Gotta just smile.....

You just can't let this horrid weather get you down...

Or you'll go crazy!!!

Just put on a happy face!!!

Too much lion

In like a lion....... out like one too?

Too much lion!!

Tobias again

Tobias had a little fun yesterday in grandma's washbasket. Cute.

Posing with mom and dad.

And once more with grandma and grandpa.

Thanks for coming for a visit, Tobias!

Exploring at Grandma's

This morning Tobias started to explore. He figured out how to get under the bench...

Hmmm.... why does Grandma have that camera out again?

Peeking through the bench.

Yeah, isn't this great? Now I can see outside the window!!!

What is that snow doing on the ground? Isn't this spring?

Who's at Grandma & Grandpa's?

Here he is! Tobias came to see Grandpa and Grandma this weekend while his Daddy plays lots of basketball games. He wants to show off everything he can now do since we last saw him at Christmastime.

And also visiting this afternoon were some of Tobias' cousins - Brooklyn, Preston and Sean, while their mommy and daddy were helping fight the flooding in Moorhead!

The cousins were having a little fun together. (Preston was napping.)

I'm glad I have two highchairs. Seems we've had two "highchair age" babies for quite a while!
Now it's these two buddies...

Practicing his standing.

Showing off the crawling skill.

It puts a little pressure on me to keep the floor clean when there is a crawling baby!

They always find the smallest little piece of crumb or dirt, don't they?

Here's what sandbagging looks like...

Today Wally and I headed to Moorhead to help in any way we could. Meghan's family lives in an area that is in jeopardy so we helped move items out of their basement to the main floor. Then we went across the street, towards the river, to help a neighbor whose lovely home was in a precarious position as the river rose in their backyard. They are not usually this close to the river! You can see a sandbag wall, and beyond that the blue strip is the edge of their swimming pool. You can obviously see the fence and trees that are now in standing water.

These are the sandbags. Many many many sandbags were filled and moved around this property - one of many places within the city of Moorhead and Fargo.

This is the set up for filling the sandbags. The sand was delivered and they had white plastic bags ready to be filled. (In some cases, people could go take a trailer or truck and pick up filled sandbags as well. )

This is an amazing operation. They lay a ladder over two saw horses. Then in 3 areas in the ladder they place an upside-down orange traffic cone that has the tip cut off to turn it into a "funnel", so they have 3 areas in which to fill sandbags. (If you look closely, you will see the orange cone and ladder..) Someone opens a white bag and hands it to someone who holds it under the cone which now serves as a funnel. Someone else shovels sand into the cone/funnel and it goes into the white bag the person is holding. Then that bags is set aside and the process repeats and repeats, etc.

The bags are placed onto a sheet of plastic and layered to form a barrier design to hold back the rising water. The plastic is then wrapped over the wall of sandbags.

Volunteers from ALL over, people who don't know each other or even the homeowner, and some that do (from their church, their friends & family, etc.) stand in line and pass bag after bag after bag to the persons laying them on the sandbag wall.

Many of these great volunteers were college and high school students.
And some grandmothers!

Passing the bags. And to top it off, it was a cold, windy, wintery day with some snow flurries now and then. The cold helped off-set the melting, but it sure wasn't easy to stay warm and dry.

There was a volunteer person who came around with his transit to determine the height of the needed sandbag wall, based on the predicted crest of the river.

Later in the day, the predicted crest was raised higher. This was devasating news to many. Let's hope it does not crest that high!

Now many of these homes that we were at today have been told to evacuate.

Better safe, then sorry.

Welcome spring? Come soon!

I love winter... but there comes a time when I, like the rest of the upper midwest, has HAD ENOUGH.

Yup. Enough is enough. This is more then enough.

This was not a fun scene to see outside our windows this morning!

And to think I was thinking "spring.. oh joy"

What was I thinking??

Happy Birthday Luke!

We have a four year old! Luke, who celebrated his birthday last week with his family, is officially a four year old. Yesterday he helped me make a meatloaf and was more then willing to flash his classic smile for the camera. Happy Birthday to a bundle of energy!

Keeping them busy....

Meghan is a great care-giver, both as a mom to her own children, and also as an Aunt to her nephews and niece - and also to a few day care children today as well. When I arrived this morning, it was all quiet and everyone was upstairs in the playroom - so I came into this sweet scene. One baby was napping and the other EIGHT children were listening intently to Meghan reading to them. So charming.

Okay, so it wasn't ALL still and quiet. In fact, there was quite a bit of ... activity...
and the "baby" of the group, Sean, wasn't quite sure what to do with a person close to his size that was ever so ready to tackle him. Hmm.. thinks Sean.... just what do I do next??

Oh yes, says Sean, I will give it back.....

What goes around, come around...

Oh, we're friends, regardless!

Once again, this hungry bunch ate dinner like champs. "more meat" "more potatoes"... Meghan and I could barely keep up with their requests.

(Meatloaf, boiled red potatoes, corn and cut-up oranges.)

Grandpa had some reading time with Josiah as well.

All the children just love books, which is so wonderful.

My lap was never big enough!

The cutest cleaning crew...

I just got a charge out of this little cleaning crew - both Josiah and Sean wanted to help sweep the floors.... and they knew just where the brooms and mop were kept.

Josiah was quite determined to get that mop out!
Sean was happy he secured the dust pan and brush.

This was my favorite picture of the day!

Day two report

In case Adam & Andrea get to check in from Mexico.... while sunning on the beach..... here is the report of how things are going with the grandkiddies. Meghan and Daniel are doing a great job caring and loving many small children. The children are doing very well and having a good time together. Here are a few pictures from today.

Striking a pose for grandma. Yes, that's batman at the bottom...

Weeeeeee. The little guy gets his groove on! Cousin soon to follow...

Superhero Batman made his appearance today.

Supervisor Mom.

Coloring time.

I volunteered to make dinner - it was a chicken and rice meal - and Preston volunteered to help me sprinkle the salt and pepper on top.

The children ate supper like champs, too.

Fresh bread also helped.

Seven together

Brave Meghan and Daniel are caring for Adam and Andrea's children for a week while Adam and Andrea soak up some Mexican sun. I went over to Meghan's to get some grandma time. The children were really good today. Amazing!

Ages 6,5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1 .....

So I am busy taking some pictures, of course.

Here's Hannah with her cool beads.

Josiah at lunch.

Luke concentrating on looking at the DVD jacket cover.

Still concentrating, just a more comfortable position.

And Sean, who starts to say cheese even before I turn on the camera!

The BIG kids.

It's hard to believe they are this big, actually.