Haley and I left for Rochester on Friday, Feb. 17th. When we landed, Haley asked, "Doesn't it snow here?" because there was very little snow on the ground! So unusual for Rochester! The Paulsen's picked us up from the airport and then fed us some fantastically yummy homemade pizza. Tessa then joined us at the hotel for a sleepover. The girls got to do some late night swimming, which they really enjoyed! Sorry about the quality of pictures, they were taken with my phone and the lighting was low, so the pictures didn't turn out so well.
Emily Fletcher organized a brunch for Haley and I on President's Day. All of our friends were there and Emily made so many yummy things, including two types of cinnamon rolls! Thanks to everyone who brought yummy things as well. Haley and I felt spoiled! As a side note: Emily will be our future neighbor, we bought the lot next to her lovely house and we can't be more excited to have the Fletcher family as neighbors!
This is my good friend Jen Gladwell and her daughter Mylee, who we'd love for Nate to marry someday. If only wishes could come true! Jen and her family are moving to Utah where her husband Mike is buying an oral surgery practice (I hope that I got that right). We will really miss the Gladwell family. At least we can visit when we are in Utah!
Monday night we took the Paulsen's out for dinner at Noodles and Co. as a thank you for feeding us the entire weekend. Sarah kept making us yummy meals and we never had to eat out, so we gave her a break and took them out. Plus, it was one last fling with our favorite Rochester family and Haley could see Tessa more (only prolonging the inevitable).
And then there were the goodbyes. It made me wonder if the trip was a good thing or not when Haley had such a hard time saying goodbye. But she kept saying she was grateful to see Tessa one last time. I kept reminding her that we would see them again - I didn't know when or how, but that it would happen (right Sarah?). We absolutely have been blessed to have had the Paulsen family in our lives and we will truly miss seeing them everyday.
All good things must come to an end. But Haley is recovering and we had a fun trip with just Mom and Haley. Here we are in the plane. We were happy to be home with Dad, Alina, and the boys. We missed them!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Haley turns 10!
Our Haley Baby turned 10 on February 13th. She was so excited for her birthday, the whole week before and got a little hyper each day just thinking about it. Haley made goodie bags for her school class and then I surprised her by bringing in little cupcakes to share with her classmates.
The Grandparents really scored this year! Grandpa and Grandma Taggart sent Haley a purple sling backpack. She loved it so much that she immediately traded it out for her school backpack.
Grandpa and Grandma Bice really spoiled Haley this year. They gave her a pea coat, which she's always wanted (note look of surprise on her face)....
(We couldn't get her to stop hugging the coat!)
...a beautiful dress and a fashion sketch book...
...and a lovely necklace!
...a beautiful dress and a fashion sketch book...
...and a lovely necklace!
Nathan and I had decided to surprise Haley with a trip to Rochester to have one last hurrah with her best friend Tessa. Tessa and her family will be moving to Billings, Montana before we move back to Rochester, a fact that has had Haley asking almost daily: "Why did we have to move here? I miss Tessa so much! Will we ever see her again?" I wrapped up the itinerary and wrote in bold letter, "We're going to Rochester!" The trip was for both Haley and I, since we've both been having Rochester withdrawals. When Haley opened her gift, she went through a series of emotions...
...absolute surprise...
...absolute happiness...
...then came the tears!
Haley's were not the only tears shed that evening! The boys were unaware of Haley's surprise trip and they surprised us with their own tears because they wanted to go back to Rochester too!
Haley wanted the red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting that they had at Costco for her birthday cake. Can you believe it? 10 candles! Double digits!
...absolute surprise...
...absolute happiness...
...then came the tears!
Haley's were not the only tears shed that evening! The boys were unaware of Haley's surprise trip and they surprised us with their own tears because they wanted to go back to Rochester too!
Haley wanted the red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting that they had at Costco for her birthday cake. Can you believe it? 10 candles! Double digits!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Another Saturday Adventure
Two Saturdays ago, we pulled "Go out for ice cream" out of our "Saturday Adventure" bucket. We went online and decided on "Swensen's". I guess it's pretty famous because they have these unusual flavors. We were a little disappointed about the seating arrangements because it was like most ice cream places we've been in the city and there is no available sitting! They all have been these little corner ice cream shops with only the ice cream counter inside. So we had to sit outside. The kids all ordered milkshakes and Nathan and I had bowls. My flavor was turtle pecan and it was really yummy! After our ice cream, we discovered that Lombard street was only a few blocks away so we decided to go check it out! We were excited that our ice cream adventure turned into an even bigger adventure than we had planned!
Behold, Lombard Street! The Crookedest Street in the World! We are not sure why it's crooked (it's probably on the internet somewhere), but it's pretty famous and a true tourist spot.
This shot of the kids was taken at the top. We had to carry the stroller down a lot of the steps.
The awesome view from the top. That's the Coit Tower you see in the distance, another famous spot we have yet to visit.
We made it to the bottom!
These next shots were taken by Nathan trying out our camera in the low light, also to try out his brand new tripod he got from Santa. He's always experimenting with settings and lighting, etc. These shots were taken from our deck. The last shot is of our house peeking in the windows at night.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Andy turns 7!
Our Andy turned 7 on January 26th! I can't believe he's only 7, he always seems so much older to me. Andy's school class goes crazy when there's a birthday. Moms will bring in pizza AND cake AND goodie bags. The bar has been set pretty high. We were only going to do goodie bags for Andy's class, but he came home saying this his classmates were disappointed with that, so we brought in a brownie sundae bar. The kids got brownies, ice cream, chocolate sauce, and their choice of sprinkles. It sounds complex, but it was pretty easy and the kids were happy. Andy even got a present from one of his classmates.
Andy chose to go to Chuck E. Cheese for his birthday dinner. The Chuck E. Cheese here had the old school animatronic figures that sang. It was fun to see the whole gang again!
Andy wanted a Bionicle cake. I tried to copy the one that I made for Nate a few years ago, but it didn't want to cooperate. It looked okay - we were just going to eat it anyway, right?
Andy got quite the load! He got new pj pants, a new hoodie, an Atlantis Lego Book that came with a set of Legos, and a hand held game called "Loopz". Grandma Bice gave him a Lightening McQueen alarm clock (which was a huge hit) and a Pokemon card set. Grandma and Grandpa Taggart sent him a Ninjago Lego set which was also a huge hit! Boy! Do those Grandmas know how to shop or what!?!
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