Just Dance II

The day didn't end there (see post below), once back at the house the kids insisted Nana & Papa join them in playing the Wii and Brie's favorite Just Dance II. As you can see it was Nana that was hooked first, she was able to outscore Brie on a couple numbers! That's not an easy task as Brie has grown into an expert at this game. It was lots of laughter, cheers, and hoots, very fun! At one point we did resort to extreme measures as Papa assisted in holding Brie still with a bear hug so that the rest of us could catch up!

Then it was Papa's turn, while Nana was still the points leader with Brie to follow, he definitely kept up, but even he was no threat to the Nana & Brie duo. It's fun to watch but it's not long before the beat finally gets to you & up off the couch you go! It looks way easier than it really is. Steve joined in on a couple numbers as well!



Couldn't have asked for a better day!

A day at the Science Museum.....

For Father's Day 2010 we blessed Papa with an adventure from the kids, a day at the Science Museum! Papa wanted to save this treat for a not so nice weather day and what could be more so than February in Minnesota. So off we all went for a day of fun, after commenting that I hadn't been there since our 6th grade field trip (old location), Papa said it had been just as long for him!

Pulling into the parking lot, looks like King Tut is here for a visit!

Nana, Papa, Brienna & Conner ready to make some awesome memories!

Wisely choosing to do the Omni Theatre towards the beginning of our day, we took in a nice little documentary titled "MUMMIES!" Yep, could have passed on that one, great historical perspective but my life would have been complete without knowing the lost art of preservation that the Pharaoh's happened to be treated too. Brie and I thought it was gross, Conner's reaction was that it was COOL! Yikes, and here I thought they'd be having nightmares for weeks!

A word to the wise, sit in the middle of the theatre or as close to it as possible. On the outside you're treated to the distracting distortions caused by the curvature of the screen, after a while you can't help but wonder why the Egyptians built everything with a severe curve in it....

The newest anchor to join the 10 o'clock news cast, have to say her little face each night would make me watch!

This is the traffic and weather segment, although if Brienna is anything like her Mommy, she most certainly should NOT try and give any kind of traffic report....

Inside the cabin of the Towboat...

Conner loved this exhibit, moving the blower back and forth and watching the ball follow in amazement!

Looking out at Harriet Island.

For lunch we ate at the cafe which had what looked like huge xylophones strung up all the way to the ceiling, Conner and I stared at them and listened to the beautiful music they made, ting, tink, plink.... Later we learned that they were hypersensitive seismic readers that picked up even the slightest of continental platelet movements, earth quakes, and so on from all over the world. Cool but yet eerie as well!

Nana & Papa listening to a recording describing a dinosaur that I can only recall as a "long neck" yep, watched way too many cartoons, I'll bet one of our nephews will know it right away, Seth, Dain, help!!!

Our puzzle expert putting together a prehistoric one, not real of course but cool and kind of creepy all at once. This part of the museum also hosted an area that was darker, had fake river full of crocodile or alligator statues, fake trees overhead, a slight breeze blew through accompanied by jungle type sounds/whispers. Walking through this with Brienna, "Mom, I would NOT want to be standing here when this exhibit comes to life!" Can you tell we've watch both night's at the museum/Smithsonian more than once!

Our perpetual climber inside what is supposed to represent the size of a dinosaur's stomach! As big as these beasts were, the size of their brains are infinitesimal!

Leave it to Conner to find toys to play with, the gigantic bone structures of dinosaurs didn't hold his attention as long as these miniature versions did.

Looking at a HUGE slab jam packed with crustacean fossils, it's amazing how concentrated they are on this rock!

Here is our children, putting the world back to together one piece at a time, how prophetic!

Wait...........for.............it.........

A smile is always worth the wait!!!!

Conner & Daddy making the T-Rex head ROAR!!!! My question is what happened to the rest of him? Maybe he's on the second floor!

Not a visit without Brie sewing or in this case weaving something. It was very cool seeing the contraption the Egyptians used to make rope, the methodology remains the same but the equipment is way more high tech!

Her piece she wove herself....

Looking at all the different sand from around the world through a microscope, at this point I'd like to take this experiment to a whole other level and visit the sand beaches personally!

Family shot at the end, what a day!!!!! Thank you Nana & Papa for an amazing adventure!

Nothing like a stop at DQ on the way home! Must have been our lucky day because the manager came over with a blizzard that was mixed incorrectly and gave it to us for FREE! It was a cookie dough, Reese's peanut butter cup, chocolate syrup and something else blizzard, want to talk about chocolate overload, it was AWESOME!!!

5th Annual Dance with Disabilities!

This event popped up in our announcements at Church a few months ago and immediately my mind thought it would be a great community outreach event our whole family can participate in. Steve was assigned photographer duty along with another gal from our church and the kids and I were positioned to greet and assist attendees with their coats and usher them towards the photo area. We were told to not let a single one get past us ensuring each person would have a photo to take home with them at the end of the night.

So many volunteers made this event a success, one Sunday school class took the time to decorate photo sleeves with hearts, glitter, and other embellishments so that when the photos were printed they had a fabulous memento to take home as a reminder of the evening. Yet another class came & kept the popcorn popping & distributed bags to all the guests. A juice, coffee, cookie and other treats table rounded out another station. The DJ, a principal from a Spring Lake Park school, was absolutely amazing, he had inflatable guitars, microphones, hats, and other props that the attendees thought were the best!

All dolled up we headed for the Little Mountain Elementary school (Brie's old school) and set up. The dance started at 7pm and went until 9:30pm, with over 75 already registered & a maximum capacity of 100, it was destined to be a great evening. We would have no idea how great though!

The job of corralling everyone towards the photo station was NOT an easy task! Conner was sporting his black jacket and everyone seemed to be drawn to this little guy, which was good because I think we only had one group break through the line and bypass the photo booth.

Watching the expressions on some of their faces when they found out they were going to get their photo taken was just priceless! They were blown away and SOOO excited! "Do we have to pay for it?" "Wow, I better practice my smile" "Good thing I wore my best shirt" were many of the remarks. Watching the groups come in, the beat of the music already pounding, many were wiggling before they could get their coats off! Next year a good camera that takes action shots will be a necessity! Thank heavens we brought a bench which forced them to sit still for the briefest of moments.

Deep down, we had a selfish goal. For years I've watched many (my Mom especially) in amazement reach out and carry on one sided conversations and display incredible gentleness towards people with even the most extreme disabilities. I guess through years of working in a nursing home taught her how to do that, Nana as well via her years as a nurse has that gift too. We, on the other hand did not get that exposure and we find our selves feeling helpless to communicate. So this event filled a huge need in our hearts to learn, teach, and just give back to a large part of our community that is so very often, well just forgotten. We desperately want Brie and Conner to grow up with such awareness.

How did it go? Well let's just say, tremendously well. Watching Brienna joining in and dancing with all the guests just made us smile, she has such a soft heart and even dragged sometimes unwilling partners to the dance floor for the slower songs was just the best! Conner kept to himself in a corner playing with his cars when all of a sudden the beat must have called to him and he marched out onto the dance floor and jammed with another boy for the rest of the evening. They both had the inflatable air guitars, he & his new friend were so dang fun to watch, he also had to show off his break dancin' skills which just had us awestruck! He'd share microphones and guitars with whomever would take one and didn't leave the dance floor till clean up.....

To have volunteers come up afterwards with tears in their eyes telling us how amazing our children are, how they danced all night with everyone & how it just moved their hearts, believe me, it was so humbling! "You're doing such a great thing with your kids, they are so unbelievable, I know they don't know me but can I hug them?" The Lord works in such amazing ways and we walked away from that evening wondering who was more blessed by this night, us or all the awesome people that came! Next year Brienna said she's bringing Alex as her date, definitely!!!!!

Brienna & Conner we're so PROUD of you!!!!

Brie dancin' with the gals...

Conner & the guitar, wish his buddy would have held still long enough to take a photo, like I said, next year we'll have be sure to bring a camera with a much faster shutter speed!!!!!

Our fearless leader, Tracey W., whose own daughter was the inspiration for this event is our church's community outreach coordinator (gal in the purple sweater). She is truly an inspiration and has battled many demons in her life and won! Both my kids just run up to her, she is just one of those people, and we are truly blessed to know her.......

You just can't imagine some of the awesome moves displayed here tonight! Music is such great therapy, it just touches your soul!

Lovin' the spotlight!

One last dance before clean up, Conner showing off...

Prizes were rounded up and donated by local businesses & as they registered each person received a ticket. When the drawings started, a hush went over the crowd, a race to find their tickets ensued. The first winner jumped up from her seat, screamed all the way to the front and grabbed the biggest teddy bear on the table & ran back shouting "I WON, I WON, I WON!" and I mean shouted! A person would not have believed the smiles could grow bigger than they already were, but they did. Brienna ran all through the crowd helping those that couldn't read with their numbers, "nope not this time" or "darn, don't worry there's more" were some of the encouragements she'd give them. No one asked her to do this, after a while they just naturally lined up and she ran back & forth making sure the winners were found after each number was called. A great friend of hers that she made during her theatrical debuts, Johanna, was also there to help, what a pair they made!

Conner Part II

So last night Conner had his first stepping stone event at Church, this one was for Kindergartners & is geared towards worship and the sanctuary itself physically. We had 3 stations, one where they created their own alter cloth to take home; an awesome exercise in being respectful while in the sanctuary; and the other looking for shapes within the sanctuary that lead into a discussion of symbolism and all their meanings. At the start, Pastor asks the question of where do we worship? Conner's hand shoots up immediately and this Mommy was a little taken off guard because he started out really shy and very squirmy in his chair, I didn't even think he was paying attention let alone that he even heard the question. Conner's brilliant response was "in the bathroom," yep in our house the bathroom is the perfect place to worship the lord, sing and praise him in the bath or the shower! Go Conner! He knows that most often the bathroom is the only quiet place in the house, away from the phone, computer, TV, Wii, flute practice, etc....

Brienna's 1st Band Concert!

Our Valentines Day was spent at a 5th grade band concert and it was one of our favorites. They all did such a great job! Each grouping of instruments were featured with their very own piece and the director not only gave a tremendous introduction but interjected a little about how hard each section worked and what some of their struggles were that they overcame. There were 3 clarinets that hit the floor randomly throughout the concert and one flutist also couldn't seem to hold onto her instrument. These 3 gals below were the stars, no prejudice here! Brienna's best friend Katelyn is on the right and they sat so perfectly poised throughout the whole evening, Lisa (Katelyn's mom) and I sat by each other and held our breath most of the time. We're so proud of these kids and can't wait for the upcoming spring concert! We rounded out the evening with a spot of ice cream! Brienna was so excited, next time you see her ask about it!

Conner

Changes in plans this weekend landed Conner and I alone in the car for about 15 minutes while we brought fisher girl Brie out to the lake to join her Dad for some of the most awesome crappie fishing they've had all year. They ended up coming home with their limit! Conner was sporting a bit of a yucky cough since waking up so we decided to keep him near his neb machine and his favorite thing in the world, the Wii. I digress, back to the car ride, he's apparently caught some of Disney's cutting edge marketing tactics for their cruise lines because out of the blue Conner tells me "Mommy, we NEED to go on a vacation boat, I saw that they have some where you can swim in the ocean with sting rays, they have swimming pools for me and Brienna and slides and they are way bigger than me!" He's convinced we should take one of these "vacation boats" and we should do it now! Disney really needs to think about tapping into his cuteness and clever way of describing their family cruise lines.... I'd buy one!

Dreamin' of Summer

What to do with Daddy haulin' campers downtown for the show? Find something that reminds us of all the awesome times we had last summer, answer = swimming at the Monticello Community Ctr. We haven't been there for quite sometime so it was a real treat returning, we all forgot how much fun that place was! Conner of course said next time we need to tackle the massive climbing walls, that will require Daddy's presence for sure!

Only Brie would come down the slide looking bored, geez, maybe we need to find more challenging slides for these two!

One, two, three, four, five and JUMP!!!! These two minds created some spectacular new ways to enter the water, this Mommy was real impressed.

Brienna showing Conner how great this huge water stream felt on her back! Conner's turn, only done in true Conner fashion! Believe it or not, he did this over and over again and gave me thumbs up each instance, that's my little man!
Peeking out for the camera, actually I just got lucky, they were playing peekaboo with the cutest little 2 year old making her giggle, like on those funniest home videos kind of giggle fests. So proud that they both love to be around little tykes, helping them up the steps, down the slide etc.... AWWWW!
Great shot just moments before Brie had Conner singularly spinning wildly out of control and almost taking out all the cute little kids I just mentioned above! A bit premature on my praises I guess, parents beware! Oh well, still very proud!!!!!