Christmas Break

 John and I both took some time off around Christmas this year, and it has been really nice. We had the whole week of Christmas off, and we don't go back to work until New Year's Eve. 

On Thursday, the kids and I headed to Bethel to shoot hoops. We also had plans to fly Elliott's new drone, but he forgot batteries for his remote, so we had to put that on pause. We did have fun playing basketball and just getting out of the house for a while. Then, we went to Hobby Lobby to get Emma some felt for her masks she has been working on, and I enjoyed shopping the Christmas clearances. After Hobby Lobby it was back home for mask creations and to take down Christmas Decorations (sad face). But don't worry, the tree is staying up for a while yet. 

John and Elliott went to Watertown yesterday to go ice fishing. They brought their new ice shack and spent the nice on the ice. They had a lot of fun and played chess, made food, read books, and Ipaded, but they didn't catch any fish. They still had a really good time. They had a lot of bonding time and beautiful 40 degree weather while they were out there. 

In the meantime, Emma and I enjoyed some time at home. We went to the Humane Society to volunteer for a couple of hours, and then we decided to go and see Wicked, which was an awesome movie. We laughed and enjoyed it together, even though it was almost 3 hours long! When we got back home, we ate a late supper, watched some Modern Family, and just enjoyed a girls' evening. 

Today, Emma and I went to Bethel to shoot hoops and then we enjoyed a 50 degree, sunny walk around the Bethel neighborhood. It was a beautiful day, and wonderful time spent with Emma. 

The rest of the weekend is pretty open. We hope to get Elliott out flying his drone tomorrow. We also might head back to Bethel for more shooting and maybe some Pickle Ball for something different. I also signed Emma up for a basketball camp at the Pentagon on Monday from 11:30-1pm, so we will plan to do that on Monday. I'm still trying to get over my cold, and catch up on some things around home before it's back to work on Tuesday and then back to crazy weeks when the kids go back to school. 

In the meantime, we will enjoy our time off together. Happy Holidays!

Kitty Paws 

Humane Society Time 

Ice camping 

Christmas 2024

 Just like that, in the blink of an eye, Christmas is over. It came and went in a flash. We stayed pretty busy this December, but it wasn't as busy as past years. 

The weekend of December 14th, Ryan and Emily came to town to visit. They came on Saturday morning. We hung out, ate some lunch, had some beers, and then hung out with the kids as well. They also took the kids shopping for this Christmas gifts, which was a really nice way for them to bond for the afternoon. We also took Ryan and Emily to Falls Park, and they really seemed to enjoy that. 

The weekend right before Christmas, mom and dad came to town as the kids had their Christmas Program on that Sunday. Dad installed a new light switch for us, and also put in a new outlet in the basement that wasn't working anymore. We also went out for supper at The Sand Bar, and took them to Falls Park as well. We had a nice little weekend. 

The kids did really at their Children's Christmas Program. Both kids played piano pieces before the program, and they did great. I was a proud momma. They also both did very well with their program parts and songs. They were a joy to watch, and I think they enjoyed themselves. Emma only has one Christmas program left! I cannot believe that. 

After the program, mom and dad headed home and we went out to supper with Jim and Barb. We ate at Fizolis and caught up with them. When we got home, we had our Christmas with the kids. We all had a really good evening opening gifts and spending time together. Elliott got: Legos, a new Ipad (his favorite gift), baseball cards, an Ipad case, and some other odds and ends, the Ipad was a big gift, so he didn't get as many items as Emma. Emma made a good haul. She got a Buddha Board (which is a painting board that uses water and dries and can be used again and again), she got a Ring light for her Youtube videos, basketball shorts, a Lynx Basketball sweatshirt, t-shirt, and a Napheesa Collier tshirt, sweatpants, airpods, arts supplies, and some Warrior Cat books. Everyone made a good haul. I got some Dove dark chocolate, a new duffle bag for the gym, and sunglasses. And John got some Duke Cannon soap, a Duluth Trading company fleece, and a monogrammed shower kit. It was a great Christmas. 

On Monday, we had a catch up day in the morning. We cleaned, did laundry, put new toys away, ran some errands, and then headed to Minnesota after lunch. We got to mom and dad's around 4:00pm. We got settled in, ate some Spaghetti for supper, and then enjoyed some games before bed. We played Sheepshead and Buck, and then played a little Rummicube. 

On Monday evening, I started getting a cold and not feeling the greatest, which was a bummer. I didn't sleep great, and then it was Christmas Eve. We had a pretty slow morning. The kids went out and played in the snow, and John and I went for a nice mile long walk in the winter cold, just to move around and not go stir crazy. After lunch, Emily and Ryan showed up with some snacks, and we started putting together the appetizers for the rest of the day. 

At 4:00pm, we went to Emanuel for the Children's Program (which was good, not great) and then we went back to the house for snacks and visiting. The kids opened gifts, and then we enjoyed some games of Bingo for something different this year. After Bingo, we just enjoyed visiting and hanging out. 

On Christmas Day we went to church at 10:15, and then came back for Christmas Dinner of meatballs, potatoes, corn, rice pudding, squash, and Christmas cookies. It was good. After dinner, we were ready to go home. I still was feeling pretty crappy and run down, the kids were stir crazy, and we were just ready to be home. So, we got home on Christmas Day night at around 5pm, unpacked, and relaxed for the rest of the evening. 

It was a good Christmas. I wish I would have felt better, but overall it was good and it was nice to be with family. The Nelson Christmas will be next weekend, so we still have a little more Christmas ahead of us. 

Falls Park

 We are in the full Christmas swing around here. This past week wasn't quite as crazy as usual, but it was pretty busy. Work has gotten really busy for me, so it's not unusual for me to have really busy days and work long days. This past week I worked 45 hours, and I was shot in the evening when I got home. 

On Tuesday evening, John and I had a free event to attend through Legacy Lawyers. It was a Prairie Christmas hosted by Jeff Gould. It was cute, and funny, but it got long, and the crowd was really old. So, at the intermission break, we busted out of there and went home. It was a little bit of a bust. But, we tried!

On Wednesday, we had our first Advent service. My group was serving the supper, so I had to get there early to prepare the Walking Tacos, and then serve and clean up. It's always a little bit of a crazy time, but it went well and we survived. Then, we had church, and finally home. 

Yesterday (Friday), it was unseasonably warm, so we decided to head to Falls Park to see all the lights. We were impressed with all the upgrades, and we really enjoyed ourselves. We spent a solid hour walking around and getting plenty of photo ops. The kids really enjoyed it all. They loved the lights, the photo spots, the falls, and they even rolled down the hill like a bunch of little kids. We did also buy them some Hot Cocoas, so of course that went over really well. I love these kind of Christmas things. 

Today, the boys decided to go up to the Watertown area and go ice fishing. They left around lunch time, and they won't be home until late. They have had some luck catching some small fish, but nothing worth keeping. But, they are having fun. They also bought a new ice shack this year, and John has it set up in the garage to test it out. So, of course the kids had to sleep in it last night in the garage. They said it was really fun and they enjoyed themselves. They lasted all night and seemed to really like it. 

Today, Emma and I decided to have a girls' day since the boys were gone. So, we headed to OakRidge Nursery this morning for Mimosas and Hot Chocolate (and Santa, which we skipped). We had a lot of fun, and we looked around and shopped while we were there too. I bought a cute Gnome with a kitty print hat on it, because Emma and I thought it was perfect for both of us. We also bought a cute wall hanging. It was successful. We also stopped at Walmart (which was crazy busy) and found a few clothing articles for Emma and then supper items since Emma invited Hannah T and Lily over for a sleepover. 

I picked up the girls around 1pm, and they have been out in the ice shack pretty much the whole time they have been here. They went outside for a while, but otherwise they have been hanging out in their private tent area. It's pretty cute. I'm making them tater tot hotdish for supper, and then an ice cream sundae bar later tonight. They are going to sleep in the ice shack, and I'm going to see if I can get the projector going out there for them so they can watch a movie. They are having fun. 

Then, we have church tomorrow, and Children's program practice, and then a 4-H meeting later. So, the weekend is busy, but we are having fun. 

Happy Holidays!

The ice shack 

Falls Park Family Fun 

Thanksgiving 2024

 Another Thanksgiving has come and gone, and it always goes by in a hurry. We spent Thanksgiving Day in Brookings this year at Dennis and Jenny's house. We got there around 11:00 am, and enjoyed some time drinking a little wine, visiting, and helping get the meal ready. 

We are dinner at 12:30pm, and enjoyed a nice meal with way too much food again. It was delicious, and then we topped it off with pumpkin or apple pie. We also played Bingo again this year, with Dennis calling the numbers. We all brought Bingo prizes, so it was fun to see what everyone won and brought. After bingo, we watched some football, lounged around, and just enjoyed each other's company. Pretty much everyone was able to make it to Thanksgiving this year, so that was nice. We stayed until around 7pm, and then headed home for the night. 

On Friday, we enjoyed a nice day at home in the morning. We caught up with laundry, did some cleaning, and then packed up to go to Minnesota. We left home after lunch, and got to Mom and Dad's in the late afternoon. We unpacked, settled, ate some supper, and then we went to Sleepy Eye Brewery for some beer. The kids stayed home, and Michelle met us there. We enjoyed some beer and visiting and then called it a night. 

On Saturday, we went to Gaylord for Thanksgiving with mom's side of the family. It was a very nice potluck meal, and I got to see Grandma Mary and some of my aunts and uncles that I never get to see. So, we ate, visited, played some games, and then called it a day. I also got to eat some German Potato Salad, so that was nice. We left in the evening, and then Ryan made homemade pizzas for us at mom and dad's house while we enjoyed some more drinking and visiting, and some card games. 

On Sunday, we went to church, and then had our last Thanksgiving meal at home with mom and dad. We had another excellent meal, visited even more, and then we headed back to South Dakota. 

It was a great, busy, very calorie-filled weekend. We saw alot of people, caught up with family, and enjoyed some food and drink. We were very happy to get home, settled, and get ready for another week. 

Now, Christmas is only two weeks away, and time continues to fly by. We still have a lot of Christmas shopping to do, so I'm not sure when that is going to happen. But, I love this time of year. Our Christmas decor has been up for weeks already, I have been listening to Christmas music, and I am just trying to soak in this time before Christmas is over and we are in the dark days of January and February. 

Our Christmas Pots we made 

Thanksgiving Time 

Emma with Barb's dog

And Elliott

Catching up on the Standard