News From The North

Jensyn turns 5

2010-05-22T20:30:00.003-05:00

A Little Behind...

2010-05-02T21:44:00.002-05:00

Ok, Ok, I know I'm just a little behind on the updates...as soon as school is done I'll put some pics here. In the meantime, you'll have to do with this one photo of our main floor fireplace...it's FINALLY done!! Looks great!

Jensyn's First Day of 4K

2009-09-01T20:19:00.002-05:00

As unbelievable as it may sound, Jensyn started school today!!! She's going to 4K in the mornings; tomorrow will be her first day riding the bus as it will pick her up in the morning. Phil snapped some pics of her today and she was pretty darn excited to be going to "real" school!

Phil's Weekend Project

2009-08-17T20:54:00.005-05:00

We finally got a playset!!! Phil got started last Wednesday with the help of Randy, and worked for the next 4 days and finished it yesterday! I was back in MN with the kids so he had 4 days totally uninterrupted to work. Jensyn was pretty excited when she got home and ran right out into the backyard to play!! Jacob likes the slide A LOT!!

Jacob's B-day Party

2009-07-24T21:26:00.004-05:00

The kids and I headed back to Worthington for almost a week; I needed a change of pace and Jacob's birthday seemed like a good excuse. There was also a lot of garbage sale stuff to haul back for the August garbage sale....Phil brought that later in the week. We had a pretty good week while at the farm. Jensyn got to play with Layne and Levi quite a bit; Jacob discovered that he liked cake; my house got cleaned out of all the junk; Jacob also grew two more teeth. Enjoy the pictures!!

Our Little Man Turns 1!

2009-07-13T20:35:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday Jake! It's hard to believe that you made your appearance, rather unexpectedly, a year ago!
For the Skaar clan, it's been quite hectic the past month. We closed on our home a month ago and then I spent 11 days painting....and I'm still not done! The packers spent 2 days packing our "stuff" up followed by a day of unloading. Unloading was quite the challenge. Apparently the hill to our house was too steep and the semi couldn't get up our driveway. So it was parked down the road and the movers had to use our four-wheeler and trailer to get everything to the house. On top of that it was about 95 degrees and high humidity. Now, 3 weeks later, we are mostly settled. Phil is really busy at his new job, Jensyn loved swimming lessons for the past two weeks and swims like a fish, and Jake is almost walking. If we could only get him to take that first step without holding onto something....As for me, I am looking forward to getting pictures hung on the walls. Eventually this will get done!

Happy Birthday, Jensyn!

2009-05-18T19:21:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm a little bit late getting these pictures uploaded, but better late then never! We made a quick trip back to Minnesota for Jensyn's birthday a few weeks ago, and also went to Sioux Falls to see Phil's mom and grandma who was recovering from a broken hip and couldn't make the trip to the farm. Jensyn enjoyed the cake, played with her cousins, and (of course!) loved all of her presents. Jacob just tried to eat everything. He can really motor around now, crawls up steps, and occassionally crashes. On a happy note we're done with baby food completely. He only wants real food and can't get enough of it! He's much more curious then I ever thought he would be, maybe more so then Jensyn was! In comparing him to Jensyn at this age, he drools more then she did and puts everything in his mouth, something she didn't do so much. All in all, Jensyn really likes her little brother. She sometimes takes toys away as soon as he starts to play with them, but is always willing to entertain him and help with diaper changes, which are getting to be nearly impossible.
On a sad note, we made another trip back to SD for Phil's grandfather's funeral last weekend. He had been battling an infection for over a month before passing away.
In the month ahead I'll be finishing up with school. Phil's a full-time ER doc until he starts his new job at the end of June. Jensyn is pretty excited to be able to spend so much time with daddy. Jensyn is also enrolled in 4-year-old kindergarten for the fall. And, most importantly, we'll be closing on our house June 10 and then the movers are coming June 19. YEAH!!!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T10:31:00.005-05:00

Wow! I just realized it's been over a month since my last posting...I better get on the horn here! We've been pretty busy. We closed on the house in Barron and got moved to Rice Lake into our temporary home. Jacob spent 4 days puking and has sprouted 3 teeth with 3 more on the way. He's also crawling and getting into all of Jensyn's things. He has even managed to stand up in his crib on one occassion and almost fell over the side. It's amazing how quickly things change! Jensyn is eagerly anticipating her birthday and asks every day how many more days away it is. With Jacob now crawling she's also learning how to "share"; although that means she gets his toys whenever she wants and he never gets hers, or even his own! She's also busy at school learning her letters and numbers. As for Phil and I we're both busy at work. He did a 5 day stint in the ER so we hardly saw him during that time. I'm busy at school but looking forward to the end of the school year. We started our househunt on Friday but so far not much luck.

Florida 2009

2009-03-01T14:18:00.008-06:00

I recommend going on vacation, to somewhere sunny, in the dead of winter! We spent the past week doing just that. Our destination this year was sunny Florida. All four of us flew down to Tampa and stayed with some friends for 3 nights. While there we relaxed, enjoyed good company, and went to the zoo. We also brought the flu bug to them...Beka got sick (she's also 7 months pregnant) so that was no fun. Then off we went to Orlando for 2 nights. We stayed in a really nice hotel right across from Downtown Disney. We went down there one night, took in the sights, and ate at T-Rex. It was really loud and Jensyn was pretty scared at first. Jacob didn't know what to think--stimulation overload! Overall it was a really cool restaurant and suggest you eat there sometime! The next day we went to Magic Kingdom. Jensyn said in the tram on the way there that "it was going to be the best day ever!" In her case it definately was. She met 3 of the Disney princesses (Cinderella, Belle, Princess Aurora), as well as Mickey and Minnie. She loved the rides, hated Pirates of the Caribbean, really enjoyed the parade, and really wanted a Sleeping Beauty dress. Unfortunately, $60 is just too much when we can go to Target and get one for $15. She'll never know the difference! After Disney, we went down to Ft. Myers Beach for 2 nights. My mom and dad were there for Twins spring training so we stayed at the same beach resort as them. We spent quite a bit of time on the beach and saw some dolphins one morning. Jacob loved the sand, Jensyn built some sand castles and chased the seagulls, I got sunburned, and Phil talked to some old guy at the pool about life. It was a great way to wind up our vacation. We were glad to get home last night, although the temperature difference was quite extreme. When we left Tampa it was 84; when we got to Minneapolis it was 10. Both kids were great the entire week. Jake discovered he can sit on his own and Jensyn actually went to bed pretty easily every night. I guess the trick is to wear her out every day! Now we'll spend the next week and a half packing and moving as the closing date on our house is next Thursday. Then we'll finally get to start looking for a new house to buy!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-02-15T18:37:00.004-06:00

Wow! Time sure does fly! We've been super busy the past month, most notably selling our house. We accepted an offer at the end of January and we have to be moved out by March 12 so we are busy looking for boxes and packing up what we're not going to need for the next 5-6 months. We found a place to rent in Rice Lake, and then when school is out we'll move to Chippewa Falls. We haven't even started looking for a new house yet....too busy! Next Saturday we head to Florida for a week, and then we move into our rental house, so I suppose we won't start looking at homes in Chippewa until then. There hasn't been a whole lot in terms of what we are looking for. We are hoping that the market will pick up since spring is right around the corner and people will start listing their homes. Other than that, the kids are doing great. Jensyn is her crazy self, Jake is getting bigger every day and eats enough for 2......boys will be boys!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T10:15:00.010-06:00

You could say the theme for Christmas this year (as far as Jensyn is concerned) is horses and pajamas! She received several My Little Ponies, a suitcase to carry them in, a horse from Great Grandma Kuhl, as well as a horse from Layne and Levi. She also got some more pajamas from Grandma Shirla. She was pretty excited! We've been very busy since getting back to Minnesota. Saturday night we had Christmas with the Kuhl's, Sunday we went to my grandma's and then went ice skating, and Monday we went tubing in Sioux Falls. That was really fun and we had a great day weather-wise. Mom and I then went to the movie on Tuesday night. We saw Marley & Me and thought it was pretty good. Yesterday we made another trip to Sioux Falls to see Phil's grandparents. We are now at Phil's parents house. The other exciting news is we booked a vacation for the end of February when I have spring break. My mom and dad are heading down to Florida for the Minnesota Twins spring training and we decided to go as well. We have some friends in Tampa, we'll probably do Disney World one day, and then we'll end up in Fort Meyers with my mom and dad before heading home. I'm looking forward to the warm weather! Hope you all had an exciting New Year's Eve...we were in bed about 10! Guess that's a sign of old age!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T09:39:00.004-06:00

Another Christmas has come and (almost) gone. Yesterday we spent the day relaxing, or trying to. That was followed by church, a good meal (Phil fried a turkey), and of course presents! Jensyn was very excited to get jammies, 2 Barbie horses, some games, and an Ariel Barbie. She was also more than willing to open Jake's presents(some toys, books, clothes, and jammies) as well as mine and Phil's. Thankfully she was more than happy to go to bed...she knew Santa was coming! However, this morning when she got up I think she forgot. She just wanted to watch cartoons until I reminded her that we had to see if Santa came. So we ran downstairs where Phil and Jake were watching TV. Jake had gotten up about 4am so they had gone down to the basement to sleep. Jensyn was pretty excited to open a couple more presents--she was looking to see if Santa brought her wings, the only thing on her Christmas list. And of course he did! Jake just kind of sat back (or laid down on the floor) to watch all of the festivities. He was somewhat interested in the paper but that was about it. Next year will be a whole different story! Thanks a ton to Joy, Randy, & Natalie, as well as Chris, Steph, Alyssa, & Derek for sending gifts! They were great! We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and we are looking forward to going back to Minnesota on Saturday for the remainder of 2008!!

Dancing Queen

2008-12-07T16:39:00.003-06:00

Jensyn had her first dance recital this afternoon and it was so cute!!! There is just one other girl in her class and the teacher danced with them to a song called "Mrs. Claus". We did get video, but until I figure out how (or if) it can be uploaded you'll have to wait until we come home for Christmas before you see it! But it's very cute! Jensyn loved dancing on a big stage and wanted to go out there again! Enjoy the pictures!

Getting Ready for the Holidays

2008-12-01T20:54:00.004-06:00

Now that it's dark practically all day (OK, I'm exaggerating just a little) it's time to start decorating. We spent Thanksgiving in Worthington (and went to SF one day to see Phil's family)and as soon as we got home out came the decorations and Christmas tree. Jensyn had fun decorating this year. She was in charge of taking all of the ornaments out of the boxes. When she is asked what she wants from Santa, her only response is "Wings!" Apparently she wants to be a butterfly. Speaking of that, her very first dance recital is this weekend and her costume has a Christmas theme; when she saw it she was pretty upset because she wanted a butterfly costume with wings. So I guess Santa will have to make a stop at the "wing store". In other news Jake is starting to eat cereal. Oh, it's sooooo much easier just feeding him a bottle! Now we make a mess all the time, he gets cereal all over his face....and I'm sure it's just going to get that much worse! Enjoy the Holiday season and we hope to hear from all of you very soon!!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-02T11:01:00.004-06:00

Another Halloween has come and gone. Jensyn picked out her outfit this year--she wanted to be a fairy. This was the first year that she really understood what Halloween was--getting candy! We've been lucky in that she has only asked for candy a couple of times since Friday night. That means more for us! In sad news, we had to put Annie to sleep a couple of weeks ago. She hadn't eaten at all for 2-3 weeks, and when Phil took her to the vet he said that it was probably organ failure. But he gave her a shot of steroids and something else hoping it would help. It didn't. So Annie spent her last weekend out at the cabin, probably her favorite place. Not much else is new. We're both busy with work, Jensyn is busy at school and dance class on Tuesday nights, and Jake is just being Jake. He's getting pretty big. He goes in pretty soon for his 4-month well-child check; I'm curious how much he weighs!

This and That

2008-10-11T10:38:00.003-05:00

As usual, we've been really busy. Phil took the kids to the pumpkin patch last week and then last weekend we made the 5-hour drive to Phil's parents house for Jake's baptism. It was also the same weekend I had my 10-year college reunion. That was a good excuse to take a day to myself and travel to Sioux Falls to see all my friends. School is continuing to go well. The 45-minute drive is actually kind of nice since my only responsiblity is to watch for deer and stay on the road!

A Good Baby

2008-09-27T15:37:00.003-05:00

As far as babies go, Jake has to be the best! He has a very calm disposition, rarely cries, sleeps a lot, and is easily entertained. He loves his play gym. He will lay under there and just smile and smile and smile! It certainly makes mealtimes go smoothly. In other news, Phil got back from his second, and last, week-long fishing trip yesterday. This time he went with some med school buddies to Lake Superior. While he was gone I got a very welcome surprise: my mom! She made the long trip up here to help out since Phil was gone. Mornings and evenings are pretty chaotic with just me to hold the fort down so she made things so much easier. She had supper on the table when I got home from school, got up one night with Jacob so that I could sleep, and played with Jensyn during the day, including running errands for me and doing my laundry. Mom's (and grandmas) are the best!

Jensyn the Dancer

2008-09-18T18:51:00.002-05:00

Jensyn has joined her first activity: dance class. She was super excited to put on her leotard, tights, ballet shoes, and skirt; however, once she got to class she wanted mommy to hold her. She did great the first half of class, but once she realized that I was waiting for her downstairs she kept coming to get me. She needed to see me and wouldn't do a whole lot. Oh, well. Maybe next week! In her defense, she was tired. Class is from 7-7:50 pm so it was close to her bedtime. When I did see her dance it was pretty darn cute! We'll see what happens next week!

Jacob the Fatty

2008-09-14T17:48:00.018-05:00

Jake had his 2 month check-up (and shots!) Thursday and he is continuing to get bigger and bigger. He's up to 11 lbs 4 oz; he's gained another 2 pounds in the past month. Not too shabby. Phil got back from fishing trip #1 Monday night, and he'll leave in a week for fishing trip #2. Gee...when do I get to go on a vacation sans kids for a week? Oh, I know the answer to that one: NEVER! Jensyn continues to be a good big sister. On occassion she doesn't want Jake around but she likes to help and is mostly indifferent to him. School is going well. The kids are really good and I seem to have fallen into a bit of a routine which is bringing me some peace to my life. I have discoverd I enjoy the 45-minute drive because it's the only time that I have no responsibilities to anyone. Jacob is getting to be more predictable. He goes to bed between 9:30 and 10, gets up one time, and then usually gets up at some point while I'm getting ready for school. He takes several naps during the day and is awake a little more, although he does sleep a lot. I guess I shouldn't complain! And, like all babies, he really likes to be held. Usually when he cries it's because he wants to be held. I guess he's easy to please!

Flying Solo

2008-09-07T13:10:00.006-05:00

I have realized that with Phil gone (fishing in Canada) I don't even get a chance to sit down for 5 minutes! School started Tuesday so I get up no later than 5:30am, leave the house by 6:45 to get the kids to daycare and then drive the 45 minutes to Chippewa Falls. Then it's back home about 4:15, pick up the kids, etc.....finally I'll get to bed whenever Jacob decides to go to sleep...usually about 9:30. The past 2 nights I've been lucky as Jacob has only gotten up once. I'm hoping this will become a trend!! Phil seems to be enjoying himself fishing, relaxing, and drinking beer. Ah...the life! He'll be home Tuesday night so perhaps I'll be able to steal 5 minutes to myself then! In other news, school is going very well. I've jumped right back into it; it seems as if I never took a break from it! Hopefully that continues!!

Packin' on the Pounds

2008-08-14T19:52:00.003-05:00

Jake is now 4 1/2 weeks old and he's getting chubby. He had a weight check today and he's gained nearly 2 1/2 pounds in the past two weeks! He's now up to 9 lbs 4 oz and is 20 1/2 inches long. It's no wonder we've gone up one diaper size and he can no longer wear newborn size clothes. He still sleeps quite a bit, but is awake for a couple of hours at a time now. Unfortunately, he almost always has one of his "awake" times in the middle of the night. That is NOT fun for mommy, but it allows me to watch the Olympics. Jensyn is doing great and doesn't bother him. She doesn't seem jealous, likes to feed him, and likes to have him sit on her lap. She's making for a pretty good big sister! In other news our house is on the market; we had one offer last week but the potential buyers low-balled us, so we countered, and then they pretty much bailed. Oh well. I head back to school next week for inservice. After two years of not teaching I'm excited but I feel like a first year teacher all over again instead of a veteran teacher starting her 9th year! Hopefully it all comes back to me pretty quickly! Phil is interviewing for a new position in a couple of weeks and he is finally running out of projects around the house. That means it's time to sell the house so we can buy a different one with new projects!

And baby makes 4....

2008-07-27T19:11:00.005-05:00

Now that Jake is 2 weeks old reality is starting to set in for all of us. My mom, dad, Layne, and grandma came last week to see Jake, keep Jensyn occupied, and cook. Now it's just the 4 of us and we're starting to get used to having another person in the household. He may be small, but he sure does run things around here! He is a really good baby; Phil calls him "Little Ninja" because he doesn't make much noise at all. Sometimes you wouldn't even know there was a baby in the house! He is starting to wake up some and he really likes to wiggle around. Jensyn likes to sit next to him and try to get him to grab her hair. It doesn't take much to entertain a 3-year-old. I'm getting a decent amount of sleep. I try to feed him about 10:30 or so, then I only have to get up twice during the night. Sometimes, however, he doesn't want to go back to sleep. I'm going to have to train him on the importance of sleeping at night! We certainly don't need another Jensyn (a baby who never sleeps)! In other news, I'm going to be teaching physical science/chemistry in Chippewa Falls. Driving 150 miles a day to add to my teaching license is actually going to pay off. I'm pretty excited about the job. The school is pretty big; the science department has over 10 teachers and the town is pretty nice. They are also being super gracious and letting me start Sept. 15 so that Jake will be a little bit bigger before he has to go to daycare. In other news we finally finished Jensyn's playhouse area last Thursday so Phil is looking for new projects. He already found two. He installed a new double sink/countertop in our master bath and we ordered new countertops for our kitchen. The projects never end!

Early Arrival

2008-07-18T16:53:00.003-05:00

Jacob Christopher Skaar made his debut 3 weeks early on Sunday, July 13 at 5:46am. My water broke at home at 2:20am, so we had to call a neighbor to send down one of their daughters to stay with Jensyn. Jake weighed in at 6lbs 6oz and was 19 3/4 inches long. He's a very good baby, doesn't cry except when he's hungry and is a good sleeper so far, knock on wood. We came home yesterday and it felt great. I'm feeling really, really good, except for the icky rash on my abdomen. The OR here uses a different surgical scrub then that iodine stuff many places use and I apparently have reacted to it. Hopefully it goes away soon! Jensyn is adjusting well and likes her little brother; mostly she is indifferent to him though. Enjoy the pics!!

Apostle Islands

2008-07-07T14:38:00.004-05:00

We are back from our final "vacation" of the summer. We took the boat up to the Apostle Islands (stayed on Madeline Island) on Thursday and came back Saturday night. It was super relaxing and we spent a lot of time cruising around Lake Superior on the boat. Jensyn lived in her swimming suit and wanted to go swimming every minute of every day. The weather was fantastic, we went to the best parade ever on the 4th, and Phil even managed to catch a fish...only one, but better than none! It tasted pretty good! It was really fun to see all the sailboats and yachts on the lake. We have decided that this will be an annual trip to take as it's close and very relaxing. Now it's time to get ready for baby to arrive; only 3 weeks to go!

Big Mama

2008-06-26T21:10:00.003-05:00

It's week 35 and I feel HUGE! Only about 4 more weeks to go to "Repeat C-Section Day", scheduled for July 28. I cannot believe that I have that much time left; like I said, I feel enormous. Other than that I'm feeling pretty good. Tired, and the occasional sore back, but otherwise pretty good. Can't wait to get rid of all this weight and the fat face! I've been in nesting mode as of late. Got the baby room all decorated (just need a few more things to hang on the walls) thanks to my mom coming last week and helping with the painting; been washing windows, staining our front porch, and just general cleaning around the house. It all seems to be a job that will never end. We're heading up to the Apostle Islands in a week to spend the 4th. We've never been up there and thought this would be the time to go, because in another month we won't be going anywhere for awhile. Phil is finishing Jensyn's play area so I should have pics of that soon. Oh, and I'm sparing everyone of the bare belly shots...too gross. It just looks like I have an enormous basketball, or two, under there. Definately not something I want the world to see. It looks too abnormal. Skin just should not be able to stretch that much!! Enjoy the 4th! Anyone with name ideas pass those on as we haven't totally decided yet.

Spring News

2008-05-29T19:09:00.003-05:00

I am finally done with school....may I never have to go back again!!! I finished my finals (all 2 of them) on May 12 so my long year of driving 150 miles a day is over. The timing couldn't be better as gas prices are now at $3.97/gallon. At the end of that week I had my first garage sale and we really raked it in, thanks to 8 totes of Jensyn's clothes and some furniture. After that it was off to Bemidji, MN for almost a week for some R&R. We took the boat and Phil got some fishing in, but didn't have any luck. It was on the cool side weather-wise, but not too bad. Jensyn got to see Paul Bunyon and Babe the Blue Ox; she wasn't overly excited about that. She was, however, really excited about the park and getting to swing and go down some slides. At least she's easily amused. Phil is having knee surgery tomorrow, so Jensyn and I will be waiting on him all weekend. The only other thing is to wait for baby boy to arrive. My mom is coming in a few weeks to help get the baby room ready, and then it's wait until July 28 when baby will arrive, unless he decides to come early.

Jensyn Turns 3

2008-05-03T16:36:00.001-05:00

Jensyn turned 3 last Friday and since then she has had 3 birthday parties. I had to take the PRAXIS test (because I'm adding onto my teaching license) on Saturday so I just stayed in River Falls Friday night, then had a geology field trip (in the snow!) on Saturday after my test, so I didn't get home until supper time. Luckily, Jensyn's daycare had a birthday party for her on Friday, and then we had one at our house on Sunday. We had the big party today in Minnesota at Grandma and Grandpa Skaar's. She was pretty excited about her princess cake and presents, although she was really tired as she woke up screaming at 5am and finally did get back to sleep for awhile. In other news, Phil has a large portion of our shed completed. He still has to build the doors yet, and then will build the deck on top for Jensyn. The plan is to build a ladder and have a climbing wall for her to get to the top and then have a spiral slide to get down. It's definately a work in progress, but looks really good. We also got our boat and somehow it all fits in the garage. Next up is a garage sale in a couple of weeks to clean everything out!

Vacationing in the Pacific Northwest

2008-03-23T20:44:00.006-05:00

Most people probably wouldn't choose to vacation in Oregon and Washington in March, but for us it was perfect timing. Some good friends of ours moved to Oregon last fall from La Crosse so we wanted to visit them; Phil's aunt and uncle also live on Whidbey Island (just a ferry-ride from Seattle). Since I had spring break Phil decided to do one of his CME conferences on CD so the trip was practically paid for except for my and Jensyn's plane tickets. We flew out last Saturday and Jensyn was not a happy camper at the airport. Going through security she decided to crawl under the rope, get on her hands and knees, and bark like a dog. She was out of reach but I managed to bribe her to come back with Scooby snacks. Yeah for those! Once through security we realized we left the carseat in the car. We were definately NOT going back for that so we decided to just rent one along with the car. When we got to Seattle they only had infant seats or booster seats, not the car seat for Jensyn. We opted for the booster seat and she enjoyed it as she had must more freedom. Sunday we drove to the Oregon coast and met our friends there. We rented a beach house and stayed there until Tuesday. It was a nice, long trip down 6 stories of steps to the beach but well worth it. The kids loved running on the beach, even if it was raining some. While on the coast we also drove to a nearby town and went to an aquarium. The highlight was seeing the sea lions get fed. Tuesday we then drove to our friends' house near Salem, OR. They took us to Silver Falls State Park on Wednesday. If you are ever in Oregon that is the park to visit. There's something like 40ish waterfalls in the park, some you can even walk behind! We took a 2-hour hike in the park and were able to walk behind 2 of the waterfalls. I think that was the coolest thing we've ever done! Jensyn, of course, was not scared at all! Then on Thursday we packed up and drove to Whidbey Island to see Phil's aunt and uncle. We missed the first ferry by about 2 minutes (thanks to a slow KFC!) so had to wait an hour and a half for the next one. Once we got to Whidbey we dropped off our luggage at the house we rented there. It overlooked Useless Bay and had all the comforts of home. We spent that evening with Amy and Phil. Then Friday they took us to a public farm/winery. Jensyn loved the alpaca and spent much of her time trying to get them to make noises. She also took a special liking to Amy and kept trying to get her to run with her. Saturday we flew back home; this time Jensyn was better behaved going through security. All in all our trip could not have been better. It was great to see old friends again, see some new sights, and visit with family. We hope to make a trip there again soon. Our next vacation will be in May to Lake Bemidji to try out our new boat and visit our friend Wood whose family has a house there.

It's a.........

2008-03-12T18:20:00.004-05:00

BOY!!!! We had an ultrasound on Tuesday and it definately looks like we're going to have a little boy....it seemed all the goods were present. Guess now it's time to start picking out the decor for his room and I'll have to have a garage sale this spring to get rid of all Jensyn's old clothes as we won't be needing those anymore!

The Basement is DONE!

2008-03-02T17:42:00.003-06:00

After about a year and a half the basement is finished, save for a little bit of trim to go around the new shelf that hides the sump pump and dehumidifier. Now we have a place for all of Jensyn's toys (other than the floor!). I wonder what Phil will spend his weekends doing now? Oh yeah, the boat....we'll be getting that in about a month so he'll be off fishing, etc. And he has a couple of projects in the works for the summer already: a storage shed/play house in the backyard as well as some kind of lean-to thing behind the garage to park the boat. The projects never end! I would also like to do some landscaping in the front and in the backyard I would like to make a patio out in the trees for our outdoor fireplace so we don't have to roast marshmallows in the weeds. I guess we'll be busy; that, and the baby comes right in the middle of all our projects!

While the Cat is Away.....

2008-02-12T17:34:00.000-06:00

This is what happens when Jensyn is left to her own devices while mommy is cooking supper.....

Welcome to the Digital Age!!

2008-02-09T11:10:00.000-06:00

After months of asking for a TiVo, I finally got it!!! Phil came home from work last night asking me if I wanted my Valentine's Day gift then or Thursday. Not one to want to wait, I wanted it immediately! I was totally shocked! He had been adamant that we didn't need one; we now have it all hooked up and ready to go! The entertainement center is complete; well, nearly complete. Now all we need is the flatscreen TV. We'll have to wait until later to get that, at least until we get the boat in April and then we'll maybe have some extra cash! All of the projects are finished in the basement except for the shelving Phil's going to build to hide the sump pump. Not much else is new. Jensyn's daycare had influenza all this week and our back-up daycare was out-of-town and when they got back they were sick. So, Jensyn went to work with her dad Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for half-days. She did really well and nobody really knew she was there. Luckily she had gotten a flu shot and never got sick. As for me, I'm now 15 weeks preggers and at the fat stage. I no longer feel cruddy and I'm starting to get a little belly now and only two pair of my jeans still fit. I'm sure that will be ending pretty soon and I'll be in the dreaded maternity clothes full-time. Jensyn is still into wearing dresses. It makes going to the potty pretty easy....now, if she would only TELL us when she has to go! As long as we get her on the potty every 2 hours or so she's dry. The pooping thing, now that's another story....I guess she'll figure it all out soon enough!

Christmas Break

2008-01-06T18:34:00.000-06:00

Another Christmas has come and gone and this year it was quite fun. Jensyn definately knew what presents were and loved to open them, stating, "I love it!" after opening each present. Phil was on call from noon X-mas eve to 9am Dec. 26 so we didn't make the trip back to Minnesota until after he got off work that day at 5. We weren't sure we'd make it as it had snowed and the roads were pretty bad in the morning, but by evening they were all cleared off. We stayed at my folks' house for about a week. Jensyn went ice skating for the first time and DID NOT want to leave. Phil spent a lot of that time helping my dad in the basement as they're finishing it off. There just doesn't seem to be enough room when we come. It will be really nice when it's done and we have the whole basement to spread out all of our junk--especially since child #2 is on the way! Yep! Notice the last picture posted? Doesn't Jensyn look thrilled Due date is Aug. 5. I guess I'll be in for a long, hot, fat summer!! We spent New Year's with a good friend of Phil's from med school. They just had their second baby on Dec. 5 so it was fun to see a brand new baby again, and remind us of what to expect! After that we went to Phil's folks' house and had Christmas with his family. It was especially nice as his brother and his family from Illinois were there at the same time. Now it's back to the usual routine for us. I have 2 classes left in River Falls; I go back Jan. 28. Jensyn keeps looking under our Christmas tree and asking where all the presents are. I guess it's time to take it down! Hope you all had a memorable Christmas holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2007-11-28T13:17:00.000-06:00

We made the trip back to Minnesota for Thanksgiving Wednesday night and ran into bad roads just south of the Cities. TONS of traffic, icy roads, car accidents.....it took 2 hours to drive from Minneapolis to Albert Lea! But after that the roads cleared up and we made it to "MeMa's Sharm" as Jensyn likes to call it. We spent Thanksgiving at my cousin's house and then Friday afternoon we went to Phil's folks' house and celebrated Thanksgiving there on Saturday with his parents and grandparents. Now I guess it's time to do what I do best: Shop!! Happy Holidays!

First Snow of the Year

2007-11-09T15:24:00.000-06:00

Jensyn was pretty excited this morning when she saw it was snowing. On went the coat and hat so we could go outside. She started scooping the snow (yeah for me!!) but mostly just wanted to walk around in it. I don't think it will last long, though, as it's supposed to be near 50 this weekend. It was a good day to have our new fireplace installed!

Autumn Happenings

2007-11-04T08:04:00.000-06:00

I suppose it is time for another update on the goings-on in the Skaar household. Let's see....we got the hearth done yesterday in the basement and it looks awesome! We're getting the stove installed Thursday so we'll be able to play in the basement and we'll be nice and toasty! Phil is busy at work and has been busy working extra in the ER. He went on a couple of fishing trips this fall, one to Canada for a week. He's also going hunting the weekend before Thanksgiving. I managed to go visit a friend of mine in the Cities for a weekend. That was very refreshing as I haven't left Jensyn at home to go somewhere at all. I've also been busy at school. It's been an interesting adjustment, especially since Jensyn has suddenly decided that she doesn't need a nap all the time. That cuts into my afternoon study time when I don't have classes! But if she doesn't nap then she usually goes to bed at a decent time (not 10:00!) as compared to when she does nap. She is talking in sentences now and will even answer questions with a real answer as opposed to "huh?" She dressed up as an elephant for Halloween and had fun going to all the neighbors' houses. And of course she wanted to eat all of her candy when we got home. Jensyn also got her first real taste of the farm a couple of weeks ago. We went back to Minnesota to visit family and she got to ride in the combine and the tractor. She thought there was popcorn coming out of the combine. She really liked riding until it was time to get out....it was too loud and wouldn't go back. Maybe next year!

"No, Mommy, I try it!"

2007-09-05T15:16:00.000-05:00

Jensyn's favorite new phrase: "I try it!" Gone are the days of getting things done quickly! Jensyn has to do, or attempt, everything by herself now: putting on shoes, putting a lid on a sippy cup, moving a chair, putting shoes on a doll, you name it! I guess it's a good thing because she's becoming more independent. But if she can't complete the task she sometimes gets frustrated and cries. I guess she's growing up!
Potty training did not happen. Jensyn is not quite ready and didn't seem to mind if she peed in her pants. I'd say that's a pretty good sign! She did like her "princess" panties, but that was about it. Bribing her with candy didn't always work either. She's pretty stubborn and just isn't quite ready. We'll try again in a couple of months!

The Latest Happenings

2007-08-14T13:53:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I've uploaded any pics; we've been super busy. Here's an update. We went out to Custer, SD the last weekend in June to visit Phil's family. His parents were out there, and his brother, wife, and two kids came from Illinois as well. Anyway, when we got to Rapid City we were stopped at a stop light, and as luck would have it, we got rear-ended AGAIN, this time with our "new" car that we had gotten 5 days earlier. Some idiot in his truck was stopped behind us and wasn't paying attention. He let his foot off the brake and hit us. Not bad, but enough to put a small dent in the trunk and scratch the bumper. I think the H on the back doesn't stand for Honda, but Hit Me!! Anyway, while we were out in Custer we went to Bear Country (a big hit with the kids), Storybook Island in Rapid City (another big hit with the kids), and saw some buffalo. Lucky for us, grandma and grandpa stayed with the kids one night so Phil, myself, Chris, and Steph could go into town and have some adult beverages. Much needed, and much appreciated! We got back home from South Dakota on Sunday, July 8 and we were ready to get home after being gone for almost 2 weeks. My chemistry class in River Falls started the next day and lasted for 5 weeks; I just got done with it last Friday. I drove a total of 144 miles a day, four days a week, left the house about 7:15am, and got home at about 6pm. I was glad to be done as I was lacking sleep. Jensyn decided she had had enough of her crib when we got home from SD so we were figuring out how to get her to bed and keep her there; that means I wasn't able to start studying until about 9:30 or 10 each night. Luckily our tests were on Monday's so I was able to get a lot of studying in over the weekend. But I'm done, and I was the typical nerd non-trad who did really well on everything. So it's about a 3-week break for me before I start back to school full-time this fall again in River Falls. I'll only have to go 3 days a week 1st semester and will take 3 classes. I'm really looking forward to it, and at the end of the school year I'll be certified for any science grade 6-10 and any high school chemistry, in addition to the biology which I already have. There better be some jobs available after this!! Phil's been really busy at work. His schedule is full most days and he's been working in the ER about every other week. Jensyn is the typical 2-year-old. She loves being outside and would watch either Cars or Finding Nemo all day if you'd let her. So we've been busy going outside for much of the day to keep her distracted. I just started working on potty training her yesterday. We've had many accidents since she's too stubborn to go on the potty, but she's starting to figure it out. She does really like her "big girl" pants so that helps. Sometimes I look at her and can't believe she does what she does and says what she says. It's pretty amazing!! Enjoy the pics!!

Stupid Drunk Drivers

2007-06-22T15:59:00.001-05:00

Well, as you can tell from the pictures I had an altercation with a drunk driver and he won! Last Friday afternoon Jensyn and I were going home from Phil's office (we had brought him lunch) when some stupid drunk ran into us while we were stopped at a stop sign. Turns out the guy even had beer in the front seat and it's his 5th DUI; he was also driving on a suspended license. Somehow he does have insurance. The car is totalled, over $13,000 in damages. I guess we get to go car shopping now!! Jensyn and I were both fine. She didn't even cry. The only thing she said when we got out of the car was, "Car broken." When Phil asked her what happened she said, "Car broken, new car." I swear I didn't even coach her on that one!!

Summer Fun

2007-06-11T20:51:00.000-05:00

Phil's brother and his family came up to the cabin Memorial Day weekend. It was a little rainy, but we did manage to have some fun, especially the kids!! Based on the pics, you could say that the "big cousin" appears to be corrupting the "little cousin"!! Started potty training today. Looks like we're going to be doing a lot of bribing...she'll do anything for a sucker or m&m's.

Jensyn Turns 2!

2007-05-04T20:49:00.000-05:00

Jensyn turned 2 on April 25. We made the 5 hour trip back to Minnesota to celebrate last weekend. She had a cute airplane cake and wasn't that interested in opening presents. All she wanted to do was play outside with Layne and Levi and ride the Gator. She got lots of bubbles, sidewalk chalk, some clothes, and a really cool tire swing that is in the shape of a horse. Should be fun once we get a swingset built this spring. We also picked up two of Layne's old bikes. Every night Jensyn can't wait to ride them!! Now we just have to teach her how to pedal!

Jensyn's First Car

2007-04-16T21:12:00.000-05:00

I think I got my first car when I was 16....a 1983 Chevy Celebrity. It was quite the car. Oh, how times have changed! Jensyn is not quite 2 and she already has a Barbie Jeep! It has a battery under the hood that can be charged so when she hits the gas pedal it actually goes! There's even a cell phone! A neighbor down the street brought it down. Their girls are about 14 and 12 so are too old for it and thought it would be great for Jensyn. They were definately right! All she wants to do is drive her car. We have to work on the steering a little bit.....

Happy Easter!!

2007-04-08T19:56:00.000-05:00

Here are the promised pictures of the basement bathroom. Also, you can check out Jensyn in her Easter dress helping Phil with the entertainment center.

Jensyn's Big Week

2007-04-06T10:32:00.000-05:00

Last week was a pretty big one for Jensyn. She lost her binky...Finally!! She ditched it at the mall and has done great without it. If I would've known it would be so easy we would have gotten rid of it a long time ago! Jensyn also went potty for the first time. She hasn't wanted to sit on it since. Oh well. Once is good enough for now! Jensyn also got her first haircut. She was pretty excited because she got a sucker when she was done.

Not much else going on up here. We're slowly making progress with our basement. Will post pics of the bathroom later. That room is pretty much done except for the trim and ceiling. Looks pretty good!!

Pics of the Basement Project

2007-03-04T16:23:00.000-06:00

We are well on our way to finishing the basement. Everything is painted except for the bedroom which is where all of our junk is for now. Phil's next project will be laying the bathroom tile and then putting in the sink and toilet. Once that is done we'll start staining doors and trim and build the platform for the fireplace. We're looking forward to having it finished so we can get all of Jensyn's "junk" down there and free up our family room upstairs! There can never be too much room!! You can click on the pictures to make them bigger.

My First Blog!!

2007-03-02T13:35:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the Skaars' blog! I figured since we no longer had a working webpage this was the next best thing! I'll try to keep this up-to-date and post pics of Jensyn, as I'm sure that's what you really want to see anyway! I'll add more later, once Jensyn goes down for a nap!

OK, I'm back. We had our first major snowstorm of the winter yesterday. School let out at about 1 pm and was canceled today. We ended up with about a foot by my estimation. Jensyn and I (Kari) ventured outside today after lunch and shoveled our driveway so I thought that would be my first pictures to post. Phil is in Madison at a conference so I was fortunate to have a neighbor come and push all the snow off this morning. So all I had to do was shovel a few inches that fell this morning. Jensyn was busy pulling out all of her toys, as well as my floor-cleaning pail. In her mind everything is a toy!