Our Peanut is 2!! It seriously feels like just yesterday I had her!

Allison is growing so fast! She is outgrowing 2T size clothes and moving into 3T. She is still an incredible sleeper (knock on wood) and a great eater. She is getting better and better at talking which is great! I feel so bad that I don’t always know what she is saying! Clearly, she knows what she wants but I sometimes have trouble interpreting.

We celebrated Allison’s birthday on Saturday with a brunch at our house with the Grandparents and a couple cousins. Allison is totally into Minnie Mouse, so i went with a Minnie Mouse theme. She had fun! She really likes the Happy Birthday song. 🙂

Today, the 25th, is her actual birthday. We went to Culver’s as a family for her birthday dinner. She was pretty stoked to get the ‘ice cream!’ Here are a few pics from the last few days:

I made Allison’s Minnie Mouse cake!

Minnie Mouse party gear

Allison in her party dress and Minnie Mouse ears

Opening presents!

Minnie Mouse pillow pet and a big Olaf!

More Minnie toys

all her Minnie loot!

Singing ‘Happy Birthday.” She liked this part. 🙂

Pancakes for breakfast on her birthday morning!

Allison on her birthday in her new Minnie outfit

I also had her in to get her 2 year photos taken! They turned out pretty cute! I have to wait another week or so to get them back…

Happy Birthday, Allison! We love you!

When we moved in to our house a year and a half ago, we really loved our basement. Up to this point, it has been used for guests. Our official guest room and bathroom are downstairs and the we have put up air beds to house other guests. It has been great! However, it became time to really spice it up! We decided to make the main area into a theater room! We absolutely love the end result!

So, if you know Brian, you know this is right up his alley! He researched all the techy portions of this room and did a great job! I still laugh at how the decision on a projector went! He ended up choosing FOUR (4!) projectors to try out and choose our favorite! We chose some super comfy furniture, an awesome screen that drops down from the ceiling, speakers, and a fridge to keep many beverages cold.

I was in charge of decor. I picked out movie posters to hang on the walls. I went with Top Gun, Forrest Gump, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Frozen, and Grease! I picked out plates, silverware, wine, beer, & margarita glasses, and we chose popcorn making supplies. We have also acquired quite the shot glass collection over the years of various places we have been and places our family has been. We have some random built in shelves in the basement that were a perfect spot for the collection.

Our theater room is a great place to be. We hang out as a family many evenings watching movies or sports. Our first big event was the Super Bowl. We had the room done just in time. We planned to have a few friends over for the game, but poor Adam was sick, so we canceled. As I type, I’m watching the Oscars! It’s like I’m there! I’m planning a Bachelor finale viewing party as our first official big gathering! So here are a few pics of the room:

Furniture! The ends rock and it all reclines. Brian also wired the front with power so we can charge phones, tablets, and laptops!

Jack got a new bed…so he now has 1 for each level

Shelves with the shot glass collection

New mini fridge!

Installing the screen

This is what the room looks like when you first walk in. Can see the posters, the screen is hidden….

The ‘after.’ The screen is down and we got black curtains that close along the walls so there is less reflection.

Watching the Super Bowl!

Just an attempt to show how big the screen is! It’s 125 inches! Here is the Pink concert! She’s bigger than I!

We are so happy! It’s a great room to be as a family or to hang out in after the kiddos are in bed! Thanks for all the hard work, Hon!

I was on a ROLL!! I was lucky enough to score some amazing seats to Dancing with the Stars and Shaping Sound!

Dancing with the Stars was at Mystic Lake. I went with my friend, Joan. We had dinner at Mysic Steakhouse before the show and it was delish! We had seats in the first row, but off to the right side. If you’ve seen Dancing with the Stars on TV, you know I’m talking about! This show included Emma, Kym, Val, Witney, Mark, Sasha, keo, and some of the troupe dancers. Alfonso served as the host. He also danced a few times! The show was so entertaining! They are some great dancers! They talked to us a lot too. And as a special, fun surprise…Tony Dovolani was there! He had had an appearance at the Mall of America earlier in the day, so he stopped by to say hello! Here are a few pics:

Joan and I enjoying our front row seats!

Emma!

Kym!

Dancin

Mark, Val, & Dylan

Val came to the edge of the stage at the end! I slapped his hand. He had even smiled for this pic, but my camera was too slow!

The Mirror Ball trophy was in the lobby!

The following Saturday, I went to ‘Shaping Sound’ with my dance teacher from high school, Lori Dahlman! We again had front row seats at the Orpheum! And we were right in the middle. Travis Wall is one of the stars of this show and I love him from So You Think You Can Dance! This show was completely different from Dancing with the Stars. It was a story from beginning to end, and no real pauses for conversation with the audience or applause. It. Was. Incredible. They are a very talented group! And with our amazing seats, we could hear them breathe, and see sweat flying. They made eye contact with us too! It was great! Some pics:

Lori and I front row!

Bohemian Rhapsody. This was so cool!

Jaimie

The cast. Loved it! Travis is in the dark blue shirt and tan pants.