HARPER ROSE 2 months old

Harper is now 2 months old and trying to lift her head

she looks a lot like her brother

here hair is strawberry blonde
a lot like my sisters

finally her head was off the pillow

Hunter was in the background shaking a rattle

so that she might look up and we could get the picture

He is a very loving brother and good helper for grammy

DINNER WITH FAMILY

My husbands sister took us out for dinner on Friday. She will be leaving for a month to visit family and we will be watching the plants and taking care of her house. The place is called MONGO'S GRILL ---You start by going through several buffet type lines where you fill a bowl with vegetables than meat(all different types) and then all types of noodles. Now you move on to the sauces, oils and seasonings. After filling your bowl as full as you can you take it to the cooks

Here is where the fun begins as they toss your food around on this big grill. There are a few sides you can also choose from...I chose fried rice on the side

We are waiting for our food to be cooked. I was taking the picture

It ended up being a lot a food for such a little bowl that you start with. I could not finish it all but they will give you a box to take it home in. Like they have at the asian restaurants.

I chose shrimp and scallops with celery, onions, peppers, bean sprouts , mushrooms and those funny green beans I cannot spell the name of. I also did sweet and sour sauce which I thought might be over whelming but it wasn't and then you add a scoop of oil..I chose garlic and seseme oil. It really was very good we will definetly try this place again when we are in the mood for stir-fry

We had a very good time with family.

GRAMMYCARE

Here we are finishing our second week of Grandmas daycare and yes I am exhausted. I head to bed between 7 and 8 everynight. I watch a little TV or maybe a movie and before you know it I am out like a light. It is a little hard being in a small space but we seem to be working all the little kinks out. I just pray everyday for energy and that I might make a small difference in their lives. This is one of those times where I am learning to really rely on GOD for his strength and wisdom. We had swimming on Thursday with Hunter and the baby sleeps the whole time. We made a cake for Grandpa. Hunter likes baking and doing dishes. I need to let him help more with the dishes and encourage him that helping is good. He loves his baby sister and we have no problems there except maybe too much loving. Ellie comes early on Friday so we made cookies with Nutella instead of peanut butter. She also likes baking and is getting better at it. I will be resting up this weekend to start week number three. I am a little sore from all the lifting , holding, carring and playing on the floor but I am sure it is good for me and I will adjust soon.

~~~~~Have a great weekend~~~~~

FAREWELL TO THE OLSONS

Here we are the day before they leave back to Washington and a snowstorm is moving in. The weather has been really quite nice for this time of year. We went swimming and hot tubbing to relax. All the packing and laundry were done. Our special shirts from Mall of America. A Swede sandwiched between two Norwegians

One of the downsides to taking the train is the time they arrive and depart. Here in Saint Cloud it is suppose to arrive at 5:14 am but they were about 4 hours late. They depart at 12:40 am, which for some of us is considered the middle of the night. The train was on time but that was the last of being on time. My sister told me later there had been a crash( freight train and car) shortly after leaving the Saint Cloud Station so they had to clear that up before they contined , this put them behind for about an hour I think.

The snow had been moving in all night and we had a couple of inches before they left. The wind was blowing which makes it more like a BLIZZARD. The roads were slippery and compacted with snow. The plows were not out yet so road conditions were not good. We were thankful we live about 15 minutes from the station and that we didn't have to go to the airport. (2hours away) The train arrives!

Now it was time to brave the storm and get on the train. The lady in the station said they would be last on because they had a sleeper but of course this was false.

They were first on so we had to hurry and say our goodbys

At least they got a hint of what it is really like living here in Minnesota. After a fairly nice week and the idea Spring was almost here we always get some kind of snowstorm. This train ended up being over 6 hours late and when they reached Spokane Washington they had to bus them into Seattle...Sorry but at least you will remember your trip and have lots of stories to tell everyone for sometime to come.

The blizzard like snow in the Dakotas covered the train signs so they had to go really slow, this put them behind then the crew had to be changed because the law does not allow them to work more than 12 hours a shift, this put them farther behind and before you know it they were 6 hours behind and riding a bus.

Goodby Jim and Jean

Hunter keeps asking about you. He wants to go with grammy to see you guys but grammy is taking a vacation without the grandbabies. He is just to young yet. Ellie looks at your picture and points to who's name I say. She laughs each time. They really liked your gifts. We are purchasing our tickets at the end of the month. See you in November(I hope) There is snow that time of year and you never know what the weather will be like in North Dakota. I hope we don't have to ride a bus...we already had that experience and we didn't like it.

Here is a short video before the train arrived ( it is so quiet when it snows)