Christmas

Christmas is so much busier and more exciting with little ones in the house. This season was no different from the recent past; we had 3 different Christmas celebrations with a few other fun events mixed in.

A first for us this year was visiting Santa when he came to Dart one afternoon. Santa knew a lot about each of the boys and they were really impressed with his knowledge of their wishes for this year.

 Before Christmas, we celebrated the holiday as well as my dad and Grandpa's birthdays at Gregg's house. Most of the pictures ended up blurry - a blur of boy and wrapping paper!

For the actual holiday this year we were in Galena. Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Luther were there for most of our visit, and that was so nice. We enjoy getting to spend time with them, and I know the boys do too.

The whole Luther family was able to come over on Christmas and it was nice to see everyone. We were even able to get out and play in the snow with Tyson and Paige on Christmas day.

One of the gifts Dylan received from Papa Gordy was a magic kit. Dylan is wearing his "magician hat." He was quite excited to open up the kit and become a "musician." I asked, "Do you mean a magician?" and he said "Yeah, that's what I meant."

We're just about wrapping up 2010, and I have a few days off of work. Yesterday we introduced Brian and the boys to Schmidt's Meat Market in Nicollet, MN. It's near New Ulm and has been a family favorite for many years. We had a nice little road trip and re-stocked the freezer with plenty of ground beef.



Blizzard

The great blizzard of 2010 has hit us hard!

The boys loved almost every minute of the snow falling down all day yesterday. We went out twice to shovel, both times at least 8 inches.

These are the kind of snow falls childhood memories are made of! The picture of Dylan on the snowbank near the mail box  is especially cool for me, as I recall standing on a snowback over looking the mailbox at one point in my childhood.

Counting to 20 and other big changes

The boys are changing and growing so fast. Having gone back to work, I am feeling it even more. I knew I had a good chance at getting this job. The interview process went so well and everything about it just felt right. I had two interviews, the second one lasting 2 1/2 hours during which I met the entire team. That was on a Monday. I savored the entire week, knowing it might be my last few days as a stay at home mom. I got the call on Thursday. I happily accepted the job, as our family is in need of the income and health benefits. It's the right move for our family. But I did spend part of the day in tears. It was a very emotional day. I tend to snowball everything in my mind. Instead of just worrying about getting Brian up to speed on the boys daily stuff, I worried about what will happen when Brian gets a job. The boys will go to daycare. We'll have to pull Dylan out of yet ANOTHER school. We'll have to find daycare near where we eventually want to live, becuase if we don't and Dylan starts kindergarten near his current daycare, then we'll have to change schools on him again. My stomach and heart both physically ache at the thought of all the changes ahead. For Dylan. Because now he's settled, and he enjoys his school. And he has friends. And he asks weekly about moving again. :(

This experience has definitely been a growing one. I think we've both learned a lot. It's not as easy as we thought it would be to move on. Not when we have so much still tying us to Illinois. Finding jobs is always stressful, but even more so when you are under the gun to provide health insurance. Settling in to my mom's has been more difficult than we imagined. We are so grateful for the opportunity to stay here, but also have to remind ourselves of that daily, in the midst of all the frustrations that come with being in a different and much smaller space than we're used to.

It's kind of like joining the Army to go to college for free. There is no doubt that we made the right move and it will pay off eventually. But for now, it's a challenge on many different levels.

The boys seem pretty happy here. They enjoy having cats to tease, and Oma to read to them and tuck them in every few nights. And the freedom to run around the backyard with the neighbor boys. Dylan still asks a lot of questions and still asks to move back to Machesney Park, but that's usually when something has happened that he finds upsetting. It just breaks my  heart that he's reaching out for that comfort zone. On the other hand, he is thriving at his new preschool. He is very inquisitive and loves to learn new skills and to show them off.

He is learning to count to one hundred. As you can imagine, that video would take awhile, so instead, here's a shorter clip.

Brody is...Brody. He's silly, he's loveable, squeezeable, huggable, happy, angry, loud, the boss. I often tell him that he's the "most of everything," because he is. He doesn't do anything half-assed. It's all the way or nothing with him. This past week, I was OUT of the circle of friendship and trust. I didn't get any hugs or kisses, I wasn't allowed to do so much as wipe his butt after he went to the bathroom. I know it's just an adjustment, and he'll come around. But man, that was a bummer.

Dylan, my sweet little Dylan. He's my buddy. When I'd ask Brody for a hug or kiss and he'd refuse, Dylan was always there to give an extra hug or kiss. I'd say to Brody, "I missed you today." Brody would say, "I didn't." Hmmm, well then. Dylan would say "I missed you, Mama." He's so sensitive and aware of others feelings.

I'll always treasure the time I had at home with them. I'll never regret the missed career opportunities, because those few years were precious. We filled our time with a lot of fun stuff. And every day stuff too. I wasn't quite ready for my time with them at home to be over, but I am thankful that I am going to a job I enjoy and am challenged by and can grow in.

Halloween 2010

The boys had lots of opportunities for fun this year!

Dylan chose to be Mario, from Super Mario Bros., and Brody chose to be a dragon.

Their first event was at the Eagan Community Center. There were various activities set-up through the building, including crafts, face painting and tattoos, a bounce house, and trick or treating. The event was wildly popular and there were long lines for just about every activity. The boys were content to look at everything and then do the trick-or-treating before watching the magician.

They both sat nicely and waited. I just love how Brody's little tail sticks straight out and rests on the floor behind him.

The next event was the costume parade at Dylan's preschool.

Dylan didn't know it, but two boys in his class ended up dressing up as Luigi, Mario's brother.

The little girl on the right, Trinity, is dressed as Alice in Wonderland. She has a big (and I mean BIG) crush on Dylan. If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't believe a four year old girl would know how to give googly eyes. But she does. Frequently. She's even asked Dylan over for a play date. She wants to know him her room. Tee hee. I know, it's totally innocent, but I find it funny. She's even talked about him so much that finally her dad asked her mom "Who is Dylan? It's all Trinity is talking about."

As we were waiting for the parade, another mom asked me who my son is, and when I told her, she said "Oh, you're son is Dylan. He's all Lydia talks about! Dylan this and Dylan that...Dylan is Soooooo nice."

How cute is that? He's the class stud and he's totally oblivious. And for now, I like it that way!

The parade was cute, the kids were a bit shy. But they paraded around and gathered to sing a few cute songs.

And finally, the big night!

Our Scooby Doo and Buzz Lightyear pumpkins were proudly on display.

The boys were ready to go!

For being such a high energy kid, Brody sure likes to take the easy ride as often as possible.

Instead of walking from door to door with Dylan and our neighbor Everett, Brody ran back down the driveway, hauled his fat little costumed self in to the wagon, waited to be pulled to the next driveway, climbed back out, walked his little self up the driveway with a progressively heavier pumpkin bucket and tried to keep up with the bigger boys. We tried to convince him to just walk from door to door, but he wasn't going to listen.

The boys each collected plenty of candy. They had a great night, and the next day Dylan asked me when it would be Halloween again!

This & that

We've been keeping very busy around here. I am in the middle of interviews for a job. I have a good feeling about this job, and am kind of preparing myself that this might be my last week at home with the boys. Brian is here this week too, so we are filling the week with activities.

The fireplace in the basement is almost finished. The boys, especially Brody, are anxious to help Steve. Brody usually sets up a small chair in the corner and watches Steve work. Steve is really good about letting the boys help, and they've both chosen a special rock to place on the fireplace.

We decided to go back to the Children's Museum this week. We are really taking advantage of the memberships we have bought, including this museum and the zoo.

Brody is always excited at the thought of going to the museum.

We park in a ramp and take two skyways to get to the museum. The boys usually walk right past Ronald McDonald with wary eyes, but this time they decided to have a seat. 

We've also visited Edinborough Park a few times. We needed to go this week so I could show Brian where it was. The boys love it. It's a huge indoor tunnel/tube/slide system and both boys love it.

Their personality differences really show when we do something like this. Both boys get very excited to go play. Dylan comes back every five minutes or so to check in with me. He needs a sip of water or a snack or a break. Brody is gone for 25 minutes solid without checking in. Once, I started to get really worried that maybe he had snuck out the door without me seeing him leave. I went into the playground and searched and searched. I was sweating. My knees hurt. No luck. I had three adults on the outside looking for Brody. Once I came out, they told me they had seen him whiz by on a slide. I went back in. With a growing feeling of concern, because I hadn't laid eyes on Brody in at least 25 minutes, I climbed through the tunnels and went up nets, down slides, through things that looked like car was rollers. Then...I saw him. He was just having a jolly old time. I called his name, he looked at me....and ran the other direction. Down a slide, through a tube and he was gone again. I felt better, because I had at least seen him. Now, the trick was catching him. I went back to the "adult" seats and waited. The next time he came running by, I took off after him at full speed, practically ran over a dad with a camera in his hand and tackled Brody. Haha, success!

And finally, in the ultimate attempt to be a cool mom, I made green eggs and ham for lunch. They were mystified as to how I made the food green. They did not care for the ham, but both really enjoyed the eggs!

Grandma Brown's Birthday

 To celebrate my Grandma Brown's 87th birthday, we went up to my Uncle Brad and Aunt Annette's cabin near Webster, Wisconsin. With the exception of a few of my mom's siblings, almost everyone was able to make it up for the celebration.

It was a beautiful fall day! Several of us went out for a lengthy boat ride. Brody was the only child who went and he thoroughly enjoyed all the attention!

Great Uncle Brad let Brody drive the boat and adjust the accelerator.

After we returned from the boat ride, we enjoyed an afternoon of karaoke in the boat house.  I took this picture as we walked to the boat house. I just love the fall colors.

  

We also and riding various two-wheeled toys, including the Pinto mopeds I remember so well from many a teenage weekend spent there with the Weiss'. This day however, both Kelly and I learned to ride a real dirt bike, with gears and a clutch and all. We're ready for a pair of Harley's!!

It was a really nice day - a great way to celebrate Grandma's birthday.

 

All things Fall

Dylan had a field trip with his class at Easter Preschool. Luckily, Brian was able to come to town to go along for the trip. The boys have both been missing Brian a lot, so Dylan was pleased as punch that Brian went along.

They went to an apple orchard in Lakeville. A man named "Crabby" drove the tractor out to the orchard. I would be lying if I said we never used calling Crabby to babysit as a threat. :)

Growing up, we always went to an orchard in Jordan, south of the twin cities. That orchard is closed now, so we chose a new orchard and it was a fun one. It's called Fischer's Croix Farm Orchard. They had animals to feed, a big pile of hay for kids to conquer, a fun tractor ride and more! It was a small but mighty orchard, and I think we'll be back next year.

Weekend in Galena

We made the drive over to Galena last weekend to spend some time with Grandma and Papa Luther.

Friday afternoon/evening the boys and grandparents went to their usual place, the Mississippie River Museum in Dubuque, while Brian and I were able to enjoy a belated 7th Anniversary date night.

We made the quick drive "over the hill" to Galena Cellars. It is a quaint, little vineyard and tasting room not too far from the cabin. We can't believe it took us five years to discover it, but now are so glad we have. We did a tasting and then enjoyed a few glasses of wine out on the patio. It's a beautiful setting and reminded us both of our trip to Napa Valley.  

Saturday we enjoyed a delicious meal with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Luther. Following that, we went into town for the Oktoberfest celebration. The main highlight was the Weiner Dog Races! Brody watched and waited with anticipation.

This little fella, Chubby, was the Grand Champion for the day. For his speedy efforts, he received a golden Weiner Dog trophy. 

The weather was a little on the brisk side, but it was a great fall day and we all snuggled up on the bleachers to keep warm. 

Holz Farm Park

This afternoon we went to the Holz Farm Park in Eagan. They are having Lone Oak Days this weekend. It's a farm preserved from the 1940's, and they presented a lot of fun activities.

The boys loved driving these tractors through the corn seeds.

Brody looked in the "hen house" for eggs. 

Dylan worked hard to grind some corn. 

They had rope making, you could milk a pretend cow, ride pedal tractors, a small concession area, a coloring table, and many other activites.

We all went for a hay ride pulled by an old tractor. 

Brody opted to go for a pony ride. It was nice that the ponies went down a hill and through a little pasture, instead of your standard circle pony ride. Before each ride, the children fed the ponies a few carrots. Brody was a little timid at first, but after he saw the horse eat the first carrot he lost all fear.