Joy

Christmas time is and should be a time of joy, there is so much for which to be thankful. With the numerous traditions that take place, I find the best place to witness the joy during this phase of our life is through the girls perspective. I mean, they are just exceptionally happy....or is it just the sugar?

Iced sugar/gingerbread cookies + little girls  = constant giggling.

Then there is Christmas morning, you get reactions like this:

And this

And in our house, continued fun reactions throughout the day for other celebrations as well.

We hope that you had a wonderfully Joyful Christmas!

Oh Christmas Tree

November has quickly become December, there are terrific things about each month and season - one of them?  Finding a Christmas tree of course.  But first, a picture of my favorite people, because, why not?

We decided to go on a hunt for a tree this year - a bit out of character for those who know us.  Luckily, we picked a fairly mild day - and a dry day - snow is beautiful, but not while cutting and bringing a tree inside.

We had visitors for Thanksgiving this year and decided to utilize their help for the adventure - thanks Nana and Grandad.  There is a great Christmas tree farm fairly close to our house - Rum River Tree Farm, and we fully partook of all it had to offer.

The girls wanted to get in on the action, and shortly realized cutting down a tree is more work than you might think. 

Utilizing our "help" appropriately :)

One thing about Rum River Christmas Tree farm ....they don't just have trees.

Needless to say, both kids were very happy - one so happy we were concerned we may have to check her pockets before we left.

The nuttiness continues - it's great to see how much fun we can have with just about anything.  Here?  Linnea is pretending to be a "reindeer". 

                        Next steps...decorating and enjoying the snow we now have on the ground.

Until next time....enjoy your Christmas season!

Ba-Na-Na

So, it's October.  The quintessential fall month. 

There is a small(ish) family farm we have gone to each year for our pumpkins.

Then, of course, you must carve the pumpkins.

AND, you can dress up in anything you would like to be.  We have a popular movie for our family - Despicable Me....have you heard of it?

There are creatures in these beloved movies, termed "Minions".  Cute yellow or purple creatures that say nonsensical things such as "baaa-naa-naaaaaa"

So, the girls said this year, that is precisely what they wanted to be.

I think the costumes turned out pretty cute, but since we made them, I'm biased.

Happy Halloween!

A Walk in the Woods

This week was fall break for the kids, so we decided to go camping and explore the southern part of Minnesota.

We went to Great River Bluffs State Park, just south of Winona, MN.

While there we saw some spectacular fall colors overlooking the Mississippi River Valley.

We also saw some rather strange woodland creatures playing in the trees....

I'm sure there will be one day when the girls' no longer find going camping in the 40s fun and realize it is not necessarily normal. For now they are having a great time and were even palpably excited.

And while we had a great time, our 4 day camping trip was cut short due to the threat of a sleet/snow/rain mix. Even Joe realizes he has lost the battle when freezing water will come from the sky.

I'm sure that means fall is just about over, and soon we'll have the return of the beautiful simplicity of snow. 

Number 9

There are so many things to love about this kid.  She knows what she wants, and it's never the same or expected. She is sweet, thoughtful, compassionate, eccentric, goofy, ...overall, just beautiful.  

For her birthday this year she requested a milestone: ears pierced.  We asked her why, and she responded, "because it's just so beautiful".  So we began her birthday a day early.

In our house, birthdays are characterized by the choice of dinner and cake. Every year I'm surprised by her requests.  This year?  Waffles for dinner....but by this evening she had changed to Chinese food :)

Pumpkin Pie for cake.

Her other request for a birthday present - a RipStik.  

In a way, I can relate to her penchant for the unexpected. This characteristic of hers also makes it so enjoyable to be her parent.  There is genuinely no possible way Joe or I could predict her responses, what lies ahead or the desires of her heart.  She has humbled us as parents, teaching us to listen to our child, since she is always changing, following her heart.

Happy birthday Linnea, thank you for being you.