Attention:

Official Announcement:
Baby Holker #3 due to arrive July 2012

Catching Up - Pumpkin Patch

We took the kids to a pick your own pumpkin patch and they LOVED it.

Kendal's pumpkin

Kizzy's pumpkin

Kizzy tried really hard to pull the wagon full of pumpkins

They didn't like sharing the wagon with the pumpkins

So Kendal decided to walk

Kizzy liked the ride.

Catching Up - Camping

We took the kids camping one night this September. It was alot of fun. The kids loved their camping chairs and playing in the dirt. Honestly Kendal was filthy! Never have either of my kids been that dirty. We roasted brats for dinner. Our picky eaters ate buns and chips. After dinner we took a walk down to a nearby lake. I was not prepared for lake play so Kendal played in his onsie and Kizzy played in her undies and t-shirt and her apron which she refused to take off.

After the lake we changed to pajamas and roasted marshmallows. Kizzy hates marshmallows but she loved roasting them.

All in all it was a good time. It took the kids about an hour to get used to the idea of sleeping in a tent, but once they calmed down we slept pretty well. The campsite was right outside of Victoria, MN which is a very cute little town only about 30 miles west of Minneapolis.

Catching up - Minnesota State Fair

2 excited kiddos ready for our anual trip to the Great Minnesota Get Together!

We always kick off the day with a Pronto Pup corn dog.

Kendal's first pronto pup.

There was a enormous pit full of bubbles. The kids had a blast playing in the bubbles.

Kyle took both kids down the giant slide. They loved it!

Of all the rides to choose from Kizzy wanted to go on the airplane ride. Kyle couldn't have been happier at her preference.

We went with our good friends the Sorensen's this year and we had a blast. We had lots of good food. We browsed the vendors and walked around some animal exhibits and visited the birthing barn and saw the baby animals. We ran into some missionaries who were on their p-day. We had so much fun and are already looking forward to next year.

Catching up- Kizzy's Birthday

every year on Kizzy's birthday Kyle gets a picture with her. He wears the same shirt he wore when she was born.

Kizzy was so funny on her birthday. She had a wish list a mile long. On her birthday she wanted to go swimming, go jet skiing, see a light house, play with friends, go shopping, eat cake, and more. We were able to check off most things.

For her party she had her best friend Hannah and her family come over. We had pizza and tinkerbell cupcakes. They played on a slip and slide. We had her party one week early because Hannah's mom was pregnant and due any day and we didn't want to risk missing Hannah. On her actual birthday the baby still hadn't come so Hannah's family came over again and the daddy's took the girls jet skiing. Thank you Youngquists for helping us celebrate twice!

Happy Birthday Kizzy! I can't believe you are already 3.

Glass Doors

We were in an office building today that had solid glass doors. Kyle was holding the door open for us as I was coaxing the kids in the right direction. Kendal approached the pane next to the open door with his hands outstretched. I fully thought he was going to bang on the glass. Instead, he kept going straight into the glass. Unhurt, he fell backwards and just looked at me with a face expression I can only describe as "what the...." he was so confused. I was laughing so hard as I picked him up and carried him out and I heard the receptionist ask as I was walking out "is he ok?" but the door was closing and I was laughing too hard to respond. I hope she didn't take me for a horrible mother for laughing my head off when my son walks smack into a solid glass wall.

Lego cars!

Kendal was a crack up playing with some lego cars, I just had to share.

Kendal's Birthday Luau

For Kendal's birthday he had an Island themed party. He also opened presents...

and ate cup cakes....

and blew out his candle....

and had friends come over for dinner....

and served cupcakes made to look like a fun umbrella drink....

and had lots of fun decorations. Thanks every one who helped Kendal celebrate his first birthday. We all had a blast.

I know an internet star....

Just kidding, I don't really know an internet star. But I do know someone who is appearing on an internet reality TV show. My brother in law, Kurt (Kyle's younger brother) is a contestant on The Mormon Bachelorette. If it interests you at all you can check him out at www.themormonbachelorette.com. They are posting new videos daily of the girl's different dates. Last week Kurt's introduction video was posted and it's actually pretty good. If you watch it you will see snippets of Kyle, Kizzy, Kendal and myself. Kurt has already gone on his first date with the girl, but his episode has not aired yet. However, there is a video of the girl giving an interview with her local Fox News Channel and she talks about the date that she had just been on, and that date she is talking about was her date with Kurt. So, everyone check him out. Show some love and support by commenting on his video and when the time comes for the audience to vote, cast your vote in for Kurt. Check it out!

Entering an Unknown World

So today, I made a purchase. It was impulsive. It's an entirely different lifestyle. Not only that, it's a lifestyle that I swore I would not live. I was at Costco and on my list was a box of huggies diapers. There was a display for a company called Cutey Baby. Their product: (gulp) cloth diapers. Kyle and I had never ever discussed switching to cloth. I had even told people that I had absolutely no interest in anything other than disposable. But for some reason I received an impression to buy the cloth diapers. Without batting an eye or any hesitation at all, Kyle and I both were immediately inclined to try the cloth diapers. So wish me luck as I enter an unknown world.

Our Time in Utah

While in Utah, I wasn't very good at taking pictures. I was too busy enjoying my time with our friends and family. Our first day there we spent with Kyle's brother Kory and his family. Kizzy and Kendal loved playing with their cousins and it was fun for Kyle and I to spend time with Kory and Amber as they are anticipating the arrival of their #3, a little girl.

Kizzy playing with Andrew
After a day with Kory and Amber we drove down to Provo and settled in. That night we got to see some of our dearest friends Fuzzy and Stacey. Sadly, I took no pictures of our time with them.
The next day we hung out with Jared and Mary Ann which is always a good time. And that evening we went to dinner with Newel and Rachel. Again, no pictures of any of them.

Besides friends we had a lot of fun with cousins! We went to the mall with Ivy and Katie.


Kendal, Kizzy and Ivy in their strollers.

We played at Aunt Sharyn's house with Katie, Melissa, Hannah, Malakai, and Ivy almost every day.
Kyle, Malakai, Kizzy and Kendal

We had the chance to go see one of Kyle's mission buddies, Jeff. Jeff and Brandi's little guy, Dylan, is adorable! He and Kizzy played very well together and when they told him to give Kizzy a hug, he went and gave her a great big kiss right on the lips.


Dylan and Kizzy watching "Curious George" together

And the featured event of the week, Doug's graduation from Highschool. I'm very proud of him for graduating, especially considering how tough the last year has been for our family. Way to go Baby Brother!

Typical boys, trying to get a good picture, and they can't put down their phones. Just kidding, only one of them was on their phone, the other pulled his out of his pocket and staged the pose, can you tell which is faking? I love my brothers.

And last on this post, but not least we had a two year old birthday party for the 'twin' cousins. 2 of my sisters had their kids exactly one week apart and they had the same due date so they call Ivy and Malakai 'twin' cousins. There was cupcakes and baloons and every one had a good time.

The birthday girl.
Somehow I didn't get a picture of the birthday boy.

The cupcakes were delicious, can you tell?

Our Drive to Utah

So my pictures uploaded out of order, so this isn't chronologically correct, but you'll get the idea.
In May we went out to Utah to visit my family who all came into town for my youngest brother's highschool graduation. The drive is long, especially with kids, so we took some stops along the way to break up the drive and make it a little more fun.

Our first night on the road we stopped to sleep in Custer, South Dakota. Custer is a fun town right out side of Rapid City. It's close to MT Rushmore and has many attractions. One of our favorites is Bed Rock City, aka Flintstone Land.

For dinner the first night we stopped in Mitchell, South Dakota home to the worlds only Corn Palace. The sign and pillars in the picture below is made entirely from ears of corn and cornhusks.

Kendal struggled with the hours in the car. He hasn't quite become the road tripping pro that Kizzy has become in her short years. He struggled and fought it, but thankfully he did sleep....some.

Kizzy kept herself entertained easily. She watched cartoons, read books, colored and napped.

One thing that helped Kendal was, he snacked almost constantly. And, since we were on vacation, he ate more junk and sweets than normal, including his first sucker. He was one happy boy!

On our first day on the road we stopped in Jeffers, MN.

Kendal loved our first stop. He loves being out side and he loves the wind, and it was a very very windy day.

I took a lot of pictures of the petroglyphs, but this is the only one that showed up. It was really cool to walk amoung the ancient native american carvings.

"Little House" fans like me will appreciate this picture. Jeffers, MN is about 20 miles from Walnut Grove, MN which is where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived during the years of "On the Banks of Plum Creek" The site that Jeffers Petroglyphs is on is a protected Prairieland that is one of the only protected prairies in the US and is exactly the same as it was hundreds of years ago. It struck me looking at the landscape, that this is what Laura was looking at when she was a child. The picture of course does not capture the scope of the landscape.

And last but not least, to help our Potty Trainee, we brought her potty seat with us in the car, so when she needed to go, we pulled over on the side of the road so she could go. We'd empty the potty on the side of the road (biodegradable, right?) and we would be on our way. It worked great for a girl who notoriously waits until the very last second to go.

More to come, our time in UT spent with friends and family, including Newman Family pictures.