Grenz Updates

The rest of the house pictures...

2011-01-07T21:51:00.004-06:00

1000 sq. ft. rec room.

Laundry room wall cling.

Master bathroom.

6 ft. long tub. I might drown! I'm only 5'2"

Master bedroom with trey ceiling.

Kitchen

Back deck off eat-in kitchen and master bedroom.

Front of house. Overlooks 2 acres.

Back of the house. (duh.)

We are also buying the lot next door, as shown in this picture. Good thing we love to mow the lawn.

Our new home. Love it.

2011-01-06T22:28:00.005-06:00

I love the textured hardwood bamboo floors.

One of the kids sinks in the Jack and Jill bathroom.

Family Room leading into Eat in Kitchen.

Current Formal Dining room to be turned into reading room/ library.

Opposite side of same room as above.

View of kitchen from eating area.

Playroom off the thousand square foot rec. room in the walkout basement.

Exercise room...treadmil to be added later...

Walking downstairs

Next five are different angles of the kitchen.

The front door.

Cruise to the Greek islands.

2010-07-03T10:06:00.003-05:00

Here are some more pictures from yesterday on the islands.
I'll start with a "woo-woo" for Ben. (Although I've been gone so long, he can probably say "Ambulance" now.

Pritta on the boat last night. Cute hat!

Seagulls flying near our boat as the sun was setting.

Mom and Dad on the boat.

Fishing nets on the island of Poros, the second island we stopped at.

This was just a cool piece of glass that Capritta, our new friends Ashley and Amanda (sisters from New York), and I sat in front of.

Then we got creative cause we had fifteen more minutes until the ship left the port so we were killing time.

Here we are on the boat. I was writing in my journal at the time.

One Day Cruise in Athens, Greece.

2010-07-03T09:49:00.002-05:00

These first pictures are from our day (yesterday) in Athens. We decided to do a one day cruise. It was beautiful.
This first picture is of the island called Hydra. My favorite, where we jumped off the rocks into the blue water and swam.

Swimming picture. It doesn't look real, right?

I was trying to make friends with a donkey... and not get tan lines.

Here's the water close up. Crystal clear.

We also got to see dolphins jumping and playing in the water.

Here and there in Italy and Greece.

2010-07-02T14:49:00.003-05:00

A castle in Assisi, Italy.

The Parthenon at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.

Me and Pritta in front of the Parthenon.

Me running a lap in the first ever Olympic Stadium in Olympia, Greece!!

Taking pictures of the water in Delphi, Greece.

On our boat in Capri, Italy, just before jumping into the Mediterranean Sea.

"The girls" in Delphi, Greece, with our waiter after lunch. First time I had REAL Gyros! So good!!!

Capri, Italy, where we swam.

The Vatican, the Sistine Chapel and the Colosseum

2010-06-21T17:06:00.004-05:00

The first three are of the Colosseum. There aren't words to describe how huge it is. Amazing.

An angel in the Basilica of St. Peter.

A mumified Pope. weird.

Dad had to cover his knees with a scarf because you couldn't show your knees or your shoulders.

All of us outside the Vatican.

Inside the Vatican, walking to the Chapel.

The courtyard at the Vatican. The ball is complete bronze.

The front of the Vatican, where the Pope is seen from the balcony on tv.

What a day!!! We started out at the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel where we saw Michaelangelo's work on the front wall and ceiling of the Chapel from the Renaissance. It was breathtaking. So many things to look at...everywhere you look is a work of art. We saw the place where the Pope waves from when we see him on tv! We also went to the Basilica of St. Peter, where his tomb is. There, we walked through and saw where some of the previous Pope's have been either placed in tombs, mumified, or enshrined. We learned about mosaics and saw the art done with extremely tiny pieces of tile. The Vatican was so crowded (it gets 26-27,000 visitors every day!) Then we traveled to the Colosseum, where the Gladiators used to battle animals in front of thousands of spectators. They told us that the sand on the ground would be covered with blood and at the end of the battle each gladiator still alive would go to the emporer and the emporer would give either a thumbs up or a thumbs down. (Up meant they put on a good fight and they got to live.....thumbs down meant death.) After the morning excursions, we went back to the hotel and slept for 3 hours. We love our tour guide. He makes my dad laugh a lot. Hope you enjoyed some of the pictures from the morning excursion into Rome.

Rome, Italy

2010-06-20T16:55:00.003-05:00

We are having fun in this beautiful country. We have been laughing a lot and our stomachs are sore. The flight was long (over 8 hours) and restless, but we finally made it. Today we went around Rome or "Roma" as the locals call it. We got to drink from the same fountain as Julius Caesar and some others including Michaelangelo! We saw some architecture done by the artist as well. The ruins are everywhere. It's amazing that they're still intact for the most part. The colliseums are enormous!!! They almost don't look real. My favorite part of today was going to the plazas where there are fountains and the streets are narrow and lined with shops. It's awesome. The cobblestone streets are so pretty and there are flowers everywhere. We also saw the first ever picture of Jesus in one of the Basilicas. (We weren't allowed to take a picture of it.) Go figure. We had pasta at a restaurante and pizza for dinner. Dessert was huge ice cream cones, which is actually gelato, but gooooooood!!! Our tour group seems very nice, so we will have more time to get to know them tomorrow as we visit Rome and Venice.

our huge gelatos

This picture is for Benjamin.....look Ben, it's Mommy's Bus!!!

Mom and Dad on the bus on our way into the city (Rome)

Our 1 Liter Coke we got with lunch. Sheesh it was huge. Thought Micah might like to see that.

Don't ask what all the cool buildings are just yet. I'll post more tomorrow. We miss everyone.

Pritta's Visit Here!!!

2010-06-06T22:29:00.003-05:00

We've been having a great time!! Don't want her to leave tomorrow.

Gee, thanks Paige, for making Emma look like she's stuck in the 80's.

2010-05-28T22:30:00.004-05:00

Really Paige, you couldn't find anything else to cut with the scissors you were hiding in your room...really?

I think Emma is looking in the mirror here. YIKES!!!

Emma all grown up.

Playing Outside.

2010-05-18T20:36:00.005-05:00

We had a fun time outside today and yesterday. Here are some pictures of the many faces the kids make. They are so wonderful to hang out with. Never a dull moment. (or a quiet one.)

Ben found a rock! Woo hoo!

He's been making this new face lately. I love it.

Gettin' ready for a ride in the wagon.

Paige feeding Jake a sucker she got at school today.

Paige's loot from her last days of school.

Ben ready for a wagon ride.

Ben dumping Paige's grass. uh oh.

Emma Ding-Ding.

Only Emma would hang around on her bike like this.

We'll end with some silly pictures of Mommy and Paige, Emma and Ben.

Ben dancin' and slidin'

2010-04-27T22:30:00.001-05:00

Ben was so funny on the slide of the little swimming pool we got for the kids.

Emma Ding-Ding

2010-04-23T21:42:00.005-05:00

Just hangin' out with my toes.

a natural progression...

oh look, a pen!

I am SOOOOO in my own world right now.

oops....busted. Is this the look I'm going to get when she's a teenager?!? OUCH!

Girl, you better wipe that dirt and that look off your face right this minute!

Bonfire out back.

2010-04-23T20:54:00.002-05:00

We had some hot dogs and s'mores for dinner in the backyard down below. Finally tried out the fire pit. Hope we do that more often.

Bath pics.

2010-04-20T21:12:00.004-05:00

Bathtime!

2010-04-20T20:38:00.001-05:00

Typical Bath with the kiddos.

Emma Hooks a Worm!!

2010-04-19T22:37:00.001-05:00

This is hilarious to me.

Fishing!!

2010-04-19T21:46:00.005-05:00

OK, I'm back to blogging, cuz I don't need to post a million family pics to fb. We went fishing this past Saturday and we had a good time.

Paige's First Dance Recital

2009-05-15T09:16:00.001-05:00

Paige's Dance Recital

2009-05-15T07:55:00.002-05:00

These are some pictures from Paige's dress rehearsal for her dance recital. The actual dance recital is tonight...but there is no photography allowed the night of.

Easter Picture

2009-04-29T22:43:00.001-05:00

Don't they look cute?!

Pinkalicious Princesses and the little Prince

2009-03-11T09:12:00.003-05:00

The girls in their "Pinkalicious" jammies. (If you haven't read it, it's a cute book.) Thanks, Grammy and Pop Pop!

Visit to Grammy and Pop Pop's

2009-03-01T15:43:00.004-06:00

Our Ben Boy in his Easter hat...

Emma Ding Ding in Paige's shoes. No wonder they didn't feel right to her.

Aunt "Ba-ba" with the girls.

Playing outside.

Mommy after running in the Gasparilla Marathon Relay today. Woo hoo. (got poured on.)

Grammy lovin'

Emma Ding Ding being two....Ben the Inchworm

2009-02-22T21:14:00.002-06:00

This one shows so many different aspects of the terrible two's. We love our JYD.

Ben is getting closer and closer to crawling. He is definitely a determined little boy.

I said I'd never drive a minivan...

2009-02-22T16:27:00.005-06:00

so much for that statement. We just don't fit in anything smaller. This is the Honda Odyssey we got last night. We love it. The kids love it. No more Lexus.
Minivan says "dishwasher" so much more than a Lexus anyway. sidenote: I (Gretta) got a part-time job as a dishwasher at a local deli in town working from 10-2pm M-F. I love it, I just have to figure out how to not get dishpan hands. Hmphf.

My good friend Jeanne said "Nothin' sez "mom" like a van full of car seats."

At least we got the whole DVD thing to keep the kids entertained (and quiet) now if we could just teach Kaitlyn how to drive, we could just sit in the back and watch movies all the time!!

Paige and Emma Ding Ding

2009-02-17T19:08:00.002-06:00

Woo hoo!!! Emma is going pee pee on the potty!!!

Emma post potty!

Paige is almost four!!!!!!

Ben Shea Boy

2009-02-17T17:33:00.002-06:00

Our ferocious bear cub.

Still lovin' that dimple.

Fun kid stuff...

2009-01-04T16:58:00.001-06:00

Pics of the kids.

2009-01-04T16:22:00.000-06:00

An attempt at a nice picture of the kids.

2008-12-16T13:46:00.006-06:00

Matty, Michael and Steven....Heather's boys.

This one needs no explanation.

Enjoy!

Not sure what Emma is doing here, although it was right before we ate Thanksgiving dinner, so maybe she was hungry.
Needs no explanation.

Awwww, poor little Benjamin. He either looks scared or is crying.

and 2:57 was his time-o!

2008-12-16T13:06:00.006-06:00

These pictures are from Micah's very successful Marathon weekend after Thanksgiving in Cocoa, Florida. He finally did it!!! He finally got under 3 hours. We are so proud of him! Way to go, Micah! I can't imagine running 26 miles under 7 minutes...Yikes!

Tennessee Pics

2008-12-12T14:53:00.007-06:00

This is where we live.

Bon Air Mountain

2008-12-06T14:22:00.002-06:00

The area we live on is called Bon Air Mountain. It is in the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains. I wish I could post the pictures I took this morning, but I am at the library after a run and don't have my camera. Anyway, my father-in-law and Paige and I went hiking for two hours this morning through the land. We found four caves, one of which we walked into, a waterfall and many cliffs. It was awesome. Paige was a trooper. We found a leave that had fallen from a tree that was about a foot wide! Our shoes were covered in mud when we were done. We'll be traveling to Minnesota for Christmas to see Kaitlyn and the rest of the Grenz/Norgaard family. Hopefully we'll see many of you soon!

Tennessee Residents!!!

2008-12-04T15:03:00.003-06:00

We are officially in Tennessee now and it's going very well. We love it here! Nature is all around us up in the mountains. It's beautiful, the water is so cold and pure, the air is so clean, the people have such sweet temperaments and are so nice. We really are very happy. We'll post more as soon as we get internet. Hope you are all doing well!!

Happy Birthday to Us!

2008-11-20T21:12:00.003-06:00

Guess what Emma got for her second birthday?????

2008-11-20T20:58:00.000-06:00

PIGTAILS!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday and Monday

2008-11-18T20:39:00.004-06:00

I can't believe she's going to be 2.

Here's the girls playing outside Sunday morning. Enjoy!

Swim Lessons went very well today!

2008-11-14T15:51:00.005-06:00

We recommend ANYONE with children aged 6 months to 6 years to find the nearest ISR instructor and sign up immediately!!!

It was worth every penny. Not a single child that has been through the 4-6 week program has drowned. Over 4000 of them have saved their own lives after accidentally falling into the water.

Ben Pics

2008-11-13T21:00:00.004-06:00

Little Ben Shea is doing so well. Here are some pictures I got of the little guy today.

2008-11-12T20:18:00.011-06:00

Here are some of our Halloween Pictures. Paige the Princess, Emma the Duck (or as Paige pronounces it "Guck") and Ben our little Super-Baby!

The other two kids in the pictures are Gillian, Paige's pal and Keenan, Emma's new buddy.

This one just made us laugh.

Paige and Gillian play pretty much every day together.

Yep, the little dude is smiling.

Sorry about the red eye.

We're attempting potty training. Don't we look SO excited?

Paige and Emma with the neighbors again.

This is Bit-uh, as in "Bit-o-Honey" the candy bar. (Gilli and Keenan's dog.)

We'll end with some pictures of Paige and Emma swimming. They both finish their lessons on Friday and they can both swim now!! Ben does his lessons in two months!!! They are little fish-all over the place!

Sorry we've been terrible about posting. I think I got it figured out now. We miss everyone very much and promise to try to stay more caught up on our lives through the blog. Hope everyone is doing well.

2008-10-22T21:31:00.005-05:00

Florida has been VERY good to us. Recently, we spent the weekend at a resort in St. Petersburg at the beach and had a nice time. Micah and I have never been able to run this much in our lives. It feels like the longest vacation we've ever been on. The kids are enjoying the warm weather and time with Mom, Dad, Grammy, Pop-Pop and Aunt Heather, Aunt Barbara and all the cousins. Paige and Emma along with cousin Matthew are taking swimming lessons every weekday together. We are going for walks and playing so much outside it's great. We've been swimming a lot and playing in the sand and coloring and just enjoying ourselves. We needed this. Miss everyone up north and hope it doesn't get too cold too soon. Maybe these pictures will warm you up..or just tick you off.

We're still alive...

2008-10-06T21:55:00.002-05:00

Sorry about the lack of posts. We made it to Tampa Florida and we are doing well. If you would like my mom's house number so you can call us at the house, email me and I'll give it to you. The drive went well. We went from Brookings to Chicago, Chicago to Tennessee and then Tennessee to Tampa. Both of our cars are cleaned out finally and we are almost settled in for our two month stay in Tampa. After this stay, we will be going to Tennessee in early December or late November to live. We are enjoying our time together! I will get pictures online asap. Thanks for your patience. -Grenz's

Emma Ding Ding

2008-09-14T21:47:00.003-05:00

2008-09-14T09:14:00.002-05:00

Paige in another one of her "outfits." I thought we sold all of our winter gear in the garage sale.

Ben and his Mommy. :)

Random Pictures

2008-09-11T20:56:00.005-05:00

Paige was playing in the water outside and got all of her clothes wet. I sent her inside to get new clothes and this is what she came out wearing. Do you see what is on her head? It's bloomers that go with a dress she has. She thought it was a hat.

This is Lionel. He has recently had a makeover. He used to have an annoying afro that was made of yarn and the kids could pull out. We gave him a new hairstyle and we are much happier now. His new hair is made of leather. Doesn't he look great?

Here's his tail.

He now will have hair for many future generations of horse riders. Yee haw.

Paige's first day of preschool.

She was so proud of herself.

She had no separation anxiety whatsoever. She loves school. As you can see they are studying bugs. She loves to tell us what she did each day. What they had for snack and what games they played on the playground. Today she said "We played on the playground and Carson was a lion and Cole and me chased him and we roared at him too." Cole and Carson were two kids that came to daycare at our house for the past year and a half, so it's nice that she gets to play with her good buddies.

Oh and she insists on opening the door for HERSELF now that she's such a big girl.

Our little boy loves to sleep. (He gets that from dad.) Micah is going, going, going and the minute he stops, he's sleeping.

Emma Ding Ding

Is it possible to actually smile too big? Looking at her here makes my face hurt.

Pictures we took today of little Benjamin.

I love that dimple!

Hope you enjoyed. We'll post more soon!!

Paigey Pie, Emma Ding Ding and Bem

2008-09-08T14:27:00.003-05:00

I know it's been a while since we posted, so here's some pictures.
This some of Emma's pals, Jackson and Ella.

Paige and her best friend, Cole decided to join in.

These two do EVERYTHING together.

Emma on the rocking horse saying (very loudly) "Rooooccckkkkyyyy, Rooooooccckkkyyy."

Paige doing a somersault. (She really needs to learn how to tuck her head.)

Two pictures of Ben awake, which is rare.

Emma LOVES to hold "Bem" (as she calls him.) She could care less if he's screaming his head off.

See what I mean?

I had to finally take him away because he was hungry. Emma didn't like that so much. How did I not notice all that dirt on her face earlier? GROSS!

"Bem"

Emma with a dirty face mesmerized by the tv.

Paige also locked in to the television.

Benjamin enjoying his sisters being locked into the tv and having no one trying to hold him for a few minutes. Ahhhhhh.

One more thing...

2008-09-03T23:09:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to my kid sister, Capritta Marie.
She turns 22 today.

What we've been busy doing lately INSTEAD of blogging...

2008-09-03T22:47:00.001-05:00

Cleaning the house. (i.e. making it perfect)
Showing the house.
Planning a garage sale.
Having a garage sale.
Calling the realtor to see how the showings are going.
Text Messaging the realtor to see how the showings are going.
Taking Paige (Along with Emma, (screaming in his carseat) Ben and Simon to Preschool.
Showing the house some more.
Finding out the couple that looked at the house twice is not interested again in taking out a loan until they pay off some of their debt. (jerks)
Planning another garage sale.
Having another garage sale.
Going to the doctor's office 400 times to have my "shark bite" re-checked. It's healing fine, BTW, thanks for asking.
Packing, sorting bins, trading clothes with friends (baby clothes) and re-packing.
Showing the house to more jerks that won't make an offer.
Still have to do: Pack, Thank you cards to about a million people for Ben gifts, Daycare Paperwork, Clean and Show the house, hear that they're VERY interested, but won't make an offer, go to counseling because we're crazy for turning our lives upside down.

Then it's 70 degrees out and sunny and warm and Ben is nustled up in the crook of my arm sleeping and Paige and Emma are playing so sweet in the sand box and it's a wonderful moment and I choose to enjoy it rather than run inside to jump on our turtle of a computer to wait three hours for my ten pictures to download so I can update all of our friends and family on our lives. In my mind I have blogged a hundred times, I just don't have the time right now to get it out of my head and wait it out painstakingly to post. So instead I take off my shoes and stick my feet in the sand and let the girls bury them and enjoy the time that everyone tells us "goes by so fast." You understand, right? thanks.

Random pictures of the kids from the weekend.

2008-08-17T10:29:00.004-05:00

Great weekend so far, we had a pretty successful garage sale, Kate had Piper spend the night, we got some cute pictures of Ben actually awake, and could Emma's hair get any whiter??? I've got two more weeks of daycare left and I'm on my own since Grandma Grenz went back home. Should be a challenging two weeks, but I'm determined to get through it. Hopefully we will have our house sold within the next two weeks. We've got two serious options considering offers. We'll see how it goes. Kate got her ears pierced for her birthday and now wants Paige's done. Hmmm. Ok, well over half of our kids are screaming about something right now, so I'd better go.
Enjoy the pics.

If anyone asks, I got attacked by a shark...

2008-08-11T16:30:00.003-05:00

Ok so not all blog posts can be cute, soft, wonderful little babies. If you are eating right now, stop. These are pictures of what remains of a wort that I had removed last week. I had it treated while I was about 6 or 7 months pregnant with acid and instead of making it go away, the thing grew to about 10 times it's original size. I was told this was a result of the hormones from pregnancy. Yes, I actually had it treated at the doctor's office. This is nothing I did on my own. I had a professional make me have what was recently referred to as a "BEEFY" wart on the front of my shin. I don't ever want anything on my body referred to as Beefy. So anyway, it was so big that the doctor had to cut it out in an "S" shape so there would be something left to close the opening. Throwing up yet? Hope you enjoy the pictures.
Please come back our blog soon!!

Happy Birthday, Kaitlyn Madison!!!!

2008-08-06T22:38:00.002-05:00

I can't believe we are the parents of an EIGHT year old!!!! Wow! Remember at our wedding, the little three year old? She's a whopping eight now. Can't believe it. Kate's favorite things include Webkinz, riding her bike, playing outside with friends, sleepovers, cupcakes, barbies, reading, going to the pool, wearing dresses and playing with her sisters. (Especially dress up and tea parties.)

We love you Kate!

Ben Boy

2008-08-04T23:08:00.002-05:00

Here are some more of Benjamin. Kate, Paige and Emma are still getting pictures taken of them as well, it's just that these are more exciting to post right now. (sorry) More of the girls to come later. :)

Baby Ben

2008-07-31T16:20:00.001-05:00

More pics of Benjamin and Fam...

2008-07-29T14:39:00.002-05:00

Baby Pictures . . . . Finally

2008-07-20T20:20:00.002-05:00

Sorry for all of the delay in getting these photos on the blog. We had a wireless connection at the hospital, but for some reason could not get to the page that let us add a post. Even email was not working all that great so everything had to wait until we got home today.

Benjamin Shea Grenz came into the world at 6:57 AM on Friday, July 18th. As you can see from the previous post, we fully anticipated having a couple more days to enjoy Gretch with the basketball in her belly, but found very quickly that "my little BOY" would be with us much sooner than next Tuesday. Gretch woke up at 3:00, left for hospital at 4:30, and you can figure out the rest. Ben came in at a strapping 6 pounds, 6 ounces and 17.5 inches long.

Thank you to everyone for the texts, calls, visits, gifts, cards, emails, and running shoes. What, you did not send me a new pair of running shoes yet?!?!? Well, get with the program, people.

Baby Ben loves to sleep, eat, and "clear room" for more eating.

The proud big sisters. What a nice hug, Paige.

Looks like a set of feet that belong to a future runner.

The beautiful mom with the handsome prince. (And I don't mean the artist formerly known as Prince)

This is our favorite photo of the newest Grenz boy. Not sure where the dimple came from, but we sure do like it.

Woo Hoo, Induction Scheduled for Tuesday, July 22nd!!!

2008-07-18T00:44:00.002-05:00

We can't wait for Tuesday to get here. We have to be at the hospital at 7:00am and they will start with the pill form to induce me called Cytotech and that is given every three hours and if it doesn't stimulate labor, they will move on to Pitocin. I was induced with both Paige and Emma, so I know what to expect and I am so happy that we almost get to meet baby. With Paige I was induced at 7am and delivered the next day around 2am. With Emma I was induced at 7am and delivered the same day around 11pm. I'm figuring if I'm induced with this baby at 7am, I should deliver somewhere between 7 and 10pm. Hopefully everything will go well and we'll all be healthy and happy on Tuesday night. We'll keep you posted.

Pregnancy Update

2008-07-14T23:13:00.002-05:00

Sorry no news lately on the baby front. I've been having contractions between 3 and 30 minutes for about a week and a half now. I've been to the hospital a total of six times to either stop the contractions, or to be told "No, it's not time yet, go back home." Last Friday I was 2 cm dilated. Next appointment is Thursday at 1:20pm. I won't be given Pitocin to induce my labor, like I got with Paige and Emma until I am at 38 weeks, so right now, my body has to do it on its own. I will be at 38 weeks (according to my doctor) a week from Tuesday (July 22nd) Hopefully if I don't go into labor before this day, I can be induced. I sure hope I don't have to live with these contractions for an entire week more, but I guess I have no choice. Ps, according to me, I will be 38 weeks on this Thursday, July 17th. (My dad's birthday.) We'll keep you posted. Both my mom and Micah's mom have been here almost a week now and we're all just waiting for the big show to start. It's nice to have them here. My daycare is still open and will be until I go into labor. Like I said, we'll let you know if there are any significant changes.

Gram's Condo Renovation

2008-07-06T13:55:00.005-05:00

My dad and some of his friends have done a great job of renovating Gram's condo in Ft. Lauderdale. I can't believe the difference!!! It looks great!

Here are the before pictures of the kitchen. Now keep in mind, she lived in this condo for 30 years and this kitchen was a place where miracles happened. What I wouldn't give for one more meal made by those cute little hands of hers and to watch the look of pure satisfaction and joy on her face to see people enjoying the food she made. Miss you Gram.

And after...

Here are the before pictures of the bathroom...

and now...

Looks great...thanks dad and co. for all your hard work.

Happy Birthday, USA!

2008-07-05T21:24:00.002-05:00

OK, the one fan that I have mentioned that I do not post enough things on this blog, so that same fan told me I have to do the description for our activites this weekend. Maybe our next poll question should be "Who should do most of the writing on the kaigem blog, Puff or Grunch?" Anyway, let's get this over with . . . quickly.

As you can see from the posts earlier this week, we were delighted to have Kate in town for the 4th this year. After a breakfast featuring the BEST blueberry muffins on the face of the earth (in the bakers opinion) we all went to the Brookings 4th of July parade. It mostly had firetrucks and ambulances from here and the area communities. Don't they always warn about fires on this date? So what would happen if one did start and the only truck in the fleet was busy passing out candy on Medary Avenue? From the parade we went to the waterpark for the first time since Paige had her tubes put in her ears. Emma was crazy and Kate went down the waterslide "lots of times." After the pool, our next stop was the Uncle Sam Jam Festival. This is put on by the city and offers pony rides, petting zoo, inflatable games, pork b-b-q, face painting, etc. Leave it to an event like this to bring out some of the "finest" in South Dakota folk. Sorry we did not bring a camera that could provide examples. I will say that I only saw three mullets so people are figuring out that this hair style is most certainly NOT cool. The rest of the night was spent at home while Kate went to see fireworks with her friends.

Today, most of the family slept in before heading to a local farm to pick strawberries. I am not sure if more made it in to the box or Emma's mouth, but am sure that about 127 of them ended up smashed on the front of her shirt . . . right before she fell face first in the dirt. She kind of looked like a walking sundae. The bounty was shared with my grandparents, who we saw on their turf for the first time in a while. I think the girls pretty much cleaned out grandma's cookie and milk supply while we were there, so she may appreciate donations to replenish her stock. That brings us up to right now and the fabulously entertaining text that see before you.

We hope you all had a safe and enjoyable weekend as well. Maybe this time next week we will be talking about a new baby boy/girl/future mullet wearer coming into the world??

Happy 4th!!

2008-07-05T21:18:00.000-05:00

Kate's T-Ball Games

2008-07-04T22:19:00.004-05:00

Here are a few pictures of Kate's two t-ball games this past week. Paige and Emma enjoyed watching and on Wednesday, discovered the playgrounds near the ball fields. Gotta love those pink camo unis!!

Paige's tonsilectomy...

2008-06-28T22:15:00.003-05:00

Paige checking out the hospital room. (No idea what she's in for.)

Paige Post-Op. She did very well!!!

Paige home on Day 2 after surgery. Getting better each day. Lots of rest and TLC and pudding (chocolate, of course) along with chocolate milk and m-n-m's. Whatever it takes.

Sunday Swim

2008-06-23T09:14:00.005-05:00

Another beautiful weekend. We spent Saturday at Sioux Falls shopping and Sunday we did chores and swam. The expressions the girls have on their faces in some of these pictures is interesting. Paige is usually smiling, but Emma has always got a funny face or expression.

The three of our youngest children hanging out together.

This is NOT one of Emma's usual expressions, but I thought it was funny anyway.

Paige Ballet Video - Must see!

2008-06-18T09:28:00.004-05:00

Here's a clip of Paige Marching!

Paige's Ballet Class

2008-06-17T22:12:00.004-05:00

Paige did a great job at ballet tonight. Last week she sat and watched on the mat for the entire class session. Today she joined right in and was actually the most behaved one. I did take some video clips, but I will probably download them tomorrow. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T21:36:00.006-05:00

This had to be one of the most beautiful rainbows I've seen in a long time. Everyone in town was talking about it the next day.

Like Paige's sleeping spot? Hopefully this wandering sleep stuff will reside once she gets her tonsils and adenoids out in a couple of weeks.

The girls had fun playing together all week. Kate went back to her other house today. We played in the backyard a lot the past few days.

We went to the water park almost every day.

Paige in her "Gerber" (Big Girl) Pants. She loves Superman.

Gotta love these faces.

Us playing in the yard again today. Father's Day was enjoyable. We were outside for most of it. Naps went well. (Even for mom.) We went to the waterpark in the afternoon. Can't believe Monday is already here again.

Hangin' Out

2008-06-11T10:18:00.005-05:00

We were outside Monday and Tuesday enjoying the weather. Today it's raining, but I really don't mind having the kids in an enclosed area so I can actually sit down.
Kate's pretty much covered the entire town of Brookings on her bike.

Emma running away AS USUAL!!!!

Emma got her bottle stuck on her foot. It's not the first time she's done this.

Gross yogurt face!!

Cheese!

Paige's first Ballet Class

2008-06-03T21:20:00.005-05:00

Paige did a GREAT job at her first ballet class. There were five girls there total and after getting through the initial apprehension, she did just fine. She said "I want to go to my dance preschool now," for the few hours before it was time to get ready.

Emma came along with Mom and Dad too and was a great supporter.

As you can see, we stayed pretty close to Mom and Dad initially, but the parents don't go in the dance studio with the kids, they watch it on tv in another room. It makes such a big difference.

We finally got Paige to go in before the class had started and she looked a little nervous, but by the end was doing a great job of following the instructions of the teacher.

Emma couldn't care less. She had blocks to play with.

Here are some pictures of the class while it was going on. Micah took these from the doorway through the mirror.

This one makes me laugh, she looks like she's thinking "you want me to lie down and kick my feet, no thanks, I'll just watch you do it and hold this cool pom-pom."

The class was thirty minutes, which was plenty of time. She came out looking so proud of herself (and her yellow star sticker too!)

Of course Emma wouldn't stop saying "Cheese." so I took a couple of her.

Paige helping to clean up the toys before we left.

We ended the night with some ice cream, of course. Paige has already asked to go back and dance again. She's got classes on June 10th, 17th and the 24th. After this experience and seeing Micah's reaction to seeing Paige in her cute little outfit and watching him almost cry, I guess four little girls wouldn't be so bad after all. :)

Belly Pics - 33 Weeks!!!!

2008-06-03T09:16:00.001-05:00

Visit to Chicago for Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-27T14:49:00.005-05:00

We decided on a whim to drive over to Chicago for the weekend. We're so glad we did. We had a great time, relaxed, the kids enjoyed themselves, Grandpa and Grandma enjoyed it, it was perfect.

This was the drive there. It went surprisingly well.

Paige shared her macaroni with Emma.

Emma fell asleep early, which was nice.

Jake didn't have it so rough either.

Kate being the veteran traveler that she is got right to business as you can see when we picked her up in Wisconsin. That kid can sleep anywhere!!

We arrived in Chicago at around 3 or 4 am and we surprised Grandpa! Ha! He said he woke up to hear little feet coming up the stairs. What a great sound to wake up to.

We visited the "Splash Pad" three times over the course of the weekend. The girls enjoyed it, as you can see. The weather was warm and sunny.

I told Paige there was a water fountain, but she had to do it her way.

Emma playing at "Gank" and "La La's" while Gank, La La, Paige and Kate were at church.

We had some great treats to eat, including rainbow sherbet and squirt floats, nachos covered in melted cheese and peppers and pepperoni, chocolate chip cheesecake, Aebleskivers with CRUNCHY bacon, Carrot Cake, Pulled Pork sandwiches, Cuban plantains, Cuban Pulled Pork, Beans and Rice, it was AWESOME!!!!! We even got Micah to eat a Monte Cristo Sandwich that had been DEEP FRIED!!!!!!!
If you look closely in these next two pics, you can see that Paige's sherbet matches her outfit. (totally planned of course)

Poor Grandpa Grenz probably has sore arms and shoulders because all of the grandkids take turns having him throw them in the air and swing them back and forth or flip them over onto their feet. He didn't know when he started this rite of passage that his two lone sons would produce EIGHT grandchildren for him to throw, swing and flip over and over and over. It's funny to see them all in line waiting for their turn with Grandpa. Emma learned how to say "again" this visit! (Gank, you got yourself into this mess, good luck!) Who needs to work out when you have grandkids like yours?

Strange Sleepers...

2008-05-23T10:50:00.001-05:00

This is where Paige chose to sleep the other night.

Notice the magnets??

Here's Jake hanging out in the sun.

Fargo Marathon

2008-05-23T10:22:00.005-05:00

Last weekend the girls and I drove to Fargo to surprise Micah after the race. Micah attempted to get a sub 3 hour run, however due to the wind, it was not possible. He still got 3:10, which amazes me, and we are very proud of him.

The race ended in the FargoDome, which was great, because we could see him finish. Usually we just see him go by and then fight our way through the crowds. The girls all got to see him come across the finish line. Kate thought that was especially cool to watch.

HERE HE COMES!!!!!!!!

Afterwards, we went out to lunch and Emma preferred to eat crayons. It was great to be together. Micah said he was so happy to see us.

He definitely looks happy.

30 weeks!!!

2008-05-19T14:36:00.003-05:00

Baby and I are at 30 weeks now! He or She is about 3 whole pounds and is the size of a nice large green cabbage! Woo Hoo!!!! Let's all celebrate with some cole-slaw!!!

Here are our names, never final until the baby is at least three years old.

Boy: Benjamin Shae Grenz (first choice) or Noah James Grenz
Thoughts: Yeah, we know, BS Grenz ha ha ha. We like the ring Ben Grenz has. How do you spell Shae? Shay? Shaye? Who knows. Not interested in Benji, but we understand it might happen. We like, but don't "love" Noah and Micah's middle name is James.
Girl: Reese McKenna Grenz (not 100% on the middle name yet, but do love them together.)
Thoughts: Reese is definitely our girl name, any ideas for middle names? Our niece's middle name is McKenna and we love it, but don't want to "steal" her name either.

We had a great weekend, we'll (I'll) post pictures soon. I'm sure you understand, it's 75 degrees outside and sunny and we only get about 3 months of outside weather, so I've got to take advantage of it. Adios.

Recent Pics...

2008-05-14T09:56:00.003-05:00

Last week we took the girls to the Performing Arts Center for a Music Concert done by the first and second graders and it was very cute! The main people we went to see were three of our next door neighbors and Piper, one of Kate's good friends here.

OK not sure about handling this one...

2008-05-05T20:55:00.003-05:00

How do you get a three year old to understand that when she is rubbing her hand on the baby (the one in my belly still), the baby's head is NOT MY BREAST!!! I keep telling her, but it's not sinking in!!! Appreciate any advice.

Finally Warm Weather

2008-05-04T20:46:00.002-05:00

It was up to 70 today. Paige got a little too much sun on her arms. At least I remembered to do sunsreen on their faces. We spent most of yesterday at Baseball Games and we went to one today too. It's nice because Micah's there and we get to see him all day. I've been feeling pretty depressed lately. Just when I get a minute to stop and think, which isn't often. :) Micah has been a great support for me in regards to dealing with losing Gram. Today we talked about when thinking about that person will slow down a bit. Right now she pops into my head about every twenty to thirty minutes. It doesn't help that there are so many things in our home and surrounding us that remind me of her. Some people have said the pain never goes away, some have said it gets better. Most have said it's different for everyone. I feel so selfish wanting her here again, knowing she was so tired and uncomfortable the last year, but I can't help it. She was the greatest person to talk to. You can't replace that. I'm struggling with that void. Sometimes I feel like I'm just feeling sorry for myself and need to get over it. I know it will be ok someday, it just stinks now. I'm so lucky to have Micah and Paige and Emma and Jake and all of the family and friends that have been there for us. Thanks and sorry about the sappy post.

Thank you for your kind words, thoughts and prayers.

2008-04-26T14:55:00.003-05:00

Gram very peacefully passed away on Wednesday, April 23 at 5:45pm. What a relief to know she is no longer suffering. We will miss her incredibly. Micah and Gretta are still in Florida and will be flying home on Tuesday morning (Apr. 30) We miss our girls. They are living it up with "La la" (Grandma Grenz) at home. She is so great. Again thank you for your support and we're looking forward to getting some fun pictures and stories back on the blog very soon.

Pray for Gram.

2008-04-23T07:14:00.002-05:00

Hopefully she leaves us as peacefully as possible. Thank you for all of your prayers. We'll keep you posted.

Woo Hoo, Micah got a Haircut!!!!

2008-04-18T22:26:00.002-05:00

What a relief, his hair was getting so long.

I think it looks very nice this way.

Playing outside.

2008-04-17T21:33:00.002-05:00

It's definitely warming up outside, so we've been taking advantage of the enjoyable weather. Paige wants to ride on anything with wheels and Emma wants to either climb on the stairs, or go for a spin in the wagon.

NO EMMA!!!!

2008-04-17T21:08:00.002-05:00

Emma thought it was SO MUCH fun to dive into the bathtub with Will and Ella (some friends of ours' kids) with all of her clothes (and shoes) on. Isn't she hilarious? (no.)

Paige and Cole (from Daycare) playing in a storage bin.

2008-04-14T14:01:00.001-05:00

Emma playing in a storage bin and being naughty on the table.

2008-04-14T13:54:00.000-05:00

Emma being silly

2008-04-14T10:20:00.002-05:00

Pictures from Grammy and Pop-Pop's House

2008-04-07T07:37:00.005-05:00

Three videos of Paige and Emma

2008-04-02T14:08:00.002-05:00

Here's a link to the video clip.

2008-03-31T10:45:00.000-05:00

It can now be viewed by going directly to this link:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3456946202819972253

Video Clip of Emma

2008-03-30T21:15:00.004-05:00

This video clip of Emma shows her signing "more" in the beginning and at some point she does "all done." She makes some of her funny faces and talks a little. She's just getting into a game of peek-a-boo when my cell phone rings and I have to stop recording. I hope it goes through and you can view it. She's 16 months and 10 days now! Wow! Micah says he can't believe how fast she's growing up, he thinks it's going much faster than Paige's growing up went. Either way, I wish it would slow down a bit. (Don't think anything's going to slow down for us anytime soon.)

Paige pics...

2008-03-29T15:07:00.003-05:00

Paige hangin' out on a Saturday afternoon.

Paige hiding from me. (real tough.)

I had to take this. It made me laugh. She was trying to reach her phone without "showing herself." Imagine the embarassment if she would have revealed herself before she was ready. How long can those little necks stretch?? Sheesh!!!

Paige is VERY into coloring lately.

Leave them alone long enough and they really get creative. Here she's trying to trace her foot.

Hope you enjoyed!

Easter in Chicago

2008-03-29T13:06:00.003-05:00

We had a great trip to Chicago. We celebrated Paige's third birthday, Easter and enjoyed being together. We went to the outlets and also to the Woodfield Mall (I think that's what it's called.) We had SO MUCH great food that Micah's mom made. Micah went on some runs with his dad. The kids loved playing with all of Micah and Aaron's old toys from when they were little (and some new ones too.) The cousins have so much fun running all over the house chasing each other and playing games and just being kids together. Of course the visit flies by and before you know it, it's time to leave. I imagine we'll be back in a couple of months.

Here's the cake Grandma Grenz made for Paige. Isn't it cool? It's a sunflower and it's got Peeps on it!! Paige didn't want to eat the Peeps as much as the chocolate chips on top.

Here are all the Grenz grandchildren from oldest to youngest (Kate, Karsten, Kiera, Paige, Tessa, Emma and Ava) sitting (or standing) with their Easter Baskets.

Emma enjoying a box.

Paige and Teagan looking at their baby books Grandma Grenz has put together.

An attempt at a family picture.

Grandpa Grenz and Emma Ding-Ding.

Yum! Aebleskivers!!!! (Sort of like a pancake in a ball, but a little sweeter.)

Looks like we need a little more blue in this sea of pink.

Woo Hoo, Back in Business!!!

2008-03-29T11:52:00.002-05:00

Well, I left my Canon Powershot camera in Chicago from our Easter trip. We've been wanting a new camera that takes video clips longer than 30 seconds, so we (meaning I) got a new camera last week. I went into this buying process thinking I only want a Canon, similar to the one I already have or a Kodak, because my mom has one and it takes GREAT pictures. At our local Wal-Mart, I found a 12 megapixel Kodak for what I thought was reasonably priced ($199). I purchased that one only to figure out yesterday that it wasn't me having issues, but the camera had a manufacturer defect and I took some very cute pictures and video clips last week that I lost all of upon which I went back to Wal-Mart and got talked into a better camera, neither a Kodak or a Canon for the same price. We ended up with a Fujifilm FinePixS700. So far I love it. It's great and like I said...we're back in business!!!

Here's some pictures of Paige and Emma eating their breakfast.

Emma decided to climb into the Exersaucer with Paige. Good for her, Paige shouldn't be in there anyway!

Paige got to lick out the bowl after making blueberry muffins. If she could have climbed in, she would.

Emma signing "more." She can do "more," "all done," and we're working on "thank you," and "drink."

I've got some more to edit of Paige today and I'll get the Easter ones up next too. Hope we didn't lose too many of our faithful readers during the picture drought. We're all doing well. Me, Micah, Kate, Paige and Emma and the little baby is kicking away, which I LOVE!!!

Sorry about the lack of posts.

2008-03-26T21:18:00.002-05:00

It's been really crazy around here this past week. I'll post more soon. We got a new camera and I'm working on figuring it out. I've read the manual two times already and I'm about to read it a third time.
Adios.

Paige Turns Three today!!!!

2008-03-19T10:39:00.004-05:00

Ok, focus....I can do this...it's only three fingers...

Paige preparing herself mentally....

I think Daddy showed me it went something like this...

I did it!!! THREE!!!!

Paige has asked to wear her "birthday dress" every day this week. Finally she gets to wear it all day and even sleep in it if she wants. I don't care, she can wear it the rest of the week too if she asks. Hope you enjoy these pictures.