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Lots of baking going on.....

Lots of Christmas baking going on around here in the last 2 weeks. Everyone chose a favorite to make:
Kim ~ Molasses Sugar Cookies
Steve ~ Peanut Butter Blossoms
Nate ~ Cookie Dough Truffles
Sarah ~ Sugar Cookies
Natalie ~ she likes them all!
We also made some chocolate fudge and will be making candy popcorn and mini cheesecakes too for Christmas dinner. Luckily we have a little help eating all these goodies! I really enjoy spending time with the kids in the kitchen and hopefully the kids will remember it many years from now!

Merry Christmas 2009!

Knit Afghan

I finally finished it! I started knitting this afghan when I was pregnant with Natalie and I finally finished it up today. It took much longer than I anticipated, but I'm glad I stuck with it!

Thanksgiving 2009

We spent Thanksgiving this year in Michigan with Steve's family. We got to meet baby Chloe for the first time and Nate got to go hunting. We had a great visit with the Slivinskis and Thompsons and enjoyed hanging out at the farm. The boys got to go out hunting and even though no one got anything, they still had fun. Gigi gave all her granddaughters the Christmas bears that she has. They each got to pick one and take it home. Natalie chose the one that plays music!

Trick or Treating

We weren't sure if Natalie was going to dress up - she doesn't really like costumes - but she decided that she'd like to wear Sarah's carrot costume. Sarah used this costume when she was 4yrs old and Natalie looks an awfully lot like Sarah did at that age. Sarah was much more into trick or treating at age 2! Natalie managed to make it to a few houses before being scared by a neighbor boy in a skeleton costume - after that she wanted to go home and hang out with Daddy.

Sarah's friend Abby came over with her sister Lexi, so we went around to a few more houses. The older girls got the bejeebers scared out of them by a Freddy (from Friday the 13th) look alike at one house. I have to say - it was pretty scary to have him jump out of a dark corner at us - don't blame the girls for running away! Nate spent the evening at a friend's birthday party so didn't dress up this year.

Cross Country Invitational

Sarah was once again invited to the mile run hosted by Anoka High School. It was held this year on Halloween morning. She placed 7th this year out of about 40 girls - her best finish ever!

The Wiggles Go Bananas

Saturday night was "ladies night out" for the Dufon girls. We headed into the theater district in downtown Minneapolis to see The Wiggles Go Bananas. When Sarah was 2 she went to her first show, Blues Clues, so we thought Natalie would enjoy seeing The Wiggles. She was pretty overwhelmed by the whole thing. The theater district was buzzing with activity with several shows going on so there were lots of people and lights for Natalie to see before we even got to the theater. Once we were inside and the show began, she didn't know what to do about the Wiggles being right in front of her and not on TV. I have to say she was mesmerized most of the show and then decided to get up and dance for the last few songs.

School Style

Sarah decided to pull together a really cute outfit last week to wear to school. She had braided her hair the night before to try to make it wavy and I thought she looked so cute that I had to take a picture. Sarah normally is very sporty and doesn't worry too much about what she looks like....

Natalie, of course, had to have her picture taken too...."just like Sarah".

Nate's Bonfire with friends

Last Saturday Nate hosted his first bonfire party for 8 of his friends. The boys came over around 6:00 and played a little football before they ate a dinner of tacos (chosen by Nate and Cody, his best friend). By that time it was dark so they played a great game of Ghost in the Graveyard in our yard and the park. They had so much fun that one of the neighbors called the cops and they got a visit from a friendly officer! Cody's mom, Cindy and I were outside by the fire so were very surprised when he showed up. Lesson learned by the boys and the fun continued. 1st party a success!

Nate's Football Game

Saturday, Oct. 10th we woke up to snow on the ground and very cold temperatures for early October. As luck would have it, Nate had a football game at noon that day. We bundled up and headed out - Nate with many layers on under his uniform and handwarmers in his gloves, me looking like an Eskimo in my down coat and boots, with camera in hand. I've been meaning to take pictures all season and finally remembered to take my camera to a game (I also didn't have Natalie along which made it a little easy to snap some shots). Nate is #45.

Michigan Youth Hunt

The last weekend of September was the Youth Hunt in Michigan. Steve & Nate have been planning for this weekend for almost a year. They took the Badger across the lake and spent the weekend at the farm with Steve's parents. Nate got to hunt with his cousins and Natalie got to spend some time with Bumpa and Gigi. Unfortunately, Nate did not come home with a deer strapped to the top of the Durango ;-).

Happy Fall!

Sarah went to Lily Pad Ceramics last weekend and painted a fall plate. I think she did a fantastic job! Each of the pumpkins is a member of the family....

Youth night at Anoka High School

Nate is playing football this year for ARAA (Anoka/Ramsey Athletic Association). The Anoka High School football team is a huge supporter of all the youth who play and each year they host a youth night at the first home game of the season. The boys run out on the field with a varsity player and line up for the national anthem and pre-game antics. He's #45 this year. Afterwards we all hang out at the game and watch some football!

Natalie's cast

So here's the rest of the story....I (Kim) wasn't on the golf cart when Natalie fell, so I didn't see what happened. Once we looked her over and made sure she didn't have any major head trauma, she seemed fine. After we got home, I noticed that if I put pressure on her wrist when I was picking her up or holding her hand, she would tell me it hurt, but there was no swelling or bruising. I talked with a friend who is a physical therapist, and she said to try to get her to put weight on it. Natalie would pick things up, hold them, do everything with her left hand EXCEPT put weight on it, so I took her in to the doctor yesterday. X-rays showed a broken wrist, so she got her cast on today. She'll have it on for 3 weeks then they will re-x-ray it and see how it looks. She must be feeling better since it is stabilized in a cast because she sure was in a good mood this afternoon!

Jellystone

After we got back from the lake with the Jeffreys, Kim and the kids headed to Jellystone campground with Nate's best friend Cody and his family. The Clemens have a log cabin at the campground and invited us to spend a few days there with them. They also let Sarah bring a friend, so her best friend Abby went along. While we were there we were able to swim, play mini golf, dance with Yogi and friends, do the Macarena, play Lazer Tag, and just hang out. We had a lot of fun for the 3 days that we were there. You'll notice in the pictures that Natalie has a big scrape on her face towards the end of the stay - she slipped off the back of the golf cart and scraped herself up. We thought that was the extent of her injuries, but that wasn't the case.....

FishTrap Lake

Mid-August, we were invited to spend the weekend with good friends of ours at their trailer not far from here. Wayne and Vivian are like adopted grandparents to our kids and great fun to hang out with. We went to the campground on Friday night and stayed through Sunday afternoon. Even with the cooler summer we've had, we were able to get out on the lake in their pontoon and spend some time at the pool. All of the kids made friends while we were there and really had a great time. Natalie especially liked riding around in the golf cart and driving the boat. It was great to get away for some much needed family time....Thanks Wayne and Viv!

Where has summer gone?

Wow! It's September already - our summer has flown by! So much has happened since I last updated the blog that I thought I would just summarize it all in one post.

July was a busy month full of sports, camp and road trips. We were fortunate this year to be able to spend time with both the Dufons and Keelings in July. The week of the 4th we went to Michigan for the Dufon Camping weekend at the farm. All of Steve's sisters were there with their families and we enjoyed seeing how much all the kids have grown! We had a lot of fun playing games and going to the parade and eating lots of great food!

The last week of July we hit the road and headed south to Arkansas to the Keeling Family Reunion. It had been a few years since we made the trip south, so the kids were very excited to see everyone. My brother and his family joined us and we spent the weekend getting reacquainted with everyone. We spent time out at Grandma's place, swam at Aunt Brenda's and met lots of family at the reunion.



The hectic pace slowed down for us in August. We enjoyed the "lazy days of summer" with fewer evening activities and just spent time around home for the first couple of weeks.

All aboard.....

Steve got a fishing boat this summer after about 2 years of looking for what he wanted for the right price. It is big enough for the whole family to ride in comfortably. He took it down the Rum River for the first time while Mom and Dad were here. The Rum River runs through our neighborhood and it is so peaceful when you are on the river. You don't even know there are houses around you. We love it!

Valley Fair

Every year Medtronic has it's company picnic at Valley Fair. This was the first year we were able to go and the first amusement park Natalie has been too. Mom and Dad went with us too which was a huge help and a ton of fun. All the girls stuck together for the smaller rides and the boys went on all the roller coasters. Nate found someone who liked the wild rides as much as he does - Papa! They rode The Wild Thing thirty times! We had a great time!

Happy 2nd Birthday Natalie!

Friday, June 26th was Natalie's 2nd birthday. After a day of exploring Minneapolis with Nana and Papa, we had cake and ice cream at home with a few close friends. Natalie enjoyed the cake this year (last year she screamed when it got on her fingers). She picked out chocolate frosting with a rainbow on it for decoration. She got a lot of great gifts including a tricycle so that she can ride bikes like the big kids!

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and the Wienery

June 26th - On Friday we left the house and headed into Minneapolis to do some exploring. Our first stop was the Farmer's Market where we picked up some fruit and vegetables for the weekend. Then we headed to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The garden is home to the famous "Spoonbridge and Cherry" sculpture. It is a beautiful, 11 acre garden in the city with many amazing sculptures and wonderful landscaping. After wandering through the garden we were on a mission to find a restaurant (diner/dive) that Dad had heard about on the Food Network. There's a show called "Diners and Dives" that featured a place in Minneapolis called The Wienery. They are known for their hotdogs, brats and homemade fries. It is definately a dive and very small, but their fries were very good!

Lunch & Fiddle Camp Concert

Mom & Dad came at the end of June to spend some time with us and to celebrate Natalie's birthday. Nate had Fiddle Camp all week in Anoka, so on Thursday we dropped him off at camp, went to lunch and then went back to hear the concert. Nate spent 8 days at Fiddle camp and learned some of the most difficult music he's had so far. It was amazing to hear what the kids could play after only 8 days together. We were very impressed!

Picking Strawberries

June 24 - Strawberry season has arrived in Minnesota! We have been anxiously waiting to pick strawberries because we are out of jam and have been for a while! Mom & Dad were here for a visit so they got to help out too. I loaded up the girls - Sarah, her friend Abby and Natalie - and mom and I took them to the berry farm. We got there bright and early and managed to pick 25 lbs before 9:00 am. Later that morning we made jam and strawberry pie and of couse ate quite a few. Strawberries are my favorite fruit - especially fresh picked!

Maiden Voyage

Nate got a kayak for Christmas and has been patiently waiting for the day that he could put it in the water. Well, the day finally came on Sunday! We had beautiful 80 degree, sunny weather and the current was moving pretty slow on the river, so I decided to take the kids down to the island for a little fun. We loaded up Nate's kayak in the Durango and drove down to the access point just a couple of blocks from home. We carried the kayak down to the river and our friends the Baldus's were there with their pontoon boat. We got Nate in the water, hitched a ride to the island on the boat, and spent a couple of hours having fun in the water and playing in the sand. Nate was kind enough to let all the kids have a turn in the kayak and then when it was time to head home, he took off down the river and met us at home. Our neighbors across the street let us use their dock so he was able to get out there and I helped him carry the kayak across the street to home. What a great afternoon!

Party in the Park 2009

Saturday was the 3rd Annual Party in the Park hosted by our church, St. Katharine Drexel. Kim has been on the committee for 3 years now, in charge of ticket sales. Party in the Park is a great family event that raises money for our parish. This year we had more bands than ever, more inflatables for the kids and teen and toddler areas. It was the best one yet! It is an all day event for us because the whole family pitches in to help. Steve and the kids helped with set-up in the morning, Sarah volunteered at one of the inflatables, Steve grilled during the event and helped with tear down. Kim puts in many hours in the months and week prior to the event and was on hand all day to help with ticket sales,among other things. We spend the whole day at the park listening to great music and visiting with friends. Natalie was able to stay most of the day and then went home with the sitter at bedtime. We don't have too many pictures since we were all busy volunteering, but I'll add more as I get them from others who had cameras there.

Kid's New Bathroom

BEFORE:


AFTER: (only thing left is to replace the window)

Ride Your Bike To Church Day

Sunday was Ride Your Bike to Church Day.....our church also held a helmet decorating contest. Steve, Sarah and Nate really got into the spirit and decorated their helmets for the ride. I ended up driving to church because Nate had to use my bike since his tires won't hold air. I missed out on the fun of riding, but I did get some great video footage of them on the way to church!

Track and Field Day

Sarah had track and field day last week at her school. She participated in several different events including the football throw, frisbee toss, hurdles, 200m run and some team events. Natalie and I went to watch her in the morning and Steve joined Sarah for lunch. The highlight of the day was watching her receive the Presidential Fitness Award. Out of about 250 fourth graders only 19 students received the award and only 5 were girls! We are so proud of Sarah. She is a great athlete!

Prairie Park Playdate

Natalie had a playdate with her friend Hannah at a park close by. I don't have too many pictures of the girls together because they wouldn't be still long enough. They were having a great time climbing all over the play structures. We played for a while on the playground and then had a picnic lunch. We stopped at Sonic on our way there and Natalie had her first slush - an apple juice slush. I had my favorite - Cherry Limeade!

Nate's 1st Track Meet

Nate is on the track team for his middle school this spring. These pictures were taken at his first track meet a couple of weeks ago. He had a second meet last week. They came in 2nd place at the 1st meet and won the meet last week. Nate has tried different events, but seems to like the hurdles, long jump and 100m the best. He placed first in the long jump last week for 6th grade.

Happy Easter & Happy Birthday Sarah!

Easter Sunday was also Sarah's birthday this year! She was very excited and enjoyed decorating her easter egg cake. I took Sarah and her friend Abby to see the new Hannah Montana movie on Saturday, then they both helped decorate the cake.


Sunday morning the kids woke to find that the Easter bunny had hidden their baskets. Natalie found her's first, then Nate, then Sarah and all enjoyed a piece of candy before breakfast. We headed off for Easter mass then came home to enjoy a fun family afternoon including an outdoor egg hunt. It was so nice to be outside this year!

Sarah got to chose dinner so we had turkey and dumplings before we dug into her yummy cake! She received many phone calls from friends and family wishing her a happy birthday, which made her day very special.

Family Field Trip to New Ulm

Steve had Good Friday off from work so we decided to have a family field trip. There's a small german town a couple of hours south of us that sounded interesting so we loaded up the Durango and took off for the day. We enjoyed a good "all you can eat" fish lunch at a small, family run diner and then spent the afternoon enjoying the beautiful weather. There is a small brewery in New Ulm that is one of 2 remaining, family owned brewerys in the U.S. - Schell Brewing Co. We were able to tour the brewery and visit the grounds which included several peacocks! They also make root beer there which the kids really enjoyed.

New Ulm also has a cathedral and an outdoor Way of the Cross. It is a beautiful hillside walk with the 14 Stations of the Cross. What a wonderful way to end our Good Friday afternoon - remembering all that Jesus has sacrificed for us.

Spring Haircuts

There's a duck in the fireplace!

Monday, March 30th - Sarah came running upstairs yelling that something was in the fireplace trying to get out! She had heard it when she went downstairs to get breakfast. When I went downstairs and slowly opened the fireplace doors, I saw a duck staring back at me! It must have fallen down the chimney. Well, it startled me and I startled it, so it burrowed into the ashes under the grate. I decided to just leave it alone until I got the kids off to school and could figure out what to do with it. It was hard to tell if it was hurt.

I called Steve to tell him our latest adventure, and he said I'd have to send a picture - he couldn't believe that a duck would be in our fireplace! I had to run a quick errand and when I came back I opened the doors to take a picture.....the duck was gone! I couldn't find it anywhere! I grabbed a flashlight and scanned the entire fireplace and didn't see it. I even stuck my head in and looked up the chimney. All I saw were some little feathers on the damper, so the only thing I could think was that the duck had flown back up - I didn't think a duck could do that, but I seriously could not find it.

Later that day, Steve came home and was teasing me....."OK, so where is this duck you were talking about?" He threw open the fireplace doors and there it was staring back at him!!!! He sure wasn't expecting that and neither was I. After dinner Steve had to get the duck out, so armed with gloves and long sleeves, he reached in to grab the duck who was not hurt at all. It flapped it's wings like crazy trying to get away and eventually did - right into our family room! We had kids screaming, a duck flying, soot all over - it was really quite funny!

We did capture the duck and get her into a cage and then we released her in the front yard. Keep in mind, we also have a bird dog who we had to keep away from the duck this whole time. Tucker spent the rest of the evening in the front yard searching for the duck!

SisterChicks in Chicago

Last weekend I got some quality girltime with my best friend Jodi in Chicago. She picked me up at the airport on Friday and we headed into the city for a fun weekend of sightseeing, eating and hanging out. As you can see we took many pictures, mostly focused on the architecture in downtown Chicago. We both had just read the book, "The Devil in the White City", which is about Chicago during the time of the World's Fair and explains a lot of the history behind the many buildings in Chicago. We were even able to take a riverboat architecture tour on Saturday because the weather was so nice. Normally the boats aren't running until May! I should have taken notes because I don't remember most of what our docent told us, but the pictures show the many varied styles of architecture represented in downtown Chicago.

Of course our weekend included lots of good food - Oven Grinder style pizza, Greek salad, Chinese food, blueberry & cashew pancakes (a favorite), Garrett's popcorn and Gino's East deep dish pizza. We also managed to squeeze in a visit to Navy Pier, the Art Institute, a makeover at Nordstroms and a movie.

It was such a fun weekend with awesome weather - 50's and sunny in March ....this is only one of many adventures we will share in our lifetime. Thanks friend!

More Spring Break

The weather got warmer towards the end of the week, so on Thursday we took the kids out to Young's Dairy for lunch and ice cream. They enjoyed visiting the farm animals and playing outside. When we got back to the house, Dad took the kids for tractor rides. Nate and Sarah both qualified to drive by themselves. Dad says Nate's a good driver, but needs to learn that fast isn't always better! Sarah had a few mishaps on the tractor. She got a little too close to a tree and bent the wheel well, then she ran right into the brush as she was coming into the clearing. Papa says she's a good driver, but gets a little distracted - a few more times around the loop and he won't have to trim the brush this spring! Luckily, Papa is a patient teacher and believes in learning from experience. He made her get right back on and drive some more.

Spring Break in Ohio

For Spring Break this year, I took the kids down to visit my parent's in Ohio. It's about a 12 hour drive so we don't get down there as much as we would like. We had a great time hanging out at their house and exploring the Dayton area. The girls and I went to the Boonshaft Discovery Center one day and Papa took Nate out to Wright Patterson AFB to the museum.





The next day we all went out to Carillon Park which is a historical park on the Miami River. It tells the history of the Miami Valley from its founding in 1796 by a group of early settlers. There were many old buildings including a school house, tavern, gas station and some old train cars and engines.

Girl Scout Cookie Time

Sarah's girl scout troop sold cookies today outside the local Super WalMart. Despite the cold weather it was quite a success! Here she is with her best friends Abby and Alyssa. Renee and I helped out by staying out of the girls' way and letting them do their thing. We enjoyed a Vanilla Chai Tea Latte from the local Caribou to help make the cold weather bearable. We were very glad that we had signed up for the first shift and the sun was shining!

Natalie's 1st pigtales

There's a first time for everything and we can now cross off pigtales! Natalie's hair is long enough and she sat still for me to put her hair up this morning. It helps to have an older sister that you like to imitate....

Girl Scouts International Night

Sarah's Girl Scout troop participated in International Night again this year. They represented the country of Vietnam and performed a traditional fan dance. One of Sarah's troop leaders made all the girls a dress and we even put chopsticks in their hair. Each of the girls had to research a topic to put on a display board and the troop served egg rolls and fortune cookies after the performances. Sarah's troop was chosen to lead the flag ceremony and Sarah was asked to be the person to give directions. She was very confident in front of the crowd of people and I think she looked beautiful in her costume!

Backyard Visitor

Nate was on his way home from school yesterday when he noticed something walking in our backyard behind the tennis courts. When he went to investigate he discovered an oppossum in the tree. He came in, grabbed the camera, and took some fantastic close-ups!

Steve and Natalie build a Snowman

Eagles Nest Playplace

I took Natalie, Sarah and a couple of friends to an indoor playplace to burn off a little energy last week. This kind of stuff is all new to Natalie, but she seemed to enjoy herself once she got comfortable. She especially enjoys being around other kids her age and is not shy about going up and saying hi to new friends.

Nate turns 12

Happy Birthday Nate! Nate's birthday fell on a Tuesday this year and since Monday was a holiday for the kids and Steve, we kind of celebrated on both days. On Monday we took Nate to pick out a baseball glove for his birthday present and then he got to choose where we all went out to lunch. He has always wanted to try Red Lobster so that's where we ended up and he seemed to enjoy his lunch of chicken and shrimp. Later that night we celebrated with his birthday cake - chocolate with vanilla frosting - his request! We even had dessert before dinner in honor of his birthday! Tuesday night Nate chose dinner - Pheasant and Wild Rice soup and got to open a few other presents from family. Of course, there was more cake too!

Skiing with Sarah

Sarah and I went skiing yesterday afternoon on a trail that winds through a county park and takes you along the Mississippi River. It was beautiful out in the woods with the snow falling and mild temps (20 degrees is mild for MN!). We had a great time and enjoyed being outside after a week of below zero temps that kept us cooped up in the house.

Natalie's new hobby

 
 
We got Natalie a small table and chairs that she can use for crafts or having snacks and lately she has discovered Paint with Water. She really enjoys having something "her size" and enjoys playing with the ABC magnets that Aunt Nicole and Uncle Dale gave her for Christmas while she sits at her table.

Crazy Cold!

A Trip to American Girl

Sarah got a gift certificate for American Girl at Christmas so we took a trip down to the Mall of America to check out the new store that opened here recently. We had some lunch at the mall and then spent some time looking at all the cool things in the store. Sarah decided that she wanted to use some of her Christmas money to get a new doll. She already has a "Just Like Me" doll that she got for Christmas a few years ago and this time she chose to buy the "Girl of the Year for 2009 - Chrissa". Maybe she relates to her story - she moves to a new town, starts a new school and is trying to make new friends...

When we finished our shopping, we jumped on the light rail to head home. The light rail goes to downtown and then we had to walk a few blocks to catch a bus that would take us home. Sarah loves to ride on the light rail and bus. She especially likes the buses that have the accordian in the middle for turning corners. She sits in the seats and then watches as the front of the bus turns the corner and the floor rotates underneath her seat. It was fun having some mother/daughter time and having a little adventure in Minneapolis!

Michigan Trip

Happy New Year! We are home in Minnesota after a trip to Michigan to spend time with Steve's family. We hadn't planned to travel during the holidays this year, but after realizing that we had a full 2 weeks of vacation and checking the weather for road conditions, we decided the day after Christmas that we would head to Michigan. We called the kennel and they had a cancellation so we were able to get Tucker in at the "ranch" and then we headed out early on the 27th.

We had a great time hanging out with all of our family. We hadn't all been together since last Christmas so it was wonderful for all the cousins to play together and all the adults to play cards and hang out. Nate and Sarah got to stay with their cousins at Suzanne's house the whole time, which they loved! Natalie and the "younger cousins" stayed at Bumpa and Gigi's.

Kathryn hosted a bowling party one afternoon and we all enjoyed pizza and a couple of games. The following afternoon we headed to the ice rink with the Thompson crew for a little ice skating. We even had "in-law night" at Suzanne's house while she stayed at the farm with Steve, Kath, and Nicole. It was great fun and we are so glad we made the decision to spend some time together with family.