A look back at 2010.
1.14.2011
1.02.2011
Happy ThanksChristmasYear
It's a new holiday! You can also call it the EndlessFamilyGettogether!
Let's count.
My side:
Three gatherings for Thanksgiving.
Two for Christmas
None for New Years.
TOTAL = 5
Marshall's side:
None for Thanksgiving
Three for Christmas, 4 if you count cookie baking.
One for New Years.
TOTAL = 5
GRAND TOTAL = 10 + all the other random get-togethers in between = Lots of time to ourselves in January!
For Thanksgiving week, we celebrated the November Birthdays including my Dad's and also had a Wild Game feast with all the things the boys have "harvested" this past year.
For our pre-Christmas activities:
First big snow fall - Dec 4th
A Christmas Carol for the 4th year in a row.
St. Nick filled our stockings.
The kids did great at their Christmas Concerts. Both with speaking parts. (Bragging Rights!) We really noticed how, compared to most of the other kids in 3rd grade and up, Trent spoke so clearly and with good volume.
We baked cookies and went sledding at Grandma's.
New this year: Marshall borrowed my Uncle's smoker and we brought smoked salmon, pheasant, oysters and scallops to all of our gatherings.
Thinking about A Christmas Carol and remembering how my family and parents friends used to hop on a hay wagon and go carolling, Marshall decided we should do it ourselves this year. We hosted a neighborhood Christmas Caroling party. It was great fun. You should have seen the smiles on the faces of the people we sang for! If you're in the area, you gotta come next year. Everyone really enjoyed it.
Other than the frequency of family commitments, Christmas was relatively free of chaos. The kids were so excited for their gifts! I noticed Santa hid the best ones toward the back of the pile. Those little stinkers dug them out first! Of course - at Grandma's request after opening the robes she made out of these super soft comforters she found. Callie's was a "real" guitar.
Trent's - Rogue Shadow lego ship.
Callie already has the rock star attitude even if she can only play the first 6 notes of the Iron Maiden song Marshall's cousin Polly who was visiting from Australia taught her. (Some day we will go there to visit her!) As I write she is strumming and singing.
We spent New Years Eve at Marshall's parents for game night. Everyone brought at least 4 games along! We only got to one from each family. Marshall and I were the champions of Luke & Amy's game, Pass the Popcorn. It's a movie trivia game. A given for Marshall, but I was surprised at the number of questions I was able to answer. Time went by fast, I didn't feel a bit tired when I realized it was 11pm! I couldn't believe it, I was actually gonna make it this year! HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011!
It's been great having Winter Break. Today is a pajama day, and later, skating on the lake. We went from 50 degrees to less than 20 in one night. The rain melted all the snow and the lake was smooth as glass. I've been working a little over this break but the kids love to hang out with the Grandma's so it's a nice blend. Tonight, hockey and my bowling league. New tennis racket and bowling shoes for me this Christmas.
Marshall got us an after Christmas present: NetFlix. I know how we'll be spending our no family boycott!
Let's count.
My side:
Three gatherings for Thanksgiving.
Two for Christmas
None for New Years.
TOTAL = 5
Marshall's side:
None for Thanksgiving
Three for Christmas, 4 if you count cookie baking.
One for New Years.
TOTAL = 5
GRAND TOTAL = 10 + all the other random get-togethers in between = Lots of time to ourselves in January!
For Thanksgiving week, we celebrated the November Birthdays including my Dad's and also had a Wild Game feast with all the things the boys have "harvested" this past year.
For our pre-Christmas activities:
First big snow fall - Dec 4th
A Christmas Carol for the 4th year in a row.St. Nick filled our stockings.
The kids did great at their Christmas Concerts. Both with speaking parts. (Bragging Rights!) We really noticed how, compared to most of the other kids in 3rd grade and up, Trent spoke so clearly and with good volume.
We baked cookies and went sledding at Grandma's.
New this year: Marshall borrowed my Uncle's smoker and we brought smoked salmon, pheasant, oysters and scallops to all of our gatherings.
Thinking about A Christmas Carol and remembering how my family and parents friends used to hop on a hay wagon and go carolling, Marshall decided we should do it ourselves this year. We hosted a neighborhood Christmas Caroling party. It was great fun. You should have seen the smiles on the faces of the people we sang for! If you're in the area, you gotta come next year. Everyone really enjoyed it.
Other than the frequency of family commitments, Christmas was relatively free of chaos. The kids were so excited for their gifts! I noticed Santa hid the best ones toward the back of the pile. Those little stinkers dug them out first! Of course - at Grandma's request after opening the robes she made out of these super soft comforters she found. Callie's was a "real" guitar.
Trent's - Rogue Shadow lego ship.
Callie already has the rock star attitude even if she can only play the first 6 notes of the Iron Maiden song Marshall's cousin Polly who was visiting from Australia taught her. (Some day we will go there to visit her!) As I write she is strumming and singing.We spent New Years Eve at Marshall's parents for game night. Everyone brought at least 4 games along! We only got to one from each family. Marshall and I were the champions of Luke & Amy's game, Pass the Popcorn. It's a movie trivia game. A given for Marshall, but I was surprised at the number of questions I was able to answer. Time went by fast, I didn't feel a bit tired when I realized it was 11pm! I couldn't believe it, I was actually gonna make it this year! HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011!
It's been great having Winter Break. Today is a pajama day, and later, skating on the lake. We went from 50 degrees to less than 20 in one night. The rain melted all the snow and the lake was smooth as glass. I've been working a little over this break but the kids love to hang out with the Grandma's so it's a nice blend. Tonight, hockey and my bowling league. New tennis racket and bowling shoes for me this Christmas. Marshall got us an after Christmas present: NetFlix. I know how we'll be spending our no family boycott!
12.12.2010
Oh Christmas Tree.
The tree went up this weekend. We actually put up just about all the ornaments and decorations. Decorated inside and out! Christmas can come now, were ready.
12.01.2010
Chasing Time Rewind
I always wanted one of those digital picture frames, but could never find just the right one. I don't need it anymore now that my computer is here in the kitchen and I have the screen saver set to slideshow.
The pictures always get the kid's attention.
Today, Callie asked me why I take so many pictures.
I remember my life in pictures. If I didn't take a picture of it, it pretty much might as well have never happened. I am able to write this post because I can go back into my picture files and see what we've been up to. Hummmmmm, lets see......
When we were up at the cabin, Trent wanted to make a torch. Marshall made some pretty impressive ones, Man Vs. Wild style. We brought them home and lit them, one clear August night. Trent was maybe a little too into it.
The kids started school at a new school here in our home town. Not just any school, public school! Huge. HUGE. Step for me. During homecomming they had Crazy Hair Day. I was just gonna skip it, but last minute Trent wanted something, so I took a marker and colored stripes into his entire hair, and a chunk of pink into Callie's. Later that evening Callie got a-hold of the marker.
This school has been a whole new world for us, but so far so good. I am offically NOT SMARTER THAN A THIRD GRADER! Sometimes Trent gets his homework wrong even after I check it! His teacher is a bit strict in her grading. I was very nervous about conferences, but she laughed the whole time, telling me stories about how nice it is to have Trent, and some of the negative, yet entertaining things he does, like try to "sneak" up to the front of the classroom while she's in the middle of teaching to whisper in her ear, asking if he can go to the bathroom.
End of October we went to LaCrosse for the annual hunting trip. My Dad, cousins and Marshall with the dogs had a great hunt. Marshall has found love all over again. 
Kids, Gran and I were in our usual spots. The pool, the stores, the old fashioned IceCream parlor for a blast from my past, Black Licorice IceCream! And of course a visit to the Kids Coulee. I am on a quest to get a framer of the kids at this park, but mostly they want to have nothing to do with a photoshoot.
Happy "Hallaween"
Loved Trent's costume this year! He didn't really ask to be anything, so I made the decision to turn last years remote into a Lego Brick. I know my strengths and creativity is one of them. Again, the effort was spent on Trent's costume, but Callie got exactly what she wanted, a butterfly.
We carved our pumpkins on Halloween this year. It was a nice way to round out the evening. We're one pumpkin short, Marshall picked a rotten one! Ooops!
This is the chaos that is our lives! Yes, its a One Adult, Two Kid and Two Dog wrestle mania
NEVER a Dull Moment!
The pictures always get the kid's attention.
Today, Callie asked me why I take so many pictures.
I remember my life in pictures. If I didn't take a picture of it, it pretty much might as well have never happened. I am able to write this post because I can go back into my picture files and see what we've been up to. Hummmmmm, lets see......
When we were up at the cabin, Trent wanted to make a torch. Marshall made some pretty impressive ones, Man Vs. Wild style. We brought them home and lit them, one clear August night. Trent was maybe a little too into it.
The kids started school at a new school here in our home town. Not just any school, public school! Huge. HUGE. Step for me. During homecomming they had Crazy Hair Day. I was just gonna skip it, but last minute Trent wanted something, so I took a marker and colored stripes into his entire hair, and a chunk of pink into Callie's. Later that evening Callie got a-hold of the marker.
This school has been a whole new world for us, but so far so good. I am offically NOT SMARTER THAN A THIRD GRADER! Sometimes Trent gets his homework wrong even after I check it! His teacher is a bit strict in her grading. I was very nervous about conferences, but she laughed the whole time, telling me stories about how nice it is to have Trent, and some of the negative, yet entertaining things he does, like try to "sneak" up to the front of the classroom while she's in the middle of teaching to whisper in her ear, asking if he can go to the bathroom.
End of October we went to LaCrosse for the annual hunting trip. My Dad, cousins and Marshall with the dogs had a great hunt. Marshall has found love all over again. 
Kids, Gran and I were in our usual spots. The pool, the stores, the old fashioned IceCream parlor for a blast from my past, Black Licorice IceCream! And of course a visit to the Kids Coulee. I am on a quest to get a framer of the kids at this park, but mostly they want to have nothing to do with a photoshoot.
Happy "Hallaween"
Loved Trent's costume this year! He didn't really ask to be anything, so I made the decision to turn last years remote into a Lego Brick. I know my strengths and creativity is one of them. Again, the effort was spent on Trent's costume, but Callie got exactly what she wanted, a butterfly.
We carved our pumpkins on Halloween this year. It was a nice way to round out the evening. We're one pumpkin short, Marshall picked a rotten one! Ooops!
This is the chaos that is our lives! Yes, its a One Adult, Two Kid and Two Dog wrestle mania
NEVER a Dull Moment!
11.24.2010
Can we please.....
It's all I've been hearing for about a year.
"Can we pleeeeease go to the dentist."
Trent has so far, only lost one tooth. Right after he lost it, both the bottom adult teeth started growing in. One behind his not even close to being loose, baby tooth. Enough with this little tooth, apointments finally made.
I personally HATE the dentist. I hate very few things, the dentist is one of them. I'll never forget the sound I heard as the dentist was pulling my teeth so I could get braces. TRAUMATIZED.
As we were pulling into the dentist's parking lot, Callie says, "Oooh! I'm soooo excited!" Who raised these kids?
True to their expectations, everything was hunky-dory. Callie got a Princess toothbrush. What could be better? You bet she can't wait to go back.
"Can we pleeeeease go to the dentist."
Trent has so far, only lost one tooth. Right after he lost it, both the bottom adult teeth started growing in. One behind his not even close to being loose, baby tooth. Enough with this little tooth, apointments finally made.
I personally HATE the dentist. I hate very few things, the dentist is one of them. I'll never forget the sound I heard as the dentist was pulling my teeth so I could get braces. TRAUMATIZED.
As we were pulling into the dentist's parking lot, Callie says, "Oooh! I'm soooo excited!" Who raised these kids?
True to their expectations, everything was hunky-dory. Callie got a Princess toothbrush. What could be better? You bet she can't wait to go back.
10.20.2010
I want a Red Ryder BB Gun....
One day this summer, after camp, Trent asked if he could get his own BB Gun. He gave a very convincing pitch about how he learned all about how to use them safely. I told him we didn't need our own because both his Grandpa's had them and he could use them over at their houses anytime he wanted. He said he really wanted one for our house. I told him we couldn't shoot it anywhere at our house, and being that he knows aaaalll about being "safe", he says, "I can just set it up on the tennis courts". (The tennis courts that are surrounded by houses? Right. You know how to be safe.) Grandpa's house it is! 
See the hole right dead center in that tomato. Yeah, that was me. Riflery was always one of my camp favorites. I got the high shot award once!
See the hole right dead center in that tomato. Yeah, that was me. Riflery was always one of my camp favorites. I got the high shot award once!
10.18.2010
Happy Birthday To ME!
Callie: "Trent is making a sand birthday cake, but I'm not going to tell you who it's for."
Rewind to the end of August. The summer just about to wrap up. The birthday week has become quite a popular privlidge lately. Here is how I spent the week.
I had the best birthday I've had in a long time! One last Dusty Road at Laubers, family dinner at my Mom's, a spontaneous, spectacular, summer evening at Kirches and a Sand Birthday Cake from the kids.
Marshall and I went to Kirches to celebrate our Anniversary last year. Since then it's become our fine dining place of choice. Little did we know it would solidify it's place so permenantly this birthday visit. I found a coupon on Resturant.com, so we decided it was worth the splurge. Not wanting to drive the kids to the grandparents, the plan was to take them with us. Last minute Marshall invited my parents to come along. What an evening.
Firstly, it was the company. I am so happy we had both the kids and my parents to share it with. The kids are usually good, but we really appreciated them this time they got so many nice compliments from the other resturant patrons.
Secondly, it was the atmosphere. Can't beat dining on a porch overlooking a quiet little lake. Add to that comfortable temps, no bugs, a gorgeous sunset and a live Jazz band, and the mood was set.
Third, the food. We chose a four course, chef special. You choose meat or seafood and they choose the rest. Ever heard of John Dori fish? Me neither, but its the finest fish in France and I can see why.
Fourth, and best of all the memories. The kids dancing to the band, entertaining everyone, and a family dance before the night was over. It's a birthday I will never forget.
Happy Birthday to Me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
