Mama's retirement plan

Who needs 401K? (Which, by the way, is tanking, thank you very much.)

I have a future LPGA tour star in my midst.

Last week, while daddy was on his boys' only fishing trip, Jaina & I took little excursion to the golf course. The goal was to get pictures, not really to golf. However, people look at you funny if you just drive around in a golf course. So we hit some balls too.

I wanted to try to make Mike something really cool for Father's Day, but I couldn't pick just one.

What do you think?

Not quite the same.......

So, yesterday, we went to the hopping, never dull lively Tulip Festival in Orange City. I have to admit, every year, when it comes up, I secretly pray that no one asks us to go. I have a strong loyalty to Pella, and therefore, is it traitorous to go to another town's Tulip Festival?

The day was beautiful, and I had missed Pella's this year, so of course, I missed all of the food, so, with trepidation in my heart, we went. Better than sitting in our basement watching Mike play Wii all day, anyway.

It was a beautiful day, but it is not the same.....

The tulips were fabulous....

The parade was fine.......

(These are Mike's cousins, by the way, not some random people I took pictures of during the parade :))

And the food was pretty good.......

Slight tangent here. When I told Mike that I thought we should go, his first comment was "I am only going if I get to eat Poffertjes." Poffer - what? I will explain for those of you out there unaware of the this delectable treat.

Poffertjes are heavenly, sweet, fat filled pieces of goodness, that make any Dutch girl happy. And evidentially, the make German boys happy too. And little daughter of said Dutch girl andGerman boy. We managed to eat at least three platters in one afternoon. I am fully convinced that God will have Poffertjes in Heaven.

The heavenly treat....

Jaina enjoying herself with the "little pancakes"

However, I need to tell you, in Pella, you can get them with strawberries and whipped cream. This is something that I need to point out.

And, of course, Jaina had to stand in front of tulips, again. But this time, without the dress. Which, I guess is a good thing. Yesterday, I told her we were going to the Tulip Festival, but that, unfortunately, we would not be able to wear her dress, because it is with Grandma Judy in Pella. Her response, "That's okay, because if I did have to wear the dress, we would have a problem."

So, it was an enjoyable day. But at the end of the day, I would still pick Pella. Ask Mike's cousins, I am sure they would always pick the OC. :)

This one is my favorite....

Mother's Day, 2008

This year marks my fourth Mother's Day. It is hard to believe that it is possible that I have experienced four Mother's Day's already, but it is true.





But really, can you resist being a mother to this?




And, as of late, I have learned so many new words and phrasese from the princess above. Some examples:

• Mix Up: This is what we call it when a) we get to eat breakfast before getting dressed in the morning, OR b) we get to wear sandals without any socks. Either way, it sounds like any time that we do something out of "routine," it will officially be a mix up.
• Reg Out: When it is time to leave a store, and check out our belonging, we need to "Reg Out." We didn't get this one at first, but now, since it is in every store, we started to get the picture.
• Propala: I am not sure of the spelling of this one, and it just happened tonight. On the way to Sioux Falls, she took off her sandals (which yes, we did Mix up to put on), and took the straps out. When she was showing me how to put the straps back in, she said that this means to "propala." It also means to fasten two straps on your sandals at the same time. How versatile.

I will keep you posted on any new words added to the JG Dictionary of Toddlerhood.

Congratulations Aunt Jodi!

Yes, you heard it here....

The fourth and final Groen child is out of college. Flew the coop, as you may say.

Well, technically, she hasn't flown the coop, and still lives in the coop. But it is fun to use the expression.

On May 10, 2008, Aunt Jodi walked the hallowed halls of Northwestern for the final time. (That is sarcasm for any of you who have actually seen the hallowed halls of NWC. Graduation is in the student center, with many tarps hanging from the ceiling.)

I wanted to give Jodi a shout out....

CONGRATULATIONS!

May your future be merry and bright!

And, because I am in the know...... your student loans are due. :)

Obviously....

Sorry it has been a while, what can I say, everything and nothing happens at the same time.

Jaina and I are both finally feeling better after getting what seems like the nastiest cold on the planet. Mine started over the weekend, but I kept trying to convince myself that it was allergies. Finally, after speaking with my mother, she convinced me that just by the sound of my voice, she could tell it was a cold. Eerie.

So, yesterday, J and I spent the day at home, trying to rest. I say trying lightly, because although I would have been more than eager to rest, sleep, and watch movies all day, 3 -year olds are not so willing to be, how do you say it, lazy.

So, in the afternoon, we finally had to get out of the house. We went to the park, just to run off some energy. And then we went to the store. And then we went inside and played some more.

I was halfway tempted to take another day off today, just to relax from yesterday. But, we both went back to work, day care, and school today.

However, I have a slightly humerous story about last night. Jaina and I were playing Wii (which is a miracle in itself, but since Mike was at a golf meet, we actually got a turn :)) Jaina settled on playing golf, and she schooled me. For some reason (I am blaming the cold medicine instead of the sheer lack of talent), she beat me up. She must have some secret golf skills that this family has not heard of.

Anyway, back to the real story. On the second hole, I could not get the ball into the hole. It got to the point that the screen said "Give Up", and automatically added 5 points. I turned to Jaina and said, "Man, Jaina, Mommy can't get it in the hole!"

She looks at me with her big brown eyes and says, "Obviously, Mom."

Really?!? Sarcasm at 3? What do I get to look forward to next year?

The View......

From my room in sunny CANCUN!

That's right. Last week, Mike and I went to Cancun, Mexico, as part of a Wells Fargo Service Conference.

Every year, Wells Fargo rewards a small portion of their employees with an all-expenses paid trip to some exotic place. This year, it was in Cancun! And I won one of the trips! It was AWESOME!

We went down there a day earlier than the conference started, to get the lay of the land. And it is amazing.

The grass is green (which is desperately missed up here :)), and the water was wonderful.

For the first two days, Mike and I did NOTHING. It was long overdue. We laid on the beach, in beach loungers, and under a tiki hut. No interruptions, no schedule, just time to ourselves. We both read, and read something more complex than Green Eggs and Ham.

On Sunday, all of the other Wells Fargo team members showed up, and we continued to have a great time. We had a personal concert from the lead singer of Train, listen to inspirational speakers, and, who could forget the snorkeling.

The pictures tell it better than I....

Yes, we had a Jacuzzi tub in our room......

To add to it, we had a fully stocked fridge, our own Captain Morgan on tap, and it was all complementary. Mike thought it was WONDERFUL.

One night was a theme night, where we got "Lost in Paradise - on the Riviera Maya" They had live animals to take pictures with, so we took a pic with the birds. We skipped the snake.....

On the final night we were there, we had a "fancy" dinner of surf and turf. We got dressed up, and Mike got to wear his new sport coat, of which he was SO excited.

We DEFINITELY have to go back.....

Easter

It has been a while since I have posted, so I thought I would give an update to everyone to let you know what we have been up to.

Easter was a few weeks ago, and although we didn't do anything spectacular, or go anywhere fancy (just the in-laws, and that was tasty), we did manage to get some eggs dyed, and a new dress worn.

Below are some pictures of our experience.....

This is Jaina, coloring her egg before she dyed it.

For every single egg, she felt the need to write on it...

What did she write on EVERY egg?

Her name, of course. :)

And then, on Easter Sunday, she got to wear her brand new dress at church.

Disclaimer: Blog poster takes no responsibility for the devilish grin on the subject's face. This is entirely genetic, and come from her father.

And then, there are the obilgatory family pics....

Has Erica been tanning? Why yes, more on that in the next post. :)