family pictures 2010

So Thankful

We had a great Thanksgiving again this year! We spent Thanksgiving day with my family at Laurie and Erics house. She made a wonderful meal and we had a great time just being together. Laurie, Krista and I got up really really and did a little black friday shopping - we had a great time, and thankfully it wasn't too busy! On Saturday, we followed Wulf Family tradition, and went to the tree farm to pick out Christmas trees! It's one of my favorite traditions each year. I could have gone without the mouse in the field this year, but it was fun anyway. We spent the evening playing games, it was so fun! We really do have a lot to be thankful for!

Holidaze

Even though I had to work that weekend, we were still able to make it downtown Willmar for a little bit of the Holidaze celebration! Gavin L*O*V*E*S penguins, and when I heard they were getting live penguins for the day, I knew we had to find a way to get there - even if it meant sacrificing sleep. When we first got there, we saw the reindeer and Gav got to pet a little one - he loved it! Then we looked at all the other animals, but no penguins... so we watched them roast smores in the street and did a little shopping. I was pretty dissappointed that there weren't penguins like they had said... but when we were leaving a store, we overheard them talking about how cool the penguins were - Bryan jumped right in and asked where they were. They were just down the street inside - these penguins like to be warm... just like me! When we got there, Gavin was in a trance... he just loved them. He listened so intently to the woman that was teaching us about the penguins. He answered her questions, and was more than thrilled when he got to pet one! The penguin loved him just as much, she followed him around and coundn't take her eyes off of his hat! That made his night! After that, we got to decorate cookies, and meet santa - Gav told him he wants a skateboard for Christmas. We also got some fresh kettle corn and just walked around enjoying the atmosphere. It was a really fun evening!

Happy Halloween!

We had a GREAT halloween this year! The Hinderks' came over to our neighborhood, and we took the kids trick or treating together. Gavin was Woody, Braylon was Buzz and little Mackenna was a Cobber chearleader! The kids had a ton of fun running from house to house. I went back early to hand out some candy at our house, but there were so many kids, we had to shut the light off so early! At one point, Gavin opened our door after the bell rang and told the group of kids "WE ARE DONE - OUT OF CANDY!" It was really difficult to get the kids to sit still long enough to get a picture of the three of them, they were having too much fun!

busy bees!

Last Saturday, Brandon graciously volunteered to help Bryan clean up our yard for the Fall. He brought Nick's riding mower and together they bagged the grass and leaves and got everything looking spifffy for the end of the year. I'm a little disappointed I don't have any leaf jumping pics of Gav this year, but I have to admit the lawn looks awesome! Bryan's mom also very graciously came and helped trim up our evergreen trees. I have been wanting to do that for the last couple of years, but I had no idea where to even start. It's pretty great having a mother-in-law with an amazing green thumb! I cannot believe how nice the trees look, it opened up the whole yard! Thanks guys for all of your help!

Partying the Preschool way!

Friday afternoon, I joined Gavin's preschool class for their Halloween party. They had a little parade of the kids - which ended up dissipating really quickly, once the kids saw their parents, they all left the line! We painted pumpkin cookies, played games, drew pictures and Gav got his face painted by his favorite teacher Ms. Chelsey! It's so fun to watch him interact with his classmates!

Pumpkin Carving

On Wednesday night, Brandon and Sara joined us to carve pumpkins! Gavin was so excited to help, but ended up being more interested in playing with the insides of the pumpkins, then actually helping to carve anything! The pumpkins all turned out great, and look great on our front step ready to greet the trick or treaters!

Couples Retreat

It was SO. WINDY!

We started a new tradition this year, and had our first annual couples retreat! This year, we choose to spend our weekend away in Duluth! We went with Brandon and Sara and Jeremy and Jackie. Unfortunatly Jon and Tara got sick the week we left, so they were not able to join us! Next time! The idea of the weekend, was to relax and rejuvinate and just enjoy being with our spouses and friends. We had such a great time. We left Friday afternoon and got into Duluth a little later in the evening. We checked into our little hole in the wall hotel in Superior for the night (yes, all 6 of us stayed in one room!) We took a taxi to Duluth that night and spent the night talking, drinking and dancing. Saturday morning, it was cold and windy! We drove to canal and got coffee, then walked around to look at some of the shops. On our way back, we watched a boat come in. We went into one building and the boys played in the batting cages, we got our picture taken in a booth and played some laser tag - so. much. fun! We ate lunch at the brewery, where the guys tested every beer on the menu. We took a little drive around the city, and ended up at a park on the top of the hill. It was so windy!!!! The picture of Jeremy making a mustache out of Jackies hair, makes me laugh out loud everytime I look at it! We then checked into the Suites hotel - the room was beautiful! We just relaxed for awhile and then headed out for the night. We ate at red lobster (crab legs.... yum!), and then, out of pure guilt, I agreed to go on the haunted ship with my husband. jackie came with too, but Sara was smart and stayed back at the hotel! It was awful! I hate scary things to begin with, but my night started by getting chased down the street by a guy with a chainsaw!!!! I made it about 2/3 of the way through and had to be escorted off the ship.... at least I tried! SCARY! I perfer the haunted mansion at Disney World for sure! We met Sara back at the hotel and spent the night at Grandma's. Gavin got to spend the weekend with Laurie, Eric and Owen, and he cannot stop talking about how much fun they had. It's so nice to be able to get away for a couple days with Bryan and not have to worry about Gavin at all. He's always so well taken care of. We came back refreshed and ready to go - and then I got sick, so that is what I have been dealing with all week. Overall, I think our couples retreat was a success, and will have to be repeated next year!