It's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!

   

We are all getting in the Christmas spirit at our house!  I have vowed to not be stressed this year and just to enjoy the season with my children.  I thought Adalyn would just be enchanted by our trees, but not so much!  She likes to take the ornaments off and put them in her mouth and try to eat them.  Maybe next year she won't be such a home-wrecker!  She does say, "Santa" and "snowman".  Also, trying to teach her a little about Jesus with our kid-friendly nativity set!  The boys, of course, have that all down! 

I bought this star the first year we were married, 10 years ago.  I went to Target a week or so after Christmas to score some good deals.  I lucked out by getting a tree for 90% off (yes, 90!), this star and some other misc. Christmas stuff.  Money was tight those first years, so we were pretty happy with our luck! 

Kaden LOVES getting the star up (with a little help from dad)!  He still remembers the year he "fixed" the star.  He had the magic touch and got it working! 

 

We literally had to "trim" the tree!

Trying to reach the plug-in!

Let there be light!

The kids had fun digging in the ornament box (with Jeremy working with Malaysia in the background!  Gotta love the 14 hour time difference interfering with our Christmas decorating.  Ugh.)

Hudsen putting up an ornament given to me by my grandma.  It says "You're an Angel".  I truly believe she thought I was!  Now she is mine!  (I find myself REALLY missing my grandparents at Christmas)

Hudsen LOVES Christmas (what kid doesn't!?!?).  He may just be our future pastor!  He has got it all down!  SO cute to hear him tell us about Jesus and the first Christmas.

On to our next event!  Hudsen's preschool Christmas program at Precious Pebbles.  I love this little school so much and feel so blessed to have discovered it this year for our little Huddy.  He has benefitted so much from being there.

Miss Judy with all of her special little preschool friends.  Hudsen is in the back.

This should have been my first indication by his face that he was going to be shy up there.  He had been singing his songs, especially "Go Tell it on the Mountain" for about a month on the top of his lungs.  I thought he was just going to blow us away...

Not so much.

Watch this.

At least he is cute, right??  :)  

I thought he was going to fall asleep up there!

He felt much better when it was all over with!  So much for his singing career! This is his best buddy Simon.  

Giving Dad a Huddy hug

Our first real snowfall happened last Friday, the 3rd.  

The boys were thrilled of course!  Grandma got here just in time to do some Christmas shopping with me.  We had a blast late Friday night at Toys R Us and we were both feeling quite miserable, delirious and overwhelmed (me especially!) when my mom announced at 9:30 or so, "I need a margarita!"  So, we paid for our stuff, got the heck out of there, took off in my 4 wheel drive (thank GOD for those!) and headed to her favorite, Applebees.  I am not usually a big fan of the place, until...I had their pomegranate margarita!  YUM!  We had some appetizers and could not believe how many crazy people were there that late at night during a snowstorm!  I went to bed that night thinking, "I can get through the craziness of Christmas with the help of my mom AND MARGARITAS!"  :)

Addie LOVED watching the boys go down the hill on their snowboards and sleds.  It has been way too cold to take her out, but the first 30 degree day (March!?) we will have her out!

                                               

CrAzY Minnesota kids!

      Smart girls, staying warm, watching all of the action!

                                             

November Happenings

 November came and went about as fast as every month does.  Jeremy left for his work trip to Malaysia on the 11th.  We decided to take advantage of the beautiful fall weather a few days before he left and went down to Silver Lake to feed the ducks and geese.  
The boys had a blast chasing and feeding the wildlife!

 I love these moments between brothers.

We decided to make it easy on ourselves and leave Miss Addie in her stroller when we were by the lake.  :) 

We walked over to the little playground and Daddy was a little "helicopter-ish" with Adalyn!  

She has a very protective daddy! 

It was SO nice to be wearing t-shirts in November.  

Every year for the last 4 years we have packed shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.  This is such an awesome giving experience that I feel like the kids actually "get".  They help with the packaging of the toys and goodies and then we drop off the boxes at a local church.

Addie has a little friend named Landon.  He is Hudsen's friend Simon's little brother.  He is just a doll and such a good little boy!  Addie loves him.

Addie liked to feed him.  Poor little man! 

When daddy got home from his big 10 day trip around the world, he was SO tired (so was I, but for different reasons!) he didn't even know what day it was.  I felt so bad for him.  Addie stuck very close to her daddy.  If she had it her way, she wouldn't let him ever leave again!  

 She was full of hugs and kisses for her daddy.

One last picture.  Our drooling dog.  Kinda gross, but kinda funny too!

 Next up, CHRISTMAS is coming!  

Happy NINTH Birthday Kaden (best day ever!)

It's official...my firstborn is NINE!  Wow!  Next year is double digits!  I wish he would slow down a little bit! It seems like just yesterday I was rocking him in the middle of the night wishing and praying that he wouldn't grow up too fast.  

Jeremy had to leave on the day before his birthday for a work trip to Malaysia, so we started celebrating early.  Monday night Jeremy took the boys to a movie, Megamind.  

Wednesday night was when we decided to let him open his gifts from us and then go out for supper and have cake.  Hudsen worked really hard on a picture for Kaden's birthday.  That was his gift to his big bro.

Kaden was very gracious and gave Hudsen a great big hug.  I love seeing our boys like this.

Kaden loves the book Hatchet so he has his own copy now.  He also got some new Star Wars Legos and a subscription to Sports Illustrated Kids.

Jeremy was telling me that one of his favorite birthday memories as a kid was when his parents tied his presents to string and hid them all over the house.  He had to follow the string to each present.  

We did this for Kaden's big gift.  Here are the boys following the string throughout the house:

The string ended in the linen closet in the upstairs.  Tied to the box was a little box and in that box was exactly what he had been wanting.  An iPod!  He was SO thrilled!  We got a killer deal on one.  Thank goodness because I was not excited about giving him one.  He will be an "Apple guy" for sure!   How can you not be??? (that's my Apple plug!) Monica and I joke how if they made dishwashers we would buy one!  

That evening we went out for supper to anywhere he wanted to go.  He picked Outback.  We came home and cut into his Hawkeye cake.  I decided to try making his cake this year.  It was actually pretty easy.  It isn't perfect, but it sure did taste pretty yummy!  It was all worth it when I saw this smile:

Jeremy left Thursday afternoon for his big trip.  This is what Malaysia looks like right now:  
Lucky ducky!  He got to sit by this pool at his hotel for a few days when he got there to recover from his 20 hours of flying.  Wish I was there with him...OK, back to Kaden!
The boys, Grandma Blum and I loaded up with Matthew and Monica Friday a.m. to the WI Dells for Kaden's big day.  He didn't have school on his birthday and he was just thrilled he got to go to one of his favorite places on Earth!  We were looking forward to showing Grandma this place we get to go to a few times a year thanks to discovering the best kept secret at the Dells.  One night for 49 bucks which includes 4 waterpark passes!  We love this little hotel and love the deal they offer even more!  It makes it pretty dang affordable for us.  We started swimming and going down the waterslides as soon as we got there.  We all had a blast.   Here is the link to some incredible pictures of the day taken by Monica:
http://thewillitsfamilytribune.blogspot.com/2010/11/best-day-everhope-you-want-to-see-some.html
I love this picture that Monica took of Kaden and Matthew walking out of the amazing Italian pizza place we seem to always end up at when we are in the Dells.  After an amazing meal and dining experience for the boys (and us!, Kaden looked at us and said, "this was the best day ever!"  What's better than that????? 

My mission to not have him dwell on missing his dad on his birthday had been accomplished!  These are the days and moments that I am SO thankful that I get to be a mommy to these amazing kiddos of mine!  

November 8th, 2010

Today is my grandpa's birthday.  He went to heaven 8 years ago, on Kaden's first birthday.  I still think of him almost everyday.  He was the kindest, gentlest, most patient, and most loving man I have ever met.  He served in the Navy in World War II.  He is an example of how I would love my sons to grow up to be.  I think about how much joy he would get by watching my kids grow up.  He knew Kaden for a year and just adored him.  He was a very proud great grandpa.   I am certain he is another one of our angels that is watching over us...

This picture was taken while he was stationed on Tinian Island, which is where the base was where the US launched their atomic bombs on Japan during WWII.  This plane he is standing by in the picture is the "Bockscar" which dropped the nuclear weapon "Fat Man" on Nagasaki.  

Until we meet again Grandpa...

Halloween 2010

Our pumpkins this year (Hudsen and Jeremy's on the left and Kaden and mine on the right)  

Two very scary phantoms and one sweet little Care Bear!  (She was afraid of her brothers, she would barely even stand by them, so this was the best picture I could get of all three of them!)

The boys' eyes were really cool how they lit up off and on.  

Addie tried to keep up with her big bro!  Her first trick or treating at David and Karen's:

Our neighbors Sean and Julia take pictures of the kids every year and count how many trick or treaters they get.  Last year it was over 100!  

 The boys always love to find their picture on the board.  

Adalyn and her little buddy Landon

They lasted about an hour riding in their strollers trick or treating.  

Addie's two new words of the day are "candy" and "sticky"  

Hmm...I wonder why?

Paris Day 7

Our last full day in Paris.  So sad to leave yet SO excited to get back home and get back to normal.  I missed my kids, my house, my town.  Basically my life!  That is the great thing about traveling I think.  You appreciate your life and where you are from so much more.  I experienced that even when I travelled to Texas in February.  Does that mean I am right where I am meant to be?  I believe I have been blessed with the gift of contentment.  I love exactly where I am right now.  
So, our last day in Paris consisted of me shopping and Jeremy working.  Sound familiar? He left early again and I got up and got ready to tackle the Metro on my own.

By the end of our trip, I had the Metro all figured out!  I got to the Louvre metro stop and started shopping.  I got some little things for the boys and also a little dress for Addie at a big department store where NO one spoke English.  I was a tad bit intimidated, but I pressed on!  I also got a few little Paris trinkets for myself.  It was a fun day!  This door caught my eye from across the street on Rivoli Avenue.  

  

(I have a thing for doors)

Jeremy and I went on our last date in Paris around the corner from our hotel.  L'Artoisewas the name of the restaurant.  Definitely our favorite of all time.  It was a tiny little place that was run by an older gentleman (later we found out he was the owner).  He may have been the nicest person in France (hard to come by, by the way!)  Such a personality and did everything to make sure our meal was perfect.  And it was.  Four-course wonderfulness!   

 Adieu Paris jusqu'à la prochaine fois...

Paris Day 6

Day 6 (Wednesday, Oct. 13th) consisted of not much (for me anyway!).  Jeremy left super early to catch the metro and then the city bus to IBM.  He said the commute was a "nightmare".  I think he came away with a greater appreciation of his 7 1/2 minute commute in Rochester!  (There's no place like home!)
I decided to hang around in the room and work on some pictures I had taken on the trip and just lounge around.  It was great!  Later in the afternoon I did get out and did some shopping down the street and also grabbed some lunch. While shopping, I found the very sought-after French salt.    

Oh and I took a big nap!  My poor husband!  Working SO hard so I can shop and nap.  I love my life!
Our date that night consisted of an evening on the top of the Eiffel Tower!  I couldn't wait until he got back from work so we could experience that.  I got all dressed up and waited.  Finally he got back to the hotel, had a quick glass of wine and we were off to one of the best nights ever.  

This isn't the best video, but I don't care.

Jeremy was kind of being a chicken about the whole thing and told me that the second level was as high as he wanted to go.  Well, I wouldn't have any of that!  I talked him into going all the way to the top.  How many times do you get the chance to go to the Eiffel Tower?  

And back on the ground where Jeremy likes to be:

We walked a ways to get this shot:

What a memorable night I'll never forget! Probably our best date night ever! The Eiffel Tower is truly a gem and you really can't appreciate it fully unless you go there and see it in person.