home again

christmas travels took us back home to mn where there was A LOT of S N O W......i mean A LOT!!! like, taller than me A lOT in some areas. and we had a great time! the kiddos and daddys built a nice 3 room snow fort in the front yard {complete with a sun roof in one room after isabell stepped on top of one room} and then hit the hill for some sledding. needless to say, i think noah was right at home in my home town......

isabell standing in the snow fort {she's comes up to my shoulders}
some smiles.....

auntie rachel and uncle jon

the boys

sweet eli- my poser. wants his pic taken every time i get the camera out. love it!!

not happy about the snow on his face.......

more fun

sledding with daddy

isabell- ainsley's second mom for the week :)

sweet elijah again

snowy side smile

trekking up the hill!!

merry christmas!

{you'll likely be seeing this in your mailbox, oh, roughly between now and new year's.....i'm that organized this year.....}

christmas happenings

we've had lots of fun getting ready for christmas this year- and had some great time with friends. we went to a cookie exchange at michelle's and made some fun reindeer antlers. and of course sported the side smile for the obligatory photo. and yes, there's a lot of boys up there.

and with said boys's sweet little sisters

grandma and grandpa horst sent us this christmas classic read by grandpa- we listen to it at least once every day. noah loves being read to by "gertin" {the other "gertin" has moved up to "grandma" status!! whoo hoo!}

this little toothy munchkin got a taste of the good life when she was able to ride forward facing in nana's car for a short trip out. her forward facing days in mommy and daddy's cars are a solid year away- at least! {you can read more about extended rear facing here}

we took another picture by the big tree at crown center

and compared it to last year's picture
took another one with our friends- ains- not so in to it......

got really excited to ride the holiday express train......only to find out when we got down there it was broken. maybe next year {we have tried 2 years in a row now- and it has been broken BOTH times!!}

doesn't matter though cause this massive train display at union station made up for it

especially this part..........

and lastly, we took a horse drawn hay ride through nana and papa's neighborhood to look at all the lights. and by we, i mean ainsley, nana and me. noah decided that maybe next year when he's 4 he would like to ride. so, he and papa stayed at the clubhouse, played on the playground and ate cookies. definately his idea of a good time......

such a little helper.....

.....sort of!

the joy found in a little place called bass pro shop

maybe a week or so ago we took four {well, really three- and one more along for the ride} excited little kiddos to bass pro to see santa. we're smart moms. we went during the day, avoid the crowds, get our free pics and get out. smart, yes. mis-informed, also yes as well. how unfortunate. as it turns out santa has other obligations during the day and is only able to make it to bass pro from the hours of 5-9. that's no good. all was well in bass pro......it wasn't until we attempted to exit that it sunk in. there.would.be.no.pic.with.santa.NOW. so here's our fun up until that point. and, i take no responsibility regarding exactly where my daughter came up with all her many faces......

she'll show you right where the big brown bear is if you ask her

and fish can be very entertaining for quite some time
nothing like a little mini tent to hang out in and share some laughs

we made it to the north pole

ainsley wants to wear his hat.......

and here she wants to know why she can't climb up that friendly frosty and snag it
there will, in fact, be no pictures in front of santa's place
all was well in noah's world. who needs to visit santa when you can see a train instead???
and the highlight of the afternoon. little blake. they have all these activities set up for the kids- and this was a favorite. noah was intrigued by blake and alec- that's for sure. pretty sure they come from a hunting family. i can imagine that's just around the corner for us. i'm glad blake could give me a little taste!!

busted......

"momma, may i please i have a cookie?" {in sweetest, nicest, most polite voice}
"have you had a cookie yet?"
"no, i don't 'sink' so."

um, going to have to disagree my friend. let the truth vs. lie discussing begin.......

how to appropriately enjoy a gingerbread house

it's a fine art......and noah's got it down.

thanksgiving round up

thanksgiving was great- enjoyed some fun time with family. we shared coats with auntie lisa

decided we didn't like sharing coats.......

hung out with jack

took a "sisters" picture

peeled the heck out of some potatoes with nana

most of us enjoyed some delicious turkey with all the trimmings.....

.....and one of us enjoyed this ball of "vegan grain meat"

played on the computer with cousins

climbed all over papa

had lots and lots more fun with will and jack

and snuggled with aunt amy

needless to say, after all that, noah is really missing his "will and jacks"!