Polar Plunge 2012

 The team.

Mom and Dad jumped with some of Mom's co-workers again this year, celebrating Oreo's 100th birthday!

Miss Allie

 My boys!

 Mom and Dad getting ready to jump ...

 I believe the plan was for them to jump at the same time.

Mom started to, then tried to stop as Dad was not jumping. So Dad just pushed her in!

 Post-plunge

 Can't have Oreo's without milk!

Baby girl

The weather was gorgeous last night for the start of the Polar Plunge and continues to be gorgeous today. But it has to be cold for a POLAR plunge, right? They had buckets of ice at the ready and made sure to dump in a few before Mom and Dad's team jumped!!

Little Loves

A couple of random pictures ...

 Big girl in her high chair

Bath time!

Go Big! Go Blue! Go Jacks!

The SDSU Men's and Women's basketball teams both made it to the big dance this year and our family was ready to cheer on the Jacks! Preston's not much for letting me get pictures of him anymore, but Lilli Jo is always ready to ham it up for the camera!

Here, we're ready to cheer on the Men as they played Baylor Thursday night. It was a GREAT game even though the Jacks weren't able to pull off a win.

The Women played Purdue yesterday. I missed the game, as I was working at the carnival, but Dustin texted me updates. From what I hear, they played a great game too but alas, they weren't able to come out with a win either.

Either way, it's always a great day to be a Jackrabbit!

Go Big! Go Blue! Go Jacks!

Carnival!

The Tehlula Lee Foundation had their 2nd Annual Under The Big Top Carnival yesterday.

 There was a great turnout, although not as big as last year, and I think everyone had a great time. There were fun prizes for the kids and a raffle with some awesome items. Nichole won, I did not. But she was nice enough to share with me ... she kept the SDSU water bottle and gave me the SDSU t-shirt!

Rough estimate of money raised yesterday ... $2,500!

Thank you to the Tehlula Lee Foundation for hosting such a wonderful event and thank you to everyone that went and made it such a success!

 Bean Bag Toss

 Fishing Pond

 Elephant Stomp

 Shooting Hoops

 Lion Tamer

I think Preston, and Allie and Turner, had the most fun on these last two. With unlimited access (for two dollars), they spent the most time here. At one point, Preston came up to me while I was selling tickets dripping in sweat.

Big Girl Bath

Lilli Jo is now too big for her little baby bathtub, so we've moved her up to this bath chair. She doesn't quite have the hang of it yet and I think it gets a little slippery for her to sit up easily. As you can see above, Preston likes to help out at bath time. In his words, "I'm a big helper!" :)

She's finally sitting up on her own now! She's a pro and acts like she's been doing it all her life. I don't think it will be too long before she starts crawling ... When she's on her tummy she pushes herself up and a couple times she almost got to her knees too and started rocking. Such a big girl!

ROAR

We took Preston and Lilli Jo to see the dinosaurs yesterday at the zoo in Sioux Falls and Dustin's parents met us there. 

Preston loved the dinosaurs, just as I thought he would. They moved and roared, just like Mama and baby T-Rex at the Children's Museum, only on a much smaller scale. Preston got some good roars in too!

The weather was perfect so we decided to check out all the other animals too.

 

 

 The tigers (Preston still calls them lions, to him they're all the same I think).

We had to circle back and see them again before we left. When we did, all three were out playing with each other. Running, jumping on each other, trying to climb the trees. It was so cool to watch. And of course, I was so caught up in it I forgot to take any pictures. Preston got a kick out of it!

 

 Mama rhino and her baby

 

 

 Checking out the giraffes. I think there were a couple babies there too.

 

These monkeys were a hoot. They were swinging and playing and every single kid and adult watching them couldn't stop giggling!

After the zoo, we headed to Buffalo Wild Wings. I had never been there before and since Brookings is getting one, I had to see what all the fuss is about. I'm hooked and cannot wait for them to open!!

We buzzed by the mall and did some quick shopping (Easter outfits for the kids) as well. All in all, it was a GREAT day. We were so glad that Jeff and Cindy were able to come up and meet us. It's so nice having them back home so we can do these little get-togethers.  :)

Someone's Going to Start Preschool in the Fall ...

 I'm having a hard time believing that our little man is going to be old enough to start Preschool. I'm so excited for him! 

He'll be attending First Lutheran Preschool here in Brookings. Allie went there her first year of Preschool and loved it. I've heard great things about the teachers and the program. I have no doubt that he will love every minute of it.

We're also looking to enroll him in the Wee Waders swimming program through Brookings Park & Rec. This will introduce him to the water and help prepare him for when he starts swimming lessons in the Fall.

It won't be long before we're running here, there and everywhere with this little guy and all his activities!

I'm 7 Months Old Today!

Lilli Jo has one tooth and another one poking through. 

This has caused our ALWAYS happy baby to be not-so-happy on occasion. Poor little lamb.

We're working on sitting up by ourself. It's not going well. 

She really likes to move and shake and that doesn't lend itself to sitting up without falling over. :)

Cuddle Time

Preston wanted to cuddle with his sister. She doesn't seem to be enjoying it as much as him.

I just love how much he loves her. 

I know it won't last forever but I do know that it will come back around. My sister and I are proof of that. (Love you, Nichole!)

Game Night

There's a group of us that have decided we need regular game night get-togethers. So far we've only managed one. But it was so much fun that I really hope we can keep it up. 

The plan is to take turns hosting. Our first game night was at our house. I made some bacon-wrapped water chestnuts, Southwest dip and had a (deer) meat and cheese tray.

One of the couples has a beautiful baby girl that is about a month older than Lilli Jo. It was quite fun watching those two interact with each other. Lilli Jo hasn't really been around other babies her age and she seemed to enjoy Zoe's company!

 They both seem to have this "What?" look on their face.  :)

They enjoyed hanging out in the bouncer/exersaucer before opting for the floor with their toys while we played games.

Cannot wait for the next game night!!