Birthday time!

Another year has gone by and it is time to celebrate 10 years for Timothy!  he had the gift of a Friday  late start for his birthday, so we had plenty of time to celebrate in the morning.  Plus he was up at 6am to start the day!  He opened most of the gifts through out the morning and there was a Star Wars theme.  He had some Christmas tree cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  At school he got to share some cookies and enjoy some last day before break activities like watching movies.

Timothy chose Happy Joe's once again for his dinner out.  It was extra busy there this year, but we got the last table without a wait.  After yummy pizza, it was time for the special sundae and the whole restaurant singing Happy Birthday.

After dinner there was one more gift to open from Grandma Judy and a final card.  Then he got to have a sleepover with his friend Parker.  A pretty good day.

Today was the party day.  We had 8 kids including Timothy and Teresa.  Teresa got into the Star Wars mode with her Leia hair.  Timothy had fun being Kylo Ren with his new light saber and mask.

At the party we played some Minute to Win it games.  Some were really hard, some a bit easier, but they were all fun.  The morning went by quickly and soon it was time for presents and cake!

We wish a wonderful birthday to our boy.  He is growing up so much and continues to mature and show himself as a young man.  He loves outdoor play, Star Wars, Pokemon, playing tablet games, and playing with friends.  He has taken up chess this year and continues to be a quick learner.  He is a kind friend and brother and a tender-hearted boy.  He is a blessing!

First Christmas Celebration

We had our first Christmas celebration this past weekend.  We visited my aunt and were lucky to get to stay for two nights.  That let us have a bit more fun on Saturday.  There was a winter fest happening in town, so we took in some of the special events.

There was supposed to be a magician at the bank.  That did not happen, but there balloon animals, snacks and a chance to see Santa.  This is about the second time the kids have seen Santa ever.  Teresa was not so sure about it and would have skipped it if it were not for the bag of stickers and play dough the kids got after sitting on his lap.  Timothy asked for a Nintendo switch and a 3d printer.  Teresa wanted a puppy and to lose her tooth!


In the afternoon we went to an ice sculpture demonstration.  It was pretty amazing how they were able to craft a chunk of ice into a work of art.  We were all impressed! 


On Friday night, I should mention we had our gift exchange.  Aunt Mary gave me money to shop for everyone.  Timothy got a puzzle that he and Troy worked on.  Teresa got some light up boots and a dog coloring book.  The kids also had fun playing on the online advent calendar activities from Aunt Mary.  Timothy decorated a fancy gingerbread house.

Back to Saturday...after the ice sculptures, we went to the mall for a bit.  I thought a mall scavenger hunt would be fun.  In the end the visit was okay, but we had a few meltdowns and bits of greediness surface while walking around.  The kids saw Santa again when we happened upon him in a store.  Twice in one day--funny after years without visits! 


The kids made more thank yous for the pizza delivery guy and he happened to be the same one who got pictures before.  That was neat. I am so thankful for the chance to visit my aunt and make memories.  It was a great weekend together!

Thanksgiving fun

Our thanksgiving fun began with the decorating of our Christmas tree the night before our travels.  Then when we return, the house is all festive for us.  I guess it is our new tradition!

We had lots of family gatherings in our few days of vacation.  We had a pre-thanksgiving dinner with my parents and brothers.  We were excited to meet our new nephew and cousin Henrik who is already 2 months old!  And the kids had lots of great cousin time which even included two rounds of football, one of which was in the dark under the lights.

On Thanksgiving we went to Katie and Jason's and had a big gathering with some of Lisa's family.  The meal was tasty and again the kids had fun with their cousins.  The day was so nice, we were able to walk to the nearby falls and playground for an afternoon outing. 

Next it was onto Susie's for some time with Troy's side of the family.  We feasted again!  Teresa had some girl "cousins" to play with and Timothy played a little with the girls and his one young boy "cousin."  We enjoyed seeing Grandma Judy too.  Timothy and Grandma worked hard on a 1,000 piece puzzle which they were proud to complete.

And a few days after we returned from some great family time, it was cookie making time.  The kids helped me make and decorate (and eat!) some cut out cookies.  Lots of great memories!

Happy Halloween!

Another successful Halloween is behind us.  The whole month of October had some fun Halloween events.  We partied at Aunt Mary's.  We had several Halloween theme dinners.  We trick or treated at Hyvee.  And played Halloween bingo at Troy's Oktoberfest party.  So, last night was the actual holiday, but the whole month was fun!!

We carved pumpkins on Saturday morning.  I did not take any 'in process' pictures this year.  I scooped out all the guts and separated the seeds to roast.  Troy was going to carve both pumpkins.  he started with Teresa's chihuahua.  He cut out a head shape, then looked at it and discovered there was now a big head shape in the pumpkin and no where to carve a face.  I took over from there and managed a chihuahua face  with tiny eyes, nose and mouth in the chunk Troy had cut out.  I put the chunk bag in for the head and etched out a body and tail.  Teresa was pleased.  I thought we might have to get a new pumpkin for her, but it turned out with some creativity!

Timothy picked out a design online and Troy did a great job on that one!  Especially since we have never invested in those handy carving tools that make cutting easy.  Just kitchen knives for us!

The kids had a great day at school watching movies and having special snacks. Teresa was happy that she could wear her costume to school since it was normal clothes!

 I have given up on the theme dinner for Halloween night.  It is more the night for a quick dinner--although we did have some orange theme food!

Teresa dressed up as Evie from Disney's Descendants.  Her favorite part was her blue hair.  I should have gotten a better picture of that.  Timothy was the scream.  They both managed to stay warm even though it was the coldest Halloween in 11 years.  (At least that is what Troy reported from the news.)  Troy wore his Superman shirt (and was very chilled at the end despite is several layers!)  I said I was a cold mama and I was happy to come in when Teresa got cold!

Another very Happy Halloween!

Weekend Getaway!

The kids had a few days off from school, so we did a mini vacation to Madison.  We spent 3 nights and two full days and we jammed packed those days with fun! Of course it is always fun to stay with Aunt Mary.

On our first day we went to a new indoor playground that had trampolines and playground sets.  Timothy loved the trampolines and Teresa liked the monkey bars.  There were new and different swings, basketball hoops and soccer and football areas too.  Lots of fun!!

After the playground it was on to the zoo.  The weather was beautiful and it was not busy on a Thursday.  The only bummer were lots of bees--one of which gave Teresa her first bee sting at our picnic lunch.  We got to see some lions and even a cub that did not look so small anymore.  Timothy liked feeding the goats some leaves.

And the favorite part was an interactive sand table that showed the movement of water as you changed the landscape.  They spent more than 30 minutes playing with that!

When we returned from the zoo, we became bakers.  Teresa and Timothy helped me make cupcakes that we later decorated to be spiders for our Halloween dinner.  We had some mummy dogs for the dinner.

After dinner entertainment was the green spotlights in the hallway.  It does not take much to make the kids happy!


The next day I do not have pictures from, but it was busy too.  The morning was spent at another indoor playground.  The kids pretty much had the place to themselves!  In the afternoon, we went shopping at the dollar store with Aunt Mary and helped buy some things for shoe boxes.  Then we went to an outdoor playground and found lots of monkey bars and a roller style slide that we used to have in Grand Forks.  That kept them busy for a good long while.

Before our pizza dinner, we played some Halloween games like, ring the pumpkin, and toss the ball in the pumpkin, as well as a few other games.

It really was a fun weekend, with so much to do and time to spend with Aunt Mary.  Of course it was sad to leave on Saturday, but we are thankful for all the good memories!

Birthday Boy!

Troy's birthday celebration started out last night with a party with friends and neighbors.  It was supposed to be on his birthday, but more people had conflicts that night.  We put out a spread of some of Troy's favorites...bread, cheese and olives.  That often is a theme for his dinner.  We were just missing the olive oil!  But add veggies, cold cuts and fruit and it made for an easy kid friendly dinner too.


Teresa surprised Troy with a Happy Birthday song on the keyboard.  She had been practicing all week.  He also got a little gag gift of a tiny guitar from some friends.  The kids helped me put out some super hero decorations as Troy chose that for his theme this year.  I made a couple little cookie cakes.  One was a Captain America cake and one was Superman.





Today, his birthday is a little more low key.  A work day and some family time tonight.  We kept the presents for the evening celebration.


Troy picked Junction 21 for his birthday dinner.  He loves the cod there.  It was a nice night, but a bit breezy so we did not actually sit outside--just snapped a picture.  Teresa was happy to see Mrs. Clothier, her 1st grade teacher who works as a waitress at the restaurant.  We watched baseball, shared birthday trivia and munched popcorn as we waited for the food.  Everyone had a good dinner.

Back at home we enjoyed treats from the party and left over cake from Timothy's Italy project.  Troy opened his gifts getting something to wear, something to read, something he wanted and something he needed.


His request this year was a superman shirt.  Teresa was happy to sport her super girl dress and match her daddy!  After presents we went for a walk under the stars.  Teresa wanted to play Happy Birthday one last time before bed.  That turned into a little jam session with Troy and the kids.

All in all, it was a delightful few days of celebrating a very special husband and father.