Quotes and Pics

 Kaj did a great job at the preschool Christmas program.  There was a little girl in the back that was amazing.  Her parents got it on video and I can't wait to see it in their graduation video when they are 18.

 The poor little angels were a little bored during the Christmas program at church.

 Picture of Santa's elves just before they were handing out the presents.  Christmas Eve we went to see Grandpa Bill with Grandma Gert.  It was a million degrees in the Care Center and we were all hot and talking about it.  Kaj says "We should all go out for a smoke!"  That was just great.  I am glad Grandma Swanson wasn't their or I would have had to go and climb under a log.

After we visited Bill we went up to the house with Gert had dinner and opened presents.  Here is everyone in their new shirts.  The kids shirts say my Daddy Drives a Mack.  After that we went to the 10 o'clock church service.  While we were waiting for church to start Kaj says "When's God going to get here, because I haven't met him yet."  He just cracks me up.

Other Quotes from the weekend would be "Sissy pick up the pace" trying to get her to hurry up so they could open presents.

"It smells like church"  I don't remember where we were or what we were doing but that is what is smelled like to him. 

When Kaj was on a walk at daycare they went past a dog that started barking and Kaj said" ugh don't even start with me.  I don't have time for you today."

We got a couple of games for Christmas too.  Twister and Mille Bournes.  Both are big hits.  It is amazing the pretzel positions the kids can get into and how I just can't do those anymore. 

All in all it was a great Christmas and really nice to have Brandi around for the whole week.  T

Catching up

The cow Clem in the previous post is still living in my friends livingroom and he likes the baby's bouncy chair the best.  He also is spending more time outside in a doghouse and down in the basement where he can't mess up the new carpet in the living room.

Thanksgiving was wonderful.  I would have liked to have stayed overnight up there but that didn't work out.  I can't wait for Kaj to spend the night up there all by himself without us across the road.  I think that he is going to have a great time.  And then maybe we can work out like a week in the summer!  We will just have to wait and see how the Aunts hold up.  Bette made a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with Doris' help.  It is just the perfect set up for being in the kitchen working and the living room is part of the kitchen so no one is ever left out.  And Auntie Doris always has a puzzle going which is good fun.  Anyway I don't have any pictures because my camera died while I was there so if I could get some pics that would be great.

The other night I was trying to tweeze a whisker off my chin and Kaj asked what I was doing.  I told him and he told me "Just let it ride Mommy".  He cracks me up.

He is really good at writing.  He can do his name "no problem".  I need to record how he says no problem that is pretty cute.  Also he is good at go fish, uno and uno attack.  He has all the rules down pat.  He brought a hammer to preschool for show and tell and told them all about how to use it and what he uses it for.  That is pretty much what he has been up to these days.

My son is the size of a toaster!

 See the toaster on the counter.  See Kaj in the cabinet.  Usually that is where the toaster is and it just squeezes in there.  He has no problem whatsoever.  Brandi is going to have a hell of a time the next time they play hide and seek.

 I don't remember if I posted pictures of Clementine yet.  But the cow here is Clem.  He was born as a twin and a month or two premature.  My friend Lyndsy is the daughter of the farm who had the calf and it was going to need a lot of taking care of if he was going to make it.  She has done a great job.  The only problem is that he is a cow living in her kitchen!  I don't know what they are going to do for winter. 

 He is soooooooooooo cute!

 Here is Kaj with his jack o lantern

Brandi's friend Jamie came for a sleepover so she got to carve a pumpkin as well.  The next day the girls did a spa day.  It was great.  Kaj and I both had mani/pedis and then I got a massage as well.  It was great and a lot cheaper than going to the actual spa.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE

GUESS WHO IS THIRTY TODAY! MY LITTLE SIS. Did you know that is also happens to be National Dessert Day? How lucky is she. Kaj laughed when he heard Auntie was thirty today and said "Auntie is older than my Kevin!" Kevin is one of the providers at the daycare. Kevin is actually more in the forty catagory.

 

So other than that I don't have anything too exciting other than we are picking up Brandi for the weekend and we are going grocery shopping in Two Harbors. Last weekend we went for a 4 wheeler ride up to where our house used to be located on the Elbow River. It is a really nice spot back there. I wonder if we could move it back!

Reminder

In just 4 more days this beauty will be leaving her twenties and swimming into her thirties!

Birthday

 It was Kaj's Birthday a couple of weeks ago.  He had a nice birthday with the Aunts, Brandi and myself.  Everyone else had stuff going on.  He didn't seem to notice and had a great time and got just what he wanted.

 We had cupcakes and ice cream treats.

 Opening the presents

 So I wonder for how many years he will be willing to put a dress on when his sister and her friends want him to.

 Not that he dresses himself very well on his own.  I wonder which I would rather have.  A streaker or a son that dress in dresses all the time!

Grandma Becca got him the very popular firemans jacket.  It has to hang on a special hanger in his room.  Luckily the axe that came with it was plastic or I wouldn't have a post holding up the railing for the stairs anymore.

Other summer memories and new fall pictures

 First day of preschool.  On our way to school he asked what my phone number was just in case he needed to call me.  How cute is that.

 Here he is headed into his school.  It had to be one of the longer mornings of my life waiting to go and pick him up and find out how things went.  He had a great time.

 He is the big boy now riding Lady all by himself.  He has grown about an inch literally in the last month.  He is now 41 inches tall and weighs 32 pounds.  Just had the physical.  His charts say that he lost 2800 pounds since his last physical.  The doctor thought that might just be a typo!

 This summer our neighbors invited us up to their cabin on Clearwater.  It was a beautiful night and the kids got to fish for a long time.

 Brandi is the master fisher woman.  I couldn't even begin to tell you how many fish she caught that night.

 WE GREW CORN!  It was the first time I have ever gotten corn to grow long enough to eat and my was it tasty!



Finally some pictures

 The cousins chillin.  How cute are they!

 Getting ready

 The finished product

 Veils can be hazardous!

 Aaaahhh

 Oh la la.  Someone just had all their dreams come true!

 Daddy's little girls

 So we stood on top of Seymour Mitchells head stone for all of our pictures.  So I think it was nice he got to have one taken all by himself.

 So since I don't see Reese that often I am not sure if she is terrified or wondering about it all.  Maybe wondering if I am wearing a tiara and just how might she be able to get that off my head!

 Aren't they a good looking couple

 One last glace

 I still think Skinner probably had more dreams come true that day then me!

Off into the sunset we go.

catching up

This month my Dad took Brandi and her cousin Mason on a day trip for about 10 miles. They went on a loon survey. They didn't see any but they saw plenty of other creatures and had a great time.

Here they are in the canoe

Here they are just as they were headed out.

Here is my big man talking on the phone like an adult. It is funny just how much they immitate us.

We got a ladder as a wedding present. Already it is being put to good use. Thank you Grandma Jackie!

Kaj and his buddy Russell were pulling Russell's tractor around the field at Russell's house.

Russell drove it way out into the field. This is Kaj trying to pull it back for him.

Brandi got to go to camp Vermillion with her friends Sophie and Riley. Brandi had a blast even though Sophie had to leave on Tuesday because she was home sick.

Here they are right before leaving. Brandi knew a bunch of her cabin mates because they were from International Falls so I think that was cool too.

We went to church before they left for camp. Brandi had kind of a loose tooth and she worked on it the whole time and pulled it out right before she left.

Busy

This summer has been non stop. Here is Kaj up the closet helping me paint. He actually did a great job once he watched me load the paint roller a couple of times. Once he had that it really cut down on the paint on the floor. He did have to leave early though because he called Grandpa and wanted to have an overnight with him. Grandpa had lots of stories. I hope he writes them down. I know Kaj had a lot of plans about going fishing and canoeing. It was raining so I think they just went for a walk, fed the neighbor dogs and camped on the living room floor.

Brandi has been so busy one night she passed out at about 8 in the Greenhouse.

Our friends Addison, Emma and Joyce came to visit for a couple of days. We miss them very much already.

4th of July we set off some fireworks with the neighbors. I think this is a firework that ended up being kind of a dud.

The kids and I went to Tofte for their 4th of July parade. You are so close to it that you can reach out and touch the cars and there is tons of candy. It was a great day and the rain held out just long enough. That day in our travels too we saw a beaver with a tree crossing the road on the gunflint and then a mama duck and her dozen ducklings crossing highway 61 in the rain. There was one more cool thing we saw that day but I can't remember what it was right now.

We also borrowed Uncle Rob's boat and took the kids out for a picnic on the lake. It was a great day for doing that.

Our friend Breanna came over too. She and Kaj had a great time in the Hammock and the trampoline.

This is how little boys fall asleep when they have just had enough and can't take it anymore!

Lots of BBQs with the neighbors and friends this summer in our new patio type area.