A Picture Update

Happy Friday! Is anyone else gobsmacked that it is December tomorrow? I am. And only 3 weeks until Christmas break and a certain 3rd grader’s 9th birthday...what?!? Mind-boggling.

Anyway, here are the (few) pics I’ve got this week.

Maya being a goof and taking selfies:

Extra time outside in the snow with G-ma and Pa due to a couple half days this week:

And a full day with Boom and Iris due to no school today!

I got home before everyone this afternoon, so I went outside for a solo run for the first time in a LONG time. I usually run a bit with Luna outside, but it is always a little more stressful because of how alert I have to be at all times, so it was nice to just focus on myself. Later Chris and the girls played some Harry Potter video game. 

Lastly, I’d like to give a shout out to the school lunch menu and my unpicky child, because she eats most everything and so I only have to make one school lunch most days.

Guys...Coo-Koo and Looney return tomorrow! It’s gonna be an exciting morning!

Have a great weekend!

Timehop Tuesday

First up: Maya! That one on the left is one of my favorite pics of her!

Then: me and Cal.

And lastly, Thanksgiving.

Christmas is Coming

I forgot to mention that we decorated for Christmas yesterday. No tree yet, but the decorations are out and Christmas music was on all day.

Also, Callie is now officially obsessed with Harry Potter.

Speaking of magical things, I have 5 more days to mentally prepare for the return of our elves. Coo-Koo and Loony will be making their seasonal debut on Saturday morning.

Accepting all creative and inspirational vibes and ideas for the first 25 days of December!

Weekend Wrap-Up

It was a pretty chill weekend. I barely left the house yesterday and I loved it! Callie went to see “A Christmas Carol” at the Guthrie with Boom, and she loved it!

I was pretty much cleaning all day yesterday, and when I tried to have Callie help sort and organize books, she ended up just reading them. Maya too. Stinkers.

Today we had Lucy for a chunk of the day! I got her by myself for an hour and it was so fun. But she was very excited when her cousins came home.

The Helds came over for pizza and a movie this evening. Our kiddos are just getting so big.

But they still love their jammies.

Here are some videos from today!

Have a great week!

A Picture Update

Happy Friday!

What a week! Whew! Let’s see...Maya did some “brave spelling” on Monday.

Her class made “Stone Soup” on Tuesday.

On Wednesday the girls helped prepare the Thanksgiving good with G-ma and Auntie Cat. And Thursday morning I made my broccoli corn casserole.

We headed to Boom’s for Thanksgiving. G-ma, Pa, Auntie Cat, Uncle Dan, and Auntie Hanna came too! We had fun playing and eating and being together.

My children (mainly the oldest child) sabotaged the family photo. After a few tries we gave up. Here’s the best one.

Speaking of disastrous pictures, here are some outtakes from our family photo that I posted yesterday. Maya was not a happy camper.

But we eked out a good one, so I’ll post it again.

Late in the afternoon, Auntie Yoda, Uncle Craigles and Lucy arrived!

It was a busy day and we had a blast, though we missed Auntie Mari and Uncle Josh!

This morning the girls and I headed to G-ma’s house for a scrapbooking party! Auntie Hanna and her sisters Michelle and Becca were there, along with Becca’s two kids, Bronco and Violet. We kept working on Dan and Hanna’s engagement scrapbook and got it finished!

It was so fun to look at when we put it all together.

Tonight while Chris was out on Reserve Duty, the girls and I met up with Boom, Auntie Yoda, Uncle Craigles, Lucy and all the Johnson cousins for dinner! It was a rainy night but Callie was excited to use her umbrella. 

Have a great weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello! I hope everyone had a lovely day filled with family, friends, food and gratitude. We sure did.

Our Thanksgiving holiday started last night at the Thanksgiving Eve service at our church. I was asked by one of our pastors to be a “preaching partner” with her and share my Gratitude Story.

I spent the past 5 days writing and rewriting my message, nervous and also excited to share my story. It went really well, and after the service I was able to connect with lots of people about gratitude. It was just what I needed.

If you’d like to read what I said, you can click here. 

I’ll post more about our Thanksgiving tomorrow, but thought I’d share a few photos tonight too.

And a Callie QOTD, which happened as I was putting her to bed.

Me: When did you feel grateful today?

Callie: At Thanksgiving!

Me: What were you grateful FOR?

Callie: (slight pause, totally serious) MY BUNS.

I suppose I should explain that pretty much the only food she ate from this delicious and bountiful spread of food...

...was the dang dinner rolls. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Timehop Tuesday

I almost forgot it was Tuesday!

Here’s Cal:

And me and Maya:

And my favorite- matching outfits!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Happy Sunday! 

I didn’t take too many pictures this weekend. The two I took yesterday were when we met Boom at Southdale to see the Grinch Movie. It was a pretty cute movie. And Maya enjoyed “motorcycling” too.

Today we spent most of the day with the Koch family at Christine’s confirmation. It was at the St. Paul Cathedral, and we got to see a Lego version of the cathedral when we were wandering around the church waiting for the mass to start. It was so fun to see Christine and she gets taller every time we see her. We went to Cosetta’s after the service to have dinner and Gelato!

Chris was Christine’s “manny” when she was born and then asked to be her Godfather when she was baptized. We babysat her and her older brothers when we were in our young 20s. She was the flower girl in our wedding when she was about 2-and-a-half.  This picture popped up on Timehop in the past couple weeks so I saved it for this very purpose. I’m guessing it was for her first communion, so here we are full circle at her confirmation!

Have a great Thanksgiving Week!

A Picture Update

Happy Friday!

We had a pretty chill week. 

On Mondays after school we enjoy watching Dancing With the Stars: Junior.

I took the girls out to eat on Wednesday since Chris had a meeting, and Maya REALLY loved her spaghetti and meatball.

Callie was too cool to enjoy her pizza as much.

I got to snuggle my friend Kara’s tiny baby Elsbeth today and it was delightful.

Callie and I started reading Harry Potter together this week (and Maya wanted to be in the picture but she spends the time we read playing grocery store).

And here are a few videos (dance party! And a little reading).  Click here!

Have a great weekend!

Timehop Tuesday

First up, kindergarteners at work.

And then, fancy at weddings in cool locations (Left: MN History Center, Right: MN Zoo).

Weekend Wrap-Up

Happy Sunday!

Yesterday morning we started the day with Maya in a mullet.

The girls and I decided to go to the library and they wanted to walk...so we did.

While they were at dance, I met Mom, Laura, Craig and Lucy for lunch. Pizza with a toddler is always an adventure!

Then Mom, Laura and I went to see the show “Noises Off” at the Guthrie. It was HILARIOUS and I highly recommend it if you are in need of a fun and uplifting theater experience!

Chris got a Harry Potter video game for Callie, so while I made some soup, they played a bit of it. When I came down to watch, Maya yelled “Mom! Dad got Callie a PETER POTTY VIDEO GAME!” 🤣

Chris played a little too, because Callie has my video game skills, which is none.

This morning the girls made themselves spaceships. After church we headed to Boom’s house and were just very busy with playing, spelling tests, and tattoos.

Lucy and Auntie Yoda came over after Lucy’s nap and there was lots of shenanigans!

I’ll leave you with some video shenanigans! Click here!