Snow Fun!

We slipped away for a few days to enjoy some snowmobiling at The Barta's cabin in Wisconsin. Papa and Nana joined us as well for a fun time in the snow and to catch the new release of Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakel. It was great to relax after the rush of the season........

thanks for your hopspitality, Barta's, we had a fabulous time!

The view on the snowmobile trail was amazing this afternoon...

Dylan and Calli...

SURPRISE!

We received the MOST SURPRISING gift this Christmas Day......my sister and Sam! We were so ecstatic to have them home, especially for Christmas...! We could not believe our eyes as they pulled up our driveway on this Christmas afternoon...all we could do was hug, cry and jump up and down! They also gave us another wonderful present...they will be expecting their first child at the end of July!!! This was not the last surprise of the season for us.....they shared that they will be married at a beautiful beach in San Diego this March. Wow...! Thanks for the wonderful news, Amanda and Sam, we could not be happier for you!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

We started out our morning EARLY as usual, as the kids eagerly awoke to open their gifts from Santa as well as their stocking stuffers. Calli and Caden must have been very "nice" this year, Santa brought them everything on their list!

The Reason for the Season...JESUS!

Mass on Christmas Day is beautiful, enlightening and so very blessed.

Baby Jesus at the alter, at the center of our worship.

Our annual family photo at our church, Church of St. Paul...

Back home to open more gifts with Grandma Jo Jo...

One cool dude.....and dudette (Calli got hot pink pig tails for her helmet)!


Somehow, not only for Christmas,
But all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others,
Is the joy that comes back to you.
And the more you spend in blessing,
The poor and lonely and sad,
The more of your heart's possessing,
Returns to you glad. - John Greenleaf Whittier

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

It has been our tradition since I met Mark to spend Christmas Eve with his family. We look forward each Christmas to being together and watching all the cousins have fun along with us. It is a Christmas blessing we treasure each year.



Our evening festivities start off with the a "friendly" roll of the dice in the Dice Game, a good time had by the children as well as the adults...

"Some" went home with more than others, you know who you are...:) Just kidding, Lynn and DJ, it was DEFINITELY your turn this year!


Calli received a very much needed gift from Papa and Nana...


a new "PINK" helmet for snowmobiling and four wheeling!

Caden's highlight of the evening.....a BLUE guitar from The Barta's! He still is jamming out...

along with everyone else!

The holly jolly cousins; growing way TOO big and fast each year...

A BIG thank you to Nana and Papa for hosting yet another memorable, blessed Christmas Eve! Your generosity, love and hard work to put on this evening is always appreciated and we LOVE you much.....xxooxxoo!

The Polar Express Party

Caden and I had the best time this afternoon at his Polar Express themed holiday party! All the children enjoyed games, snacks, coloring, crafts and a visit by Santa. The event started out by Mrs. Luitjens checking the children's train tickets...


the children then boarded the train to hear the story of "The Polar Express"
by Mrs. Luitjens....

off to the floor next to get the agenda of the party....



the highlight of the party....a visit by Santa to deliver candy canes to all the children!




More fun with crafts and games.....

mmm...delicious powdered donut holes, Caden's favorite!

Happy holidays, Mrs. Luitjens kindergarten class!

Tea For Five

We spent a fun-filled morning with The Therrien Girl's having a Christmas American Girl Tea party at Serendipity Cafe. We enjoyed a light breakfast with tea/lemonade and finished our course with a special cake made just for us. We also enjoyed a wonderful American Girl story that was read to us while we ate our breakfast...

ooh, such proper etiquette...


our fun cake, centered at our table...


Calli's American Girl doll, Emily, had her own seat and tea party accessories...

Thanks for joining us girl's, we had a merry time with you!

White Christmas

We were fortunate to see 2 Christmas musicals/plays this holiday season...this one with our family and the Girl Scouts of Troop 12709! We enjoyed an afternoon with Calli's troop entertained by the performers of Anoka High School Theatre. They did a tremendous job of acting and singing in Irving Berlin's White Christmas. Wow, are young people getting more and more talented.....! Calli and her troop have been working on earning their Theatre Badges at the past few troop meetings. They earned their badge by learning how to apply stage makeup, writing and acting in a play for their peers and finally, attending a theatre stage play. She is so excited to sew this badge on her vest, this was one of her most favorite activities...!

Got Cookies?

We joined The Therrien's and The Rosar's this evening for our annual christmas cookie decorating get-together. We started out our festivities with some pizza and fellowship. We then dove right into the decorating of the cookies....this year the kid's made Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer cookies, Snowman Pretzels Rods and decorated sugar cookies. We saved the best for last.....the sugar cookies, wow, can they have a blast with sprinkles, icing and candy! It is so great to see how the kid's decorating has evolved over the years, and how our friendships are such a gift....

Calli's masterpieces....

and Caden's prizewinner's...

Thanks for hosting such a fun night, Rosar's, we look forward to this each and every Christmas!