Go Vikes! I mean girls, Go Girls!

The girls have a dance show today.  Sunday shows during football season are nobody's favorite but thanks to Slingbox and internet the game wasn't missed.  The other dads around us were either looking over his shoulder or trying not to pay attention because they had the game taping at home.  They really need to do something about these Sunday shows.....

The Vikings have started off the season doing really well!  Hopefully they can keep it up.

The girls did great!  Always smiling and always know their routine and do it well.  So proud of them!

Move Your Feet, Lose Your Seat

Hailey had a sleepover at Chloe's last night.  It is the first time she has gone away to a friend's house alone for a sleepover.  I wasn't worried at all and knew that she would do just fine- which she did.

And for Lula, she made herself right at home.

Mini Donuts

Lula was busy making donuts last night.  

It was the perfect breakfast for the girls before their PJ day at school.

Our Little Engineer

Last night in casual conversation Hannah informed me that she designed a structure in class and they asked her if they could display it in the art case.  This morning I made her walk me over to it and show it off.  It is made from straws, they were to see how tall and strong they could get it.  Apparently hers was on of the best ones- definitely gets that from her dad!

Hey lady- get your hands off my DC!

Be Extra Careful!

Looks like Lula has turned into a little prankster today. She has replaced the toilet paper with a roll of white duct tape.  I hope it's obvious and nobody makes that mistake today- OUCH!

And the Stockings Were Hung

Lula, just chillin' by the fireplace.  She added her own little touch.

She Missed Us

Looks like someone missed us while we were gone.

Tour of Lights

The girls have learned two card games at school that they have been playing a lot lately.  

James Bond and Clock. They have taught Brian both of these games and every so often I come home from work to find them playing.

Today we are taking a family trip to Bentleyville in Duluth.

Steve and Katie drove up with us and Chris and Kami will meet us there later this afternoon.

Brian, the girls and I are staying the night at the Edgewater Resort and will come home tomorrow.

It was a mild day.  When we arrived our first stop was to eat lunch.

After that we went to Canal Park for some shopping and more cocktails.

We ended up walking from Canal Park over to Bentleyville.  The kids did great although Hailey had stepped in a few puddles and by the end of the night her poor feet were freezing!

Bentleyville was cool.  I have always wanted to check it out.  Millions of lights.  There are free hot cocoa, cookie, popcorn, marshmallow and coffee huts throughout the event.  Guests are shuttled through the arched walkways to see lighted statues, trees and other decorations.

The whole place is pumping Christmas music and by the end of the night there was a light snowfall.

 

The girls were AMAZED to see that they had made it on the nice list!

Mail Rocks!

This am the girls found that Santa had sent some Pop Rocks.

Hannah is especially excited to have a mailbox so that she can leave a letter for Santa.

OJ

Quite a surprise to find Lula enjoying some fresh OJ this am.  

"Ohh Lula!"

It's Morning Chocolate Time

Advent calendars were under the tree today, guess this means chocolate for breakfast.

You're Glowing

Looking down the hallway this am there was a little glow coming from around the corner.

Lula brought the girls little trees for their rooms- how sweet.

Flexible

Whoa!  Lula sure is flexible.  Took the girls longer than normal to spot her this morning.

This morning Hannah wanted me to move her so that she could use the bathroom.  She was uncomfortable that Lula was just sitting up there watching people go to the bathroom.

Bicentennial

On Thanksgiving my grandma brought me the Bicentennial dishes.  

These dishes have served years of holiday meals.  I have always wanted them.  Grandma packed them up a few years ago but I just wasn't in a place with space to take them.  After we moved I kept meaning to grab them and finally they found their way here. Our family is getting so large that there is no way that they could be used as the holiday dishes any longer however there are some beautiful serving pieces that we will definitely be using.

I also finally made the decision on the layout for the mudroom wall.

Part of the Plan

It's time to start designing the mudroom 'command center' wall so I have been experimenting with shapes and layouts.  Looks like Lula wanted to be sure that she is part of the plan.

Wine Anyone?

 The girls spotted Lula right away this morning!

They were really concerned about where that bottle of wine went and how she carried it to wherever it currently is.  Hmmm, now that I think about it.  That is a good question.....

Today we also started decorating the house.  The Christmas lights and ornaments are outside and slowly we are getting into the Christmas spirit.  The girls and I ran a few errands and it was so nice we didn't even need to wear jackets!  We spent the evening at home, just us, hanging out, watching TV, working on projects.  It's been so nice to have these days off to just enjoy being home with the people I love the most.

Nothing says Black Friday like......

Waking up to see that Lula is back!

Hailey and I were downstairs making breakfast when Hannah came down and pointed her out to us!

How on earth did we miss her?!

The girls are so happy she is back and are looking forward to the Christmas season.

Brian is working on a sliding barn door project for Sara and Jeremy.  Today they were having a Black Friday deal on barn wood so we went with her there to pick out the wood.  Such a cool place with so much potential!  It's surprising to see just how expensive all of this wood is.  While we were there a lady approached us to ask if we knew where the wood that we picked out was from.  When we said no and asked why she mentioned that she had a friend that told her that some of this old barn wood could be haunted.  Ummm, please no.

 

Thankful

Usually Thanksgiving is a two trip event for us.  Grandma Bauer's in the early afternoon and Jennifer and Tom's in the evening.  Denny and Judy are in Germany this year so Jennifer wasn't planning to host.  Brian and I offered to have everyone to our house today to give Grandma a break from hosting.

It's always a lot of work to host the family at holidays.  The day is spent cooking and cleaning and then more cooking and more cleaning.  When it's at your house, it's hard to sit down and enjoy the time with family.  Although looking around, we are pretty blessed.  I am thankful I have this family to cook and clean for.  A full house of a bunch of wonderful people.

As mom and Tom were leaving, Tom went to step out of the house and must have forgotten that there was a step and ended up falling out of the house.  Bobby and Joe were able to help him out to the car but we got a call from mom an hour or so later that he was in so much pain that they made a trip to the ER.  Turns out he broke his leg/knee and would now need to stay off his leg until it can heal.

I know it's not our fault but I can't help but feel horrible about what happened.  We changed the plans, we changed the location, it was our house.  Sending well wishes for a speedy recovery!  

This is not anything that those two need right now :-(

Party Bus Volume 3

1st OCW Party Bus- week before Christmas
2nd OCW Party Bus- week before Halloween
3rd OCW Party Bus- week before Thanksgiving

This year we hit up Tony Jaro's, Betty Dangers, O'Gara's and then made our way to Half Time Rec.
I wish we would have skipped O'Gara's and went straight to Half Time, it was definitely the best stop of the night.

Photo Bomb by random lady in the front

Ewwwww

This morning I was pointing something out to Hailey on her homework and Hannah was very disturbed by the way my finger was bending.  I never really think about it until someone points it out.  My fingers are pretty double jointed, They can easily bend and flex in different positions.  It's always been just normal for me.  I do not have much hand/finger strength and simple things, like cutting a pizza, are actually pretty awkward for me,