February Cold

 I have not been great at staying up-to-date on my blogging. But, in my defense, I have been really busy. Emma has been keeping us busy with homework, basketball practice, piano lessons, archery practice, reading, and baking experiments. Elliott keeps us busy with nightly reading, and of course some Pokemon playing. 

I have stayed busy with my food tracking and trips to the gym, Sunday school teaching and prep, certification exam studying, work, Health coach visits, suppers, and now starting to work in the greenhouse. Like I said, I've been busy. But it's a good busy, and it keeps me out of trouble. 

We just got through a really cold stretch. Like for two weeks it was highs of negative 3, and lows of negative twenty. It was cold and miserable and dark, and I'm really happy we have warmed up to around 30 degrees now. It feels great. Texas actually got some really cold weather too, and had pipes burst, lost power, and had some really big weather issues. Luckily they are warmer now too, but it wasn't good for a while. 

Covid-19 is still a thing, but it's hopefully getting better. The numbers are pretty good around here right now, and we currently have 3 approved vaccines to help fight against the virus. There are some variants of the virus that the CDC is watching, but hopefully as we get more people vaccinated, we can get closer to normal. Luckily, the kids have still had school and there have been no problems there, and the ASC continues to be open and functioning, so those are two "normal" things that I am loving. 

The kids did not have school this past Thursday and Friday, so I took those days off work and the kids and I had a mom and kids day. It was really fun. I woke up early and went to the gym, then had a call with a Fidelity advisor and then got the kids packed up and ready to go. We went to Tires, Tires, Tires to get my oil changed, and the kids thought it was great since there were cookies and pop in the waiting room. I also brought their Ipads along, and they were very content to sit and play on their Ipads while consuming sugar, Next, we went to Hy-Vee for some lunch and then we went to Midco for some swimming. The kids loved the swimming. They swam for a solid 2 hours and burned off some energy. This was the first time I had brought the kids to the Midco, and I didn't swim with them. It was really nice for me, and the kids didn't seem to mind. I studied for my CNOR exam while they swam and played. Elliott is now tall enough for the slide, so he went down that about 25 times. 

After all the swimming, we headed out to Jim and Barb's. We all worked in the greenhouse for a couple hours, and then I left the kids there for the night and headed home for supper. The kids wanted 2 sleepovers at Grandma and Grandpa's house. So, they have been there all day today. John and I have plans for a date night supper tonight, followed by some mindless TV watching. 

Tomorrow, we will go back to reality and go to the farm to work in the greenhouse and then bring the kids back home for the rest of the weekend. I have some baking plans with Emma, and otherwise plan to just have a nice, relaxing weekend with some studying and exercising thrown in. Oh, and shrimp bowls. I have big plans for Shrimp bowls this weekend. 

I'm looking forward to March, and nicer weather, longer days, manual labor, and hopefully inching our way toward normal. 

February Crafts and Outings

 Things feel like they are slowly getting back to normal around here. Thankfully, our numbers in South Dakota have really decreased and we are back to around 150 new cases a day. We did open the ASC on Monday, and it felt so good to be back. Of course some of the newness has worn off, and some of the irritating things have popped up again, but overall, it's amazing to be back. 

I have also been taking a few more trips with the kids lately. Last weekend I brought them both to the Washington Pavillion for a free carnival, and last night we went to the first Friday event and went to the Kirby Science Center for free. The kids had a really fun time, but there were so many people there it got pretty loud and crowded pretty quickly. 

Today, Emma and I ran a couple errands. We went to the library to swap out some books, and the we went to Hobby Lobby. We bought some Valentine's Crafts and also a Valentine gift to mail to Elena. It was pretty fun. In the afternoon, the kids and I worked on Valentine crafts. We had a great day.  It was freezing cold out today. I think the high was 4 degrees, and it was really windy, so it was a great day to be inside. 

Right now, everyone is showered, in their jammies, eating popcorn, and we are watching Abominable. It's a pretty special evening,  Family bonding time!

Tomorrow is super bowl Sunday. After church, we have some food to make, and then we are heading over to Hinners to watch the game. The kids are really excited to go there to watch the game, it should be really fun!

Not too much else has been happening around here. We seem to stay busy with all the school work, basketball practice, trips to the gym, and just general busyness. This week we are gearing up for the school Valentine's Party on Friday. The kids have already bought their Valentines and treats, and they can't wait to exchange them at school. I love holidays with kids. 

Well, tomorrow I am cheering for the Chiefs to win their second consecutive Super Bowl against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But really, I am planning on watching some great commercials and eating some good food. I love Super Bowl Sunday!

Emma and I baked a fondant heart cake 

Brownie waffles 

January 2021

 January is about over, and I have already failed in one of my New Year's Resolutions. I have not been blogging every week. It's crazy how quickly the weeks fly by, and I just can't keep up on my blogging. 

This month has flown by, but we really haven't done anything super exciting. We just stay busy with work, church meetings, and right now Emma has basketball practice two days a week and she joined a 4-H archery club, and they meet a couple times a month. Emma is really enjoying both activities, and they are keeping her busy. Along with homework and Piano lessons (and multiplication factors), our evenings are very busy. Emma continues to do pretty well in school, but we do have to get on her to complete her work neatly and to slow down and do her best. 

Elliott's weekday evenings are a little less hectic. We do read every evening and work on memory work, but then he has the rest of the evening to play and do whatever he wants, and I think that makes Emma a little jealous. Elliott is doing great in school, and really doesn't seem to have trouble with much of anything in Kindergarten. He is getting better and better at reading some words, and he is so close to being able to read books by himself. 

A couple weekends ago, we went bowling at Sport Bowl. The kids really enjoyed it, and it was nice and quiet in the bowling alley, so had a really fun time. 

Last weekend, my parents came to visit. We spent most of our time at home, but we had fun. We made a couple delicious meals (Shrimp fried rice, turkey) and enjoyed games and hanging out. We also drove through Falls Park because the lights were still on, and enjoyed a beer run for some beverages. It was a really fun, quick weekend. 

This past week, we got some really good news at work. The ASC gets to open on February 1st. Yay!! We are only going to be able to run 5 surgical rooms, which isn't great, but we are so happy to be back to our home. We only have 5 days left in the Main OR, hooray!!

Covid-19 is getting better in South Dakota. Our number of new infections and hospitalizations has been trending down nicely (hence the ASC opening). However, some other states are having terrible outbreaks right now, so it is still definitely a threat. I have received both of my Covid-19 vaccines, and that all went well for me. It's a great feeling to have it, and I'm really hoping that by this summer the world is looking more normal. We are at the year mark for this virus, and it's been quite a trip. 

This weekend has been pretty quiet. Today was a snowing, winter weather advisory day, so we spent most of the day at home. I did take the kids to the Washington Pavillion for a free carnival in the lobby, and they seemed to really enjoy that. I also hit up the gym (I've lost 9 pounds since Jan 1st!!) and now we are watching Star Wars with the kids before heading to bed shortly. 

Tomorrow is a marathon church day. The kids sing in both services, I teach Sunday School, and then there is a Voter's meeting with installation of officers. Whew, it's going to be a day. And then we have the NFC Championship football game and the AFC Championship Football game. And then it will be Monday. Oof-da. The weekends sure fly by!

2021. New Year, Fresh Start.

 Just like that, the craziness that was 2020 is over, and we have turned the calendar over to a new year. I don't think I've ever been so happy to see 2021. Really, 2020 wasn't that bat for us. We had a great trip to the cities to visit Wolf Lodge with the kids, we had a wonderful summer filled with camping and bonfires with the neighbors, we bought me a new car-which we love, we had some wonderful holidays and family times, and just overall had a pretty good year. Aside from all the pandemic craziness of course. 

The kids finally came home yesterday afternoon from Jim and Barb's house. They were pretty excited to be home. We unpacked their 8 bags of stuff they had, and then they had a great time playing with all their Christmas gifts they hadn't got to tear into yet. 

In the evening, we headed to the Stampede Game for New Year's Eve. We headed in early for free Stampede stocking caps, and free player cards for the kids. We had $5 tickets, so we sat pretty high up, but the kids did really well with the game and actually paid attention to what was going on most of the time. The Stampede did not do well, they lost 2-5, but it was a fun evening. We hadn't been to a hockey game since last winter, so it was really fun to go. We just kept our distance and wore our masks when we were in the concourse area. 

We were home at around 9pm, and popped in a movie. The kids thought they were going to last until midnight. Emma and I made it until about 10:30pm and then we called it a night (I had to work Thursday morning until noon, I was tired!). John and Elliott made it until midnight. They watched some Star Wars and then played Legos, before finally calling it a night. 

Today was a great start to the new year. John and I did some organizing while the kids continued to play with new toys. We worked on the kitchen and the garage. We made great progress and had like 4 bags full of garbage at the end of the day. The kids were invited to Polzins' house for a sleepover. At around 3pm, we dropped them off, and then John and I headed to the gym and then the grocery store. The kids were barely home for 24 hours and then they were already having a sleepover at someone else's house. I am almost offended by that. But, I'm sure they are having a great time with their friends. 

Tonight is just a relaxing evening. The house is cleaned up, and I'm watching a Netflix movie while blogging. What a nice, quiet, evening. 

My goals for the new year:

1. Blog more. Hopefully at least once a week.

2. Lose weight. I have pretty much been at the same weight for the last couple of years, and I would really like to be about 25 pounds lighter. So, I joined Noom, and will continue to go to the gym, and hopefully this will be the year. 

3. More time in God's Word. I really want to spend at least 15 minutes in a daily devotion reading and studying God's Word. 

4. A Family Activity every week. Like bowling, swimming, games, legos, sledding, exercising, baking, etc)

5. Less social media. I have already taken steps to decrease the amount of time I aimlessly stare at Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat. Here's to another year of cutting back on time wasters. 

Cheers to 2021 and everything that it will bring!!

Christmas 2020

 Another two weeks has flown by, and I'm just not doing a good job of keeping up with my blogging. These past couple of weeks have been filled with Christmas activities and have flown by. 

On December 15th, Emma and I made brownies to celebrate her half birthday at school. Since she is a summer baby, she never gets to celebrate at school. She had a lot of fun making brownies and getting to wear her birthday hat at school since she usually doesn't get to do that. 

We also spent a lot of evenings over the past couple of week watching classic Christmas movies. We watched Home Alone, The Polar Express, Elf, Jingle Jangle, The Grinch, and Rudolf. It was really fun to watch these movies with the kids, and they really enjoyed them. We also had some great evenings filled with Hot Cocoa and Christmas crafts. I really love the Christmas season. 

On Sunday, December 20th, we had the Children's Christmas Program. Because of Covid, we could only have immediate family there, but both kids did a really good job. They both knew their parts, and all the words to their songs and sang nice and loud. Elliott looked really sharp in his Suit and tie, and was not nervous at all being up in front of church. Emma looked beautiful in her dress, and did a really great job up there as well. After the program, we rushed out to Jim and Barb's house for supper and to drop the kids off for the week. The kids had the next full two weeks off from school, so we packed up their stuff and sent them to Grandma and Grandpa's for the week. 

John and I spent the week running errands, buying last minute Christmas presents, and eating out for supper. We really had a pretty busy week even without kids. We missed them, but it was nice to just be able to get done what we needed to without any whining or complaining. 

On Christmas Eve, I worked for a couple hours in the morning, and then we headed to Jim and Barb's house to have Christmas with the Nelsons. The kids were every excited to see us, and asked about every 5 minutes when we could open presents. Once Jeff and Sam arrived, we opened gifts. Everyone got spoiled, and had a really great Christmas. We all got Carrhart stocking caps, and of course some cash. Barb also went a little crazy and made ham, Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, creamed peas, and like 8 different desserts. It was all really good, but just way too much food. 

The kids had a great time playing with their new toys, and we all had a good time playing a new game called "Throw, Throw, Burrito". We left around 7:30pm. We put the kids in their pajamas and they were asleep about 5 minutes into our drive. 

Christmas Day was another whirlwind. We went to church in the morning, and then we had our family celebration at home and let the kids open our presents for them at home. They had a blast, and got way too much stuff. After some lunch and packing, we hit the road and headed to Minnesota for my side of the family Christmas celebration. We got to my parent's house around supper time, and enjoyed a quiet evening of visiting and playing some games with the kids. We also got a phone call that Jeff and Samantha had gotten engaged on Christmas Day. Very exciting!!

The day after Christmas was our actual Christmas celebration with the Kieckers. We watched some old family videos in the morning, and then everyone arrived in time for dinner. And, Ryan brought a girlfriend, Emily, to Christmas. We were all pretty surprised, but very happy to see Ryan with a girlfriend. It was a big holiday for our brothers! We had a great dinner of Meatballs, mashed potatoes, squash, corn, and a salad. Then, we opened gifts. Again. The kids loved everything they got, and had fun trying out their new toys. We spent the afternoon drinking wine and playing games. Emily was pretty quiet, but she seemed to have a good time and tolerated us crazy Germans pretty well. We ended the evening with some Sheepshead and called it a holiday. It was definitely weird to not see extended family or do the normal Christmas celebrations, but it was still a good holiday. 

Sunday was a clean up, pack up and head home kind of day. We finally got home at around 3:00pm, and just felt like we had a holiday hangover. We spent the day cleaning, unpacking, settling in, and getting back to normal. The kids headed out to Jim and Barb's house on Monday morning, and they are still there until at least Thursday. It's been a a crazy couple of weeks, I miss my kids, and I'm about ready for the normal routine and school and homework and everything. 

This week John and I have had a quieter week. I've been going to the Gym, getting the Christmas decorations cleaned up, and just enjoying quiet evenings at home. Tonight, we are going to have some Chipotle and watch Die Hard. I'm pretty excited. 

Tomorrow, we plan on getting the kids settled back at home again, and getting them ready to think about school again on Monday. 

Happy New Year. Good Riddance to 2020. 

Christmas Festivities 2020

Jeepers, it's been about 3 weeks since I last blogged. Time is just flying around here, it's hard to believe that Christmas is only 12 days away! Yikes!

A couple weekends ago, we headed out to Jim and Barb's house to celebrate Elliott's birthday. They were finally released from their covid quarantine, so we were able to get together and celebrate. Barb actually did really well with the virus, and ended up getting an antibody infusion which seemed to help to speed up her recovery. 

Both kids ended up getting a Christmas-themed hat, and Elliott also got a Pokemon ball game and a hot wheels track. He was one happy little 6 year old. Emma got her big-sister gift which was a play-doh set, and then Barb also bought a large Christmas lego set that everyone had fun building with for a while. It was a fun evening, and the kids really enjoyed it. 

Both kids have Advent calendars this year, so that has been a big deal around here for the last 13 days.  Every morning, Elliott opens one of his compartments on his Pokemon Advent Calendar. And it's very exciting for him. He has gotten quite a few Pokemon figures, and he is always wondering what he is going to get the next day. Needless to say, it has been a big hit. 

Emma has a slime Advent calendar. I really hate this calendar. Emma loves it of course. She has gotten many different colors of slime and then slime add-ins like glitter, foam balls, charms, etc. It's kind of a nightmare though. She has gotten slime on the couch, on her clothes, and pretty much everywhere. I'm tolerating it until Christmas, and then they are going to slowly disappear. She wanted more slime for Christmas, but I said no to that. Slime is really the worst. Note to self, no more slime. 

They both also have some cheap chocolate Advent calendars. So, every morning, they eat a piece of chocolate as well. Our children are really suffering this Christmas season. 

The coronavirus is really pretty terrible right now. We have about 3,000 people dying per day across the nation, and here is South Dakota we are having about 30 people die a day right now. Luckily, they just approved a vaccine, and they plan to start administering it as soon as tomorrow. But, it's going to be a while before everyone can get the vaccine, and there are many people who don't "trust" the vaccine, so I'm hopeful that it will help, but I guess time will tell. For now, we just have to try to get through these next few months, and then hopefully we can see some sort of normal return. I think everyone is ready to say goodbye to 2020. 

The kids are still in school, and they have one week left until Christmas break. For Christmas break, they have a full two weeks off, so they are going to be spending some time with Grandma and Grandpa. I hope that we can get through this week without any issues, and the kids can have a nice relaxing break. 

Our weekends have been pretty low-key. With the virus surging right now, it's hard to do much of anything. We have gotten our Christmas shopping done, and just enjoy time at home with kids playing games and hanging out. 

This past Wednesday it was 60 degrees outside (yes, on December 9th), so I took the kids to Falls Park right after school, and they loved it. It was so nice outside, and they just enjoyed climbing on rocks and running around. We stayed at the park for about an hour, and then we headed to the Candy Cloud Factory, where the kids got to pick out their favorite cotton candy flavor. They were flying high. After sugaring up, we went downtown to do a mini sculpture walk, and then check out the light outside the Washington Pavillion. It was a pretty special night, and the kids loved it. They did not want to go home when it was time. It was a great way to take advantage of a beautiful December day in South Dakota. 

This weekend was pretty tame. We did some shopping yesterday, hit up the gym, and did some typical cleaning yesterday. Today, we had church and Christmas Program practice, so it was a longer day at church. While the kids were practicing, John and I had a lunch date at Chevy's. It was delicious, and so nice to eat out. It probably wasn't the smartest place to be with the virus. but it was a nice little lunch date. In the evening, Jim and Barb stopped by and Jim helped us fix our entry way light and we put in a new thermostat. That was satisfying. We have been complaining about our thermostat for 9 years, and we finally got a new one!! We capped the night with some Fizolis, and now we are getting ready for another week. 

The kids are in bed, football is on, and now we are just ready to relax until bedtime. I'm not really ready for another week in the main OR, but I guess I will take it. We are employed, healthy, happy, and it's the Christmas season. I really don't have anything to complain about. Bring on the week! :) 

The birthday boy

Christmas Pots!

Sunrise before school 

Sunset with Emma 

Falls Park in December 

Sculpture Walk 

Washington Pavillion