January Catch Up

 I haven't blogged in like 3 weeks, but in my defense, there hasn't been a whole lot going on around here. We have been keeping busy, but just with the normal day to day things. 

Basketball has continued for Emma. Her YMCA league continues to play well, and now Bethel has started up. So, far Bethel has just had practices but their first game is on Friday. Emma continues to improve with her basketball skills and she is getting really fun to watch. I love that she loves basketball. 

Elliott has just started basketball practice at Bethel, and it seems to be going really well. His first game is on Friday also, and I am super pumped to watch him play. It's always an adventure to watch 3rd graders play basketball, especially his class. He is really excited about it, and I think he is going to be a lot more aggressive this year. 

We are also staying busy with archery this year. Both kids have been going on Tuesday evenings, and they are enjoying it. Elliott really likes it, and I think that Emma just tolerates it. But, it's a fun skill to watch them improve with, and if they happen to qualify for State and want to go shoot in Pierre that would be pretty cool.

A couple weekends ago, we went to an Augustana hockey game at the Denny. They were really fun to watch. It's pretty exciting to watch D1 college hockey after watching the Stampede be mediocre for so many year. We brought Katie with us, and we all had a really good time. I think we will be going to more hockey games in the future. 

Otherwise, we have had some pretty cold weekends the last couple weekends, so we just stayed home and watched football and cleaned and organized the house. We ended up getting a lot of the house cleaned, and we got rid of a lot of stuff, so that was satisfying. We also have been watching some Home Improvement, spending lots of time with Legos, reading, and John and Elliott have discovered the Nintendo Switch again. I also started my huge Diamond Art, so I have been spending some time with that. 

We are also staying busy with work and school. No big news there, we just continue to spend time doing homework, working through the catechism, and staying on the kids to stay on top of their work and not Ipad constantly.

Basketball pictures at school, I love them!

Made Hot Cocoa Bombs 

Basketball YMCA league 

Snow!

Augie Hockey 

Happy New Year 2024

 Happy New Year! Somehow it is 2024!

This past weekend has been pretty fun. On Friday, Jim and Barb brought the kids to town, and John met them at Fizolis (I was working). Then, the kids were home again, and pretty happy to home. 

On Friday we went to Bethel to the gym to play pickelball and let Emma drive her drone around. After that, we headed to Triple Play Cards for another reveal party/drawing. This time we didn't win anything, but the kids still got a couple free Pokemon things. And Elliott found some new cards to add to his collection again. Then we went home and enjoyed a quiet evening. The kids played of their Ipads and John and I watched some Yellowstone. 

On Saturday, John took Emma to the Kitty Cafe in the morning. She LOVED it. She wouldn't stop talking about all the cats, and the smoothie she had, and she wants to work there when she's older. 

Meanwhile, I took Elliott to Dave and Buster's and we enjoyed some arcade time. We spent about an hour playing games and racking up tickets. Then, I took him to a new candy store in town and we picked out some bulk candy, and then finally I got him a smoothie at Scooters. We had a great day. 

We spent the rest of the day at home. We enjoyed some snacks and movies in the evening, and just enjoyed some family time. 

On Sunday, we went to church, and then the boys packed up to go ice fishing in Watertown. They spent the afternoon/evening fishing, and then stayed the night in a hotel in Watertown. They did finally catch some fish, and even kept one to clean. Today, they are fishing again, and then once it gets quiet they will head back home. 

Emma and I enjoyed some girl time yesterday. Emma helped me clean church, and then we went to the movie "Wonka" at Cinema theatre. We got some popcorn and candy and enjoyed a really good movie. We had plans to eat at Cracker Barrel afterwards, but we were too full, so we went home instead. We worked on some art projects, flew Emma's drone, and then watched a movie. Emma wanted to stay up until midnight, but when I was showering at 10:30pm, she put herself to bed. 

Today, we are just chilling. I decided to catch up on blogging, Emma's reading a book, and we have plans to go shoot hoops in a while. 

I also made some personal goals for 2024:

1. Blog more often. I need to try to blog once a week or at least once every two weeks, so I don't have to blog 5 posts in a row to catch up. Plus, I would remember more details and do a better job if I kept up on it. 

2. Read more books. I need to find more time for reading. I don't even watch very much TV, but we do put sports on a lot in this house, so maybe I need to cut back on that and read more. Also, throw in nonfiction and self-help, faith-based books as well. So good for the soul. 

3. Lose 25 pounds. I joined Noom again, and I'm pretty excited about that. I had good luck with that last time, so I'm excited to try it again. I do already go to the gym quite often, now I need to focus on nutrition and eating better. 

4. More quality time with the kids. I need to be better about having game night, or activities to do with the kids. We spend a lot of time together, but sometimes it's with them on their Ipad, and us on our phones, and we need to be better. The years go too fast to waste our time together. 

5. Keep Traveling. I have never regretted any trips we have taken. Both with kids and without kids. I want us to be good about continuing to plan and take the trips as they come our way. We only have so many years left to travel with our kids. 

6. Experiment with meals. I want to keep trying new foods and recipes, sometimes the things the kids end up loving really surprises me. 

7. One on one time with the kids. I love taking one kid at a time to do something. They are so different when they are by themselves with me. I love the talks and things I learn when we have one on one time. 

8. One on one time with John. Also important to get our alone time and date nights in. This is much easier now that the kids can stay home alone. We need to keep planning date night-and surprise ones sometimes are great as well. 

These are the things I plan to focus on in 2024. I'm looking forward to all the things that will come with the new year. 

Happy New Year!!

Books I read in 2023

 I don't know what happened, but I wasn't as productive reading books this last year as years past. Our evenings are a little fuller than they used to be, so that could be part of it. But, I still enjoy reading and try to fit some in every day, although that doesn't always happen. 

I kept track of all the books I read, and I rated them out of 4 stars. If there are any extra memorable things about the book, I will include that as well. 

Here are the books I read in 2023:

1. The Ninth Month- James Patterson and Richard DiLallo **

2. Dying of Politeness- Geena Davis ***

3. Triple Cross- James Patterson. ****

4. Accidental Rancher- Eliza Blue ****

5. Fairy Tale- Stephen King ****

6. Friends, Lovers, and The Big Terrible Thing- Matthew Perry ****

7. Wrong Place, Wrong Time- Gillian McAllister. ***

8. Verity. Colleen Hoover. ****

9. City Under One Roof- Iris Yamashita. ***

10. The Light We Carry- Michelle Obama. ****

11. It Starts with Us- Colleen Hoover. ****

12. Dreamland- Nicholas Sparks. ***

13. Mad Honey- Jodi Picoult/Jennifer Boylan. ****

14. Diana, William, and Harry- James Patterson-audiobook. ***

15. Storyteller- Dave Grohl, audiobook. ****

16. Ugly Love- Colleen Hoover. ***

17. All the Dangerous Things-Stacy Willingham. ***

19. Someone Else's Shoes- JoJo Moyes. ****

20. The House of Wolves- James Patterson/Mike Lupica ****

21. Spare- Prince Harry ****

22. The 23rd Midnight- James Patterson ****

23. Winter Garden- Kirsten Hannah. **** (I sobbed in this book, but so good)

24. Night Read- Kristen Hannah ****

25. Someone We Know- Shari Lapera ***

26. Real Women of the Bible- Dr. Paul Kelm ***

27. Soul Care- Amber Albec Swenson ****

28. The Four Winds-Kristen Hannah**** (This one was also amazing)

29. Stories to Change your Life- Mike Novoty ****

30. The Surgeon's Daughter- Audrey Blake **** ( I really like this one too!)

31. Obsessed- James Patterson/James O Born ****

32. All Fall Down- Jennifer Weiner ***

33. Just the Nicest Couple- Mary Kubica ****

34. Count Down: A Thriller- James Patterson/Brendon Dubois ****

35. The Secrets We Keep- Laura Prescott. ****

36. Distant Shores- Kristen Hannah ***

37. Angel Falls- Kristen Hannah ***

38. Thicker than Water- Kerry Washington, audiobook. ****

39. 23 1/2 Lies- James Patterson ****

I still enjoy James Patterson as you can see, but I did discover Kristen Hannah this year, and I really like her books. Currently, I am reading Vanished in Vermillion, and I am really enjoying that book. It's sad, but so interesting, as it's a true case that happened in Vermillion, SD. 

I also have about 5 podcasts that I listen to weekly, so that also takes some of my time. And occasionally I throw in an audiobook, but it takes a long time to get through 11 hours of an audiobook. 

Sometimes there aren't enough hours in the day to fit in everything I want to do!

A Minnesota Christmas 2023

Another year, another Christmas spent in Minnesota. We did the typical Minnesota Christmas trip this year, it as just a little shorter than usual. We headed to Minnesota on Sunday morning (Christmas Eve). We got to my parent's house around 11:00 am, and got our meat and cheese tray all ready to go, and then enjoyed a little lunch, wine, and conversation. 

At around 2:30pm we all got changed and headed over to church. John, Rachel, and I joined the choir for the program, so we had to head over early to practice with them. At 4:00pm the Christmas Program started. It went pretty well for such a small group of kids. The choir sounded okay, we definitely could have been a little more polished. But, overall, it was good and enjoyable. 

After the program, we headed back to Mom and Dad's for more food and then present opening. Once again. the kids made a good haul and really enjoyed all their gifts. We had some things double up, but everyone still loved their gifts. We also did white elephant gifts again, and we had a lot of fun with that. 

We got another 365 day dad joke calendar, so those will be continuing for another year. Sorry to all my coworkers and friends. 

We spent most of the evening visiting in the kitchen and having some beverages while the kids watched a movie and relaxed. Overall the cousins did pretty well, but the age gap is starting to show a little more. Emma and Elliott were both annoyed with Elena more this Christmas than in years past. They don't enjoy the jumping, yelling, and just crazy things Elena does as much as they used to. They will be better again in a couple years when the age gap isn't such a big deal anymore. It also teaches my kids some patience and understanding as well. 

On Sunday, we went to Christmas Day service at 10:00am. After church, we had a nice Christmas Ham and potato dinner. It was nice to eat real food again and cool it with the snacking and munchies. After dinner, we played some games, and then we had to get packed up. There was some ice and snow hitting the Sioux Falls area, so we had to leave a little earlier than expected. We made it back just fine, and enjoyed having a little time to unpack and settle in before getting ready for the next week. 

On Tuesday, I had to go to work, but John and the kids were off. They played with toys, ate lunch at Dairy Queen, and then I met them at the Bethel Gym in the afternoon to shoot hoops and get a little exercise. After that, John drove the kids to Jim and Barb's house for the rest of the week, and I went to the gym. 

John and I missed the kids, but we had a good week of suppers that the kids wouldn't like, went out for a date night, and just enjoyed some quiet evenings. The kids had a blast out at Jim and Barb's house for the week. They did a lot of sledding behind the Honda, went to a movie, went to a Pokemon card event, and more. I think they are always going to remember these weeks at their grandparent's house, such good memories!

Present Time 

 

A Nelson Christmas

 We had our Nelson Christmas on Friday, December 22nd. It was kind of weird because the kids had a full day of school and I had a full day of work before the festivities. 

The kids had a full day of school, but they didn't do much schoolwork. They had their secret santa presents, went caroling, and had a pizza party. I did work, but got off a little early and was able to help gather presents, food, and pack up before getting kids from school. 

Once school was over, we picked up the kids and headed straight to the farm. We enjoyed some games and conversations until Jeff and Samantha arrived. Then, we ate. We had a nacho bar on the table again, along with soup and a Norwegian pudding dessert. It was a nice supper. And of course, we also did gifts. 

The kids (and us) got spoiled again. There was plenty of cash given, along with lego sets, craft mats, books, stickers, games and more. We all had a pretty successful Christmas. 

After the gifts, we played some of the new games and the kids put together some of their toys. 

On Saturday, we had Christmas at home with the kids. We opened gifts right away in the morning. Everyone made a good haul and got what they wanted (I think). I got an Apple Watch from John, which I love. The kids made off with Legos, games, toys, and gift cards-they didn't suffer. John is still hard to buy for, but I did my best. 

We also went caroling with our church choir at Dow Rummel. There were only about 10 of us that showed up, so we sounded a little rough, but I think the residents enjoyed it. We sang about 10 Christmas Hymns, and then both kids played their Christmas songs on the piano, which they were really proud of. 

After the caroling, we went to Sickies for lunch. We all had some burgers and then shared milkshakes at the end. The kids loved that!

After Sickies, we went back home to enjoy our Christmas gifts, relax, and watch some Christmas movies. We enjoyed a nice quiet evening before the frenzy of Christmas Eve and Day. 

December Catch Up and a Christmas Program

 Well, I missed out on all of December of blogging. To be fair, December did seem crazy busy this year, but I still need to get better at keeping up on my blogging. 

December was filled with a really busy work schedule (end-of-the year surgeries and being short on nurses was a bad combination), Emma's basketball games and practices, archery practice, Christmas program practices, and some Christmas shopping and outings. 

The weekend of December 15th was a busy one. On that Friday evening, we went on a bus tour of Christmas lights throughout Sioux Falls. John's work paid for the bus, and we were all invited to attend. It was pretty fun. The kids had fun with some of the other kids, and we enjoyed seeing some really nice lights. Sometimes it was hard to see through the windows, but we didn't have to drive and it was fun. 

On Saturday, my parents came to town to visit. I won tickets to Christmas at the Cathedral through work, so John and I decided to send my parents to it instead of going ourselves. They were a little hesitant to go, but then they loved it. They said it was a really nice show, and the singers were really good. After the show, we went to Lupulin Brewery for some drinks and pizzas with the kids. We enjoyed the food, beers, and played some games while we were there. 

After all that, we went to the Stampede Game at the Denny. John and I picked up some free tickets earlier in the week at Juice Stop, so we decided to check it out. We all enjoyed watching some hockey for a couple of periods. The Stampede are terrible this year, so it was 2-5 when we left after the second period. 

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing at our house. We watched a little football, a little Home Improvement, and then we called it a night. 

On Sunday, we went to church, and then served Bible Study Snacks. Mom and dad enjoyed helping us with that. After church and bible class, we had a nice Sunday brunch. At 3:00pm we headed back to church so the kids could play their piano pieces before the Christmas Program. 

The kids' Christmas Program went very well. Their piano pieces were excellent, both sets of grandparents were there, and they both nailed their speaking parts and songs (Elliott did completely forget the beginning of his part, but once he was prompted he did great, it was just nerves). 

I was very proud of both kids and how well they did. After the program, my parents headed home and we went out to eat supper at Dairy Queen at the request of the kids. 

This was a great kick off to the Holiday Season. 

We attended a Live Nativity this year 

Father and son watching some Home Improvement 

Christmas Sweater at the Stampede Game 

Our Bible Snack spread 

Christmas Program ready