Club Jump

Tehya and Ada were very excited when they got invited to their friends Brittany and Ella's birthday party. The party was held at Club Jump in Woodbury, and according to Tehya "That place is totally awesome!"

Daddy went with the girls for the party, and I think he had just as much fun as the kids did!

Ada Goes Biking Too!

Not one to be outdone by her big sister, Ada thought it was a good day to go bike riding as well. She started out on the scooter getting pushed by dad, and then graduated to her new trike that Chantel handed down to us. She did great learning how to pedal!

Tehya Gets a New Bike....Again

As you may remember, Tehya got a two-wheeler bike for her birthday this year. Well, the bike was a little too big for her (and for training wheels) so mom and dad went out this weekend and got her another one to use until she grows a bit taller.

The new Barbie themed bike was a hit - especially seeing as it has a clip on the handle bars for one of your Barbie dolls to ride with you!

The Music of the Milbrandt's

So I have discovered that you can have music play on your blog!

This discovery got me excited....and the next hour that it took me to figure it out got me mad!

I hope you enjoy the background tunes that I have chosen...just a few songs that have sentimental meaning to Dan and I. I am sure I will change them periodically, but for now I like my playlist creation!

Leave your comments if you have any suggestions!

Moo-mey!

This morning Ada came up to me with open hand and showed me two dimes and a nickle. She said "Moomey!" I said "No Ada, that is MONEY." "Moomey!" she replied. So I told her to follow me to her room and I had her put it in her piggy bank. She clapped after the coins clinked to the bottom.

About ten minutes later Ada came up to me, again with open hand, and showed me five pennies and a quarter. She said "Moomey!" I said "No Ada, that is MONEY, lets go put it in your piggy bank." She put the coins in her bank and clapped as they clinked to the bottom.

About five minutes later Ada came up to me again, this time with two open hands FULL of change! "Moomey!" she exclaimed quite excitedly. I led her to her piggy bank once again, and giggled to myself as she clapped again as the last coin clinked to the bottom.

Now at this point I have realized that these coins probably aren't coming from the cushions in the couches or even from a pocket in a pair of jeans laying on the floor, so I decide to spy on her to see where she is getting her loot from.

I followed her into Dan and my bedroom and catch her on her tiptoes reaching into his dresser valet and blindly reaching for anything she can find. Good thing I followed her this time because the change was all gone and she came up with a $100 bill!!!

The picture is poor quality, but all I could grab fast enough was my cell phone...

Good job finding Daddys stash Ada!

How many Milbrandts does it take to fix a toilet?

After having our upstairs toilet innards give out on us, Dan bought all new guts for the repair. I decided that I could do this all on my own and took on the task.

After removing all the old parts and scrubbing out the tank it was time to start deciphering the bi-lingual instructions that were not as clear as the box promised.

Flange A goes to Fill tube with a cone siphon gasket...blah did de blah blah blah. Who writes these things?!?!?

The parts appear to be assembled correctly and I decide it is time to turn the water flow back on. No leaks from the wall connection, no leaks when the tank fills so it is time to test flush....

DISASTER!!!! There is definately a leak now!

After employing Dan's assistance (and being reminded that I really need to tighten things harder) it was determined that the flood really wasn't my fault. The rubber gasket between the tank and base that came with the new kit was not the same size as the old one causing a gap allowing the water to come out. A quick change back to the old gasket and we have a functioning toilet...with no leaks!

Tehya's New "Do"

After MUCH discussion it was decided that Tehya was going to get a new hairdo. She has been grumbling quite a bit when mom wants to tie up her long hair and has been insistant on growing out her bangs which consistantly hang in her face.
Tehya (with a little bit of urging from dad) has been begging for a 3-spiked mohawk, but mom put the nix on that idea with the excuse that her dance recital is way too soon.

Tehya is very happy with the end result, a cute bob cut that is just above her shoulders. Mom thinks it makes her look way too grown up, albeit quite beautiful!

Ada's First Haircut

It was time for Ada to have her very first haircut this weekend. We went to the local barbershop and plopped her down in a chair.
After a little bit of fussing it was determined that sitting on mom's lap and getting a sucker would make the experience much more fun.


Ada did very well once the cutting started, although mom was a little sad that she is already this big!

Mom would only let Ada get her bangs cut as she is afraid of losing the beautiful curls in the back!

Pretty Ada

Ada recently discovered the bead necklaces in the dress up box and she loves them! She insists on putting them all on at once and she says "Pitty!" We all agree that she is pretty!

MELMO!

Ada has learned a new word....well sort of.

She has discovered Sesame Streets Elmo character and screams "MELMO!!" whenever she sees a picture of him. I credit this new found favorite to a book Mary Jean gave her for Valentines Day...it has a fuzzy Elmo on every page!

Kimmy's Wedding

My cousin Kim got married this weekend over in Menomonie, WI. Our family had a ton of fun at the wedding, and enjoyed the pool at our hotel the next morning. Here are some pictures of our adventures over the weekend....

Jake and Mona
From left to right: Great Grandpa Charlie, Tiffany, Ada, Great Grandma Dixie, Tehya, Grandma Sue

Great Grandparents Charlie and Dixie (GG & Papa to the girls)
My aunt Shari and uncle Jeff doing the polka

My mom and Grandma doing some polka-ing of their own
Mona showing Ada all the cool video games
Tehya showing off some fancy dance moves
Ada getting her groove thing going

Tehya doing some swimming at the hotel the next morning

All four of us enjoying some pool time

Mom and Ada chasing after the beach ball

Daddy being silly

A Day at the Zoo

On Friday the girls and I had a zoo day with my highschool girlfriend Jodie and her two kiddos. We had a great day and are planning on doing it again soon!

Tehya and Brayden posing with the turtle statue

Tehya's favorite monkey...the one that kept chasing around the baby monkey.

(Hum...maybe I should talk to her about her reasoning here?!?)

Tehya and Brayden poking through the tunnel on the Tropics Trail. Brayden looks pretty enamored with Tehya in this picture!

Tehya wanted a picture of the flamingo birds for her photo album. She thought it was pretty silly when she learned that they sleep standing on one leg!

This picture didn't turn out as well as I had hoped it would, but it is Ada playing in one of the Discovery Bay water pools. She had so much fun splashing around and looking at the "shisheys"!

This is one of the new Grizzly bears in the zoo's new exhibit.


We weren't sure if the bear thought Ada looked like the perfect sized snack or if he really liked her snazzy hat, but they seemed to have a bonding experience while we were visiting. Whenever Ada would move the bear would move along with her, and he even put his nose right on the glass against her hand and was trying to sniff her out! It was very cute!

Ada seemed just as interested in the bear as he was in her, so we stood and "visited" with him for quite awhile.

What a wonderful day with wonderful friends!

Happy Valentines Day!

This year for Valentines Day Dan and I had a wonderful surprise.....Grandma Diane had the girls over all day to cook us a wonderful dinner! Tehya, Ada and cousins Lauren and Katie decorated the house, made hand colored placemats for all their guests and prepared a delicious meal of lasagna, heart shaped garlic bread, and much much more. We even had cream puffs with pudding, whipped cream and strawberries for desert! Parents and all Grandmas alike loved the evening!

Above are pictures of Tehya showing off a few of the Valentines cards she received, and of the girls both playing with their heart balloons Grandma Diane sent them home with. They are still pulling them around the house today!