Let's Have Frys With That

Check out those buns...

2012-01-07T20:06:00.000-06:00

Good to the last drop

Make-up at Grammas

2012-01-01T19:58:00.000-06:00

Yellow Gramma let the ladies get into her make-up a bit after a sleepover...Oh, boy...do they ever look pretty.

Fry Family Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T19:53:00.000-06:00

G and Uncle Kyle

Uncle Dave is funny!

Gramma and Macy

Slobber kiss, anyone?

Christmas can be a trying time when you're 4

Auntie Kara and G

Fry/Freske kiddos

Little Bud - Hunter

Grady stole my chair...

I just wanna get one of these darn ornaments

Yessss...Gramma to the rescue

I'm so happy!

They giveth...and then they taketh away!!!

Santa's Arrival at The Fry's 2011

2011-12-25T19:41:00.000-06:00

Santa came, again, this year...I believe he was persuaded to visit because of the great snowflake and picture/letter provided by the ladies. I like how Santa always writes back. He's such a good dude.

Jorey's working on her snowflake

Macy made the Christmas fish?

All done!

There's a Christmas letter, cookies (with lots of doo dads) and milk for Santa

Happy fellas

Christmas Eve with the Kath clan

2011-12-24T19:35:00.000-06:00

I love that my parents both come from a huge family...and I love that we all still get together. It's so fun to have our kids growing up knowing their great-grandparents and great-aunts and uncles...it is truly amazing that we can get 60 Type-A personalities together for Christmas and all come out still saying we love getting together. God Bless Everyone!

Jorey and Alix have fun

Grady had to give Great Aunt Tebra a high five!

Auntie buggy brings the best trinkets!

I'm already too cool for this

Oh, heck NO!

We're missing some of the kiddos - but here's a bunch...and Grady still loves Santa

Christmas with Orange Papa & Gramma

2011-12-23T19:19:00.000-06:00

my snuggle buns!

Poor Gramma...Macy was plugging her nose to eat the awesome gourmet potatoes!

Per my mom's request that we not have Christmas with our family right after big Kath Christmas, we go down the night before. This is due to one year that we all drank too many Norbs (Tom & Jerry's) and were drunk and crying...Her vote was legit and we all agreed it would be best. We host Christmas Day for the Fry's, too. This way, we get home and get settled before having our small family Christmas on Christmas Morning and then have the whole clan over later in the day. It's a lot of days of eating for Christmas (blugh...) But, it's fun to get together with everyone and have no place else to be!

And...more sparkle.

The Fam

Cookie day and Santa's phone call

2011-12-22T18:58:00.000-06:00

Every year, for the fourth year, now...my sisters and I make Christmas cookies with the ladies of the Fry house. This year, we did it right before Christmas, due to Mackenzie's current residence. We did get a couple extra visitors this year. Mark and Kara also joined the event. For the past couple years, we have talked our Dad into joining us...we like to have him roll out the cookies because it doesn't make him sad like it does,us... Later in the night, yellow gramma swung by. She thought she may know of a way to get Santa to call. Seriously...look at their faces. It was priceless! I wish I could remember the site we went on to set-up the calls. So Awesome.

Reginald Martin Fry, we will miss you.

2011-12-12T21:39:00.000-06:00

We lost our dog tonight. My first baby...We've had him with us nearly 9 years. I still remember bringing him home. He was about 7 pounds and whimpered the whole way. He was just so tender. The breeder told us to get him a kennel...that he would love it and it would be his happy place...to just leave it in the living room with some blankets and treats in there and that he'd go in there and make it his safe haven. Well, Reg wasn't having any of it. He would scream like a woman for hours at night. We tried to discipline his cute little butt, but he just wanted to be by us! So, finally we allowed him out of the kennel and put his collar on so he could snuggle on the floor in his bed. With the collar, we'd hear him get up and move around. He soon learned that when he shook his head, we let him out. It became the sign for life. He went everywhere with us for the longest time. That is, until Macy came along. His life was forever changed when she joined the family. One night, I think I broke his heart a little. He watched me sit in a chair and hold her all day...then, he got up, went to our room, laid in his bed and would have nothing to do with me until the next day. Ken was gone and he usually would sleep with me in the bed...but that night, I asked him to come up and he wouldn't do it. He was proving a point and had already developed a bit of Ken and I's stubbornness. He progressively became a great sport about the kiddos and let them climb on him and play with him whenever they wanted. They'd pull his ears, he'd yelp, and then look apologetically at us to make sure he was OK for yelping. Couldn't ask for a better dog and we'll miss him lots.

He had a really tough year, starting with a bacterial and staff infection in March that we didn't know if he'd survive, but he did. We treated him with antibiotics for 4 months and the hair never grew back in most of the areas that had the wounds. He was looking pretty tough in the end. A few months back, we went for a walk and he just wasn't acting quite right...couldn't keep up (and usually, he'd be running ahead, looking back to see if I was coming.) He couldn't walk straight, and his face was pulled to one side - we were pretty sure he had a stroke. The vet checked and noticed that his left eye had no reflexes - never blinked when she would touch it, but said it could just be an inner ear infection so we treated him with some antibiotics to see if it would go away. He got a little better - wasn't quite as crooked-faced after a while, drooled a lot, and was just a little less coordinated. I could tell he couldn't see as well out of one of his eyes, but we just thought it was the effect of the stroke. Well, Ken came home from work today and found Reg laying down. He couldn't get up and his eyes were twitching. Ken called the vet and took Reg up there. He had to carry him because Reg couldn't walk. I grabbed the kids and went to the vet. They informed us that they were confident he had a brain tumor - that was causing the problems - and there wasn't much they could do for him. The kids said goodbye, Ken and I said goodbye...Macy, who took it the hardest, told him that he would live in our hearts forever...and that he was the best dog ever and that she loved him very much. I think she said it very well. We had Reg cremated and we'll bury him in the back yard so we can have his spirit around. I choose to remember Reg as he was the day of Senior's 70th Birthday party...With a smile on his face. Reginald Martin Fry, you were THE BEST dog anyone could ask for.

Reginald Martin Fry 3.14.03-12.12.11

Leaps & Bounds Christmas Program

2011-12-11T18:54:00.000-06:00

Well, Macy's out, but Jorey and Grady still reside at Leaps & Bounds. Due to inclement weather, this jem was cancelled last year, but here are some shots of our little singer and our little reindeer rockin' it out.

Santa even came to say to wish us all a Merry Christmas!

2011-12-04T18:20:00.000-06:00

Every year, we venture to Hampton Hills to find that (attempted) perfect tree. This year, the girls had so much fun. We went with Yellow Papa and Gramma AND Auntie Amy and Uncle Nick. This was the first year they got their real tree. It's a whole other adventure carrying tank-biggins through the tree farm with slippery winter coats on...we needed to get a tree and get back in the car. :) Success!

The ladies love decorating the tree. I like watching their excitement and try to remember that it's way more awesome for them than it is for me, putting up the darn thing.

Another one bites the dust...

2011-12-01T18:15:00.000-06:00

Macy's teeth are falling like rain. She has now lost 3 teeth. Crazy thing, our toothfairy left the tooth last time...I know...Macy told her dad she wanted the fairy to leave it and somehow, then the fairy knew to do that. SO...we have a small collection started.

Macy's a Legit Baller

2011-11-14T18:10:00.000-06:00

We finally signed Macy up for her first basketball team. She wasn't so sure she wanted to be part of it, but after it got rolling, she fully embraced it. There were certainly days where she would shed tears after falling behind in a snake (older girls lead, 1st graders dribble behind and stay in a line). But, overall, she had a good time and won Lightening 4 times in a row the last day!

Scrub A Dub Dub

2011-11-01T18:12:00.000-05:00

Grady loves a bath and likes playing with his sharks!

We are all fascinated by sharks in this family.
He also digs his young buck PJs, courtesy of orange gramma.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T22:32:00.000-05:00

Ken did a fabtabulous job of carving the ole pumpkins this year. We decided to not spend our last dollar on the 40# pumpkins at Kev's Corner this year and opted, instead, for a couple small ones and one large one. This resulted in less fatigue after carving, as well.

Macy and Jorey insisted on being scary this year. Goodness...Macy picked the ghost...Boo! Jorey, the Pirate...Argh....

Macy and Jorey before Monster Mash at School

Pumpkins looking for Pumpkins

At Kev's Corner lookin' for the perfect ones!

I'm chunky and not fond of this costume!

Afton Apple

2011-10-24T22:47:00.000-05:00

Ken was out of state for the Police softball tournament in Vegas, so the Freske Family, Yellow Granny, and our crew decided to go to Afton Apple. We had a good time...couldn't get some of the other parents on board with "waiting your turn" on the cow train, but we did have a splendid time.

A Walk to the Park

2011-10-16T22:29:00.000-05:00

Auntie Heidi, Hunter, and Auntie Amy all joined us for a walk to the park to play. We had a great time. Grady was only mad in the pic below because I wouldn't let him eat wood chips. Jorey loved them too...what's the deal with them. Who so fab? I'll never know. Jorey can't remember and Grady won't either.

We had a good time and I'm so happy we have a cousin to play with...I'm not opposed to more. ahem...

Jorey FINALLY was willing to go down the pole without a death grip on me. Macy's still not ready...Maybe next year.
Once Jorey did it, she was a maniac and was swinging out to it and sliding down "super fast".

Macy found 2 caterpillars and chose to bring one home. Since we rode hotwheels, this was a bit of a challenge. About 1/2 of the way home, the caterpillar fell and was murdered by the back wheel of the hot wheel. We had to contend with some tears and it was quite tragic, but we usually find a caterpillar on the bridge this time of year. As if by some act of God, we found one...seriously, I told Macy there might be one on the bridge and when we got up there, we found one climbing up the side...She was happy, I was a bit mystified, and the caterpillar got a ride, with her hand on him at all times to ensure his safety, and then was released into our yard to enjoy his freedom once again.

Happy Man, Hunter!

So Brave!

One of our Caterpillar friends.

Dare Devil - Can't just sit and swing

Severs Corn Maze

2011-09-25T22:17:00.000-05:00

We decided to take a little trip to Severs Corn Maze this year, for the first time. Macy and Jorey brought a friend. Again, Brianna came with Jorey and Macy brought Maddie (finally, a girl friend!)
Everyone had a blast. We did the corn maze, slide, corn pit (Macy had corn in her crack and we had some scandalous removal situations!)
We went down the big slide, did a hay ride, got faces painted, watched the piggy races, and went through the corn maze...goodness, it was a busy day, but it was a good time. Before we left, we purchased a big bag of kettle corn and everyone shared it on the way home. I think that was the worst idea ever known, as there was popcorn covering every seat and all of the floor...wow...what a mess. But, everyone was so good. So many people asked us if they were all ours with their mouths open in awe...ha.
I'd love to have 5 kids, but it just isn't going to happen. Sometimes, when you consider time, money, and reality, you have to just say "when".

Macy's a First Grader

2011-09-06T22:18:00.000-05:00

Granny Kay is 80

2011-09-06T22:10:00.000-05:00

Norah, Macy, Olivia, Jorey, and Brennan

How did my sweet Granny Kay turn 80 already?! We celebrated with a nice little shindig out at the church in Meriden. My Granny has always been so super awesome. She's sweet and funny, but sassy and doesn't take any crap. She is 80 and still takes great care of herself. When I'm 80, if I have the life and spunk in me that she does, I'll be so happy. Macy is named after Granny Kay and I believe she's starting to represent exactly like I hoped she would.

It's getting to be so fun to get all the kiddos (my cousins' kids) together to play. They're all just as big of nerds as we were when we were growing up and playing together. I love this picture of some of them as they played school together in the back of the church. Please note Jorey's boots. You can't see them very well, but they say Woody and Buzz on the toe and have Buzz Lightyear and Woody on the side - they light up...as much as I tried to talk her out of these God awful shoes, she thought she needed them and wouldn't accept any substitutes. We bought them and they actually looked kinda cute with this dress (when you can't see the buzz/woody light up emblem)

Granny Kay

Granny and her BFF, Evelyn. I love that they are still buds.

A Weekend at Orange Papa & Grammas

2011-09-06T21:56:00.000-05:00

Jorey put this outfit together herself.

Orange Papa has been thinking the girls needed a Go-Kart for quite some time. It was never really something I thought they could handle until this year...and I don't know that I would have talked him out of it if I tried. He had "the one" chosen and I was given a choice on the color. I just said it had to be a bright color to be easily seen. Visions of crazy driving and bad things in my head...
It arrived...prior to the helmets and proper safety gear...and they thought it was sweet. It's built for little people, but if you squeeze, big ole folks like me can fit in there. I have to admit, it's pretty awesome to go peeling around in that thing. The girls just giggle like crazy. Papa kinda likes to join in the fun, too. Luckily, he still fits in there, too.

Gramma and Grady watched all the action from the sidelines

Sunday morning, we were all getting ready and Papa got down on the floor and was singing Merle Haggard to Grady. Grady was totally mesmerized and sat still, just staring at him with his mouth open. It was hilarious. When he'd stop singing, Grady would go back to playing, but when Papa sang Merle, he had to tune in.

Mario & Luigi

2011-09-01T21:50:00.000-05:00

Macy had SAC in Eagan for 2 weeks and they went to the Civic Arena for part of it. Every day, she asked for a mustache out of the vending machine...I refused. Fortunately, Dad is weak and purchased these because we've had a lot of laughed with our ladies and their facial hair.

At some point, I'll add the video of them dancing and singing with these...it's way better than the still image.

State fair with 5 kiddos...

2011-08-28T21:45:00.000-05:00

Zak, Macy, Jorey, and Brianna

We took a trip to the State Fair and the girls each got to bring a friend. They both chose their besties...Zak for Macy and Brianna for Jorey.
We had a good time, but it was packed, hot, and there was a little whining from the only boy in the mix...headache, sore feet...you name it. It was quite entertaining, so I did give him a piggy-back ride for a little bit and that helped a smidge.

Great Grandpa is 92...or 93...or something!

2011-08-23T21:46:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Grandpa Lynn's 92nd birthday. Wow! When we got there, he thought he was 93...it took some convincing and I don't know that he believed his daughter who did the math for him...but, he's 92 and feels 93...seems about right. I'm 33 and feel right behind him some days.

Oh, that Fair with Flair!

2011-08-23T21:39:00.000-05:00

The girls just love going to the Steele County fair, and I have to say that I love taking them. We met up with Mitz, Norah and Brennan last year and had a blast, so this year we added Dawn, Lane, and Kate to the mix. Not only were all the kiddos so cute and well be behaved, we did not have any skin burns on the sparkle slide, like we did last year. This was a win. My parents were kind enough to entertain Grady so we could really have a good time.


Even Orange Papa came to the fair. And, this brown deer eventually had to be scolded because Macy wanted to feed the white one and this one wouldn't go away. She told her "You've had enough!" - As you can see, Jorey is just spectating.

This slide is fun for moms and kids.


I had to get everyone one of these when the girls decided they needed one. Why shouldn't all the kids be sticky from head to toe?

As I watch the kiddos at the fair, it reminds me that kids just love to have fun and eat donuts. It's that simple, really.

Toothfairy is in da house

2011-08-17T21:40:00.000-05:00

First Tooth is lost for one Miss Macy K Fry.
She pulled it out at SAC all by herself. What a cool kiddo.

The Biggest Smile I've seen on Sr, yet!

2011-08-13T22:26:00.000-05:00

Well, at the last minute, we decided Sr. should have a surprise party. I wasn't feeling like there'd be much of a crowd, but since the old fella is 70!, I figured we should give it a try. Everyone joined together to get e-mails, facebook posts, etc. out and we set the date. Almost everyone could make it! It was great - we had a huge BBQ and I've never seen such a great smile on Senior's face.
It's pretty priceless.

I heard a rumor he may have shed a tear or two when he pulled up and saw the surprise...but, that could just be a rumor.

I'm OLD!

Macy is a 6-year-old

2011-08-11T22:18:00.000-05:00

Macy, my sweetie pie salaroonie...You are 6! How the heck did that happen? You're my kind-hearted and considerate little lady and I've thoroughly enjoyed all of the first 6 years. I love you very much. You do a great job at helping take care of your little brother and sister, as well as help Mom & Dad with other stuff.
Hope you had a splendid time at your bowling birthday party!

Kath Family Fun Weekend

2011-08-09T22:42:00.000-05:00

Oh, man...did we have to pack our entire house into our mini-van for this trip! This year, adding one kiddo, we had more with us than we left at home - how crazy. We went up to Breezy Point again and had great weather for a change. Last year, it rained all year. This year - mostly great.
The kiddos had a great time. The girls love playing with their cousins and Grady was a chill little buddy.
A couple most memorables...The girls got to get their picture taken with ELVIS! And, Jorey got a high-five while Macy was hangin' with Hanna and Chase on the boat. And, Jorey told Macy she got a high-five approximately 32 times. :)

We had lots of fun in a pool with a curly slide - guess who the biggest kid was? -Yep, Ken. He'd come down 90 mph and splash everyone...he was having such a good time :)


All the kiddos loved the slide. In lower left, it appears Kate will perish, but we fished her out of there safe and sound. Nobody was harmed in the making of this photo page!

The first time down the slide for Jorey took about 5 minutes...we were all crying, we were laughing so hard. She didn't really want to go, but I may have forced it upon her a little. She doesn't know what she likes, but I do, so she's going to have fun whether she likes it or not! ;) She got to the top, said she wouldn't go, and got pushed down...once she started, she did the crab walk the rest of the way. But, once she went down, she realized it was awesome and went about 50 more times. Macy was all about it, as long as her face wouldn't go in the water...these girls need more swimming lessons! phew.

Mom, this is embarrassing

2011-07-25T21:40:00.000-05:00

"Mom - this is embarrassing, but I have to tell you something"
(oh, no!)
"What is it, Macy?"
"The other day, I told Zak that I have a crush on him."
"You did? Well, what did he say?"
"He said, I don't have a crush on you. And then I said, No, I have a crush on you!"
"Well, what did he have to say about that?"
"He said, Well, then you have to kiss me and give me smooches."
"You didn't smooch him, did you?"
"No! We can't smooch or hug. We can't even touch."
"Just a high-five?"
"Yep, just a high-five."

good night.
I love this stuff. I hope she'll always tell me these tales.

Baby Buzz-Cut

2011-07-21T07:56:00.048-05:00

Something that some of you may not know about me...I love gramma crafts. I mean, I love everything that seems like I should be 60 to be embracing it. Sewing, knitting, and scrapbooking. If I could spend my days being crafty and trying to come up with new ideas to make cute things, I'd be in hog heaven. But, I can't afford to do that - you know - paying $102398437 for daycare...so, I try to get away and do my crafty stuff every few months, with some of my favorite ladies. We scrapbook. I'm making books for all my kids with little notes to them about how much I love them and enjoyed them growing up. I plan to talk about these days a lot when they're teenagers and think I'm worthless. It's bound to happen, so I'm preparing. And, some day I'll be gone and I like the idea of having something I made for them, with my feelings toward them so they'll always have a little piece of me. Yes, I'm a sap and these books will likely make it into a box in the attic, but maybe get read and looked at every few years. Anyways, I'm doing it. I went this particular weekend and received a call from my husband. He needed to know how to download videos "because I had to see the videos he just took" - 40 minutes later, we had them downloaded. I pulled them up and saw these videos:
one
two, &
three.
There were mixed emotions at Nerdfest (the name Ken has given our little adventures)
I'm not sure how I felt about it. Half in disbelief. A small part of annoyance that he would do that because I'm working on scheduling his 6 month pics and our family pics. And, a bit happy. For 6 years, I've been doing all this stuff - taking care of all the "care items" for our kids...and it was kindof cool that he finally got involved. I'm not sure that this was the way to do it, but I like that he thought he needed a haircut, so he did it. He also took the ladies to get their hair cut last week. He made an appointment, took them there, and surprised me. (we had actually discussed this, but I put the ban on it, due to Amy & Nick's wedding.) They were going to have flowers in their hair and we were keeping it long! But, that very next Monday, it was cut. Usually, we have conversations that are like this. "We should get the girls' hair cut."
"Ya?"
"ya."
"Does that mean I should?"
"ya."
But this time, he did it. It was awesome and awful all at the same time. :)
Here are the ladies before.

And, After...

OK - I'm totally kidding. These after pics are of them in a wig that Macy found in the basement with the Halloween stuff. They have cute little bob haircuts and I don't even have a pic of them, but we'll get some on here. Jorey wasn't such a fan of having this on.
Check out Grady, courtesy of Auntie Kara.

Grady before Buzzing - He wants to be a cowboy! This outfit courtesy of Kork & Mitz - so awesome. Uncle Kyle had named him "Spike", due to his hair sticking straight up.

fuzzy-wuzzy was a bear...

Here's Grady after his buzz-cut. I think this expression shows how we all feel about it! Dad now calls him "Butch". Nope.

We got another brother. Amy made a good, solid choice.

2011-07-09T08:52:00.001-05:00

With two such attractive people, it's hard to not have a beautiful wedding. So, it was. We welcomed Nick into the family and made Amy a Hall. It was a great day, lots of fun, and turned out wonderful.
Here are many pics - we took lots and somehow forgot to get a family photo before we sent the kiddos home with Orange Papa and Gramma. Dang-it. The goyles were flower-girls in the wedding and Ken and I were both in it, so we ended up calling on my parents and sister Natalie to help with Grady, Hunter & Payne. Thanks so much to you all for doing that. A fun tid-bit. After the wedding, My parents were driving my minivan with Payne, Macy, Jorey, Grady and Hunter to the reception. Wow - talk about overwhelming them just a little. When we got to the reception, my dad was sitting in the tent with Grady on his lap, looking like he smelled a bad fart. I think it was really that he'd earned a few beers already, but had to drive home, so he was forbidden that beautiful cocktail. I found my mom chasing the girls around, looking frazzled. She said, "You didn't tell me we were coming to a lake, with a pool, and a park (the girls' name for a swingset) that they can't play on!" I owe them a few favors after that day. :)
Congrats to Amy and Nick!

4th of July Fun

2011-07-04T08:43:00.000-05:00

Dad and Auntie Kara enjoy the slide, too!

We took it easy this 4th of July. We decided to stay close to home and have a fire in the neighborhood and then just go to the Eagan Carnival instead of driving all the way to Blooming Prairie and Owatonna as we have in years past. The Eagan carnival was fun, but hot and expensive, but we did get to go on a few rides and it was pretty fun. Then, we went to Auntie Amy's pool after that. How refreshing that was.

Grady and Dad @ the pool

Sisters having fun, together on the Dragon Rollercoaster

Jorey's working on being brave - getting way better.

Macy's lovin' the water.

Hunter enjoys the water with Mom.

Dad won you another stuffed animal, throwing balls SO hard.

Grady gets food...it took a sec to be tasty

2011-06-15T17:59:00.000-05:00

Adventures in Babysitting

2011-06-12T09:43:00.005-05:00

Amy's bachelorette party was on a weekend that Kyle was out of town. Thus, leaving Heidi with a decision to go home the night of the party or call in an amateur for babysitting duties. Nick was summoned and stepped-up to the challenge. Poor Hunter. He was in a strange place, with Ken and Nick (and our kids...but that didn't help) He was so sad all night. Nick said he would cry and then stop all night for about 4 hours. Finally, around 12:30, he slept the first time, but he would make sad sounds in his sleep. :( So, Nick looked pretty weathered when we arrived back around noon the next day.
First Video of the morning after here
And, the burping form here. Please note the fake burp.

"We're a-ok!"

Happy 4th Birthday, Jorey. You're my sassy little turkey.

2011-06-05T08:24:00.000-05:00

Well, Jorey, we've had quite an adventurous first 4 years and you finally got old enough to get that jumper at your birthday party! (We got one for Macy for her 4th, so you've been planning this party for 2 years!).
At 4 years old, here are some noteworthy details about you:
-You always want to go first. Dinner, take a bath, brush teeth, scratch back at bed time (and, you always need multiple smooches and going above your jammies will not do. You require slow and right on your skin and there's no cutting it short), get dressed, and get in the car - everything!
-You love riding bike. We get you on your little Dora bike with your helmet on and you just cruise. You still have training wheels until we get Macy riding without them, but you like to show me how cool you are by standing and pedaling. You go so fast! I always have to tell you to stop.
-On that note, you never want to stop. You always want to be outside, play in the pool, ride bikes, go for a walk, go to the park, etc. We are constantly on the go because of your persistence...
- And finally, you are a nagger. You will not stop until you have achieved your goal. It is persistence and will serve you well later on in life, but sometimes I have to tell you "no more!" Auntie Natalie says you'll be a lawyer because you just will not accept anything other than what you want.

I love you very much and can't wait to see what the next few years bring. You're a great little sister and big sister and handle your role as the middle kiddo quite well. You're our little boom boom!

Here are some photos of the Birthday Girl and her party.

We had all sorts of fun celebrating in Spidey style - jumper, gunny sack races, pinata, and a strange story game that Dad told where he was the monster and you had to run to the play-gym to be safe. It was pretty crazy.

On your mark!

Let's race!

Go, Go, Go!

Your tiny party people

Grady's joins the big guy's family. God, that is.

2011-05-22T21:22:00.000-05:00

We had Grady's baptism this morning in Meriden. Pastor Gary is so awesome and nice. He makes it rather fun, rather than painful. I'm really trying to find a smallish church with a great pastor and that's very hard to find, considering I also don't want it to be more than 10 miles from our house. Oh, well. That's a project. We had a great day, today.

My beautiful family is worth these thighs...but these photos prove that I definitely need to keep up with the diet...phooey!

The Shower

2011-05-21T21:22:00.000-05:00

Amy and Nick are getting married July 9th. We had the wedding shower on Saturday. Excluding the fact that Grady had some stomach issues and had the crabbies for a short while, we had a great time. Many people made it down to Rosemount, even though it was raining like crazy. We really had a great day, with many entertaining moments.

Mary Ann was reading off Nick's answers to the "How well do you know each other" game.

Jorey could not WAIT to get at this cake and needed to be in the picture.

Papa and Gramma got their hair done by Macy and Jorey, following the shower. How pretty.

I don't know why Gramma doesn't flatten the top of her coif more often. ;)

Mary Ann made the coolest cake for the event. Seriously, I wonder how many hours were spent on this! I have trouble with the ole square or circle cake. I don't know that I'd tackle this in my lifetime...or, at least until my kids are out of the house.

Future Basketball Stars? We're starting slowly...

2011-05-17T08:47:00.000-05:00

Ken put up a basketball hoop. It's the mother of all home hoops. This was a slight obsession for a while and the hoop was hindering the ability to focus on other household tasks. When it finally arrived, it was realized that we needed LOTS of concrete to anchor its mass. We had to hire someone to come over and dig the hole and fill the concrete. Luckily, Mark was available to assist in putting the base in and all was well. The hoop went up and the games began. The girls love working on their dribbling and shooting, while Dad has started a score tally in the garage for one-on-one games and horse/pig competitions. If you stop by, you'll notice that he's the reigning champ for these...thus, the likely reason for the tally on the wall. ;)
However, he better be careful because by the looks of these videos, the girls are going to get some mad skills...well, we'll see about that.
Basketball Video
1
2
3

Random stuff

2011-05-15T20:59:00.001-05:00

Jorey is totally her Mom's daughter. There are many reasons for this, but this pic illustrates her need for sleep. When she's tired, she sleeps. If we sit down to watch a movie - even if she likes it - she curls up on one of our laps and goes to sleep. She just can't stay awake. Here she is snoozin' with Dad.

Reginald has been steadily improving. He's shedding the last of the scabs from his wounds...and, he seems to be feeling better. He still seems to have some joint or muscle issues, as he slops his water all over when trying to drink, and seems a bit slower up the stairs sometimes, but he's also just an old man.

And, we found the best little craft kit (or, should I say, the Easter Bunny did) with tubes of glitter paint to make suncatchers. They turned out great and they didn't even make a mess. Macy was in heaven. Jorey helped, too...but, this was right up Macy's alley.

The girls crack me up when they play house. They now get their heels on and say they're going to "the mall of america", which is our kitchen. Such nerds. Here's Jorey with her baby, Hunter.

Ken put up a basketball hoop. It's the mother of all home hoops. This was a slight obsession for a while and the hoop was hindering the ability to focus on other household tasks. When it finally arrived, it was realized that we needed LOTS of concrete to anchor its mass. We had to hire someone to come over and dig the hole and fill the concrete. Luckily, Mark was available to assist in putting the base in and all was well. The hoop went up and the games began. The girls love working on their dribbling and shooting, while Dad has started a score tally in the garage for one-on-one games and horse/pig competitions. If you stop by, you'll notice that he's the reigning champ for these...thus, the likely reason for the tally on the wall. ;)
However, he better be careful because by the looks of these videos, the girls are going to get some mad skills...well, we'll see about that.
Basketball Videos

Here, Here
and
Here

And, Grady got a new seat with toys that he gets VERY serious about playing with. See that video Here.

Easter Egg Hunt in the neighborhood

2011-04-23T19:51:00.000-05:00

For the past few years, we host an Easter Egg hunt with our neighbor's, the Koehlers. We "hide" or just plop eggs out all over the back yards and then cut the kiddos loose. Good thing Anna is such a wholesome woman. She always lends the story of the true meaning of Easter to the kiddos before we set out to eat all the chocolate.

We were able to be in Owatonna and Rosemount to celebrate Easter with all of our family, so it was nice. I forgot my camera, so we snagged this cute pic of the ladies before we went searching for their Easter baskets that the bunny brought. How crazy that he makes it to all of their stops for Easter!

Reginald - He's good!

2011-04-19T21:23:00.000-05:00

I kindof forgot to update on Mr. Reg. He's great. Turned out he had a bacterial staph and strep skin infection that caused all those problems...

He looks a little funky, but is expected to make a full recovery. He's back to begging for food all day when we're home...:)

Macy Knits

2011-04-03T19:46:00.000-05:00

Some of you may know that Auntie Natalie is quite the knitter. Well, one weekend that she stayed with us, Macy wanted to learn to knit...and she DID! So, now Natalie comes and helps her and she knits stuff - until she gets bored with it, but it's super cute. Sometimes, bad things happen and Macy gets so frazzled...then, we all laugh because the whole thing is so silly.

Goyles in a box

2011-04-03T19:43:00.000-05:00

So, I don't believe we are into depriving our children of some pretty darn cool toys...but, folks...these Cub Foods boxes are the BEST! The girls have been sitting in them: eating lunch, watching movies, reading books, having snacks, etc. Seriously, the boxes have been part of every minute of the day. It's amazing.

Shots for our little man

2011-04-03T09:46:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday, we had to get those dreaded first shots. Poor Grady...he cried so hard his face was beet red and he screamed so loud once, that it hurt my ear. He was happy for a few hours after we got home, but then he was SO sad, he screamed for 20 minutes, we got ibuprofen, and then he cried off and on for nearly another hour... but, then, we were happy. Look at these chubby little thighs with 3 band-aids...that is just sad.
Here are some conversations we had about the event.
one
and two

Let's learn how to skate...

2011-04-03T09:39:00.000-05:00

Macy and Jorey are taking skating lessons. Jorey gives Ken a real eyebrow response to his questioning...how funny. I've never seen her act like that. She must have been nervous! They are pretty good at getting up, already. Dad taught them that. ;)

Learning to Ride

2011-04-02T19:39:00.000-05:00

The girls got bikes from Santa. We had a nice day, so Dad took them out. Santa may have been trying to save some dough by buying the bikes a little big...So, we might have to swap a little for the training...then, transition to the big bike. I threw that out as a suggestion and nobody freaked out, so it just might work to share. :) Sadly, they both think riding with training wheels is cool and don't seem to enthusiastic about learning to ride without them...

Reginald Martin Fry

2011-03-26T20:36:00.000-05:00

Those of you who have met our boxer, Reginald, know that he's a real tender heart. He is such a tender heart that each arrival of a new family member has been like a sharp knife to his heart when he doesn't get any attention for an extended period of time. Well, when Reginald started acting really strange last week, I figured he was just depressed. He started limping and we figured it was his recurring injury from years ago and figured we'd just see how he did for the next few days and then take him in - he started walking better. But, last week when Amy pet him and he yelped, I discovered some large, swollen areas of his body with some oozing business. Ken took him to the Emergency vet that night, he stayed over and needed antibiotics and it sounded really bleak - the vet there thought it was a terrible flesh eating fascheitis (sp?) that spreads quickly, etc. So, in the morning, we moved him to our vet, Inver Grove Heights Animal Hospital. They figured it was one of 3 things - none great, but one treatable, so he's been there since Thursday morning. I got to go see him last night and today. He's eating, drinking, and acting normal again - and if he's acting normal after being in a small kennel, in a room by himself for a few days, I've decided I'm going to pray and go with the best scenario for him, which involves bringing him home when they get the biopsy test. We were supposed to hear Friday night or this morning, but the biopsies are sent to California and they haven't processed them. Without knowing what was causing the problem, we can't bring him home with our kiddos until they know that it's not a contagious bacteria...So, our poor old man is hanging out at the Vet tonight. I'll go see him a couple times tomorrow - luckily, we have the best vet clinic and when the techs come to let the dogs out, they'll allow me to come hang with Reg as long as I want until they have to leave. I'm sure they giggle about what a gomer I am after I leave, but I just miss his craziness around the house. Sometimes I get so annoyed with him following me everywhere I go, staring at me and just waiting for that one little bit of petting I can give him...staring me down every time I'm in the kitchen to see if he can get a crumb of something on the floor...like he's starving! But, I miss all of that and just want him back home. If he gets to come home on Monday, I'm going to make a very conscious effort to let him stalk me for a crumb of food because it must just be that important to him to get a snack at that time. He's 8 years old and doesn't get a ton of attention, so he can stalk us for snacks all he wants. He just won't get it. :) I hope I can give you good news on Monday. Pray for Reg until then. If I have to give you sad news on Monday, then pray for our fam...we'll miss our old man. Here he is with his cow that was just delivered to him tonight. Hopefully, he'll be a little more comfortable in his kennel with Mr. Cow.

Reginald - March 2011

The debate - who does Grady look like?

2011-03-17T18:48:00.000-05:00

I, and many others have wondered if Grady looks like Macy or Jorey.
After a bit of reflecting on the past, I'm going to say he looks like both of them!

Grady and Macy @ about 2 months


Grady and Jorey at about 2 months

I'm going to say that the common link in all of them is...chubby cheeks.

Unscheduled Photo Session with Yellow Papa & Gramma

2011-03-17T18:36:00.003-05:00

Last night, Yellow Papa and Gramma came over. Grady was so happy to see them and we ended up taking a bunch of cute pics!

I have to take my little guy to Daycare for the first time, tomorrow. hmmm....I guess it's time.

Grady's 7 weeks old

2011-03-14T18:27:00.000-05:00

Like Mommy Does, the goyles do...

2011-03-12T18:23:00.000-06:00

Lately, to save time and keep everyone moving, the girls have been showering with me. One of the most exciting moments, other than "being in Mom & Dad's shower!!" is that the girls would like to wear their towels on their heads. They crack me up because they look like little bobble heads with those big, heavy towels on their little bodies. The simple things in life are what entertain these two to the max. ;)

Grady's Growin and getting to know his cousin Hunter

2011-03-10T17:58:00.007-06:00

Grady is getting so big and growing by the day - Here are a few of my favorite moments over the past couple weeks - Grady's 1 1/2 months old.

I'm hangin' with "Old Dad" (as he calls himself)

Another Homemade outfit from Mommy's work friend, Pat.


I'm lovin' this outfit that Great, Great aunt Ruth made me!

Hunter and Grady model their Christmas presents from Auntie Amy (Hunter was a much better sport than his cousin!)

Grady's many emotions of modeling his headware

Grady's a Month Old!

2011-02-24T13:49:00.000-06:00

I'm a month old!

Well, Grady's been in the family for a whole month! He's doing great and the ladies sure love him. Jorey is especially fond of him and really likes to give big hugs and tries to get him snuggled in as close as possible when she holds him. (see photo :) - The best part is that Grady seems perfectly content to be in a headlock with his crazy sister! He's part of the family and is starting to give us some big smiles and is starting making little noises and interacting with us when we talk to him. It's so fun. Mom could use a little more sleep, but I'll settle for the last couple nights when he's only up 2 times, vs. the 4 times he did the couple nights prior. I need sleep! He's quite a tank - has gained a pound a week or more at every appointment so I can't wait to see what he's at next month. I feel like he's getting thicker every day.
We had a little scare last week. Our pediatrician had heard a heart murmur the other day when we were at our check-up and she said if it was there a week later, we should have it checked out. We went to see the specialist, had to have an Echocardiogram (sp?) and an ultrasound at the age of 3 weeks, but that ruled out anything crazy going on with our little man's heart. He's strong and healthy, so we're tickled pink. I had to get a little emotional when he told me he was fine. The Doc had said the ultrasound would take 1/2 hour and we were in there for 2 hours! I started to panic...then, I learned that the tech we had doing the imaging was maybe a bit over the top. I guess that's OK - it just led to a lot of panic.

Let's get going, Mom!

Headlocks show your love and affection

The girls and I finally went outside to play in the snow. Wow, was the snow deep at our house - There were a couple times I had to stop to catch my breath as I pulled them through the yard in the snow up to my butt! Yikes. The girls had so much fun - melting and re-freezing snow had caused some very slippery conditions which made for a great sledding track on our baby hill on the side of the house. They giggled like crazy when they would hit the bumps. They went forward, backward, on their knees, on their bellies...all sorts of different positions. What a couple nerds.

Finally, Mom will take us out in the snow!

Great Aunties Rhonda and Buggie got us this snazzy poster of Justin Bieber!

Pulling the load of both goyles - what a workout.

And, since they were getting something for Grady, auntie Rhonda and Buggie got the girls their most prized possessions. A Justin Bieber poster, a calendar, and a CD with all their favorite songs. I'll have to get a new video of their dance-offs, as well because they have updated their dance moves. They're a little more, shall I say, risque...I don't know where they learned to dance like that! Certainly, not from this girl with no rhythm and I'm not sure Ken has been dancing like that...or has he?

Bieber Fever

2011-02-12T19:08:00.001-06:00

Well, today Auntie Heidi offered to take Macy and Jorey to Never Say Never. I had wanted to see the movie and could use a little time with the ladies, so I decided to check it out, as well.
It was one of the cutest things ever. First, the movie was in 3D, so the girls had their huge 3D glasses on. Jorey didn't sit down until about an hour into the movie. She stood up and bobbed her head along with the music. Macy was in a trance. Short of their popcorn refills and requests for Milk Duds, they didn't make a peep through the entire movie. Heidi and I both commented, at the end of the movie, that we had to cry through a lot of it. It was a very touching video and really cute. When we got home, I promised to make the girls a CD of his songs so they could sing along. Well, here's some video of their version of the song Baby...I'm glad they should be able to grab a couple extra words out of the song after playing the CD a few times. :)
Singing 1
Singing 2

Mom, Do you know everything? Of course I do...

2011-02-11T19:46:00.001-06:00

We've had a couple days with all of us at home, while Rosemount Elementary does their conferences. Grady's not sure what to do when his sassy sisters are home all day and they keep him up way more than he usually is when it's peaceful and quiet during our alone time. Yesterday, we took a trip to Burger King just to get out of the house. I regretted it a couple times. The girls were great... But, there were some "screamers" there. Now, I'm not one of those people that just thinks my kids are the best and everyone else's are annoying, but this time...they were...these kids would just yell and scream and make crazy loud yelling noises...I've just never seen a kid that can keep yelling and screaming about nothing for over an hour...Luckily, Grady slept through it and Macy and Jorey didn't seem to think it was as crazy as I did. We enjoyed our time out of the house, but I was happy to leave the screamer.
We've had some funny times together in the last few days. I swear the sleep deprivation is getting to me because there were many funny moments but I can only remember earlier today when Macy and Jorey were going to take a nap, due to excessive whining and tattling earlier - they were sentenced to a nap when I usually don't make them take one. I went up to check on them about 1/2 hour after they were supposed to sleep and found Jorey climbing the ladder to Macy's top bunk. Of course, when I walked in, she tried to throw Macy under the bus and said, "Macy said I should go up there."
I informed them that we wouldn't watch a movie with popcorn tonight if they didn't take a nap and if I heard them up again. Jorey, after a couple seconds of pondering this, asked me, "Mom, do you know everything?" I, of course, said "yes!" She, then said, "Well, would you know if we don't go to sleep?" I had to go with it, right? If I can keep her believing I know everything, I'm golden! The next time I checked on them, they were snoozing like little angels and there has been no whining or tattling since then. It's awesome.

wrestle-mania!

Grady is nearly 3 weeks old. He's my sweet little man and I'm enjoying our time together to bond in peace and quiet, though, these last couple days have been way more entertaining than the usual. :) The girls were wrestling most of the day, today...

Grady's almost 3 weeks old.

He got these cute booties from a friend at work. Jack's wife made them. She's talented!

Welcome, little man! Grady Steven Fry

2011-01-28T17:10:00.000-06:00

Well, we finally got our little man. Grady Steven Fry was born on January 24th @ 1:07pm. He was 8 lbs. 10.6oz and 22 inches long. I knew he was long with all those shots to the ribs and trying to kick outside my belly! I'm not sure how he fit in there, but he utilized all his space and more.

We're having a blast with our little man.

Come on, Boom Babba - let's see the world!

2011-01-08T11:22:00.000-06:00

I want my baby! I want to see him and snuggle him and hold him...but, mostly, I want him out of my oven!
After my appointment on Friday, I'd hoped my Doc could work some magic with some membranes (I'll spare you the details) - it didn't work.

Please pray for me...I don't want to be pregnant any more and I have no tricks up my sleeve to be done with this...:)

I keep telling him it's way more fun out here...he's not listening.

I'm Skating! Well...sort of...

2010-12-27T10:27:00.000-06:00

Before the adventure begins...

Uncle Kyle and Auntie Heidi got Macy and Jorey their very own feminine-looking Hockey skates for Christmas. Dad's been talking about teaching them to skate for a while, so it's probably time to get them on the ice. Jorey wants to play Hockey, so she better learn to move around on the ice prior to any lessons in hitting pucks and swinging large objects...someone would definitely get hurt. I'm still curious to see what Macy decides to do with sports - she seems to have little interest in contrast to her sister. This is going to get interesting when we start signing them up for activities...the small amount of free time we have, now, will be gone. :) I best start preparing for that.

Here are some shots of Ken, Kyle, Payne, and the girls working on this skating thing (I was little help with my no skating know-how and large belly, so I slowly walked around the ice trying to get pictures...no wipeouts). The first time over the ice, they were like little deer, just spinning their wheels. Then, after about 1/2 hour, they were getting up on their own and inching along. I was amazed at their progress and Dad did a great job being patient with our emotional little ladies. :)

Before - and during...When I took the 2nd picture, Macy tried crawling away stating, "I'm getting outta here!"

Uncle Kyle, How the heck are we going to do this thing?

Payne's got it all figured out.

Success!

Let's take a lap, Dad.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T10:13:00.003-06:00

What a great Christmas season for 2010. There was more snow than anyone needed, beautiful dresses made by Orange Gramma, Great family to spend time with, great food (way too much - thanks for 2 more months of dieting to get back in shape after Boom Babba's born).

The girls fully embrace the Christmas season with Elfie and mousie - that keep an eye on them when Santa can't...every day, they looked to see if he moved and sometimes he was in the craziest places that they just couldn't believe they could get there! Every day, I realize that life's way more exciting when you're a kid and I love watching them light up at the slightest thing. Christmas is the most magical thing in the world to a 3 and 5-year-old.

Macy wrote her own letter to Santa, with a little help from Mom with some spelling, and Jorey traced what I wrote as she told me what she needed to tell him. I thought I took pics of the letters, but I didn't and we tossed them. They were pretty funny, but I can't remember all that was on them. Oh, well...I'll get my act together for next year. I'll blame it on baby brain this year.
Santa must have really thought the girls were well behaved this year because they each got a new bike! Macy got a blue one and Jorey got a purple one! perfect! They also got some ice skates, games, toys, just a ton of great stuff. I can't wait to have this baby so it's easier to play with some of this stuff, with them. I know I'll have less time, but I'll be able to move around...starting to feel pretty handicapped. Boom Babba - come on out!

Hunter Henry Freske - We've got a baby nephew! ...finally!

2010-12-16T09:25:00.003-06:00

I'll wake up for a pic and then I'm going back to sleep!

Well, after much whining and harassment by moi, Kyle and Heidi finally had a little bundle of joy to grow the Fry brood. Clearly, this was not a gift to me, but at least they don't have to listen to me whine any more...Well, maybe for one more...but, I'm just glad we got one! :)

Sleepyhead

The girls are completely pumped and want to hold him every time they see him. He sleeps an awful lot, but they don't mind. He's super cute and sweet so they just like to snuggle. We can't wait for him to meet his cousin! Lordy, we can't wait...me, especially. But, we'll take to snuggling Hunter until we get to meet our own little man. Then, we'll have plenty of babies to take care of and snuggle. I look forward to being able to hold him without the mound-o-baby in my own belly. He'll know who the heck I am by then...and, I just can't wait to get him his first ball tent! The fun is just beginning!

We love you, Hunter!

This is the best

There's a memorable story, here, with the name. I'll share an abbreviated version. Heidi, Kyle, Payne, the girls, and I went to the water park one summer day, shortly after Heidi and I both found out we were expecting. In a conversation about names, I stated that I figured we had a boy name picked out if it happened to be a boy...and shared what it was. The look and silence said it all...that was their name. How strange that we would both pick the same one! So, all along, Heidi and I agreed that whoever had their baby first (my odds weren't good) would get the name and the other just pick something else - big deal. Fast forward, my prego neighbor forgot it was a secret and said something to Ken. He wanted the name. Fast forward another few months when we find out ours is actually a boy...something that I figured was such a non-factor as I figured we were having another fine lady...Heidi and Kyle get uncomfortable just taking the name. How nice, but not necessary. One night, while playing cards and possibly indulging in a few too many cocktails, Kyle and Ken decide they should have "drawn a card" for the name. ha. Well, I laughed and didn't think much about it. Then, fast forward a couple more weeks when Heidi's in labor. I'm in a work meeting, talking to a client - and just so happened to be at that meeting with my father. His phone rings and he says, "Ya, she's right here". I figure it's an emergency and take the call to hear Ken say, "Heidi's in labor so Kyle called and figured we should flip a coin. I'm on my way to Stillwater and could swing in. Should I do it?" "Sure", i say "If I win, should I just give them the name?" "What sense does that make? Either don't go and give them the name or take the name if you go and flip for it and we win. Either way - doesn't matter - your call." So, he does... While Heidi's pushing to deliver a baby, the nurses cover her up, Ken comes in, the nurse flips a nickel. Heidi calls tails - it was heads. So, we get Grady and they get Hunter. So, when our son is born and gets his name...you'll know we had to earn it. We've discussed many times that nobody "wins or loses" - but this was just the first silly competition between 2 boys that will likely be in the same grade and play the same sports, etc. How silly!

Peaceful little Christmas Angel

If you procrastinate on getting a Christmas tree...you must suffer!

2010-12-12T20:43:00.004-06:00

So, we procrastinated this year. Not without good reason. One weekend, I was out of town. The next weekend, my parents wanted the girls...I took advantage of a full day to steam clean the carpets - shout out to the Rug Doctor - 4x over the floors, the carpet looked and felt like it was brand new! I got stains out from 4 years ago. It was awful to do it, but awesome to have it done. Anyways, so that's why it waited until this weekend. Wow...this was the worst weekend in my "real tree" life to go get one. We planned to do it first thing on Saturday, but due to winds, snow, and Hampton Hills being closed...we clearly had to put it off until today. It was fairly entertaining. First, I had gotten the girls these little hoodie things that will keep their necks and faces warm...I think they are awesome...Macy agreed. Jorey --not so much...

she told me she's NOT smiling because she doesn't want to wear that hat/scarf thing!

Once we got to the tree farm, she was all smiles for the ride through the trees and the pending excitement of the joyous adventure waiting for us.

Don't go Tree Hunting after a Blizzard, nerds!

Dad got out when we stopped so he could go find the perfect tree. We got our jackets on and were going to come find him after he located our "beauty". Well, when the girls and I got out of the truck, we sunk into snow up to my shins. Then, we took another step, and the snow was up to my knees. The next step was up to my thighs and Jorey said "No Way". So, I threw her on my back and Macy and I kept going...the snow got deeper and deeper until I could barely get my feet up high enough. We aborted our mission and headed back to the truck. Dad had to be brave and get the tree, and then haul it back through the snow that was up to his waist. It was funny and awful all at the same time because Ken refused to get a pre-cut tree and then hauled the scraggliest tree we've ever bought back to the truck. Oh, well. The memories are going to be great! When he finally got back to the car, he had some frozen facial hair that the girls thought was soooo funny.

When we got home, we decorated the Charlie Brown tree all up. In the dark, with the lights on, it's quite pretty. My little tree decorators did such a great job and they finally grasped the concept of decorating the whole tree this year - not just the bottom branches. Though, we did have to have a few reminders that there is only one decoration per twiggy branch, they really did a fine job and it's fun to see how excited they get about a task I could really take or leave. I have to try to remember to look at Christmas through my daughters' eyes because they seem to enjoy it much more than me.

The Ghetto Gingerbread House was constructed here...

2010-12-11T19:48:00.000-06:00

My poor kids...they have only me to try to put artistic flair to their daily tasks.
We bought a pre-made Gingerbread house - the cookie pieces were a little crooked, which resulted in 4 collapses prior to getting the structure set. Then, we decorated it with many candy pieces that must have been leftover from last Christmas because they were all stuck together and broken...then, add in my inability to be artistic and you get the result we have.

But, the girls loved it and thought it was really fun. They have picked many pieces of icing off prior to my threat of throwing it away if they keep picking candy off of it. Here they are...and, yes...Jorey looks like a shaggy dog, but she did NOT want her hair in a pony.

This was also a really great activity to do on the craziest weather day in the world. My lunatic of a husband went out hunting. I'm happy to report that he didn't get shot in the zero visability, while shooting guns. The wind was blowing the snow straight sideways, the windows were all coated with snow, and we weren't going anywhere! It was a nice warm day, at home.

Tomatoes...

2010-12-04T13:23:00.000-06:00

Macy: "Mom, what are those big chunks on your salad?"

"Tomatoes"

"Yuk. I don't like Tomatoes"

"I love Tomatoes. They're delicious and good for you. They'll make you big and strong and help you have beautiful skin."

"Well, why don't you have beautiful skin?"

"Hmmm...I guess I don't eat enough of them. Thanks for noticing."

My sweet girl is just very honest...I can appreciate that.

Dad's Deer: Where's the hair?

2010-11-29T21:36:00.001-06:00

So, Ken shot a doe this year and brought it home to show the girls. At the time he brought it home, he informed our little ladies that they were going to have the pleasure of eating that deer. They had a lot of questions for me on whether or not they were actually going to have to eat it. I said, "Not if you don't want to". They didn't. Well, Ken cooked dinner tonight and made venison ring bologna. When he brought the packages of meat up from the basement, the girls were very traumatized and said, "I don't want to eat the deer. Mom, do we have to eat the deer?" I said, "We'll try it and see how it tastes." So, with scrunched up noses, they sat down at the table with dinner. Jorey looked at the meat on her plate and said, "Dad, is this your deer?" He said, "Yes." She replied, "Where's the hair?" We laughed so hard. No wonder they were SO traumatized. Macy and Jorey both thought the deer would be eaten as a large, hairy wonder. Poor things. In the end, everyone ate Dad's deer, he was so happy, and dinner was excellent. Mixing enough other meat, seasonings, and salt in with venison makes it quite tasty.

Cookie Day!

2010-11-27T21:20:00.001-06:00

Every year, my sisters come over and we make cookies with the goyles. This year, as a special little treat, Orange Papa came to assist with the roll-outs. It made our venture much more efficient. :)

here are some shots from the day. And, just FYI, Jorey ate every cookie she frosted. Macy took "go ahead and clean out the bowl to mean, actually lick it clean! Auntie Kenzie had a tough time getting there on time, due to her boyfriend being in town from Chicago, so we had to snap a picture of her with her morning cup o' joe. And, Jorey's turkey hat was pretty cute, so I figured I better include that one.

Interviews with the goyles

2010-11-13T15:54:00.000-06:00

Halloween 2010: The Wicked Witch and Ladybug Princess

2010-11-01T07:42:00.000-05:00

We had another great Halloween this year. The girls are always so fun at this time. This year, they really were excited to get their costumes on and just be goof balls. Our tradition is always that Dad takes them trick-or-treating while mom hands out candy and we have anyone over that's interested in some sloppy Joes or whatever we're eating that year. It's nice and relaxed. My favorite is leaving the big door open and seeing the little ones at the storm door pressed right up to the glass...they don't ring the door bell, they just lurk...It's so cute.

Goyles...and a Boy?

2010-10-23T17:22:00.000-05:00

Well, a few months ago, the discussion about whether to find out what we are having came up. Ken and I strongly disagreed. I didn't want to know. He really wanted to know. We compromised. At the 5-month check-up, we'll get it in an envelope and he can find out if he can keep it a secret. Well, it just didn't work.
First, at the ultrasound, the tech slipped at the end and said "his legs are closed". (or, we were pretty sure she said that). Then, at that first ultrasound, they gave us the envelope, but noticed that the baby's stomach looked a little small. So, I went back to just verify that it was A-OK. And, it measured just right...so that was excellent news. However, when the tech was getting started, I looked up at the screen, feeling very confident that I wouldn't be able to identify anything if I saw it. But, there it was...just the little snausage and the nuts staring me in the face...I looked away quickly - thinking that maybe it wasn't really what I saw and kindof in disbelief that it could even be a boy - with 3 girls in my family and 2 already in this one, I just assumed and kindof was planning for another one. So, with my mental block, I still wasn't totally convinced I knew what we were having. Then, the tech asks if I know what we're having and tells me that she's glad I missed the last shot because there was just a really good one of the baby's anatomy. Well, so then I'm almost certain I know it's a boy. How strange. For a couple weeks, I just told Ken I thought it was a girl and thought I saw something. Finally, on Tuesday of this week, he just couldn't take it any more and opened the envelope. Then, the cutest thing ever happened. He got a little teary, he had lots of perma-grin, and he kept hugging me, telling me that he just wants to tell me what it is. Well, I know he'd be happy with another girl, but really...is he going to tear up and need hugs and be permagrin? Likely, not. So, I'm 98% sure I know what it is, but don't want to look. Wednesday night comes and we're eating dinner. He hands me the envelope and tells me to look. We go back and forth all night until I had to leave to pick something up from work. When I leave, I start thinking that it's pretty silly to be stubborn and not look when I pretty much know what it is. So, I text him "I'll look when I get home." He replies, "Look for what?" (totally thought I was texting the wrong person.) I tell him that we can look at the ultrasound when I get home. So, the girls and I went upstairs with Daddy, sat on the bed, and opened. What a surprise when I saw "I'm your girl" on the bottom...nerdy Dad had taped a note over the real message. So, then, I pulled the note off and saw this,

I'm a little nervous and still in disbelief that our little ladies are going to have a brother. Their first question, "Can we put make-up on him?" Ha. He's going to be dressed up like a little princess a lot, I think. Oh, well. It'll make him a well rounded fella when he's older. Now, for a name...

Breastfeeding

2010-10-17T13:41:00.000-05:00

I totally forgot to post this a few weeks back -
While I was gone in Owatonna at "Nerd Convention" (that's what Ken calls it) - Scrapbooking weekend, Ken was home with the ladies. One night, they watched the documentary called "Babies" and saw all sorts of new things and apparently were all mesmerized(sp?) by the babies and how they're raised differently.
Well, the next day, Ken was carrying his laundry upstairs and looked over to find Macy breastfeeding hippos and then Jorey breastfeeding a toy chipmunk...
After the initial shock for him, it was pretty funny and I said he had to get a picture. I bet that hippos and chipmunk were still mighty hungry after that feeding. ;)

Fischer's Apple Orchard

2010-10-10T16:23:00.000-05:00

What a fun weekend. Dad took the ladies to a St. Thomas football game on Saturday so I got all the yard work done. I even trimmed the pricker bushes around that house that have had us looking quite ghetto for quite some time. I have war woulds to prove it, but those buggers should be good until next year...when we pull them out and replace them with something lush and pretty, rather than prickly and only pretty in the fall.

Sunday, we went to Fischer's Apple Orchard with some friends, Brent, Vanessa, and Autumn. Vanessa and I always laugh that Brent and Ken have a bromance and the more I get to know them, I see that they are two peas in a pod. We had a great day and then came home to have sloppy joes and pies. That was yummy and will contrubute to my "boom-babba" status.

The girls had a blast riding on the little Train they made out of old barrels and drove with a lawnmower. I could hear Macy giggling the whole time - it was pretty fun. And, I loved the little measuring boards to see how tall they are every fall. We'll definitely have to go back to this one. They had a huge corn maze, pumpkin patch (though, with the heat, there were many wounded soldiers in the field), hay ride, apples, of course, and some pretty funny little goats and chickens.

We have quite the artistic skill set here in the Fry household

2010-09-15T10:47:00.000-05:00

There's been a couple really funny developments in the last couple weeks. Daddy drew Macy...I didn't get a picture of his drawing of her, but she cried and then he told her to come show me. She was still a bit distraught. So, I tried not to laugh and just told her that Daddy tried his best and that he's just not a very good drawer --I explained that she's much more beautiful than that. So, then, she drew Dad. (I'm totally laughing out loud as I write this because it was one of my favorite things that has ever happened...)

And, then Macy drew Jorey...

Jesse James Days

2010-09-11T10:41:00.000-05:00

Well, Ken wanted to play ball (weird) in Northfield and I had nothing planned, so we decided to take the family down there and go to the carnival at Jesse James Days. It was pretty small, but the girls had a great time and I got to eat fried pickles...seriously, is that not a pregnant girl's dream come true? Take a pickle, put some batter on it, fry it, and give me some ranch dressing to dip it in. YaHOOOOOOOO!
Though I'm a boom-babba (that's what we've named the baby until we get to meet the little bugger)--and, sometimes the girls call me a boom-babba -- I still made it through the little obstacle course with Jorey...a couple small crevaces were a bit of a challenge, but Boom-babba and I made it through with a few short breaths...

Macy goes to Kindergarten!

2010-09-07T18:18:00.000-05:00

Well, we all survived the first day of school. Macy was super excited and perma-grin all day. Ken and I got her a little present - a book called Someday. I thought it would be so cute and read it in the store just fine, but there was something with the moment + the reading out loud + being pregnant and emotional, but I could barely finish reading it to her this morning. She turned around and looked at me, confused, and said, "Mom, is this book sad?". Wow...how goofy. Poor kid. She's trying to figure out if she missed something and why Mom's a blubbering idiot when she's thinking it's a nice book. Well, I finally just said I'm really happy and proud of her so it's making me emotional. I don't think that made much sense because she said, "Well, this is a sad book, huh."
We met her teacher, Mrs. Kelly and tried to figure out all of the things we had not been able to figure out, quite yet. ha ha. I think we're all ready for day 2, tomorrow! I'm going to try to not freak her out with emotional breakdowns!

Natalie builds cool stuff with Tinker Toys

2010-09-06T10:18:00.000-05:00

Auntie Natalie was over and watched the girls while I ran to the grocery store. What a strange sensation to have all the time in the world to just wander in peace and quiet! It was strange how relaxing the grocery store can be, sans kiddos.
She helped the ladies build the coolest ferris wheel with Tinker Toys and it was great. I wanted to get a picture, so Jorey decided to pull two pieces off and it started falling apart. I scolded her a little, so she really had some sadness that I would dare scold her for ruining the project.

Como Zoo and Como Town

2010-09-05T10:06:00.001-05:00

Dad was out of town at his National Softball Tournament (they took 2nd, by the way), so the girls and I decided to try Como, rather than the MN Zoo. I don't know that they'll ever want to go back to the MN Zoo because the animals at Como are pretty cool and then...there's Como Town. I felt a bit financially raped by the cost of a ride there, but look at the smiles. ;) On the dragon rollercoaster, Jorey looked like she was going to cry or scream the whole time and Macy had the giggles. But, when they got off they were all smiles, so maybe Jorey just had her game face on.

The swings are always a favorite and for our trek to Busch Gardens in May, Jorey was too small to go on them, so that was an extra special treat. The only downside to this trek was the vast quantity of bees that wanted to swarm around our slushies. Once we finished them, we were good to go. I'd like to suggest covered garbage cans for Como Town...just my two cents worth...every time we tossed something in, about 50 bees would swarm all around. And, for those of you that don't know, Macy has developed a fairly irrational fear of bees. This fear has caused loud shreaks at moths, flies, and skeeters...on the off chance that they may later be identified as bees. We've worked on it a lot, so she really tries to keep it together, but if one comes close, she loses it. Those darn bees!

We finally saw some monkeys...they were hilarious. I highly recommend them. This fine monkey climbed right up by us, looked at us and looked like it was smiling. Then, it picked it's nose and ate it. I laughed and told the girls what happened. Macy yelled, "Gross!" And, then, the monkey turned around and faced the other direction. So funny. There was also the cutest little baby trying to get to the top with a pink bucket. After it reached the first platform, it put the bucket on its head. They were putting on quite the show.

The Steele County Free Fair 2010

2010-08-22T18:50:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, the girls and Mom went down to Owatonna to join Mitz, Norah, and Brennan for a day at the fair. It was so HOT, but it was a blast. Our kiddos did great for the most part, but about 4:45, we suffered some friction burns on the Jungle course slide that ended it for Macy and then we determined we must bail. But, before that happened, we hit nearly every ride, laughed a lot, and ate some delicious food. Poor Brennan is such a peanut, he was too small to go on some rides, but he did finally get on the monkeys with Macy as his companion and then a couple other decent rides. Mitz had to take him on a few special carousel rides and let him pull a duck for a car as a prize because the sadness was taking hold. On one funny note, Dad got Brennan dressed for the fair and chose a nice shade of white. By the end of the day, he was speckled in many colors. I believe he's the reighning Ziggy Piggy.

More Party - Less Little People

2010-08-15T18:30:00.000-05:00

We had one more big people party for Macy this year and she ended up with a gift that provided some funny pics. Auntie Amy and Uncle Nick got her some faux leather leggings and the cutest hat ever. She loved modeling them for us with some rock star poses.

She worked on her soccer shot, complete with the shin guards. We watched the Twin's, ate Pizza, and had the greatest day. Even great Granny and Grampa were there to share the day with us.

Party All The Time...

2010-08-14T18:22:00.001-05:00

When you're 5 and you have a party at Chuck E Cheese, prepare for madness! Wow. We had so much fun with 15 kiddos in attendance. The nice part about having your party at Chuck E's house is that you don't have to worry if a kid should leave your eyesight...or, you completely lose them...because they just lock you in and won't let you leave if your stamp doesn't match the stamp of the one you came with. That's genius and nice for parents that try to have big parties.

The Ticket Blaster!

I think the best part of the day, for me, was when Macy went in the ticket blaster. The object is to get as many tickets as you can. She grabbed a few big ones and then looked down, smiled, and stood as still as a statue until they turned off the machine. It was so funny!
Macy was in heaven and enjoyed every second of the day. I have to say, Mom, Dad, and Jorey did, as well. Yellow Gramma made a great Ariel cake for all to enjoy, and there were smiles abundent.

The Party People!

Macy Kathleen - 5 years old!

2010-08-11T07:15:00.003-05:00

Macy, my big girl! You're 5 today! I know it's only one more year than 4, but 5 just sounds so old! I'm sure it's just because I can't believe you're off to Kindergarten in less than a month. I'm so excited and nervous for you to take this next step. From here, Mom and Dad will get progressively less cool and you'll have other friends to entertain you. That's OK, though, because you're going to have a blast.
I hope you'll still cuddle up with your old mom and watch movies, go for bike rides (you'll have to start riding on your own) and play games and read books with me. I'll try not to have too many rules, but these are treacherous waters you are entering. Luckily, I remember all that I learned on the bus and you won't be riding it, so that should save your naivity for an extra year or 2.

I love you, sweetheart. And, I hope you have a great day.

Crafty Day

2010-08-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

Jo-Ann Fabrics proved to be too crafty for us to escape without some projects. Macy and Jorey both chose a window hanger to decorate. Macy wanted to paint and Jorey let me pick hers so we went with the ladybug with the plastic pieces that you bake. Both proved to be messy, but fairly darn cute.

Kath Family Fun Weekend 2010

2010-08-05T16:16:00.048-05:00

Again, this year, we went up to Breezy Point Resort for our favorite little family get-away. We always take off a night early and go stay in Baxter so we can avoid driving for days in the crazy traffic on the way up on Friday. This year was probably the most fun we've had at the water park. Jorey was so brave! She actually went on all of the slides - tube slide and the big red one that Mom and Dad could go with her on. It was great. Macy has always been a bit braver around water, so we had no fear about her ability to loosen up, but after a bit of hard-nosed coaxing, Jorey was flying down the big slides with a smile on her face. Of course, we spent our fair share of time in the kiddo-friendly hot tub, as well, because Macy loves it. She always has permagrin when she gets in and walks through the suds up to her chin. We even enjoyed ice cream as part of our package for staying there. It was fairly exhausting for all to be in the waterpark for 2 whole days, but it was great fun.

The kiddos always have such a great time playing together. It's fun for me to watch generation 2 of the insanity that is always present when a large sum of small children are given all day to choose what they would like to do! Macy and Norah were inseparable. Those 2 had the most fun just being geeks all day. It reminded me of Kory (Norah's dad) and I when we were little. Just give us an hour together. We'll figure out how to have fun. They did. Jorey and Jackson seemed to play well together. Sometimes, I feel bad for Jorey - she's just in a strange age where the little ones are too little and her big sister shuns her. Oh, well. She'll survive. She seemed to have a great time with anyone that was interested in playing for a while. We spent the first day on the beach, in the sand. Orange Papa was attacked by Norah and Macy until he started fighting back. It was giggle-attack time, then. They thought that battle was hilarious. The 2nd day brought rain and clouds, so we hit the indoor pool. Macy and Norah had jumping contests off the side of the pool until Macy scraped her foot on the bottom of the pool...then, there was trauma and mom had to try to carry two ladies home in the rain...Uncle Steve came to save the day and grabbed Macy from me...Big, pregnant 2x4 mom and 2 big girls = near heart attack. We all had a good time.

There's an Elvis impersonator that plays up there - he's pretty darn good and you can sit on the beach and boogie. There was a lot of dancing going on. We played lots of cards, some beanbags, washers, golfed. It was fun and entertaining. We drew for golf teams and my team had to name ourselves "Team Underdog". We were, Rhonda, Alix, Marshall, and unskilled-me. Well, I have to say our 4 over par was pretty fabulous for our team. And, I bet we had the most fun! I'm definitely giving Jason the "best stance" award for tossing bean bags. That's funny. And, Andy was looking so fabulous as he tried to prevent grease stains while cookin' up the taco shells for our delicious dinner.

On Saturday, Kork & Mitz had purchased Joke Jelly Belly Jelly Beans. These were hilarious and awful all at the same time. There were a couple flavors of the same color, but the joke was that some tasted like cockroaches, boogers, pencil shavings, skunks, and multiple other nasty things. I had to eat a booger, skunk, cockroach, and I don't even remember what else, but those were the worst. Yuk. But, as you can tell by the faces around those that were suffering, it was pretty funny.

Big, Medium and None...

2010-07-27T19:11:00.000-05:00

This morning, Macy and Jorey were telling Ken that he has really big muscles. They said they're so big just like a picture of someone in the Guiness Book of World Records. Macy offered up some additional information on her future uncle, Nick. He has kindof medium and little muscles. So, tonight, while we were eating dinner, we were talking about that. I asked what kind of muscles uncle Kyle has. Macy and Jorey both agreed that he doesn't have any muscles...It was so funny.

How many pairs of panties should a 3-year-old wear?

2010-07-15T09:23:00.001-05:00

So, I'm making dinner the other night and I hear..."I can't get all my panties up!" I kindof ignored it because Jorey likes to pretend to be helpless on a regular basis. She enjoys making people walk from the other end of the house to pull up her pants...just to do it. So, then, as it went on, Macy ended up in there and said, "Why do you have 2 pairs of panties on?"

I'm pondering in my head what happened and how she got 2 pairs of underwear on. That morning, in an effort to combat the "neediness" factor, I had told Jorey that she should get herself dressed because I'd be so proud of her if she could do it all on her own. She agreed that she could do it and did a great job! Though, she forgot to take her grungies from the previous night off before she put the clean pair over the top.

I asked her what happened and why she has 2 pairs of panties on. She replied, "You did it, Mommy! You put all these panties on me!" I kindof laughed and said, "Well, remember you got yourself dressed all by yourself this morning? You did a great job, but you must have forgotten to take off your crusties before you put your clean ones on. Let's get one of the pairs off and we'll put the clean ones on." There was a lot of anger and frustrating and a death-grip on the panties, not allowing me to take them off. Jorey was a bit wounded and sad that I would laugh at her pain of wearing all these panties and she would not allow Macy to help, which caused this sad situation you see here. A couple minutes later, we were able to discuss removing the dirty pair and switch-a-rooing the clean pair and all was well. It was an amazing fiasco.

This is the Bomb...and some fabtabulous singing

2010-07-12T18:53:00.000-05:00

Tonight at dinner, Macy looks at Dad and says,
"This is the Bomb."
"What? Where did you hear that?"
"Daycare."
"Who says that?"
"Everyone, Dude."

On Saturday, Ken was at softball in Ohio, so the ladies and I were here to entertain ourselves alone. They really did a great job on the entertainment end with...
This
And This
and then, This.

Enjoy. And, check the video page for some of Macy's graduation clips. I just got the videos up on the site.

The Ice Cream Truck: Why is it so questionable?

2010-07-11T21:03:00.000-05:00

So, my sister posted about the ice cream truck that comes to her neighborhood in Milwaukee the other day...that she wasn't sure it was creapy or not...and that very day, our friend paid us a visit RIGHT when I was getting things packed up to go inside for naps...The timing couldn't have been better on this fellas part...almost knowing any parent would buy treats to prevent the pending meltdown that can occur at this time of day. I believe there was a serial killer that once traveled in an ice cream truck, leaving the idea of wanting to see one a bit questionable. (this is one of those times where Natalie would tell me that information is my enemy, but I guess being too cautious isn't ever going to be a problem in these situations.) I've always agreed that they were a bit frightening, but now we have one in our neighborhood. It enters the neighborhood playing twinkling music, and the kids FREAK OUT and start running in a million different directions to get cash to pay for the overpriced wares that our friend will be offering up.
The $2 Bugs Bunny treat with gumball eyeballs creates euphoria in the eyes of the children, and the ice cream truck leaves...happy that he just made $40 on one stop.
I just always go with my ladies to get their treats and keep my game face on...just in case I have to show that driver that I'm wirey.

Sweetheart Love...

2010-07-10T11:55:00.000-05:00

Conversation between Macy and Mommy:

"Mom, are you done with your lunch?"
"No, I'm going to eat more."
"Oh, I was like...who's done with their lunch?"
"Nobody's done with their lunch. Everyone needs to get eating right now."

"Because you made it special for us?"

"Yep - It's made with love."

"Sweetheart Love?"

"Yep - Sweetheart Love goes into every meal."

...satisfied smile. :)

Let Freedom Ring...with jumpers, sparklers, a parade...and a few burnt fingers

2010-07-05T11:50:00.000-05:00

We had a great 4th of July, following some traditions from my childhood. The Blooming Prairie parade is amazingly entertaining for a small town festival. They have lots of cool stuff, topped off with the shriners dragon that shoots cold smoke all over the crowd. The girls were slightly creeped out by it this year and then it blew smoke on all of us. It ended up being funny, but Jorey had her ears covered and eyes closed on Dad's lap. She hates loud noises and lacks bravery where strange, creepy dragons are concerned. Due to this loud noise disdain, she watched the entire first half of the parade, with all the fire trucks and ambulances, with her ears covered.

The girls wore these dorky headbands that I got in the dollar section of Target...but, only for a moment and to amuse me. As soon as I got the pictures, they were off. Oh, well.

Dad did get a nice shot of himself in the headbands, while using the Ariel umbrella to shield his delicate skin from the non-existent sun. He's so sensitive.

Kory's running for state rep again, so he came to shake Macy's hand. He's the closest thing to a celebrity, so she was tickled pink that he came over to shake her hand. Uncle Jeffy gave us enough tootsie rolls to last us a year...and, we got a ton of other candy, too. It rained a little bit, so we bailed on the parade a little early, but we saw the important stuff. We got to see Lon & Brooke Thiele. Lonno's running for Sheriff. He had star shaped stickers that the girls thought were pretty darn awesome!

After the parade, we went over to Kork, Mitz, Norah, and Brennan's house to jump in the jumper and light off some sparklers and some of our own fireworks. It was all fabulous until we had Lane and Macy suffering burns from the sparkler ends they just couldn't resist touching. So, after some trauma and a trip to Walgreen's, we had our burn ointment and an ice pack to save the day. We watched the big fireworks and then went home with two of the sleepiest ladies in the land. Macy and Jorey slept until 9:30 this morning! It was awesome, so Mom and Dad also slept in. I can't remember the last time I wanted to get up before the girls were in our room.

One's on the way...

2010-06-30T21:23:00.000-05:00

Well, it's official. Due January 17, 2011 is the 3rd addition to the Fry Family...well, 4th, if we count Reg.

Fun in the Sun

2010-06-27T21:03:00.001-05:00

While Dad played softball, Macy, Jorey, and I had a fun and busy weekend. First, we went to Melissa's house with Nina. Macy and Jorey played on the beach for about 4 hours straight. They were so good. Then, we went out to eat and back for a few games of Pfeffer before they passed out while watching Robots. On Sunday, we stayed home and played in the pool, ran through the sprinkler, and I finally got my flowers planted...sheesh. We have the most ghetto landscaping and had dead flowers still in pots in the back yard...hello, white trash! Oh, well. I fixed it and plan to get the rest of the landscaping done later this summer, so hopefully next Spring and Summer will yield a better visual experience when peering at our home.

Macy and Jorey said, "Mom, take a picture of us while we do our booty shake and make funny faces."
And, Jorey had to wear goggles to go in the sprinkler. Hey...whatever works!

The Crazy Sleeper

2010-06-22T21:02:00.000-05:00

So, when I was young, I would often tip toe into my parents' room and sleep with them due to any number of irrational fears I had of being alone in my own bed. Well, one night, I whipped my arm out, smacked my mom in the nose, and then whipped my other arm out and smacked my dad and woke him up. My mom had tears and when she could finally move her face, I was banished...well, I have a sleeper that is a bit of a mover and a shaker herself. Jorey will start out all tucked into her blankies snug as a bug in a rug, but at some point in the night, she flips herself into the craziest locations and positions.

This is how I found her this morning.

Happy Father's Day...Bang...

2010-06-20T10:53:00.000-05:00

I hope all the great fathers out there know how much they mean to all of their kids. It's a simple day that comes around once a year, but I know the little ladies in this house sure like having their dad around to play and wrestle, shoot baskets, and spray mom when they're in the pool...even if she's not a good sport.

Happy Father's Day to all the great dads I know out there!

The Zoo as a Fam

2010-06-19T21:11:00.001-05:00

We love the MN Zoo so much that we have a yearly pass. While Dad had a weekend off from ball, we took the ladies there. Unfortunately, our favorite Grizzley Bears were snoozing away, but we still had fun. The bird show outside is pretty cool...though, the girls kept asking, "When are we done?". ;) I guess I liked it more than they did.

Dad had to go down the slide with Jorey because she wasn't going alone...that was funny seeing him try to fit down there and get out...

We brought out the slip & slide that afternoon, and Macy just couldn't get momentum, so Mom had to run with her and try to shove her down the slide...eventually, she got the hang of it and it was pretty cute.

The long and short of it.

2010-06-19T08:29:00.000-05:00

Well, Macy and Jorey will not be having long ponytails for quite some time. Dad finally talked Mom into giving them some short, summer haircuts. It could just be me, but I'd say they look pretty darn cute. We're off to a day at the zoo and then hopefully playing in the pool!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jorey!

2010-06-05T11:52:00.001-05:00

Well, the baby of the Fry family has officially turned 3!

Happy Birthday, Jorey, you crazy little lady! You make me laugh every day and always keep me on my toes. I like to say you're my "spirited" child...because you're always on the go, you don't really believe I'm an authority figure, and you like to press the limits. Even though you do like to offer up the challenge, there's not a day that goes by that I don't shake my head and giggle at something you said. You have an amazing sense of humor and I love every minute of the days spent with you.

In the morning, you love to stay snuggled into the covers until I tickle you enough to get you out of bed. You love to pretend to fall back asleep just so I have to come and get you. At night, you always need a series of drinks before you're ready and you need a back scratch, sometimes some arm and leg scratches and then you like to challenge me to give you a smooch on the lips, while you cover them up. When I finally get you, you wrap your arms around my neck and hold on tight and tell me I can't get out. While this turns bed time into a 20 minute ordeal, I do secretly love the whole thing. I know some day, I'll miss being a part of the saga that is bed time. You like me to make you "snug as a bug" and use those words. The way you say it makes me smile every time because you usually say, "I want you to make me "snug as a buggity, bug in a wug..."
When I take the camera out, you instantly say cheese and smile so big that it's all teeth. You just went on your first big adventure to the dentist on June 7 and you were so brave when they determined that you have a dead tooth from your collision with a fellow student at daycare. So, while we'll have one discolored tooth in all the pics until the tooth fairy gives you a new one, I know you'll still be beautiful. I love you sweetheart! Thanks for bringing so much joy to every day.

Macy graduates from Preschool

2010-06-03T11:41:00.000-05:00

Nearly five years ago, we welcomed our first little lady to our family. Macy has already finished preschool! She'll be in Kindergarten before the year is through. I can't believe it. Here are a few snapshots of the adorable graduation ceremony they had at Leaps & Bounds. All the kids came in with their caps on, they got diplomas and gave each teacher a kiss. I was teary eyed through the whole thing. They had a poem that they read about how these kids will be in their hearts forever and all of the moms were a mess! I tried to keep it in check...I'm a contorted-faced cryer, so it's never something I want to do in front of anyone. ;)

Her teachers are so great. Macy loves them all and they let her be their helper all of the time. Whenever we go to conferences, they have the nicest things to say of Macy. It makes us so proud.

Family Vacation

2010-05-26T15:41:00.004-05:00

Well, we finally did it this year. We took the plunge. Ken and I determined that with cheap airfare and the last easy chance (before school) to get the girls away, we would take them with us to Virginia Beach for his softball tournament with the MN Lawmen. This went way better than I could have imagined for our fine fam. Of course, it was not without bumps, but it's us, so what could anyone expect. We've always made things a little harder than need be.

Jorey was with me on the plane. We had a lot of "uncertainty" as to what we should do for each 5 minute segment of time. Things we shouldn't do were: remain seated, keep our seatbelts on and quietly watch a movie. Instead, we were to go potty at least 3 times/flight --even if it was the 1 hour flight. Then, get up and move and shake a lot, get on my lap, get off, switch seats, look out the window, spill our juice one time, but keep a permagrin through most of it because you're on a plane for the first time.

Macy sat with Dad on the plane. She sat quietly and watched movies for the entire flight every time and was just happy to have some lifesaver gummies when there were some to share.

When we got to the ocean, they were both bouncing off the walls. Our room overlooked the beach and the boardwalk, so they got to get out on the balcony to see it.

Macy spent lots of time in the sand, but got really brave in the ocean. She was in big waves that would splash into her face and she would laugh that wonderful giggle of hers that makes me smile so much!

Jorey, on the other hand, has determined that the ocean is no place for a girl like her and she would much prefer to just sit on the beach and be dirty and dry. So, she did.

Though, later in the evening, she shared a tall tale about how brave she was in the ocean...sounded a lot like what Macy did...then, I called her on it and she smiled that big smile of hers and said, "OK, I didn't really do it!"

The 2nd day, we went to Busch Gardens - What fun! The girls had a blast on all the rides - Ken and I got to go on a couple of them - and we only thought we lost Macy once! (That scared the livin' daylights out of us. We were in this huge maze, climber, treetop thingy and I was helping Jorey get down and Ken was trying to navigate through the tiniest little openings. By the time he got to the bottom, Macy was so excited, she went to go again, but we couldn't see her. When we found her, it was trying times for a few minutes, but I think she's got it in her head that Mom and Dad need to know where you are, now. Poor thing. We probably looked so crazed when we finally found her that she DID want to run away.

Macy was so brave - she went on the big swings with Mom and Dad and giggled the whole time. Then, she went on the "Ruins of Pompei" - which was like the flume - creepy inside with lots of fire and scary stuff and then the big drop into water...she went with Ken and then told me, "Mom, you have to come on it! It's even better than the swings!" while she was skipping and just as giddy as can be. I'd like to bottle up that excitement!

At the end of the day, when the girls were probably a bit too tired for it, we hit the Sesame Street Water Park. It was so cute and cool, but we didn't stay too long. Jorey was trying to be brave and tackle the water spout, but it won - see the trauma here. and the after effects here.

Macy enjoyed her trip through the water park, too. She took a couple minutes pondering her level of "no-fear" and then just took off. Then, this poor little girl cruised right into her path, but seemed unphased by her wipe out. Check it Out.

These sharks from a Mexican Restaurant we went to were a huge hit. They played with them the entire rest of the trip.

The girls were so great, we'd like to take another family trip...maybe in a few years ;)

Mother's Day - The Best Day

2010-05-09T19:06:00.001-05:00

This year, we didn't have any set plans, but Ken loves to surprise me, so all week long he was acting just a little goofy and I figured he had something planned. He wouldn't fess up, but then Saturday night, he surprised me with a 4-pack of Twin's Tickets. We all went and had a blast. Then, we got to come home and celebrate with a BBQ at our place with all of our moms and grammas, and aunties & uncles. It was fun and delicious. Ken made a great sign for Macy and Jorey. Unfortunately, we didn't ever make it to the big screen, but I did get some shots of a couple faves, Nick Punto and Joe Mauer. Unfortunately, Cuddy and Morneau were not coming to see us, as Morneau struck out 3 times. oops! For one of Mauer's hits, Ken had Macy cheering. She yelled, "Hit the ball, Joe!" and Joe ripped a good one. I told Jorey to say "Rip the ball Justin", because Morneau needed more than a little cheering, to which she responded, "Why would we want him to rip it? We don't rip balls." Oh, honey...that's so cute!

"Yo, Mauer. What up?" We're tight.

Kissy, Kissy

2010-04-28T22:53:00.001-05:00

Well, first things first. Macy and Jorey got their pictures taken the other day.
Here are my little ladies.

Macy LOVES getting her hair done and getting all cutesied up. Jorey, on the other hand, said "I don't want quails (which is how she pronounces curls). She was mad all morning about that shirt (too tight!), about the quails...everything. I was happy to see that she smiled and was lookin' good for pics, though.

In other news, when I arrived at daycare to pick the girls up, Macy was outside with her class. Before we left, she had to give a couple of her favorite friends some hugs good-bye. Well, when it was time for Liam, he laid a big ole kiss on her lips! She was wiping it off, but smiling all the way over to me. I asked what in the world that was. She replied, "Liam kissed me because he's my boyfriend and we're going to get married." "Oh, ya????"

Then, Jorey ran over and picked her little buddy, Graham, right up and kissed his cheek. She's the bruiser, so she just picks her boyfriend up and kisses him. He stood there, stunned. Have I got a couple little flirts or what?

Hot Lava and Spiders...and tears

2010-04-13T22:36:00.000-05:00

Macy and Jorey were sitting at the counter drawing pictures very nicely, while I made dinner. All of the sudden, someone got mad at the other and Macy told Jorey the following:
"Jorey, if we go on a bacation (vacation) without Mom and Dad some time, and there is hot lava, I'm not going to save you."
"No..."
"Ya, If there's hot lava, I'm just going to run faster and you won't be able to."
"No, Macy!"
"Yep and then there are going to be spiders and lava. They are going to bite you."

Then, came the tears. Jorey was heartbroken and traumatized at the thought and needed some consoling.
Really, where does Macy come up with this stuff?!

And, does this look like the girl that would say such hurtful things?

Mexican Night

2010-04-11T15:45:00.000-05:00

Mexican Night is an event hosted in my parent's garage. It's fabulous for nerdy and entertaining banter. Usually, there is just Mexican music playing, too many margaritas and tequila poppers, but this year, they added a DJ - Uncle Andy - to play YouTube Videos on the wall and create a dance club effect. It was very fun and entertaining. Grandpa was there with his "old fart" hat on and he even got down with June Bug for a bit. Somehow, Meaghan, Brooke, and I, determined that the best use for a lei is to tie it around your head. Mitz, Dawn, and I had some serious bling. These selections were from the prize bucket for winning hammerschlagen.

Another good one down!