Disney 2010

Well, its been 6 months since our last post. I wish that means nothing major has happened in that time, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. The latest endeavor the Carlson family has attempted is Disney World with 3 small children - the youngest being 16 months. We had A BLAST!!!!!! despite Jansen trying his very best to make that not happen sometimes - lol. Note to self - if your child can not take a nap in a stroller and you can't trust them to walk on their own without going in the exact opposite direction that you are going (every single time), then its probably a pretty good idea to not bring that child to the happiest, most magical place on earth. I'll try and think of a clever way to get some pics out there, but here's a couple to whet your appetite

Carlson Closeup - Julia

Welcome to the second installment (of 4) of the Carlson Closeup. This time we are taking a deeper look into the enigma that is Julia. She is way too much like her Daddy sometimes, and while Daddy can look at her and know exactly how and what she is thinking, Mommy doesn't get either of us, so that provides for a very interesting dynamic between mother and daughter.

Our little girl (not so much anymore) is doing awesome in Kindergarten, and she is a beautiful little ballerina. She 'complains' about having to go to ballet, but I love catching her doing all the moves secretly in her room. I sat down with her and went through the same questions we asked Jake. She was chomping at the bit to do it as soon as Jake was done because, ya know, if something is done with him she HAS to do it too.

Q. Apple juice or orange juice?

A. Grape (only Julia would answer outside the parameters of the question)

Q. Are you a morning or night person?

A. Morning (for sure - she's our alarm clock)

Q. Which do you prefer, sweet or salty foods?

A. Sweet

Q. Ninjas or pirates?

A. Pirates

Q. What was your favorite childhood television program?

A. Wonder Pets

Q. Are you a collector of anything?

A. Barbies

Q. If you could be any animal, what would you be?

A. Crab - because they snap

Q. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

A. Super speed

Q. What is usually your first thought when you wake up?

A. Eating cereal

Q. What do you usually think about right before falling asleep?

A. Presents

Q. What's your favorite color?

A. The whole rainbow

Q. What's your favorite animal?

A. Sharks and dogs

Q. You're given 1 million dollars, what do you spend it on?

A. My own car

Q. Are you mostly a clean or messy person?

A. Clean

Q. Who are you going to marry?

A. Graham

Q. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

A. America

Q. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?

A. Australia

Q. What's your favorite song at the moment?

A. Barbie song and Hosanna by Brooke Frasier

Q. What's your favorite movie?

A. Barbie Princess and the Pauper

Q. Have any hidden talents?

A. Violin

Q. What would be your dream job?

A. Violin and ballet teacher

Q. Which would you rather have, 100 million dollars or true love?

A. True love

Q. If you could have 3 wishes granted, what would they be?

A. 1.Eight Pancakes. 2. Getting her own telephone. 3. Play in the orchestra

Q. If you HAD to change your name, what would you change it to?

A. Kabie (???)

Q. What's your favorite cookies?

A. Chocolate Chip

Next up on the Carlson Closeup - Kelly!

Carlson Closeup - Jake

I was trying to think of something clever to blog about and I thought, "What if I 'interviewed' the family and posted the answers in a blog. Add some cute pictures and BOOM - clever blog posting - well, clever to me anyways, so that's what you're gettin'.

I am asking the same 25 questions to every speaking member of the family, so this should be fun by the time we are done. Our first, victim, er... candidate is Jake. Since he is our middle-aged monster, I figured I would give him the honors in the inaugural Carlson Closeup.

Let's start with a little picture montage of our cuddliest little Carlson (you can click on the picture for a bigger version):

Isn't he our cute little fuzz bucket??

I had an interesting interview with the little monster. A lot of the answers needed a little coaxing, but these are very indicative of the cotton-topped cutie.

Q. Apple juice or orange juice?
A. Apple Juice

Q. Are you a morning or night person?
A. Night

Q. Which do you prefer, sweet or salty foods?
A. Sweet

Q. Ninjas or pirates?
A. Ninjas

Q. What was your favorite childhood television program?
A. The Backyardigans

Q. Are you a collector of anything?
A. puzzles and cars and trains (oh my)

Q. If you could be any animal, what would you be?
A. Elephant

Q. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
A. Be like Buzz Lightyear

Q. What is usually your first thought when you wake up?
A. Watch a show

Q. What do you usually think about right before falling asleep?
A. Dreaming

Q. What's your favorite color?
A. Blue

Q. What's your favorite animal?
A. Lion

Q. You're given 1 million dollars, what do you spend it on?
A. A fan (gotta love the childhood innocence)

Q. Are you mostly a clean or messy person?
A. Messy

Q. Who are you going to marry?
A. Mommy

Q. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
A. In the city - because he wants to drive

Q. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A. Disney world

Q. What's your favorite song of the moment?
A. Life is a Highway

Q. What's your favorite movie?
A. Cars

Q. Have any hidden talents?
A. playing

Q. What would be your dream job?
A. Firefighter

Q. Which would you rather have, 100 million dollars or true love?
A. True love

Q. If you could have 3 wishes granted, what would they be?
A. 1.Mac and Lightning. 2. Truck. 3. Mousetrap

Q. If you HAD to change your name, what would you change it to?
A. Fuzz Bucket

Q. What's your favorite cookies?
A. Valentine's Cookie

Next up on the Carlson Closeup - Julia!

2010 - Still waiting for global warming ....

Well, we've been freezing our tails off so far in 2010. Today was actually nice (sunny, 60 degrees, etc ..) UNTIL we actually decided to go to the park where the temperature dropped 20 degrees in like 5 minutes. We were enjoying a nice family stroll on a nature trail when all of a sudden Cold Front #137 blew in. Thank goodness Julia drew X's on the trail every 15 feet otherwise we would have never gotten back to our car :)


So it's been a while since I blogged. Being frozen to the core has stifled my writing creativity. Either that or it could be never getting a good break from work -lol. Here's a synopsis of key things that have happened since the last blog:
- Thanksgiving - my favorite holiday of the year
- Christmas - very special this year with my first nephew, John Carlson Busker, being born on Christmas Day!!!
- Car breaking down again - still working on getting it fixed
- Dead rat in the walls - it is still decomposing and yes it stinks
- Jansen is now completely mobile on his hands and knees - pulling up to his feet on EVERYTHING - if he's not walking in 2 months I will be surprised
- Jansen has like 8 teeth now!!! And we wonder why our nights were so bad around 12 weeks and after - ouch!
- Julia is reading like a superstar and is picking up the violin very quickly
- Jake is .... well he's Jake! I love that boy to death and I love holding him tight in my arms. He is starting to show glimmers of actually sitting down and learning

Whats to come ...
- some more recent pics of the family
- some interesting opining by me on some topics that are near and dear to my heart

Until then, the Crazy Carlson life goes on