Miami

We were very fortunate to be able to spend a weekend in Miami recently. Here are a few highlights from the trip:

1. Jack went on his very first airplane ride - which was quite eventful!

We decided to get a free fare for him since he is currently under two - so he lap-sat. We were seated in a row of three next to a very very nice woman. She was so sweet to all of us. Unfortunately there were some delays in taking off. We left on a morning when it was about -20, so there were so frozen "lines" on the plane. Two hours later the lines were finally thawed and we thought we were under way. We were pushed back from the gate only to realize that the plane would now not start. hummm... Jeremy and I were both wondering if this vacation was a good idea or not. Well, thankfully this problem was resolved more quickly than the last and we were finally off. At this point, everyone has been on the plane as long as we had planned on, but our journey had just begun. The sweet woman next to us was overheated and needed to get up for a while. We obliged her, of course. Well, she was so overheated that she fainted in the aisle. We spent a good part of the rest of the trip out of our seats, in the aisles, and in the galley as she recovered laying down in our row, fainted again, and recovered again! It was certainly a memorable flight. One that we will always remember. The way home was vastly different, we are proud to report! Jack even got his own seat!

2. We visited the Miami Sea Aquarium. It was a beautiful day to be outside and we so enjoyed it! Jack got so tuckered out after lunch that he fell asleep during the Killer Whale Show! I could not believe it! He just fell asleep watching the show while sitting on Jeremy's lap. :)

3. We played on the beach. This was Jack's very first visit to an ocean. He loved to let the waves tickle his toes, but he did not like it when the waves tickled all of his legs. We got soaked! It was fun for him to run in the sand and see the foot prints he was making behind him.

4. We visited the Miami Zoo! It was a huge zoo. We marvelled at the vast variety of animals we saw. Amazing. They even have two variety of elephants!

5. On a day when Daddy had to work, Jack and I visited the Miami Children's Museum. We learned about Florida Produce - like oranges.

6. Jack was a total beach bum...He loved playing in the biggest sandbox EVER! We played cars, ran around, chased the birds, fed the birds and even had a picnic lunch. Baby made it into a picture too (in case you are wondering what that big pink hill is below!)

New Titles!

We all get new titles!

Aunty Marlene, Uncle Jeremy & Cousin Jack!!!

My sister and her husband Tim are expecting their first baby in September. We couldn't be happier for them. It is a very exciting time for them. I am even more excited that our babies will only be six months apart in age. I loved having cousins that were my age growing up. What a joy and blessing this baby is already.

Fun Kids Book

Jack and I ran across this book at the library a few months ago. He loves it. I have enjoyed reading it to him. It is a really funny little story about a pigeon who tries to convince you to let him drive a bus. The pigeon uses every excuse in the book to try to persuade the reader to let him drive the bus! It is a very silly book.

This book reminds me of my sweet Jack because we can already see that he has many qualities of a salesman in him. He is very persistent when he wants his way and he tries to convince you, yes at 23 months, to let him proceed in his desires. He will even ask dad if mom says no, and the other way too. We are stunned at his cleverness.

All in all, we trust his heart to the Lord and pray that this persistence pays off not for his own benefit but for the glory of the Lord!

Happy New Year!

Jack and I practiced saying, "Happy New Year!" to everyone we saw in preparation for our celebration with some of his buddies! We gathered with some friends that we don't see often enough and centered the party around a celebration for the kids. They had games, crafts, activities or party favors wrapped in packages that they could open every half hour or so. We started at seven and counted down at nine. It was a great time. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

Balloon Volleyball...keeping the ball in the air!

Snack Time! Yummy

After the countdown we had a bubble wrap stomp!
It was so much fun and they LOVED it.
It sounded like there were fireworks going off in our house!



On New Years Day we spent the day as a family at the Children's Museum of Minnesota.

Jack got to drive a bus!!

He also impressed us with his fine cuisine and cooking skills (I guess all that helping in the kitchen is paying off!). He made a delicious steak seasoned to perfection!

Happy 2009 Everyone!