A day at the Zoo. (Isn't that every day??)

We had a good time at the Zoo today! We went with Wrobel's, Laura Suel, and Erin McGuire.

Keat's new buddy, Roman came with his mommy (Erin) and he was such a good boy!!

This is the favorite spot for the kids - Discovery Bay. They love to get soaked! They actually get to touch the sting rays, sharks, etc. Fun! Shannon said that it is usual for the workers to have to pull out at least one kid a week. :) Thank goodness it hasn't been one of ours!
Andrew and Brianna. Best buds. :)

Don't they look so grown up??

Alex took this picture of the little chicks. Good job!

I couldn't resist taking this one of the orchids. Beautiful!! One of God's amazing creations.

The girls like to climb in all the little cubby holes. :)

Maybe next time we can visit the outside exhibits. We may have to wait till August :) , but it will be worth it. (right now, April 10th [Spring, right?!] it is snowing and in the 30's. They are threatening 12" of snow through Saturday... Global warming, you know.)

Thank you, God for all the wonderful things you have given to us to enjoy You with. How gracious!

Somebody turned 3!

We had pizza for Brianna's birthday lunch

She was such a big girl opening all her presents

Taylor got her a pretty pink purse. She loves it!

Cake time!

"Happy Birthday, Brianna"

Blowing out the candles

We couldn't get the frosting to Keaton fast enough, I guess. :) He was tired, too...

Nan's favorite was the frosting.

She was so excited to see her new "pretty bed"! She loves the spockly (sparkly) butterflies on it!

Happy Birthday, sweetheart! We love you so much!

Warm days are ahead...

Believe it or not, we have had a few warmer days here in Minnesota. We actually played outside without our coats on!

Keaton loved Brianna pushing him in the swing
Daddy started on the list of outside projects for the year - hanging gutters!
Alex and Taylor made us a pretty "garden" in their giant sandbox (where the pool goes in the summer).

Sweet Auntie Carrie

All Brianna wanted for her birthday this year was a balloon. So, Auntie Carrie surprised her by sending her a bouquet of balloons (oh, and a little teddy bear).

Brianna was so excited! She was so surprised!
She carried them around with her all morning. Thanks for the cool gift, Darin, Carrie and Ryan!

Family night happenings

For our last family night, Daddy decided we were going to cheer on the Twins. He thinks we should "get into the Twins" this year. We've always liked them, but he wants to take us to some games and get excited about them this year. The girls were'nt too thrilled at first, but once they started watching, they were the best cheerleaders around! From all the noise, you would've thought it was the World Series, or something! :)

Even Keats liked it!
Thanks, Daddy for the idea!
Go, Twins! They actually did win that night!!! Yeah!

What's been happenin'?

Thought I would just share a few miscellaneous pics of everyday life here in the Cottrell house...

Brianna playing dress-up in her leotard.
Keaton just climbed the stairs and then proceeded to show us all by giggling and looking at us.
Sweet baby boy
Nan and Keats enjoying a snack after nappies. (No, Keats is not eating just his hand...)
Little Evan (Jodell's little boy) came over to visit with his Mommy one day. He is such a sweet little one! :)

Cute Kid Quote

Grandma in the mountains called Nan today to wish her a happy birthday. They had so much fun talking! I have to share with you one of the things they talked about. Grandma asked her if she got a birthday cake. Brianna said, "Yes". "What did the cake say?" asked Grandma. Their was silence - Brianna didn't say anything. Then Grandma asked, "Did it say 'Happy Birthday', Brianna?" There was a long pause... Brianna, confused, said, "Cakes don't talk!"

This is our adorable new 3 year old, Nan. :)