Goodbye Sioux Falls.

Well the time is finally here.  The someday we have been dreaming about for 2 and a half years.  Ryan has finished school and we are moving on with our lives.  Who would have thought it would have been such a bittersweet time for me.  Change is exciting but very scary at the same time.  It has been sort of an odd feeling as I have found myself very sad the past couple of weeks thinking of moving away from Sioux Falls.  Although it was always a temporary destination for us, it turned out to be a great place for our little family.  Our two older children grew up so much in the time we were here and we brought sweet Kenzie home to our Sioux Falls home.  We met many great people and managed to create a lifetime of memories even with the stress of school.

Not only will I miss being centrally located in the middle of Ryan's family, I will miss the town itself.  Some of the things I am going to miss most about Sioux Falls...

~The weather.  It amazes me what a 10 degree difference can make year around.

~Falls Park.  Gorgeous.  We spent so much time there.

~The other parks.  Sertoma, Tuthill, Marion, Terrace, and McKennen were some of our favorites.

~The pools.  They had such fun pools! Keuhn and Drake Aquatic Center were our favorites.

~The libraries.  They had great programs and story time for small children.

~The Zoo.  It was the perfect size zoo for our small children.  We went weekly in the summer.

~All American Gymnastics.  What a great way for the kids to expend energy!

~The weather.  Wow-so much sunshine.

~The close location to the Empire Mall and its fun kids play area.

~My job on the postpartum unit at Sanford. :(  What an amazing work environment.

~Oscar's Coffee.  Ryan's home away from home.

~The Palisades.  Such a beautiful area of wilderness so close to the city.

~Peace Lutheran Preschool and Church.

~Panera Bread.  How does Fargo not have one yet?!

~The weather.  Did I mention that yet?

So goodbye to Sioux Falls.  I will miss you dearly.  I hope that Fargo has as much to offer as you did.

Landon's Last Day.

Landon had his last day of preschool today.  It was a month and a half earlier than the rest of his class due to our move.  He had cards for his teachers and was SO excited to give them to the three of them.  He was very ready to be done with preschool, which I found surprising.  I am thinking this was due to the fact that we had hyped up Ryan's last day and he felt like he should be done, too.  I think he was also excited to be done because that meant we were moving to Fargo.  For Landon, moving to Fargo meant seeing Jack and in his little mind there isn't much that can top that.

I had to get a shot with Mrs. Sue, Landon, Mrs. Cindi, and Mrs. Laura in his classroom on his last day.  Landon's experience at Peace Lutheran Preschool had been nothing but great.  He has grown so much this year.  I was sad that he was done here and hope to find a place that we all love just as much in Fargo.

Big Girls.

The girls had their well child visits today.  I wanted to get them done before we moved so they both saw Dr. McKercher, Kadence for her 3 year appointment and Kenzie for her 4 month appointment.  

Kenzie was a very good girl for her appointment.  She actually made it through 2 appointments as she was examined by Dr. McKercher and a PA student.  Here are her stats:

Height: 25 inches  (50th percentile)

Weight: 13 pounds 5 ounces  (40th percentile)

Her repeat ultrasound to check her kidney dilation was normal-great news!  She is growing and developing just as she should be.  Now if we could just get her to sleep a little better...

Kadence used to be deathly afraid of the doctor's office.  She has outgrown her fear (thank God) and was such a good girl.  She also made it through 2 examinations and was so good.  She thought she was going to get shots today...

I was cracking up in the car because she told me, "I have my "sleeves" up and I'm ready to get my band aids, Mom!"  Too funny!  She actually still asked for a band aid and was SO happy about it.  Here are her stats:

Height:  39.25 inches (95th percentile)

Weight: 32 pounds (50th percentile)

95th percentile-wow!
Dr. McKercher:  "Wow, she is tall, she must take after her dad, is he really tall?"

Me:  "Um, no not really."

Classic.

Love these girls to pieces!

The Grand Finale

Today Ryan passed his certification exam and is now a CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist-say that 5 times fast!)  What an accomplishment!!!

That deserves a celebratory beer!

This preliminary peace of paper means so much!  We can finally close this chapter of our lives and move on to the next.  How exciting!  I don't think that Ryan will miss the 8-10 hour study days and I know that I wont!

Ryan was strongly against taking this picture and has avoided it for months.  I finally forced him to do it today and know that some day he will appreciate looking back at it (or maybe just I will).  The funny thing about me making him take this picture is that the school is located right on 41st Street.  Anyone who knows Sioux Falls knows that this is one of the main drags and always very busy.  He was so embarrassed.  I was nothing but proud.

What better way to celebrate than with some yummy ice cream!  Not sure the kids know what is going on but they do know that they are enjoying all the special treats today and very VERY happy parents!

Congratulations to Ryan!  It is DONE.  You are officially a CRNA and you will finally be starting your first job in your new profession soon!  Love you always!

Lil' K.

Little Miss Kenzie has continued to make life interesting to say the least.  She is such a little love!  She now spends a lot of time eating her fingers, talking, giggling, playing with toys, and watching big brother and sister.  She is growing up WAY too fast!

Kenzie still makes it somewhat difficult for me to go anywhere in the car.  She screams the minute the car starts moving and does not stop until the car has stopped.  Then she is usually happy when we get to wherever we are going...until we get back into the car to come home.  I have gotten quite used to the screaming and just expect it now.  I think it is more difficult for Daddy to hear her scream, simply because he hasn't endured it as much as I have and is not used to it.  Unfortunately, I have come to the realization that she is just going to have to be unhappy in the car because I refuse to stay home with big brother and sister all day every day.  I am hoping this is something she will grow out of, sooner rather than later would be nice.

Kenzie has grown  to like the baby einstein and is getting stronger and stronger every day.  She likes the toys very much and I enjoy the break from the constant stimulation she has grown accustomed to.  I had to post this shot of her "mohawk."  It cracks me up now but hope she grows some hair and soon.

Kenzie talks and giggles so much now.  Is there anything better in this world than the sounds of a baby?

A Day Made for a Princess...

The birthday girl had quite the day.  She was spoiled spoiled spoiled by the family of course.  She woke up and we let her open her presents from us right away and I don't think she stopped smiling the rest of the day.

It was pretty cute because she was having some trouble with the tape so Landon offered to help and she actually let him.  She then handed each of her presents to him to start opening and then he would hand them back for her to open the rest.  The funny thing was she had no problem opening the presents she had received in the mail from Grandpa and Grandma Limmer and the Skowlunds the day before.

Kadence played with all of her new toys while Landon was at school and then we went and picked out a cake.  She picked out what I thought was the ugliest cake, but she loved it!  I guess that's what matters.  I didn't have the energy to make her cake this year, I will make up for it next year for sure.  After a long nap, she woke up to a big bunch of balloons from Grandpa Ken and Grandma Debbie.  There was a singing balloon and she danced to the music for a long time.  I was so glad to catch it on video, it makes me smile every time I watch it.

After Ry was done studying, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese for some food and fun.  It has been a Sioux Falls tradition for us to take the kids there on their birthdays and they absolutely love it.  Ryan and I laugh because the pizza is far from delicious and we always have stomach aches afterwards.  The kids love the games and have so much fun, I guess that makes up for the gut ache.  Kadence wasn't real sure about the singing and dancing Chuck E. Cheese, but was fine as long as she didn't walk close to him.

The kids had a riot dancing during "show time" and watching themselves on the TV.  Who knew Chuck E. Cheese had Beiber fever?  They sang and danced right along with the Cheese to Justin Beiber's "Baby."  Pretty cute.

I'm not quite sure who enjoyed the night more.  I had to laugh as Kadence spent a large part of her game playing time and most of her tokens on the carriage ride.  Perhaps it was my fault as I told her she was Cinderella...guess she really enjoyed riding like a princess.

We headed home for some birthday cake and ice cream.  Kadence was embarrassed when we sang to her, she's being shy lately.

Good thing she has that big brother around for constant reassurance.  After cake and ice cream it was tub time and then bed time.  What a great day!  Love celebrating birthdays and making the kids feel special!

Three.

Happy 3rd Birthday Kadence Jean!

This sweet little girl turns 3 years old today.  I can't believe she is already 3 years old.  Love her so much.