Chipmunks on Vacation

Part 1- Paul Bunyan Animal Land

So, for part one of our vacation to the northern woods of MN (where we were quite literally in the middle of nowhere). This was one of the highlights of our trip, we all got such a kick out of this place.

After seeing the brochure Theodore was very excited to see the tiger and said she wanted to pet the tiger. Naturally, trying to avoid a meltdown at the tiger enclosure, i told her that she couldn't pet the tiger. This, of course, was met with tears and crying "i want pet tiger". She learned before we entered why she couldn't pet the tiger, and it really stuck with her as you can see in this video several days after our visit to Animal Land.

We enjoyed the kangaroos, fish, snakes, lions, tigers and bears (yes they had them all). By far the most interesting part of the park was the deer. Yes, you heard me right, deer. This buck followed Dave around the whole time we were in the enclosure because he had all the food (we even lost the banana, that cost us a $1, that we were going to feed to the monkey). This kids all loved feeding them.

Although, Simon enjoyed it.....being true to the genes Mamadavia passed on to her, she was displeased that there was poop on the ground.

Theodore found one her size too, she was so excited!

Then she got to feed her little friend.

Joy on Dave and Alvin's face.....it was really a neat enclosure. Not all the deer were this friendly. Some ran off in the distance and one of them hit Alvin's hand away with it's antlers. Nobody fell in deer poop, so i call it a success.

This little guy was so much fun to "play" with, such a comical and active guy. We had to buy another $1 banana, but it was worth it to feed the monkeys, such interesting animals.








Although we had fun and there were some neat animals, there was one i felt particularly sad for.......

The Tiger, this poor guy was in an enclosure right next to the deer (there were tons of them), little ironic don't you think.....

Then there is the empty enclosure, wasn't sure if i should put the chipmunks in there and have people pay to feed them or if we should run for dear life. Never know in a little zoo......

Everyone made it out with all arms present and accounted for.

Stay tuned for more vacation tales from the north woods.........

Penny a Pound

Went to Ground Round this Sunday for lunch. They have a special that kids pay what they weigh, a penny a pound. Theodore was a little embarrassed to have her weight advertised, but not about how wild her hair looked. ).

Think that i would rather pay full price then have to step on a scale and wear my weight on a sticker.....probably why that is a kids promotion. 

Learned that our 3 chipmunks are almost exactly 20lbs apart, just found that interesting.....

and here she is dancing off her lunch before we leave (as she went on we noticed that she is doing the motions to a VBS song).  (friends that don't enjoy out of control kids out to eat, i promise you nobody was in the booth behind us).

Weekend Happenings

All the kiddos were busy this weekend. Alvin had been looking forward to this day for nearly 4 months......

Mamadavia was dreading it for 4 months......working the Brat stand for 4-H. The kid loves selling stuff to people. Since he is so cute, i added a donation jar. Really, who wouldn't want to give to such a enthusiastic young salesman? There wasn't much business, so not sure how much money the club earned. That really wasn't the point for him, he liked having a real job (the kids really did almost all of the work, serving food and taking money.....while i sat and drank a lemonade).

Simon got her library card, and i promise she was more excited then then picture shows.

The girls went on a marathon shopping trip with Mamadavia (Alvin went to work with Dave that day, he hates shopping). I was impressed with Simon's grocery pack abilities, she is really growing up. Hopefully, soon i can just send her with a list, while i drink lemonade...... 

 Theodore on the other hand, is not as good of a shopper, she tries (actually, i am not sure she tries, but it makes me feel better to think she might be trying).
Broke my own rule and let her bring that baby doll in the store. Really, if i have to worry about the baby doll i may loose one of my chipmunks, a moms brain can only handle so much and this was stop #5.
There is a lollipop at the end of the road, and everyone made it safely back home (even the doll).

Mamadavia cannot live on lemonade alone, and on those busy days i run out the door with my protein shake and we are off. This particular day, i got a little distracted and my shake looked a little like a 7(or 4) layer drink. Never had that happen, and even though it was before 9am, it was still an easy fix.

Anyone, have a cat that acts like a dog? Alvin's cat follows him around the house like a dog, sleeps with him and if the kids go outside.....so does she, most of the time. Here she is crying at the door, because she heard them outside playing.

I will leave you with a video of Theodore. This is at the library, she is quite the little performer, she is drawn to that little stage and puts on a show every time we are there. This time since we were almost the only ones at the library (summer reading program anyone?) they did a bit more singing and dancing.

Now, everyone go have a glass of lemonade! 

How to Eat a Burger

Anyone who has become personally acquainted with Theodore, understands that she is "special". One friend recently said "fabulously ornery" which i think pretty much sums it up. She has a following wherever she goes, and i fear that she may need at least one personal assistant the rest of her life. 

So, onto the burger. Since she is a little, shall we say "complicated", getting a quick bite to eat is not as simple as it used to be. Occasionally, I will get a cheeseburger for each chipmunk for a quick lunch (and by occasionally, i mean almost never because i am not "that mom".....ok i am "that mom"). 

I always take out the pickle, and wipe any excess ketchup off before i hand it to her (the 75 seconds it takes me to do this- results in a total meltdown, because although i am skilled, i obviously need to work on speed)

Next, i hand her the burger and she cries............took me a while to figure out (i am slow, we covered that earlier), she wants me to cut it in half for her.

Ok, i break it in half and all is right with the world. While the chipmunks eat i start driving to our next destination (no, of course they don't eat in the car, that would make a mess). I manage to get onto a freeway or into traffic and then a wild scream from the back...........

"Simon, what is wrong with Theodore?"

 "I don't know" (Simon's most popular answers are "i can't find it" and 'i don't know")

"Alvin, what is she crying about?

"her burger fell apart" (Alvin usually is quite annoyed, because he doesn't fully comprehend  "the burger rule")

THE BURGER RULE: If the bun does not stay placed upon and below the burger or is otherwise rendered askew, then said burger is not edible until the bun and burger are returned to their former state of burger-dome. Repairs can only be made by mamadavia, no exceptions or substitutions. Until burger is acceptably repaired, you may experience crying, screaming and tears.

Mamadavia pulls over, fixes burger and then all is right with the world again.

Here she is tonight out with the whole family "enjoying" a burger

So cute , right?

This was taken after a short cry over the bun falling off, and right before she spit a mouthful of burger into her plate and decided she was done eating. 

Almost 2 years since my last post, don't worry the chipmunks are still alive and still as silly as ever!

Here they all are selling sugar loaded treats to support 4-H (Alvin started 4-H this year). I still wonder about setting up this table right next to the propane tanks.......

One reason for my hiatus was an unfortunate accident that Alvin had. Remember this picture?

Yes? Well, let's just say, the second time is not the charm, in this case.......

We may or may not have had a little fun in the ER,because we did not know what was in store for our boy....

So, a little tendon moving and lots of PT (lots of hours spent by all in hospitals & doctors.....but the winner of the most hours goes to (drum roll) driving back and forth to all those things! 

Insert cute picture here, from appropriate time to show that life was really not that bad.....aren't they cute.

Theodore turned One and Two

Simon Cut her beautiful hair

And lost her first tooth (which she swallowed, and then has quickly lost 3 more teeth)

Alvin got glasses...........

..............and braces

He got baptized!

We took a couple trips back east to visit family....

She used to be such a little chipmunk, growing up so fast!

This past Christmas.......and the reason why Santa doesn't come to our house.

The most recent and most decent picture of the little chipmunks, and one of all of us with Grandma.

Theodore got her hair cut too! BUT.....it's still as crazy as ever!

Summer is here, and they are all having lots of FUN!!

and, now i am done, so you can wipe that look off your face!

What the Chipmunks have done lately..........

The Chipmunks have been very busy little kids lately, learning new things and enjoying the last bit of summer. We had our first family yard sale, Alvin was especially motivated to participate as we were hoping to make enough money to buy a Wii (something he DESPERATELY wanted).

Alvin really wanted to have a "stand" to make some money himself and we convinced him to wait until we did our yard sale (there is lots of 'traffic' during the 'city wide' sales). He got up bright and early and got himself set up and then promptly took a break...........but ate his breakfast right there. I was impressed with his level of responsibility and he pretty much ran his end of things with only a tiny bit of help from mom or dad.

At the end of the day we called this sale a success and the kids were all rewarded with a much anticipated purchase........and Alvin was able to purchase an extra game with his profits. Here's where i have to admit that this is a fun thing to play as a family too..........

This past month Theodore has learned to stand up and cruise the furniture and she's pretty proud of this accomplishment. She also likes to pull on the curtains now as well.............

Took pictures of my girls sleeping, there is something so precious about a sleeping child. I love to go in and check on them and give them an extra goodnight kiss once in awhile. 

That whole experience may be a little tainted by one small fact, one of my girls is FAKING being asleep and then gets up for a photo shoot before finally settling back into bed........and the really sad thing is it's the littlest one!!

 What a HAM!!

We have enjoyed hanging out in the yard, and having rare opportunities with all three chipmunks playing together. It is so fun to watch them play and enjoy each other so much, we are so blessed to listen to the laughter and pure silliness on a daily basis!

Speaking of silliness........this is how they decided to enjoy the apples off our little tree out front. That is, of course, before they ate them all! Simon is looking a little like an indian princess here. The "flair" is courtesy of lil sister Theodore. Glad big sis can enjoy the huge flowers that mom loves so much and Theodore won't tolerate anymore!

The family has a tradition of going to see "races" in the summer, those would be car races. This year is no exception! Recently we went to the 'extravaganza', this event officially ends the season at the track closest to us. The kids loved eating popcorn and watching cars get wrecked.....Theodore enjoyed cheerios instead.

Touch pool at Sea Life

A few picture from our trip to the Sea Life Museum this week, we had fun even though my cell phone camera was not able to get many pictures.

 I didn't tell my 3 year old that a dog is just as smart as she is......on her 4th birthday i'll let her know that she is now smarter then a dog.

Alvin had his first ride on a mini-bike, he did a great job and didn't crash! YIKES! He is growing up!

You can now consider yourself caught up on the lives of Simon, Theodore and Alvin! They are already planning more adventures to share with you soon!