November 16th, 2005?

That is when Nicole started this blog and after spending some time scrolling through it tonight it is hard to believe how fast the time has flown by. Addy was only 3 months old and Paige was just a few months into being a 2 year old back then and it is absolutely mind boggling to see the pictures and read about what was going on. Back then I figured this blog was a cool way for us to keep friends and family up to date with the happenings in our lives but after tonight it is apparent that this media is an excellent alternative to the traditional journal of days gone by. I am sure with the frequency of the updates we have lost most of our extensive audience (ha!) but since we got on Facebook that has taken over as the media of choice for corresponding with friends and family. If you are on Facebook send us a friend request and we would gladly take you up on it.

Things around our house have been busy as usual and there actually have been some changes in the past several months. Clearly the economy has had a drastic effect on millions of Americans and we have not been immune. Beginning in August we made the tough decision to pull the kids out of daycare and Nicole took on what could be the toughest job on Earth - a stay at home Mom. She still helps Bruce out with his clients and maintains her securities licenses but she is really making the most of spending the extra time with the girls. Obviously we may not have planned for it to workout this way - but so far it has worked out well. I think the girls love having Mom at home before and after school and they stay just as busy as ever.

Paige started first grade in September and she is really having a great year so far. Her reading is absolutely amazing and she is among the top of her class. She can read books to herself regularly and she has aced nearly all her spelling tests. Seeing her blossom and learn is a treat and she continues to amaze us with each new day.

Addy is having a good year in her 2nd year in pre-school and she is loving all the activities and time spent with her friends. Addy has some of her closest friends in class and from what I have heard they make the most of their short time together each week.

Both of the girls started dancing and gymnastics class in September at Jam Hops in Blaine. We spend 2 nights a week at the dance studio and they both have improved tremendously over the past few months. They do tap and ballet dancing an then they both have a introductory gymnastics class.

Something that I think is good for all of us that we have been going to church every Sunday for the past couple of months. We had been hearing about a place called Eagle Brook Church and decided to check it out. It has been great and not at all like any church experience we have ever been part of. I won't go into too many details but it seems to be a positive thing that we will continue to do for the foreseeable future. In fact we are all looking forward to the Christmas service on Thursday.

I am sure we can go into more details about what has been happening but for now the biggest news is that we are heading to Orlando Florida to visit Disney World! We booked this trip last spring and we are going with my Mom, Ed, Karen and Bryon. We are staying in a timeshare so each couple will have a room and we will be able to cook meals in a full kitchen to save some money. We decided to hold off on telling the girls and to make it more exciting they will be told on Christmas. (Plus they would ask ever 5 minutes when we were leaving!) We are really looking forward to it and we are both so excited to see how the girls react when the find out that not only will they be going on a airplane ride for the first time - they will be going to Disney World to see the princesses they spend so much time obsessing about!

That's about all for tonight but I will try to post here more regularly in the future so I can look back on it myself in the future and see just how much our life has changed.