Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!
Rudolph
Jingle Bells
Costa Rica - Nano's Waterfall in Orosi
8 years ago
Christmas Tree 2014
As is standard now for the Brodd family, we head out to the Christmas Tree Farm the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The weather was pretty good and the girls were in good spirits. While we didn't see Santa at the tree farm, we were able to take advantage of the wagon ride through the snowy tree farm.
Sylvia goofing around
Violet is always smiling!
We decorated the tree on Sunday, but unfortunately no good pictures! We will no doubt have more pictures to post throughout the Christmas season.
Grandpa's Cabin
Cleaning up posts from last summer.
While we haven't been Up North to Grandpa's cabin for some time, not much has changed. The water is still crystal clear and the fishing was great.
"Tubing"
Sylvia with one of her many sunnies
Enjoying some icecream in town
Paul Bunyan's Girlfriend - Lucette
still out fishing in the kayak
Violet even got into the fishing fun
While it was a short weekend, and a long drive, it was a great time for all of the girls!
Trick or Treat!
Even though this year was mighty cold, the girls made it all the way around the block. Definitely a record!
After collecting their loot, we sat around the bonfire for a bit at the end of the driveway. Halloween on a Friday night should've been crazy busy, but we only had about 25 kids stop by.
Oh well, more candy left over for us!
Cinderella and The Cat
Huggies
Happy Halloween!
MN Zoo
3M was kind enough to sponsor a family day at the MN Zoo last summer. The weather was great and the girls loved the exhibits, including the Big Bugs exhibit!
There was even a snack provided for the 3M guests. Bags of caramel popcorn and full size bomb pops! These popsicles were huge, but of course the girls will able to complete the challenge.
Looking forward to spending some more time at the zoo following the renovations to the water exhibits!
Sylvia's Day at the Science Museum
Sylvia and Jamie went on a "girls day" to the Science Museum this summer. While then attended, Jamie allowed Sylvia to capture whatever she wanted on the camera. For your viewing pleasure, the Science Museum though the eyes of a 6 year old...
Jamie took this one obviously... pretty cool light exhibit
Enjoying a picnic lunch following the day inside
Violet's Unders
So we have been doing this potty training thing for a few months. Sometimes it can get very frustrating, but then you look at this little peanut in her unders and don't sweat the 4 "accidents" she had that day!
1st Day of First Grade
Sylvia's 1st day of first grade was Sept 2nd. While first days are always special, this one was a bit more as she started at a new school. Footprints Academy closed their doors last year and through a summer of not knowing if she would have a new school or not, Woodbury Leadership Academy opened this year! Sylvia's class is one of two 1st grade classes and she was "excited" to get back to school.
Sylvia from far away - at least the flowers are smiling!
We sort of got a smile here...
Mom and Dad dropped her off on her first day and it took a bit to settle in, but things have been pretty smooth since.
Looking forward to a great year at the new school. We are certain that there will be some bumps in the road, but looking forward to building a relationship with these new friends!
Chery Picking and More celebrating
When we purchased our house the prior owners told us the cherry tree in the backyard was their anniversary tree. Since we left our anniversary tree at our South Minneapolis house, we felt it was OK to adopt this one as our own.
The first year, we didn't really know if the cherries were edible or not. As it turns out, they are, and are quite sought after.
There are about 2 weeks of prime harvesting in which we spend 10-15 minutes each night picking the ripe cherries. This year, the girls wanted to help, so why not use the child labor!
Big girls on daddy's ladder
Sylvia pointing out which ones to pick
Violet got one!
She is very happy with her harvest.
Around this time was Sylvia's birthday. Since we don't all get together at the same time, it allows for her to spread out her celebrations. Thank you Grandpa & Grandma Cabin and Auntie Missy for the great gifts!
We also had our 3 year and 6 year wellness visits for the girls. All is well and the stats are as follows:
Sylvia
Weight - 40# 4oz (24th percentile)
Height - 41 5/8" (3rd percentile)
BMI - 16.3 (76th percentile)
Violet
Weight - 31# 8oz (59th percentile)
Height - 35 1/2" (13th percentile)
BMI - 17.7 (91st percentile)
How long will it take for Violet to weigh more than her sister?
July 12th
Sylvia turned 6 on July 12th. It truly was her day to celebrate. It started with opening a present from her sister.
Violet helped wrap the present!
and unwrap the present!
After grabbing a quick breakfast, we headed to the Mill City Farmers Market in Minneapolis to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa Chicken. After the standard farmers market fair, we grabbed a quick ice cream cone in lieu of a birthday cake.
Notice the candle in the ice cream... we couldn't get it lite, so Sylvia was pretending.
Not sure what this is...
Time to open presents!
and the "big one"
Following the farmer's market, Sylvia and her friend Ingrid enjoyed a movie - "How to Train Your Dragon 2" and then headed to the salon for a manicure.
Check out those nails!
Why not get the hair braided as well?
and finish up the day with a kids meal at Wendy's
It was a great birthday for Sylvia and in continued the next couple of weeks as we put together several of her new Lego Friends kits. While she needs a bit of help from time to time, she has done a great job of following the directions and building the project as defined.
4th of July Celbration
The 12th annual 4th of July Celbration is officially in the books. The weather was perfect, the food was perfect, and most importantly, the company was perfect!
Since we are on our fifth year out at Cokato Lake, we have developed a pretty solid routine when it comes to the 4th of July party. Plans and guests slightly change from year to year, but for the most part it is the same. It starts with Grandma and Grandpa B doing all of the behind the scenes work - mowing, weed whipping, cleaning the cabin, etc. Then, usually on July 2nd or 3rd, we head out to the lake for fine tuning... blowing up water toys, prepping the beach, topping off the jetski, setting up the big tent, etc.
When the late morning of July 4th arrives, the crowds start showing up and we go non-stop for 24 hours...
Kiddos thinking about jumping in...
getting closer to actually swimming...
how about some tubing???
WHAT?!??!??! Oasis Island has some company! Tropical Tahiti debuted in 2014
of course we need some birthday cake for Sylvia
eat up kiddos
still eating...
How about a four-wheeler ride? (Don't worry Jim, the big boys didn't ride there!)
When we are ramping down and out of the water for the day, we still can have floaty wars, right?
The one big change this year was that all those that came for the day, spent the night. We had three families in the cabin and two in tents. This is a real sign of how old the kids are getting... Soon they won't want the parent around! Until that day comes, we will continue to get together every 4th of July and spend time with our great set of friends.
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