The best thing happened today!

The new Pizza Ranch opened

in Monticello.

Folks, this means a Ranch is only 2 minutes away!

When Ya'll come visit 

we can make a trip there,

for I'm sure we'll be weekly buffet-ers!

The kids were smiling the whole time 

as we ate chicken, pizza, dessert, ice cream

& everything else they offer.

WE LOVE THE RANCH!

Another great reason to support such a 

wonderful buffet...

they're Vision Statement.

"To glorify God by positively impacting the world we live in."

I mean who has a vision like that?

Only the Ranch (or your church! haha)

And if you've been to their headquarters in Orange City, IA

(where Mr. Adler was born)

you'd clearly understand why the vision is what it is! 

Miss you Iowa,

but lovin on Monticello today! 

ohhh gosh.

Who ordered this?

When I woke up & saw this

seasonal effective disorder hit!

I felt like killing someone.

We just started seeing our grass,

our driveway was fully visible

& then this happened.

arghhhh.

So we got outside regardless of the snow.

When we all got inside we were exhausted.

I even boycotted & wore capris (with snow boots!).

Then this happened

& the boys were so excited.

They drove by and we waved

& pounded our windows!

Then Adler decided he didn't want to take a nap,

but make a lot of noise & be defiant.

So he was summoned to the basement

where he fell asleep anyway!

This new stage in childhood & parenting 

is new for Luke & I.

We were prepared for the baby stage

& we had a plan.

Lately we've realized we have hit

unknown territory 

& it's time for reinforcements!

I don't like 'guessing' or 'trying numerous techniques'

until a parenting technique works.

I like to read, watch, etc.

what other experienced parents & professors

have to say.

So the boys & I made a pit stop to community ed

& the library to get some new parenting resources.

I've already started a book & watched some 

old VHS tapes from the 90's I think!

I'm already feeling better.

(Now for Luke to read & watch them! haha)

The boys ended their weekend testing the limits of Brock's crib.

They jumped, stomped, giggled, & wrestled

for 30 minutes.

Until we told them it's time to get out

because it's almost bedtime.

They sure make us laugh!

30.

I'm no longer living life in my 20's....

but after 3 houses,

a wonderful husband

& marriage of almost 7 years,

a couple boys,

(and a lot more that happened in my 20's!)

I'm okay turning 30.

Luke & I had a birthday date

& our friends in town were so wonderful

to watch our boys.

They always tell us they'd watch the boys so we could go out,

especially since it's good practice due to their little one

arriving in a couple months

& because they know we'll repay the favor. 

Adler is already getting excited to play with their baby! haha

Then Saturday came and our house was ready for a lot of playtime.

We had a house full of high school friends

& all their kids.

It was great!

Relaxing upstairs while more friends arrived!

Best part of the night....

the kids were glued to Mike (a current non-parent!)

& they made him do all kinds of 'fun' stuff!

hahaha I'm still laughing thinking about it.

I found the drum set and cymbals hidden in my

sewing closet the next day!

Who did that?!

Becky was holding little Cooper 

& he was getting hungry!

(who could blame him! haha)

The dads having a little chat.

The Olberding's put on a little show for us at night.

I even got a Happy Birthday song out of the deal!

Luke gave me a 'shuffle' for my birthday.

So while we workout we can actually listen to music now.

The problem....we don't know how to get songs on it!

So Peter (computer genius) came to our rescue.

Thanks so much!

Saturday came to an end & Sunday was another big birthday day!

We had some family join us for a Sunday buffet

at Blue Moon.

Our new favorite place to eat.

Amazing food!

Then they stopped over to play a little & head back home. 

Brock with his grandpas.

Great grandma always willing to play games!

Thanks for such a fun birthday weekend!

3-0

ahhhhhhhhh!

It's cozy time.

It's getting so warm & cozy

that this little one thinks he can run around

without clothes

OR a diaper!!!

Earlier this week we finally had no snow in our driveway,

so it was time for the 'cozy's.

Adler & Brock are going to love

cozy coupe bumper cars this year.

2 coupe's and they still both want to play

with the same one!

It was also a very exciting day to get the

gator out....finally!

I strapped Brock in (makeshift seatbelt)

& they took off!

Brock decided that he just did not want to go to bed

last night.

He talked in his crib for an hour.

Then I just felt bad

& took him out.

He was all smiles & joined in on storytime

with Adler & daddy

before heading back to bed!

Adler was happy to have Brockie in bed for storytime too.

They were so sweet!

We made a cake yesterday & I asked Adler if he wanted to

lick the beater.

I think he got all the chocolate off

& onto his face!

He entertained his brother at least.

Luke was watching the boys last night

(because I was going to lose it if I heard one more whine!)

& Adler shortly came back upstairs with this...

A shiner!

Then I heard more whining AND crying.

Then I lost it.

I got on amazon & started searching for some parenting books

because this 'new stage' Mr. Adler is in is something I

need to learn more about.

Wish me luck!

Grandma Yvonne also made a pit stop yesterday

with the trucker trainers.

The boys LOVED seeing the big rig.

Thanks grandma for 5 minutes of fun!

After buying Olivia a shock collar this week

& having to search for some parenting techniques

I'm happy to know this weekend will

hopefully bring mom a little birthday break from

motherhood!

p.s. I do love being a stay at home mom,

but you add a dog who scares people who walk by our house

& a rejection from the preschool we hoped Adler

could get into....that equals a mom-mental-timeout!

Onto better days! hahaha

(Or onto thinking about my lupus story!)

Lupus.

So here's a pretty darn good story.....

involving lupus.

(I'm still laughing thinking about it)

Last week I was driving home & noticed several

boxes of 'stuff' along the side of Hwy 10.

It was NOT a nice house

by any stretch of one's imagination

(as in they built their garage with scrap materials

& there's dirty towels hanging in the windows!)

but I thought hey if it's free

why not check it out.

Worst cast scenario

I can take some stuff home,

clean it,

& try to resell it on craigslist if I don't need it.

So I turned the car around

and pulled over.

The boys asked what I was doing

& I let them know someone is

giving a bunch of good free stuff away!

I started rummaging through boxes

& found a toy train,

a puzzle holder,

learning books for kids,

& much more 'other stuff'

that I threw in my car.

THEN.....

a big hauling truck stopped along Hwy 10

& looked at me as if I was blocking them

from getting into the driveway.

So I waved them around to come on up!

I saw that the truck said Lupus Foundation

but did not think anything of it.

I don't know what I was thinking,

but I was obviously NOT thinking.

I was in my glory

FREE stuff that will keep my kids busy for a day!

Okay, anyway....

Two guys piled out of the truck

& asked if I lived there.

I told them no.

Their tone quickly changed

& they let me know

that this 'junk' was a donation for the Lupus Foundation!!!

AHHHHHHH

I gave them the 'uhhhohhh' look

& started to giggle.

What else do you do

when you're already slightly embarassed you're going through

a junky houses junk

AND

that it was meant for a donation.

Speak of the devil,

I did see a scribbled lupus pen mark on one of the boxes!

HAHAHAHAHA

(no, having lupus is NOT funny,

but it finally clicked that I probably should have known

and that was funny!)

I told them I took a box that I will unload

I said my apologies

and got the hell out of there! 

Because little did they know I had a lovely train & puzzle box

that I desperately wanted.

I know it was not nice of me,

but I figured I know someone with lupus

& they would want my boys to have it!!!!

Here's a picture of the most wonderful train.

I washed it up,

put some batteries in it,

and it makes the LOUDEST noises

and actually puffs smoke!

Adler absolutely loves it

& Luke laughs at it

knowing what I did to get it!

And here's the puzzle holder we desperately needed!

Thank you Lupus, it holds our puzzles nicely.

Lots of friends. Lots of fun.

Brock is officially a 'BIG BOY!'

He decided this past week that he was going to start

sitting on his booster seat.

No more highchair.

Which means more room in the dining room.

What a fun little change!

...now onto teaching him to drink from a 'regular cup'.

Another great friend turned 30!

Happy Birthday Joy.

(gosh we're getting old.)

I'll be following her later this week. yikes. bye 20's!

It was a lot of fun getting a babysitter

& heading to Minneapolis for a night out to celebrate.

We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory

& the night was topped off with ice skating at

The Depot.

If you recall I chopped Olivia's eyebrows

WAY too short

So she needed a little spa treatment

to fix the problem.

Now she looks so beautiful,

bows & all! 

I had a dinner date with Katie & Maggs Friday night.

We had a great time talking about lupus, craigslist, &

some wedding updates!!!

(More about our lupus conversation later.

you won't want to miss it!)

In the meantime Luke spent his Friday night with the boys

& eating some more schwans.

Looks like they enjoyed themselves!

On Saturday we had a house full of friends.

(a little Concordia reunion)

The kids played,

we drank,

we ate,

they played again,

and we all talked the night away.

Here's Amanda holding little miss Maci

while Adella looks on.

Brock having fun sitting at the folding table

like a big boy.

(doing everything his brother does as usual)

Atch playing with Brock.

Atchy was a hit with the kids!

Little Holt!

Brock & him had a fun time together.

Same age, double trouble!

Maci with Daddy.

Striking a pose apparently!

Adella Belseth...

I mean little Miss personality.

Knows everything & is so darn funny!

Adler actually smiling nice!

The kids were loving on the expo hats!

Chatting about 'house stuff'

Atch's are moving to Moorhead in the near future.

Mr. Dentist & Mrs. Ophthamologist

are building a new house

so we can come stay with them when we travel west!

We're thinking it will probably be a pretty nice house.

After 12 years of school,

it should be!

Luke spending time with Maci.

She's 11 months old & has

absolutely NO seperation anxiety!

She played with anyone.

So sweet.

Adella took Adler's bike for a spin!

Then bathtime quickly became the highlight!

They were all making each other laugh.

This was Brock's position for about an hour.

Sitting back, just chillin' & rubbing his belly!

Then his bud came and joined him.

Enjoying the BEST caramel rolls this morning.

They were unbelievable

& pretty easy to make from what I saw.

(I'll post the recipe when I get it from Amanda)

We played a lot this weekend,

so tonight it was time to relax & get ready for bed.

Adler decided to lay on top of his fort (a folding table!)

& watch Toy Story.

And I was excited, because I had Luke

do a little basement project tonight!

A new picture gallery downstairs!

I have a little work to do to find the right family photos

of hopefully our grandparents, parents, etc.

& to also finish some added touches to the matting.

The finished product.

I LOVE IT!