Our August

Sorry for the delay in blog posts - I promise to get back on track, REALLY i do! It's been a bit crazy around here. We have had a great end to our summer and are sad to see summer go. I turned 30 (still can't believe it), we had Alex's bday party, we spent a week at Gaga and Papa O'Brien's, and the kids and I were able to visit Great-Grandma Joey and Great-Grandma Betty (GG as she is known) for a day in Iowa. We had a great visit with them. Alex scored a new semi-truck and a new firetruck from Great-Grandma Joey and a new "old-fashioned convertible hot rod" as Alex calls it from GG. He was very excited for both!! And now, it's offically fall. The kids' school started last week - they each have 1 morning at the local preschool - and they LOVE it. Alex said his teacher is very neat and Lauren (I stay with her for her whole class) was loving being the ever-social little girl with all the other toddlers. Should be a great fall as well though I hate to see cooler weather move in. Drew and I celebrate our 5-year anniversary in a couple of weeks, amazing to think how fast the last 5 years have gone and how much we've accomplished in 5 short years. We've been incredibly blessed with our 2 little ones and I'm happy to say, LIFE IS GOOD!

The MN State Fair

Oh - we love this trip every year. Lots of fried food, tractors, animals, strange people to look at, etc - our kids' paradise. We went to the State Fair at the end of August - the kids LOVED it! Alex actually ate 2 whole corn dogs by himself and now thinks that they are the best things ever. And both the kids had ice cream as well and Lauren actually learned the word "please" while we were eating the ice cream because I couldn't shovel it into her mouth fast enough. So she'd swallow her bite and then yell (and I mean YELL), "PLEASE" when she wanted more - hilarious. Both kids sat on some tractors and there was a NASCAR bumper car track that Alex sat and watched for 30 minutes. Hopefully he'll be tall enough next year to ride one with his dad because he was amazed by it. And of course we saw baby lambs, baby chicks, horses, and cows. Lauren was excited to pet a horse but of course, Alex kept a safe distance between him and the animals. And we didn't see the pigs this year - it was too far of a walk for mom and dad with all the crowds and our bus of a double stroller (next year - ditch the double stroller, bring on the wagon). So we told Alex that all the pigs were all sleeping and we couldn't visit them. He was fine with that. 2 weeks later, he was talking to my mom (Gaga) about the fair and he commented, "We couldn't see the pigs this year - they were all sleeping." He doesn't forget ANYTHING!!!! But they had a great time!

Alex's 3rd Birthday

Our little guy has turned 3. Not so little anymore. He had a great birthday though. The weekend before his birthday, we had a party at our house with all of Drew's family and all of my family with the exception of Uncle Mike, who is still in California with his jeep (as Alex tells me weekly). It was a very nice day and Alex had a great time. His Aunt Jenny made a great cake in the shape of a race track complete with race cars - Alex of course LOVED it!! And of course, he scored big time on the presents. Lucky little boy. He especially loved a Playmobil zoo that his dad and I got him - we set it up in his room because of all the little pieces and he just loves playing up there without Lauren to bother him. By the way - it took his dad about 3 hours to put it together so it's good that Alex LOVES it, otherwise his dad wouldn't be so happy. So a couple of days after his birthday, he was upstairs playing in his room and he yelled down to me, "Mom, I need the camera." I was confused and asked why he needed a camera, he looked at me and exclaimed, "Well mom, I need to take a picture of my zoo." So cute (I've included that picture that he took - my little photographer). So, he must like it. He's also quite fond of a wooden parking garage from his Nana and Grandpa Vohs and a sandbox from Gaga and Papa O'Brien. We've gotten a lot of use out of that sandbox this fall and I dread the day where I have to say - "Sorry kids, can't play in it because it's covered in SNOW!" All in all, Alex had a great day! He loves to tell people he's 3 now!

Alex and his guy, Barack Obama

Not that all of you agree - but Alex is excited for Barack Obama to be our next president. Every time he sees him on TV, he shouts, "Go Obama!" I personally find it very endearing though I know not all of you do - but at least I have a 3-year old who is politically interested, that's part of being a good citizen!