Here's a few pics of our Christmas Tree decorating party! After the tree was decorated, we took the kids to the Y to go swimming. Apparently, we weren't the only ones with that idea as it was packed full of kids!

Marissa's Tree in her room!

Saturday, we went to Grandpa and Grandma Holgrimson's to bake Christmas cookies. Marissa really enjoyed decorating them this year!

Marissa & Grandpa making cookies

Helping Grandma roll out the dough

Marissa with "Lady" and her favorite dress up outfit

The girls!

Sunday after church, we went and finally started Christmas shopping! We got a lot accomplished and even had time to clean the house after our busy weekend! It was an awesome weekend and we are looking forward to having Daddy home again for an extended vacation time over Christmas!

Sledding Time!

2011-11-20T19:51:00.000-06:00

Second post of the day! Brody enjoyed his first sledding adventure today in our back yard! Tony took the kids sledding after our snowfall yesterday! Marissa was super excited to get out in it to play! Brody looked like he was enjoying it as much as a one-year old can! Here's some pics!

All dressed and ready to go!

1st time on a sled!

Daddy taking B for a ride!

Family Pic!

The boys!

Hot (or lukewarm) Cocoa with Marshmellows for Marissa and Chocolate Milk for Brody!

Let the holiday season begin!

2011-11-20T09:09:00.000-06:00

Here I am again looking through my pictures I took this week and see what I can share about our week!

Marissa went to a tea party at her friend Emma's. They were asked to bring their favorite Princess dress. Of course, she choose Rapunzel.....AND we just HAD to bring the wig as well.....I need to get rid of that wig already....it looks SO BAD...but she has fun with it! Here's a pic of the girls at their party drinking their tea (a.k.a. lemonade)......

Marissa, Emma J and Emma G

On one of our many trips to Target each week, Marissa talked me into having lunch there....for some reason she loves the meal of cherry icee and a Pizza Hut cheese pizza......Brody loved his chicken nuggets and insisited on sitting in the big chair to eat them. His chin was the same height as the table but I have to say he did an excellent job eating!

Here's him saying CHEESE and smiling.....it's so funny....

BIG CHEESE!

Last night we ventured out in the first snowfall of the year to check out the Linder's Greenhouse lighting ceremony. I used to do this with my Grandpa and Grandma Manson each year at the greenhouse in their town so it felt very Christmasy! Hot cider, cookies, Santa and Mrs. Claus, Live reindeer and sleigh rides, family hayride, choir singing Christmas carols, and the grand finale of the lighting ceremony of thousands of lights.....it almost felt like the scene from the Christmas Vacation movie as we were counting down......Let the Holidays begin!

Happy Birthday, Auntie Beth!

2011-11-16T11:28:00.000-06:00

Last night we went to a Surprise Party for Auntie Beth! She turned 30 yesterday and so we just wanted to wish her a very Happy 30th Birthday! I can't believe I didn't take one picture! I just uploaded the pics from my phone to see if there were any good ones to share. We had a pretty low-key weekend but I did take a couple cute pictures of Tony & Marissa playing catch in the backyard. Sometimes it's the little things that mean the most and I know Marissa will always remember the times that it was just "Daddy" time. I can't believe she is going to be FIVE in just two short weeks! There may be a tear or two shed that day! My little girl is not so little anymore! Here's a couple pics from our week!

Playing catch with daddy!

Daddy's Girl!

Proud Mama!

Sweet kisses! These happen a lot between these two! I LOVE seeing my two kids that LOVE each other so much!

Weekend with the fam....

2011-11-07T13:07:00.000-06:00

Well this past weekend has flown by yet again and here we are back at Monday. Today I am finally getting my hair cut and colored! It's been at least 8 months since I've had it done and it SO desperately needs it! I'm so looking forward to a little pampering tonight especially after such a busy weekend! First off, Brody has regressed and started getting up at 3:30 AM for the past 3 mornings and needless to say I am exhausted! I have no idea what is going on with him. He doesn't act sick at all. He's not teething. So what is it? Maybe he knew we were going to have a super busy weekend and decided he wanted to start each day early!

Friday night as soon as Tony pulled in the driveway, we took off and headed over to John & Beth's new house. Tony got to work on moving the furniture and boxes while I tackled the kitchen. I wanted to help Beth get settled ASAP and usually the kitchen is one of the first things you need when you move in. We got a lot done and didn't stop working until after 10:00 pm. Which means we didn't get home until after 11.....a VERY late night for us! HA!

Saturday morning, we got ready and met up with my family who was in town for the weekend. My Aunt Anita & Uncle Jerry...cousins Todd, Laura, Lydia & Drew and my brother, Cam and my nephews, Degen & Lukas plus the four of us made for a nice big table at Big Bowl where ate lunch. It was fun to catch up with them since we haven't been together in a long time! We took the kids over to the indoor playground and let them run off some energy for a few hours and Marissa really loved spending time with her cousins. We went back to my mom's and tackled some home improvement projects for her since my brother had brought his tools up! Then we headed off to dinner and took the kids roller skating to top off the night. I haven't been skating in such a long time. It's kind of like riding a bike....it just comes back to you! Cam and I had fun re-living our childhood weekend nights where we would always go skating with our friends. The boys did AMAZING....Lukas was a natural and just skated like he had been doing it for years. Degen NEVER gave up no matter how many times he fell. Marissa did really good too despite some frustration she had at first.

Sunday, the boys wanted to go to Sunday School with Marissa so they came over to our church and then we headed out to lunch before they went home. It was fun weekend and I am really hoping Brody sleeps tonight so we can all catch up on our sleep!!! Here's some pics from the weekend that I got on my phone!

Marissa & Lukas....two peas in a pod!

Degen & Brody.....B sure loved having his BIG cousin's attention!

The 4 grandkids!

Lukas, Marissa & Degen

Ready to skate....

An update.....

2011-11-04T13:18:00.000-05:00

Nothing super exciting is happening for us this week but I just downloaded the pictures from my phone to see what I could share. I didn't get a picture of this but Marissa had her 1st cavity filled at the dentist yesterday. It was not a fun experience but I'm glad it's behind her! Little does she know that in a month from now she has to go in for her 5-year check-up and there is the dreaded shots involved with that appointment! I am so dreading that!

Brody is plugging away at learning to walk. Today he walked up and down the halls of Marissa's school and I was so happy to see it. He still falls and gets back up quite a bit and has that wide stance when he walks but it is super cute and I'm glad he is finally showing interest in walking! Marissa was walking at 9 months and he is almost 16 months so they are so vastly different in so many ways! He says so many words now and it is so fun to hear his little voice! He continues to be fascinated with his "sissy" and is lost without her when she is at school.

Marissa is already super excited for her birthday and talks about it every day. She wants a Dora party and has picked out her cake! Now, me....I'm not a huge fan of Dora but it's her day so I will oblige......I really can't believe she will be 5 already.....it makes me sad just thinking of it but she is growing up and becoming super independant!

Here's a few pictures from the past week that I found on my phone!

This is happening a lot these days.....Marissa shutting her brother out of her room....it's kinda sad seeing him just waiting for her on the outside!

A LOT of wrestling going on.....Brody is famous for his "Brody Slam"

A big KISS for his favorite girl....

TROUBLE with a capital B.....he likes to crawl INTO the drawers.....

Self-Portrait.....us being silly!

I uploaded all 492 pictures from our San Francisco trip and here's one of me on the trolley!

Harvest Fest & Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:34:00.000-05:00

Tis the season for trick-or-treating! Marissa had a party at dance class last week and then we headed over to the Andover Community Center for their annual Harvest Festival. Tonight, we of course went trick-or-treating! It's been a busy couple of weeks since I got home from San Francisco but I'm looking forward to having life settle down a little bit before the holiday season starts! Here's a few pictures from the festivities!

Nike Women's Marathon!

2011-10-18T10:10:00.000-05:00

I just got back last night from San Francisco so I don't have my picture downloaded yet but I just had to blog about the race quick! We had an awesome, amazing, unforgettable weekend! I loved every moment of San Fran and can't wait to go back! The race was SO hard and I had to continue to push myself with everything I had to finish it. I totally underestimated the hills we would be running. My knee started hurting 20 minutes into the run and so I ran with extreme pain for 11 miles. There was nothing like seeing that FINISH LINE! WOOHOO! The Tiffany necklace is beautiful and I'm SO glad this is finished! Here's just a few pics to start with and I'll share more once I get them downloaded and organized! 13.1 miles is no small feat for this girl but I'm so glad that I did it and accomplished another goal! I could NOT have done it without my running partner, Betsy sticking with me the whole way and crossing the finish line together!

Nike Women's Marathon Expo in Union Square

Running with 23,000 people.....pure CHAOS!

Betsy, Amelia & me at the start line before the race!

Beautiful Golden Gate Bridge

Amelia, Keia & Betsy at the bridge!

San Francisco bound!

2011-10-13T10:01:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow we fly out to San Fran and we are officially on our girls weekend vacation! I'm super excited for the weekend but also have butterflies about my injuries! I went to physical therapy twice this week but I'm not sure it was super helpful! I really hope my knee hangs in there and that it is a fun race on Sunday! I will write all about when I get back! Wish me luck!

Marissa's 1st Sleepover!

2011-10-12T09:39:00.000-05:00

Well, we've begun a new stage in life! Marissa had her first sleepover last night! Emma spent the night at our house because her little brother had to go to an appointment early this morning! The girls had so much fun and they actually did a great job with going to sleep! It just brought back so many memories of sleepovers I had with my friends! Here's a few pics from our night!

Marissa took Emma with her to Cubbies and it was PJ night so they had fun with that! As a bonus to me, we didn't have to worry about getting their jammies on when they got home! :)

Ready to leave for cubbies!

When they got home, they were good about brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed. We set up a cot in Marissa's room for Emma to sleep on. They picked out books to read and then lights out time. I loved hearing all the whispers coming from the room. I heard Emma tell Marissa that she has a secret but I couldn't hear what it was! HA!

Ready for bed!

This morning, the first question they asked was "Do we have time to play before school?" So right away they were up and playing Rapunzel. Then they got ready and were off to school! SUCCESS! and now time for a nap for me!

Rapunzel!

Pumpkin Patch 2011~!

2011-10-09T09:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we enjoyed a beautiful warm fall day and did our annual pumpkin patch trip with the Holgrimson family! This year the animals were sparse and there was no corn maze so it was a little disappointing but the kids still enjoyed the hay ride and picking out their own pumpkins! Here's a few pictures from our day!

Postcard!

2011-10-06T15:48:00.000-05:00

Marissa got a postcard in the mail today from her preschool teachers. Yesterday, when I picked her up, Mrs. Lee told me that she was so proud of Marissa for noticing there was a girl who didn't have any friends to play with and asking her if she wanted to play with her. Way to go Marissa! Proud of you! Here's a pic of the postcard:

11 days to go!

2011-10-05T09:30:00.000-05:00

11 days until I'm running that half-marathon and now I have another injury. I am SCARED because I am in so much pain! I did something to my knee while running and I have really hurt myself. So now I have a left knee that is in trouble and a right foot that still hurts.....how will I ever run 13.1 miles like this????? I'm off to ice my knee and take some ibuprofen while Marissa is in school!!!

Lazy Sunday?!?!?!

2011-10-03T08:40:00.000-05:00

Is there such a thing as a lazy Sunday in our home.....not for the past 5 years there hasn't been! Both the kids were up at 5:55 A.M.!!!! So instead of lazing in bed, we got up and proceeded to get things done around house. 10 loads of laundry washed, dried and put away; the entire house cleaned; banana bread baked; two bedrooms furniture moved around; Sunday school attended; and then we brought the kids to Anoka County Farms for some fall fun. Marissa enjoyed her 1st pony ride and loved the bounce house! After some rest time, we then biked up to the park to enjoy the beautiful fall weather! It was a busy day and now we find ourselves at the beginning of another busy week! Next week is the big San Francisco trip so I hope this week goes by fast! Here's some pics from yesterday!

Tony's 10K Race!

2011-10-03T08:33:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Tony participated in his first 10K (aka 6.2 miles) race in St. Paul! I'm super proud of him for taking on the challenge and for finishing strong! Now, I'm trying to convince him to do a half-marathon next year but he seems to be resisting that thought! HA! I guess he has heard me complain one too many times about the torture of running that far! Here's a pic of Tony & John after the race! Congrats!

One year of change....

2011-09-28T11:02:00.000-05:00

One year ago today, I made the committment to change my life to lead to a more healthy ME! I can't believe it has been entire year of eating healthy, working out almost every day and setting new goals. I started this with the simple goal of just to be healthier. Although, I'm not ultimately at my final goal, I have made great strides towards it. I could never have imagined running a 10-mile race like I did last weekend because when I started I could not even run a 1/2 block. I know I have accomplished a lot this year and I'm looking forward to seeing where I am at this time next year! I have 18 days until I'm running the half-marathon in San Francisco and I will so glad that another goal of mine is completed. Thank you to everyone who has helped me along this path....you know who you are and I could not have done it without you. I've had an amazing support group and I've met so many new people this year who have encouraged me and made me believe in myself and the things that can be accomplished with lots of hard work! THANK YOU! I hope this next year is as successful as the last!

Women Run The Cities 10-Mile Race!

2011-09-26T13:23:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I participated in the Women Run The Cities 10-mile race in Minneapolis. I was somewhat dreading this race just because it was such a long distance and I am SO SO SO glad it's over now! I couldn't wait to see that finish line. My legs were so tired but more than that, mentally I was just ready to be done running. I am so sore today which hasn't happened in like a year so I guess it must have been a real challenge for my legs.....more than what I was expecting! Here's a few pics we took from race day!

Pre-race with Betsy

Marissa & I pre-race (notice how she is being water-belt girl)

FINISHED! Sporting our medals and feeling glad that it was over!

Moms On The Run group participants!

Apple Orchard

2011-09-18T11:11:00.000-05:00

One of our fall traditions is to visit the apple orchard! It's a fun day and we get some yummy apples to do some baking with. Now I just need to figure out what we are going to make. We visited Minnetonka Orchards for the 2nd time and had such a fun, family day. Marissa LOVED the corn maze! It turned out to be a perfect fall day to be outside at the orchard! Here's some pics from the day!

1st day of school!

2011-09-12T10:55:00.001-05:00

Marissa is at her first day of school right now! She was so excited to go back! She kept telling me that all the way to school! She saw all of her friends again and she seemed just fine when I left! I'm excited to see and hear about everything they did! Here's a few pics that I captured this morning!

One more family day....

2011-09-07T08:18:00.000-05:00

We were lucky enough to squeeze in one more family day yesterday since Tony had the day off! Our fall schedule is incredibly busy so it was nice to just be able to spend time together before the craziness starts! We loaded up the bikes and headed over to St. Paul. We enjoyed a beautiful weather morning with lots of sunshine and a cool breeze! We rode around Lake Como and took in some sights that we hadn't seen before!

All snuggled in and ready to go!

We ate lunch at a new restaurant to us....we enjoyed sitting outside by the lake! Here's where we at:

Lake Como

We then headed to Como Zoo! Both kids enjoyed seeing all the animals and it was such a nice, relaxing day together! Here's a few pics from the zoo! We ended the day with a fire in our backyard with s'mores! Can't get a better day! Back to reality today!

Labor Day Weekend 2011!

2011-09-05T19:16:00.000-05:00

We had an awesome Labor Day weekend which isn't even over yet! Tony's company gave them an extra day off so we still have one more day of "vacation"! Super excited! We got to do lots of fun things as a family and that time is so cherished! Here's a few pics of our weekend!

*****Eating out at Bonfire where the kids get to make their own pizza's and ice cream sundaes!

*****Seeing Cars 2 at the Drive-In with John, Beth, Meghan & Abby!

*****Going for a LONG bike ride through Elm Creek Park Reserve along with some really fun playtime at their new park!

*****Playing tennis for the first time in 7 years! It was such a fun time to get to play again! Especially with our very own "Ball Girl" to help run after the balls!

Looking forward to one more family day before the chaos of our fall schedule begins!!!

Happy 60th Birthday, Grandpa Craig!

2011-09-05T18:56:00.000-05:00

We celebrated with Grandpa Craig his 60th Birthday today! Happy Birthday to the very best Grandpa my kids could ever hope for! We love you! Here's some pics from today's party!

60th Birthday Garb!

Holgrimson Family: Notice how Brody wouldn't look at the camera...hmmm!

Grandkids!

Marissa was so happy to be able to pick out Grandpa's cake!

Last week of SUMMER!

2011-09-02T16:26:00.000-05:00

It's been a good week! We've got in two trips to Bunker Beach with our friends, a dinner out to celebrate Grandpa Craig's 60th Birthday, fun family bike rides, trips to the playground, a girls night out to the Vikings game and to end the week a trip to the doctor for Brody to find out he has strep throat! Hoping he feels better soon so we can do some fun things this weekend!

Here's a few pictures I snapped throughout the week!

Playing Leapster during breakfast

COUSINS: Marissa, Abby, Brody and Meghan (looking like she is giving me the LOSER sign...hmmmm)

SICK BOY

Freezer Pops at Bunker Beach

You are squeezing me too tight SISTER!

Tony, John, Scott & Craig

Me & Betsy at the Vikings game

Where have we been?

2011-08-28T20:24:00.000-05:00

I haven't blogged in a few weeks because we have just been enjoying summer and I have been trying to keep away from the computer as much as possible! I haven't been taking a lot of pictures either. We have really been enjoying just being outside and being active! Every night we go on a family bike ride to the park! It's such a great time for us to just hang out and enjoy the beautiful summer weather! We have been to Bunker Beach many times enjoying the pool time that we have left! We have been busy working on our garden and we just harvested so many yummy veggies tonight! Tonight we also enjoyed a campfire with s'mores! I just downloaded the pics from my phone so I'll let the pics once again do the talking!!!

Another race accomplished!

2011-08-28T20:11:00.000-05:00

I participated in another race on Saturday! This one felt close to home since it was a race that is held in honor and to remember Officer Shawn Silvera. He was a Lino Lakes Police officer that was killed in the line of duty back in 2005. The money that is raised is donated to the organization that helps families of law enforcement that are killed in the line of duty. Since my dad and brother are both in this field it feels like it hits close to home! It was fun to have officers along the race path cheering us on! Not only is a great cause but it was the race that our Moms on the Run group have been training for all summer. Here's a few pics we got from race day!

Emma & Marissa came to cheer us on!

Marissa, Keia, Betsy & Emma

Betsy & I with our boys!

Moms on the Run group that participated on race day!

Valleyfair!

2011-08-11T12:40:00.000-05:00

We spent all day on Monday at Valleyfair with Grammy, Cam, Tara, Degen & Lukas. It was such a fun day! Lukas & Marissa had a great time on the "Little Kiddie" rides while Degen enjoyed the big roller coasters! Highlight of the day was when we stood in line for literally 2 hour for one ride at the waterpark! Here's our group picture we took!!!

Foot Update.....

2011-08-06T07:50:00.000-05:00

As many of you know I've been struggling with a pain in my right foot when running. I've been to the doctor for an X-ray and MRI that came up with a "normal" result. So yesterday, I had an appointment with a podiatrist to see if he could figure out what was wrong. He diagnosed me to have Morton's Neuroma which is a problem caused by repetitive stresses caused by running. The neuroma is a build up of scar tissue surrounding a nerve of the foot caused by repeated microtrauma to the nerve. Which then puts stress on the nerve causing the scarring. He is going to fit me for a custom molded orthotic to put in my shoe and wants me to buy a different running shoe. The great news is that I don't have to stop running! So at least I know what it is now and what to do for it! My 13.1 mile half-marathon is only two months away so I need to get some relief to finish the training schedule for it! So, hopefully these two things will be the fix to it!!!! I'll keep you posted!

Another week....

2011-08-01T14:43:00.000-05:00

Well another week flew by and we are recoperating for our busy weekend! Good thing it's a rainy day so that we have a good excuse to just stay home and rest! Marissa & Brody are playing so nicely at the moment so I thought I would take advantage to do a little blogging!

We started off the weekend with a little date night. After the kids went to bed, Grammy came over and we walked over to Caribou Coffee for some uninterrupted discussion! HA! I don't think we got the world's problems solved but it was so nice to have an hour to ourselves without little voices trying to talk to us! Beautiful night to sit outside and enjoy summer!

Saturday, Marissa & I volunteered at our community garden's market stand. She loved "helping" and even got the opportunity to see Emma for a few minutes. Emma has been gone all week at her G & G's so she was really missing her!

Emma & Marissa

Then we were on our way to Prior Lake for Abby's 2nd birthday party so we decided to swing through Shakopee just for old times sake. We drove past our old house and by all of our old hangouts! Everything looks the same but a lot of things have been built up in 5 years when we were there last!

We then headed to the Whitmore's for Abby's party! I don't know why I didn't take any pictures since I did bring my camera! She had lots of guests and LOTS of presents!

Sunday, I got up early to meet Betsy for our 4 mile training run! It was SO HOT! Glad we got it done early! Then we were supposed to go to Como Zoo but it was way too hot so we spent the whole afternoon at Bunker Beach! It was a much better choice then melting at the zoo!

Here's a couple random pics I took this week!

Putting on our shoes on the way out the door!

Fun times at the Y: Marissa, Brody, Emma & Kolden

Playing in the "FORT"!

Brody's latest obsession!

FLASHBACK....a year ago....

2011-07-26T09:18:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I like to look back and see what I was doing a year ago on this day.....ah, the bliss of the computer generation to be able to look back and see.....here's what I found. These are pictures from one year ago today. Here's what I was looking at!

Our week!

2011-07-26T09:10:00.001-05:00

Like in the past, I look through my phone pictures to see what we have been doing! We are trying to take advantage of the nice weather and be outside a lot! So I'll let the pictures do the talking on what we have been up to!

We spend almost every meal eating on our deck!

Brody LOVES his new present for his birthday!

Swimming time at Bunker Beach with Kyja!

BOOT CAMP for Brody! He is no longer on bottles OR formula! Whole milk + sippy cups= BIG BOY!

Marissa went to Lydia's birthday party on Saturday. The theme was Tangled and they had a hair braiding station. She came home with this new hairstyle! She LOVED it!

Beach time with Kyja!

Snack time OUTSIDE on the picnic table! Look who is a big boy now!

Snack time!

Picking veggies at our garden!

This picture just makes me laugh. He likes to rock himself!

Another classic Brody moment: he loves to climb on his sister's pink chair!

10K Race!

2011-07-25T10:04:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday, I ran my first 10K race (6.2 miles) and I am so glad to have that one DONE! It was so hot in the beginning and then the storm started rolling in and the clouds got thick and cooled off everything. It started raining just as I was crossing the finish line! I now have 82 days until the half-marathon! Official training started today! I am following a 12 week program to have me running the 13 miles by race day!

Here's a pic of Betsy and I sporting our Moms on the Run tanks on race day!

Cabin Time....

2011-07-17T20:50:00.000-05:00

Craig and Marley hosted a family get together at the cabin this weekend. Marissa got to spend the whole weekend there while Tony, Brody & I just went for the day yesterday! She had a great time and we got a few pictures from our get together!

Marissa & Meghan on the "relaxation station"

The Holgrimson Men

Marissa, Abby & Jake

Brody & Tommy

Jake, Charlie & Marissa

Jake, Charlie, Marissa & Meghan

The Grandkids

Great Grandkids

Grandkids

First Birthday Boy!

2011-07-14T10:07:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed a family picnic at the park last night to help celebrate Brody's birthday! Here's a few pics!!

Playing with his new sand table!

Happy 1st Birthday, Brody!!!

2011-07-13T11:24:00.000-05:00

Today is Brody's 1st birthday! I can remember that day and all the emotions of it as if it was just a second ago. It was such an incredible day and this year has flown by! Lots of memories made in this last year. I am SO thankful for my little boy! I LOVE YOU BRODY! Looking forward to seeing you grow and change this next year. I'm excited to see more of your personality and discover more of who you are! We are proud of you and you complete our family perfectly!

Wrinkle nose! A classic Brody face!

Beautiful smile!

Brody's 1st Birthday Party!!!

2011-07-12T13:51:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, we hosted Brody's 1st Birthday party! It was so much fun and it was a privelage to get to celebrate his 1st birthday! We BBQ'd along with cake & ice cream! The kids had fun jumping on the trampoline and playing in the sand box! Brody got lots of great presents and I have the fun job of figuring out where to store them all!

A year ago today was last day as a pregnant woman! I remember this day like it was just yesterday! SO glad to be done with pregnancy and excited to have my little man coming the next day! I will post more tomorrow! Here's some pics from the party!

Brody posing with his cake!

Grammy & Brody

Decorating team

Family Pic

Cousins

Cousins: Meghan, Abby, Marissa & Brody

More cousins....

An attempt at a group photo

Cake time!

First bite

LOVING IT!

4 generations!

Duluth!

2011-07-05T16:33:00.001-05:00

We just got back from our 4 day weekend in Duluth! It was a wonderful getaway!

****Lots of long walks on the boardwalk
****Family bike ride on a surrey
****Delicious food that I didn't have to cook :)
****A trip to the zoo and a ride on the Zoo train!
****A Duluth favorite: Pizza Train ride
****Shopping and more shopping (it didn't help that I lost a shoe in the lake the first day.....1st excuse to shop!)
****Relaxing time spent on the balcony enjoying the lakeview!
****NAPS!!! Both kids napped each day! Miracles do happen! Which means we all got a nap!
****Fireworks! Only Marissa and Tony stayed up to watch them!
****Walks to the park!
****4th of July Parade with lots of candy!!!
****Countless memories that were made!!

Lots of time spent on the deck overlooking the lake!

At the lighthouse!

Zoo Train!

Lots of walks on the boardwalk!

Getting a ride on the surrey!

Group picture!

Parade time!

Family Picture!

Posing!

Group Picture at the Zoo!

Another Picture Post.....

2011-06-23T13:00:00.000-05:00

Every week I look back in my phone and see what pictures I took to see what we were up to! I like posting it on the blog so I can remember all the little fun things that consumed our time :) So here it is our week in pictures!

Brody got a new car seat! BIG BOY!!!

Favorite thing to do is swing!!

Gum Mustache!

I asked Marissa to make her bed. She was so proud! I was too and I had to take a picture of it since I thought it was funny that she piled as many "friends" as possible on it!

Marissa figured out how to get in the hammock by herself! She LOVES it!

Look who crawled on top of the couch! WATCH OUT!

1st bike trailer ride for Brody!

Brody was sitting the right way but he managed to move himself to swing sideways!

Emma and Marissa: TWINS!

Fathers Day Weekend 2011!

2011-06-21T11:00:00.000-05:00

We spent another relaxing weekend at the cabin! We don't have many weekends available to be up there so we were super glad to be able to squeeze this one in! I don't need to even really tell you about it....I'll let the pictures do the talking!

So happy to be on the boat!!

1st time driving the boat with Grandpa!

Relaxing!

Successful "crazy" driver boat ride!

Father's Day!

Present from Marissa!

The boys!

Girl Captains!

Driving with Dad!

Knuckles.....

Family Pic

Marissa had made a project at school to give Daddy for Father's Day. It had questions that the teacher asked her:

#1: What do you like best about your Dad?
     Marissa's response: "He is nice!"

#2: What is your favorite thing to do with your dad?
       Marissa's response: "Play Rapunzel."

#3: What is your dad's favorite food?
       Marissa's response: "Pizza."

#4: How old is your dad?
      Marissa's response: "80."

Super cute....made us both cry! Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy ever!! We all LOVE you so much!

Flashback.....Marissa at 11 months!

2011-06-13T09:31:00.000-05:00

Posting Brody's info on his 11 month birthday made me wonder what was Marissa doing at this age and what did she look like.....here she is at 11 months! Flashback time! It doesn't seem like that long ago but yet it does since so much has happened since then!

Marissa-11 months

11 months old!!!

2011-06-13T09:17:00.000-05:00

Today is Brody's 11-month birthday! Another month flies by and we are excited for Brody's 1 year birthday! He has really grown this month and it's so fun watching all the changes!!! Here is what he is doing now!

****He has 10 teeth (getting two molars in the back right now)!!

****Crawls everywhere FAST and crawls up the stairs with mom's supervision!

****Wears size 12 months but getting close to moving up in the next size!

****Refuses baby food....shakes head NO NO NO until you force feed him a bite....then maybe he'll eat it!

****Loves to feed himself food.....much prefers it to being fed!

****Starting to give up having a bottle! Doesn't love the formula anymore! Soon will be working on whole milk!

****Likes playing with the sippy cup but would rather drink for a normal cup!

****Is a BIG mama's boy....and I oblige with a smile :)

****Wrinkles his nose all the time...and it's so cute!

****Screams and yells when his toy gets taken away! Definitely has an opinion now!

****HATES to get buckled in the car seat, HATES putting a bib on, and strongly dislikes the diaper change!

****Loves to play with his sissy and continues to think she is HILARIOUS!

Happy Birthday to my little (getting big so fast) boy!

Summertime!!!

2011-06-12T20:31:00.000-05:00

These are the pics from this week! Summertime is here....the weather has been interesting so far this summer but we are trying to enjoy the outside time that we have! We got a season pass to Bunker Beach for the summer! We were able to take advantage of the warm weather once this week and then it got cold again! Here's a pic of Brody all ready to swim!

Brody in his swim gear!

Brody is now EVERYWHERE....including crawling up the stairs....here's what I found him doing the other day....

Crawling

Then I found Marissa wearing my Zumba skirt....I thought it was cute that she was sneaking around with it on....so I grabbed my camera quick and got a pic!

Zumba time.....

Marissa was helping me out by acting like a baby gate so her brother wouldn't go up the stairs....

Baby gate

Yesterday, we went to the Family Fun Fest and got to see some great bands including Peter Furler. It was super fun and lots of fun memories!!

I caught Brody holding hands with Tony

Marissa took this picture.....super cute!

Look who we ran into....the Wahlstroms!

Awesome week! Looking forward to another fun week ahead!

Brody's Surgery Update!

2011-06-10T19:39:00.000-05:00

Brody had surgery done on Tuesday to put tubes in both ears. After 5 months of constant ear infections, it was time to come up with a solution! We had been into the doctor every week and he hasn't been without antibiotics for all 5 months! UGH! This mama was ready for him to feel better!

He did so great and didn't even cry once! The hardest part was the LONG wait for them to come get him to do the surgery. They had us be there at 6:45AM and they finally came to get him at 9:15AM. Too long for a little boy to sit and wait on a empty tummy!

Glad it's over and now we have a healthy, happy boy again!

Grand Old Days 5K Race!

2011-06-06T11:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we ran our 2nd race of the summer at Grand Old Days in St. Paul. The coarse was fun as we got to run down Grand Avenue smelling all the fantastic food! What was not so fun was the hills and the hot sun beating down on us! HA! I shaved 3 minutes off my time in April so I felt happy about that! Next month, we are ramping up and doing a 10K on July 23rd. Here's some pics from the race!

Our team! Betsy, Keia, Tony, Cameron & Kelly

Me & Betsy

Siblings!

Then we headed out to Bunker Beach Water Park with the kids for the afternoon! It was so much fun and a beautiful day for it! Of course, the kids and OK the adults too had to indulge in some ice cream before the day was over!

COUSIN TIME: Lukas, Marissa & Degen

Memorial Weekend!

2011-05-29T19:22:00.000-05:00

This weekend we spent up at the cabin. It wasn't the greatest weekend weather-wise but some fishing did get done! I even got a quick nap in on the swing. It's so peaceful and quiet that it always reminds me of my childhood days living in the country! Here's some pics to highlight the weekend!

Fisher-Girl

Brody sporting his Cabelas hat

Fishing with Daddy

Brody and Grandpa

Then we spent today with Grammy celebrating her birthday! We ate a fantastic brunch at Lord Fletchers followed up by a trip to the Mall of America for some rides at Nickalodean Universe.

The Girls!

Zoo Day!

2011-05-26T15:46:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed an awesome day at the Minnesota Zoo today with our cousins, Nikki & all four of her boys (Jake, Charlie, Henry & Tommy)! We had a beautiful sunny day! All 6 kids did very well and we enjoyed looking at all the animals, playtime at the awesome playground and a picnic lunch! These kids are AMAZING and I enjoy everytime we are all together! SUCH FUN! Here's a few pics from our day!

The AWESOME Meyer Great-Grandkids! Tommy, Charlie, Marissa, Brody, Jake & Henry

Charlie, Marissa, Jake & Henry

Me with my kiddos!

My two beautiful babies!

9th Wedding Anniversary!

2011-05-25T20:26:00.000-05:00

Today we are celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary! Wow, how time flies by! 9 years of wedded bliss, 2 beautiful children and a life we love living! So thankful for today and how it reminds me of how much I am blessed to have this life!

Jamaica 2011

Gardening!

2011-05-23T15:41:00.000-05:00

We just finished planting our garden! This is the 1st year I am attempting to do one after many years of really wanting to! We got a plot at the community garden this year and I think it was a good choice. They have all the tools (including the kids tools) and an in-ground watering system as well as many other perks. It is such a great deal! I'm super excited to eat fresh veggies from the garden this summer! Here's a pic of Emma & Marissa "helping" plant!

Gardening Days......

We have a crawler!!!

2011-05-23T08:06:00.000-05:00

Brody has finally began to crawl! It's been a long time coming....he has been working on it for months but now it is in full force! I am now into baby proofing mode! He also got 3 new teeth for a grand total of 8 now! Here's a pic I got of him on the move!!!

Crawling boy!

Spring Preschool Program

2011-05-19T14:03:00.000-05:00

Today was Marissa's Spring Preschool Program! She did awesome and it was so fun to see how she has really grown this school year. She had so much fun this year and her teachers were amazing! Looking forward to another great year at Lord of Life next year! Here's some pictures from our day!

Marissa and Emma

Family Picture

Marissa and JJ

Marissa with her Grandma's

Marissa and Daddy

Marissa, Emma, Paige & Mason

Marissa & Kyja

10 months and 5 days.....

2011-05-18T10:08:00.000-05:00

Brody's 10 month birthday came and went and I forgot to blog his update! He has plagued with ear infections since February so it's been a long 3 months. He has been on non-stop antibiotics and now is finally schedule for PE Tube Surgery on June 7th! I can't wait for him to get these tubes so he will start to feel better! He is otherwise a happy boy but having all that fluid in your ears would irritate anyone! I am a little nervous to have him put "under" but I am hoping the results will be worth it!

We are already thinking about his 1st birthday party on July 9th! Mark your calendars! We are going to be doing lots of celebrating that we all survived this first year! HA! I am happy to report that he is sleeping all the way through the night consistently now! WOW! That is such a huge change to life to actually get sleep! Proud of my little boy! I'll keep you all posted on the outcome of his surgery!

Marissa's Last Day of Preschool

2011-05-17T15:53:00.000-05:00

Today was Marissa's last day of preschool. She had an awesome year at school and I know she will miss it this summer. I had to explain why we don't go to school in the summer. Next year she will go to school Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The best part is she gets the same teacher again which is something I really like since she was a fantastic teacher! We walked home with Emma and her little brother, Kolden to have lunch & playtime! It was a fantastic day! Here's some pictures from today!

Last Day of School

Brody, Marissa, Kolden & Emma

Awana Awards Night

2011-05-10T20:14:00.000-05:00

Tonight we celebrated with Marissa at her Awana Awards night. She got her 1-year Cubbie patch and she finished her 1st book. She learned 35 verses over this Awana year. She started back in September and tonight was her last night! We are super proud of her! Here's a few pics from tonights award ceremony!

Add caption

Receiving her 1-year award!

Dance Recital

2011-05-08T20:50:00.000-05:00

Marissa's dance recital was this weekend! It was a lot of fun and we got several cute pics from it! Super proud of her and looking forward to doing it all again next year :)

Here's some highlights from the weekend!

Class Picture

Ready to Dance

Family Pic

Marissa & Mom

Ballet

Tap

Marissa and her cousins.....

2011-05-01T20:09:00.000-05:00

Marissa had a great weekend with her cousins, Degen & Lukas. My brother, Cam brought them up for a fun filled weekend which included playtime at Grand Slam, dinner at Benihana and pizza making at Axels along with bringing them with to her sunday school class :) Here's a few highlights from the weekend!

Running Update!

2011-04-27T15:39:00.000-05:00

Last night was our first meeting of Moms on the Run. It was freezing! It felt like December instead of April, ugh! Here's a pic of our group! We meet every Tuesday night to run together! The best news is I had my best run EVER last night despite the cold!

Moms on the Run Group

AND in even bigger news.....I GOT IN to the Nike Womens Half Marathon in San Francisco in October. Here's the e-mail I received:

Dear Keia Holgrimson,

By throwing your name into the random drawing for the 2011 Nike Women’s Marathon, you let us know you were serious.

You are up to the challenge of running 13.1 miles.

You can’t wait to hit the streets of San Francisco.

You are fiercely motivated by the thought of 20,000 women doing this together.

You want that Tiffany’s finisher’s necklace so bad you can taste it.

Well it’s time to put your legs where your clicking finger was, because the Goddess of Victory has spoken.

You’re IN, baby!

**************************************************************************

My heart started racing and a wave of panic came over me but now that I'm in...I must get running and running and running :) I'll keep you posted on my progress!!!

Easter 2011!

2011-04-27T15:34:00.000-05:00

We went to Eldora for the weekend. We spent a low-key weekend with family and I loved spending time with Grandma Allyn! Here's a few pics we took over the weekend.

Marissa's School Conferences

2011-04-21T20:49:00.000-05:00

Tony & I went to Marissa's school conferences today. She got raving reviews from her teachers! I'm SUPER excited that she gets the same teachers next year as they are super fabulous! Here's what was written on her report card.

"We have so enjoyed having Marissa this year. She has such a calming spirit. She loves to tell us stories or share at group time. It's been fun to watch her blossom in that area-becoming more confident in who she is. She always wants to please us and is a "rule follower." I'm so glad I get Marissa back next year! Thanks for sharing her with us."

I'm SO proud of her! I hope every conference is like this! She has 3 weeks left of school and then let the summer begin!

Running...Friend or Foe?

2011-04-20T13:45:00.001-05:00

Ok, so I've taken up running....don't ask me why but I have. I'm not very good at it yet but I'm at least trying. I am SO.NOT.A.RUNNER....but I like how I feel when I'm done. I feel like I've accomplished something.

So, now that we have finished our first 5K we are now looking forward to the next. My friend, Betsy convinced me to sign up for a half marathon (aka 13.2 miles) in October. YIKES! I still feel scared about that! So that means we need to keep going strong all summer long.

I joined "Moms on the Run" who meets on Tuesday nights to run together starting this next week. I hope the weather turns nicer if we are going to start running outside. I signed up for the next 5K on June 5th and then I'll do a 10K on July 23rd to try to ramp up for that half marathon in October. Then another 5K in August and maybe I'll try to find another 10K in September. This is sounding way too ambitious for someone who doesn't love to run :)

Next step is get a good heart rate monitor watch and a good pair of shoes! Yes, shopping is in my near future! At least there is one perk to running...SHOPPING!

Brody's 9 month stats!

2011-04-19T10:02:00.000-05:00

I took Brody in for his 9 month check-up yesterday! Here are his stats!

Weight: 22 pounds 10 oz (80th percentile)
Height: 29 inches (60th percentile)
Head cir: 45 cm ( 35th percentile)

He got shots, a blood draw for a hemoglobin check and another antibiotic for his ear infection. Oh and I looked yesterday and his 5th tooth just came through the gum!

Marissa also has an ear infection so she got meds too! This is very FIRST time having an ear infection and I know it's from all the swimming we did last week! HA!

Brody has learned how to kiss and it's the cutest, slobbery kiss EVER!

Our Jamaica Family Trip!

2011-04-17T19:10:00.000-05:00

We arrived home last night from Jamaica. We left 85 degree, beautiful sunny weather to come home to COLD, 35 degree windy, snow on the ground Minnesota. There was seriously a collective groan from all passengers on the airplane when the moment the plane decended beneath the clouds and all we could see is snow on the ground. Here we were in shorts, tank tops and flip flops....I seriously thought we would come home and it would be spring and 65 degrees out. I. WAS. WRONG. We step off the airplane and it was freezing and I was immediately depressed.

Our trip to Jamaica was one we will not forget....lots of firsts happened....Brody's first airplane ride, his first trip to the ocean, his first sandcastle, his two top teeth coming in and the list goes on. Our trip started at 3:30AM on Saturday morning. The kids were woke up and we were on our way to the airport. They were both in great moods and did wonderful considering they should still be sleeping for many more hours. We arrived in Montego Bay around 10:00 AM and we were off to the resort. The bus ride was about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The kids were champs and we got checked into our room and we out by the pool by 1:00 PM.

We spent lots of time by the pool and at the beach. Both kids loved the ocean and the sand. Marissa and I spent lots of time on the floaties in the ocean. It was super fun! We got dressed up for dinner every night which Marissa loved. She is such a girly girl in that way. She picked out her dress every night and sandals to match and then picked our her hair accessory for the evening :) She loves the Sesame Street stage shows every night. We did the character breakfast with the characters. She baked cookies with Cookie Monster. Did exploring for treasures with Grover, Storytime with Elmo, Did a Rubber Ducky hunt with Bert & Ernie and had her very own dance party with Zoe.

Brody loved all the characters and the stage shows as well. He clapped and started dancing every time. It was hilarious to watch!

Both kids did a wonderful job and many, many memories were made! I am so thankful for such a fantastic family trip!

Here are some pics to highlight our vacation!

I took 964 pictures....:)

Brody's 9 months old!

2011-04-17T18:47:00.000-05:00

Brody turned 9 months while we were on vacation so I didn't get this post written until now! He goes tomorrow afternoon for his check-up & shots at the doc! He has struggled with ear infections for a couple of months so I'm hopeful that we will get a good report!

Here's the Mommy 9 month report!

**He wears 9 or 12 month clothes!

**He has 4 teeth! Two on the bottom and last week he got his two front teeth on the top!

**He still doesn't sleep well at night but naps during the day from 9-11 and 2-3:30.

**He is working hard on crawling. He can get around the room but it's not always by forward crawling!

**He loves it when his big sister plays with his toys with him!

**He loves pasta, macaroni and cheese, toddler puffs, baby yogurts, bananas, and applesauce.
**He is working on figuring out the sippy cup! LOVES water!

**He says Dada and Mama ALL THE TIME!

**He shakes his head NO to everything!

**He does SO BIG and it's SO CUTE!

**He gives "five"!

**He waves bye bye!

**He pulls himself up A LOT! I think walking isn't that far off in his future!

5K Race

2011-04-04T09:55:00.000-05:00

Tony & I set out to run a 5K race back in October and Saturday was the day we had been training for nearly 6 months. We enjoyed participating in the race and are looking forward to running a race each month this summer! Here's a pic after we were done!

Official Dance Pictures

2011-03-31T10:07:00.000-05:00

Here are Marissa's dance pictures that she got dance at the studio! Can't wait for recital time in a few short weeks!

Group Picture

Ballet Costume

Meghan's Birthday!

2011-03-23T10:01:00.000-05:00

Meghan's birthday was March 10th but we celebrated a week late and joined them at Nickolodean Universe at the Mall of America last week. Here's a few pics from the fun filled night!

8 months old!!!

2011-03-13T18:01:00.000-05:00

Brody turned 8 months old today! This month has flown by! Here's what Brody is up to at 8 months old!

*Wearing 9-12 Month Clothes

*Wearing Size 3 Huggies

* Trying SO HARD to crawl!!! He gets up on all four's and scoots backwards!

*Brody LOVES to eat! He eats oatmeal & fruit for breakfast. Veggies & fruit for lunch. Oatmeal & Fruit for dinner plus 4 bottles a day!

* He loves bath time with his big sister!
* He pulls on everything especially hair! You can't put anything in front of him without it being taken!

* He still ADORES big sissy!
* He has been experiencing some "tough" love from us during the night and we are no longer picking him up in the night. This has finally got him sleeping much better after a few tough nights. He has been sleeping pretty well the last 2 weeks! I hope it keeps up!

* He naps from 9-10 every morning and sleeps from 1-3 every afternoon!
* He has been trying finger food and LOVING it!

8 month old comparison!!!

2011-03-09T18:09:00.000-06:00

PICTURES OF MY KIDS AT 8 MONTHS OLD.....SEE ANY SIMILARITIES OR DO THEY LOOK COMPLETELY DIFFERENT?

BRODY-8 MONTHS

MARISSA-8 MONTHS

Grandma Marley's Birthday!

2011-02-27T19:02:00.000-06:00

We celebrated Grandma Marley's birthday a few days late today! Here's a few pics to highlight our day!

BFF's!

2011-02-25T11:00:00.000-06:00

Marissa has made SO many new friends this year! One of her very best new friends is Jaelynn! They take dance class together and go to the same preschool. Jaelynn is not in Marissa's class as she is a year older then Marissa but they still play together during gym time at school. She is SO beyond excited to go to her house for a playdate this afternoon.

She also has a very good friend named none other than Marissa. So now we have Marissa H and her friend Marissa M. Marissa M's birthday is next week so Marissa H is super excited to go to Marissa M's cowgirl themed party!

The list could go on and on with all her friends but it's fun to watch her interact with all these little people :)

Here's a pic of Marissa & Jaelynn the other night at class when they tried on their recital costumes!

What a week!

2011-02-24T22:01:00.000-06:00

This week has been a mess! I started getting a sore throat on Saturday. I thought I was just getting yet another cold. Sunday, my throat felt a little worse but by Sunday night into Monday, I was up all night. I had the worst body aches, ear ache and my throat felt like it was ON FIRE! Went to the doc as soon as they opened on Monday morning. Got a strep test and sure enough I have strep throat. Got meds and went to bed until Wednesday morning. Yes, I was in bed for two days. Luckily, Tony was able to watch the kids so I could take a couple "sick days."

Then, Marissa broke out in this rash on her face which accompanied her runny nose and cough. I took her in to the doctor on Tuesday and got her antibiotics and cream for her face. I'm happy to report the rash is looking much better and I think she is feeling better too!

Today, I took Brody to the doctor because he is SO crabby, won't eat and WON'T SLEEP! Sure enough, he has an ear infection in both ears so now he is on antibiotics.

So, now it's Tony's turn....I pray that we all get better soon. I need some sleep again and some happy kids. Vacation cannot come soon enough!

Brody starting crying again as I'm writing this post....time to rock him to sleep :)

Pictures from my phone....

2011-02-19T09:09:00.000-06:00

Now that I have my new phone, it's just so easy to grab it quick and take pics. I've hardly used my camera recently. My phone doesn't take the quality pictures like the "real" camera but here is a few from recent weeks.

Happy Valentines Day 2011!!

2011-02-14T09:49:00.000-06:00

Marissa had her first school party for Valentines Day this year. They decorated their bags and wrote Valentines to hand out to all of their friends! I can't believe she is old enough to do these things now! It doesn't seem that long ago that I was doing them! HA! Today we are baking cupcakes and a heart cake. Decorating for our family Valentines Party, Having craft time, Playing outside in the snow, and going to the YMCA for a workout and playtime at the Kids Club! Should be a great day! Here's some pics of our day so far!

7 months old!!!

2011-02-14T07:52:00.000-06:00

Brody turned 7 months old yesterday! Another month quickly flew by and we actually had a break from the cold winter weather with a 45 degree day! Here is what the little man is up to this month!

**Wearing 6-9 Months Clothes or 9-12 Months depending on the brand!

**Wearing size 3 Diapers....
**You LOVE applesauce, bananas, oatmeal, pears, peaches and sweet potatoes!

**You are sitting up on your own like a PRO!
**You reach for everything and like a true champ you put everything in your mouth. Sissy is going to have to be very careful with all her polly pockets!
**You say MAMA, DADA, and BABA! You say it with intention and know by saying it that you will get your way!

**Your sister makes you smile & laugh the most of everyone!
**Mommy bought you a new bath seat that allows you to sit up in the tub and you love taking baths with your sister!

**Your sister feeds you your cereal and you LOVE it! You prefer her over anyone to feed you! You LOVE her chugga chugga move!

** You act like you are close to crawling because you know how to be on "all fours" when on your tummy!

** You like to be held A LOT! It doesn't help that Mommy loves to snuggle with you so you are a bit spoiled!

**You figured out the "stranger" thing already and prefer to stay with Mommy & Daddy.

**You don't like to sleep anywhere but your bed and have started refusing to sleep in the car seat!

**You still don't have the whole sleeping thing figured out. However, you are doing better!

**You have two teeth on the bottom and are drooling A LOT so I'm thinking you are working on those top chompers!

**You are VERY ticklish on your tummy so it's easy to get you to laugh!

**You are moving around in your crib because you are always in a different spot than where I laid you down at!

We love you BRODY! Happy 7 months!

Brody giggles

2011-02-08T11:01:00.000-06:00

Brody says Mama

2011-02-08T10:58:00.000-06:00

Brody says dada

2011-02-08T10:57:00.000-06:00

Brody's 6 month check up!

2011-01-24T14:47:00.000-06:00

We finally got to the doctor for Brody's 6 month check-up! Here is his stats!

WEIGHT: 20 lbs 1 3/4 oz
HEIGHT: 27 inches

He is a growing boy but I am so thankful for my healthy baby! He is getting so heavy in his car seat! I know the car seat alone weighs 10lbs so it is almost unbearable!

His development is going so great too! Doctor said he is performing at a 8 month old level so he was pleased with that. He was so impressed at how well he does sitting up on his own! After being sick for a few weeks and teething, I was pleased that his ears looked fine...NO EAR INFECTIONS yet! I can't believe we have gotten this far without one single infection by either Marissa or Brody! We are lucky!

NOW, if we could just get rid of these colds...all would be well! Ugh, I am sick of winter :)

Cousin Playdate!

2011-01-18T20:36:00.001-06:00

We had a BLAST at the "cousins" playdate today! Thanks to the Seaburg's for hosting us! Here's a few pics from the day!

6 Months Old!!

2011-01-17T18:51:00.000-06:00

Brody turned 6 months old last week! I can't believe how fast the months go by! Here are some highlights of what he is doing now!!!

-You have 2 teeth on the bottom! They are still coming in but are about halfway up! If you do anything like your sister, you will be getting those top 2 soon!

-You are skipping your baby bathtub and taking baths with Sissy every night! You love playing in the tub with her!

-You can sit up for a long time all on your own! However, it all depends on your motivation! Some days you just don't want to sit up!

-You are using your highchair and LOVING eating baby food! You love rice cereal, oatmeal, and fruit! You would rather eat these then drink your bottles!

-You are playing with toys so much more now. You love your exersaucer and your jumperoo!

-You A-D-O-R-E your sissy and she adores you!

-You are very ticklish and your giggle is so incredibly cute!

-You STILL wake up in the night! You take 2 or 3 naps a day! Usually one long and one short one!

-You wake up so happy and your smile is the best thing about my morning!

-You are wearing size 3 diapers and size 9-12 month clothes!

-You have caught the flu and a cold within two weeks of each other! You haven't felt well but you have been a real trooper through it all!

You have a doctor check-up on Wednesday! Bring on the shots!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-03T16:06:00.000-06:00

We ended 2010 with a New Years Eve party at home! We decided to stay in this year and have some good quality family time. Marissa and I planned a "fancy" dinner complete with the good china. We got all dressed up and enjoyed a nice dinner together. Here's a few pics from our night! We are looking forward to 2011 and everything it has to bring!

Also, for a quick Brody update he is growing and changing so quickly these days. He got TWO teeth on the bottom that have come through. He has learned how to sit up by himself but is a little wobbly still. He also is mastering the "rolling over." He is loving his cereal with fruit and this week I think I am going to start trying vegetables with him. Now, he will turn 6 months old next week and he STILL isn't a great sleeper. However, he is getting much better and with hope I am saying that maybe this month he will figure out how to sleep through the night :)

Happy New Year!!!

Christmas Celebrations!!!

2010-12-29T07:17:00.000-06:00

This year we had many Christmas celebrations with family. It started last Wednesday when we spent the day with my mom. We had some really yummy food, opened presents, had more yummy food, did some shopping, played Scrabble, had more yummy food....you see the pattern? Here's a few pics from our day together!

Marissa opening her FAVORITE gift....Polly Pockets!

The next day, we did some last minute grocery shopping and did some cooking for the upcoming Holgrimson celebrations. I also got the urge to paint my bathroom so I ran to Wal-Mart which by the way was a huge mistake since the lines were extremely long. I painted my bathroom and put all my new linens that I had got for Christmas up and I was so happy that it was done. That night we packed up the kids in the van with some hot chocolate and went looking at Christmas lights which is when we discovered our van heater quit :) Oh, the joys of car ownership! Nevertheless, we found some pretty lights on houses! Here's some pics of my new bathroom! I'm very into grey right now so hence my bathroom is now a shade of gray!

Christmas Eve morning, we celebrated Christmas as the "Four" family. We started off with Marissa's favorite donut breakfast and opened our packages. Marissa had some awesome reactions this year and was very sweet helping her brother open his gifts.

We then headed to G & G Holgrimson's house for Christmas Eve dinner and package opening! We enjoyed some more yummy food and enjoyed family time!

Christmas morning we headed out to Great Grandma & Great Grandpa's house early for stockings, cinnaminn rolls, bacon, packages, play time with the cousins and a yummy ham lunch! Here's a few pics from the day!