New shirts!

When we were in Kentucky for the Derby, Gramma Nana sent us home with these great shirts for Dylan and Owen. Kinda like those plywood boards where you stick your head in and suddenly look like a body-builder or a Disney character. In this case, put on a t-shirt to become a jockey or a baseball player...

I love how Owen tries to look crabby when he is really the sweetest little thing on Earth. It looks like he's pulling on his t-shirt, but it's really his "softy"...

See, sweetest thing...

Dylan has his hold on Ethan's "cremote" for the TV. As usual, he is accessorizing with drool...

The drool is still hanging on...could this little guy BE any happier?!

Derby: pre-Derby

We probably would have taken this many pictures anyway, but especially since it was raining and we knew that all of our beautification efforts would soon be spoiled, we posed Prom-style in just about every permutation possible.

The challenge for every Derby-goer....how to sneak the booze into Churchill. This year, because of the rain, an obvious solution presented itself...the poncho. The irony of Andy's pat-down at the security gate still makes me laugh. He opens his jacket, gets patted down...all the while, his booze is wrapped up in the poncho that he has folded up...in his hand! Success!

Derby: Day 1

We went to the Derby this year! First time for me...third time for Andy...although this time he classed it up with box seats (thanks Mom and Dad!)...although, that is just to say that we had tickets with designated seats and dressed up in hats and coordinating outfits galore...but we probably still acted like we were in the infield...I mean, Andy still snuck in some booze, and I changed into my flip-flops and swigged out of the 5th of Jag...so, you know...we're just not all that classy. Period. My Mom scored 6 box seats on the first turn...right around where we sat in 2006 when we went to the Kentucky Oaks. Ethan was there in 2006 too...in my belly. This year, Andy and I flew in on Friday, as did my sister and her husband. It was a fast and furious weekend, filled with lots of rain, lots of good food and drink, and great company.

Mom picked us up from the airport and we had a nice lunch before heading back to the loft. My Dad got home from work and we all hung out on the balcony listening to and watching the goings-ons of 4th Street on Derby weekend. I just had to take pictures of the guys who stopped on a downtown street, right in front of my parents' loft, to sell food!

That nigh, we went to Z's Fusion, a great restaurant down 4th Street from my parents' loft. Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo were there...so it's kind of like the place to be.

My boys

Did I post these already?!...so hard to get a picture of all my beautiful boys looking at me and giving me genuine smiles at the same time...I'll take what I can get. Either way, I still think they are all beautiful...

I love Ethan's smile in this last one, and Owen looks like he is trying TOO hard...

It's meeeee.....

Yeah, it's been awhile..."been busy" is the understatement of the Year.

I'll be posting a few updates to get everyone caught up...likely, they will come as a series of photos, with captions...because as I type right now, I have 3 kids hanging off of me, one yelling "Mommy, Mom-meeeee, Hey, Mommy, Hey, Mom-meeeee!", one trying to ascend my leg, and one obsessed with sticking his finger in my belly button...you know, everyday stuff...just not a lot of time for text.

So, let's start back in April...when I put my kids in the laundry baskets...because it's funny...

Owen wants everyone to know that while Dylan might be known for his drool production, he's not too shabby with it himself.

16 months!!

Today, my "babies" are 16 months old...

It looked like they were up to something, so, like any Mommy who has given up all hope at keeping her house neat and organized, I grabbed my camera to document the destruction...

It was an assembly line deal...Dylan would pull something out of the pantry and hand it to Owen...then Owen would hand it back and Dylan would put in back in...

Owen gives the brown sugar a try...Mommy now realizes she has 3 bags of brown sugar...maybe she should bake something?! I know a certain little boy who loves to make banana bread...but it's hard to get enough "yucky bananas" to make banana bread when the boys eat so many every day! Puts a new spin on the "monkey" nickname for all my boys!!

Rejected by Owen...the brown sugar bag doesn't taste as good as the real thing...

Next up...taste testing the brown grocery bag...he doesn't look too impressed...

Maybe this is a better use...

Mommy's been spotted...

D continues his work...

Seems he was trying to make room in the pantry...for himself!

Had to look back to a year ago...these two are so cute together!!

Dylan (left) has the same "deer in headlights" look in both these pictures!

I remember this being one of the first times I saw them really look at each other.
Melt my heart.

Happy Easter!

It's Easter weekend and Grampa Dode is in town! After a fun trip to the Park yesterday, we had a snack, and Grampa Dode and Ethan built a "sport" (fort) before naptime.

The Easter bunny brought the kids some jelly beans, chocolate, and sippy cups...for Ethan, a "big purple St Olaf cup" which was really not from St Olaf, but is just like the "big blue St Olaf cup." The Easter bunny ate way too many jelly beans and Reeces while putting together the baskets, so she needs to be good today!!

Ethan was SO excited to see his basket from the Easter bunny!

And Owen and Dylan were pretty cute with their new bunny cups...even though they were a total milk disaster on the floor...

It's a beautiful Sunday morning! The forecast from a few days ago was showing rain for today, and as Mommy talked to Ethan about how wonderful it was that Sven was wrong about the rain, he said..."It's sunny out so it's Sunday. When it's cloudy out it's Cloud-day, when the moon is out it's Moon-day and when the darkness is out it's Dark-day"...we've been working on the days of the week...looks like we have some work to do, but Ethan's concept makes sense too!

Happy Easter!