Wrapping up November before unwrapping December

November in a Nutshell...

Starting off the month with Brian's birthday, the girls designed a beautiful cake in Brian's favorite color-ORANGE!  The inside was as lovely as the outside.  They made the cake from scratch and it tasted pretty good!  Brian chose El Agave for his bday dinner-one of our favorites right here in town!

Mid November Brian and I helped out with our church's Youth Fall Retreat.  It was a great weekend filled with the Holy Spirit.  I am truly amazed at these teens and their yearning for that deeper relationship with God.  These kids are our future and they bring hope to our world which at times seems hopeless.

One of my jobs getting 60 journals ready to go...the kicker?  All the pages were placed backwards which was went with our Retreat theme...In Reverse (the Our Father in reverse)  It was harder than I thought!!

Kiley and Amber

  Some of the other fun adults I got to spend the weekend with.

gma Karen and Charley

Sharon and Deb

Girls session - Awesome!

Outside fun!

Miss Natalie and her Kindergarten buddies led prayer one morning and did a fabulous job!  Their first time ever!!  Next up they'll be preparing to lead mass!

After the weekend away from our kids we thought we'd better have a Friday Family Fun night all to our selves and it was so much fun!  We decided to stay in town and went out to Lonestar BBQ, which was very tasty and the girls loved it all and even better they were sooooo well behaved.  I was very thankful for that!  After dinner we headed down to the bowling alley for some more fun!  Without trying I was the winner overall (pat pat, toot toot)  The real excitement though was chasing Lauren around and keeping her from heading down one of the lanes, which she did once and luckily didn't fall-very greasy!!

Rachel and her 3rd grade class had to present to the whole school and parents a Saint that they researched.  Rachel chose St.Rose of Lima.  The kids also had to dress how they think the Saint dressed.  They all did very well and I was so impressed by each of them.  They had no fear getting up in front and talking.  Fabulous job 3rd Grade!!!

Shingles!!!  Finally!  We were running out of time to get the job done ourselves so Brian hired this handy crew who got the whole garage shingled in one day!  Just in the nick of time.  The next day it snowed between 8-10 inches here in St. Peter!!!!

Thanksgiving fun with the boy cousins from up 'nort.

Jack's bday lands around Thanksgiving so when Annie and Matt and the boys were home for Thanksgiving we all went over to Redwood Falls to go out to eat and go iceskating!  It was lots of fun!  First time out for Owen, Jack and Natalie.  Lauren enjoyed getting pulled around in the sled.

The last day of November, which was the 1st day of Advent we made this lovely wreath at church along with 12 other families.  Always a lot of fun and always a big hit at our church.  

Now...really only a couple weeks til Christmas?  How can this be???????

October 2014

October was a very fun month thus far.  We still have Halloween to go!  But here's what we have been up to:

We started October out with the Rediscover Retreat for Brian and I and the girls got to have a sleep over with their cousins in their brand new house.  Brian and I enjoyed a peaceful nights sleep while Bob and Laura didn't.  :)  The girls had a ton of fun though!  The same weekend we had JI marathon in which the girls sang at mass, followed by either a bike ride or walk, and ended with a service project.  It was a full and fun weekend.

Since its fall why not build a leaf fort?!  Thats exactly what the girls did.  They are so creative!  Emily even made a video explaining their fort and how they built it.

One evening when Brian was going back out to work on the garage, Lauren thought she'd go and help.  It was about 9:30 at night and 40 degrees outside.  She wasn't quite dressed for the part but she sure was eager to get out there.  I was able to talk her into staying inside with me where it was light and warm.  And also get the rest of her PJ's on. :)

Over MEA break we usually go to the Dells, however this year the girls were asked by a very special girl who was getting married to sing in her wedding.  Their babysitter Megan made a beautiful bride, both inside and out.  We had the privilege of being a part of her special day.  It was one of the best weddings we've attended.  The girls did a great job singing and we all enjoyed the dance and cold stone creamery make your own treat bar.  Yummy!  

Megan and her awesome sister MacKenzie

Rachel was able to go to the Science and Nature conference, which Emily and Caitlin so enjoyed in the past.  I was able to chaperone, which I love doing.  Emily also participated but chose to go to her sessions on her own and that she didn't need any pictures taken.  So I was able to get Rachel and Luke at least.  They had a pretty fun time.  It may not be Rachel's thing but she was a good sport about it all.

Last weekend we traveled out to Grandma's Little Acres to grab our pumpkins.  the selection this year wasn't as good as in the past but we still managed to find the ones we liked.

It's carving time!!

Rachel got this huge pumpkin with her friend MacKenzie at MacKenzie's neighbors.  We thought maybe we could put Lauren inside it it was so big!

brian surprised the girls with this fun toy.  He got it from a client out in western MN and our friend Karen spruced it up before Brian showed the girls.  They were super excited.  They now have a swing and this fun toy in the 2nd level of the garage.  I think they'll keep busy if they're out helping Brian!

September Wrap Up

September 2014:

Brian spotted this pretty frog hopping in our backyard one evening.  Caitlin and Emily were still up and of course had to catch it and hold it.  It was pretty big!

The garage is coming along nicely.  We got the walls up and then Brian's brothers Dan and Randy, Nephew John and neighbor Dave came over to help put up the rafters.  

Montgomery Apple Orchard:  This years theme was all about Bee's.  We had a beautiful afternoon walking thru the corn maze and eating caramel apples and being silly!

Tennis:  Caitlin's 2nd year of tennis is complete and she had a great season.  I think she was 7-2 overall?  Just played Doubles this year.  Her last match was alot of fun to watch.  In one game they had 8 dueces!  Lots of good volleying and good serving.  It was nice to end the year on a good note!

Fun at 7-Mile park:  While waiting for the Gilbertsons the girls climbed the rock wall and posed for a picture.  It was a gorgeous fall day...leaves are starting to turn!  We had a great few hours playing, exploring and catching up.  

Rachel's 9th Birthday

Rachel turned 9 years old this year!  Last year in the single digits!  I say this with all the girls but I just can't believe how fast they're growing up.  Rachel is our true middle child, sometimes trying to figure out where she fits in in this crazy family.  She is a beautiful young lady that's full of spice!  Pretty sure she'll be able to hold her own with the boys.  She loves soccer, playing computer, building legos, her friends, her sisters and Jesus.  She's still a little over dramatic at times, knows how to push our buttons, and has selective hearing. :)  She's super smart and has no problem with school or piano.  She's inquisative and creative.  She is an all around good kid and we love her so very much!

Since the girls didn't have school the day before Rachel's bday we started her celebrations early with a sleepover with two friends and my attempt at creating a "Rainbow Loom" themed party/cake.  Thank God for Pinterest!  So the first cake was super easy and very fun!  The girls had a good time and the sleepover was a success.  The following evening we took her out for her bday meal-she chose Pizza Ranch and it was super yummy.  The day of her bday she and I ran off to Mankato for a bagel at panera and PEDICURES!!  It's kind of like another rite of passage-at age 6 they can get their ears pierced and at age 9 they can get a pedicure.  I didn't make these traditions up, they did!  It was nice to spend a little one-on-one time with this beauty.  We had a great time!  On Sunday Gpa and Gma Salfer, Gpa Tom, Gma Elaine and Randy and Sheila came for her party.  It was nice to visit with them all and have a nice ending to Rachel's day.  The 2nd "loom" cake Caitin helped with and we did it a little differently.  Both cakes were good and Rachel approved of them too.