Vacation = Illness

Nate and I had a nice time in Lutsen, MN for our 10 year anniversary celebration. We left on Saturday and stopped at Ikea on the way there. I hadn't been to Ikea since I was nursing Elyana! When we finally got to the Eagle Ridge Resort in Lutsen, we were surprised by the amount of snow they still have up there. I'm glad Nate thought to toss our snow/hiking boots in the truck. We also didn't realize that the resort we were checking into was a ski resort. We don't ski. The room wasn't exactly as it was pictured on the Internet. We decided to make the most of it anyway and went to the restaurant there and then returned to our room where Nate got me to play Zooloretto. I'm not a gamer at all, but really enjoyed this game. The next day we slept in and then took a 20 minute road trip to Grand Marais where we wanted to eat at the well known Sven and Ollie's pizza. Everything in the town was pretty much still closed up till May (not that there was much in the little town to see anyway). We got back to the resort and I inquired about the gondolas that we were seeing zipping up the ski lift. We decided to go for a ride to the top of the mountain and see the view and check out the restaurant up there. I guess it's the highest area in MN. I'm a bit afraid of heights, but it was fun and I got some awesome pictures from up there of Lake Superior and our resort down the hill. We returned, played a few more board games and watched the extended edition version of Fellowship of the Ring and the Two Towers. It's been years since we've seen them. I wish we could have fit in the Return of the King too.

I don't want to travel for a long time though because it seems like lately it's a sickness jinx. Every time I checked in with my mom, she would mention that Elly had diarrhea. We got home in time for my mom to come down with the bug. She was so sick and we eventually decided with her that we'd check her into a hotel so she could have the privacy and quiet to get better. I got back from getting her settled to clean, Lysol, and do laundry till 11:00. Hannah was coming today and I didn't want her to catch it. Nate put it nicely when he put his arm around me and asked, "How's the battle going?" I lost the germ battle because 30 minutes after my weary head hit my pillow, Mikayla woke up with diarrhea!

Anyway, here are several pictures from our trip.

Our room:






The Gondolas








Our lodge by the ski lifts


Lighthouses in Grand Marais

WI Dells

On Thursday, we took off for a night at the Great Wolf Lodge at WI Dells. We were there a few years ago and were blown away by how family friendly it is. We got there just in time for the storytime by the big clock where all the robotic creatures sing and tell a story. Unfortunately no one seemed to notice that the animals weren't moving. Elyana was fascinated and would often request to go visit the big clock.


We played in the waterpark for a hour before bed and then we went to bed in a cool room where the kids had their own bunkbed! Kayla was even more impressed that there was a telephone on the wall next to the toilet...



We woke up and played at the waterpark the next morning for several hours and then went to eat lunch. We happened to discover a Pizza Hut in their kids area (Wiley's Woods). We didn't know this play area existed and is another bonus and incentive to come back next year.
Here's a link with some pictures of this huge 3 story kids club area (they also have a large craft room) http://www.wileyswoods.com/play.html

We stopped at Nate's parents on the way home. They've been in AZ since the end of December and just got back. We hung out there awhile and I took off for home (I had to house sit for a friend and feed the pets). Nate and the kids spent the night. I woke up on Saturday and cleaned a friends house all day. I arrived home at the same time as Nate. About 20 minutes after being home, Elyana got really sick. She threw up 8 or 9 times in 2 hours. We waited an hour after she stopped throwing up and gave her 2 teaspoons of ice chips. She threw those up too! She seems to be on the mend today and so far no one else is sick. Praise God!

I can't believe that next weekend Nate and I are going away to Lutsen to really celebrate our 10 year anniversary. Mikayla has spring break this week and I'm watching baby Hannah two days. I don't know if that means this week will fly by or go slow.

Easter Egg Holders

Mikayla checked out this neat craft book from the bookmobile. We found an easy craft to do where you use egg cartons. They turned out cute and are a great place to store the eggs we color this year.

March 20th!

It was a big day for the Jones' yesterday. Elyana got her first haircut. I've trimmed her bangs occasionally, but that doesn't count. We went to the Dudes and Divas haircut place that is just for kids. We walked in and praise be! Dora the Explorer was playing right at the station where Ellie was to get her haircut at. She was just drawn to it, walked right over and climbed up into the chair. I don't think she was aware of the haircut half the time. After her haircut, Kayla asked if she could get her haircut just like her sisters. Here are the pictures from that.


Yesterday was also our 10 year wedding anniversary. We went to Jenpachi Japanese Steak House. We've been there before, but it's so fun to watch them do tricks with the knives, spatulas, spinning the eggs, and making a huge flame shoot up from the onion. The food is always incredible. We got totally serenaded by the owner. He said they don't sing Happy Anniversary songs, but he sang us some ancient song about the Himalayan Mountains, because mountains are forever and so should marriage. He would get really loud and then soft and you kept thinking he was done and he would break into another stanza. I wish I had a translator there. Very cool. I got a new dress to wear to dinner so I got some pictures taken of that.


When we got home and were getting the kids to bed, Mikayla's tooth finally fell out! It took forever to settle her down. She put the tooth under her pillow. Nate and I were so afraid we'd forget to play tooth fairy that we put the dollar on our pillow so we'd see it there when we went to bed and remember. Here's a picture of Kayla putting her tooth under her pillow and a picture of her new toothless smile. Our little girl is growing up so fast. By the way, those of you that are family and those of you that don't have kids in school yet, I'll be sending out an e-mail soon---Kayla's doing a read-a-thon for school and could use some donations. Don't worry, she's still just learning to read so she won't empty your bank account : )

Bedtime

Mikayla cracked us up tonight. "Hey mom and dad, guess what? I'm going to put myself to bed tonight. It will be my first time and I'll be nervous so one of you should come watch me." I ended up putting her to bed. It's the thought that counts I guess. It's still taking Ellie forever to fall asleep without her pacifier at night. Not sure why naptime goes so smoothly without it, but bedtime is the challenge. She just keeps calling us in again and again. I'm counting down the seconds as I type this before I'll her her shouting for me. This too shall pass and we're lucky that she sleeps through the night without it.

No More Happy

I went away this weekend with 10 other women from our church to a beautiful "cabin" on Pettenwell Lake. Nate decided to wean Ellie from her pacifier while I was gone. I didn't have the heart to take away her "happy." Before I left, I cut the end off of it and that alone made me feel sad. Nate said it was a little rough at first. She kept asking him to fix it. "Happy broken..." she would say. The first night she woke up at midnight and was awake at 5 am. (It doesn't help matters that the clocks have had to change!) The next night was similar. She went back to sleep easily he said. She hasn't asked for it since, but it has taken up to two hours of being called back into her room before she goes to sleep. Praise God she is sleeping through the night and waking at a normal time. Nap time so far isn't as bad. Monday at nap time Ellie started to give me a hard time. She never actually asked for her pacifier, but I could tell she was having a hard time relaxing. I showed her her broken pacifier. She told me to put it back and chose to cuddle with Mikayla's framed Kindergarten picture and went right to sleep. That is so incredibly sweet. It must be that she's my last, but I can't seem to actually throw the thing away. The last night she was sucking on it before I left, I kept thinking of her as my baby still...

There are a couple of things that she's started doing lately. Not sure where she's picked them up from, but they are pretty cute. She's constantly nodding her head in response to a question. When playing hide and seek, she steps a little into a room and announces, "Nothing" and looks somewhere else. I think she knows you might be hiding in there, but is afraid to look. She also gets incredibly excited on Tuesdays when we visit the bookmobile on the way to take Mikayla to school. Last night I was struggling to get her to fall asleep and I told her she had to get some sleep so we could wake up and visit the "book bus." It seemed to do the trick and this morning as soon as Mikayla came downstairs and sat down, Ellie climbs on her and says, "Book bus today Kayla, book bus!!!" I was surprised she remembered. I'm guaranteed on Tuesdays that she will get dressed without a fight. One Tuesday, I didn't know where she was and she was already at the garage door, struggling with her coat. She still is reading a little more each day and is very passionate about her books.

Mikayla got to go on her second field trip this month and went to the Planetarium. I've never been to one and almost last minute found a sitter for Ellie.

Also this week, we checked out the new pizza buffet (Cici's) next to the new South Goodwill store. It was really good and very busy. Ellie surprised us all by asking to go potty. She's never asked to do that unless we were at home and I am holding a bag of M & M's!

Mikayla and I have colds AGAIN! I think it's been less than a week since we got over our last round. I'm hoping they ease up before I have to go to the sleep clinic Friday night. Otherwise, they'll for sure say I have breathing issues.

Well, next week is our 10 year anniversary. I know how some people say that time has flown by. It has seemed to go quickly, yet we've been through quite a bit together in the last 10 years. Can't wait to celebrate next weekend (which reminds me I need to confirm a sitter...). We are celebrating officially in April with a long weekend at a resort in Lutsen, MN. I love you honey.

Catching Up On Pictures

I'm behind on posting a few pictures of things. First, I've e-mailed this one to some of you, but here is my first diaper cake I've ever made. It turned out cute I think:


Next, here's the girls baking sugar cookies with me. They're sporting the aprons I made for them. We made a big mess, but they like helping me clean, so that's not too bad. Give each of them a soapy rag, and they have a blast. I'm glad I've passed my cleaning bug onto them...


Next, here's a picture of some flowers Kayla and I made last night as we were decorating for spring and Easter this week. We got the idea out of an Easter craft book that Kayla picked out on the Bookmobile this week.