We met Miss Ruby

We ventured out to Loman to meet Miss Ruby. Just 2 days old and oh so sweet!
The boys were so excited to hold her. Emmitt kept putting his arms out and saying "I hold her." He would then of course be instructed to sit on the couch with the boppy around him and hold her gently.

Parker really liked holding her too. He loved kissing her head and kept saying how tiny all her body parts were. Her ears, her nose, her lips. And she is tiny. Even if she came into the world at almost 9 pounds. She dipped down a pound but is eating like a trooper, she'll gain it back in no time.


Auntie Becky held her most of the time. We had brought them down dinner so I snatched her right up while they ate. Bear put the swing together that we bought them and then the boys had to see her in it. She finally opened her eyes right before we left for home! She woke up a bit and looked at the mirror and objects before her on the swing. I had to tell the boys that she probably could only see shapes and doesn't see what we see. It is such a miracle how tiny they start out and how very fast they grow.

I've got boys for a reason...

...most of the time I know how to handle them, but today I got a case of the giggles so bad that I started questioning my sanity. I hope this funny story about Parker is as funny to you as it is to me. If not, oh well, because it totally made my day!

I bought Parker new underwear this weekend and he put a pair on last night for bed. He woke up this morning with an "inspected by number 71" sticker on his tenders! I could barely hold it together to think of how to get the sticker off. We ended up trying to rip it off like a band-aid. That didn't work. Then I went with a warm washcloth which took the first layer of the sticker off, but the residue was left behind. So I told him he had to rub gently with the washcloth to get that part off. Then he and Emmitt had a discussion about it getting big! Oh my!! He was so proud of himself for not crying when he was trying to rip it off and I was laughing so hard I had to walk out of the bathroom. I had no idea what to say or do, so I simply ignored it all together. But I have had random fits of giggles all day! Oh the joys of boys.

She's Heerreeee!

Ruby Jay
2/21/11 @ 1:45am
8#15oz 21 inches

(The First Olson Girl)

The Hockey Great is Three indeed!

The Hockey Great Cake. This cake idea came to me the week of the birthday party. I found out that Super One bakery sells kits (the little nets and hockey dudes) for $5 for just about any theme you can think of! Bear and the Internet helped me with the line placement.

We are close to 35 people with just "family" at the birthday parties. It is getting fun and easier with the kids at the table eating cake. Left to right around the table: Gracie Lyn, Garret, Brooks, Emmitt, Parker, Jake and Jillian.
A favorite memory of the day: he sang along to Happy Birthday to himself. Not just Happy Birthday to you, or me for that matter...but Happy Birthday to Emmitt. It was so cute. Word for word.
and BLOW!
He and his brother eating the cake and ice cream.
The Olson Family. Bear put on his '95 jersey. Then sadly admitted that it fits the same, except he had all the equipment on in '95.

Momma and E-Man. We had planned on skating on the rink in the back yard and couldn't because it was raining in February!

The gift craziness. He got a Bronco horse, Gator Golf, a new Emmitt backpack, Tarzan movie, the Mater Car wash, a Buzz Light year toy, a punching bag, clothes, savings bonds, jumping beans...it was fun to see him open the gifts. It was not fun watching his brother try to open them before the birthday boy could get a chance.It was a little chaotic but always a good time. We keep contemplating just doing our Olson 4 party, but when the birthday nears I invite everybody. Birthdays are special. We don't over buy gifts, we don't feed people supper, we have never had a "kid party", just our closest family members celebrating another year of life with our little dudes.

40 Weeks and counting

Well these Olson cousins won't share the same birthday that we know. Casey and Blake and baby-still-in-the-womb attended the 3rd Birthday party for Emmitt Jon last night. It was so cute how every person at the party was more than willing to give up their seat for the mom-to-be. Tuesday, February 15th is the due date. Casey says she is waiting for the weekend and the full moon to deliver. We shall wait and see. Here are the rest of the "belly shots" of her.
These boots were worn by Bart, Blake and Barrett. Blake is the only cowboy of the bunch so it was fitting that I return these adorable boots to their rightful owner. Baby Olson.

This cheesy pose is soooo cute. I can't help but love it.
So here's to the finale. Here's to the new baby Olson that will soon be joining our family. Here's to my favorite sister-in-law becoming a mommy for the first time.

I'm not going to complain about the snow, I'm gonna ski on it.

My sister Tammy and I have been skiing together for 7 years. Our winter morning routine has been etched in ice for years now. We are up and out of the house by 5:45 to start our skiing adventure together. I call it an adventure because, like most things with Tammy, it is an adventure. We just skied last Friday morning in freezing rain! It hurts a little by the way. We have always gone 3 loops at Manka's little trail in the mornings (3 km) and save the "big" skis for the weekends. We attempt to ski out at Tilson one of the weekend days. This past weekend we skied the long red loop. It is a little over 10 km. We saw moose prints. We saw huge overturned trees that had been lifted right out of the ground. We saw lots of gorgeous land. It was fantastic. This year our adventure grew a little more and we rented skate skis. I am favoring "skating" a bit more than classical. The idea is growing on Tammy. But she has this gorgeous, long, graceful ski while on classicals. I have this choppy racing spastic movement about me when on classicals. So skating is a bit more up my ally. The skiing suits the personality I think. A couple of weekends ago we met somebody on the trail, with a camera, that we knew. She snapped what is known to be our first ski photo in 7 years! This season is by far our best in distance. The season started so early and all the snow makes for a long and gorgeous ski season. I love that we are those people who smile when we get a big snow because it means more great skiing. It's what I live for in the winter. I'm not going to complain about the snow, I'm gonna ski on it! With almost 150 km skied to date just this season, this -30 below weather is going to put a kink in the routine. But it's just a kink. We get back out there when it warms up to -15 and above. It is so comforting and motivating to know that we are going to be waiting for one another every morning in the parking lot. Some days we refer to it as our therapy session. Some days we say very little. Some days we laugh a lot. This morning our eyes watered from the cold wind...and then our eyelashes hang with little frosty icicles.
Thank you Old Man Winter for giving me the joy of skiing with my sister!
And yes, we wear fanny packs on our butts.