Auntie and Uncle

Most people know that Charlie and I are going to be aunt and uncle near the end of May as Evan and Elisabeth are soon to have their first baby. However my mom has continued to shock me with family news this week. The new family news (I feel I can blog about this now because if my mom, aunt, and grandmother know then everyone knows) is that my cousin, Chris and his wife, Rondi, are due with their first at the end of October. The news gets better, Hunter is going to have a little brother or sister. Yeap, Brandon and Trisha are expecting number 2. Apparently baby fever has hit the family and no, Charlie and I do not have a fever.

Nationals

Mom, Dean and Alex made the drive to Merrill, Indiana for the National Weightlifting Competition. Apparently the drive to Indiana was good except Alex drooled at every food place they passed. He couldn't eat much or anything too heavy as he was trying to make weight for the competition.

They arrived in Indiana Friday afternoon and rested for the day. Alex had to weigh in at 8 AM Saturday morning. He made weight but by only 4 tenths of a pound. Alex's weight class lifted at 10:30 AM.

Alex performed okay but it was an elite group of weightlifters that he was going against. Out of 16 people in his weight class, he got 14th. It was okay considering the winning lifter lifted almost 2 what Alex lifts. Alex was disappointed and wanted to come home right away. So instead of staying and hanging out in Chicago for awhile. They made their way back to Northfield Saturday afternoon.

Alex is now officially finished with weightlifting and will begin baseball on Monday. One more season in his high school career and then off to North Dakato State University (at least that is where the decision is today).

If interested in watching Alex lift, Dean supplied Yahoo video footage of the each event, the clean and jerk, and snatch.

Green Bowl Mission

We have recently lost one of our Target green cereal bowls. I was very careless and did not pack it well in the car. After the crazy car ride to Owatonna this weekend, the bowl shifted toward the door and well, shattered upon impact on Tanner and Annie's driveway.

Our bowl looks like this but in a lime green color.

We went to Target today and did not find a matching green bowl however we were in a much higher priority search for grilling tools. If you are in a Target in the near future, please keep a look out for a green cereal bowl. However it is not a big deal if we can't find a replacement.

In search for the perfect grilling tools, I stumbled upon the candy/Easter aisle (okay I was looking for candy). While meandering down the aisle I spotted the coolest Easter baskets - where were these when I was a kid??! There was an amazing selection. However the best baskets were the basketball ones. There is a super cool basket in the shape of a basketball net. I tried to find a picture of it online but had no luck. It was amazing!

Babysitters Inc.

Charlie and I have had the pleasure of babysitting my cousins, Henry and Emmet, frequently the past three weeks. We are able to see Uncle Deano and family much more since we have moved to Richfield. We are only 3 miles from their house in Bloomington.


Henry and Emmet have been to our house a couple of times. They enjoy running up and down our stairs as well as playing with our water system on our refrigerator. However the past few weeks we have been at their house. We have spent a lot of time playing out side in the deep snow that covers their backyard.


Last Thursday we decided to get some pictures of the boys playing in the snow. It has been very entertaining and we have a lot of funny stories. Going outside is quite the process. Henry, at age 3, is pretty self sufficient. He can get his snow pants on by himself. He just needs help with all the zippers. He gets ready pretty quickly and usually is out the door before you know it. Emmet takes some time. He is usually so excited that when he sees his snowsuit he automatically lays on the floor in anticipation of you putting it on him. His boots are hard to get on and the final test to make sure their on correctly is if he can stand on his own two feet.

Emmet getting ready to go outside.

Once all the equipment is on, we head outside for all of the snow activities. We find time for building and destroying snowmen, chopping ice, shoveling, climbing the snow hill, hiking, digging holes, going for sled rides, and laying in the snow to look at the stars and planets.

Henry on top of the snow hill.

When not outside, we are busy playing with the castle or train set, feeding elephants, climbing under the covers, taking baths, or watching Sprout. They are great kids and always entertaining. They just make us laugh. It has been fun to be able to see them more often.