Construction Zone

The big remodel is upon us and it's a big one to say the least! The weather of course has put a damper on it some days but we are managing to put one foot in front of the other and take it one day at a time. I keep saying "we" but really it's all Brian at this point. Or at least, he's been doing the majority of it. Sometimes I just stand there and look pretty. :) That's what he wants me to do when I ask him what I can do to help. :) We have had a lot of really generous helpers come and work some really long hours. thank you and please continue to come!! :) I helped Brian on Thursday night into the wee hours of the morning getting the floor ready to be poured on Friday morning. I didn't get to bed until after 2am. I did want to cry at one point but didn't. Brian's Dad and Co-worker Joe came Friday morning to pour the concrete floor and things went so smooth. It was nice to finally cover the dirt!! Our friend Steve came on Friday night and stayed all day Saturday and the guys were able to put up two walls. Gina and the girls came to visit me and the girls and it was a nice to be able to catch up and just hang out together. Today was especially nice to have extra hands as the rafters were being put up. A big job, one that I would not have been much help with. Brian's parents and Brother Dan came and they were life savers! It's exciting and sometimes makes us crabby at each other. But if I just look toward the end product, its worth it....I think! :)

Last Day of School

The last day of school for Rachel was May 20th. The kids put on a cute end of the year program and are ready for Kindergarten! We will miss Little Lambs and Mrs. Voigt, but it won't be long until Natalie gets to go! Rachel is super excited for next year because she'll be joining her sisters!


Awards day was Wed. the 25th for John Ireland. Caitlin received the Presidential Fitness award (blue patch) and Emily received the National Fitness award (red patch) There were only 8 kids that received the blue patch, so that was quite the accomplishment. They also received awards for Accelerated Reading program. Both did very well and both love to read and take the tests.



The last day of school for Caitlin and Emily was Friday, the 27th and the kids celebrated with Field day. I was able to help out with the long jump portion and I had a great time. We didn't know if the weather would cooperate but it did and didn't start raining until we were all done. It was cold however and we were not really dressed for the occasion. The winning team was Blue team this year, which Caitlin and Emily were not on, but they were good sports about it all. Emily was so incredibly sad to leave 2nd grade. She LOVED 2nd grade and her teacher Mrs. Johnson. She cried and cried and cried some more, which meant I started to cry and other parents started to cry, the teacher's started to cry and you get the picture. It was very emotional and we can tell the teacher's love our kids. Caitlin had a great year as well, but she's a little less of an emotional person, kind of like her dad. :)

Playing Catch Up

I am sad today to have to turn the calendar to June. Sad because May flew by in a big fat blur. We did have a lot of fun, saw lots of friends and family and I cooked more than I ever have before. Entertaining is hard work! But definitely worth every minute of it (even when I whined about it).




After I left off (may 17) we had celebrated Caitlin and Natalie's birthdays with Godparents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins and Neighbors. It was a beautiful weekend, ok maybe just Sunday. The Landwehr's stayed overnight at our house sat/sun and the girls loved being able to play with their cousins from Iowa. We went to the park to play a little kickball and then hurried back home to get Caitlin and Emily ready for their piano recital. Natalie fell asleep during the actual party so we didn't get any pictures of her blowing out candles again, but windy Caitlin got the job done!




Caitlin also had a bday party with her friends and they tie-dyed t-shirts and hung out at our house. I didn't get a photo of them because we had to wait 24 hours for the dye to set and so the girls didn't get their shirts til the next school day. They did turn out really cute though.

As I mentioned above the girls had their piano recital and did very well. They love to play and have learned alot this past year. They really enjoy playing duets together. Caitlin also participated in the Piano Guild Audition at Good Counsel in Mankato, where she had to perform 3 songs in front of a judge alone. She did very well and got a Superior rating. I would've been so nervous, but she wasn't and acted as though it was no big deal. Emily didn't want to participate in this one so we'll have to work on her for next year. She takes after me a little more in that area and may need more persuasion! :)

Spring Program/Grandparents Day

Caitlin and Emily had their Spring Program/Grandparents day last Friday and it was very entertaining. The programs theme this year was "The great state of Minnesota". I thought the kids did an excellent job. Caitlin performed a song with the clarinet quartet and she had a solo in one of the all school songs. Grandma Elaine and our neighbors, surrogate Grandparents, Mike and Irene were able to make it to the program. I have tried numerous times to publish this post with a video of the solo and was unsuccessful, so you'll just have to settle for a few photos.

Happy Double Digits Caitlin!

Happy Birthday Caitlin! You are 10 today-finally double digits!! You are an amazing young lady who is fearless, creative, fun, entertaining, stubborn, smart, talented, beautiful and LOVED! May God bless you this year and all the years to come. We love you very much!

Birthday Pictures

Here are some pictures of Natalie's birthday celebrations. Thanks to everyone who remembered her on her special day and were able to celebrate with her.

Birthday Dinner at home with the family:





Friend Baby Makayla (2 months old) and her mom Sharon came over to give Natalie a present

Birthday Party with her friends and their families-29 guests in all :)

Happy Birthday Nat Nat

Natalie is 2 today! It's hard to believe that it's been two years already since the birth of Salfer girl #4. Natalie is at such a fun age-she makes us laugh with all her funny facial expressions. She has one of the cutest smiles ever. She likes to do whatever her sisters are doing and wants to be with Daddy wherever he goes. I think she's still Momma's girl though. :) She's trying so hard to talk, if she'd just take the Nuk out of her mouth maybe she'd get somewhere! It's hard to break an addiction though! She LOVES all her babies and strollers them all around the house. She's still shy when people talk to her but eventually comes around. She has been the highlight to our family and we can't imagine our house without her. Happy Birthday Natalie. We love you!

1st Communion

Emily and Father Phil

May 1, 2011

Emily made her 1st Communion today and she looked beautiful and was very excited. Her Godmother, Auntie Annie and her little boy, Owen, Godfather Uncle Bobby, Aunt Laura and their two girls, Mya and Ally, along with Grandpa and Grandma Salfer and Grandpa and Grandma Moore, and Aunt Charlene and Uncle Dave were all down for the day to celebrate this day with Em. It was very chilly outside, unseasonably cool, but again, we live in MN! There were around 35 2nd graders in all making their 1st Communion. It was a great end to a jam packed weekend!
Proud Parents
Godparents, Annie, Laura, Bobby and Em
Friends Ella & Emily
Cousins on the Moore side

Emily doesn't particularly like cake, so we thought it would be fun to have a "make your own sundae" instead. It was a huge hit!

May Day

May 1st- Happy Birthday Me! This year my birthday had to wait just a bit because we were celebrating a big day for Emily, her 1st Communion. We had a houseful of family and it was very fun but I have to admit a bit stressful the days leading up to it. But back to my birthday... The girls and Brian gave me a 60 minute massage and pedicure, which I'm looking forward to both!! Brian and Natalie took me to the food coop for coffee and a yummy caramel roll on Monday morning. And my friend Jen took me out to eat to Number 4 restaurant in Mankato where we had the most awesome dessert. My cousin Kris and I were able to catch up and have lunch together to celebrate both of our birthdays. I always thought it was cool that we were the same age for one day. Her b-day is on the 2nd and she's a year older than me. Brian teases me and says I don't just have a birth DAY I have a birth WEEK! :) thanks everyone for the birthday cards and gifts!!

Science Fair Regionals

April 30, 2011

Caitlin attended the Regional Science Fair held in Mankato at MSU and had a great experience. There were 1800 kids and projects! Card table after card table lined the Taylor center and Myer Field House. I have never seen anything like it! The kids had to present their topic 3 times to 3 different judges and were judged on a variety of items. Caitlin received a purple ribbon, which is the top colored ribbon and she of course was very excited and proud. There were other ribbons handed out at the end of the day in each of the categories for 1st, 2nd and 3rd, but she was disappointed she didn't receive one of them. All in all though it was a great experience for her and the fact that she held her own makes us very proud parents! There were 9 students that represented John Ireland school and 7 of them received special ribbons in their specific category and age group.

4 Eyes

Another exciting thing for Caitlin in her "best year of her life", she got glasses! I was thinking that she really didn't need them and just wanted a pair because of past comments but I was wrong! When she was doing the pre-test I knew right away that she would need them. She's well on her way to being the child that costs us the most money! She sure is cute though!

Easter 2011

Holy Week is one of my favorite times of the year. Our church does a great job with each mass making it very special. However, kids will be kids, and ours were not overly excited to go to mass all four days. But they were troopers and behaved very well for the most part. This year we all went to Easter vigil-8:30pm mass and it would be 2 hours. There were two adult baptisms and 5 confirmations. The only thing that kept the girls' attention was the lit candle they were holding and when the 2 adult men were baptized. They were in robes and flip flops. Kind of funny for someone to "wear" to mass. It wasn't a full submersion but it was still pretty cool.






On Holy Saturday, we dyed easter eggs and the girls had a lot of fun. Seemed to take longer to set it all up than it did to actually dye them! The girls each had four eggs to decorate. Natalie didn't understand that you need to be gentle when you drop the eggs in the solution. I think 2 of her eggs had "damage". She thought it was pretty cool though and they were edible. :)















Easter ended up being beautiful despite the cool temperatures. Didn't think this year we'd have to wear our winter coats being Easter was so late. But we do live in MN! The girls got up early to scout out where the Easter bunny had hid their baskets and eggs. Their excitement over powered their tiredness. After searching for nearly an hour they found all their eggs and the sugar high began. Mass was joyful and packed and the girls looked beautiful in the Easter attire. I have to admit its one of the funnest times to dress them. All in coordinating dresses and EVERYONE's hair done. :) Which mind you is quite the feat!! After mass we scurried off to Gpa and Gma Salfers for Easter dinner (lunch) and playing with all the cousins and another Easter egg hunt. In the evening we went over to visit my Grandma and my parents and my aunt were also there. Grandma was so excited to see the girls and probably more excited to see the circus leave! :) She still wants to entertain even though it's getting harder for her to do.

The day ended wonderfully with the girls falling asleep about 5 miles out of Wabasso. Nice and quiet for Brian and I to catch up and be thankful for all the Lord has blessed us with.