An Extra Special Thanksgiving

We pulled off an epic surprise for the kids for Thanksgiving...Lor came to visit! 

He had some unexpected delays, so the kids were chomping at the bit by the time when he arrived, but when he finally showed up at the front door, the kids schrieked with delight when they saw that he was the surprise. 

We spent the Holiday in Sioux Falls, Lor came and went as he had friends to visit while he was back, he joined us for tennis and even took the kids home early from dinner one evening so Dave and I could grab a glass of wine together. By the time we got home, the house smelled of burnt popcorn, and they were all in the basement in pajamas watching a Christmas movie. We spent Thanksgiving with my family and enjoyed a small happy hour that evening, Lor left on Friday after the US World Cup game. We enjoyed every minute while he was here. The house was full of joy.

The kids with my parents on Thanksgiving.

Usually gigging. 

Lor, one of the kids. 

Game night. 

Fam fave- Catch Phrase 

A quick trip to the Parade of Lights 
after Lor left.

Photo op. 

A scheduled weekend slowdown.

Tis the season for fun and festivities. With all of the busyness, it was great for our family to schedule a slowdown weekend, fun was had by all. 

We started if off by watching Sully perform in his school's orchestra concert, its awesome how good they all are after just a few months. Next was kid's night including an evening at the Pavilion, pizza, and then to James and the Giant Peach where their cousin, Hudson, performed. We finished the weekend off with a family night, we decorated the tree, listened to music and were simply together, it was an absolute low key highlight for all. I'm always wishing for more of these weekends, but thankful for the ones we get. 

Orchestra with his buddy Kingston. 

James and the Giant Peach with grandma and friends. 

The tree is up! 

The warmest fire. 

A moment to mediate. 

SNL

Taylor Swift sing along, every time.

Girl's Weekend : Boy's Weekend

Minneapolis/Montreal or bust! 

The gals of the group snuck away to Minneapolis while Sully and Dave got to Montreal for a much anticipated boys weekend. 

We enjoyed all the Mall of America had to offer, and let's be real, we also had our fair share of begging for every toy, fidget, squashmallow (and every other thing for sale on the kiosks), melt downs, and drama. But looking back, all we remember is the fun had by all; the cousin time, the sister time, and just making the time to get away together. 

The favorite moment had by all was the spa event held by the girls for Maggie and I. They thought of every detail from the spa menu of food and services to the mellow music to really set the scene. The girls all have so much fun with it and its actually pretty fun for Mag and I, too. 

I love our girl's weekends and definitely look forward to the next, but will probably insist we try a different location next time. 

Sugar Factory 

Pip overcame her fear of rollercoasters! 

G presenting us our spa menus. 

Real deal. 

The worker bee hard, hard at work? 

The kids get a turn. 

Fresh skin for all! 

Sephora fun. 

Meanwhile, Sully and Dave loved Montreal. They have had this trip on the calendar since before Covid and between weather and the pandemic, it hasn't happened... when it fell into their lap, they were so excited. They ate poutine, rode bikes, watched an incredible hockey game and just enjoyed spending some quality time together. 

Bike ride. 

Pizza for the win! 

The boys.

7, Halloween, 9, Girls on the Run

Next up...birthdays, Halloween, and a 5k! 

We celebrated Piper's 7th birthday on October 30 with a family day followed by Halloween, and then Greta's 9th birthday on November 5th. What a week! 

The girls are so grown up. Piper will always be the littlest and loves that about her life, but at 7, she is starting to act so grown up. She takes pride in a clean room, loves to read and is thrilled about taking piano lessons. She seems to have more buddy boy friends than girl friends and loves it. Piper chose Bread and Circus for her family dinner. Greta is my best helper, always excited with tasks, but has mastered sneaking food and candy into her bed, I find 'wrapages' from Hershey kisses in her bed weekly. While I'm constantly reminding her of the food rules, I secretly smile at her tactics, because she is pretty clever when it comes to them, if only she could figure out how to clean up after herself. She has mastered the eye roll and she has so much sass. She chose Golden Bowl for her family dinner. I love everything about them both. 

For Halloween, the kids dressed as a couple of trash pandas and a bunny (all the camping varmints ;)). They went out with neighbors while I handed out candy, we enjoyed picture perfect weather... we had nearly 400 trick or treaters!  

On Greta's actual birthday, she ran a 5k with Dave and Sully as her support runners. She participated in Girls on the Run this year and took away so many things. She learned about setting goals and accomplishing them. One of my bffs and neighbors, Amy, was a coach and really nailed it, we feel really lucky to have been a part of this program. Way to go, Greta (and Dave and Sully, and all of the girls!). 

Pip- 7! 

The Zookeeper and her animals. 

Piper the bunny, Sully and Greta as trash pandas. 

5th ave Faves, missing Landon and Aidan. 

On my Halloween stoop. 

The chaos. 

Bday parties. 

Girls on the Run, Greta surrounded by love. 

Picture perfect High 5 from Matt.

Greta's cheering/birthday squad. 

Greta and Amy... and Anders :). 

So proud of our G. 

Annika, Greta, and Piper. 

Golden Bowl photo op with our kiddos.