A Minnesota Christmas 2013

I flew back to Minnesota with Parker and Asher on the 11th of December for our Christmas vacation.  It was awesome having all that time to spend with family and friends we don't get to see all the time!  Aaron flew back and met us on the 20th and we all flew back to Oregon together on the 31st.  There were family gatherings, ice fishing sessions and a lot of other activites which made the trip fly by before we knew it!

The kids were great on the flights there!

Best type of baby on a plane...a sleeping one!

 Parker and I found mine and my sister's stash of barbies that we had as kids!  Parker was in heaven.  We also found our old dance costumes which she loved to dress up in.

This was her all time fav...the one she spent most of her time in

 Of course a Christmas trip to MN would not be complete without an ample amount of time ice fishing!  Parker and I even caught some fish!

The Ice Castle!

Aaron's huge 11" sunfish

And Al's BIG fish

Fishing isn't the only thing that happens out there

The water was so clear you could see the fish come up and bite your line.  It was awesome!

 One afternoon we drove up to Grand Forks, ND for a Kvasager gathering!

 We also had a couple family gatherings with my mom's side of the family which is always fun to see cousins, aunts, uncles, great grandma and grandpa!

Asher and Great Papa D

My cousin Steph, her daughter Avery and us

Some of the Davison cousins!

Parker and Great Grandma D

Fit in a morning playdate with my great friend Jana and her kids...

Three 3 year olds and a 10 month old...all playing, no fighting!

 We attended a wine party with my old friends which is always a great time...

Squeezed in a trip to the dentist and a teeth cleaning with Grandma Mary Lou!

Spent a lot of time playing some new card games...Go Fish is a favorite now.

Even got in a quick swim!

Parker and Grandma Mary Lou

We saw Santa and there were no tears!

And then there was Christmas!  We spent the 24th with my family...

 Left some cookies and milk out for Santa...

And spent the 25th with Olsen's...

Cozy by the fire for a movie

 And before we knew it, it was time to head to Minneapolis to fly home!  We went down the night before our flight and stayed with our good friends Brian and Amanda and their two kids.  Parker and Grant always have a great time when they see each other!  Uncle Robb, Aric and Dave were able to drive over and spend some time with us too.

Grant, Parker, Robb and Asher

Nora and Asher enjoying some dinner together

The flight home looked a little something like this...

 All in all it was a fantastic time spent at home!  We always talk about the idea of moving back because we have such a fun time with family and old friends but then we remember what the weather can be like in the winter months...

YIKES!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Finally...Thanksgiving!!

It's been FOREVER since I've posted something on here!  In my defense, our computer crashed so it has taken awhile to get caught up on editing photos and getting everything set up on the new one.  So let's go back to November and quickly recap Thanksgiving aka Friendsgiving.  Once again we hosted at our house, it was a blast as usual.  We had a ton of great food- probably the best yet, and ended the night playing cards.

The "kids" table...Amy was invited to sit at this exclusive table!

Table 1!  Kristena, Kaylon, Aaron and Bill

Table 2!  Adam, Ally, Lauren, Josh, Kate, Asher and I

It was the little guy's first Thanksgiving!  He ate a TON.

The night ended for the girls with a movie with the dads.

Camping in November

When Aaron asked me if I wanted to go camping in November (he brought this up in Sept) I thought he was crazy.  Then he suggested we rent a yurt at Honeyman State Park.  Now that I'm down for!  

Parker was STOKED to say the least!  And so was I...what a perfect way to camp during the colder months.  The yurt had electricity and a little heater.  It was perfect!

 This campground is on the coast with 2.5 miles of sand dunes separating you from the ocean.  There are also a couple of little lakes.  It was beautiful!

 Parker wanted to become a mermaid...

 ...and then she would not join us in a family picture.  Asher is staring down at her.

 After hiking around the dunes we went back to the yurt so Asher could nap. Aaron decided to take Parker out fishing.  They both had a blast even though only one little fish was caught!

 Someone is supposed to be napping...

 Hanging out roasting marshmallows...

 We will definitely be back!

Halloween 2013

For Halloween this year Parker decided she wanted to be a lion.  Luckily I found this awesome lion costume at a huge second hand boutique store!  Even better is that it will fit up to a 5 year old...meaning Asher will also be a lion some time in his future!  Parker also decided she wanted Asher to be a duck.  Sounded good to me and I also found that at the second hand sale.  Love a deal.

Our friend Kristena and her daughter Starra came over and we hit the road.  We ended up trick-or-treating for 1 1/2 hours...way longer then we thought!  It was great.  Asher just slept in the stroller and the girls hit up the neighborhood.

 The girls were allowed 2 pieces of candy.  The next day Parker "sold" Aaron and I all her candy, then she got to go to Target and buy something with her cash.  This plan worked like a charm!  The Halloween Fairy visited Starra that night and replaced her candy with "The Little Mermaid".  Another brilliant idea!

 And here we are!  My home made Waldo is still holding up and Aaron's $5 vampire Goodwill find is now "paying him back" he says.  We got these costumes in 2006!

2013

2012

2011

2010

Pumpkin Patch Tour

I love this time of year...I love pumpkin patches...I love Halloween!  With that said, I wanted to hit up as many pumpkin patches as possible.  

First up, Lone Pine Farms.  We met a couple friends out there and let the kids play.  They have a playground, kids haystack maze, haunted corn maze, goats, a "cow train" ride, etc.  It's a pretty awesome place.

 Parker and her friends Cameron and Marion

 Loading up for the "roller coaster"!

 Parker and Cameron

 The little kids haystack maze

The next pumpkin patch...Thistledown Farms!  Probably my all time favorite.  None of my pictures do it justice.  It also has a haystack maze- but way better- goats, chickens, corn maze and amazing produce for sale.

 Note to self...when you think it would be fun to let a 3 year old lead you through a corn maze, make sure to pay attention to where you are going.  For real- it was Parker, Asher and myself and at one point I didn't hear another person at all and had no idea where we were...it was a moment of "oh sh*$...where are we?!"  Needless to say we eventually found our way :)

Lastly, we went to Northern Lights Christmas Tree Farm over the weekend so Aaron could join us.  So ya, sounds like this place would only be open in December but it has "Colonial Harvest Days" which is pretty awesome!  This is where we decided to get our pumpkins.  They have all the standard animals and pumpkin patch amenities but they also make a tasty latte (I had) and hot apple cider (parker had)...not to mention an adorable shop!

They also have pony rides! 

Inside the "haunted spider barn"