Como-winter version

We headed to Como just before Christmas in hopes of catching some warmth in the Conservatory. Not only that, but Lincoln has been begging to see the tigers for quite some time. Sometimes when we enter the sunken garden area, we get a picture like the one above. And sometimes we get one like the photo below of Lincoln... 😦

It just cracks me up! 

I took what felt like a bazillion photos, and yet this one describes the moment perfectly. Sidney was compliant, Lincoln wanted nothing to do with pictures and Regan was having fun mocking her little bro. 

It's not always roses with this crew! 

I adore the sunken garden. Always have and probably always will. As I snapped pictures, I told the girls that some day, they could have a wedding in there! Sidney was intrigued and I'm pretty sure she is already planning that ceremony :)  

We came upon these wild looking spiky plants and I giggled, telling Regan to sit next to it. You see, her hair has all these wild curly strands that have a mind of their own; and they look identical to this plant. 

Let's take a closer look at that thing....

 Even she couldn't help but laugh at the resemblance. 

Ryan was quick and snagged a somewhat blurry picture of me with the kids (ok so there were 5 other photos just like this where someone wasn't looking at the camera!). The background of this place made us feel like we were all in a warmer climate, which was just what we all needed on a chilly morning. 

Oh that cheesy smile, how I love our 4 year old spunky, full of energy little boy. 

He drives us batty some  most days, and he wakes at 5am no matter what time he goes to sleep. But I remind Ryan a lot that these moments in time won't last forever. Sure he asks for 2 hugs before bedtime, and begs for the other parent to re-enter the room for yet another "good night", then yells for another drink of water. You get the picture. As we know, these kids grow up quickly, and we know he won't stay little too much longer.  

Following all of my picture taking in the warm conservatory climate, we headed out to the frozen tundra and took in all of the animals. TWICE. 

That little animal loving boy made us do the loop of animals two times. We had a great morning and Como continues to be one of our favorite family activities. 

Slowing down, silly fun

I've been trying hard to push the "pause" button this month. Doing things like putting down my phone, soaking in the kids and simply enjoying the moment. Our days have been so full between incredibly demanding roles at work, 3 super active children who are all striving for our attention and phones that go buzz buzz buzz requiring replies to emails, attention to lost packages and stolen identities (sadly, yes that too is occurring).

But when we slow down a little and let go of everything for a moment, we see what's really important to us. And the smiles on those faces make it all worth the tasks piling up on the other end!

Christmas celebrations

Tis the season for all of the Christmas celebrating. We are in the middle of some good times around here, song-singing, music-playing, cookie-eating fun. Oh and don't forget the shopping...that seriously is one of my most favorites! We're full into Christmas mode around here.

This past weekend was a doozey, with my own work Christmas party (ugly sweaters and all!), some school music programs (with kids performing all of 8 minutes!), and my brother and Jon in town for our first family Christmas celebration. It was a whirlwind of a weekend, buzzing here there and everywhere yet soaking in all of the time together.

At one point, amidst all of the present chaos, a fat Santa glass ornament went tumbling off our Christmas tree and rolled towards the group. Since no one was near the tree at the time, Ryan chuckled that it was a squirrel. My mom and I looked at each other and in unison said "or someone....", knowing full well what the other was thinking. We sure missed my dad this weekend, with his antics and our traditionally exchanged gag gift, but at that moment, I knew he was with us. In some form, he's here and I take comfort in his presence.

We had a great time this weekend, eating and baking to our hearts content. Leaves me wishing every weekend was Christmas!

My favorite 4 legged friend

I know I've mentioned it before....I have a 4 legged friend who doesn't belong to me but treats me like he does! My good friend at work has a service dog-Baylor, who I love just like my own! He sure makes being at work so much more pleasant, who wouldn't love having a dog around the office!? Every morning, while Angie scoots past my office door to the printer, he trots in for a good morning hello. Some times, after a long weekend, or a vacation, he will bounce in like a bunny, ears flopping and all excited to say hello! Seriously, he cracks me up. It makes me giggle when I scroll through my photos in my phone and find pictures of Baylor like he was my own :) 

Sometimes he sits at my feet, sometimes he follows me out the door. No matter what, I love that fluffy golden and am so glad Angie doesn't make me abide by his "no petting" sign! 

Winter wedding

We were fortunate enough to be able to spend a most lovely evening with my best friend and some 100 of her closest friends and families as she got married this December. The kids can only ever remember being at outdoor weddings (something my great aunt scowls at...."weddings should be done in the church!"), so when I told the kids that Kari's wedding was at a hotel, they were utterly confused. Sidney swore she was getting married in an apartment! You know, hotels---apartments, they're all the same ;) 

It was a beautiful evening and we had an awesome time slowing down and enjoying the night. The kiddos danced the night away, having a great time with the friends we love like family. 

Congrats Kari and Lyle! We are so excited for your family! 

Christmas season

Following Thanksgiving, it suddenly felt that the Christmas season was quickly upon us! We headed out on a warm November Friday and picked out our tree at the usual spot. It's a local distributor and they entice us with free sleigh rides! And photos with the Big Man himself. There also happens to be an incredible playground nearby and the kids played while Ryan and I found the perfect tree. Proved to be the perfect combination.

We spent the weekend decorating and talking about Christmas and Lincoln honestly thought he was going to get presents from Santa each  night. Every night, he went to bed and announced Santa would be coming because it was CHRISTMAS! Despite our efforts to remind him it was only the "Christmas SEASON". He prevailed.

Our Elf-Ellie made an early return one morning too. Back story, Sidney lost a tooth and was so excited for the Tooth Fairy to come overnight. The next morning, with tears in her eyes, she opened the bathroom door while I was getting ready for work and informed me the fairy hadn't come. She crawled back into bed feeling deflated. Thankfully, with some quick thinking, the Elf appeared in our newly decorated tree with a note and $5 she had kept safe from the Tooth Fairy. Sidney came down the stairs eventually and her eyes were as big as saucers when she saw 1) that Ellie was back and 2) her tooth money! Win for mom ;) And that elf has been up to no good ever since!

We've done (a lot) of shopping, scouring the stores for deals and Regan even asked to check out the Black Friday hoopla with me. It was sure a fun afternoon hanging out with her. We 've pulled out all of our Christmas decorations and decked the halls, inside and out.
We're gearing up for some ugly Christmas sweater parties and cannot wait to take a family picture with those things. I found this one for Ryan and he nearly gagged at the sight! ha!!

The Christmas parties have started and there are more on the calendar. I was able to make the trek back to New Ulm for a party on my mom's side with Regan as my side kick. I had to chuckle as we chatted that afternoon...."boy these parties sure have changed!". What used to be a rocking night of music, drinks, games and pranks, has turned into a Sunday afternoon in a retirement community lounge room with coffee and hotdish! :) But I sure love these faces and was happy to be in their company and with the group of 40 some people that day.

There's more Christmas to come, more shopping to do and baking to start. My goal is to slow down a little too, it's been 'run here, race there' lately and I'm hopeful for some more nights in with this little family of my own.

Thanksgiving out-take

Before the hoopla of Thanksgiving, I tried getting a "birthday picture" of the kids with my mom. It was her birthday the next day, so fitting to grab a photo. 

Lincoln was good taking his own picture, but increased his crabbiness when his sisters joined the picture. By the time I wanted one of all 4 of them together, this was what he looked like. 

HA! 

It wasn't perfect, but eventually I got him to at least look at the camera :) 

Turkey day 2017

 We started off Thanksgiving a little different this year. Working in health care, rehab to be more specific, I am thankful every single day that I have the ability to exercise. In fact, as odd as it sounds, I'm incredibly thankful to be able to run. So it seemed fitting to start off my Thanksgiving day with a quick 5K. 

To clarify, this was totally not my idea. In fact, see that other girl in the photo below? It was her idea. Regan's friend Adrian wanted desperately to run this race, but her parents are not runners. As she and Regan enjoyed cross country over the fall, the idea to run the Turkey Day run grew and suddenly included me! None of us parents were willing to let the girls lose with 9,000 runners, and it seemed safest for someone to run along side. I volunteered myself, knowing it would be a good way to start the day. 

The beauty that morning was stunning. We ran through downtown and near the river. It was a gorgeous morning (yes, a little chilly but at least it wasn't windy!). 

I was so proud of the girls! They stuck with it, running the entire time. I paced them at 10 minutes/mile and although they were winded, they never needed to stop. I tried striking up conversations with them, but could tell they were both too tired to think and too out of breath to respond :) Super happy to have spent the morning with my oldest! 

 After the run, we got to join the rest of the crew and prepped our Thanksgiving meal. 

Four days before Thanksgiving, Ryan got the bright idea to deep fry the turkey this year. I sort of did a 'face-palm', because again, working in health care, I envisioned spending Thanksgiving in the ER due to burns. So we both read and watched and scoured the internet on "how to cook a turkey without killing yourself". There are some pretty great reads out there! 

I'm happy to announce it was a complete success! No one was injured and Ryan was beyond pleased with the outcome of his bird. I can't say the smell of it was anything grand, we had to open 6 windows and the front door (think greasy fast food joint); so much for that delicious cooked turkey smell. Apparently in his mind, it was totally worth it. 

At the end of the day, I felt so much love in my heart and as always, am so thankful for these three cuties who call me mom. 

Grandparent's breakfast and Music programs

Sidney had a pretty busy week recently at school, both Grandparent's breakfast and her 3rd grade music program in a matter of days. Her guests got to accompany her for breakfast and the annual book fair. My guess is that she loved the extra attention (and it was the first time she didn't have to share any with Regan!).

Her music program and the art show were just a few days later. She was nervous beyond words and super excited. Her "monster" art project had a donut head, it looked so yummy I could eat it! 

This little girl has a slew of friends and I'm so thankful for each and every one of them. They were so cute, all excited and nervous as they eagerly talked about the upcoming show. 

They really did such a great job on stage. So proud of Sidney and all of her friends! Kuddos to the music teacher for bringing all of the classes together for this massive 3rd grade program!

November little things

November has been flying past. I am amazed at the sheer number of pictures on my phone, and some of them are just too cute to keep to myself!

I went to happy hour with my amazing coworkers, and one particular colleague just couldn't help himself. He sat at my feet, resting his head on my lap for the majority of dinner. He's so darn cute.  

Sidney's teacher (Regan's former teacher), is simply amazing. She has read the book Wonder to her class since it first came out (including Regan's class). So when the movie came out this year, she gathered up as many kids and families that she could and we headed to that amazing movie where we cried and laughed and cried some more. 

I'm so thankful for incredible teachers, and she sure is one of them!  

Lincoln has been talking over and over about Monster Jam. He started saying those 2 words together before he even knew we had bought him tickets for his birthday. And now, it's about all he can think of. Those toy trucks come with us to school, at play time, and even bath time. It has been the best investment of the toy! 

Remember that amazing teacher I referenced? Well, one day recently, she sent me a text with this photo attached: "Hi Liz! I was correcting the science tests from last week and I had to share one of Sid's answers. Pretty sure she meant "gong". What are you and Ryan doing over there?? :) "

Oh boy did we get a good laugh out of this!

The first few weeks of November are flying by, I'm worried if I blink it'll be Christmas!