Snow, Snow Go Away

We have had way too many days off of school since the beginning of the year due to extreme cold and SNOW.  I really don't want to complain, but enough is enough.  At this rate we won't see the grass until June!  But, with the fresh fallen 5 inches and warm temperature the girls and I actually enjoyed going out to shovel, build a snowfort and have a little snow ball fight.

lauren not too sure about this white stuff!

beware of the neighbor!

Skiing with the Salfer girls

Valentines weekend, Brian took his three oldest sweeties to Mount Kato to ski.  They had a blast last year and have been asking to go again.  Despite maybe being a little tired, the girls still had a lot of fun and happy to report no injuries or ski lift incidents!

Baby Cece

Our dear friends Gina and Steve welcomed to the world daughter #4, Miss Cecelia at the end of 2013.  Between our two families there are 9 girls and NO boys, besides Steve and Brian of course!  The girls and I headed up to Minneapolis a couple weekends ago to see the Bieringer girls.  It was a short visit but fun for sure!  Cece is beautiful just like her sisters.

Mexico-you are so good to us...

We enjoyed a little Rest and Relaxation in Cancun, Mexico with dear friends of ours, Jeff & Heather and Tony & Mary.  We enjoyed 5 days/4 nights at an all-inclusive beautiful resort.  The weather was perfect, drinks were many, food was good, a couple scary moments, lots of conversation and just the right amount of quiet.  It felt so nice to rejuvinate before heading back to our kids and life.  I think for every couple/parents mental health, a trip to a warm tropical location in the dead of MN winter is a MUST!  I can't wait to go again!  Not sure if Alisa or my mom would be up for watching the kids again though. :)

there is a story..... :)

our view from our room

LOVE

For Valentine card exchanges this year the girls wanted to make theirs.  So thankfully Pinterest had some things to choose from. :)  They had a lot of fun and I kind of did too!  I think they turned out pretty cute!

Brian is always full of surprises and when the girls and I woke up on Valentines day there was a vase of white roses on the kitchen counter with a hand written love letter attached for each of us.  He is some Man/Husband/Father.  :) He's the best in the world (for me).

Lauren Update 7mo-11mo

Lauren Mary

I admit I am WAY behind in updating this beauty's achievements.  Where do I start with Miss Lauren?  Well, she's cute!  I could just leave the update at that!  Oh she is truely a joy to our family.  Each one of us loves her sooooo much and she knows she gets lots of attention and she likes it!  I think when I last left off Lauren was crawling, sitting up, still not sleeping thru the night, no teeth, little in stature, etc...  Not a whole lot has changed.  She is SO close to walking, but instead of using her feet she uses her knees to "walk" around.  And when she gets tired of that she chooses to crawl, where she knows she can get somewhere fast.  She says mama, daddy, poo (poop) and babbles...no real words.  She knows that a puppy says "haa haa" (panting sound) she knows how to give "love" (wet smooches)  She loves to play with our hair when we hold her.  She loves the buttons on the t.v.  She loves to play with the plastic containers in the kitchen.  She loves to "play" piano and sing with the girls.  She is not sleeping thru the night but she is a consistant napper.  She LOVES to "swim" in the tub and blow bubbles, until she swallows a bunch of water.  She loves to eat real people food not baby food.  She still has no teeth but there is one coming!  She crawls up the steps with no assistance and she's only fallen once down them.  :)  She is a sweet sweet girl who is loved loved loved.

9 months

7 months

8 months

10 months

10 months

11 months

January Randoms

Emily got a really cool Lego calendar from our friends the Lundquists

We celebrated our God-daughter Lydia's birthday and her brother Eli's birthday as well with a sledding party at their grandparents.  We had just got a couple of new snow which made for some fun sledding.  The kids had a great time! 

Is she really 11 years old??

I know I say this every time one of the kids has a birthday but I really can't believe how quickly time passes.

 Emily turned 11 years old on January 2nd.  She invited a couple friends to join us for the "Frozen" movie and lunch at Pizza Hut.  Mia and Ella also stayed overnight and were up until 1:30am!!  Crazy girls!  We also had a party scheduled for the weekend with grandparents/godparents but with this crazy MN weather we postponed until later in January.  It was way too cold for anyone to be out driving around.  We ended up having two extra days off for christmas vacation due to the cold temps and windchills.  We were all going stir crazy towards the end and even the girls wanted to go back to school.  

1-12-14 

We were finally able to celebrate Emily's birthday again.  Grandpa & Grandma Salfer and Grandma and Grandpa Tom joined us this year.  For fun, we went bowling in the afternoon.  We all had a good time!

Watch out Emily!!  Trouble is right behind you!!!  Grandpa Tom LOVES to sit next to Emily at a meal and bother her.  This time Emily thought she was prepared...but just when you least expect, he strikes!  

I

December 2013

Christmas Tree

Shortly after Thanksgiving we got snow, which is good when you want to go get a Christmas tree.  We packed everyone up and headed to LeSueur to Brewery Hill.  I forget how many years we've been coming here-maybe 13 years?  On the way, Lauren fell asleep which was ok since we had a sled to pull her in.  It was a little more on the chilly side so it didn't take us too long to find our "perfect" tree.  Afterward we went to Whiskey River for hot cocoa.  Brian and I decided that from here on out we go to El Agave for a margarita after tree hunting.  Whiskey River has become a huge disappointment so we will welcome the change in tradition next year.

While I had womens book study, Brian and the girls decorated the tree.  They did a beautiful job!

Christmas Plays and Choir Concerts

All the girls did great and we enjoyed all the performances.  Emily was one of the 3 wisemen this year, Rachel got to play bells, Natalie was the Angel and well....Caitlin was barely even visible...

The 2nd Graders

Emily and the JI Children's Choir (gr 3-6)

Rachel did a spectacular job on bells

You can barely see Caitlin at her Choir Concert.  She's right behind the red head in black, peeking a look at us.
There's definitely a difference in public vs. private school programs.  I enjoyed the singing but enjoy more when we can celebrate the real reason of Christmas, Jesus thru christian music selections.

Our Angel...Natalie even had a speaking part!  She did awesome!

Natalie and her friends at their Christmas party after the program

The 3 wisemen and their moms :)

Santa, Reindeer, Crafts and CookiesBrian took Rachel and Natalie up to the local Lumber Center to see Santa and his Reindeer.  Natalie was brave and told Santa all she wanted for Christmas.  The Reindeer was pretty cool to see too!  After her and Rachel painted a small ornament to hang on the tree.

Each of the girls had a fun foam project to put together one afternoon.  Rachel, Natalie and Caitlin were able to get theirs done fairly quickly but Emily had more of a challenging one to put together...a train.  It took almost all day but she finished it with a little help from Brian.

Last years cookies ended up a disaster..tasting like paint thinner because Brian was painting while we baked.  This year's however turned out great and the girls and I were baking machines.  We were able to do 6 different cookies and they tasted yummy enough to give to our friends.  It was a long day of baking and cleaning but it was fun and we got to listen to Christmas music all day and try the cookies too!!

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day

On Christmas Eve we went to the 4pm mass.  Rachel and Emily sang in the choir and Caitlin was an alter server.  After mass we headed home to open a few presents-pjs, games etc..

Christmas morning came bright and early for us.  Brian was a bit under the weather and watched the girls open their presents from Santa, went to mass because he was a Eucharistic minister then headed back to bed.  The girls and I were happy to stay in our pjs all day and play with all the new things Santa had left us.  A new Lego set with 2200+ pieces kept us busy for a few hours.  The girls insisted we have a formal christmas dinner so they pulled out the china, set the table and I put a turkey breast and baked potatoes in the oven.  Even though Brian didn't join us for it we still enjoyed it.

Christmas with the Moore's, Salfer's and Gilbertsons

Jeff and Heather are Lauren's Godparents and Brian and I are Levi's so before the Gilbertson's left for their Christmas celebrations with their families we headed over to exchange gifts.  We are so thankful to call the Gilbertsons "family".  It was a bit chaotic but we're used to that!  Lauren got a dream light and Levi got Legos.

The weekend before Christmas we traveled to Lucan to celebrate with Mom & Dad, Bob, Laura and girls, Matt, Annie and boys. The kids love to get together with their cousins and it's nice for us adults to catch up.  The kids played all day with all the fun stuff Gpa and Gma had given them.

The Salfer crew:  42 of us this year

We gathered for good food and an afternoon of playing outside in the snow and inside with games and cards.  This is definitely a highlight of christmas vacation for our kids.  Getting to play with their cousins is priceless.  They always have so much fun and we are barely see them!!