IMAX at the Zoo

On Saturday we had an open day--so after swimming lessons (which is going much better and BIshop's been getting in the water with no problems) we went to the Zoo! It had been awhile since we were there and the kids were so excited to see the animals and run around.

We got there a little before 1 and we quick ran over to the IMAX to catch a movie. This was Nora's first movie ever in a theatre and Bishop's first in an IMAX, so it was extra fun! It was about polar bears in the Artic. Nora ended up falling asleep (which was fine, she hadn't napped), but Bishop was pretty into it the entire time!

After that we visited all the animals inside and burned off some energy.

It was a fun Saturday!

Clean Plate Club/Pizza Party/Bday Party

This is a catch up post--with some random pictures! I took the first two pictures on a night last week when Luke was gone for work. The kids ate really well and it's always fun to get pictures when you're on the road--so I sent these to Luke!

Proud to be part of the Clean Plate Club!

3 helpings of corn, yes please! :)

 Saturday night after visiting Grandpa Rich for his birthday we stopped and picked up pizza on the way home...then we rented a movie and had a "pizza party"! It was Luke's idea and the kids thought it was great! They got to eat pizza and watch a movie at the same time......and Bishop's been asking to do it again ever since! ;)

The first Ice Age

On Sunday after Jack's birthday party Bishop had another birthday party for a friend of his from school, Evelyn. It was at McDonald's and he had a great time! He loves his Ronald crown and wears it all the time!

The kids have been so great lately! Bishop is so good to his sister and although they have their moments (it's hard to be two....and it's hard to always have your baby sister want to do whatever you're doing) they get along great and share really well! Bishop is quite the salesboy--he likes to watch TV with the lights off and Nora has recently learned how (and is tall enough) to turn the lights on and off....so when Bishop is watching TV he'll say to Nora "you like having the lights off, right?"....trying to convince her to make it her decision to keep them off! ;) He really is good to her-I'm so thankful!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Rich!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Rich!

We drove up to Cold Spring on Saturday to celebrate with Grandpa Rich. His request was vanilla ice cream, so we celebrated with some ice cream and sang Happy Birthday!

Rich had his knee replaced in December and recently had another surgery, so we're praying for a surgery free rest of the year! He's recovering well and his knee is doing much better since Christmas so that's encouraging! He's definitely looking forward to getting out and about to work on some projects again soon!

Happy Birthday to a wonderful man! Thanks for all your hard work and dedication to your family! You are so talented and we appreciate all you've done to help out our family. (Rich made us our dining room table (it is beautiful) and each of the kids have an end table in their room that he made them.)  The kids love your big truck and we'll all miss the wood deliveries! Thanks for all your love, we love you!

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Jack!!

Jack Ryan Bormann turned one yesterday--January 19th, 2014! I still can't believe he's one! 

We were going to celebrate with him on Saturday, but both Jack and Madelyn were sick, so we celebrated on Sunday instead. Poor guy-he still wasn't feeling well and he wasn't his happy, smiley self! He had more than his share of illnesses throughout his first year, so we're all hoping for a healthy year for Baby Jack!

January 19th, 2013

 Jack's Grandpa made him his own "truck" to push around! It is amazing!! It says JRB Trucking Maple Grove, MN  "U Call, I Haul"! Jack enjoyed pushing it around.....and also riding in it.  It's the perfect size for Madelyn to push too-so the 2 of them will have a lot of fun together!  Kenny is so talented and creative!

Jack--poor guy-he would usually be all smiles at this point......but he was just hanging out and taking it all in. 

Getting ready for cake!

The frosting was definitely the best part!

 Opening presents as a bit chaotic, the bigger kids helped open all his presents for him, while Jack hung out in the background looking out the window (you can see him in the back of this picture).

Big sister, Madelyn and mommy!

Madelyn was such a good sport about her little brother's Birthday! It's tough being that young and not getting the attention, but she did so well and she didn't whine or cry or complain! She is such a sweetheart!

Happy 1st birthday Baby Jack! You are so special and we love you so much! Nora loves calling you JACKIE! She adores you and Bishop is super excited to have another boy to play with! Your smile is the best! We hope you're feeling better soon!!

My beautiful niece, Madelyn!

Baby Jack and the Froehle's!

Cold Snap and......warming up!

We had a REALLY cold spell over the past week. It was -20 degrees on Monday, the 6th with a windchill of -50 degrees. It was so cold the governor called school off for the entire state on Monday and most schools were also closed on Tuesday!

It has made for some cooped up days inside and while we're trying to get out and about as much as possible to burn some energy the kids have also found a couple ways to keep busy inside.

Bishop has enjoyed playing "cleaning lady" and he got the baby wipes out and started wiping down surfaces all over the house!

That's efficiency--wiping with both hands at once!

Nora has kept herself busy taking care of her babies and changing their diapers and making sure their bottoms are extra clean (and making sure they don't get sore, by putting cream on)! :)

It finally warmed up this weekend and we were able to get outside to play in the snow!

We built a snowman!

And Bishop and I built a snow house--with a built in chair! I had a blast with him--and he was playing so hard he got hot so he had to take his hat and coat off!

Sitting in the chair in his snow house

I'm so glad it warmed up enough to get out and enjoy the snow and get some fresh air! We all needed it!

Ice Skating

We took Bishop ice skating for the first time on Sunday. We went to the Bloomington Ice Garden for open skate and we were able to rent skates for Bishop.

Luke has always wished he could have played hockey growing up--but there wasn't hockey at Rocori, so he's now hopeful that Bishop will be interested and excited to play hockey (while I'm hoping his interests will lie in basketball)! ;) In all seriousness, I don't care what he's interested in, I just want him to be involved in activities and I want to introduce him to many things so he can make the choice for himself.

After taking him skating for the first time-I still have hope for basketball! :) It's hard to learn to skate and he wasn't crazy about all the people there...so he didn't last too long.

Little sister watching Bishop try to skate

He was happier sitting down!

Trying the ice pusher

Having dad hold him up

Our next attempt might be on a lake when it's not TOO cold and not too busy! We'll see! I was just happy there were no tears and I didn't want to force him into something he didn't like. He really enjoyed watching the hockey players on a different rink, so we'll see if he has anymore interest in the future!

Happy New Year!!

We celebrated New Years Eve at our house with our friends and neighbors, The Kahlert's! It was a fun night for the kids and adults!! The kids played great together and enjoyed bubbly juice and blowing in the noise makers (this was an even bigger hit for Bishop the next morning when it wasn't such a hit for mom and dad!) :)

 The kids got to watch a little movie--Bishop and Nora are quite engrossed!

 During pictures Bishop would continue to blow on his nosise maker right as the camera was taking the picture--which resulted in Carolyn immediately looking at him!

 We finally got one with everyone looking!

The boys with their staches!

Bishop was up the latest he's ever been up (I think) and had a great time! And I made it JUST about til midnight! The adults went around and shared their top 3 memories (and they had to be SPECIFIC) from 2013....I was stopped at 3, but here's some from my list (and I'm sure I forgot some):

• Nephew Jack being born
• 5 year Anniversary trip to the North Shore with Luke 
• Week of Christmas being off with the kids-it was seriously the best!
• Bishop learning to ride a bike with no training wheels
• Bishop learning to swim on his own
• Our yearly trip to Colorado
• My performance review-I had a good year and it was nice to be recognized
• Nora saying "I wuv you too"

Here's to 2014 and all the memories we'll make!! Cheers!