Time flies

It dawned on me this evening:
 Lincoln is 6 years old.
In 6 more years, Regan will be approaching her 20th birthday.
 Two decades.
Oh my heck!
Which led me to think how much our lives have changed in is last decade.
So let’s recap that right here, before we ring in the new year.

In 2009, we lived in a tiny 1200 square foot house with two little girls who loved to color and paint, sing and dance. They loved each other fiercely, looked after one another and and were best of friends.

We outgrew that house and moved to one with more space and a gorgeous backyard; the girls were instantly in love with the pool.

They grew into silly, sassy, sweet things and also found fun!

Regan started school and Sidney loved joining her for lunch. 

Ahhh, look at that cuteness!

We played and explored, did a little traveling and a lot of family time. 

We had fewer extra curricular activities and more together time.

And in 2013 we added one more to the mix. A boy to shake up all that cute girly stuff. 

He loved puppies and mischief and making a giant mess. 

But those girls love him no matter what. 

Oh our rolly-polly boy how we love you! 

We found time to explore

And make memories

We traveled and hiked

And taught photography to the littlest of the bunch

We made time to relax and bask in the sun

And run, jump to burn off energy

We got baptized and first communioned (not on the same day)

We splashed and made a mess!

And traveled some more

The last decade has been incredible and full and amazing in so many ways. It's hard to believe all of that happened in just 10 years. I'm excited for the next 10 :) 

Twas the week of Christmas....

,...and everyone was stirring!

We had a whole lot of busy-ness happening the week of Christmas. With three busy children and two full time working parents, there is never a dull moment around here.

Somehow we squeezed in all sorts of Christmas prep.

 

Sidney got to baking and whipped up all sorts of treats and goodies for us to enjoy. She (not so excitedly) let Lincoln help make cut out cookies one day.

 

 

Some fair weather days allowed us to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. We went sledding, played at parks and even went on scooter rides around the neighborhood.

 

Our elf-Ellie and her reindeer "tiger" had all sorts of tricks up their sleeves, which Lincoln thoroughly enjoyed.

 

Regan and Lincoln had class parties. They let me volunteer and I was happy to snap a few pictures with their friends. These fifth graders who freely roam hallways, have a much different party compared to the kinders.

 

All grade Kindergarten "snowball" fight....see Lincoln in orange in the middle of the gym having the time of his life tossing "snowballs" at his classmates!?

 

 

I got to see some of Lincoln's work hanging in the hallway :)

We hosted a variety of friend get togethers, and I'm so thankful that both groups enjoy Lincoln and let him tag along with any outdoor activity.

First it was Regan with her friends

 

Then Sidney and her friends

 

Ryan and I took Lincoln tubing at Buck Hill. He loves tubing and was begging to go; so one day while the girls were lazy and, we went without them. We had a great time!

 



 

My team pulled together and enjoyed an ugly sweater-white elephant gift exchange. I appreciate these people so much!

 

But in the thick of it all, we still enjoyed time at home together, under the lights of the Christmas tree (even if it was balancing the checkbook!).

 

 

It is a busy Christmas season, and we did all we could to soak it in. 

Fearless boy

On Christmas day, my mom and I took the kids to the nearby sledding hill to burn off some energy. It was a beautiful afternoon and they were delighted to race down the hill.

It had been pretty warm on the days leading up to Christmas, so the "jump" area was quite muddy. Reluctantly, Lincoln agreed not to go down the muddy mess. However, he quickly saw another jump (single jump) a little off to the side and further down the hill.

Let's just say he was in his glory racing over that jump.

Here's a video of him having a great time.

  

But let's take a little closer look at him....his face is priceless!

He did this over and over again. Each time being catapulted through the air and landing hard but laughing the whole time. He has no fear that boy :)

Christmas prep

Ready or not, here comes Christmas!

It's sort of how I feel every year, and this one is no different. I'm really trying to get into the holiday spirit, though it's not baking and cookie decorating this year.

 

We did a little "giving" with Regan's club softball team at Feed My Starving Children. It was a late Friday night with over 100 players, parents, siblings and coaches, where we packed and danced and packed some more.

 

This is a great experience to show the kids how to help those in need. Since both girls had gone before with other organizations, it was easy to bring along Sidney for this event. 

 

That mischievous elf has shown up again. Playing tricks on us and giving us a lot of good laughs. This prank wasn't so fun, as it resulted in Lincoln refusing to use that bathroom all day fearing "Ellie will see me naked!".

Backfire :)

 

 

St. Nick brought us gingerbread houses, only it turned out he didn't bring the pre-made ones. Darn it. So we had to exchange them for the much easier pre-made variety. Each kiddo decorated to their heart's content, and then Regan even let Lincoln help her finish up. Such a sweet (rare) moment!

 

After picking up our Christmas tree at the same lot we have been to for many years, Lincoln was the only one that wanted to take the annual horse drawn sleigh ride. It was FREEZING! But it was still fun, and he sported his Santa hat the whole ride.

Love you buddy.

 

And what is Christmastime without a photo alongside the big man himself?!

This picture doesn't show the groans and eyerolls from our girls, who think they are much to old to be sitting on Santa's lap. Or my pleas and bribes to do it for just one picture :) Let's face it, the days of getting all 3 of them on Santa's lap is dwindling, but I'm going to bribe for as long as it works.

 

There's still hope for baking, and driving around to see the decorations, and drinking in the holidays. It's sneaking up on us faster every year; but I'll try to soak it up while I can.

 

Skate at the X

Lincoln’s hockey association had a pretty incredible opportunity last week, to skate at the Xcel. I’m not sure who was more excited, him or Ryan (who am I kidding...it was definitely Ryan). The girls were given the choice to skip dance and join in and they jumped at the chance. 

We didn’t spot any professional players, but it was a great experience to be on the ice. Look at that smile! 

Since I didn’t have a helmet, I wasn’t allowed on the ice so I found myself playing photographer and checking out everything behind the scenes. 

Love this saying by Herb Brooks, but even more, I love all the tiny indentations where it was obvious the Wild players tapped it with their sticks every time they walked through the tunnel. 

Check out our little hockey player. 

SCORE! 

and then he promptly falls down. Ha! 

The famous wood door where all of the sports reporters interview players. 

A fun evening for all, but especially these two! 

Hawaiian family vacation island #3: Oahu (part 3 of 3)

From the Big Island we hopped a quick plane to Oahu. The cool thing about airports in Hawaii, is that they are open air. We had a super hot, incredibly sunny day as we waited for our plane. The gates are all right together, and we walked right outside to the plane and climbed in. This is such a different experience than we are used to back home.

I'm telling you, this kid fell asleep all over the place in Hawaii.

Best. Traveler. Ever.

After a stop at yet another Target (we bought lots of snacks and water on each island), we fulfilled one of Sidney's bucket list items: the Dole Pineapple Plantation.

Ryan was shocked when we pulled up at just how big this place was. We didn't have intentions of taking the tour, Sidney just wanted to be some place that had pineapple everything. And so we went into the "gift shop", which was more like a Target of it's own, filled with everything pineapple!

We stayed in a hotel instead of an Airbnb on the north shore. Accommodations weren't as easy to locate on the north shore, but I had found a place with the most incredible pool, complete with a waterfall!

The ocean on the north shore in October is considered in transition; meaning some days it could be flat like a pancake, and other days the waves are ridiculously dangerous. By December, there are massive surf competitions happening on the North Shore. We happened to be there during some of the dangerous days, so instead of frolicking in the water, we were watching as surfers took turns at the waves. No way were we headed into that water!

Oahu allowed us to act a bit more like tourists and we climbed Diamond Head on one of the hottest days! Ha!

 Can you tell that the weather was amazing in Hawaii (well, we think hot and humid is amazing though I know many people don't love it as much). We loved every second of that sun beating on our face. The climb up Diamond Head was quite treacherous for Lincoln's little legs but he loved the tunnels at the top; and by the time we were coming down, all of us felt like our legs had turned to noodles!

 

We climbed a lot of stairs, and then turned a corner and the girls looked up at more stairs and cringed....nooooo!! I kept reminding them that it will be worth it. They didn't believe me until we got to the top: "mom, this was so worth it!"

 

 

Onto the famous Waikiki Beach for lunch and some shopping. We love Waikiki, not for the beach itself, but just for the overall vibe. It is busy and the people watching is incredible. So much to do, and it is just such a picturesque representation of Hawaii with Diamond Head in the background.

We ate lunch at Duke's on Waikiki, a place Ryan and I had been 15 years prior during our honeymoon. At one point during the meal, Regan stood up and walked over to the stairs admiring the view and taking it all in. .

I'm pretty sure we could all get used to this place.



We couldn't leave Hawaii and not spend some time at Pearl Harbor. We walked around the somber grounds, reading and exploring and learning about the history. Lincoln was so interested in all that happened, wanting to know who were the bad guys and where were the good guys. Although we couldn't actually go out to the memorial (it's been closed for over a year due to safety issues with the dock), it was such an experience.

 

Our Hawaiian vacation is one that we will forever remember. We made countless memories and had amazing experiences. The kids were all excellent travelers and loved being in Hawaii. We honestly miss it every single day. Lincoln recently asked if we could just pack up all of our stuff and move there, adding "I miss Hawaii".

Me too buddy, me too.