Oh Valentine...

Two days before Valentine's Day, Elizabeth and I woke up to this....

I was leaving for the weekend for my small group retreat and so he made sure to treat me before I left. The little notes were my favorite part. So thoughtful and encouraging. Even Elizabeth's was perfect. Definitely shed a few tears.... I love this guy!

Aren't they fun?

My son is almost more in to shoes that Elizabeth or me! It doesn't take much convincing on his part to get Elizabeth to play with every shoe in the house. This day they were tap dancers....

Alexander is obsessed with bikes! If you're not sure where he is, check the bikes. He could spend hours just "petting" our bikes and playing with the wheels.

Yes, the kid loves bananas! He can get one down in under 30 seconds.

A few random thoughts about this beautiful girl....

Elizabeth is so precious. She loves to read books and hear stories! The cutest part is to hear her then re-tell the stories to her dolls or brother. Animated is an understatement.

Elizabeth will randomly break away from her playing and run up to me just to say, "I luv you mommy!"

She also is my little censor... We had a conversation not long ago about the word "hate" and she must have listened well. Now whenever I say the word "hate" she interrupts me to say, "we don't say hate mommy!" (Who knew I said the word so much?? Even if I'm in another room having a conversation on the phone or in the grocery store chatting with a friend.... she's on me!)

Elizabeth loves to talk about when she was a baby. Whenever Alexander gets in trouble for something, she interrupts me punishing him to remind me that she did that too when she was a baby... My daughter is too fun!

A Trip Just for Us

Again this year we attended the South Dakota Family Physician Conference. The weather was beautiful which allowed us to do some hiking in the beautiful Spearfish Canyon. The kids came with us for the first evening/day. They enjoyed sleeping in the hotel and the kids pool party in the morning. After that, Andrew and I got two nights and three days together while Grandma, Aunt, and Uncle babysat! Thank you guys!!

Rock Climbing!

We headed to Sioux City to the climbing wall (during a blizzard of course... is there any other way?) with a bunch of our friends. The kids amaze me every time we come here. They are sooo well behaved. There was a wrestling tournament going on in the gym and the kids were glued to the floor watching through the railing. Ten minutes later I turn around to Elizabeth wrestling Alexander to the floor....

The Trail-a-Bike!

Mike's amazing Scheel's deals included a new trail-a-bike for our family! Elizabeth still isn't too sure what to think of her new ride...

Yoga and Rollerskating

Elizabeth pulled out my yoga mat and was teaching Alexander (rather forcefully) to copy her made up yoga moves (which for some reason included a yard stick?).

Elizabeth loves her new rollerskates but insists on wearing all of her safety gear... Reminds me of the stories of Andrew as a child wearing his knee pads and helmet 24/7 for a solid year!

Even Elizabeth loves the Wii fit!

My MOPS group had a play date at the Vermillion Armory. They still have the ghetto rollerskates from my day! We had a blast!

Courtney Visits!

How blessed am I to have so many amazing friends all over the country! Courtney drove all the way from Union Center with two children under the age of 2 just to visit me! It was so nice to spend time together again. What cracked me up is how the dynamics of our conversations have changed since undergrad years when there weren't 4 children demanding a voice in our conversations!

Only one glitch stood between us and an adventure.... keys. Courtney locked her keys in her car the first night she was here (or so we thought). Her and I tore apart the parking lot, luggage, and apartment in search of those darn keys. Meanwhile, she had her husband mail her a spare set. Her two day visit turned in to five!! (I didn't mind!!)

Since my Prius doesn't quite fit 4 car seats and two adults, we were limited to strollers.

Long story short, the keys eventually arrived via USPS. As Courtney loaded her last suitcase in the van, she just happened to look down where the arm extension comes out and who would have guessed what was sitting there but her keys!

Oh God you are funny! Thanks for our extended visit!!

USD Sanford School of Medicine - Yankton Program

Andrew is thoroughly enjoying the Yankton program and his classmates. For the most part, he makes his own daily schedule so for Andrew this means a lot of surgeries! He has learned so much from his attendings and this program.

Med school must be rough, huh? Apparently Andrew was more interested in a surgery than a shoulder rub....

Here you go folks.... the future doctors of America....

Med School Christmas Parties

Every year there are a handful of Christmas parties and unfortunately I didn't get many pictures of any of them... These are from Andrew's classmate Amy.

Small Group Party

(L to R: Christine, Kathy, Renee, Kim R, Kim Q, Carrie, Lindsey, Heidi, Christy)

Christy hosted our 2nd Annual Small Group Christmas Party and again it was fabulous! The meal was catered, chairs rented, and snow flying. Perfect evening for friendship, laughter, and the bucket game!

Ah, yes, the night Lindsey taught me. About a little piece of chocolate heaven that is... Right now I can't even remember their name but you put the delightful ball of chocolate in your mouth and wait for it, wait for it, and suddenly, ahhhh!

Kim was my date (isn't she HOT!) and Heidi was glowing!

Par-Tay

Andrew kindly pointed out to me that this winter we have gone to more formal parties than he's had the opportunity to hunt. My favorite party was our 2nd annual small group Christmas party but unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures. Will steal some and share soon. Until then here are the only ones I have. Our last Christmas party I finally took some pictures... at the end of the night. Here we are with Jenn and Nic.

Christmas Recovery Period

After having so many people at our house, our family definitely needed a few recovery naps. Alexander's face says it so well:

Round II

We had a two day overlap with family where Andrew's parents brought our nephews to Vermillion. Then Andrew and his parents and brother headed to Iowa to visit extended family. I spent the weekend with my folks and three nephews.

Elizabeth, Raedon, and Laeton made caramel popcorn, decorated door hangers, and played in the quickly melting snow. Talon and Alexander, for the most part, ignored each other. :)

Monday brought the entire family together in what seemed like a rather small apartment! The week was filled with good food, a museum trip, swimming, gifts, and of course lots of games. We always have so much fun that its easy to forget the craziness and just enjoy each other!!