Double Bubble

Cleveland is full of rich culture, history and interesting characters...including the Bubble Lady. Around here, the Bubble Lady is an institution at nearly every kid's birthday party. The other day we attended an event put on by our local Early Childhood PTA which featured her talents.

Matt and the girls watch with rapt attention as the Bubble Lady shows off her tricks...she even blew a square bubble!

Soon, volunteers were called up. Emily and Allie bravely volunteered. (Notice how protective Emily is of her little sister?)

Yep, she even puts kids inside of bubbles!

Our adventurous little girls, so proud of their accomplishment!

Fired Up

Recently, we were in Minnesota.  We crammed in a bunch of activities while there, but the best times we had were just hanging out with family.  It was slightly chilly up north this time, perfect weather for a bonfire, so we had two, one at Dad and Mom's, and the second at Tom and Katies' house.  Here are some pictures from the first bonfire.  I didn't have my camera while we were there, so I don't have many photos to post.  

 Ryan loves being a big boy now.  He gets to be part of all the action. 

  

All of the grandkids minus Ryan, (guess he's not part of ALL the action yet!).  

Allie's dreamin' of s'mores.

Allie fulfilling her dreams!

Ooo, my tummy aches.  I couldn't eat another bite.

Well, maybe just one more...

Wingin' It

We're back in Minnesota again!

Our visit has been full of activities. On Sunday, we were scheduled to pick up my nephew to babysit. But, between church and getting David, we ambitiously decided to fit in a trip to Red Wing, MN. Matt and I had never visited before, and wanted to see the famous river town and bluffs. Unfortunately, we were constantly watching the clock, so by the time we arrived we only had 20 minutes to get the kids out of the car and explore. Basically, we heard about a lot of cool places, but never made it out of the parking lot to see them.

We're looking forward to visiting Red Wing again and spending more time in such a pretty and historic town.

After a nearly two hour drive, the girls enjoyed getting out and seeing the mighty Mississippi.

Pondering our Wandering

Don't Eat It!

Metzis Tasty Takeaway Hamburger with the lot - Australian style!
Originally uploaded by Vanessa Pike-Russell

If I have to suffer so do you. Yes, I'm officially on a diet. This morning I submitted my intent to return to work. Therefore, I have 30 days to lose 20 pounds. It could work right?

Also, at this time I would like to offer my thanks to my cousin who recently changed her blog to reflect all things cookie...nummy, delicious, mouthwatering, aromatic, scrumptious coookiiiieee....Yeah, in the name of skinniness, I won't be able to check your website for awhile...unless you offer a low fat blog option.

Hopefully, by announcing to the world that "I AM FAT!", I will be held accountable to get thin again.

We'll see, I'm three hours into the diet, and a cheesy crunchy gordita sounds awfully good right now...

Minnesota

Here's what we've been up to on our ever extending trip to Minnesota.

Within hours of our arrival, Emily came down with the flu. My mom graciously stayed up with her all night, so I could be free to take care of Ryan's many waking moments on that same night.

After a quick recovery, we all gathered for Easter, and the grandkids started to get acquainted.

The girls had a tea party...One lump or two?

The boys had a tea party...One lump or two?!

We'll be continuing the saga of our Minnesota vacation on future blogs. Stay tuned!

Easter

Here are a couple of photos that I never posted from our Easter. We didn't get our group shot, but here are the kids finding their baskets that morning. Hopefully, we'll be more camera ready next year, and we can get that coveted Easter family photo.

Where's my candy?!

No problem, I found my sister's instead!

Four Wheelin'

Barely six months old, and Ryan's up on all fours. As you can see he gets some serious height too...our little Air Jordan. He's getting the leg motion down, but hasn't figured out his arms yet, so he topples over onto his face with each good push!

For several weeks now, he's been able to drag himself from place to place, looking like the creature emerging from the Black Lagoon (but much cuter of course). Maybe he'll be really crawling soon! We'd better baby proof again!

Did you see that Mom?

Horton and the Who.