Are You Ready For Some Football???

On Friday we took the kiddos to the Papillion vs Papillion-South game. Regular, old-school Papillion is where I went to school, but we also have friends who have kids involved at South. So, it was just fun to get out and cheer for everyone. (The Monarchs, however, did end up winning though--hurray!) The weather was also FANTASTIC--a perfect weekend really!

Emily and Christian both had a good time, although they had a tough time sitting still. Christian LOVED the big blue Titan mascot and was CONSTANTLY climbling all over and looking for him. Emily wanted to go and run around on the grassy hill with a hundred other crazy children. (Which wasn't going to happen.) One minute she would say, "Mommy, this game is so boring." Then, when the cheerleaders would cheer or the band play a song (or we'd go up and get a gatorade), she'd give me a hug and tell me, "this is the BEST game EVER!" We left at halftime (bedtime and all) and the kids were all tired smiles so I'm pretty sure the night was a success.

We Have Cucumbers!

So. My first attempt at gardening had mixed results this year. The squash, that I thought would do so well, got too much water and rotted out. The carrots, though they did well, were stumpy b/c we didn't dig down deep enough and the couldn't push through the clay to get longer. The peas grew okay, but there weren't that many. The cucumbers, however, really came through! I had to replant the seeds in June (they didn't take in May) and since then, they really have grown! I could hardly believe my eyes when I finally got out there today (after rain and humidity all week) and there were sooo many! I picked a dozen large ones today and that was just the first batch! Anyone know any good cucumber recipes??

Christian looked so cute in both of these pictures...I had to post them both :-).

Go Sharks!

Today is a rainy day. However, the kids club at the zoo was learning about sharks so there was no way we were going to miss out on that! (Emily is just mildly obsessed with sharks these days!) We just wore our raincoats and brought along an umbrella and headed out.

Showing their shark fins to the sharks

It turned out to be a really fun little morning! The kids enjoyed reading shark books and singing shark songs. They even got to make little shark-fins that strapped on like a backpack. We then proceeded over to the aquarium (of course) to visit the sharks! Today was "Navy" day and so there were members of the US Navy there and they had divers swimming around with the sharks. Emily said she wanted to do that too, but then she realized she'd have to put her face in the water and said maybe when she's bigger.

One of the Navy's exploratory robots

The Navy guys also had these exploratory robots out for display, moving around and all. Christian was fascinated, but a little scared just the same! He wouldn't get too close for a picture, even though he couldn't stop looking at them.

Just hangin' around!

After the aquarium, Christian wanted to see the snakes in the jungle so we made our way over there. We usually have a stroller and so we only do the top portion. Today, however, I knew we weren't going to be walking too far so I didn't bring a stroller. We ventured down to the lower portion and had a fun time "hiking" around and even got to see some fun little monkeys really close up!

We finished up the day in the Wild Kingdom Pavillion (more snakes, turtles, fish, etc...). It was nice to be able to take our time and see a few different things, especially since it wasn't crowded. I'm so glad the sharks got us out into the rain--go sharks!

Deep Thoughts, by Emily

Deep Thought #1:

Emily: Mommy, I think I know what I want to be when I grow up.

Me: Oh, what's that?

Emily: A newspaper thrower.

Me: Well, we'll make sure you can be a paper girl when you turn ten, okay?

This makes me think of when Cubby was little. He told his parents that he wanted to be a milkman so he could deliver milk to his little girlfriend :-).

Deep Thought #2:

Emily: Mommy, I'm tired of Earth. I want to move to a new planet; probably a blue one.

Apparently, she's seen enough of our blue planet and has decided to venture out.

Ultrasound Pictures and A Name

Say "hello" to...

Miss Kari Rebecca Lindseth

Here are her "best" pictures--she was very active and did not want to sit still for much else. Hmmm...am I in for some fun or what?? In case it's tough to tell, these are of her profile.

Kari's name (pronounced like "car" with an "e", not Carrie) is Scandinavian and is the favorite of Cubby and Emily (hence, they're pretty set on it). We got it from two sources: I knew a girl growing up back in Minnesota with this name and also the babysitter in "The Incredibles" is named Kari. I guess there's also a Norwegian skier with the name too. Anyhow, it seems to fit her, even in-utero. Rebecca is Cubby's mom's name and we try and do a family name for middle names. (Emily and Christian both have middle names from my side, so, it was time to share!) Rebecca is a beautiful name as well and I think it all flows nicely together.

We're glad that Cubby got the scanner to mostly work again (he's still working on trying to get it to run wirelessly) so that we could share these little pictures!

Prince or Princess???

PRINCESS!!!

Yes, we are indeed having a GIRL! (Just like I thought!) The ultrasound was this morning and it was just amazing to get to see our little girl moving around (and she was very active--the tech had a tough time getting the various information recorded!) She must have been excited for us to say "hello!"

Naturally, Emily and Christian are thrilled that they're going to get a baby sister. Emily's eyes were just shining.

I would love to post the ultrasound pictures, however, our scanner (and recently now our printer as well) have decided not to be hooked up to the network and aren't working. Ugh! So, you'll all have to settle for pictures of Emily and Christian holding the ultrasound pictures and of a belly shot of me. (Per Mom and Dad Lindseth's request.) Cubby is going to keep working on the scanner/printer and so hopefully we'll be able to post the other pictures soon!

(Here is also a preview on how the dresser turned out! I'll be posting "new rooms" pictures soon...we're justing putting on some finishing touches!)

In any case, we're very excited to welcome this new little girl into our home and we'll keep everyone posted once we're super sure on her name (right now we're only mostly sure :-) ).

First Friend Sleepover

This week I took the kiddos and we drove 2 hrs to Norfolk, Nebraska to visit some good friends! Rosie and her family used to live here, but with her husband's new job, they had to move away. Her oldest son, Logan, was Emily's first friend, and things haven't changed much between the two! Needless to say, they were soooo excited to see one another and spent the next 24 hrs doing some hardcore playing. Christian jumped right in as well and he and Bryson (who is a year older than him) also had a good time together. They all loved little Breanna, who is just the most content baby and has such a darling little smile! Having 5 kids, 5 and under, was crazy, but it was wonderful to catch up with my friend, see her beautiful new home, and play with her sweet children. Thank you for the fun timers!

Emily--12 mo, Logan--18 mo
Emily--4 1/2 yrs, Logan--5 yrs

Four Little Monkeys (NOT) Jumping on the Bed! (That's how little Bryson busted up his arm!)

SUCH a fun bunch!

Sunflowers and the OCM

This year we decided to plant mammoth sunflowers and morning glories between them. They turned out so cool! The morning glories wound their way up the sunflowers--which have grown to 14 ft high! Here is a picture of them! (I took the picture in the evening, so the morning glories aren't open. However, you can see their vines!)
Also, last week my mom took us to the Children's Museum. We hadn't been there for a very long time--mostly because I don't like to give in to extortion ($7 for anyone over 2? Plus, another $4/person to go upstairs to the Sesame Street exibit? Even for adults? Seriously, are the adults really having that much fun??). But, the weather was icky and so we went downtown. The kids had a really great time--dressing up, painting faces, playing house, and exploring the ball room. (We did not fork over the extra dough to go upstairs.) It was a nice morning overall though! Here are pics from the day!

Five Ingredients

Here are two recipes I tried on Wednesday that are absolutely soooo yummy! They are both from this month's Taste of Home Magazine. They both contain just five ingredients--my kind of recipe! (Sorry, no pictures this time, it was all eaten too quickly!)

Moist and Tender Turkey Breast:
1 bone-in turkey breast (5-7 lbs)
4 fresh rosemary sprigs (or dried, they're both yummy)
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt (salt and pepper kind of count as one ingredient w/this one)

Place turkey in a 6 qt slow cooker. Place rosemary and garlic around turkey. Combine the brown sugar, pepper and salt, sprinkle over the turkey.

Cover and cooke on low for 4-6 hours or until turkey is tender.

Not only is the turkey SUPER moist, the gravy that you can make w/this tops all others!!!


Gooey Chocolate Cookies:
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pkg (18.25 oz) chocolate cake mix

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add cake mix and mix well (dough will be sticky!). Cover and refrigerate for 2 hrs.

Roll rounded tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. (Your hands will get messy!) Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 mins or until tops are cracked. Cool for 2 mins before removing from pans to wire racks.

we love you, mommy

mommy,

we love you. thank for:

* being a nice mommy
* taking care of us
* taking us to the children's museum

* cleaning the house
* making food
* washing us
* coloring with us
* building with us
* pretending with us
* playing tmnt
* playing superheroes
* singing songs
* dancing
* coloring
* doing laundry (giving our lovies baths)
* driving us around
* going on walks
* teaching us
* reading to us
* loving us

emily & christian (with a little help from daddy)

T-Ball and a No.2 Success Story!

This summer Emily and I have spent 3 innings each Saturday playing T-ball! ("Mighty Sluggers'" games are only 3 innings long.) Emily is a good little ball player--she was the only girl on her team! I was the coach and even though it took a lot of energy (I have a new respect for all coaches, whether you coach 4 yr olds or 14 yr olds--it's tough!), it was great to see all of the children have such fun! Here are some highlights from our last game today!

My "Mighty Slugger"!

Up to bat! (If you look closely, you can see our cheering section in the background!)

Doing some warm ups with the team!

In other big news, Christian did his first poo-poos on the potty today! Cubby noticed that Christian had "That Look" about him this morning and asked if he wanted to go on the potty. Christian said yes and then proceeded to do a No. 2! It was very exciting! (He wasn't consistent though, as he ended up having a dirty diaper 2 hrs later, but...it's a start!) We are all so proud of him! Yeah, Christian!!!