Progress

Our whirlwind still hasn't died down yet but we're making some progress! Rick has been staying with us for the past week, so Justin and I were able to put some good effort into the deck while he watched Sienna. I am happy to say my part is done and it's all stained! The top part is also done and usable. I was even able to have my Mother's Day dinner on the deck which was delightful. Just gotta get those stairs done and we'll be good. So close!

Sienna & Rick

Ariana & Sienna even had their first picnic

Finally a Nephew!

Amanda, Travis, Izzy & Sami welcomed another member to their family! Introducing William Declyn Gorsuch. Born yesterday at 4:46 pm. Weight 7 lbs 13 ozs and was 21 inches. Can't wait to meet him!

We went and visited the fam in WI. This will be the last time with just the girls. Amanda is due in a couple weeks and this family is finally getting a boy!! Everyone I know seems to have girls, so it will be very fun to bring a boy into the mix. The weather (again) was rainy so we spent most of the time playing/watching the kids inside.

Amanda looking all cute and pregnant. 

Whose the kid here?

The 3 girls - Sami, Izzy & Sienna. Can you believe there's only 2 months between Sami and Sienna??? She is towering over Sienna. We are taking bets on how long it takes the new baby boy to be taller than Sienna.

Sienna tried her first ear of corn and LOVED it. And I thought she loved corn before.

Grandma came over too.

All clean and ready for bed. So hard to get 3 kids to sit still for a picture.

Whirlwind

I feel like we have been running nonstop for the past couple weeks and I don't see it letting up until May is over. We've been trying so hard to get the deck done, yard ready for spring, gardens prepped, kitchen/sun room project finished. Combine that with being out of town last weekend and Justin leaving for Vegas, it's lead to many busy nights. The good news is progress has been made! Since we've had all this rain, it forced us to work on indoor projects. Remember this post? We stared working on the entryway to the sun room way back in March and it sat like that for a long long time. Finally a few weeks ago we finished up the kitchen side. (Don't look at it from the sun room yet, that's still in progress) At least the part that I see most of the time is done and looking great! Looks a lot different than it used to.

Despite the rain, the deck has made a lot of progress too. Justin got all the deck boards up and has been waiting for me to stain them so he can put the railing on. The view from here looks great!

Unfortunately I only got a little over half the deck stained before the rain started. Tarps had to be thrown over the boards to protect them. Seemed to have work. Now I just need another dry afternoon to finish the top. It can't rain every weekend right?

Thoughts by Sienna

Sienna is now vocalizing many of her thoughts throughout the day. She'll be walking around spouting off anything that's going through her mind. Sometimes she'll run 3 or 4 different thoughts into one sentence. It can get confusing. :) She also repeats a lot of what we say especially when you least except it. Here's a couple from the past few days.

This morning before daycare she was playing with her toys. She found her Minnie Mouse purse, put her keys in it, added her phone, threw the purse on her shoulder and started walking towards the door saying "Bye Bye Daddy." Justin asked her where she was going and she replied, "Shopping." So my daughter.

We decided it was time to take away her Nuk. She was only getting it at night and didn't really seem to need it. The transition has gone incredibly smooth. Whenever she would ask for her "Noo Noo" I told her it was all gone. No more Nuk. Now every time she goes to bed, as soon as we get near the crib she starts saying, "Noo Noo all gone. No more Noo Noo." and repeats it over and over. Not mad, just stating the fact.

She still cheers for "Go, Roger. Go!" That one might be suck for a long time. Maybe we should stop encouraging it. 

Cooking Club XI

It was a sad night for cooking club; Brent's final night of joining us. He has a new work schedule that won't allow him any Saturday nights offs. Since it was his last time, he got to choose the menu. The theme? New Orleans style! Unfortunately Jeff & Jenny had some family stuff come up so they weren't able to come, but the 4 of us still got our Mardi Gras on and had a blast. The menu wasn't revealed until we arrived. As Justin and I walked through the door this is what we saw: 15 lbs of live crawfish squirming around in the netted bag. 

We were all going to try and hold one, but I chickened out and just posed next to Cran. Creepy crawly things give me the willies big time. These qualified, plus they kept rearing their claws at us. No thanks. You can call me a wimp.

The first course was a shrimp and corn fritter served with a salsa sauce. There were delish!! We tried not to eat too many to save room for all the crawfish.

Before the crawfish were cooked, we dumped them onto the floor. You are supposed to remove all the dead ones. There were a few that tried to escape.

The guys had a fun time with the boil. I am happy to report that crawfish don't scream.

Main course: 

Crawfish boiled with potatoes, corn, & artichokes

New Orleans Rice & Beans

Rolls

Bibs were even included for everyone and OMG it was so good. I had to admit at first I was a little grossed out by those beady eyes staring at me. But once I cracked my first one and took a bite, I was smitten. They were buttery and melted in your mouth. And no, no one sucked the head. I don't do organs. They were flavorful enough without that. 

Dessert: Paula Dean's Chocolate Lava Cake.

To.Die.For. Even being gluten and dairy free. So easy and so good.

Brent - we will miss you in our upcoming cooking clubs! Great choice for a last meal.

AZ

I've been a little MIA, but I had a good excuse! We were out visiting my parents in AZ at their house. It was Justin & Sienna's first time out there. We had a great long weekend enjoying the warm weather and seeing some family friends. Too many pictures to post them all but here are a few of the highlights.

Sienna picked fresh tangelos off of their tree. They were so juicy and delicious. She loved them as the juice ran down her arm and kept saying, "messy! messy!"

We hit up the Phoenix Zoo. They had a lot of African animals and ones that you can't see at the MN Zoo. My favorite was the giraffes. Sienna and I just made the cut, and were the last people to get to feed them before they took a break. Their long tongues curled around the lettuce in our hands and slurped it back in. It was really cool.

We spent most afternoons outside enjoying the warmth and having happy hours.

Sienna even had a special outdoor chair with her favorite Minnie Mouse on it.

We enjoyed a dinner with Ron & Diana, who live in the same community as my parents. 

We also went to Roger & Sues' house, but unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of that get together. We stayed at their house for a couple hours and then went to Scottsdale for dinner. Since there were so many of us we caravaned to the restaurant. Whenever Sienna is in the car, she always tells the person driving to Go!!  Especially when you get to a red light - she doesn't like to be stopped. Justin was driving, so she kept saying "Go, Daddy. Go!" We told her that we couldn't go any faster because we were following Roger and got her to say "Go, Roger. Go!" instead. She said it the whole car ride there, the whole car ride home, and every time in the car for the rest of the trip. Even now if you say the name Roger, she says, "Go, Roger. Go!" I think that might be stuck in her head. 

We found a fun park right near my parents house, with 2 big play gyms and a splash pad. 

My big girl on the ride home. We were so lucky and no one sat next to us on either flight.