First Annual Zweber Spooktacular!!

Last night we had our first annual cousins' Halloween Party. The kids all had a chance to see each other in their costumes. They were adorable! We had a very SPOOKY meal too. We had black spaghetti, Pizza with eye balls, bloody witch fingers, eye balls, spider bread, graveyard cake, and witch's brew. Mmmmm!!

On Sunday we had Christmas (Yes, Christmas) with the Zwebers. Chuck and Karen will be leaving soon for Arizona, so we always celebrate a little early. It is so much fun with all the kiddos. Although, it's not too easy to get a good picture of all six of them. The night was complete with a turkey dinner and presents. The kids had a lot of fun, and so did the adults. We will miss Chuck and Karen very much. Luckily, the Panthers are doing well, so C and K will be here a little longer than usual. They always wait to leave until Mike's team is out of the playoffs. The Panthers won on Saturday, so on Halloween night they will be playing Lakeville South. It should be a great game.

It's Potty Time!!!

Thank you Zoë!!! It turns out that Ellie really looks up to her big sis. The last couple weeks she decided she wanted to be a big girl. Yep, she started potty training herself. I am so excited. Sure, it can be a pain when we are out and about and she decides she needs to go five times while we're at Target, but it sure beats nasty diapers. She chants, "Poop" no matter what she has to do. The great thing is she's doing both pretty consistently, and she's telling me when she has to go. Woo Hoo!! Way to go Ellie!!!

Fall Fun at the Cabin

This weekend we headed to the cabin with Chuck and Karen for some fall fun. We don't have any leaves at home, so the girls got a chance to really enjoy them. I take that back. Zoë loved the leaves. Ellie.... not so much. We made a huge pile at the bottom of the slide, and Zoë slid down over and over. Ellie was a little nervous. However, she did LOVE the smores. Yes, the smore is actually stuck to her face in that picture. The girls also enjoyed a lot of quality indoor time. They both had their desks set up in the living room for painting and coloring. In the morning, they watched a few cartoons together. Zoë became an official Friedges this weekend. She learned her first card game, Go Fish. She had so much fun, and I couldn't believe how quickly she picked up on the inflection and looks you give while playing cards. She really was a riot. I suppose at Thanksgiving she'll be learning Euchre.

Changed Settings

Anne told me how to change the settings on the blog so that anyone can leave comments. So feel free to leave your thoughts. That way I know someone is reading this. Thanks sista!

Yes, those are Anne's famous "Pig Lickers"!! Who doesn't love bacon dipped in chocolate. Oh, and Anne, you'll be proud of little Ellie. She learned how to say bacon yesterday when we were having baked potatoes. This morning she saw it on Zoë's McGriddle and started chanting, "Bacon! Bacon!" She loves it just like her auntie.

Road Trip

Today Dan, Zoë, Ellie, and I took a road trip to visit Grandma Edna in Iowa. It was such a nice day. The weather was beautiful. We took Grandma out for lunch, visited my aunt Dorie at work, spent some time at a local park, and got to see Grandma's new place. It was a great day. The girls didn't even seem to mind spending 7 hours in the car. Tomorrow we are heading to the cabin, so the poor things will be back in the car another 4 hours. Eeeesh

You Might be a Redneck if.....

Yep, that's my Dad. Congratulations on your second place finish at the neighbor's annual lawn mower races. Next year I may have to compete. I'll have to work on that push mower.

Sharing a Room

I'm probably a little nuts, but last night I moved the girls into one room. No, there isn't a baby on the way. I wanted to create a playroom for them. They share a room at the cabin, so I'm hoping that sleeping together won't be an issue. We'll see. So far, they are really enjoying the new play area.

Papa, where are you?

Ellie has a thing for her grandpas. She loves her grandmas very much too, but on both sides she has something special for "papa". Every time we go to either Chuck and Karen's house or my parents the second she sees the house she starts saying, "Papa. papa, papa." Last weekend Ellie woke up from her nap at my parents asking for Grandpa. My mom figured that he is the favorite, because he takes her for rides in the wheel chair all the time (Which both girls love). So, my mom decided to take Ellie for a ride herself. She got in the chair and started cruising with Ellie. Very funny. This morning, I'm ironing and I start hearing, "Papa. where are you?" over and over. She just loves those Grandpas!!

Shout Out to the Core Four

Tonight Mary, Jombie, Christine and I had the rare opportunity to get together for dinner. We went to P.F. Chang's in Edina. We had important things to discuss, including what to do while the hubbies go away hunting next month. You'll have to check back to see what wild and crazy things we're up to that weekend!! As always, it was a fun night. Thanks girls.

Walk for Thought

This weekend several family members and friends participated in the 2008 Walk for Thought in honor of my brother Dan and the 100,000 other Minnesotans living with Brain Injuries. It was a beautiful day for a walk. Our team raised around $500 for the cause. Thanks so much to everyone who helped us towards this goal. Feel free to join us next year. This year they had 33% more participation!

Grandpa Bill's Great Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend we went out to my parents to experience the "Great Pumpkin Patch". This has turned into a huge deal for Grandpa and his girls. A couple years ago my Dad started growing pumpkins for Zoë. Since then, he hasn't had very good luck with his crop. The last couple years he has gone into Econo Foods to purchase a few pumpkins for the "Great Pumpkin Patch". He drives the kids (and the adults) all over the yard looking for the pumpkins. It's a great time. Thanks Dad!

Summer on the Farm

This summer we went on vacation to a farm in Wisconsin with my family. All of us (except my mom) were very sceptical. It turned out to be one of the best vacations I've ever been on. Imagine the movie City Slickers. Until this vacation Zoë was very afraid of all animals. By the time we left she was feeding the goats, picking eggs from the hen house, and giving the calves their morning bottle. Ellie is the complete opposite with animals. She can't get close enough to them. She LOVED every minute of the farm. It was so much fun to watch the girls in this new environment. However, the biggest surprise was how much Steve got into it. He showed up ready to go in his bibs and John Deere hat. Farmer Jess truly believed that he was a real farmer. If you're looking for a fun little vacation, I suggest you check it out.

Cheechios and Cheerleaders

My sister has finally talked me into writing a blog, so here I go. I'll start with an update on my favorite two girls.

Cheechios and Cheerleaders, hmmmm. Lately, it seems like our world is revolving around these two things.

Ellie is obsessed with Cheechios (Cheerios), and I just love how she says it. "Cheechios Momma." Lately, it is followed by "Bowl, milk, spoon, pease." Ellie has decided that she wants to be a big girl. Dry cereal is no longer acceptable. She needs a bowl, spoon, and milk, just like her sister. Of course 90% of it ends up on the floor, but she's learning.

Life with little Ellie is soooo much fun. She cracks us up every day. She has also become very obsessed with brushing her teeth. In fact, you need to hide your tooth brush well in this house. She is constantly searching the bathrooms for toothbrushes shouting, "teeth" over and over. The other day I found her dipping my toothbrush in the toilet. I am just SO thankful that I saw her do it. I don't want to even think about what would have happened if she had just returned the toothbrush to the drawer. Eeeesh!!

Ellie is following in the footsteps of her older sister. She is a word magnet. Every day she is learning new words and piecing together small sentences. It's so much fun to hear what her new words will be each day. One of my favorites it "vegetable". She also loves to sing Twinkle, twinkle. Amazingly she is able to sing most of the words.

Zoë is very busy this fall. She just started preschool, dance, and Sunday school. She is also learning new things every day. Yesterday she was eating an apple, and pointed to the bottom of the apple. She told me, "Mom, this is where a bee polinated the apple." Nice work Mrs. Meliza. I was impressed with the big word, and the fact that she remembered what her teacher taught her.

This is Zoë 's second year in dance. She has the same teacher, which is wonderful. She also has many of the same girls in her class. I get to peak through the windows each week, and I can't believe the difference from last year. This year she appears to actually be dancing more than looking at herself in the mirrors.

Cheerleaders!! Zoë loves them. I'd say she wants to be one some day, but the truth is she believes she already is one. Almost every week we go to the Lakeville North football games to watch Uncle Mike's team. Zoë always has to wear her Panther Cheerleader uniform and carry her pom poms. At the end of the game she joins the other cheerleaders on the field and cheers for the players as the exit. It is truly the highlight of her week.