Minnesota Christmas- Part II

Great times in the Minnesota outdoors. Unfortunately we had virtually no snow... just a thin layer on the ice the first day we were out. The sun came out and took care of the faint dusting by day two but that didn't stop us from having a great time! Kids ice skated their hearts out. Did some ice fishing. 4 wheel riding and just soaked up the crisp, fresh air. Such fun.

Date with Dad

Maddie and Mikos had their annual Holiday Dinner and Dance with their Indian Princess Tribe on Tuesday evening. Maddie was so excited. She loves these events but this one is especially fun for her because she gets a new dress, gets to get all dolled up and gets to dance the night away with all of her friends! So cute. We imagine she will always enjoy and look forward to these events but eventually, as the years pass, the novelty will wear off a bit so we are really cherishing these moments now. Especially Mike. He loves getting to do these things with Maddie.

Thanksgiving

Bunco

I hosted my Bunco group the first Friday of November and Sonja and Russell stepped up and had Maddie and William for their first sleepover at their house. It was really Uncle Russell who stepped up (Sonja was over with me rolling the dice and Bunco'ing the night away). The kids still can't stop talking about the cool tent he set up in their living room to sleep in! Yes, the tent is set up on top of the air mattress. :)Russell even had an ART project for them to do together! Isn't it adorable? So impressive. The kids had SO much fun! I was a little worried about my little Wils but he slept in the tent with Maddie all night long. Such a big boy.

Huntington Beach Hyatt

We crashed in on the Porter's vacation for a little late afternoon swimming and poolside playing. Another end-of-October memory I'm catching up on tonight. Fun photos of the kids. Love to see the kiddos growing up together.
I always feel blessed when I get the opportunity to spend time with these favorite ladies of mine. I am a lucky girl to have such quality people in my life.

wow

wow. i've been on such a blog hiatus that i totally forgot my username and password and it was like fort knox getting back in here! now that i'm IN, i have no idea where to start. i have no desire to go back over october... however i think i do need to post some pictures for the record of the kids halloween. so here's a few pics. it was a fun october. pumpkin patch and our good friends the porter family joined us all the way from kansas on halloween evening for dinner and trick-or-treating. good times. not sure why i'm surprised but that was fun! mulling through the pictures deciding which ones to post just gave me a renewed inspiration to keep this blogging up. it really does help me to keep on top of the photos and moments of these special times in our life.

Lucas turns 2!

We celebrated Lucas turning 2 a couple of Sundays ago. It was a swell party. Mickey Mouse was the theme. Maddie and William just love this little cousin of theirs to pieces! He's a pretty cool little guy and I can't believe he is 2...and he's going to be a big brother come March. Crazy! I can't believe Maddie was his age when William was born. Wow. Now that puts it into perspective for me. Seems like ages ago. Such fun times for the Driscoll's and Ciriza's. We love you Lucas!
I love this singing shot I got. Maddie is singing with such heart! :)