Thanksgiving in Owatonna

We arrived in Owatonna on Friday afternoon and the kids had so much fun being together! We celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday, which was a lot of fun! Nora had a rough night of sleep and unfortunately for most she kept the upstairs awake for quite awhile, as Luke and I slept downstairs. Poor thing...she had an ear infection! :( We found that out Saturday late afternoon...I took her to the UC (3rd year in a row going to the Owatonna UC over Thanksgiving weekend) and she got some medicine to feel better. We missed the walk, which was a bummer--but I'm glad we could get her in and feeling better!!

Snuggles for Nana!

Nana and her girls!

Making turkey treats with Nana!

Cousins! They love each other so much!

Nora absolutely adores Madelyn! She looks up to her so much!

Getting ready dinner!

I was so excited that Madelyn was playing with some of my Barbies!

Eating Thanksgiving dinner is hard work for these 4!

The walkers--Jack was a trooper as the only kid! So sad to have missed this this year!

My cousin Tim is SO good to Bishop and Nora! He always reads to them, plays with them and they adore him!

Bishop and Papa's project for the weekend--making a pumpkin out of wine corks!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have so much to be thankful for! We are blessed with so many good friends, family and love!

Friends!

With the Holiday season upon us we were all excited to spend some time with some good friends!

A few of my college roommates got together at Beth's house and the kids had a blast running around together (and playing in their indoor gym)!

Bishop had a playdate with Cal an Nora and Liam both dressed up as Spidey for Super Hero Day at school!

We are all so thankful for the many wonderful friendships we have!

Thanksgiving Parties

We had a couple quieter weekends in November, which was so wonderful. We were able to get some things done around the house and spend time together playing/hanging out at home. We've seen tons of friends lately, which has been so much fun!  I had my National Sales meeting in San Antonio for a week--and I got the best homecoming ever when I got back! The best part about leaving for a trip is the hugs and kisses when I get back! Unfortunately, Nora got the stomach flu while I was gone. I left early on Sunday morning and by Sunday evening she had throwed (her terms) up a couple of times. Thankfully it was the quick flu bug and she was back to herself immediately! I still felt sad for not being there when she was sick....but she was a trooper and dad had everything under control! 

And now we move on and prepare for Thanksgiving! This fall has seriously flown by!! We've had some beautiful weather, which has helped a ton too! Bishop and I went to Target to check out some ideas for Christmas lists......he wanted a picture with Chewbacca! ;)

 This girl came into our bedroom one night after 9pm--she was still awake.....and looking like this! :) I could only smile!

 Friday was a very fun, busy, party day for both kids! Bishop had his Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Play in the afternoon, which he had been practicing for. The kids all lined up and said their parts.....they sang a few songs (Bishop knew all the words and sang along) and then they all sat down and one by one stood up and said what they were thankful for. Bishop stood up said "I'm Bishop....and I'm thankful for Avery (Cal's sister)". That got a laugh out of the audience......which he enjoyed! ;) The kids also made a recipe book of all of their own ways to make a turkey.......it is really cute to see what the kids all wrote......

Bishop's the 3rd in on the right

Bishop's recipe--might need more than 50 degrees! ;)

These crazy boys......Graham, Cal, Bishop and Charlie

Cal and Bishop

Charlie and Bishop

 Nora also had a Pies and Parents party that afternoon--so we hurried over to her school to join her at her party! We had pumpkin pie, played a game of Bingo.....Nora played with her friends and we were off to Ashton's house for the night!

Pumpkin PIE!

So happy to have Daddy at the party!

 The kids had a fun time together at Ashton's....so much fun they found some "gummies" upstairs. Story to follow on a different day..........let's say we're thankful the bottle was only 1/2 full! :)

Teenagers?!?

Playing Simon Says with Luke--such a riot!

Happy Birthday Shelly!

Happy Birthday Shelly!!!

We celebrated Shelly's birthday this past weekend and it was such a fun day! The kids had a blast together--it was still warm enough out to play outside and I always love our family time together! Shelly and I started a new tradition where we spend time together for our birthdays and I am still looking forward to doing that as our schedules have both been busy in November--so we hope to have our sisters day in December!

Loving on Auntie Shelly!

Big cousins and so happy to be together!

The girls practicing for snow (and rain)! :)

All smiles for Papa!

My little monkey....getting himself in trouble!

Happy Happy birthday to the best sister and friend ever!! I know I say it all the time, but I am truly blessed to have Shelly as my sister and best friend. She is absolutely amazing and anyone who knows her would agree with me! I hope this next year is the best yet, Shelly! You deserve nothing but the best! I can't wait to celebrate with you! I LOVE YOU!

Halloween 2015

We had a very fun Halloween season this year! It's so fun to watch the kids enjoy the holiday and they really "get" it now!

We found a small pumpkin that had grown in our backyard (behind our fence)....it must have sprouted up from some pumpkins we threw in the back last year and it was fun to have our own homegrown pumpkin! The kids were pretty proud to have our own pumpkin!

 On Halloween morning Luke and I ran the Monster Dash 10 mile with Beth. It was a cold and rainy morning--it was in the 40s and it rained the whole race! We braved the elements and both Luke and I finished faster than our Twin Cities 10 mile time, so were both pretty happy with that! I had the stomach flu on Tuesday, so was especially happy I felt well enough to run! We grabbed a bite to eat after the race with Beth and then headed home.

 In the afternoon the Kahlert's had a Halloween Party, which was a ton of fun for the kids. They had activities for the kids to participate in....we had some pizza and then went trick or treating!

Danny and Bishop

Nora, Domino and Carolyn

Lifelong friends--Paul and Luke

Trick or Treating in the neighborhood!

 On Wednesday of that week Bishop had his Fall Festival party at school. I am the room rep for his class, so I helped organize other parents to come in for a fun party. There were 5 stations set up in the room (a story, 2 crafts, a snack and a game). The kids had a great time together and I loved being there to hang out!

 On Thursday evening Nora's school had their Fall Festival, which is always a highlight of the year! This year there was a magician, and the kids loved that! I didn't get as many pictures this year because the kids both took their costumes off!

Ashton and Bishop