If you're awesome and you know it - clap your hands!

Happiness!, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Emma giving Freddie a head-start.

Playing chase with Emma, too., originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

Chase in the backyard.

Another true action shot., originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

The boys, Emma and I ran around playing chase this morning. They loved it.

I am cuteness.

Down., originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

See me embrace danger.

Visit flickr for more pictures of my fun morning at the park while Sammy was at preschool.

Myhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif FLICKR photostream

Cute random pic from a couple months ago

Not sure if I'd ever posted this one before but look at that smile!!!! Watch out ladies. :)

First Day of School

Tuesday was Sammy's first day of his second year of Preschool. While I am amazed by how fast the summer went by, he is so excited and happy to be back! I have one true first-day-of-school picture but I'm not posting it because it has the school name. He was in too much of a hurry to join his friends this year and didn't let his mom get 5,000 pictures like last year.

Here he is hanging up his backpack in his cubby. :)

He brought his giant blow-up airplane from the Fair for the first day of sharing.

Buh-Bye Summer

We had a fun final weekend of summer. Nana drove up for a visit. J and I went to the Fair to see the Black Crowes with Codes and Ash. Codes and Ash came down for a couple of days. Nana watched the boys, and then Nana watched Freddie so J and I could take Sammy to the Fair.

Sammy rode a TON of rides and drank a lemonade. He brought home another inflatable airplane, and can't wait to go again next year. We were traveling light so no pictures, but I have to mention that we went on Labor Day and that morning was surprisingly not crowded. We didn't wait in any lines, even for food!!! And all the rides were discounted by one ticket.

Later that day we took the boys to Wabun Park since the pools in Minneapolis are all drained the day after Labor Day. I do have pictures from there. :)

Happy 30th birthday Jacob!

We love you. Super much.

Oh, and thanks for the new camera. Husband buys wife gift and surprises wife on his own birthday. You can't beat that. Guess that's the last of the craptastic camera knocks on this blog. :D

Our visit to Cody and Ashley's!

Finally the Rods are a typical Midwestern (Minnesotan?) family - we have a cabin! Woohoo! Actually, our cabin is the new home of our BFFs and Sammy and Freddie's Godparents Cody and Ashley. They let our family descend upon them for the weekend and break in their new place. We love you guys! You have a *beautiful* home. And we can't wait to move in with you! :)









I have enough pictures from this visit to merit a Flickr album: DULUTH

Rocket has come home.

Sammy got a new toy. His first "big" toy, Jacob says. Comparable to the Castle Grayskull acquisitions of us Gen-Xers.

Here's Sammy and the Little Einstein friends.


And Rocket.

Smartdog, anyone?

Attention Mega Blok folk! Freddie has found yet another use for your blocks. You might want to get started on one of those handy instructional trading cards.

Watermelon, Watermelon, why are you so good?*

Aftering being out at Minnehaha Falls Park all Sunday morning, the boys and I had a low-key backyard afternoon involving the kiddie pool, water table, Elmo sprinkler, girlled chicken (a'la Jacob) and watermelon.









*Jess does not actually agree with this statement. I think watermelon is nasty and meely and messy. Ick. But the boys sure do love it.

Service at Minnehaha Falls again

I always dread these services at first because the thought of chasing Freddie around for an hour is daunting. However, even though Jacob was in the band and we were in a wide open area I did little chasing this past Sunday and really enjoyed being out at the park with the boys on a beautiful Sunday morning!

Pre-service, finding front-row seats for Sammy to better see the band. His favorite drummer and man bud Graham was in the band this week, along side his bass playing Daddy making it a fun week to watch. And Graham let Sammy drum a bit after the service, too, which is always a big hit with my little man. :)



Leave me alone. I'm watching the band.


The chase was on after the service. Heidi (children's ministry) brought bubbles for the kids to play in after the service so he really was contained most of the time. The "feast" didn't hurt, either.

As an added bonus I rode up to the park with the boys in the Burley since J was in the band. I was slightly sweating but it was a perfect morning for a ride and Sammy is always up for a Burley ride. Hmmmm... think I might pull him around Lake Nokomis tonight. Must take advantage of warm weather while we can!

Young toddler enjoys napping

in the buff. Well, almost. This is how Jacob put Freddie down to nap Saturday morning.

Yep, most of the pictures of Freddie lately are of him undressed. He honestly enjoys being shirtless at the very least. He's a funny kid.

VBS at Hiawatha Church!

Many thanks to the wonderful members of Hiawatha Church (many of whom we are happy to call friends) for putting on a fantastic Vacation Bible School! And for letting children who are not members attend. I am so pleased that Sammy will have VBS fun and memories even though our own church does not offer VBS.

This summer's them was Custom Garage, which Sammy loved. Every night he was more excited coming home than the last. The first night we brought home a CD and all week he practiced his dance moves (much to his mother's amusement and his father's dismay). I'm sure that was his favorite part. Or wait, I think he told me his favorite part was riding the cars. Either way, he will probably be sad this week when he realizes it was a one week a year deal.




Did I mention Cal was in the "Pit Crew" with him? So was his friend Mado!

Thanks to Mado's Mom (aka Laura) for sending me following pictures of the final performance!!!

That's Mado in the pink in the front, and Sammy just behind her.


That's Isaac M. in the front left. He wasn't in VBS per se, he hung out in the nusery most of the time because he's too young but he was really into dancing on stage! I think he was into it more than Cal. :)


Adorable hat picture Laura set. There are our three hooligans: Sammy, Cal, Mado.

No shirt. Just Socks.

Freddie has not wanted to wear a shirt lately. I think all the excess drool on his shirt bothers him. He is most comfortable in socks. Just socks. But I do make him wear a diaper as well.

"I ate his!"

I gave the boys Jello pudding cups as a treat this afternoon and set them up in the dining room while I emptied the dishwasher. (remember Freddie must be contained for me to get work done?) Well, Sammy runs through the kitchen and tells me:

"Freddie was just pretending to eat his, so I ate his. I gave him my empty cup and now he's pretending to eat it, too!"

Actually, Freddie insists on feeding himself and he's still quite bad at it. He takes for-ev-er to eat something with a spoon but he's trying. Guess the process was just too agonizing for Sammy to watch.

Bye-Bye Buenos!

Holly, Jesse, Kennedy and soon-to-be born Baby Rio ;) left for Wisconsin yesterday. (Techically Jesse is still here wrapping up school stuff for another week or so, but the girls left Monday.) We met up with them at MOA to say farewell, and so the kids could ride rides, of course!

We'll miss you guys!

Pictures from the Mall

Sammy met Blue while Kennedy rode the swings.


Kennedy, me and Freddie, Sammy and Jacob rode Big Truckin'


Holly rounded up Freddie for me and begrudingly posed for a picture. :)


We forced the kids to hug at the end.

Pop Goes the Wiggles! LIVE

-- more info to come -- saving spots before my battery dies!

See Flickr for pictures now - CLICKY CLICK

Minnesota Zoo with General Mills

Last Wednesday General Mills held a private party for it's employees at the Minnesota Zoo. The riff raff was kicked out (kind of joking, but it's true!) and we were given $15 Zoo bucks each to pay for dinner, entertainment and souvenirs. We ate snowcones and free cotton candy. We saw lots of ferocious animal in their cages. We played at the park. We ate a (free) food court dinner. And then we "bought" stuffed animals and other random souvenir stuff. The kids were in Zoo heaven.

Here's the invite:
"Come and celebrate with the Employee Club! The MN Zoo will be open for General Mills Employees and Retirees from 4 - 9 pm on Wednesday, August 6th. You are welcome to bring a guest and dependant children to this celebration. The event is FREE & offers something for all ages. The kids can enjoy face painters, temporary tattoos, and the Teddy Bear Band. For attendees of ALL ages, there will be the bird show, coral reef dive demonstration, monorails, discounted prices at the Imax, $15 dollars in ZOO bucks and of course, the animals! We will celebrate rain or shine! You will need to request tickets on the Employee Club website so we can track attendance and plan accordingly!"

And here are the pictures:

Sammy started with a snowcone, then moved on to cotton candy. He didn't have much of an appetite for dinner. I don't know why ???!


My 1-year-old got a taste of cotton candy "mmmmm...!" <---Freddie really says this!


it was a lovely evening and as you can see (despite my blurry photo from my craptastic camera) not too crowded along the trails... the gift shop on the other hand was a mess as you can imagine


we liked these guys


still working on the snowcone but getting out of the wagon to better view the "amimals" (I love 3-year-old speech!)


tiger - raar!


Catch me if you can!


I got him. It all a game to him. To me, it's a workout!


camels

D.I.R.T.Y. you ain't got no alibi

Funny stuff from Sammy while in Texas

While waiting for the meat to be served at Fogo de Chao (where the wedding reception was held) Sammy sang a little jingle that went like this, "Thumbs up to meat! Thumbs up to meeeeeeeat!" Our little friend Matthew M. would probably enjoy this number, too.


Sammy asked Papa if he had a sandbox like Cousin Will does. Papa said no, not at their house. Sammy said, " I use to have a sandbox and you tore it down." This is actually true - last summer Jacob and Luis tore down the dirty, delapidated, splintry cat box was in our backyard.

And, the updates from Grandma....!!! (thanks, Dianne!)...

Telling PaPa that on the way back to Austin, we could stop at a gas station and get him a snack.

Putting in his order for two slices of cake--one for him and one for his daddy--as Wendy and Lau were preparing to cut the cake. Then asking one of the waiters for another slice.

He walked up to Wendy, tapped her on the shoulder, and told her he was very happy for her.

After splashing Grandma with water right before she had to go to work--he said, "It's okay. It'll RYE!" Not dry but RYE.

Wendy marries Lau

, originally uploaded by sweetietooth.

A post-ceremony picture of the new happy family. :)

See my post below for a link to more pictures.

Congratulations Wendy and Lau!

Jacob's older sister Wendy married Lautaro L**** on Sunday, July 28th in Austin, Texas. The Minneapolis Rodriguez clan traveled to Texas to be there for the event. We are SO happy for y'all!

To see more pictures of our trip, please see the Flickr set! CLICK HERE!