Who's Garage is This?

I will never forget when my Grandma was here at Christmas, we walked her into the house through the garage and she said, "This garage is a pig sty!" We finally had some time and I hauled everything out and hung things up and now we have so much more room! The kids had a great time going up the stairs to check out the attic. What a great feeling of accomplishment!
Sunday we went to church, napped, and played in the yard! We took the kids up to MSU where they had all kinds of room to ride their bikes. Drew tried a ride on Evan's old bike with training wheels and did great! The yard was mowed and fertilized. Monday we had a lazy day. The kids wanted to put flags out in the front in honor of Memorial Day. They put them in a row in front of the fence. I got to sleep in!!! We spent most of the day outside! Then Evan had baseball practice and the other kids played at the school.
That's all for now and thanks for stopping by!

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An AWESOME Mother's Day Week-End

I must say that I have the most wonderful husband and kids! They not only made this Mother's Day a great one, but the whole week-end was a celebration for me. Saturday it was beautiful out and we spent the entire day outside. Ken cleaned up the front flowerbed and the kids and I put together a picnic table and a bench for the backyard. Then when the kids napped, Ken went to Menard's and got flowers and mulch. We planted all afternoon and got the mulch in and it looks so great! We made the flowerbed in the front smaller and have to put some sod in but it looks so good. We made the one in the back a little smaller and have our big birdbath out there.
Then on Sunday we went to Church and are really liking this new Church. It is called Messiah Lutheran. They have more of a contemporary service and lots of people and they are very good with the children. The church is full with lots of small children so we don't feel like ours are being so loud. I hope that we end up staying there. It is also the Church that Maddy and her family go to. (She is my daycare baby.)
I hope that all of the Mother's out there also had a great day!
Thanks for stopping in!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

How Time Flies

Hi,
I know that it has been weeks since I updated anything here. It seems that since the warmer weather is here that there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything in. The kids have been outside so much! It is wonderful.
Last Friday, Ken went to the cities to get some camping gear from some of his Mom's friends. They have been in their house for 42 years and it was time to get rid of things. I can't believe how generous they were. We have some wonderful camping gear, tents, and sleeping bags included. Ken put up tents in the front yard to the kids got to check them out. Abbie didn't like it when and ant came in her tent. We are excited about taking the kids to camp. I am hoping there will be showers close by!
While he was getting the camping gear the kids got to spend some time with Grandma Dolly and Grandpa Gordy. The took the kids to a community center with a huge play place. They had a really great time!
Daycare is going great. I have 3 full time kids, one that comes every day after school and then two part-time kids. We are really in the swing of things and it gets easier as it goes. I will be up to renew my license in Nov. and I will change it so I can have more preschoolers and then I should be busy, busy!
Ken ran into one of his co-workers and they were talking about May baskets and she said " People just don't have tine to do that anymore." Kens reply was, "Abbie and Krista made some for me to bring to the clinic. " To which she replied,"Those stay at home Moms have tome to do that stuff." I am so glad that Ken stood up for me and said that I own a daycare business AND the baskets were made after daycare hours!!! Way to go Ken. Abbie and I had a really fun time making them and the nurses loved them. Owen was sick with stomach bug and Ken had to pass them out but it is the thought that counts. We love to make crafts!
I think that is about it for now. Oh, we had a visit from Aunt Stacy and she brought the kids their souvenirs from Ireland and me LOTS of chocolate! Is that because she knows I love chocolate or so her weight loss goes better than mine? HAHAHA
Take care and I will get some photos on soon.

Beautiful Weather

What a beautiful week-end we had! The weather is starting to get nice and the ground might dry up so the kids have been out for the last three days. Andrew wanted to go out and play before 8AM today. We were going to try and get the kids to the Zoo but we decided to stay in Mankato and with them being out in the yard I got to sort out toys, put pieces back with the right toys, and clean out our biggest closet. One of those projects that takes a few hours. Papers get stacked and put onto shelves. There are thousands of photos that need a home. I am hoping to start scrap booking with daycare Moms and our good friend Denise. It would take me couple of days just to get organized and sort pictures out. I can't wait until we get that going.

I had a little boy, Christian, that started with us today. So far, so good. He is one and he and Owen have been playing. Abbie and Drew like to chase Owen and call him "poopy monster." Now with Christian, hopefully, they can leave he and Owen to play together.

That is all for now. I hope that all of you are able to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather. Take care and thanks for stopping by!

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HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY, OWEN!!

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The New Car

Check out our video below. The kids got to drive their new car yesterday and they loved it. Owen just tried to stay out of their way. They were so excited to get it out and they even had the radio on. Thanks Grandma and Papa!!!

We had a fun day and watched the Championship hockey game last-night.

Next will be coming the pictures of the kids and their Easter Egg Hunt!

HAPPY EASTER

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Great week-end despite the rainy weather

It's already Monday and yet another week-end just flew by! We had an action packed week-end. Mom & Dad, ie. Grandma and Papa, got here late Thursday night. Friday we had the whole day to spend together. they got to meet Maddy. Owen his Birthday present, a little early. He loved his new bike. The twins also got their Birthday present, way early. They got a battery powered car. Unfortunately, it was too wet to drive it.

They got to see all of us skate at our lessons on Saturday! Once again the twins skated and did awesome. I am improving but still nervous. Owen also skated a little and loves it. Then we went to Eva's Jamboree. They played great and won their games. Evan had 2 goals and I think the biggest cheering section. We were definitely the loudest. There was our family, Grandma & Papa, Grandma Dolly & Grandpa Gordy, and Uncle Jeff. We brought our cow bells and had a lot of fun.

We came home and made Easter cookies and frosted them. I learned how to make frosting!! Naps. Supper. Baths.

We missed church and slept in, at least I did. Then we hit rewind on the camera and watched the old video that was on it. It was Evan's 4th Birthday. It was a big party and lots of fun memories for all of us. Then Grandma and Papa had to go home. We had lunch and headed out in the rain to do some shopping.

Hope you enjoyed the photos! See you again soon and thanks for stopping by!

Proud Hockey Dad

Two things to say. One- I never thought I would post anything on a blog. Two-Not one to brag about family but... This past weekend all four kids were in skates and on the ice. Andrew and Krista had there lessons first. (Pretty cool that mom is re-learning to skate so she can appreciate the game a bit more). They came off the ice and Abbie and Evan did their lessons. I took Andrew's skates off and Owen (not quite 2 years old) started putting them on, so I figured what the heck they have the same size feet. I laced 'em up and Owen started walking around the locker room. He wasn't satisfied until he put his feet on the ice so while the others had their lesson, Owen and I went on the ice and he loved it. He wouldn't let me take "his" skates off until the other had theirs off and he knew for sure that we were leaving. My hope and wish is that every dad out there has "these" moments and has more moments than he can count or remember. Ken

Green Eggs and Ham Anyone?

We missed our annual St. Patrick's Day tradition at home so we made s urprise dinner for Ken yesterday! He said, "This is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen." We had green omelettes,
green ham, and toast. The kids thought it was the coolest thing we have ever made. We all had the green food and it didn't slow the eating down one bit. It was really fun to do and we hope to continue the tradition for many years to come.

Spring Fever

We have had the most beautiful past few days. Yesterday it was 81 here and we celebrated by being outside all day. We have a sand table on the deck the kids can play in without getting muddy. Our yard needs a good couple of days to dry out but the way the weather has been the kids just don't want to stay in the house. We have designated mud shoes and shoes to wear to the store.

We made our first trips to the park with all of the daycare kids and things went great. They were all very well behaved and good listeners. That is so important with crossing the busy streets.

The kids are all great. I can't believe that my baby is going to be 2 in a couple of weeks. He is the size of a 3 year old.

Evan has a hockey tournament this week-end and Grandma and Papa are coming up for it and Grandpa Gordy and Grandma Dolly are coming also. Evan will have a big cheering section! It will be nice to be done with hockey. It is a long comitment, 6 months.

Skating lessons are going great! The twins skated with no screaming and I did very well myself.

Maddy, my daycare baby, is 6 months old and has started to eat baby food. So far so good. I am out of practice. Messy, messy. She has grown so much since starting here.

Take care.

BIG Week-end

We had such a great week-end. We left Thursday afternoon for Minneapolis to see the WCHA Final Five Tournament. There were games and they were all fun to see. Of course, some of them were much more exciting than the others. Evan became a Gophers fan. Ken and I were for any team that could beat them. The first night, Evan got a puck from one of the team managers. The next day he got a puck, a roll of tape and then Wheeler, #17 on the Gophers, scored three goals. That is called a hat trick and the fans throw their hats on the ice. One landed on my head and Evan got to keep that, it was a Gopher hat, of course. The final game for the Championship was won by Wheeler scoring the winning goal in over time. He was tripped and going across the ice on his belly, swung the stick with one hand and scored the winning goal. After the game Evan was giving them knuckles and a coach gave him a Final Five Championship hat. He also got a stick. Not just any stick, the game winning stick of Blake Wheeler. It was awesome and he was so excited. Wheeler is 6'5". The stick is 6'. What a haul he made. He had a very awesome sign that his Uncle Jeff made and he was on the jumbotron if front of 20,000 people! We don't know if he made FSN or not. It was so much fun and Evan just loved it!!

The twins spent their days with Grandma Rosemary and Grandpa Mark. They were brave and took them out to eat. We walked in the skywalks downtown and had a good time. On Sunday we spent the afternoon with Grandma Dolly and Grandpa Gordy. They went to the park, while I took a nap. They had a good time and all the kids napped ont he way home.

That is all for now. Take care and have a great week.

Wow! How time flies. I have been checking out other blogs and waiting for them to update and then looked at my own and realized that it has been a while since I put anything on. We have been distracted by warm weather. Our snow is mealting very fast and the kids are dying to get outside. Ken took them puddle jumping at MSU on Monday. They had a blast. Yesterday it was 65 here!! Today, clod and rainy!

Jess and Jill, our friends from IA, came up for a few days and we had a lot of fun with them. For the last two years they have come up and we go shopping. LAst year we got some clothes for me and this year we got clothes for the kids. We have their Easter outfits and I can't wait until they wear them. Then I can put pictures up on here.

Daycare is going well. Busy, busy but it is fun. The time change has been a little hard on the kids but today they are finally getting back on track. It is a dark and dreary day so hopefully that will mean good naps for all.

We are heading out the the WCHA Final Five. That is a hockey tournament and there are five teams and games. We are excited to go and we leave tomorrow afternoon for the cities and come back Sunday.

We also went to IA and had Grandma's 85th Birthday party. It was fun and seeing all of the kids was great. My cousins twins are adorable! They were born the same day as my daycare baby, Maddy. Then my other cousin's oldest, Dylan was there also. He is adorable too. The kids found an air mattress there and decided to ride it down the stairs. They had a great time and lots of laughs. Grandma had fun seeing all of the kids!

That's all for now and I will let you know how the games turn out! Take care and have a good week-end!

We Made It

We all survived the week. Ken left Sunday about 4 for Chicago. It was the first day in a long time that I had to get all the kids fed and Evan off to school. We did that just fine and he got to walk to the bus by himself and was very proud to do that. Rosemary came down Monday morning and was here until today. It was great to have and extra set of hands. It was great not to have to worry at all about supper and just spend time witht he kids. The daycare kids loved her too. Thanks Rosemary!!

Ken had a board review class and it was "like being back in school. They went from 7AM to 6PM and then had a 120 question test each niight. He met one of his friends that he used to work with at Medic in Davenport, IA. He is also a PA and he lives in MI. They were glad to go through the torture together. Ken left earlyt Friday and got home about 7:30 and didn't hit any bad roads until he was in Rochester. And what a relief to get him home.

We had about 14 inches of snow from the storm last week and another 14-15 from this one. There is so much snow the kids had a hard time walking around in the back. We are going to make a big slide in the front in the space between our driveways and the next. It should be fun.

Our babaysitters form IA are coming tomorrow. They are 20 now! YIKES!!! For those of you that don't know, they are twins and we met them when they were 7. This is the second year that they spent their Spring Break with Team Bentson. It is fun to have them here and it is also a shopping trip!

WE, notice I said we, started skatoing lessons today. I am in a class for beginners and the twins are in a class. Evan is also in lessons so he can "be a better skater." I was nervous but she said that I did great! I din't fall anyway. The twins and Evan did very well. Then Ken and Evan had practice tonight.

We are planning a quiet night and a quiet day tomorrow and get ready for the new week to start.

Take care and thanks for checking in!!

Here are some photos for our week-end. Our trip to IA was changed for two weeks from now, because of the weather. We spent Saturday cutting hair, naps, groceries, and Abbie and I went to her first MSU game. We won and it was so much fun.

Today we all played in the snow. Then Ken headed out for Chicago. We had a great week-end!