A Trip to Mankato.

Not too much has been happening around here lately. The Vikings pulled a typical Vikings move, and just got their asses kicked against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game. They lost 38-7. It was pretty sad. So, it's the Eagles and Patriots in the Superbowl. I really could care less who wins the game, Tom Brady has 5 Superbowl rings which is just crazy, but the Philadelphia Fans were very rude and disruptive to the Vikings fans at the Eagles/Vikings game, so it really doesn't matter who wins.

This past Friday, Michelle came to eat supper with us and spend the night at our house because she had to fly out of the Sioux Falls airport at 5 in the morning. It was nice to see her and get to hang out with her for an evening. The kids enjoyed having a visitor and all the extra attention.

This past Saturday, we decided to go to Mankato for the day to visit Rachel, Carlos, and Elena. Mom and Dad also decided to drive up for the day and hang out with us for a few hours. We all met at Dino's, which is a pizza place, for lunch. After that, we headed back to Rachel's house to visit and let the kids play and run around. After a couple hours of that, we headed to the mall to do a little shopping and let the kids play in the play area. Everyone had a good time. We ate at Big Dog for supper, and then headed home.

We had no idea that the weather would get bad, but on the way home we ran into a terrible blizzard outside of Worthington. It was terrible visibility, cars were going in the ditch, and we were driving anywhere from 20-40 mph down the interstate. It sucked. So, when we finally go to Luverne, we pulled off and spent the night in the hotel. The kids were already asleep when we stopped, so they were very confused when we had to wake them up and bring them into a hotel room. Emma thought it was the greatest thing ever, we were bummed we didn't pack any swimsuits along!

When Elliott woke up in the hotel, he thought he was at home and wanted to go upstairs for a drink of water. He couldn't believe we weren't at home. It was pretty cute. Both kids liked the hotel, and wanted to know when we would be back.

Sunday morning, we pretty much ate breakfast and then headed back to Sioux Falls. We were all pretty tired since no one slept real great in the hotel, so we all had a nice big nap in the afternoon. It was glorious. After naps, we went to Scheels to ride the Ferris Wheel and play in the jungle gym. The kids had a good time and burned off some energy. By Sunday evening, we were all tired and ready to just relax at home.

Today, was back to reality and back to work. Overall, it was a good day, followed by a good workout, and John is cooking supper. So, I couldn't ask for much more than that. Happy Monday!

Elliott is still a morning boy

Elena's so happy to see us all 

Loving supper time 

Goofing around with Elena 

Sledding, Vikings, and January Fun!

Somehow January is three-quarters over, and I am not sure how that happened. We have been pretty busy here in the Nelson household, and time just keeps flying by.

Christmas passed in a hurry, and we have been enjoying our winter. We took the kids sledding a couple weekends ago, out in a cow pasture by Jim and Barb's house, and they had a really good time. There wasn't as much snow as we wished their was, but the kids thought it was wonderful. We would send the kids down the hill, and then Barb would go pick them up in the Honda, and bring them back to the top of the hill. It was a pretty slick system. They did really well with it all, and I think the kids would of stayed out there all day if we would have let them. But, eventually we got cold and wet, and headed back to the house for hot chocolate.

This past weekend, Emma didn't have school on Friday, so she spent the day with Grandma Barb, and she had a very good day. She spent a good chunk of the day at the mall, and Grandma bought her a kitty, named Snowy, at Build a Bear. Emma also had pretzels, and ice cream, and got to play in the play area and went to Scheels and played and went on the Ferris Wheel. I would say that Emma had a good day. She got a little spoiled by Grandma Barb.

When I picked Elliott up from daycare on Friday, it was about 45 degrees out, and sunny, so we impulsively decided to go to the zoo. We walked around and looked at most of the animals, which he thought was great, and then Emma met up with us there, and we visited the Dinosaur exhibit (which kinda freaked Elliott out) and I just let the kids play for a while in the museum. They had a lot of fun. I picked them up Happy Meals on the way home, and everyone was pretty satisfied after that.

Yesterday, Bethel had some basketball games at Good Shepherd, and the kids really enjoyed watching those and running around with the other kids. Later, the kids went to Jim and Barb's for the night so John and I could go to my Avera Christmas Party. It was at the Legion, and it was a pretty good time. Nice to see everyone outside of their work clothes. We were out until after midnight though, so everyone is kind of dragging their butts today.

John and I made a leap, and we joined Great Life. So far, we love it!! We have been pretty dedicated to going to the gym just about daily. Usually we alternate going, so one of us is always watching the kids. But, on the weekends, we have the option to go at the same time and the kids can go to free daycare while we workout, which we love. And the kids also love the play area, so that's a relief!! Hopefully we can continue to make good use out of our membership, and enjoy all the perks that go along with the Great Life Membership.

The Vikings have also been having a great year. They finished the season 13-3, and tonight they play in the NFC Championship Game against the Eagles. I am kinda nervous about it! If the Vikings can win, they will make their first Superbowl appearance since 1977. That's pretty crazy! And of course, the Superbowl is in Minneapolis this year, so that would be pretty special if they could be in it. Last week, the Vikings beat the Saints in a walk off win by getting a miraculous last-second touchdown. Hopefully, the game won't be quite so stressful this week and we can enjoy it a little more. Skol Vikings!!!!

That's been about everything that's been happening around here lately. I feel like the weeks just fly by, but luckily everyone has been staying pretty happy and healthy. Tonight, we are in a winter storm warning and we are supposed to get 4-8 inches of snow. The Monday morning commute might be interesting. Also, Emma might not have school. It's going to be an interesting Monday.

Skol Vikings!!

Loving his Train Pajamas 

Sledding!

Mornings with Dad

Babysitting Reese

Daycare Fun

Skol Vikings

Build a Bear fun

The Zoo!

A Nelson Christmas/Beginning of 2018

Last week was pretty quiet around the house. Like really quiet. The kids stayed out at Jim and Barb's house for 4 nights, and they had a great time. I guess they asked about us a couple times, but otherwise they were too busy to care where mom and dad were.

John and I took advantage of no kids in the house, and spent a couple nights eating out for supper, cleaned the house, and got some projects done around home. I missed the kids like crazy, but it was nice to have some quiet evenings at home and catch up on some things around the house.

On Saturday, we headed out to Jim and Barb's for Christmas on the Nelson side. By the time we got there, at like 10am, the kids were just dying to open presents. So, we passed out gifts and let them start opening pretty much as soon as we arrived. The kids got spoiled rotten, and got all kinds of new toys. Their biggest hits were paw patrol pillow beds, magic tracks, Mickey Mouse legos, crafts, and nerf guns.

We spent pretty much the whole day out on the farm playing with the kids and the new toys, eating too much, and just having a nice Christmas. We ate prime rib for dinner, which was delicious. It was a really fun time.

On New Year's Eve, we spent most of the day hanging out at home. It was -15 degrees outside, so it was nice to not have anywhere to be. By afternoon, the kids were getting kind of restless, so we took them swimming at the Midco Aquatic Center, with a Cherry Berry treat at the end. The kids had a great time, and we successfully wore them out. We spent the rest of the evening just relaxing at home and playing games. Nobody in the house made it to midnight, but we were ok with that. It was a fun New Year's Eve.

New Year's Day was pretty low-key as well. We pretty much lounged and just enjoyed a quiet day. My parents came to town in the afternoon. The kids were very excited to have new people to play with again, and we all enjoyed visiting. We went out to eat for supper, and then drove through Falls Park to see all the Christmas lights again.

On Tuesday, mom and dad stayed home with the kids while John and I went to work. They came to help watch the kids so we wouldn't have to take the day off from work. It sounds like everyone had a great day, and we had supper waiting for us when we got home. It was great!

Now, we are just trying to get back into a normal routine. Emma went back to school, and Elliott back to daycare today, and I think they were both ready for it. We are ready for normal bedtimes and normal routines.

Bring on 2018!

The Christmas presents

And the stockings

Trying out the Paw Patrol bed

It was a great Christmas

Fun at the Midco 

Happy New Year!!