You Know You're From Nebraska When . . .

You know you're from Nebraska when you find yourself pulling over to the side of the road to take pictures of cows.  But I ask you, what is cuter than a baby cow?

Maybe only a baby cow skipping through a field with his friend baby lamb.

And here he is, the originator of the Energy Drink, Mr. Red Bull. 

Who needs a guard dog when you've got this bad boy?

Never Fear, Sparkle Girl Is Here!

Little did our friend Peter know, but when he brought back this fancy-shmancy mask from a fish conference in New Orleans, he was unleashing the powers of a pint-sized super hero.

Yes, Sparkle Girl is here to leap tall buildings, and generally, save the day.

If only this dang sparkle bike wasn't so hard to ride!

Seriously, where's that sparkle getaway mobile when our superhero needs it?

If only Sparkle Girl could foil her arch nemesis, Corduroy Boy, then she'd really have a reason to celebrate.

In the mean time, Sparkle Girl plucks up some pesky weeds that threaten to overtake our backyard. 

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Junior Fire Patrol

Here are some pictures from the MOPS outing we've been waiting all year for: The annual fire station tour! 

I think the firehouse crew is used to catering to older, school-age tour 

groups. . . kids who can shout out the numbers 9-1-1 instead of crawling over to gnaw on the nearest pair of rubber boots. 

Still, there were enough fire-safety-savvy toddlers to make up for the high number of droolers.

 

Maybe that wasn't so lucky, considering they were the ones setting off the alarm buttons while checking out the trucks. 

(Here's Megan, looking a little surprised when the alarm went off. 

Just for the record, I don't think any of our kids were the ones setting off the alarms.

Isabella was more interested in the Bobcat driving around in the parking lot than the fire engines. 

(I think Anderson will give Katie a run for her money in the "Jr. Fire Patrol Chief" Department because he went through the line to sit in the fire truck at least ten times.)

We got see the same fire crew again a week later when they came to our house because Anderson was having problems breathing. (Poor Agnes probably had a heart attack when she walked in and saw them in our living room.)

Fortunately, everything turned out OK and he had an exciting ride in the ambulance--and we got a free souvenir teddy bear that will only end up costing us a couple hundred dollars.

All in all, we are big fans of the fire department!!

Daffy for Daffodils

I am a sucker for a big field of flowers. I would love to go to France just to see the lavender fields. (And the Eiffel Tower. And the Eclairs.)

When we passed this gigantic patch of daffodils, I had to pull over.

Technically, I don't think we were breaking any laws. We weren't picking any flowers, just tiptoe-ing through them.

While carrying a gigantic stick.

(This picture of Isabella reminds me so much of me when I was little. It's weird.)

OK, so maybe we picked a few flowers. . . 

I tried to stop them, but it was like standing in  a strawberry field without tasting a few for tartness or visiting the Jelly Belly factory without getting a free sample.

Anderson was very sorry. Or at least he looked like he might have been. 

Isabella wasn't as sorry, but she did get a very bad case of chapped lips for some reason by the time we headed back home.

Another Year Bites the Dust

February is a busy month for birthdays: Grandma Pam (whose present I still haven't sent. Yikes! Sorry, Mom.), Grandpa Marty, and our all-around favorite caviar taster: little Andy--who is now pushing forty!

Unfortunately for Andrew his birthday falls in February every year (obviously). But that happens to be the same month, every year, when we attempt to tighten our belts and stick to our new year's budget. 

(Fortunately for me, that whole budget thing wears off in time for my October birthday.)

In keeping with our tightwad traditions, we made the homemade cake,

recycled the new year's party favors, 

I

and we may even figure out someway to capitalize financially on Isabella's Little Jack Horner thing that she has going. I wonder if they need a spokesmodel for Christmas plums?

Hopefully he had a happy birthday anyway. He sure does a lot to make us happy! We love you Andrew!

Spring in the Vineyards

I lived in Napa Valley for the first few years that I lived in California, so it holds a special place in my heart. 

Every spring, I drag anyone who will hold still long enough, to have their pictures taken in the vineyards. 

This time we went with our good friends (twins!) from Winters. We met in a playgroup while I was still pregnant with Anderson. I can hardly believe it's been two years!

Isabella and J have had a love/hate relationship. Fortunately, it was all love on this rainy Friday afternoon.

Isabella reminds me of their basset hound Margaret in this picture.

It was hard to keep track of the four of them as they raced through the field. But Mommy Megan was quick enough to catch Anderson.  (She's a really great photographer--she took the giant picture of our fam that you may have seen in our living room. Check out her website:http://www.meganwilkinsonphotography.com/)

We Love Dad

There's no question, we are crazy about Andrew!  

Anderson has a way of holding your face still, so he can plant a big 

wet one on ya.

When we hear the excessively-loud sound of Andrew's Toyota approaching each night, we sprint for the door. (I, of course, keep running half of the time--but only because I'm eager to have a break from the toddler brigade.)

Today was an especially exciting day because we played several rounds of "Beauty Parlor" as you can see in the following curly-haired photo of Isabella. 

I really do like this game. I'd play it every day if I could get the little munchkins to hold still. Maybe I should have been a beautician? 

I guess it's never too late. After I get done scrubbing backdrops at the Picture People, I could head on over to Great Clips and sweep a little hair.  Hmmmm.