Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Holiday Extravaganza!
Now that it is over and we are all healthy and well rested
I can finally get to sharing some of the photos from the holiday extravaganza
(or as we really like to say around here...the holiday BONANZA!)
(or as we really like to say around here...the holiday BONANZA!)
For the most part we faired well except for one now minor
but seemed major at the time bump in the road.
You see like many families we ended up with a bit of illness over the holidays.
The good thing is it only hit 3 out of 5 of us.
The bad thing is that all the girls in the house had the stomach flu Christmas Eve night
into Christmas day....perfect timing...wouldn't you say?
So our holiday celebrations were muted by exhaustion and
our Christmas decor now included a few extra buckets lying around.
We missed celebrating with Mike's family at his parents house however on
Christmas evening we were blessed by loving family members who brought the party to us.
I will spare you the pictures of wiped out kids and Mom
and share with you the ones we are choosing to remember.
enjoying Christmas treats
Amelia and Natalie in their holiday finery
Natalie and Mom
Sam and Dad
but seemed major at the time bump in the road.
You see like many families we ended up with a bit of illness over the holidays.
The good thing is it only hit 3 out of 5 of us.
The bad thing is that all the girls in the house had the stomach flu Christmas Eve night
into Christmas day....perfect timing...wouldn't you say?
So our holiday celebrations were muted by exhaustion and
our Christmas decor now included a few extra buckets lying around.
We missed celebrating with Mike's family at his parents house however on
Christmas evening we were blessed by loving family members who brought the party to us.
I will spare you the pictures of wiped out kids and Mom
and share with you the ones we are choosing to remember.
enjoying Christmas treats
Amelia and Natalie in their holiday finery
Natalie and Mom
Sam and Dad
Amelia and Mom
Christmas Evefamily photo
the classic toy...lite brites!
the disaster Santa left behindChristmas morning
Christmas Day gift opening
Natalie and Amelia chatting with their tia(sporting their new princess shirts from Santa)
Natalie and the giraffe she desperately wantedThanks Tia!
Sam posing in front of Santa's big gift to all the kids.Thank heavens Santa had enough foresight to make sure
there were enough remote controlled trains for everyone!
Santa must be a highly trained professional.
Friday, December 24, 2010
The Man in Red
Those of you who received Christmas cards from us this year might wonder why we did not use this fun photo as our holiday shot. Had this photo been taken earlier in the season it would have been in the running for sure but unfortunately I had already ordered cards when this opportunity presented itself.
Now that it is Christmas Eve and we are on finally on the last day of our advent calendar...the day where Amelia (the even number girl) gets to move the snowflake to the 24th while Natalie (the odd number girl) watches. The same day that every kid we know has been waiting for.
Well, we thought it would be fun to share the story behind this photo.
As seen in the previous post we have a tradition of cutting down our own christmas tree. At the tree farm in addition to tromping through the trees the kids get to enjoy farm animals, a fabulous train set in the gift shop, and of course opportunities to pose for fun photos. Every year there is one activity at the farm that out kids choose to skip....sitting on Santa's lap. In both our families photos with Santa were never on the holiday to do list and something that we have not even considered for our own kids. So when we see various Santas throughout the season our kids well...they have absolutely no interest in seeing him, talking to him and no way are the ever going to sit on his lap. To be honest...they are afraid of him. Not in a run crying and screaming kind of way...just in the wary and watching him from afar kind of way.
Right before we were leaving from the farm I saw a wooden sleigh set up for photo opportunities and thought we should get one more shot. With the bribe of a treat in the car on the way home the kids happily obliged. While loading the sleigh Natalie (in yellow) gave Santa a wary look. I saw this and to speed the photo along looked her in the eye and said,
"Natalie, Santa is not coming over here, He will stay in his chair...I promise".
Amelia of course hearing me say this was instantly relieved and boarded the sleigh. I had no reason to believe that Santa would leave his green Adirondack chair which you can most likely see in the background of the photo.
Like a good Mom I stood off to the side next to Amelia (in green) so that I could catch Sam if he started sliding off the bench. I was not too far away and worked hard to stay out of the shot.
As I was poised to rescue Sam if needed and Mike was snapping away I saw red out of the corner of my eye.
In horror I thought, "Oh no this Santa is going to make a liar of me. I promised Natalie!"
I was also envisioning crying, screaming and jumping from the sleigh.
A bit dramatic but in truth what I thought at the time.
Mike kept snapping pictures and I avoided drawing any attention to the fact that Santa was near...very very near. And as fast as Santa was in place he was gone...back in his chair all safe and sound. As Natalie stood up from her sleigh seat and peered back at Santa to make sure he was still where he should be I smiled a sigh of relief...wondering..just wondering if it had really just happened. Would we actually get a photo with our kids and Santa?
Mike was furiously scrolling through the shots on the camera while I placed our kids back on the ground. I waited and saw the smile come across his face knowing that we had it... the Santa photo! And it was all done without the kids ever knowing he was there.
So, a great family time at the tree farm ended with a fun surprise.
We quietly chatted in the car home wondering how we should unveil this secret to the girls. In the end we decided to order a few special photo holiday cards for family and have Natalie and Amelia sign them. A few weeks later when the cards arrived Mike and I could not wait to show the girls and see their reaction.
Knowing that they were signing special cards for grandparents and family the girls sat anxiously waiting with pens in hand. With Mike watching I sat down in front of them and said,
"These are special cards girls with a special photo so write your name really nice please."
Both Natalie and Amelia were bouncing in anticipation as I slowly pulled the card out of the envelope and showed them.
The looks on their faces were priceless and almost simultaneously they exclaimed,
"WHAT? WHAT?"
Their shocked faces were peering at Mike and I unbelieving at what they saw before them.
Thinking to jog their memory I asked, "Where are we in this picture?"
A long pause and then Amelia smiled and said sincerely, "The North Pole?"
Natalie looked at her incredulously while she replied, "The Christmas Tree farm"
Many moments went by where we watched the memories and emotions travel across the girl's faces. As parents we savored the moment of awe for them. The silence was finally broken as with amazed looks on their faces Amelia spoke up and asked, "How did this happen?"
Now that it is Christmas Eve and we are on finally on the last day of our advent calendar...the day where Amelia (the even number girl) gets to move the snowflake to the 24th while Natalie (the odd number girl) watches. The same day that every kid we know has been waiting for.
Well, we thought it would be fun to share the story behind this photo.
As seen in the previous post we have a tradition of cutting down our own christmas tree. At the tree farm in addition to tromping through the trees the kids get to enjoy farm animals, a fabulous train set in the gift shop, and of course opportunities to pose for fun photos. Every year there is one activity at the farm that out kids choose to skip....sitting on Santa's lap. In both our families photos with Santa were never on the holiday to do list and something that we have not even considered for our own kids. So when we see various Santas throughout the season our kids well...they have absolutely no interest in seeing him, talking to him and no way are the ever going to sit on his lap. To be honest...they are afraid of him. Not in a run crying and screaming kind of way...just in the wary and watching him from afar kind of way.
Right before we were leaving from the farm I saw a wooden sleigh set up for photo opportunities and thought we should get one more shot. With the bribe of a treat in the car on the way home the kids happily obliged. While loading the sleigh Natalie (in yellow) gave Santa a wary look. I saw this and to speed the photo along looked her in the eye and said,
"Natalie, Santa is not coming over here, He will stay in his chair...I promise".
Amelia of course hearing me say this was instantly relieved and boarded the sleigh. I had no reason to believe that Santa would leave his green Adirondack chair which you can most likely see in the background of the photo.
Like a good Mom I stood off to the side next to Amelia (in green) so that I could catch Sam if he started sliding off the bench. I was not too far away and worked hard to stay out of the shot.
As I was poised to rescue Sam if needed and Mike was snapping away I saw red out of the corner of my eye.
In horror I thought, "Oh no this Santa is going to make a liar of me. I promised Natalie!"
I was also envisioning crying, screaming and jumping from the sleigh.
A bit dramatic but in truth what I thought at the time.
Mike kept snapping pictures and I avoided drawing any attention to the fact that Santa was near...very very near. And as fast as Santa was in place he was gone...back in his chair all safe and sound. As Natalie stood up from her sleigh seat and peered back at Santa to make sure he was still where he should be I smiled a sigh of relief...wondering..just wondering if it had really just happened. Would we actually get a photo with our kids and Santa?
Mike was furiously scrolling through the shots on the camera while I placed our kids back on the ground. I waited and saw the smile come across his face knowing that we had it... the Santa photo! And it was all done without the kids ever knowing he was there.
So, a great family time at the tree farm ended with a fun surprise.
We quietly chatted in the car home wondering how we should unveil this secret to the girls. In the end we decided to order a few special photo holiday cards for family and have Natalie and Amelia sign them. A few weeks later when the cards arrived Mike and I could not wait to show the girls and see their reaction.
Knowing that they were signing special cards for grandparents and family the girls sat anxiously waiting with pens in hand. With Mike watching I sat down in front of them and said,
"These are special cards girls with a special photo so write your name really nice please."
Both Natalie and Amelia were bouncing in anticipation as I slowly pulled the card out of the envelope and showed them.
The looks on their faces were priceless and almost simultaneously they exclaimed,
"WHAT? WHAT?"
Their shocked faces were peering at Mike and I unbelieving at what they saw before them.
Thinking to jog their memory I asked, "Where are we in this picture?"
A long pause and then Amelia smiled and said sincerely, "The North Pole?"
Natalie looked at her incredulously while she replied, "The Christmas Tree farm"
Many moments went by where we watched the memories and emotions travel across the girl's faces. As parents we savored the moment of awe for them. The silence was finally broken as with amazed looks on their faces Amelia spoke up and asked, "How did this happen?"
Looking at each other all Mike and I could do is smile and say,
"It's the magic of Santa. It's the magic of Santa."
"It's the magic of Santa. It's the magic of Santa."
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The Hunt
Last Saturday we spent our morning hunting for the perfect tree.
For those of you who know me well you know that Christmas is my favorite time of year.
This has nothing to do with all the holiday gifts and goodies but instead with all the decorations.
There is just something about twinkling lights and the smell of a tree that bring joy to my spirit.
The hunt went well and the girls were troopers.
They followed the leader (me) waiting until I found the perfect tree.
For Sam since he does not walk well in snow we were smart parents and brought a sled.
Too bad he did not want to ride in it.
I paid the price.
My arms hurt for two days after that.
It must be a sign that I am getting old.
For those of you who know me well you know that Christmas is my favorite time of year.
This has nothing to do with all the holiday gifts and goodies but instead with all the decorations.
There is just something about twinkling lights and the smell of a tree that bring joy to my spirit.
The hunt went well and the girls were troopers.
They followed the leader (me) waiting until I found the perfect tree.
For Sam since he does not walk well in snow we were smart parents and brought a sled.
Too bad he did not want to ride in it.
I paid the price.
My arms hurt for two days after that.
It must be a sign that I am getting old.
let the hunt begin
still looking...Mom is picky
Amelia smiling in the sunshine
Sammy happy because he escaped the sled
finally in front of our real tree
classic sleds
good family phototoo bad I already ordered the
Christmas cards ; )
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Snow...snow...snow
The first glorious batch arrived about 10 days ago. The second batch was in the form of freezing rain in the past week. The third batch...well it is scheduled to start today and continue into Thanksgiving tomorrow. Thankfully we do not have too far to travel for our turkey day festivities.
The Saturday that the first snow fell I saw in the girls all the joy and excitement that kids have when they go to bed with green grass and wake up to a world of white. They could not wait to get out and play. Sam was just as excited as he is NEVER to be left out of the fun...trust me he will let you know how he feels about being left behind. So I bundled him up and took him out to experience the fun of Minnesota snow.
I think the photos may indicate a change of his mind in the future! : )
Shoveling the lawn
Emily their snowGIRL!
Natalie hiding out
Preparing to defend their fort
Launching defensive weapons
Natalie planning her strategy
Sam making Mom be his Sherpa
How Sam really feels about snowSunday, November 7, 2010
Sunday Smiles
Today was yet another beautiful fall day that we could not let pass by.
Family fun and Sunday smiles at the nearby playground.
Enjoy!
Family fun and Sunday smiles at the nearby playground.
Enjoy!
Slide climbing Amelia
Serious Sammy
Swinging Natalie
Sam and Natalie
Sam and Amelia
Sisters
Sliding Siblings
Sunday SmilesMonday, November 1, 2010
From pumpkin carving to trick-or-treating
Life is crazy around here with three little kids pumped up on sugar.
Getting to a computer to record the funny things the kids say is getting harder everyday.
Please forgive me for the sporadic posts.
I would like to think life will die down and I will get back into the flow of things.
Though with the major holidays around the corner I am not so sure that is going to happen. : )
Enjoy the following pictures from the past weekend.
Enjoy the following pictures from the past weekend.
Natalie and Amelia
Sam
The kids
Mike carving with power tools
The finished product
Amelia
Natalie
and our little monkey Sam
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