It has been a long time since I have posted. We have had a busy couple of months.
Halloween went well. Olivia was a penguin and Jack was a skunk! I had to take the kids out since Jarrod was in Sioux Falls interviewing at Sanford. Olivia had an amazing time. She was so excited and not scared at all which I was happy about. I took Jack in the backpack carrier and Olivia walked (for the most part). She still has candy left. And everyday she climbs up onto the counter and into the cupboards and gets herself just one piece. She is going to be so disappointed when it is all gone!
Jarrod had interviews in Sioux Falls and in Duluth MN, for a Vascular Surgeon spot starting 2011. And that was a huge and tough decision for our family. But when it came down to it. We choose Duluth over Sioux Falls because it is going to make for an easier lifestyle and adjustment for Jarrod starting in a practice. We are excited to start our new adventure there.. even though it is a year and a half away still! It is exciting and nerve racking at the same time! So if any of you ever need a place to stay while up in the North Woods of MN. You can call on us!!
Thanksgiving this year was nice. I made a big Turkey and all that goes with it. Jarrod said he just wanted the basics.. which turned out to be the same meal I make every year! haha Olivia that morning when given her breakfast looked at me and about cried and said “no mom its thanksgiving time for turkey!” I explained that Turkey was not till supper and she could have all the Turkey she wanted then! Olivia after each bite of new food would smile and say “I love turkey!” or “I love mashed potatoes!” or “I love stuffing!” She was really in the holiday spirit that is for sure.
We went to the circus a few weeks ago. Olivia liked it some times the between acts with the clowns talking was kind of boring to her. She loved that there was elephants. Jack loved the circus and squealed with delight the whole show through. He was way more into it then Olivia which was a bit surprising!

Jack has started walking bit by bit. He goes about 4-5 feet from where ever we are sitting usually to go get a toy on the chair, couch, bed, whatever. It is so fun to watch him arms in the air concentrating so hard. When he starts out he half squats like he wants to start to crawl then catches himself and starts walking again! But with walking comes a whole new set of bumps and bruising!

The kids both have coughs and runny noses. It is sad listening to them at night coughing in their sleep. I suppose it comes with the cool weather and viruses everywhere. We have been lucky so far with no fevers. Lets hope that continues!
Today we are starting to get Christmas decor up and going. We got a real tree this year. The scent is already filling the house. I feel like I am out in the forest.. during the summer! The kids are napping so I am waiting for Olivia before finishing the tree. She is so excited this year about all the comings and goings of the holidays.  Everyday she asks about Santa and Baby Jesus. And when they are coming to the house. It will be so fun this year on Christmas morning.

Jack turns ONE! this month on the 22nd. It has gone by so quickly. I can’t believe he is already one this month. It feels like just yesterday I was waking up in the middle of then night saying we need to go to the hospital now! This baby is coming early! I think he too was excited for Christmas!
I will post some random photos we have taken lately soon! Love to all.

Olivia has this new about getting into the fridge. The other day while I was folding laundry she came and brought me the milk jug because I was taking to long to get up and get it for her. I also cut up various fruits and vegetables and leave them open in containers on the bottom shelf of the fridge so she can go and get a little snack when she wants. Well the other day she went in there and must have seen the leftover spaghetti and decided to have some of that. She pulled out the entire container opened the lid and placed it in the middle of the floor. All this while Jarrod and I were in the other room. I told Jarrod to go check on Jack and O because I couldn’t hear any noise coming from them. From Jarrod I hear; “oh man, come on. No!” Olivia replies “Whats Jack eating?” I come around the corner to see Jack chowing down like a mad man on the spaghetti. Jarrod picked up the container and Jack just screamed. I tell you what that boy can eat like nobody I have ever seen. He eats us out of house and home now.. I can’t imagine what he will be like when he is a teenager!

I put up some new pictures the other day. The kids have his and her matching sweaters so I had to get some pictures of them together in them.

We are all doing well. It is getting chilly here. I had to turn on the heat this morning when I saw the temp in the house was a cool 62 degrees! The kids have little space heaters in their rooms. So just me and Jarrod freeze!! Well I am off to put away some laundry. Hope everyone is doing well!

It has been a summer at the zoo for us. We have gone to the zoo so many times we should know the animals by name. Yesterday we went yet again to the zoo this time down in Toledo Ohio. It is about an hour drive. But well worth it when it comes to zoo quality. They have a newly opened children discovery zone. That is amazing. We didn’t even need to go to the zoo for any other reason then for that area. Olivia had a blast. She got to brush the goats. Run and play in a “river”. Help grow a garden. Climb a mountain. Slide down a rock slide. Pet the birds. Dress and dance around like a bumblebee. Dance in a forest. Climb a gigantic spider-web. and the list goes on.. Jack even had fun. They had a couple areas that were meant to be infant friendly. It was a great day. And completely unplanned. We woke up and said lets go to the zoo.. how about going to the Toledo one instead. Checked the weather quick and headed out the door. We got there and it started raining. But was soon over and the sun started to shine. Today has been lazy though.Jack has both his little bottom teeth popped through. FINALLY! They have been coming in and out for the last, forever? He has started waving too. Not all the time. But sometimes when we say Hi or Bye he will wiggle that little arm telling us he remembers what to do! Tonight is bath night and a good thing too since they both have Dr. visits in the morning. Oh happy day! Have a great week everyone!

Well it has been awhile since we wrote. I am finally back in the D and somewhat settled. It is hard getting back in to routine with two mobile and very vocal children!! We had a wonderful stay while back in SD. We saw lots of family and old friends. I wish we would have had more time to see everyone on the list! But we had an amazing time being around family at all times!

Olivia is doing great. She misses everyone and keeps asking me to take her far away buh bye. She is happy to be home and to play in the sandbox and with her own toys. She seems to have grown a bit because now she can turn on the basement light all by herself. Which she finds very exciting and has to talk about it each time she does.

Jack is crawling and climbing now. He crawls around on all fours like an old pro. He has started pulling himself up on everything he can reach. Which has allotted for a lot of bumps and bruises to the head and body. We had to come home and baby proof again. I had forgotten how hawkish their little eyes are to the tiniest speck of dirt/paper/fuzz you name it from across the room.  Not to mention how helpful his sister is in adding to the choking hazards. This morning she went over and put a blueberry in Jacks mouth. She then looked at me and said “Jack have some blueberries too, OK mom.” No not OK Olivia as Jack is gagging.

I have had a lot of yard work to do. Lots of weeds come when you are gone for a month and a half. I was so excited at first glimpse of my garden come to find out all the greenery was 98% weeds!! I should have lots of tomatoes soon though! Even if Jarrod didn’t do so well on the weeding he did set up an automatic watering system for my garden. So everything is still doing well.. now that I can see it again! Well I have a little one standing here stark naked trying to go outside. I should get going. I posted some pictures.. I have a lot more to come! Sooner or later!

Yuck it has been hot out. Hot and humid. The worst kind of hot. We were outside yesterday playing on the swingset and weeding the garden when a huge storm rolled in. At first I could hear Olivia yelling “Mom! Storm! Amazing!!” Then with the next huge rumble of thunder I hear MOM! Cuddle! She was not as impressed when the thunder was really loud. We sat outside and watched for lighting until it started to rain. Then it came down in sheets. This weekend is supposed to be hot. But not scorching! We will have to go play at the splash pad this weekend. Well Mr. Jack is wake and looking for someone to come get him. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Hello everyone. Things here are going well. I am getting the hang of no extra hands around the house! Olivia tries to help but you can all imagine how that goes! Jack is already a month old! It flew by sooo fast! He is so cute and getting plump and healthy looking. He is a major grunter! Sometimes I think he was meant to be a caveman and he is trying to grunt me something. Olivia is doing well with him. She likes to point out his body parts and show them on herself. I had Jack in the swing the other day and all I could hear from the kitchen was eyes, eyes, nose, nose, etc.!

It was a great day yesterday. A very moving inauguration of our new President Obama!  That I was lucky enough to have both babies sleeping at the swearing in! And it  was our Great Grandma Amys 99th birthday! I have added a very nice article about her below. She is surely an amazing woman!
Born To Skate…article from the Marshall MN paper…July 2008Share
Yesterday at 10:16pm
Born to skate
By Megan Hanson POSTED: July 5, 2008

Amy Olsen, 98, of Marshall, didn’t stop ice skating until she was 83, and even then it was only because her daughter took her skates away from her.

“They didn’t want me to fall … but I don’t fall,” Olsen said.

Olsen admits to only falling twice in her life. Once, she was brought down by two young boys while teaching a skating class when both of them fell while holding her hands. The other time was when a young girl accidentally ran into her while she was enjoying an open skate.

Never has she broken a bone because of skating or been hurt.

Olsen got her start with ice skating competing in speed skating competitions as a child. She “mostly won” her competitions, and in high school she was asked to participate in one of Minnesota’s very first women’s hockey teams.

Olsen was born in raised in Duluth, but in high school she moved to Virginia to help her older sister with her children.

She was asked by other girls at Virginia High School to participate in one of two women’s hockey teams.

“We only had two teams, they weren’t very organized…the girls picked the teams themselves,” Olsen said.

Olsen’s team had six players.

The other team was formed by girls from a junior college in the area.

“We got together after Christmas,” Olsen said.

“There were lots of amateur men’s hockey teams in the area, and we would play our games in between the periods of the boy’s games.”

Olsen, who played goalie, only played two games against the junior college team. Olsen remembers winning both games with a score of 1-0. She was never scored on.

“Nobody really knew how to play hockey,” Olsen said.

“It was quite a controversy when girl’s started playing hockey recently,” Olsen said. “But we really have been playing since 1928.”

Olsen is the only one of the girls on her team still living, and her life has taken her far away from the Iron Range and the hockey team.

Her husband, Stanley Olsen, also graduated from Virginia High School.

Olsen said they met through skating.

“He would watch me skate…even before he knew me. He didn’t think he was good enough to skate next to me,” she said.

Eventually, Stanley learned to skate, and they were married for 50 years. Stanley died two weeks after their 50th wedding anniversary.

While they were married, Stanley worked as a railroad depot agent. Amy, Stanley and their seven children moved around quite a bit because of his job.

“We moved to Marshall in 1934, then moved away, and came back in the late ’40s,” Olsen said.

All seven children learned how to ice skate.

Olsen now lives at Boulder Estates, an assisted and congregate living facility in Marshall.

Although she doesn’t skate anymore, she is still active. She volunteers at First Lutheran Church in Marshall, helping with the newsletter and other tasks.

Every first Monday and third Wednesday of the month, Olsen helps make quilts the church gives away and sells. She has has been quilting for more than 40 years.

Olsen and Gladys Chadwick, a longtime friend, sit at a table and pin the quilts before they are sewn. They try to get three or four quilts done each time they volunteer.

Olsen says she will continue to volunteer “as long as I can.”

When she’s not volunteering, Olsen spends time with her family, which includes seven children, 20 grandchildren, 36 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.

Olsen said that she even knows most of their names. Some of them even skate.