The Lange Family

Adam's Present

2009-06-11T21:05:00.003-05:00

It's Adam's first birthday tomorrow. For this occasion we got the kids a Rainbow Play System for the backyard. We got it last Thursday and I worked all day Friday on in. I got started before the boys woke up so Susie gave them breakfast and watched TV with them for a while. Then Brayden figured out that I wasn't around so he asked mom where I was. She said, "Well, why don't you go look out the window and see if you can find him." He went and looked out, turned around and said "Get me dressed, get my shoes, and get me my tools, I have to go help Daddy."
So we got about halfway done with it when Susie had to go to work, so I figured I'd finish it Saturday. Little did I know it was going to downpour all day long. Denny and Jeanie came over on Sunday to watch the kids for me while I finished it up. Holy Cow do the kids love it. Brayden climbed up in the tower right away, grabbed the steering wheel and kept yelling "Arr Matey!" I guess he was a pirate.
We put Adam in the swing and he wouldn't stop smiling. I think they'll get a lot of years of use out of it.

Mother's Day Weekend

2009-05-13T09:06:00.002-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. We had a nice weekend here. On Saturday we went to Lake Elmo for a llama and alpaca show with my parents. They had a lot of craft shows and things for sale that Susie liked looking at. Pretty much everything a knitter could ever dream of. After the show we took my parents out for dinner, for Mother's day and my dad's birthday.
That night we got home and had a fire in the new fire pit Brayden and I built for Susie for her present. It turned out really nice. I built it into our paver patio. We were lucky enough to find stones to match it exactly.
On Sunday we went to Susie's parents house for Dinner. The boys got to spend some time with their aunt and uncle and play outside for a while, it was a really nice day.
That night we got home and brought the boys out for another fire. Brayden loved roasting marshmallows and sitting on mommy's lap.

My parent's farm

2009-05-02T23:05:00.002-05:00

Mom and Dad had a local paper stop in and do a story about their guard dogs.
http://www.thecountrytoday.com/story-news.asp?id=BJNVPKFHIQU

Night Game

2009-04-28T23:46:00.003-05:00

We took the boys to the Twins game tonight. It was our first outing to a night game with Adam and it went pretty well. Brayden and Adam loved the train ride. Adam flirted with anyone who would pay attention, and that turned out to be a lot of young ladies sitting next to and behind us.
We stayed at the game until the 7th inning. The Twins were up a run and I forgot the nipple to Adam's bottle so it seemed like a good time to go. Little did we know the Rays would make it interesting and we'd miss a great ninth. Oh well, we didn't get home until almost 10 and the boys were pretty well wrecked by then.
We've got some tickets to Saturday's game too, so I'll try to get some good pics to post then.

Sioux City

2009-04-22T08:57:00.003-05:00

We took a long weekend and went down to Sioux City to visit all our friends we don't get to see enough.
We stayed with Mike and Melissa from Thursday night until Sunday and we had a pretty fun filled weekend. Friday was a great day so the boys played together outside almost all day. In the afternoon Mike, Chris and I went and golfed 9 holes. I shot a 50, which wasn't to bad for the first time out this year, and I didn't even loose my ball.
That night we went back to the Hames household. Chris and Abby brought their kids and Mike grilled up some of the biggest New York Strip steaks I've ever seen. Good God he's good at grilling.
So the kids were up 'till 10 or so playing that night in the backyard and had a great time together.
Saturday was rainy and cold so we went to the mall to have lunch and play in the Lewis and Clark play area. Chris and Abby had up over for a grill out and we ended up with a house full of kids. I don't know if Brayden could have had more fun. We tried to get all the kids together for a picture, and that went pretty well, we just couldn't get Ben in, but the rest at least looked at the camera when we asked. That night the boys and I went to Town House and One Eyed Jacks to play Big Buck Hunter and have some beers. Then we decided to go bowling for a little while.
On Sunday we went to Famous Dave's for lunch and then we took the kids to the Circus. Brayden and Adam slept through the first half, but woke up to see the second.
After that we went back to Mike and Melissa's to pack up, said our goodbyes, and drove the five hours back home. Man, what a long ride.

Happy Easter

2009-04-15T18:07:00.002-05:00

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. We spent Friday and Saturday in Marshfield WI. My grandma Edith had a tumor and a quarter of her lung removed Thursday, so we brought the boys up to visit her. My mom brought a big lunch to the hospital, so we had a little family dinner with my parents, uncle, and his boys. We were also able to visit my Aunt and her family for a while Saturday morning. Adam really liked visiting his cousin Austin, they are about a week apart.
On Sunday we went to Church with Susie's parents and had brunch at their house. Adam and I took a long nap after brunch and woke up just in time for dinner. Cathy, George, Annie and Mike were there so we had a big sit down dinner.
After dinner Brayden and the rest of the boys went out to throw the football around, but Adam stayed inside to get his first haircut. It turned out really nice, Jeanie did a great job.

Twins Game

2009-04-09T18:56:00.004-05:00

Today I took the boys and our neighbor Brian to the Twins and Mariners game at the dome. Thank you Kersten for the tickets. She gave us 6, but we only used three, so we had a lot of room to ourselves.
We took the light-rail downtown and got to the game a little late, apparently there were some problems with our train. That was OK though. We didn't have to sit through any pregame festivities and were able sit down and watch baseball. Brayden and Adam did extremely well. Neither of them fussed or anything. They both cheered and clapped when the team got hits or strike outs, and watched the players or fans intently.
We had a really good time. Hopefully we can get to a few more indoor games before the team is in their new stadium next year.

Easter Eggs

2009-04-08T10:23:00.002-05:00

Susie, Brayden, Adam, and I decorated some Easter Eggs the other night. I think we made one for every family member, but we ended up eating half of them before we could give them to anyone.

OK, Disney World Is Over. . . Move On

2009-04-03T10:39:00.002-05:00

I guess it's been a while since we posted so lets catch up a little.
Yesterday we took the boys to the zoo to see the baby farm animals. It's not nice out here yet, but we bundled up and went out to the farm anyway. They loved it. Brayden wasn't scared to pet the cows this year, he was pretty terrified last year. Adam's eyes were wide open with every new animal he met. I think his favorite was the baby chicks. They were inside so it was warm enough to stay there a while and watch. He really liked the geese too, but I was leary around them, they really wanted to eat his fingers.

Over the past few weeks we've gone out to Wisconsin to visit my family a few times and went up to see Susie's parents too. It's been a very Grandparent and Great Grandparent heavy month, and the boys loved it.

Other than that, I got my throat scoped to find out why food keeps getting stuck down there, I think they fixed it, and we found out Brayden is allergic to cats. So a few medical issues.
Now we're just getting anxious to get outside and play. It's been a long cold winter, and it just doesn't want to give up. I think it'll be in the 50s next week, so hopefully we'll be outside a lot.

Walt Disney World

2009-02-20T19:25:00.003-06:00

Susie took a week off work for our fifth anniversary so we decided to do a family vacation this year. We spent a week down in Florida at Walt Disney World.
The boys did really well on the plane trip down. We had a lay over in Atlanta, and Adam threw up in the terminal. We didn't think to much of it, since it was his first time in the air, so we boarded the next plane to sunny and warm Orlando.
It was pretty cool when we got there. We went to baggage claim and there was a man there with our name on a sign. He helped us get our luggage and brought us down to a private garage were there was a Lincoln Town Car waiting for us. What luxury.
So we got to our hotel, unpacked, and and got ready for bed. That's when Adam had a massive blow out in his diaper. We had to clean him, the bed and the floor.
The next morning we went to the Magic Kingdom. Man that place is cool. Susie's been there before, but it was the first time for the rest of us. Brayden was pretty cranky at first, but once he got into it, he had a blast.
That night Susie got sick. Sick, sick, sick. Oh, and Adam puked all over her in bed.
So the next day we went to Hollywood Studios. Susie made it for about two hours. We saw the Playhouse Disney show then she had to go back to the hotel, she couldn't do it anymore. She took Adam with her, so I spent the rest of the day exploring with Brayden. We had a good time together going to shows and meeting characters.
So we got back around 6 or so, ordered room service and went to bed.
We woke up around 3 to Adam puking, Susie puking, then it was my turn.
We all felt better the next day and went to Animal Kingdom. That place was packed, but we did get to go to the Nemo Musical. Brayden and Adam loved it. The sharks scared Brayden though.
The next two days we went back to Magic and Animal Kingdoms to see all the stuff we missed and see more shows we didn't get to the days before. We also got to meet a ton of characters including Mickey and Minnie. Brayden had an autograph book so we filled it with pics and signatures.
We left Wednesday night after a day at Animal Kingdom. It was a long day, but both boys slept the whole way home and missed the horribly scary turbulence. I'm not a very good flyer.
So here's some pictures(only a sample of the 466 that we took).

January and February

2009-02-12T20:44:00.004-06:00

January went by so quick, here it is the middle of February. Gotta get caught up on this thing.
Last month my cousin Michelle came home for a week from the Army. She brought her boyfriend Lorenzo, but we only got to see them a little while. We met them at the Mall of America for lunch before they flew back to North Carolina.

That weekend we went to Wisconsin to have a birthday party for aunt Shonda. We stayed at Shonda and Kevin's house for the first time. The kids had fun playing with Shonda, and I had fun playing Guitar Hero with Kevin.
We went out for dinner at Red Robin with them and my parents.

The next Wednesday we went to Susie's parents house to celebrate Grandma Jeanie's birthday.

Brayden and Susie made some cupcakes for the party while Adam and I lounged on the couch. All her kids were there and our kids had a blast hanging out with their aunts and uncle (soon to be uncles, Aunt Annie and Mike announced their engagement this month).
Now we are getting ready for our 5 year anniversary. I surprised Susie with a trip to Disney World. We are leaving tomorrow morning, and Brayden can't wait (actually, none of us can). We'll get back next Wednesday, and I'll post some pictures of the trip as soon as I can.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-09T10:34:00.002-06:00

We hope everyone had a happy new year and a merry Christmas. Ours was very nice. We were able to host Christmas this year, so aside from all the cooking I did, it was pretty nice not to travel this year. Susie was able to get a lot of time off throughout the week. She had to work Christmas night, but she did get New Year's Eve off.
This Christmas was probably the most fun we've had as a family yet. Brayden didn't really understand what was going on last year, but this year he got it. He had to watch a Christmas movie everyday. He gets who Santa is and can even name all the reindeer. He woke us all up on Christmas morning to open presents, and we all had a great day.

Last Weekend

2008-12-19T09:34:00.003-06:00

We had a pretty fun weekend planned out for the kids and us last week.
Brayden has been a Mickey Mouse fan since he first laid eyes on the "club house friends" as he calls them. When we found out that Disney On Ice was coming again, we figured it would be a good idea to take him. Last time he went, he was over a year old and he did really well, but we didn't know how Adam would be since he's only six months old. Brayden had a great time, as we expected, but Adam totally surprised us. The kid wouldn't sit down. He wanted to be up dancing every time a song was playing (the whole thing is a musical, by the way). So he was up on our laps jumping and screaming (in delight) for over half of it. He did end up getting tired and cranky after intermission, but it was still a really good time.

On Saturday Aunt Shonda and Uncle Kevin came over for the afternoon to celebrate Christmas with us. The boys had a lot of fun with them, but couldn't wait until after lunch to open presents. When the presents were opened the kids played with Shonda all afternoon and I had some quality time with Kevin and Madden. The only problem was, I got blown out on my own turf. Until next time Kevin!

That night we went to downtown Minneapolis for the Hollydazzle parade. We met our friends Chris and Emily and their boys Caleb and Eli at the MOA and took the light rail down there. It would have been a great trip except Adam decided to SCREAM the whole way there. I'm not sure if there is anything worse than a train full of people looking at you and there isn't anything you can do but let him scream it out. Oh well. He calmed down when we got there and the kids (and adults) had a great time.

On Sunday, Aunt Annie and Mike came over to play. Annie with the boys, and Mike with me and Madden. We had lunch together and hung out all afternoon.

Christmas Tree

2008-12-10T14:54:00.001-06:00

We got our tree last week.

Tuesday

2008-12-10T14:29:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was a pretty eventful day. In the morning we went to play gym so Brayden could get some exercise and play with his friends.

We stayed there for a few hours, and then went to the Mall Of America. KFAN was having a Toys for Tots drive and broadcasting there all day. Brayden brought a toy and dropped it off with the marines. For donating a toy, they let us pick a prize card from a box and we ended up getting an autographed Gus Frerotte mini football. Not to exciting. But then Bernard Berrian showed up to do an interview. After he finished, he came down to sign autographs, so Brayden took his ball up and got that signed. At least he got one good player's signature.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T19:50:00.002-06:00

We spent the weekend before Thanksgiving in Wisconsin on the farm. It was the opening of the gun deer season so I hunted with my dad and uncle. I saw a doe, but missed my shot. My mom had a big dinner with all our family on Saturday.
We got back home on Tuesday, and on Wednesday I spent the day getting our Christmas lights on the house. It only took six hours, but it looks pretty good.
On Thursday, we went to Susie's parent's house for Thanksgiving dinner. After dinner, Brayden helped Grandma Jeanie put her Christmas tree up and decorate it.
So, that sums up a pretty busy week. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Snow In November???

2008-11-07T11:16:00.002-06:00

Well, I guess that's normal, but, man, two days after tee shirts and shorts. I don't know how long it will last, but Brayden and Adam had fun in it this morning.

Pumpkins

2008-11-05T19:27:00.001-06:00

I forgot to add the pictures of this years pumpkins. Brayden had so much fun carving them this year with his little dull knife.

Sorry

2008-11-05T11:31:00.002-06:00

OK, so throughout October I've either been extremely busy, or extra extremely lazy. It was such a great month for our family. We threw two birthday parties, one for me and one for Brayden. Brayden and I went to my parents farm to help make firewood for the second weekend of the month, and the last weekend was our Halloween Spooktacular (not really, i just like that word). It went by so fast that before I knew it, I was over a month behind on our blog.
I'll put a few slide shows in this post. First is my party. I turned 29 this year. Susie threw such a great party. Friends and family from the area were there, and my college friends and their families from Sioux City came up for the weekend too. The party lasted from noon till I passed out, and the next morning we took all the kids swimming at the hotel our friends stayed at. After brunch we went to Nickelodeon Universe at the MOA for the afternoon.

I forgot to take the camera when we went to Wisconsin, but I don't know when I've seen Brayden have more fun. He loved riding the 4 wheeler and tractor. He got a kid's chainsaw from our grandma Peggy for his birthday, so he was out in the woods cutting small branches off the firewood my dad and I cut.

The weekend before his birthday, we threw Brayden a party. He had some friends come over and they played and played till they couldn't walk anymore. Brayden got a lot of great gifts and hasn't stopped playing with them to this day. Right now is the most interested he's been in playing with his toys and using his imagination. It's nice how he can now entertain himself and his little brother Adam. Every night they have a half hour laugh off before bed. I think my abs are getting tighter from laughing at the two of them setting each other off.
The night after his party, we went to Chuck E Cheese with Russ, Katie, Justin, and Emily. The kids had a blast, but it's amazing that 600 tickets can just get you a crappy pencil case.

So, after the parties, we celebrated Halloween. We took the kids to the zoo, where we met some of Susie's friends from work. They had treat stations set up though out, so Brayden got to trick or treat there before we went out on the town.
On Halloween night, we went to Farmington and Trick or Treated with Chris and Caleb. Susie, Adam, Emily, and Eli stayed back at the house. Brayden did really well this year, but he got tired out about halfway through the houses, he made it all the way last year.

So, that was our month. I would also like to say, congratulations to our new President-Elect. Now we just have to wait another 76 days for the trash to be taken out.

Birthday Parties

2008-09-25T09:38:00.002-05:00

Over the weekend we celebrated Susie's dad's and sister Annie's birthdays. At Annie's party, Mike's nephew Preston was there. Brayden had fun making a new friend.

Brayden's Potty Present

2008-09-25T09:05:00.005-05:00

We finally have Brayden potty trained after months of begging, pleading, and bribing. We promised him a big present if he didn't have any accidents and it actually worked. We went out a few weeks ago looking for a power wheel or something he could drive around, but we couldn't find one we liked.
We went home and looked online and found a Caterpillar front end loader/backhoe peddle tractor at Northern Tool. We drove to the store to get it, but found out they didn't have one in stock. Brayden was devastated. The guy told me it was online only, but he looked on his computer catalog and found 279 of them at a store in South Carolina (nice distribution). He was able to get one sent to the store but it would take a week or so. So you can guess how the next week went.

Morning, Day 1: "Is my tractor here yet??"
Bedtime, Day 1: "Will my tractor be here tomorrow?"

Morning, Day 8: "When will my tractor be here!!!"
Bedtime, Day 8 "Will my tractor be here tomorrow?"

Throughout the week he had the Northern Tool catalog in his hands looking at the pictures and showing everyone who came to visit.

So it finally came, and Brayden wanted to ride it out of the store. He couldn't because it was boxed up, so I told him he could when we got home. We got it out of the car, and out of the box and saw about 150 pieces and 10 small bags filled with nuts and bolts. "Ok Brayden, you can ride it tomorrow."

September is Here

2008-09-01T11:22:00.004-05:00

August is finally over!!! I'm not saying it wasn't fun. We took a trip to Lambeau with Brandon, Beth and Jameson. We also had two long trips for family weddings in Wisconsin and spend a lot of time on Grandpa and Grandma's farm. We put some work into our house getting ready for winter. We trimmed our trees to save our roof when the snow comes and insulated our pipes to save energy for the boiler. Now it's time to relax. Wait a minute, Susie goes back to work on Friday!!! That means I'm home alone with the two little monsters. Oh well, guess that's my job.
Adam finally started sleeping through the night, and his crying fits have gone from four hours down to one, which is nice. Brayden is having a ball with his little brother. I've never seen a kid so interested in a baby. He pretty much wants to be involved in everything (except the diaper changes). Speaking of diapers, we finally have Brayden potty trained. He has an occasional accident here and there, but other than that, we're very proud of him.
We have no big plans for September, so the boys and I can hopefully get into a groove and get used to not having mommy around all the time (sigh).
Anyway, here is a slideshow of all the highlights of August, enjoy.

Stay At Home Dad

2008-08-31T10:39:00.002-05:00

I tried to send this over e-mail a few days ago, but it turned into a catastrophe (at least some people couldn't open it) so I'll put the video here.

Trip to Lambeau Field

2008-08-12T17:24:00.000-05:00

Justin's Birthday Party

2008-08-12T17:03:00.000-05:00

Adam Michael's Baptism

2008-07-15T23:53:00.003-05:00

4th of July

2008-07-07T10:44:00.003-05:00

We spent the fourth weekend on the farm in Wisconsin. Brayden had a lot of fun running around with the alpacas and the guard dogs. I took him out for a ride on the 4-wheeler, but he wasn't much into it this time. It was Adam's first trip away from home and he traveled really well.
On the 4th, Grandma Debbie grilled a huge dinner for everyone. My sister Shonda and her husband Kevin were there. My Grandparents Peggy and Sam were there as well as my Aunt Chris. After dinner, we started a big bonfire and tried to set off fireworks, but Brayden had some problems with the noise. He did get to stay up late though since his cousins he hadn't met yet showed up sporadically through the night. It was pretty cool to see everyone.

4th On The Farm

2008-07-07T09:44:00.001-05:00

Settled in at home

2008-06-23T21:02:00.003-05:00

Adam's first week at home has gone really well. He's sleeping about halfway through the night and wakes up for feedings and dirty diapers. Brayden is enjoying having a little brother very much. Every time I take him out, he wants to go home sooner than usual because he says he misses his brother.

First Week at Home

2008-06-23T21:01:00.001-05:00

Adam Michael

2008-06-14T13:08:00.002-05:00

Adam was born on Thursday the 12th at 10:34 a.m. He weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz. and came in at 19 inches long. We went in for the induction at 8:00 and they broke Susie's water at 8:30. She labored for 2 hours and pushed a total of 4 times. She said it was fast and intense and she decided not to use any anesthetics (pretty brave). We were able to leave the hospital today (the 14th) after the docs gave Susie and Adam a clean bill of health. Brayden was was at home with Grandma and Grandpa waiting patiently for his new little brother to get home. We've been here a few hours and everything is going really well.

Adam Michael

2008-06-14T13:07:00.000-05:00

Baby News

2008-06-10T17:05:00.002-05:00

We were expecting to have a new baby today. Susie's doctor scheduled her for an induction this morning at 7:30 so we had our family here early. Well, the hospital called just before we were ready to leave and said they couldn't get her in until 9 or so. So we waited. Susie called at nine and they said they'd call when she could come in. At noon they called back and said they would reschedule her for Thursday morning at 7:30. It looks like we'll be waiting a few more days for the kid to come.

Over the weekend

2008-05-20T10:26:00.003-05:00

Mike, Melissa, Nick and Ben came up from Sioux City to visit us this weekend. We had a great time with them. Brayden was really excited to hang out with Nick. We took them to Nickelodeon Universe and the MOA on Sunday. Brayden rode a lot more rides this time because Nick rode with him. We also took them to the zoo on Monday, the boys had a blast feeding the goats by hand at the zoo's family farm.

Nick Universe

2008-05-20T10:25:00.001-05:00

Cal Ripken Jr.

2008-04-21T18:59:00.004-05:00

On Sunday, Mike and I went to the MOA to get Cal Ripken Jr.'s new book autographed. We had to be there by 9:30 to get wristbands just to stand in line, then he was there at 1:00 for the signing. Man, was it worth the wait. Meeting Cal was about as cool as it gets (since I haven't met Favre yet).

T-Rex

2008-04-13T19:59:00.003-05:00

Today Brayden and I built a scale model of a T-Rex. It turned out pretty cool.

All Pro Dads

2008-04-13T19:41:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Brayden and I went to Winter Park (yes, the training facility of the Vikings) to participate in an All Pro Dads workshop. It was pretty fun. Coaches Childress and Frasier talked to the group about the importance of fathers in their kids lives, then we went through different football drills. Brayden was pretty young for most of them, but he liked running around with the other kids. They also had beanbag and football toss games for him to play. It lasted about three hours, but it was very informative, and something you don't get to do everyday. There were a bunch of Viking players there too, but we didn't go out of our way to meet them. I was pretty excited to be able to meet Paul Allen though (he's the voice of the Vikings and has a radio show we listen to every day). We split up into about six different group and he and his son were in ours. His son wasn't too much older than Brayden, so I didn't feel totally out of place bringing him, most kids were ages six and up. I didn't bring the camera, I forgot it, so I'll just paste the website of All Pro Dads if anyone is interested.
http://www.allprodad.com/

By the way, scroll down to see my tribute to Favre's retirement.

Snowman

2008-04-01T18:45:00.003-05:00

Wow, three posts in one day!

Anyway, it was warm enough all day that we had perfect snowman snow tonight. Brayden and I worked for a while on it, even though it won't be here tomorrow. Oh well, he had fun. Oh yeah, he named him "Snowman Nose".

Friends and Family

2008-04-01T17:57:00.001-05:00

Last few weeks

2008-04-01T17:25:00.003-05:00

It's been a crazy last few weeks for us. Brandon, Beth, and Jameson came up from Kansas City on the 15th and were able to stay for a few days. We had a blast with them. We took them to the MOA to the Underwater Adventure and to Nickelodeon Universe. Hopefully they had fun. We went on all the new roller coasters. My favorite was the Sponge Bob coaster, I've been looking forward to riding that for months. We even got Brayden and Jameson on the Azul Train, even though it was a tight ride for Brandon and me.
Before they came up, Susie's Grandma Mae passed away, so on the Tuesday that Brandon and Beth left, we drove down to Sioux City for the wake and funeral.
We stayed until Friday with Chris and Abby. Brayden had such a great time at their house. Abby does day care, so she had a few kids his age as well as their two boys Ayden and Elliot, who are about six months younger than him. It was a nice trip though. Even though the circumstances weren't the best, we were able to see a lot of Susie's family that we haven't seen in a long time, and we were able to visit all our college friends who we haven't seen in about a year. We got back Friday night and Susie worked Saturday and Sunday night.
Before she went to work on Sunday, we went to her parent's house for Easter Dinner. I dropped her off at work, then right away in the morning we drove to Wisconsin to have lunch with my Grandma Edith and aunt and uncle, and we went to the farm and had dinner with my parents.
We got home that night, and crashed until today. It was a nice nap.

Snow Angels

2008-04-01T16:48:00.004-05:00

Brayden and I made the best of a stupid late March 7 inch snowfall today. He really wanted to make a snowman, but the snow wasn't right this morning, so I taught him to make snow angels. He loved it.

New Favorite Website

2008-03-13T16:15:00.001-05:00

Well, I've found one of the funniest and saddest websites I've ever seen. It's probably one I'll check out every day.
http://garfieldminusgarfield.tumblr.com/

Nickelodeon Universe

2008-03-05T09:07:00.004-06:00

We went for a walk yesterday through the new Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America. It is pretty cool. Brayden is really into the nick toons now, especially Diego and Dora, so he couldn't get over the 25 foot tall Dora on the ferris wheel. They are doing such a great job in the redesign of the park, it was so dull that we didn't even walk through there when we went shopping or walking. Now I don't think Brayden would let us leave without a visit. We tried to get him on a semi truck ride, but he chickened out just as it began. Hopefully we can get him on rides soon, I think he'll really like the flume when he's a little bigger. They also have a new sponge bob roller coaster that looks really cool http://info.theparkatmoa.com/Hours/RockPlunge.htm . I've never seen a coaster that goes straight up, then straight down, you'd have to see it.

Anniversary Fun

2008-02-24T19:24:00.001-06:00

Our Anniversary

2008-02-24T19:03:00.003-06:00

Since our last post. . .
Susie and I celebrated our fourth anniversary. We spent the day at home and had a nice dinner with Brayden. The day before we took him to Underwater Adventure at the MOA. He kind of liked the fish and sharks, but he was way more interested in the giant sandbox they have in the atrium. We were going to take him on Valentines day, but the weathermen and women had predicted a crippling snowstorm that ended up in a total of six flakes. Oh well. Over the weekend, Susie and I went down to Spirit Lake and stayed in a condo on Lake Okiboji from Friday until Monday. Brayden had a blast staying with Grandpa Denny and Grandma Jeanie. We had a really great time getting away for a while, we haven't done that since the packer game.
It was pretty cold and windy, so we stayed in for most of the trip, but they had a great restaurant, game room, and mini golf on site. Plus we played a lot of big buck hunter.

At the Farm

2008-02-07T18:09:00.001-06:00

At the farm

2008-02-07T17:50:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we went to Grandpa and Grandma Lange's house for the day to visit. Grandma had surgery on Monday, and was a little sore, but happy to see Brayden. Grandpa Dan had the vet coming out to do blood work on the alpacas, so we spent the afternoon sorting and testing the animals. It was kind of strange, since I really haven't done that sort of work since college.
Brayden had a blast. He was waiting all week to see his grandparents and loved playing with the dogs and cats and looking at the alpacas. He was a little to scared to play with them though.
We were also able to stop in and see Great Grandma Peggy and Great Grandpa Sam. We didn't get to see them over Christmas since grandma was sick, so Brayden was really happy to visit and have some cookies with them.

Brayden made the paper!

2008-01-29T10:13:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Grandma Jeanie's birthday, and Brayden decided to take her to the zoo while Susie and I went to get her ultrasound done. While they were going through the Minnesota Trail looking at the beavers, some ladies from the St. Paul Pioneer Press were taking pictures for the paper. They asked if they could take some of Brayden. Jeanie said they took more than 20. They got his info and put a pretty cool pic in the paper and online at http://photo.twincities.com/index.php/2008/01/28/on-the-trail-at-the-minnesota-zoo/
That's the pic link, here's the story link
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_8104507?nclick_check=1
Enjoy the picture, and I'll do better at posting more than twice a month.

Christmas Time

2008-01-07T11:15:00.001-06:00

Christmas

2008-01-07T10:33:00.000-06:00

OK, I just found the camera that Susie had been hiding (in her purse, I kind of knew where it was) so I can now post a few pics from the Holidays.
We had a pretty good Christmas this year even though Susie had to work Christmas Eve and Day. We spent the weekend before in Wisconsin at my Grandma's house and my parents house. We spent an extra day there due to a mysterious winter storm that blew through undetected by local weathermen and women.
On Christmas Eve, Susie worked in the morning and slept until the afternoon. When she got up, we went to her parent's house to have dinner and open presents with her family.
Brayden made out like a bandit this year, and everyone was very good to him, especially Santa.
So, Merry Christmas to everyone, and Happy New Year and only 379 days until Bush is out of office!!!!

Trip to the Frozen Tundra

2007-12-13T19:27:00.000-06:00

Over the weekend Susie and I made our first pilgrimage to the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field to see the Green Bay Packers take on the lowly Oakland Raiders. What a great trip. Neither one of us had ever been there before and it was number one on my list of things to do before I die. It was a real treat to be able to see Brett Favre play before he retires. It was especially great to see him still able to play at the high level he's been at all year.
Susie and I stayed in Green Bay for the whole weekend and we were able to participate in all the pregame festivities. The night before they had a tree lighting ceremony at the field. Santa and his reindeer were there, we got to decorate Christmas cookies, and we had dinner at Curly's Pub, inside the atrium.
Game time was pretty cold Sunday. Susie and I both wore a few pairs of pants and lots of layers. We were pretty comfortable, but we talked to a lot of people from Cali and Florida who couldn't feel their toes before noon.
We got to the game about two hours early so we could take pictures and really get the game day experience. Lambeau doesn't disappoint.
We had a blast watching the Packers destroy the Raiders and to make a great trip better, the next day Susie took me shopping for my Birthday/Christmas/Anniversary/Flag Day present.
She said I could get anything I wanted, and I had one thing on my mind since October, an autographed Brett Favre helmet. We found it in a collectibles shop across from the field. Man do I love it. It's something I've coveted since I was 14 years old.
Brayden stayed with his Grandparents in Wisconsin for the weekend and had almost as much fun as we did. He helped decorate his great grandparent's house for Christmas and helped grandpa and grandma Lange put up their tree. We brought him back some nice souvenirs, hopefully he'll be a fan like his dad (his mom's starting to come around too).

Trip to Lambeau

2007-12-13T19:25:00.001-06:00

KFAN TOY DRIVE

2007-12-05T19:31:00.000-06:00

Brayden and I went to the MOA yesterday to donate for Toys for Tots. KFAN was there doing their broadcasts from the rotunda so we got to sit and watch PA and Dubay for a while. As soon as Brayden put the toy into the donation box, a Vikings cheerleader came over to give him five, and he totally dissed her. That's my boy (sigh).
Anyway, here's the link to their photo gallery. If you scroll through them, you'll see some familiar faces.
http://www.kfan.com/cc-common/eyewitness/display.html?album_id=91897

What a week

2007-12-03T19:50:00.001-06:00

Well, it's been a busy week around here. Last weekend we went with Russ, Katie, and family to get our Christmas trees. We really wanted to cut our own, so we drove quite a ways to a farm we thought was good for cutting. What a disappointment. We searched for over an hour to find the perfect tree. Then we looked for another hour for a suitable tree. Then we went to their pre-cut lot. What a racket. They cut all the nice trees to sell for double the cut your own price.
We did end up finding a nice tree there. We got it home and Brayden went nuts with the decorations. That kid has more Christmas spirit than I've ever seen. He loves decorating, helps wrap presents, and even helped Susie build a gingerbread house.
We got our first big snowfall of the year. We spent a lot of time outside as the snow fell. Susie, Brayden, and I all worked hard to get the driveway shoveled, then we spent the rest of our time sledding down our front hill.
We've had a great week, but I don't know if it'll top what's coming up. We are heading to Wisconsin on Saturday to let Brayden stay the weekend with his grandparents while Susie and I go to the Packers V. Raiders game on Sunday at Historic Lambeu Field. We'll post pics as soon as we get some.

Our busy week

2007-12-03T19:49:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving

2007-11-24T19:21:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving

2007-11-24T18:53:00.000-06:00

This year we held the Thanksgiving feast at our house. We served potatoes and gravy, corn, stuffing, cranberries, poppyseed bread, and a 22 pound turkey. A little much for eight people. The meal was really good though. The first leftover turkey sandwich that night was great. The ninth sandwich I had for dinner tonight didn't really hit the spot. I think the rest of the leftovers may go in the trash tomorrow.
The best part of the day was the Packer v. Lions game. There is nothing better than overfilling your gut and watching football. Pecan pie and the 4th quarter go together like Black Friday Christmas shopping and A-holes in the parking lot (Aah, 'tis the season).
Anyway, just wanted to share some pictures of the feast and a few pictures of our Light Display. I'm kind of proud, it only took me seven hours to put up 1025 lights.
Happy Thanksgiving.

Baby Emily

2007-11-14T18:44:00.000-06:00

We went to the hospital over the weekend to meet Russ and Katie's new daughter Emily. Brayden was really excited to see her, but was a little more happy to see Justin. He was asking about him all week and they played fairly quietly the whole time we visited.

Summertime

2007-11-08T23:20:00.001-06:00

Dashing through the . . .

2007-11-08T21:25:00.000-06:00

The leaves are falling, the skies are gray, and we put an extra quilt on the bed. The flakes are in the air and the plastic up on the windows. Winter is here. Sigh.
To take my mind off of it, I thought it would be nice to recap our summer with a new slide show. We were able to take a few trips in the last couple months. We went to Lake Mil lacs with Susie's parents for a week, and spent a weekend in Chicago with my parent's at the racetrack there. We were able to go to Sioux City in June to see everyone and we rode down to Kansas mid summer to see Brandon, Beth and Jameson. We also got to spend a lot of time visiting and going to Twins games with our friends here in the Cities.
Brayden really grew over the summer too. Looking back at the photos, he was a toddler in the spring and a kid in the fall. What a difference a summer can make.

At the play gym

2007-11-06T15:01:00.001-06:00

Eagan Play Gym

2007-11-06T14:21:00.000-06:00

Since I've started staying home with Brayden, we've tried many things to pass the time and give him a chance to interact with other kids his age. We initially went to a weekly play group with the At Home Dads in Apple Valley, but, unfortunately, they quit meeting regularly. We started then to drive to St. Paul to meet with another group, but that was quite a distance away. At the end of last winter, we found a preschool gym at the Eagan community center that holds open play twice a week. Brayden loves it, and it's only 10 minutes away. We just started going back since it's been to cold to play outside and he really looks forward to going now. They have giant tubes and slides in an area they call The Blast and a half gym with balls, mats, and a giant inflatable jumper (which was new today) that he couldn't get enough of. I started letting him climb up into the tubes by himself (mainly because it wears me out chasing him through that thing) and he does great on his own. He is also starting to play and run with other kids his age in the gym. It's really refreshing not to have to entertain him entirely on my own when we're out. The only problem is, when he takes off across the gym, and I'm standing there watching from afar, I'll get some strange looks from moms as they move in a little closer to their own kids.

October Fun

2007-11-05T21:55:00.001-06:00

And so it begins. . .

2007-11-05T19:14:00.000-06:00

It's been a very busy autumn. We just got through the birthday season and are gearing up for the holidays. Our biggest news of the fall is that Susie is pregnant. Brayden is very excited, he kisses mommy's tummy and is always asking about the baby. She's now about 8 weeks along and we aren't quite as petrified about this one as we were with Brayden. We are very happy about the timing, when the baby comes hopefully Brayden will be old enough to help out and (fingers crossed) out of diapers. Luckily we got him into his own room over the summer and freed up the nursery so we won't have to work on that in the spring.
This is our first posting and hopefully we'll get a lot of pictures on here for friends and family to see since I'm so bad at e-mailing anything. Hopefully we get a lot of visitors and everyone enjoys their time here.