Basketball Games

 Another couple of weeks have flown by, and we continue to stay busy. Last weekend, we had a pretty busy weekend. On Friday, we had Rachel and Hannah Tomczak over for a sleepover. We took them to the MidCo to go swimming, and then went back to our house to play and spend the night. 

The kids did great. They played, explored, and then got into Nintendo Switch for the rest of the night. Rachel and Elliott really enjoyed that, while Hannah and Emma spent the evening watching a Harry Potter movie in Emma's room on the projector. 

On Saturday, we brought the Tomczak kids home, and then helped take down Christmas Decorations. After that, we packed up the tired kids, and brought them out to the farm so John and I could go to my work Christmas Party. We had a pretty good time at the Christmas party. We went to Vinyl Taco again, played some games, had some drinks, and ate some food. After Vinyl Taco, we went to Lucky's for a little while, and then we were home by 7:00pm. We had fun, but I had plenty to drink, and it was nice to call it an early night. I went to bed at 9:00pm, and felt great the next day!

On Sunday, it was around 30 degrees and sunny, so John finally convinced me to go ice fishing. We went to Lake Vermillion, and didn't get a single bite. It was pretty exciting. After 3 hours out there, I was ready to leave, and John decided to pack up and leave too. The Vikings also lost their playoff game to the New York Giants, so it was just all around a swell day. We ate supper at Jim and Barb's house, finished up some homework with the kids, and then headed home. What. A. Weekend. 

This past week flew by pretty quickly, but we actually weren't super busy. The kids had basketball practice two nights, and I had a women's bible study, but other than that we were actually home and enjoyed our evenings. 

This past weekend, the kids had their first Bethel Basketball Games of the year. Elliott is playing on C squad, and he played his first basketball game ever. It was pretty cute (and stressful) to watch the second graders playing basketball. They all tried really hard, but they have a lot of fundamentals to work on, which is to be expected! They ended up losing by 20 points to Good Shepherd, but the kids they were playing agains had some experience already. Elliott did pretty well, all things considered. He was playing post, and he had some good rebounds and passes. He definitely improved as the game went on. He had some great hustle and tried his hardest, so that's all I could ask for. 

Emma played on B team, and there are only 5 players on B squad, so they all played the whole game. Emma did pretty well. She is way better than she was last year, but she definitely was playing like she was nervous and timid. I'm hope to see more aggressive play from her as the season goes on. But, she played great help defense, got some great rebounds, hustled up and down the court, and even scored a basket. The B team won by 10 points or so, and had a pretty good game. There is room for improvement, but they were fun to watch. 

Emma is also on A team, but just as a sub. She went in for a couple minutes on Friday's game, just to get a little experience She did pretty well, but was intimidated by the tall players on the other team. It was a fun evening, but it got kind of long with 3 games. We didn't get home until after 9:00 pm with cleanup. 

Saturday was a fun day. John went fishing at Lake Thompson, so the kids and I had the day to ourselves to do whatever we wanted. We knocked some homework out, and then we went to SkyZone after lunch to let the kids wear off some energy. They jumped for a solid 2 hours, before we left. After SkyZone, I forced the kids to go to Costco with me, on a Saturday. They almost died, but there were samples at Costco, so they ended up loving it. I think Elliott said he ended up eating 11 different samples. He was in heaven. And then I spent $300. So, I guess it was a successful trip. 

After Costco, we went to PetCo to get some cat food and toys, and then we finally made it back home. We spent the evening relaxing at home, and baking cupcakes for Sunday School. 

Today, was a catch up day. The kids sang in church, and John went to the Voter's meeting, and then we are just kind of vegging at home. I went to the gym, Emma and John and napping, and we are watching some playoff football games. I like these chill days sometimes. Oh, and Elliott's been on his Ipad for like 3 hours, so that's how he is spending his day. 

Tonight, we are going to eat supper somewhere, and then continue relaxing and slowly easing into another week. This next week looks busier, with a YMCA basketball game for Emma on Monday night, basketball practices, and the never-ending homework. Then, this weekend we have another Bethel Basketball game, and my parents are coming to town for the weekend. 

This will definitely be a busy week. But, the days are getting a little longer, so there is hope for spring to come someday!!

Christmas Party Fun 

Bethel Basketball 

My basketball boy

Spoiled kitty

January Updates

 We are quickly approaching the middle of January already. Again, time seems to just continue to fly by. These past couple of weeks have mostly just been getting back into a routine. Last week, a couple days of school were cancelled due to the weather, so John worked from home and tried to keep at the craziness under control. 

Otherwise, last week, both kids started basketball practice. Elliott was pretty excited to be able to play basketball this year. There is going to be a C team that the second graders will be on, so that will be fun to watch. It's going to be like herding cats, but it will be cute. And frustrating. Emma was also excited, but she's already been playing basketball since November, so she's not quite as pumped as Elliott, but she's having fun as well. 

This past weekend was crazy busy. On Friday, after school, I took the kids sledding at Spellerberg Park. They had a blast, and the hill was pretty quiet which was nice. We only lasted about an hour because it was pretty cold out, but we had a good time. After the sledding, we went home and had some hot cocoa, and then went to the Stampede Game. It was Wizard Night, so both kids wore some version of a Harry Potter costume. Emma absolutely loved the game. There was a Harry Potter themed scavenger hunt with prizes, so she loved that. And there was also a photo booth and trivia. The Polzins were also there, so Emma and Hannah spent the game together, and Elliott and Jacob spent the game together. They had a blast!

On Saturday morning, we participated in the Frosty Frolic. We walked a 5K on the bike trail from Spencer Park to Yankton Trail Park. It was a beautiful morning. There was frost on the trees, and it was just quiet and beautiful. It was only about 6 degrees out, so we bundled up and got to walking. Elliott almost died, and did not handle the walk well. But, Emma seemed to enjoy it, and John and I liked it as well. It was a fun way to spend a morning. We ate some breakfast at Hy-Vee afterwards to warm up a little. In the afternoon, John and Elliott went ice fishing, while Emma and I went to the gym and just enjoyed an afternoon at home. 

On Sunday, we went to church, and then we brought the kids to the Midco for a Boga Board lesson. Basically, it was a form of yoga/exercise on a board that you are balancing on in the water. The kids really enjoyed it. John and I watched the Jacks Championship game on the sidelines while the kids swam (The Jacks beat NSDU by the way and claimed their first ever National Championship Title, it was awesome). 

After the swimming, we rushed home to shower and change kids, and then we headed to East Way bowl for our 4-H Christmas Bowling Party. We spent two hours bowling, and then ate supper at Pizza Ranch. It was a fun day, but holy cow, it was tiring. 

This past week has been a little on the stressful side. Emma continues to struggle in school, and I sat down with Emma and her teacher, and we hopefully figured out some things to help Emma in school. She did get 100% on her social studies test yesterday, so that was a good sign. Emma had a basketball game on Tuesday night, and her team won. Emma didn't play her best game, but she hustled and played hard, and I was still proud of her. 

Yesterday after school, we celebrated a good ending to a bad week with some Juice Stop. I have today off with the kids because it is the end of the second quarter. We have been cleaning, doing some reading and memory work, and just enjoying a quiet day. Pretty soon, we are going to pick up Hannah and Rachel, and go to Midco for some swimming and then they are coming to our house for a sleepover. The kids want to play Nintendo, play outside, and have a movie night tonight with them. They are very excited. 

We also got our new kitchen table today!! We ordered it back in September, and it finally arrived today. I really like it, and I hope it's the last kitchen table we ever have to buy. It's an amish, custom made table, and I really like it. 

The rest of the weekend is fairly busy. Tomorrow, we have to un-decorate the church, and then I have my work Christmas Party at Vinyl Taco. The kids are going out to Grandma and Grandpa's house so we can go to the Christmas party, and then possibly go downtown. On Sunday, after church, John wants to take me ice fishing, so we will see how that goes. 

Here's to the beginning of another year being busy!!

Bowling Party 

Our New Table 

Sledding...Brrr

Ringing in 2023

 Well, here we are, the second day of 2023 already. I just went back and skimmed my first post of 2022, and I feel like I can agree with most of what I set as goals, and I feel like I did a pretty good job on them. 

Goals for 2023:

1. Health and fitness. This is always a goal every year, and every year I do pretty well, but I can always improve. I have a good habit of going to the gym, but my eating habits and fallen a little bit this past year. I want to get back on track and increase my fruit and veggie intake, and just eat generally healthier meals. I'd like to decrease the amount of chips and candy we have in the house, especially for the sake of the kids to keep them in line a little bit. The holiday eating always gets pretty crazy and now it's time to rain it in a little. 

2. Reading. I still love reading, and I want to continue to spend time reading good books. However, the kids have decreased their reading a little. I make them read most evenings, but over the holidays and on busy days it doesn't always happen. And I want to read a book like The Wizard of Oz with them, and then talk about themes and lessons within the story. Both kids could work on their critical thinking and comprehension skills. So, more of that in our life. 

3. Music. The kids are both taking piano lessons, and doing pretty well. I just want to encourage more general playing and lesson time. We squeeze in the bare minimum, and I would like to encourage both kids and myself to play more often. It's very therapeutic. 

4. Travel. I want us to plan more trips. A trip to Duluth. A trip to the Cities. A trip to Chicago. They don't have to be huge trips, but a couple more longer weekend trips to explore the area. Some with kids, some without kids. That's what I want for 2023. 

5. Solid Family Time. Sometimes we fall into the rushing, stressing loop that weeknights can bring. I would like us to slow down, spend time together, and limit the Ipad/Nintendo time. We already limit their time, but I think we need to limit it a little more, and do more activities in the evenings. Not every evening, but at least a couple times a week. Time flies, and the kids keep getting more independent, and I just want to spend as much time with them as I can, before they become totally independent. 

Those seem like 5 solid goals for 2023. I know they aren't specific and measurable, but I feel good about them and want to work hard at doing my best with these things. 

Cheers to a great 2023!!

Books I read in 2022

 I love to read, and I love the library. So, I end up ready a lot of books. I started writing down my books and rating them last year, and I continued it this year. This past year I read 49 books. That's almost one book a week. That's pretty good, considering how busy we are most weeks. Here's my list. 

1. Sorry, Not Sorry- Alyssa Milano. ****

2. The Wish-Nicholas Sparks. ***

3. That Summer-Jennifer Weiner. ***

4. Greenlights-Matthew McConaughey. ***

5. Malibu Rising-Taylor Jenkins Reid.***

6. The Guest List-Lucy Foley. ****

7. You Got Anything Stronger?-Gabrielle Union. ****

8. Small Great Things-Jodi Picoult. ****

9. E.R. Nurses-James Patterson & Matt Eversmann. ****

10. The Children's Blizzard-David Laskin. ****

11. The Perfect Family-Robyn Harding. ***

12. The Red Book-James Patterson & David Ellis. ***

13. Winter Counts-David Heska Warbli Weider. ****

14. Will-Will Smith. ***

15. I'm Still Here-Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness- Austin Channing Brown. ***

16. Two Sisters Detective Agency-James Patterson & Candice Fox. ***

17. The Case for Easter-Lee Strobel. ****

18. The President's Daughter-James Patterson & Bill Clinton. ***

19. Taste-My Life Through Food-Stanley Tucci. ****

20. Fear No Evil-James Patterson ***

21. The Paper Palace-Miranda Cowley Heller ****

22. The Woman in the Window-A.J. Finn. ****

23. The Comfort Book-Matt Haig. ****

24. The Other Mrs.-Mary Kubiak. Audiobook. ***

25. A Slow Fire Burning-Paula Hawkins. ***

26. We Were Never Here-Andrea Bartz. **

27. You, Happier-Daniel Amen, MD. ****

28. Run, Rose, Run-James Patterson & Dolly Parton ****

29. Healing, When a Nurse Becomes a Patient-Teresa Brown. ***

30. The Club-Ellemy Lloyd. ***

31. The Paris Apartment-Lucy Foley. ***

32. The Mothers and Daughters of the Bible Speak Lessons on Faith from 9 Biblical Families-Shannon Bream ***

33. Death of the Black Widow-James Patterson. **

34. Escape-James Patterson. ***

35. What Girls Need, How to Raise Bold, Courageous, & Resilient Women-Marisa Porges, PhD. ***

36. Sing You Home-Jodi Picoult. ***

37. Beneath a Scarlet Sky-Mark Sullivan. ****

38. 22 Seconds-James Patterson. ****

39. Songs of the Humpback Whale-Jodi Picoult. ***

40. Her Last Affair-John Searles. **

41. The Office BFFs-Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. ****

42. Before We Were Yours-Lisa Wingate. ****

43. The Basoon King-Rainn Wilson. Audiobook. ****

44. Steal-James Patterson & Howard Roughen. ***

45. Live in Love-Lauren Akins & Mark Dagostino. ****

46. NYPD Red 7-James Patterson & Marshall Karp. ****

47. Shattered-James Patterson & James O Born. ****

48. After I Do-Taylor Jenkins Reid. ****

49. They Walked with God-Max Lucado. ****

My books are rated of a scale from 1 star to 4 stars. There really isn't any special thing that I am ranking them by. It's basically whether I liked the book or not. And some of the books I am biased towards. I am a nurse, so the nursing related ones I enjoyed and ranked higher. Also, I really like James Patterson, so I read a lot of books by him, and I am a Christian, so I enjoyed reading those religious books as well. And I am a fan of the Office and I liked autobiographies, so those are books I just tend to enjoyed. But, feel free to steal some ideas from my list if you would like. I know I always like to find a good book. 

My favorite book was probably Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan. I really enjoyed that read, and it stayed with my a while. And I also enjoyed You, Happier by Daniel Amen, MD. It just had some really good tips on how to live a happier life and to just be happier, which I think everyone can use. 

Happy New Year!!

Christmas in Minnesota-on New Year's Eve.

 We just finished up our final Christmas for the year. We headed to Minnesota on Saturday morning (which was Christmas Eve) to celebrate Christmas with my side of the family. The kids made it back home on Friday evening. So, we quickly upacked all their clothes/toys/etc and then packed some bags up again. They got to spend one night in their own bed, before we had to hit the road again and have more Christmas Celebrations. 

We made it to Mom and Dad's house around 11:00am. We got unpacked, and Grandma Mary was there delivering gifts. So, the kids got to open a couple presents right away, and then they got to talk to Grandma Mary and give her some hugs, so that was pretty sweet. 

We pretty much just had snackies for the day, so we got those set up and ready. Everyone else arrived around 1:00pm or so. We all ate some food, visited, and played a game, and then it was time to go to the Children's Christmas Eve program. It had gotten cancelled the week before because of the weather, so we were able to attend the actual Christmas program, which was nice. Mom and Dad sang in the choir, and we enjoyed a nice program. 

After the program, we headed back to mom and dad's house and it was present time. The kids were excited to dig into their presents. Everyone got spoiled, and enjoyed their gifts. Then, we exchanged white elephant gifts, which is always a good time and a good laugh. 

In the evening, we played some games, ate some more food, and just enjoyed each other's company. Ryan and Emily left around 10:00pm. The kids wanted to stay up until midnight since it was New Year's Eve, so we allowed it. We stayed up, watched the ball drop, yelled Happy New Year, and then we all went to bed. 

The next morning, Mom, Dad, and John went to church, and the rest of us slept in. Emma slept until around 10:00 am, which was a good thing. We spent the day helping the kids set up some of their new toys. We enjoyed a ham and scalloped potato dinner, and then we decided to go to Gibbon and bowl. It was actually pretty fun. It was nice to get out of the house and do something different, and the bowling was pretty fun. We all sucked pretty bad, but it was still fun. It helped to drink a little beer as we were bowling. 

By the time we got back to mom and dad's house it was time to pack up and head home. We got home around 7:30pm, unpacked, and then got the kids ready for bed. They went back to school today, and they were not super impressed about that. But, they both have basketball practice at the end of the day, so they are pretty excited about that. 

John and I have today off since New Year's Day fell on a Sunday. He's out ice fishing right now, and then we are preparing for a big winter storm. It's supposed to start snowing today, and we are supposed to get anywhere from 10-19 inches of snow. And there might be some ice and wind, and all that good stuff as well. So, we will see what happens. It sounds disgusting and that there may not be school tomorrow. And I'm not sure how I will get to work either. 10 inches of snow is a lot of try to plow through. Fingers crossed that they over-estimated the snow totals. 

Otherwise, we are just trying to get back into a routine around here. We will have basketball to keep us busy the next few weeks. And Sunday School starts again, and homework, and all the things. Here's to 2023 and all the great things this year will bring!

Cousin Time 

Bowling Fun