Happy 9th Birthday Elsa!!

It is true what they say.."the days are long, but the years are short."
In a blink of an eye, she went from this....

to this!

This past year has been full of lots of changes with our move to MN, starting a new school, announcement of new baby...but I am in awe of her resilience and how she has handled all of the stress of change.   I am so excited to see what this next year will bring!  She has such a compassionate heart that shows in her infectious smile.

I had an EPIC parent fail and didn't take a single picture of her birthday party at the waterpark.  Opps!

We celebrated her birthday with 12 of her friends at the Paul Bunyan Waterpark a week prior to her birthday (due to Memorial Day).  She had a blast.  It was fun to meet a lot of her friends from school and dance.

Then, I had to work at a satellite office on her actual birthday, so we celebrated with breakfast in bed on Memorial Day.

She had been asking nonstop for a phone (she even wrote a persuasive essay in school on why we should allow her to have one).  Aaron and I were not quite ready to move into that next step, so we discovered the Gizmo from Verizon.  It allows us to establish 10 contacts/caretakers who can send her text messages and send/receive phone calls from.    She has demonstrated a lot of responsibility with it and as our life gets more hectic with the new addition, it has proven to be very beneficial in communicating with her!  Here she is showing off her new watch!

Favorite Color:  Purple

Favorite toy:  American Girl Dolls and Calico critters

Favorite TV show:  American Ninja Warrior, Wheel of Fortune

Favorite Movie:  Indiana Jones and The Greatest Showman

Favorite food:  Sushi, St. Norbert College Food

Favorite Game:  Candyland

Favorite Animal: Dogs, Owls

Favorite book: Any kind of book

Favorite activity: dance, golf, boating, kayaking

What do you like to do in your free time: spend time with my family, play Minecraft

What is your least favorite thing to do: Clearing the shoreline at our house on the lake

What to you want to be when you grow up:  religious teacher

Life is short

It is true what they say...."Life is short," "It can change in a blink of an eye."  Even though I like to believe that we try to appreciate all of our blessings and never take life for granted, sometimes the routine of life takes over and God gives us a wake up call.  We were given that wake up call in July 2016.  Aaron's mom was enjoying a weekend at a cabin with Aaron's brother's, Corey, family.  We were enjoying a weekend at our cabin with our niece, Jessica, and friends, The Johnsons.  Aaron's sister (Taunya) and her husband were enjoying their new boat out on a lake with their friends.  I distinctly remember putting a puzzle together with Jessica that Sunday and catching up on life, when she received a phone call from her dad.  Life hasn't been the same since.  Taunya was enjoying a glass of wine on the lake with her friend and she got back into the boat and mentioned she had a terrible head ache.  This was followed by unconsciousness.  She was rushed to the hospital where she was diagnosed with an cerebral aneurysm.  My heart just sank for Jessica as she talked to her dad.  Aaron immediately drove with Jessica to Minneapolis.  I packed up the cabin and kids and followed.   Taunya was transferred to Hennepin County Medical Center.  We had picked up Aaron at the hospital and went to a hotel nearby.  Aaron's mom had called the next morning saying he needed to be at the hospital as the prognosis was looking extremely grim.  My mom came up to Minneapolis to pick up the kids and I said good bye to the kids for an indefinite time period.   I knew that Aaron was going to stay in Minneapolis for at least the next couple of weeks, but I would need to return to work.  I am so appreciative of my mom and sisters helping out with the kids and going to target to buy pull-ups, clothes, personal items, etc.   Since I didn't want to interfere with the time Aaron and his family were spending with Taunya, I went to the Basilica of St. Mary, where we got married.  If you have never sat in a Church completely by yourself (ok, minus the janitor), I would recommend it.  God spoke to me in a way I have never experienced before.  After I finished praying the rosary, I was on my knees in prayer and I looked up at the huge altar and felt such peace.  It felt like all of the Saints, Mary, and Jesus (there are a lot of statues on the Altar at the Basilica), reached down to me and enveloped me in an embrace.  I appreciated that all of the stuff we worry about on a daily basis, doesn't matter.   People (and us included) drive ourselves ragged worrying about work, what kind of a car/house/clothes we have, what people think of us, how thin/fat we are, what activities our kids are in and whether or not this will allow them to "excel" in life, what other people are doing (hello, social media), what club/organizations we are involved in....It. Doesn't. Matter.
         Taunya spent approximately 6 weeks in ICU and then 6 months at an inpatient Neuro rehab center.  She is able to live at home but requires 24/7 care as she has blindness in her left eye and limited movement in her left body.  But she is a fighter and each day (even 18 months later) she continues to make progress and inspires us all with her tenacity and strength.

 The kids loved visiting Taunya!  They were very entertained by her remote controlled bed!

         Last year at this time we started to realize that the frequent trips back to MN from our home in Green Bay would not be sustainable as our two children were involved in activities on the weekend.  Add that to the fact that I was no longer professionally or personally happy at my practice, we decided to look for a practice opportunity in MN where we could be closer to family.  I was fortunate to find a practice in northern MN that put us 2 hours away from Aaron's family (much better than 5 1/2 hours!).
       We put our house up for sale in May as we were told the average time frame for our home price point to sell was 6 months...well, it sold in two days.  We moved into a furnished apartment for the summer and Aaron and the kids moved into our home at the end of August so they could start school.  I had to stay at my practice until the end of September so I spent every weekend traveling back and forth to MN.  Aaron took excellent care of the kids and they have been adjusting very well.  We love their new school and the progress Chet has been making is mind blowing!  We do miss all of our friends from Green Bay and we look forward to frequent visits!

Happy 6th Birthday Chet!!!

My sweet little boy turned 6!!  I had fun remeniscing about his birth day and he loved hearing about it!  I told him how he came into this world Torpedo style (the Pitocin worked a little too well).  He commented "Yeah, because I was bored in there!  I wanted to get out fast!"  The kid cracks me up with his sense of humor!

A couple of months before his birthday, I had asked him where he wanted to have his party and he said he just wanted to have his friends over to play!  I am so grateful for the friends he has started to make and it is fun to hear their moms comment how their kids talk about Chet all of the time.  I really feel that he is adjusting well and he has a great group of friends!  

Our family tradition is breakfast in bed, so he picked out that he wanted cinnamon rolls.  We entered his room singing Happy Birthday and he had fun enjoying his breakfast and opening presents!  At school he celebrated with ice cream treats!  

Since his birthday fell on a Wednesday, he had his party on Saturday!  He had 5 of his friends from school over and his cousins Evi and Bode joined in on the fun!  He decided on a Ninjago theme and we even had a Ninja piñata (he pronounces it piata).  

In the past, I always went crazy trying to plan fun games and such, but it was so fun just letting the kids run around and play!  Yes, it was more work cleaning up but I was so happy Chet had a great day!  It made it worth it!

Favorite food:  Sushi, ice cream, oranges

Favorite Color: red and orange

Favorite TV show:  Ninjago

Favorite book:  anything Star Wars

Favorite sport:  Hockey

Favorite athlete:  Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews

Favorite thing to do outside:  play soccer

What he wants to be when he grows up:  police officer

He still does not like bugs or messes (gooey or messy foods).  He likes order when eating and can't have his food touch each other!

He is such an endearing little man and, although he didn't like to cuddle when he was an infant, he loves cuddling with this momma!  We love him to pieces!

Independence Day

We had a fabulous 4th and enjoyed the long weekend at our cabin.  Aaron and I are slowly getting used to owning a boat (driving/docking/etc) and took full advantage of the beautiful weather to spend it on the water.  Our friends we met in England, the Sattlers, came in from Ohio to visit and it was a fun weekend.  We also had the pleasure of meeting up with the Goodriches who we were stationed with 15 years ago at the AF Academy.  They live in Florida but Chris' family has a cabin north of ours.  Small World!  It was a fun reunion!!  Reminiscing with both of my girlfriends, the friendships are what I miss most from my time in the military.  I have made some fabulous friends here in Green Bay, but it was fun being newly married in the Air Force and making friends as a couple.  Up to that point, our friends started either as "Aaron's" or "mine".  Especially in England, our friends became like family because we all leaned on each other for support.  Jean and I had our first babies together.
The kids were so excited to see them and kept asking all morning "How many minutes until they get here!"  When it was about a 30 minutes prior to their arrival, they camped out by the front door.

We spent the day hanging out at our house and relaxing.  They were excited to be out of the car!

The following day, we drove up to the cabin.  The kids had fun tubing, playing games, roasting marshmallows, riding bikes, boating, swimming, etc.  We were all exhausted by bedtime!  We even took in the parade in Three Lakes.  I love me some 'ole fashinoned fourth of July fun!

The kids loved the sand bar on the chain! It is about 2-3 feet deep and allows the kids to play catch and other water sports!

I call her the dragonfly whisperer!

The dads took turns on tube with the little ones!

Chris and Meredith met us at the parade with their two girls!  I haven't seen them since we left the AF Academy in 2003!  

Happy 7th Birthday Elsa

I look at her now and feel that she is definitely moving from my little girl to a young lady.  Although it tugs at my heart a little, I am in awe of the person she is becoming.  We had fun looking through pictures together when she was born and of our time in England.  In some ways, it seems like yesterday.  In other ways, an eternity.  It was fun listening to and answering the gazillion questions she had.  Fortunately one was not "how did i get in your belly?"

When I was growing up, our birthday tradition was breakfast in bed.  I would sit with excitement in bed, listening to my mom cook me my favorite breakfast and then my family walking upstairs singing happy birthday.  We have carried over this tradition to our family.  Elsa decided she wanted carmel rolls, so caramel rolls it was!  For her present, she got a kayak and is pretty excited to use it up at the cabin!

 Chet even wanted breakfast in bed, so we included him!

On her actually birthday, we went to the Hudsons!  She received lots of birthday love (and sugar) from our friends and enjoyed "swimming" in their hot tub!

We celebrated her birthday with friends the following weekend.  She wanted to have a Saint party where everyone dressed as their favorite saint.  She selected to be St. Agnes!  I absolutely love the heart she has for Jesus and Catholicism!

 Enjoying a nice lunch with fellow saints :)

 Annie insisted on giving her 7 birthday spankings!

 Here is a photo of the group!  Chet had his bestie over to play.

Right after lunch, a storm blew in.  It was rather quite unexpected and a large tree branch flew past the house.  I immediately gathered the kids in the basement for a movie while our severe thunderstorm warning was in effect!!  We are no short of drama at our house!!

Favorite Color: Magenta

Favorite Movie: Frozen

Favorite Book: Every book  (she has become quite the avid reader!)

Favorite Food: Nectarines

What she wants to be when she grows up: Interior Decorator or a Veterinarian or a nun

What annoys her:  Chet

What makes her happy: spending time with my family

Favorite TV show: Lion Guard

Favorite season: Summer (because we can go swimming)

Favorite sport/activity: soccer and dance

What she likes to do in her free time:  play with my friends and family

My new master bedroom

When I turned 40 in December, Aaron had the idea of getting me a nice ring/bracelet with the intent of it being an heirloom I could pass on to Elsa.  We looked at various jewlers and, although there were a lot of beautiful pieces that I would have loved to have, my practical self voiced her opinion.  You see, we have had the same bedroom furniture since we got married.  And, that was the same set Aaron had in college.  And, it was the same set handed down to him from his Uncle.  This set has been through at least 15 moves.  Everytime I open one of the drawers, wood shavings come off the track and litter my clothes with wonderful splinters.  So, I asked for a new bedroom set!  I had our interior decorator come over and she came up with a plan!  And, It just got installed last week.  I haven't wanted to leave since!

The Before:

The dresser with the wood shavings.  Olaf is photo bombing the picture.

We haven't had a headboard for over 10 years.

We had our old living room armoire in here and an old chair we bought in England

And….the AFTER!!!!

Mimi did a floor to ceiling upholstered headboard

I love the turquoise nightstands!  Lots of storage space for books!

She picked out very traditional dresser and chest of drawers.

And, initially I just had selected the headboard, dressers, rug, night stands, and lamps.  When she delivered it she brought a bunch of accent pieces (the large print, bench, baskets, chair, etc).  I LOVED IT ALL!!  Let me tell you, I am so glad I have an interior decorator!  Most of these things I would have never picked out, but I love how they all go together!  The only other thing we need to do here is get a new window (neither of the windows open) and new blinds (they have been broken since we moved in!).

Turks and Caicos

We just returned from our first family destination vacation and we had a blast!!!  I had booked this trip in November of 2014 at a Beaches resort and it was perfect for our family!  We also traveled with two other families and are all ready planning our next vacation together.  I really enjoyed 24/7 bonding with the kids and hubby!  Work has been crazy the past year since we are down one partner so this was the perfect break we needed!

I think the kids were most excited about the plane ride!  I joked that we could have just scheduled a flight somewhere and come right back :)  This was Chet's first plane ride (and Elsa's 20th+) so when we boarded the plane, I asked if he could look in the cockpit.  The pilot told him to come in and even moved his seat out of the way so he could sit down!  He thought that was pretty cool!

They cracked me up with how interested they were in safety instructions!!

The weather the first few days was not great because of the big snowstorm on the east coast.  But, the kids were excited to swim despite the pouring rain!  I wish I would have taken a picture of us moms huddled under our umbrellas and wrapped in towels, watching the kids swim!

Swimming in the rain…but, on a positive note, they practically had the pools to themselves!!!

The Beaches resort is all inclusive and caters to young kids!  They have sesame street characters out and about.  It took Chet 6 days to warm up to the characters, but by the last day he was excited to see them!

We only booked one excursion and it was amazing!  They took us via catamaran to a reef to snorkel for the first part.  This was Elsa's first time snorkeling and it was a bit wavy and she got a little freaked out.  I think the part that scared her the most was that it was much deeper than the country club pool!  She tried though and I was so proud of her for trying!  Then, from there, they took us to a remote beach for more fun!  Elsa found a crab and we had to dodge iguanas on the sand!

The pool area at the hotel was great!  The kids loved sitting at the bar and ordering Virgin Strawberry Margaritas!  

We alternated spending time at the beach and the pool.  All water activities (hydrobikes, kayaks, windsails, etc) are all included.  Due to the previously mentioned storm on the east coast, the water was wavy, so most of the week we couldn't use the water equipment.  But, we did get out kayaking once.
The kids loved building sand castles and sand tunnels, wave jumping, and looking for sea shells.  Elsa also did snorkeling on the beach with Aaron since it was calmer waters!

We did the oceanfront rooms and it was definitely worth the added cost.  The view was amazing and provided a little break from the sun.  Elsa enjoyed doing her school work out there!

There were so many dining options…we were never hungry!!  The only trouble was that our kids were so exhausted by the time dinner was over, they usually fell asleep!  My only recommendation for this resort would be that they have golf carts offering transportation to guests since the resort is so large and spread out.  We got our workout in just carrying the sleeping kids back to the rooms!  This was the scene most nights after dinner.

We ate at a Hibachi style restaurant as a group one night.  Elsa had fun trying to catch food in her mouth.

Ice Cream was this kid's favorite afternoon snack!

Mario's had these great kid tables and the adults could sit nearby and enjoy conversation!

We ate at Arizona's a few times due to loving one of the servers, Reno.  He was amazing with our kids and the kids loved the food! I don't know why the woman in the background is wearing a down jacket…It wasn't that cold!

Barefoot by the Sea had amazing fish tacos and a great casual dining option for lunch.

The kids keep asking when the next trip is!   I guess that is a good sign that it was full of fun!!