Whew! Where do I even begin? As the title states we have been quite busy these past few days. We had been looking forward to the Labor Day holiday weekend for some time because we were headed to Minnesota.

The first stop on the agenda (other than Mike’s mom’s house) was the Minnesota State Fair. Mike was so envious that he had to miss it last year, so there was no stopping him this year. We made the usual runs to the animal barns, giant slides, dairy building to see the butter sculptures, and several fattening food vendors. The extra 10 pounds I left with were so worth it.

Striking a pose at the fair.

Cowboy Matt and Cowgirl Hayley.

The kids got to pet/feed various animals including goats, lambs, and horses.

The butter sculptures are always a fun attraction.

On Sunday Jake, Mike’s brother, invited us to the Lafayette Club where he’s the executive chef for their annual carnival. Jake gifted us with numerous tickets so that we didn’t have to spend a dime the entire night. There were tons of good eats including the best corn-on-the-cob, mini doughnuts, and ColdStone Creamery ice-cream. The kids had numerous activities to keep them busy, too, such as several bouncy houses, a few inflatable slides, and pony rides. The end of the night was the fireworks show which was probably one of the best I’d ever seen with a finale that seemed to never end. We were very impressed with the entire event and hope to get invited back in the future (wink::wink::hint::hint). Thanks a zillion, Jake!

Of course, we couldn’t visit Grandma Minnesota without also visiting the Minnesota Arboretum. And that we did on our way out of town on Monday. They now have this kewl shrubbery maze that the girls just loved. First they tried out the Jr. maze and then braved the full maze with Daddy. For some reason both the girls have become fascinated with swamps and ask if any body of water they see is a swamp. Fortunately, we got to see one up close and personal at the Arboretum.

Getting lost, ahem, I mean, finding their way through the maze.

Grandma Minnesota and those silly girls.

Cheers! Making a pit stop at the A&W while on our way home from MN.

We got back late Monday night which means I didn’t get as many preparations completed for Annie’s first day of school the next day. Instead I got up at the bum crack of dawn to get most of it done (we failed to get Annie’s homework assignment done though–decorating a choo-choo train and putting her picture on it). Annie was quite ecstatic for her first day of school to officially arrive and even more excited about riding the bus. Our neighbor’s 9-year-old daughter has been sweet enough to make sure that Annie gets on and off the bus each day. Annie returned home with quite a day full of craziness. Apparently, a brilliant student pulled the fire alarm during her lunchtime not letting her finish. The time it took to clear up that mess also ran into her recess time which meant they didn’t really get any time out there. It was a little disappointing to her (okay it was a lot), but I assured Annie that she would get many many many opportunities to eat and play at school. Her second day went just fine, and she’s already making new friends and getting used to her new schedule.

Boarding the bus for the first of many times.

Oh, the heartbreak of losing her big sister to kindergarten.

Hooray! She made it home.

Next up was Mimi’s first day of preschool which was today. Mimi has been waiting for this for many years as she’s watched Annie go. I was happy to see that there are lots of parents involved with the school (this wasn’t the case at Annie’s preschool in D.C.). However, Mimi was a bit upset when she realized that her lunch box wasn’t going to travel with her to school. She got over it pretty quickly though once we got to school as she entered her classroom. I could barely get her to acknowledge me as I was leaving. When I picked her up she had a smile from ear to ear, so she must have had a wonderful first day.

Look how giddy Mimi is on her 1st day of preschool. Will it always be this way?

Like I said it’s been busy around here, but the fun doesn’t end just yet. We had another joyful event this afternoon. The girls started their ice-skating lessons. And let me tell you I had tears in my eyes to see how cute those 2 girls were flailing and falling all over the ice with their little tights and tutus. Annie made real progress in the 1/2 hour there. She was actually scooting around on her own and able to pick things up off the ice. Mimi was quite a different story, but I have faith that she’ll improve within a few more sessions.

This is how it was for the first half of the class, always on their bums.

Annie got a “helper” who looks like she’s about to fall with Annie any second.

Oops! Looks like I was right.

Keep up the good work, Mimi!

By the end of the class Annie was able to pick up objects from the ice. Way to go!

For those of you who have been patiently waiting for pictures of Mike’s new toy, I have no excuse except to say that I just haven’t had the chance to take any pictures. I promise I will make the effort to take some in the next couple of days. Come on people, I HAVE been busy around here.

Annie is officially 5 and ready for kindergarten. Fortunately, her birthday ended up being on Saturday, so we set aside the entire afternoon and evening just for her. Mike didn’t get home until 4:00 because he had a camp-out the night before with the scouts. Once he was home and all unpacked we headed out for dinner. The plan was to go mini golfing afterward, so we chose a restaurant close to that destination. It turned out to be a hunting lodge-style restaurant, and Annie thought it was so fancy. When she was ordering her mini corn dogs, the waiter told her that that was an excellent choice. This definitely confirmed to her that we were in fancyville.

Next up was the mini golf experience. Apparently, the establishment only takes cash, so we made 4 attempts to get money from several ATMs. I was ready to give up, but the BP ATM was willing to give me some cash. The girls were very excited to golf. Annie seemed to pick up on the concept pretty quickly and actually was patient enough to hit the ball enough times until it went into the hole even if it took a dozen tries. Mimi, on the other hand, usually gave up after a couple tries and just picked the ball up and put it into the hole. Mike and I didn’t keep track of scores. We really just enjoyed watching the girls have fun.

Annie is already planning our next golf outing. We spotted a go-carting place next door, and I thought that that would be fun to do. Mike wasn’t in complete agreement, but he’ll give in soon enough.

Later that night we went home for cake. Don’t tell Annie, but I didn’t spend that much time on decorating it. You see, I have tons of jelly beans, and I thought this would be a great way of using up a lot of them. Unfortunately, I still have tons left. I’m sure she didn’t notice either that we didn’t have real birthday candles and had to use a tea light.

Tonight I will take pictures of Mike’s new toy. The documented photographs have been demanded by several of Mike’s male friends.

Yesterday we had the pleasure of meeting up once again with the Maneelys. This time we had a play date at the Racine Zoo. It was a smaller zoo, but there were plenty of animals to enjoy and lots of places for the kids to goof off. Another family attended who had another almost 5-year-old female for the girls to befriend. We also packed our own lunches and had a little picnic at a park outside of the zoo. We had a really fun day and are glad we discovered that there is a quiet and inexpensive zoo only 40 or so minutes away from our house. We may be making more trips there in the future.

Those silly girls. Mary noticed that they were all coordinated and properly ordered in the picture.

There were peacocks roaming around amongst the patrons. They kept their distance though.

Penguins, meerkats, and pelicans. Oh, my!

And acrobatic goat-like animals.

The 25 cent foot massager. Worth every penny since it seemed to entertain the kids more than the animals.

There were also lions, tigers, and giraffes, but I was only able to see and snap the lions.

The zoo also had a small room with some aquariums. I let the kids practice their aquarium photography skills. I believe this picture of a lionfish was taken by the multi-talented Sam.

I have other news to tell about Mike and a new toy, but I want to get some pictures before I reveal it. Of course, he has it at work with him today, so I’ll have to wait until later. Stay tuned!

The girls have both now been to the dentist, and they were wonderful patients. Annie was not afraid to admit to the hygienist that she was scared of what was coming, but the nice lady made sure to introduce all the tools to Annie before using them which really put her at ease. Both girls loved Mr. Thirsty the best (the spit suction tool). Mimi watched Annie’s entire visit with wide eyes and was very excited when it was her turn for a dentist visit yesterday. She cooperated and was not afraid at all. The girls each got a bag of goodies which includes a new toothbrush with a suction cup on the end, sample toothpaste and floss, an hourglass to keep track of how long they brush, and prize they got to choose from a treasure box (actually a plastic basket). Ever since Mimi’s visit those silly girls have been carrying around their goody bags everywhere with a few new items added.

Oh, I feel I must also mention one more thing since it has to do with the girls’ car seats pictured above. Once Mimi figured out how to buckle herself in she decided she wanted to sit in Annie’s seat (Mimi is actually in it in the picture). Of course, this caused huge screams and hair pulling. So now every single time we drive anywhere I have to try to remember who’s turn it is to sit in the wonderful, spectacular, magical, fantastic, super car seat. This has been going on for about 2 months now. I don’t know if it will ever stop because the girls don’t show any signs of growing out of those dadgum seats. According to Annie it’s because it sits up higher which allows the occupant to see much more outside of the car than from the other seat. I honestly think Mimi just wants to sit there because she knows Annie wants it.

Not long after we found out we were moving to Wisconsin we discovered that an old Navy buddy and his family (we love to say that) also live in Wisconsin. They are no longer affiliated with the Navy but are still willing to give us the time of day. The Maneelys were at Parris Island at the same time as us, and we spent a bit of time with them there. They had 2 children when we met and quickly discovered that they were expecting a baby around the same time Annie was to be born. It turns out that they had their daughter 4 days after our little button in the same hospital. The Maneelys now have 5 kids. So Mary, the lovely wife of the former navy dentist, and I promised to get together once our family settled in Wisconsin. Of course, life got crazy for both our families, and we nearly let the summer disappear without any contact. Finally, we got in touch and made plans to go to the Jelly Belly Factory on Tuesday. The kids immediately got acquainted and enjoyed each others’ company for the rest of the day.

The Jelly Belly Factory tour was interesting, and it surprised me to learn how time-consuming it is to make just one batch of beans–7 days. Of course, the tour ended right at the store which is impossible to leave without purchasing several pounds of candy especially with 7 kids in tow. It was also surprising to realize that jelly beans aren’t the only candy they sell. The store is pretty much stocked the way you’d expect any candy store to be except their specialty is in fact Jelly Bellies. Naturally, the kids were thrilled to discover the disgusting flavors such as vomit, ear wax, pencil shavings, baby wipes, rotten egg, and booger. However, no one was keen on trying any of those flavors. I was actually excited about the soda flavors such as A&W Root Beer, 7UP, Orange Crush, and a few others. I got suckered into the buy 2 bags of “Belly Flops” and get the 3rd free deal. The Belly Flops are the imperfectly shaped jelly beans that get rejected but that still taste just as good.

The kids were definitely on a sugar high when we headed over to Red Robin for lunch. It was even more evident, to me anyway, that the balloons from Red Robin only intensified the mood on the way home. The Maneelys played for a while at our house afterward. The oldest child couldn’t get enough of Lucy and only had eyes for her the whole time. I warned Mary that she’d be getting the dog talk from him for the next few days (months/years?). My girls were sad to see them all go and immediately asked when our next “play date” would be. Don’t worry, girls, Mary and I are already on it.

Jelly bean artwork. I wanted to get a picture of the Ronald Reagan depiction, but it was during the tour which forbid picture-taking.

The “twins”. They were actually the same size which is unusual given how small Annie is compared to almost everyone her age (or even a year or two younger).

The darling 3-year-olds, already the best of friends.

Our whole group. Gotta love that Jelly Belly bug.