Happy Birthday Isaac!

The big number 4. I can't believe it. Where does the time go? Happy Birthday Buddy. We love you so much!

Happy 9th Birthday Signe!

Signe wanted to go to Dino's for her birthday dinner tonight, so Grandpa, Grandma and Seth, and Steve and Laurel (a.k.a. "Teve and YaYa") joined us. Great fun was had by all. Happy Birthday Sig! We love you :)

Signe's New Bling(s)

Today, Signe finally decided she was up for sitting in that chair by the window at Claire's Boutique and getting her ears pierced. For the past couple of birthday's (she turns nine in 9 days) I've asked her if she wanted her ears pierced for her birthday. She has always said no, however her aunt's wedding is coming up next week and she thought it would be pretty cool to have some sparkly earrings to go with her bridesmaid dress. So, happy early birthday Signe :)

I'm totally up for this....

I think I'm up for this....

I'm not sure I'm up for this!

I love them!

Like Father, Like Son....

What else can I say? :)

Memorial Weekend Camping Adventure

Photo highlights from the weekend. There are more on Facebook (they're easier to download on there!)

Jillian Michaels is ready to kick my butt....

Those of you directed here from Facebook who have never been to our blog before, welcome. To those of you more familiar with the site you know I have been lacking in the posts lately, but decided recently that needed to change. I found the perfect opportunity too: documenting my latest weight loss/get back into shape routine, courtesy of Jillian Michaels, the Biggest Loser phenom. I got the idea from one of my sister's Facebook friends, who did Jillian's "30 Day Shred" and seriously, the results were amazing.

So why am I sharing all of this with you, you ask? Those of you who read my last Christmas letter know that I tend to lack the really serious motivation to get back into shape. (Remember how I would actually wear my workout clothes to bed so that was one less thing I could talk myself out of in the mornings?) Jillian has promised to get me into shape in 20 minutes a day for 30 days. So I can do this in the secrecy of my own basement and if I fail only I know I'm a failure. But, if I can put myself out there to the blogging world and I fail, well I probably haven't failed you because quite honestly you all have better things to concern yourselves with than whether I lose a few pounds or not, but I know I will have failed in front of a bunch of people. I hate that feeling. And I don't want to fail. My sister is getting married at the end of the summer and I don't want to look like the frumpy mother of two who is pushing 34. So, whether you like it or not you are all my motivation! So please check back to see how I'm doing as I will provide updates throughout the month and we'll see what happens....

To start, we better get a hold of where I stand right now:

Day: 1

Chest: 37"

Waist: 32"

Hips: 43"

Weight: 157.6 (ugh-- let me point out that the heaviest I've ever been is 170 lbs, and that's with the assistance of an 8 lb baby and non existent ankles). Jillian claims you can lose up to 20 lbs, but I think that's if you don't eat for 30 days. Anyway, here I am in all my glory.... (thank you Steve for taking the pictures and thank you Kim for letting me use your scale)

And thank you to all of you :) See you in about a week and a half....

Lazy Saturday Morning

While Dad is away this morning, freezing his buns off at a track meet, SURELY the rest of us were hard at work back home....

Isaac?

Lounging on the couch watching cartoons, complete with his "treasure map" in hand....

Signe?

Watching cartoons in Mom and Dad's room (pay no attention to the fact the bed is not made yet, remember the title to this post is LAZY)....

Scout?

Nope, unless you count the work my jaws are doing on this bone.

Finally, Isaac wanted to take a picture of the ceiling fan, so I thought I better include it:

Happy Weekend everyone!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

In all the chaos of this morning, I managed to get a pretty decent shot of the kids and Scout before we all headed out the door. Even Scout is in the spirit, with her St. Patty's carnation! (For those of you not on Facebook, Scout is the newest addition to our family as of March 1st. She is a good puppy-usually- and fits in well at the Alger house!)

Look Alikes?

People are always saying that Signe looks just like me, but have never been able to see it. The other night I was going through some old photo albums and low and behold, there was my 2nd grade picture staring back at me. So, here you have it. Mother and daughter, same age, same grade. Do you see it? I'm not sure I do....Maybe if I squint my eyes a little :)

Santa Did It....

Isaac's new thing when he does something he shouldn't is to tell us "somebody did it." i.e. "Isaac, who dumped the applesauce on the floor?" "Somebody did it." The other day, that "somebody" was Santa Claus. Can you imagine? He must be restless after his big holiday season!

"Isaac, who put the address labels all over Dixie?"

"Santa did it!"

Winter Wonderland?

OK, I love snow as much as the next Minnesotan, but this is getting to be a bit much! Alright, so the snow isn't so bad, but let's not forget the recent ice storm as well which adds to the excitement of the season! Since the most recent snowfall wasn't too bad we decided to shovel the driveway instead of plowing it. Little did I realize it was GLARE ICE, which made the task all that more difficult. The kids enjoyed it, though. Who knew you could ever sled on the driveway?

Signe, Isaac and our neighbor Jaden

Alger Pizzeria

Signe thinks her pizza is looking pretty good!

Isaac strategically places the pepperonis


Up here Isaac!