my y tri

Nels and my dad came down to celebrate Nels turning 27! Steve and Nels also did the My Y Tri at our YMCA. Their goal was to not stop or die, and they both met that goal! My dad and I took the boys to the mall for the Preschool Day so we had no part in the Tri.

matching shirts...

nice numbers...




We also had some birthday cake. I love this picture of Knuckles and his helpers!

We love you Knuckles!

Christie

My dear friend, Christie, was able to come and spend some time with us in Iowa. We had a great time! My highlight was spending the night in Des Moines at a hotel. It was so relaxing and fun to catch up and giggle! Steve (aka "Super Dad") stayed with the boys so we could get away. She is such a blessing to my family and I. She is preparing to move to Africa at the end of the month, and I am going to miss her like crazy.

We celebrated her birthday early, and Steve made a special brownie for her.

We love you Christie!

Henry's Birthday

(please don't mind Henry's band-aid...he also has a love for band-aids, I know nice right on his cheek!)
I can't believe Henry is already 2! Wow! Where does the time go? He is such a joy. His favorite things to do are to play trucks, sleep with lots of toys and pack things in bags. Seriously I think he could be on the show Hoarders! He has a TON of stuff he hides in his crib and sleeps with. He also hides things in the couch pillows, recliner, and anywhere else he can think of. Whenever we don't know where something in the house is we ask Henry.
We celebrated Henry's birthday on his birthday with our family. Jack had a blast going to the store and picking out things for Henry. He picked out chocolate donuts since those are Henry's favorite.

For Henry's present he bought him a shopping cart. Jack could hardly wait for Henry to open his things. Too cute! Our tradition is the birthday person gets to pick what the family eats for supper (a tradition my mom started with us when we were kids). For Henry we had homemade Mac&Cheese and broccoli. Henry LOVES broccoli. Steve made cupcakes for us to eat for dessert. Kim joined us too! Or "Tim" as Henry calls her.

Just this past weekend we had Henry's party. The Bolands, Kim, Bapa and Knuckles came. It was a fun night! We had pizza for supper and then Steve's amazing cake....Monster Truck! It was a great weekend, I didn't cook at all...my kind of weekend.

Jan 2011

We have had a busy month...but have managed to sneak in a little time to play in the snow and make snow ice cream.





We also celebrated Henry's birthday, but we're hoping to have his party this weekend so I will write a post about that once I get more pictures of his special cake that Steve will make. Always a fun surprise!

Family Picture...

We attempted a family picture....but this time it was Jack who just woke up and was not ready for our picture! At least we can say we tried.

Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone!

We have been in Cook since Wednesday night late when we made our journey north! The boys were great travelers and slept for some of the time (and yes I took a nap too!).

We celebrated Christmas with my dad and brother on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Dad made some yummy food for us to eat and we have been entertained with going for walks, having coffee with friends and snowshoeing! The boys love playing with my brother's old toys. The adults have also had some good laughs about PeeWee Herman, Chuck Norris and Karate Kid to name a few.

Tomorrow we head down to Duluth for a couple nights and to celebrate Christmas with the Stepecs. Should be lots of fun with all the little kids running around!

Here are some pictures to share:

Henry and Sawyer have had a lot of fun playing together, and are looking forward for more time to hang out!

Christmas Eve Henry scored a forklift from Knuckles....a big hit for everyone!


Going to bed Christmas Eve night in their matching pjs. Can you find Henry in his crib? He is in love with Lindi's Care Bears and has to sleep with both of them. This was before Henry had us up at 4:00am sick to his stomach!

Jack loves to sleep on the cot at the end of the bed. Too cute!

We are really blessed and have had a wonderful time with family and looking forward to more "Minnesota Fun"!

I'm back...

Here's a catch up in pictures....

September (jack turned 4! can't believe it!)


October (i had 3 batmans at my house)


November (Steve and I went to a wedding and the boys wanted to be in our picture)


December (getting ready for Christmas)