We Love You, Ethnie

We were taking a walk today just before supper, with Ethnie riding on her "new" tricycle. Her first one got stolen so we picked up a used one at a thrift store. She is so happy to have a tricycle again! She is very particular when she rides it and has a system: First, she opens up the storage compartment and puts dolly in there. Then, she has to turn the key in the trike all the way around. Finally, she gets on and starts riding. EVERY time she gets off and back on the trike she has to do those two things! It's really funny, but can make us impatient!

Anyway, while we were watching Ethnie ride we started talking about what she really means to us and how we would describe what she means to us in one sentence. It was really hard! We are just so grateful to be parents, especially to such a sweet pea of a girl. She is so very precious and every day we discover something new about her that we love. We can tell she is growing up to be a caring, polite and friendly person. She really has a love for the world around her and that is so delightful to watch. We are enjoying every minute of her growth and development, especially that of her personality. We couldn't be happier with our child. We love you, Ethnie.

Matt's Brother: 'Master' in Origami

Dan, Matt's younger brother, made this shirt and pants out of one-dollar bills!  Isn't it cool?  The shirt is his own design; I watched him make it entirely by himself by memory.  He is very talented at origami.  He has made many little things for Ethnie that she has kept.  When Dan was really young, he made an anatomically correct Adam and Eve and won the blue ribbon at the State Fair!! Amazing.  He also has tons of things in his apartment we still have yet to see.  I just thought I'd post this so you could all see his origami outfit!

Dan also folded this koi out of a 1-dollar bill. If you look closely, it's very detailed. Parts of the dollar bill's design are strategically placed!

A Gorgeous Saturday At Como Park

We went to Como Park with Matt's family to get family pictures taken.  We really needed one!  It's been over a year since we'd actually planned a nice family picture!  That's pretty pathetic considering the fact that we have a toddler and she changes every day.  We had a very nice afternoon down by the lake.  We celebrated Dan's birthday (Matt's younger brother) with a picnic lunch and homemade chocolate cake, which was to die for!  

Bowling Night!

We went to Blaine on this rainy Saturday and introduced Ethnie to the game of bowling.  She enjoyed it so much that we think she might join a league someday!  She hated the bowling shoes, but loved everything else about it.  She even rolled a spare!  Every time she saw the pins fall she would bounce up and down and cheer.  It's so fun watching her do things for the first time.  We will definitely be bowling periodically now!  For those of you who are looking for a fun bowling alley sometime ... Brunswick Bowling in Blaine is huge with an arcade, restaurant, and 30-something lanes to bowl from.  They have pretty good package deals and you can order food and eat it right at the lane you are bowling at.  They have great pizza and fries.  We recommend either calling ahead and seeing how long the wait is, or plan on waiting an hour for a lane.  It's pretty popular!

Minnesota Zoo Trip

Nana Dianne came down and we took Ethnie to the Minnesota Zoo.  It was a beautiful day and we had the nicest time there!  The baby monkeys were by far the cutest little things!  Ethnie loved watching them play and groom each other.  The animal she wanted to see the most was the dolphin, but when we got to the exhibit, she ended up liking the shark and sting ray tank much more!  She also loved watching the tropical fish and pointing to all the 'Nemo' fish in the tank.  

The new MN Trail exhibit is really great.  The actual trail you walk on is made from ripped up tires turned into mulch.  There were animals we saw that we didn't even know lived in MN.  The beavers, otters, and raccoons are always fun to watch.  There was also a bald eagle there that was the most beautiful bird!  It had a broken wing so it couldn't fly, but it still looked strong and majestic.  

The last place we visited was the farm.  Ethnie had the most fun here!  She got to see horses, cows, sheep and goats.  The goats were very cute and friendly and Ethnie got to feed them some treats.  She thought that was the coolest thing!  She could had stayed there all day ...

We also went out to eat and visited Steve and Alison.  Ethnie had a blast spending the day with her nana and uncle.    

Labor Day Weekend

This weekend we were up north for Labor Day.  We had a family reunion in Bluffton, which is a tiny town neighboring Wadena.  We got to see all of Michelle's extended family and celebrate her grandma's 75th birthday.  We went to a nice supper club for dinner and had a great time.  Ethnie got to meet two of her great uncles for the first time!  We also had a nice time staying in Brainerd with Michelle's mom and Rick.  Ethnie had a blast playing with the dog and washing the car with Matt.