Hallow's Eve

Tonight I got home and we started making our chili. Needless to say, it didn't turn out the way we planned. So, we ended up scrapping that dinner. We are going to try it again some other night. We do still have the yummy corn bread muffins though to eat! Sophia had fun running around with this Gerbera daisy that Hal got from work today before dinner.


Then after Sophia ate dinner, she helped me make cookies for tomorrow. Once the cookies were done, we started working on cleaning up the house. We got the house cleaned up and the dishes done. Sophia was eager to stuff her treat bags for Corey's house so we decided that would be our next job.
She enjoyed putting her treats in the Halloween bags. I was trying my best to make sure that they didn't get squished.

Once we finished with her treats, we gathered our candy for tomorrow night and put it into the candy bowl. Sophia thought that it was funny when Hal put it on his head.

Then it was off to bed for Sophia. Hal and I made dinner and got the rest of the house ready for tomorrow.

I am quite excited for our Halloween party tomorrow at school. It should be tons of fun. Happy Halloween!

Big Girl Crafts

Today Sophia and I had a busy day. I posted this morning about how we got Booed. That was quite exciting. Then it was off to Corey's house. Sophia had a very busy day at Corey's. She unfortunately didn't go potty today on the big girl potty chair. Oh well not every day will be a potty day yet. Sophia got to move into the big girl group today and do the craft with the big kids. She colored this really cute picture of some Halloween characters. We put it up on the fridge tonight.

After school, I ran a couple of errands for school Halloween supplies. I am excited for the big party/costume parade on Friday. Then I went to the Y and ran a quick 3 miles before I taught my Bodyflow class. Auntie Sarah came to class and that was really fun. I also brought trick-or-treats for my participants and left with none! I guess they were a hit! Then I was supposed to be practicing for the new launch with some of the other instructors tonight after my class and they didn't show. Weird!

So it was off to the grocery to get some supplies for Friday and for chili for dinner tomorrow night. I can't wait to try this recipe. It was weird to be in the grocery all by myself. Normally I have a squirmy little girl to entertain.

When I got home, my mom was putting Sophia to bed. Hal finished painting in the kitchen tonight and it looks fantastic!! I made some dinner and worked on soaking the beans for the chili. Holy beans! There are a ton of them!

I am really looking forward to Friday and Halloween. I can't wait to take Sophia trick-or-treating. She is quite lucky as she gets to go during the day with Corey and her friends too. We are going to stop by Nana and Papa's on Friday and then the Community Center on the way home too.

We have a busy weekend ahead of us that I can't wait for. Saturday morning we are attending the homecoming breakfast at the U of M. Go Gophers. Then Sophia, Nana, and I are heading to the Mall of America. I can't wait to do some shopping! Sunday it is back to normal with laundry and getting ready for the week.

More tomorrow......

Carving Pumpkins

Today was a long day as I had early morning extended. It was hard to get up this morning and my energy slowly drained throughout the day. When I went to pick Sophia up from Corey's we celebrated her potty success. She has been going at Corey's house now too which is exciting. We got in the car and headed home.

Hal got home about the same time we did. Then he started making our gourmet dinner: basil pesto grilled cheese sandwiches. He made the pesto homemade and it was wonderful! It totally hit the spot after a long day! After dinner, we cleaned up and began carving our pumpkins. Sophia had a great time reaching in the pumpkins and playing with the seeds. Check out her adventures below:

Sophia checking out the pumpkin with Hal


Stirring the seeds with mommy


Reaching inside the pumpkin

We finished up our pumpkins and took a picture of our final products

The kitty and the funny face

This morning as we were on our way to Corey's I noticed a bag on our front step. Guess what......we were Booed last night!

Tonight Sophia is getting picked up by Papa and Nana and I'm off to the Y. I have to work and then practice my Bodyflow for the new release next week. When I get home, I am going to get dinner set up for tomorrow. I'm trying a brand new chili recipe. Wish me luck! It's almost Friday!

My new winter coat

Tonight Sophia tried on her new winter coat to go with the hat/mittens that I got for her. I think that I should've done this the other way around and did the jacket first and then the hat/mittens.

Check out this adorable little pink snowflake!


After modeling her jacket and hat for Hal, we went downstairs to play toys. Sophia and I made letter necklaces and had a dance party. It was quite fun!

We finished our nightly routine of books and milk and I put Sophia to bed. After putting her to bed, I headed over to the community center to work out. I met another mom tonight which was fun. We talked Food Network and clothes. She used to be a buyer for Target in the infant and toddler department. She has two little boys.

I just got home a bit ago and am going to head off to bed soon. My book is so good right now it is hard to put down. If you haven't experienced Stephanie Meyer the Twilight Series I highly suggest you pick it up!! I can barely wait until the movie comes out on the 21st of November.

Well, I'm off to bed to read. I have early morning extended tomorrow. We will have some great pictures to post tomorrow night after my evening workout as we are carving pumpkins. Yippee pumpkin seeds!

Ready for Christmas

Yesterday was a busy day. The snow started to fall and it felt like we should be getting ready for Christmas instead of Halloween. Sophia got up bright and early at 5:30. She didn't really fall back asleep at all. My sister-in-law came over to see our new house and go running with me. We got a good run in. I'm proud as my time is getting faster with 3.5 miles. Tonight I'm up to 4. I'm trying to do my best with sticking on my training for the half-marathon in January.

After our run, Sophia and I hung out at home and had some lunch. Sophia had some fun playing with her toys. She did quite a bit of playing with her new favorite toy, Noah's Ark.

Then we went and met my mom (Nana) at Old Navy to do some shopping. I got some clothes and Sophia got a new winter coat. It is just adorable! After that trip, we went to Target to see if we could find the rest of our Halloween lights. No such luck! We did however find our first Christmas purchase, a reindeer headband. Luck at this adorable new addition to Santa's team.


After shopping, we came home and Sophia took a nap. While she napped, I got some much needed cleaning and organizing done in the house. We are having our first round of company this week on Friday for Halloween so I'm trying my best to get a little organized before people come over.

Sophia and I colored some pictures and had some dinner. Then Hal came home and we played toys and read books. Sophia had a bath and then it was off to bed for her.

This morning I had to take a picture of my little girl all pretty in pink. Check out her new tights. She loves that they have fake shoes on them!


Tonight the gutter guy is coming over. Not sure what Sophia and I will be up to. I'm heading out to the community center to run tonight after she goes to bed. Stay tuned for an update this evening!

Monster Dash and the Zoo Boo

We had a very busy day today. We started off the day by getting up early and dressing up in our Halloween costumes. Then we were off to the Monster Dash 5k. Sophia had a great time trick-or-treating as we went and looking at all of the people and dogs in costume. We ran the race with our friends Matt and Renee. We all dressed in 80s workout gear. It was quite a pretty sight!

After finishing the race, we all hung out and had some snacks. Sophia was thrilled to have a banana. By the way, she was a bee if you can't tell.

Then we headed home after having our post-race banana. On the way home, we stopped at the lake quickly to take some pictures.

Hal and Sophia in front of Lake Calhoun

Sophia was hungry when we got home as it was past her lunch time. So we had some lunch and played toys for a bit. Then we headed over to HOM furniture in search of a sectional for our family room. We found a couple of things we like. We will need to go back to Macys and Slumberland as we found some at both that we liked too. We made a quick pit stop at the storage unti before heading home for Sophia to take her big girl nap.

She was super tired when she went down. She didn't get too much of a nap, as we had to get up and have a snack before getting ready for the Zoo Boo at Como Zoo. She got all dressed up in her costume and we headed out. It was the cutest event ever. There were just tons of people. I couldn't believe it. The zoo was set up with all different stations and people dressed up to go along with the stations. There were several places to take pictures and she got to trick-or-treat too. I told her she was lucky she got to go twice in one day and before Halloween too!

Hal and Sophia entering the gates

The Three Little Pigs

Pirates Cove

Sophia checking out the tiger and the lion

We didn't get home until almost 8 tonight. Then Sophia had her books, milk, and it was off to bed. Hal and I had our leftover pizza from last night for dinner and watched the Gophers Hockey game. I'm off to bed now as I'm getting up early to meet my sister-in-law to go running.

Tomorrow Sophia and I are going to do some shopping with Nana. I'm quite excited about that. You know how the girls love to shop!

My first digger

Yesterday Hal picked Sophia up from Corey's house. When I got back from working out I arrived home to see Sophia's first digger on her face. Corey has a fireplace in which Sophia is obsessed in climbing on. So she was climbing to get the chairs on the fireplace that Corey put up there so the kids couldn't reach them and got one. Along with getting the chair, she also scraped her face on the way down. She still looks adorable even with red rash on her chin.


After eating a delicious dinner of pancakes that Hal made for us, we were off to try and go meet Vince Flynn at Border's Bookstore. Along the way we made a couple of stops at Bed Bath and Beyond, World Market, and Seasonal Concepts. I am on a mission to find us some cool new towels for our house. When we got into Seasonal Concepts they had all of their Christmas decorations out. They were getting set up for an open house tonight. Sophia and I stumbled upon this really odd tree.

I'm not sure if you can see the middle of the tree very clear, but it has a clear plastic tube with a bubbler running through the middle of the tree. The water changed color too. I thought that this tree was quite crazy, and so was the price......$500!!!!!!!!! As we left the store, I was till questioning who in their right mind would EVER spend the money on this!!

After we got home, we put Sophia to bed and Hal worked to try and hook up our new wireless router. Little did he know, it was defective. Oh well......
Tonight we are going to do some errands after school and head to the Y. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow with the Monster Dash and the Zoo Boo.
Happy Friday!

Sophia's ABCs

Tonight I got home from the Y a bit later as I went to spinning with my sister-in-law after teaching my class. I left the class early so I could see Sophia before she went to bed. Hal told me that they had a great time hanging out. They went to Target and got some new phones and some dinner. They also looked for more Halloween lights, but they weren't able to find any. Then they came home had dinner and had a bath. Sophia had a Rice Krispy Treat today at Corey's house and it apparently got quite messy. After having a bath they played toys together. When I walked in the door, they were waiting for me. I was so excited to see both of them. Then Sophia showed off her new talent. They have really been working on the ABCs at Corey's and we have been working on them at home/in the car. Sophia said all of the letters tonight up to letter H. I didn't have the camera handy, but got her a second time. Here's the video I got of her saying some of the ABCs. She didn't say as many letters this time though.

Wild Child and the Very Large Pumpkin

Yesterday Sophia perked and was feeling better. When I went to pick her up from Papa and Nana's she was glad to see me. Then we were off to run our errands that we didn't get to from Monday night. Our first stop was Great Harvest Bread Company to get some granola for me. It just so happened that they also had pumpkin cookies with white chocolate chips in them. Sophia and I decided we would give one a try. Then we were off to Target.

In Target, Sophia was being so funny and talking up a storm. She also decided it was time to try the cookie and loved it so much that she ate almost the whole thing! I got a little bite and it was wonderful! One of the main reasons we went to Target tonight was to get our Halloween decorations for outside. That is when we found the Very Large Pumpkin! Here's a picture of the pumpkin and Sophia.

She was thrilled with the pumpkin so we decided it was a must have! We finished up our shopping and then headed home.

Hal thought the pumpkin was quite funny. He also enjoyed the purple and orange lights that we got so we decided to head outside to put up the decorations. Check out some of the funny pictures of the process.

Sophia checking out the lights

Sophia running around the pumpkin

After putting up the decorations outside, we went inside and did some more organizing in the house. We found a box filled with Sophia's toys and boy was she thrilled to have them back. It was like watching her discover this new concept all over again.

It was time for Sophia to head to bed, and the cable guy was still working on getting all of our stuff hooked up. He finished up about 9 and then Hal and I ate some dinner. After eating, we did some more organizing in the house and then headed off to bed.

This morning when I went in to wake Sophia up, I could see her hair sticking up all crazy like even in the dark. It was the funniest thing ever. Her hair is finally starting to get long enough to stick up just a bit. Check out our cute pictures of the Wild Child Hair from this morning.

Wild Hair

Look it just sticks up a little bit

Sick child with her new shoes

Sophia wasn't feeling her best today so she went to Papa and Nana's for the day. They took great care of her as usual. When we went to pick her up, she was happy to see us. Then it was off to the doctor. The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with her other than she wasn't at her best and had a fever. She said she probably has a virus. After getting done with the check-up, Dr. Strong gave Sophia two different stickers. Sophia was quite excited as she discovered stickers when we were in Tucson. Here she is with her Dora and Cinderella stickers.


Sophia also tried on her new shoes tonight. One of my students at school traveled to China with his family for a vacation recently. When they got back last week on Tuesday, he presented me with these adorable little shoes he bought himself in the market. He was so thrilled to give them to me. Sophia just loves them and they fit her perfect.

Here she is checking out her new shoes.

Day 3 in Tucson

Day 2 in Tucson

Day 1 in Tucson

Our Trip to Tucson

We are back from sunny Tucson and we had a wonderful time. We took so many pictures that I am not going to be able to post them all. So I hope you enjoy the slide shows!

Our first night we got in we didn't do much except for explore the house a bit and then head to bed. It was quite late! When we got up on Thursday, we enjoyed some breakfast together. Then we were off to see my brother Ryan. We headed over to his house to see his new purchase and see his puppy Luna. His girlfriend Tyree was also there and it was great to see her too! We chatted with them for a bit and then all of us went on a cave tour. It was quite neat. We even got a close encounter with a bat, even though the woman told us that they were nesting and we wouldn't see them flying. I was complete scared out of my mind!! Sophia enjoyed the tour too. As the day grew hotter, we finished our tour and came back up to the surface. When we got done, we took Ryan and Tyree back to their house and then got ready for dinner. When we were leaving, we saw a whole bunch of cattle cross the road. Hal so kindly jumped out of the car with his quick reflexes to take a photo for me. I could hardly believe that cows just cross the road and roam free! We went to a Mexican place that night called El Choro and it was amazing. The food was so extremely good and really authentic. After dinner, we were all pooped from the long day and the hot weather. It was about 93 degrees on Thursday.

Friday we started off the day by again having some breakfast and getting ready. Tyree had to work, so we went and picked Ryan up and headed out into the desert to the Arizona Desert Museum. This place was so cool. We got to see lots of desert animals in their natural habitats. We saw the cactus everywhere! There was also an inside section with lots of different insects and lizards. This was Sophia's favorite part. The weather really got hot while we were there. It was about 96 degrees while we walked around. Everyone got a little sun that day. After leaving the museum and heading back to civilization, we rested up for dinner. That night we went to this place called the Claim Jumper. The food was incredible and menu was gigantic. My favorite part was the chocolate cake. Take a look at the photo of the slice. The slice could feed 6 people and was $9. The whole cake also in the photo was HUGE!!!! It was $55. I talked with a girl who said, "Yes, people really do order that cake." It was like 10 layers of cake. After a fantastic dinner, we brought Ryan back to his house and got ready for bed.

Saturday we all got ready leisurely. Then we went to get Ryan as Tyree had to work again and had a new job interview! We decided today considering it being hot again would be a great shopping day. Our first stop was an authentic market called Old Artisan Market of Tucson. They had all of these little shops with pottery and unique items to Tucson. It was really fun. They also had a little cantina in the middle with outdoor seating and water fountains. Sophia really enjoyed the little birds chirping around. After leaving the Old Town Artisans, we went over to the University of Arizona and walked around the campus. The downtown of the campus is really cool. They have tons of shops and restaurants with outdoor seating all on one street. We had lunch and got some Arizona wear at one of the stores. We also walked around the actual campus which was just beautiful. Check out the cool pictures we took in front of the fountain. The day was getting warm and it was time for Sophia to have a nap so we headed back to the house. That night Ryan and Tyree came over and we grilled out. It was really fun to have everyone together for the last night. After dinner we cleaned up and they headed home. Ryan had to work at 3am and would not get much sleep for the night. We packed up the house and our suitcases for our early flight on Sunday morning.

The flight went well and we had a layover in Denver. Hal and I know that airport quite well now as we fly through it when going to Utah too. We had breakfast in Denver and then boarded our next plane to come home. We were all eager to get back even though we had a wonderful vacation with warm weather.

When we got back yesterday, Hal and I met some more neighbors and did some unpacking. Then we went to Sams Club and got some groceries, diapers, and our trick-or-treat candy. We made a final stop at Trader Joes to get the rest of our groceries and then headed home. We were all quite tired last night including Sophia.

Today has been quite interesting. Sophia woke up not feeling well again. I scurried around to get ready as Hal tended to her. Then,I ran into the trash can as I backed out on the way to my parents house in a hurry to get to work. My mom is headed to the doctor too as she is going to have surgery on her bad eye on Friday. The not so good news is that the good eye is flickering and she is afraid the retina in that eye is also detaching. So she is trying to get into the doctor for that today too. Today is a busy day being back at work. Sophia and I are headed to the doctor tonight to see if we can get to the bottom of whatever is going on. Hopefully she will be feeling better after that.

Happy Monday!

Becca and Tinuccis

Yesterday my best friend Becca came over for a dinner date to the new house. We stopped by Tinucci's Deli in Woodbury for some dinner before she came over. The food was wonderful! Sophia and I had pasta dinners and fruit and Becca had soup and salad. It was so hard to pick what we wanted as everything looked and sounded good.

When we got back, we had some time to just hang out and have dinner together. Then Sophia gave Becca the grand tour of the new house. She also showed Becca her new baby (my old Cabbage Patch Kid).

We played for a bit and then it was time for Sophia to have a bath. Becca got to help which I'm not sure she had planned on. It was really fun to have the three girls together.



After Sophia had a bath, she tried on her new Halloween ribbon from Grandma Jayne. She looks just adorable in it!


Then it was time for Becca to head home and for Sophia to get ready for bed.

We have a big day ahead of us today. We leave in just a couple of hours to go see Uncle Ryan in Tucson, Arizona. I'm thrilled for the warm weather! I talked to my mom just a couple of hours ago and she said it was going to be in the high 80s today.

We will have tons to post about and pictures when we get back. Until Sunday.......

Date with Grandma Jayne

Today was definitely a Monday. I had AM Extended Day this morning. I was nervous about driving from the new house so I got to school a bit early. Hal brought Sophia over to Corey's. Sophia had her first forward facing ride in the car ever this morning!! He said she really liked it. She didn't sleep well last night, so she was a bit sleepy/cranky at Corey's today. When I picked her up she was playing with a horse. It was pretty cute.

Then we headed over to Nana and Papa's house to pick up some more of our things. We also got some of our warm weather clothes for Tucson. When we got home, Grandma Jayne and the Mike the Blind Guy (he sells drapes not that he is really blind) were already there. Sophia and I helped Hal pick out some wonderful binds for the house. Grandma Jayne and Sophia played toys while we talked colors and styles.

After we finished picking everything out and getting our order set up, Sophia got to eat dinner with Grandma Jayne. She really enjoyed that! Sophia finished up eating and then we played a bit before it was time for jammies. Then it was time for Grandma Jayne to head home as she told Grandpa Hal she would be home earlier and had been gone all day.

Tomorrow I have to work AM Extended again. Sophia and I are excited as Becca is coming over to have dinner with us for the first time in the new house. We are also pumped to have Tinucci's for dinner. I can't wait to have some fantastic food! Then we will get ready and get packed. Only two more days until we head to sunny Tucson. Warm weather here we come!

The Great Pumpkin

Moving and the Great Pumpkin

This weekend was our big move. We started off Saturday by getting up early and having some breakfast together. Then Hal was off to Home Depot and I went on a 5 mile run. The weather was just perfect. I have decided to run the Securian Frozen Half-Marathon with my girlfriend Courtney so I am getting geared up! I am hoping this will prepare me for Grandma's Half in hopes that I will get in.

After my run, Sophia and I got ready for the day. Then the big U-Haul truck came. Hal and others began to move things that were over at my parents to the truck. A HUGE THANKS goes out to Jayne, Hal, Matt, and Mark for helping us move this weekend!! Also to my parents for watching Sophia. We couldn't have done it without you guys!!!!!

Here's a cute picture of Sophia helping move too!


Everyone got us into the house quite quickly on Saturday. Jayne and I got Sophia's whole room primed so it is ready to paint when we get back from Tucson. By the time we all had lunch and got ready, it was 5pm. Hal and I went back to my parents house to get Sophia as they were off to a Halloween party. We gathered some more of our gear and headed over to the new house. What a fun night! We spent most of the evening until the wee hours getting things organized and put away. We even did some dishes in the dishwasher and clothes in the laundry. It was so exciting to learn how to work all of my new hi-tech appliances.

Yesterday we got up and did a whole bunch of work in the house. Then we decided to head to the mall to take a break. Sophia found her first snowman and boy did she love it!
After shopping around a bit, we went to get some lunch. Sophia had her first taste of fast food at Wendys. She loved her chicken nuggets and fries and ate a huge amount of her kids meal. I think she also liked sitting up at the table in her high chair with no bib and drinking her milk from her straw and not her sippy cup. My little girl is growing up!

We finished up our lunch and went to look at furniture. We saw a couple of things that we liked, but still want to do some more looking before we make a final decision.

Then it was time for us to head home as Sophia was getting pretty tired. We got back and I went on a run on the paths by our house. It was really fun to check out my new neighborhood! I am loving all of the paths to run on.

When I got back my non-napper was playing with her daddy in the family room. Sophia is really enjoying all of the room to run around and play.

We all got ready and went to pick out our pumpkins. Hal did a great job of finding us two perfect pumpkins. I took several pictures and will put them in the slideshow for you to see!

The pumpkins got loaded into the car and then we were off to Jake's to have dinner with Grandpa Hal and Grandma Jayne. What a great time we had!! Sophia had a wonderful time giggling with them and we all loved our dinners.

It was getting late and we still had to head to Target so we said our good-byes and headed out. We got what we needed at Target and then headed home. We did a little more organizing after Sophia went to bed last night.

Tonight we have another busy night. Grandma Jayne and Grandpa Hal are coming over to hang out. We also have Mike coming over to measure the house for drapes. Yippee drapes!!

Stay tuned for pictures from The Great Pumpkin Hunt!

Fall Colors