Happy Birthday Auntie Ang!

You are an all around amazing person! Sister in law, aunt, and wife. We are so blessed to have you in the family! We love you Ang!

The Power Of Water

I have found a new passion thanks to my friend Sarah! With my love of running and my recent foot injury I was told by my Doctor to get in the pool. With Sarah being an athlete herself, she introduced me to water running. The AquaJogger is a buoyancy belt which allows your head to float comfortably above the water, breathe normally, and accomplish most of the same workouts achieved on land with no-impact! What a life savor this has been for me, I highly recommend it!

Hey,Where Is Our Breakfast?

When we built our house I always envisioned children sitting around the kitchen counter in their pajamas watching cartoons waiting for breakfast. This past weekend we put a booster on one of the stools for Henry. I had a major flashback! Can you tell they are siblings or what?

Would You Be My Valentine?

With Valentines Day around the corner Mea has began to make Valentines for all her friends. While she was busy working on them it was the perfect time to get some cleaning done. To my surprise she had a Valentine for me! I unfolded the piece of paper to this beautiful picture! She began to tell me that it was her picking me a sunflower inside a heart, of course I had to frame it! What a little artist!

A Ride With Rizo

It felt so good to be outside this weekend! After several weeks of temperatures in the single digits 40 degrees felt quite balmy!

Happy Birthday Uncle Nick!

Happy 22nd Birthday! We love you!

We Have Teeth!

I was so reluctant to do this post, five days ago Henry's bottom two teeth cut! When Mea was this age her teeth would appear then disappear. This would go on for weeks! I am so happy for Henry, every day they are more and more visible. Hooray!!!

I Have Been Cloned!

It is amazing to me how much we truly influence our children's lives. Mea wakes up most mornings to see me in this attire. One morning she decided to go into a drawer full of my workout clothes and the next thing I knew, I was cloned! Mea informed me "I want to be strong like you mama!" You melt my heart Mea.

Look at those muscles!

The Game Farm

Our uncle Jack has the most beautiful game farm only minutes from our house! It is full of elk, deer and wild turkeys. For the past two years it has been Meas very most favorite place to go with Hank. With the snow falling this weekend it was picture perfect!

Henry loved them! He kept saying "deer! deer! deer!"

Congradulations Mike and Ang!

We are so happy to share the news! Our dear friends Mike and Angela Hoff are expecting there first child in June! It's so fun to see your tummy grow Ang! We love you guys!

An Indoor Snowman?

With the weather being sub -40 this past week Bumpa (my dad) had some time off and decided to pick Mea up from school and keep her for a few days! Bumpa is so creative. They had snowball fights with blankets, lots of hot chocolate and my favorite they filled the sink with snow and made an indoor snowman!

Bumpa, you are the best! XOXOX

Something All Of My Own

My heart belongs to my family, god, good friends and my love of running. I have been recently reminded of how important these things are to me.
Adrenaline junkie I am. I love pushing my body to extremes and feeling the physical and mental empowerment that comes with it. Three weeks ago I began feeling pain in my right foot. I took it easy on myself hoping like previous times it would go away. It got to the point where it was uncomfortable to even sleep. Stubborn me finally called the Doctor. X-rays and an MRI found I have bone bruises in my foot (fibers in the bone break and pool with blood), chronic repetitive injury with partial tearing of the ligament, ganglion cyst (occurs by overuse of a specific joint) on the dorsum of the foot, and finally mild degenerative change on the base of my fourth and fifth metatarsals. Ten years of distance running I guess will do this to your body.
Recovery will mentally be challenging for me. Running is something all of my own, just me and my thoughts. Oh, how I miss you!

Who Needs Toys!

If you ever stop buy the Martinsen household I promise at least two, if not all four of our bathrooms will look like this!

I hope I never leave the bathroom with that much toilet paper attached to me!

Look out Henry, your big sis has an idea!

Uncle Nick

As I watch my little brother interact with my children many fond memories of the silly sibling relationship we had come back to me. Like my dad, I see Nick being a kid at heart forever!

Mea adores her Uncle Nick!

Crazy For Cats

Mea and Henry both have a love for cats, knowing this my parents over the past two years have adopted two. Last Christmas all Mea asked for was a real kitty. With Hanks allergies we could never give her one. A week before Christmas on a below zero evening my parents heard a cat meowing. They looked out the window and hiding under a Christmas tree was a kitten. (This is no lie!) My mother went out and rescued the cat and I guess you could say it was meant to be. The next kitten came into the picture last summer. My childhood cat which my parents have had for the past 20 or so years was dieing. Snuggles was special, and boy did Mea love her. With the grief of the situation my mom and Mea adopted a kitten together and named it baby Snuggles. It is so funny to see cats in my parents house, they were never allowed when I was growing up! I guess cats should not be in my house either, but I cave in for a visit every now and then!

Yes, Henry is a cat lover too! Did I mention his first word was kitty!

The Taste Of A Snowflake

What a perfect evening to catch snow flakes! Every time it snows Mea and I will lay outside and see how many snow flakes we can catch!

"Help Mommy!"

Looking back I find my first born Mea was much more eager to be independent. No way would I have been able to help her learn to self feed. Henry on the other hand kept opening his mouth wider and wider looking at me as if I should be feeding him!

"We Love Our Cousins!"

Thank you for the fun week Nina, Ike and Sol! Mea and Henry are looking forward to your next visit up north! XOXOX

"Happy New Year!"

New Years Eve with 5 children, priceless! I can honestly say it was the best! There sure was a lot of laughing! What a great night!

Happy New Year my sweet boy!

The noise makers were a hit!

Mea told me her New Years wish was to have ice cream with Nina everyday!

Making Noise!

We are so lucky to spend the week visiting with "the cousins" as Mea calls them. The girls have been inseparable!

What could be more fun then making noise makers on New Years Eve?
Paper plates filled with noodles, what fun!

Auntie Stef, Mea is going to be heart broken when Nina goes home!

The Beauty Of Winter

There is nothing more beautiful then being in the woods covered in a blanket of snow.....

and seeing a sweet little face enjoying it too!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Make a Smilebox greeting

"It's A Christmas Parade!"

With all the excitement Christmas can bring our family spaces each gathering. We are able to enjoy each others company and gifts, instead of all at once! Last night we celebrated with my family. Thank you Nana, Bumpa, Nick and Ang for the wonderful night!

Mea decided her and Henry were in a parade!

I love making the table look special....

for very special people!

A Birthday Gift From God

Everyone that knows Hank would say this was quite the gift from God! What a beautiful day for a rewarding hunt. Way to go Daddy!

A Birthday Tradition

Last year Mea gave Hank roasting sticks and marshmallows for his birthday. They love having campfires during the summer so she decided they could roast marshmallows in the fireplace! Well, she did not forget about them this year. I think they have made a tradition!

"Happy Birthday Daddy!"

Henry Is Crawling!

Mr. Mellow can move! Last week Henry decided he would like to explore and began to crawl. I think he has a love for the woods already! He has been crawling under the tree and hiding. Oh no Grandma Sue, we have another little hiding Hankie!

"Happy Birthday!"

I am so grateful for this day! In so many ways December 19th was the start of everything that matters most to me. Thirty one years ago, your mother brought you into this world. I am forever grateful for the amazing man she raised you to be.
Thirteen years ago, two teenagers were beginning to fall in love. December 19th was the day you asked me to be your girlfriend! We had no idea how much our love would grow, that the attraction that first brought us together would lead to a lifetime of happiness and two beautiful children.
Not only is today the celebration of your birth, it is the celebration of the start of the wonderful life we created together! No doubt about it, December 19th is the luckiest day of my life!
"Happy Birthday Hankie!"
XOXOXOX