Christmas at the Danielson's

We had our final Christmas celebration on Sunday at the Danielson's! Before we went over there Bishop and I burned off some energy sledding together! It was fun having some one on one time and we went to Anthony Middle School as they have a couple great hills that Bishop can easily go down himself (and no trees to worry running into)! We had fun sledding together, alone, racing and we ended with a friendly snow ball fight!

That afternoon we headed over to John and Diana's to see Grandpa, Grandma, the Danielson's and Cortright's! The Cortrights had been in Switzerland and recently moved back so it was fun spending time with them again. Bishop and Carlo (just turned 7) had a great time together! Bishop followed Carlo every where he went....and Carlo was so good to him--he was even teaching him how to read! :) It was fun to let the kids play and for us to catch up with the adults! We had a delicious meal (Travas made lamb and it was SO good)!! It was a fun night together and a great way to wrap up our Christmas get togethers!

Ava reading Nora her new book from the Cortrights!

Bishop and his new buddy, Carlo!

Carlo reading to Bishop!

Nora listening to The Night Before Christmas story from the house!

Bishop Family Christmas

We hosted the Bishop Family Christmas on Saturday! The day was a little chaotic--we started our day off by cross country skiing at Hyland park in Bloomington! We ran into my cousin Tim while we were there, so that was fun! Bishop did a great job skiing and I could tell he had improved from the first time we went out. Nora was completely out of sorts. Her ears had started draining on Dec. 23rd (and she had a fever that night). I called the ENT and we started drops in both ears (even the right ear with no tube). It was apparent by Saturday that she was uncomfortable and not herself, so after skiing I had Luke take her to urgent care. She was a complete mess there--she threw a temper tantrum on the floor of the minute clinic and was inconsolable! Her ears looked terrible and the Dr gave her an antibiotic. Luke gave her her first dose on the way home and by the time they got home she was back to her sweet self. When Nora got home she ran up to Aunt Sandy and gave her the biggest hug--she held on for a long time and didn't want to let go. When she finally did she got a chair and moved it right up next to Aunt Sandy so she could sit close to her. Thanks so much for being there, Uncle Bob and Aunt Sandy!!

In the meantime, Bishop and I were getting the house ready for the party and my aunt and uncle showed up. They were so helpful! Sandy helped me vacuum and Bob and Bishop shoveled the snow in the street (I think it was something for them to do to stay busy!) ;) Meanwhile, in Owatonna, my dad was in the ER for the 2nd time in a week. Last weekend he got influenza A and passed out and cut his head--he recovered in time for Christmas Eve, but woke up on Saturday with pain in his back. The pain got worse and he went in.......the pain was caused by 2 broken ribs, which must have cracked when he fell! My parents are such troopers--that after all that they came up to the party a couple hours late! My dad was still in a lot of pain, but everyone was happy to see them both!

The party was a lot of fun, despite the rocky start. The girls got Frozen (Elsa) dresses and dolls from Great Grandpa Ray and Great Grandma Darlene and they absolutely LOVED them! They wore the dresses all night and their dresses and dolls sang "Let it Go!" They were 2 very happy girls! Bishop got remote controlled motorcycles that he raced with Uncle Ryan (along with anyone else who would play). They were (and still are) a big hit! GG Ray and GG Darlene hit the jackpot with gifts this year!

Everyone chips in to help by bringing appetizers, drinks and food for the dinner. This year I kept it simple and made chili and had our friend Raul make his famous mushroom bisque--the mushroom bisque was a huge hit and there was hardly any left over! After dinner we played our annual Christmas gift exchange (dirty bingo?), which is always entertaining and fun! I am so thankful for our time together with family, especially at the Holidays! It gets to be a busy time and it's fun to have traditions like this to keep getting everyone together!

A huge hug for Aunt Sandy when Nora got home from the Dr!

She scooted her chair RIGHT up next to Aunt Sandy's!

The shovelers--Bishop and Uncle Bob!

The happy girls with their Elsa dresses and dolls!

Racing motorcycles with Uncle Ryan!

Hanging out with Great Grandpa Ray!

The only way to get Jack in the picture was to have Auntie in the picture as well--it worked! :)

A very special man and his great grandson!

Merry Christmas from the Bishop family!

Christmas Day!

Around 2am or so Bishop ran into our room and crazily and excitedly wanted to know if Santa had come!! We assured him that Santa was on his way and it was the middle of the night. He was, of course, the first one up in the morning. Since Nora's a little more of a sleeper, we let Bishop go downstairs when he got up to get his presents and we let Nora sleep. Bishop had asked many times for a Ninja Turtle and a Dragon.....however, on Christmas morning he realized the Ninja Turtle wasn't exactly what he wanted.....and I think he was pretty bummed at first about the "dragon" he got. He made sure I knew it was a dinosaur and not a dragon! 

Nora on the other hand was delighted with her gifts from Santa--a baby and a house for her baby (a princess castle/house). After Nora was up we let them open their gifts from us.....that helped Bishop--he got a bunch of transformers so he could play transformers vs his Dragon (or Dinosaur)! ;) Our Christmas morning got off to a little rocky start--thankfully we got back on track and enjoyed the rest of our day together!

We had absolutely no plans on Christmas Day, which has never happened, so we enjoyed our time together as a family! Last year we went cross country skiing on the lake and I had visions of doing that again this year.....except there was NO snow and it was warm enough for some of the ice to start melting......so we went for a bike ride/walk instead! The kids were exhausted and it was a good time for a little nap for them. We had lots of time to play with new toys and relax together. After our walk we had some fun appetizers for dinner and hung out together as a family! Merry Christmas everyone!

Bishop loves his new tool bench from Nana and Papa!

Nora wore her giggly baby in her bjorn and zipped her coat over it on our walk!

A bike ride on Christmas Day--crazy!!

Such sweethearts!

Christmas Eve!

This year we celebrated Christmas Eve at the Bormann's.  It was such a fun afternoon and evening! We started out with some pictures and then went to the 2:30 Christmas Eve service at Lord of Life Church in Maple Grove. The kids did great in church. Bishop loved coloring, the girls had a good time giggling together, and Jack fell asleep!

After church we came back, had some appetizers, hung out, had dinner and opened presents. This year we had the kids open some of the presents in stages--it really helped reduce the chaos of everyone opening presents at the same time! This way they could enjoy the presents as they opened them too! They started with their gift from Great Marlys--everyone got a new scooter and they all tried them out in the basement!

After all the gifts were opened and played with we went home to get some sleep so Santa could come!

The oldest cousins

Nana and Papa--they started this wonderful family!

The girls with Nana!

My beautiful niece with Nana!

The Bormann's!

Nora and daddy!

These 2 can't get enough of each other-it's so sweet!

The Froehle's!

Nana and Papa with their grandkids!

My sister and best friend! She is the absolute BEST!

Ryan and Shelly-such a great couple!

Bishop on his new scooter

After eating yogurt (on his own, of course) the firefighter had some work to do!

Auntie Shelly is so good to my kids--Bishop got 2 dragons from her!

Bishop and Papa-such a special bond!

Bishop and Uncle Ryan with the remote control rat he got him! ;)

My sweet niece, Madelyn!

Bowling and Christmas with the Hennum's

We had one day between when we got home from Grandview and Christmas Eve and we wanted to make it a fun, family day! After getting some things done around the house we decided to go bowling as a family! The kids loved it!

That evening we celebrated Christmas with the Hennum's at their house. We exchanged a few presents with the kids and settled down to watch a movie. Nora got a baby she can feed a bottle to and it actually goes potty--unfortunately the baby only came with one diaper and napkins aren't that absorbent! ;) Bishop got some legos and absolutely LOVES them! We always have fun with the Hennum's. Siena and Maia are so good to Bishop and Nora--and we are so thankful for their friendship!

Jumping up and down as they watch their ball roll!

Maia with her stuffed puppy!

Everyone helped give Nora's baby a bottle!

Christmas with the Froehle's at Grandview

We celebrated Christmas with the Froehle Family at Grandview Lodge this year! We had a very special 70th birthday to celebrate (Eileen's), so we combined it with Christmas and had such a fun weekend together!

We arrived on Friday night and had a fun evening together! There were a lot of activities for the kids to do throughout the weekend, which was very fun! On Friday night the Elves came to our cabin to hand out candy canes and ask the kids what they want for Christmas--it was pretty neat to have our own special visit!

Jake arrived later that night and understandably so, we couldn't wait to open presents any longer, so we opened presents Friday night after he arrived. The kids were so excited! They both got many fun things from Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle Jake and they enjoyed playing with them the rest of the weekend!

Saturday included breakfast at the Lodge, a sleigh ride (more like a wagon ride pulled by horses), playing in the "Kid Zone", (which included jumpy houses and slides indoors--it was awesome,) and going to the water park and going down the water slide.......and then back to the Kid Zone that night!

Sunday brought more of the same--water park, wagon ride and Kid Zone! Grandpa, Grandma and Jake left Sunday afternoon and we scheduled an ice fishing outing in the afternoon! We rented a temporary ice fish that included fishing poles, bait and even a heater! Bishop was super excited to go ice fishing and this was my first experience ice fishing too! Bishop caught one fish! Nora was a little skeptical at first, but became more comfortable the longer we were in the ice house!

Monday morning we had breakfast, soaked up a little more time at the water park and then headed for home! It was easier going home knowing we didn't have to go back to work and we had the week together!

It was a very fun weekend together and while there wasn't much snow (on Saturday night it rained and washed all the snow away), we had a great time and made some lasting memories!

Nora sang Christmas Carols on our way to the Lodge! :)

Merry Christmas from the Froehle Family!

The Elves came to visit Friday night!

Excited to be with Grandpa and Grandma!

Excited to start opening presents!

The wagon ride pulled by horses!

She went down the slide by herself! :)

The water park!

Nora coming down the water slide-she went down by herself once too!

Bishop coming down the slide!

Relaxing in the cabin!

Playing paper dolls with Grandma!

Bishop's tower he built!

Ice Fishing in the Ice House!

The fish Bishop caught!

She's not quite sure what to think!

When we got home we made Reindeer cookies!

The kids made their own personal pizzas when we got home!