Spring is cruisin!

Somehow two weeks have flown by since our last blog post, and we haven't been idle.  We made our first run-in with corporate money-making events by going to Frozen on Ice.  The girls were pretty pumped, but Pip said "This is the best day ever!" and "Can we go home now?" within a 2-minute span at the beginning of the show.  You can see Nina dancing along, and Pip being typical Pip in a picture below.

We also celebrated Easter, visited a few other lakes, went on approximately a million bike ride/park visits, and hit up the zoo and library.  Pip started swimming lessons and is doing wonderfully.  She's the star of the show so far, but we'll see if she can keep it up.  Both girls love coloring on the easel from Jake and Kelsey, which came in very handy during this rainy spell.

Land of 10,000 Lakes

Through random park stops, standard walks, and a request of Nina's to take a picture of the sunrise, the Naks have been to 5 lakes and the Saint Croix River this week.  It's been hot, cold, windy, sunny, and cloudy, but it's always been fun.

Sunrise at White Bear Lake

Sunshine at Lake McCarrons

Windy day at Lake Josephine

Sun setting at Como

For the random Pip quote of the week, "You have to tell her (Jesus) everything, because Jesus will always help.  And so will Team Umizoomi."  For those of you unfamiliar with the tiny team of helpers, be thankful you've never had to watch this.  

March Madness

We enjoyed a fun weekend with Nana & Papa!  It's always a good time of laughing, story-telling,  yummy desserts, reading, and hugs, and each visit seems too short.  And we never take enough photos.

We're doing our best to pretend it's a warm spring.  We ride bikes or go to the park every day after dinner and the girls really enjoy the extra daylight.  Nina is working towards ditching her training wheels and Pip will maybe start using the strider bike soon too.  

Nina is interested in letters and literacy.  Her recognition of the sounds that letters make improves each week.  You can usually find her talking about the alphabet and the letter of the week at school.  She also appreciates a good rhyme.  She is signed up with an all-day preschool program next year.  

Pip is doing a good job with her potty-training.  She's finally agreeing to be cajoled into wearing pull-ups and regularly sitting on the toilet when needed.  She's got number one down, and we're crossing our fingers about number two.  It's fun to see her learning this and being proud of herself, and to see Nina proud of her as well.

whoops

It's been such a long time between our blog posts that our weather seems to have transitioned from winter to spring, which is typically a 3 month transition here.  The girls seem to have grown before our eyes and finding the spring clothes tucked away in storage has been a pleasant challenge.  Even their vocabularies have grown, e.g. Nina's: "The sun is irritating," (when it was shining in her face through the blinds) and Pip's: "Watch me make this balance." 

Ice cream!    ----  Pow-pow-power wheels

climbing and rocks

More artistry

Ben and Kara thoroughly enjoyed a trip to Austin, Texas, to visit friends, Kayla and Matthew, and the girls got to stay with Grandma and Grandpa.  They got new shoes, painted their nails, swam, saw animals and went all over town.  Meanwhile, their parents ate, saw sights, ate, hiked, ate, played, and then ate some more.  It was extremely fun to get away, even if the weather was colder and drearier in Texas than Minnesota.