At 7:15, We Ride!

You know life is good when you get horsey rides to bed every night!

Lake Rathbun

A sudden turn of events prevented us from seeing our extended family this weekend.  Our bags were already packed, the kids were broken hearted, and we had a dog sitter lined up (thanks Jada!). So we improvised.  We made a spontaneous trip to Lake Rathbun to visit the indoor water park! The weather was great and there was hardly any snow down there. The weekend was a long series of successes...

The water park was great. It was geared towards little kids and the water was super warm. It also included a small lazy river and a hot tub. We all had a blast! 

Erin had her first successful night sleeping in a "big girl bed" with Ella.  We've been trying to transition her to this and finally she cooperated (after several minutes of giggles and whispers). 

We had a block of time to kill when we arrived so we scoped out the lake and went looking for eagles while the girls napped in the back seat! We saw about 15 of them! (I admit, Derek pointed out all of them.)

On our way home, we detoured over to Williamsburg where I endulged in some excellent clearance sales (during naps, again).

And last but not least, we saw a flock of literally HUNDREDS of robins on our way home. A sure sign of spring!

 

To Make Matters Worse

There has been a long drawn out saga on Erin's healthcare. She was sick a lot over the summer and fall and we weren't happy with the care we were getting at the family doctor so we switched to a new Pediatrician. It's not that I think Erin's health is much different than a normal toddler, but I can only pay so many copays for them to tell us "it's viral and there's nothing they can do."  Erin was on nebulizer treatments alot and it never seemed to go away completely. The last straw was when I went there feeling completely miserable. I was in tears when I left because the doctor had no concern and wrote on a piece of paper "sucrets" to help with my relief. (As if I couldn't remember cough drops at the drug store without the note).  I had some words for the doctor that day and left very angry. Two days later, my strep test came back positive and I was furious. Fast forward two months, and we've all been happy with our new Pediatrician for Erin.

On TUESDAY, Erin caught our cold and just wasn't quite herself so we took her in. She was diagnosed with an ear infection and was back to herself within a day. The good news was that we've really started to love the care she received at her pediatrician's office and always seem to get results there. She was always on call and willing to write us a prescription when necessary.

The bad news is that on FRIDAY, we received a letter in the mail that the office is closing. Effective February 14 (Friday). ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I can understand sending the letter, but Derek was in there on Tuesday and never once was it mentioned that they were closing. So now I'm back to square one.

Elkader

We had a mid-winter getaway spending the day in Elkader in honor of their great Grandpa Everett. I  can't believe how nice the weather was up there. We met Gma Betty for church along with the rest of our Gustafson family. We spent the day playing at Gma's house and sharing a huge breakfast.  The girls have been spoiled on these last two trips to Elkader having Gma Betty almost all to themself!

Easton - 1 year old

I recently had the chance to take a few pictures of my nephew, Easton, who just turned one! It was a good chance to practice with my new lens, too. These were a couple of my favorites. (Does anyone else think he looks like a banker in his rocking chair??) LOL!

What you can't see is the chaos surrounding him.  Erin, Derek, Trista, Me, and Leo were all in a tiny little bedroom watching our little model!!

Eyeballs

Lately, Ella has talked non-stop about eyeballs. I'm not trying to gender stereotype here but I'm sure this comes from her class of mostly boys. She is constantly making jokes and filling in my sentences with the word eyeballs, so now we shoot it right back to her and beat her to the punch! We tell her we're having eyeballs for supper and we're taking a bath with eyeballs and we're shoveling eyeballs outside. There is a lot of maturity around here!

100 Days

Last week, Ella celebrated her 100th day of preschool!! They did several fun activities.... made treats that looked like 100, counted gumballs, jumped for 100 seconds, etc.

The best part of the day was dressing the kids like 100 year olds.

Sledding

This past weekend, we spent some time at Hickory Hills, a local park that has hills to sled on. We also enjoyed going there to feed the animals (elk and bison). Easton, Gma and Gpa Gustafson came along for the fun!!!

Elmoville

For those of you who remember, Ella use to have a deep obsession with Elmo. I loved it, because it was the first character she latched on to. It was also the first show she fell in love with and the shows were mildly entertaining.

Derek has recently got Erin hooked on Elmo. All week, they've spent their last few minutes at night rocking in a chair while she watches the show. It is so sweet!!

Things That Make Me Stop and Say..."Wait.....what?"

Part 1: 

Erin, talking to Siri (the computer-voice on our IPhone that talks to us):
"Love you!"

Siri: "I bet you say that to all of your Apple Products."

Part II:

Ella and I are putting together a puzzle with a large chicken on it. The moment we get all the pieces together, she yells:

"CHICKEN TENDERS!!!!"