Christmas Blessings 2015

Christmas 2015 was filled with many blessings! 
Christmas Eve started out up in Maple Grove where we met Gma and Gpa Souvignier at the new skating path in Central Park.  It was a great day for skating and the girls needed something to keep them busy as they were so excited for the cousins to come over and open presents!
We came home and got things ready for the traditional fondue dinner with Gma, Gpa and Chris and Jen and kids.  After dinner the wrapping paper was flying as presents were opened.  And then we all piled into the Chuxwagon for a drive around the neighborhood looking at all of the luminary bags lining the streets.  Gma and Gpa stayed overnight with us and got to witness the morning excitement of Santa's delivery!  Ruby was awake at 4:30am........I layed with her and talked her into going back to bed for a couple of hours and then around 6:30 the pitter patter of little feet raced to the tree.  They took a look at their stockings and the gifts under the tree and then woke up Gma and Gpa to come see them open everything up!  It was fun to see their reactions.......Christmas through the eyes of a child is so precious!  The big gift Santa brought this year was an American Girl Doll for each of them.  They also got a new piano keyboard that was a big hit later after we got it out of the box and set it up.  We went to church and then quickly came home to get ready to do it all again! 
We headed out to Gma and Gpa Demulling's house where once again they were spoiled with lots of great gifts that they were so excited about!  And then headed to Great Gma Helen's house to see lots of cousins and aunts and uncles. In fact at one point in the day there were 59 people there.......good thing Gma Helen has a big house!  Now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays are over, we have been able to relax as a family the past few days and enjoy each other.......and all the new toys! I feel so fortunate to have my family and extended family to share this special time of the year with!       

Ok Winter......we're ready for you!

It's been a very nice and mild start to the school year.  I can't remember a year that I taught Phy Ed class outside as much as I did this past Fall.  But, now that it is December, the girls and I are ready for some snow!! We got a little as you can see from the snowman above, but we're ready for some more!!  

Cats, Cats, and more Cats.....

Maggie and Ruby are in love with Aunt Toni's 5 new kitties!  Yes.....I said five!

So much to be Thankful for.......

Another Thanksgiving has gone by and once again I am overwhelmed with all of the blessings I have and so much to be thankful for!  I started off Thanksgiving day with the Tonka Turkey Trot.  It started snowing just before the start of the race which made for a pretty but slushy run.  When I got home the girls were cuddled up on the couch watching the Macy's Day Parade.......I love watching that!  I snuggled in with them for a bit before getting ready to go out to the Demulling get-together.  This year the party was at Mary and Randy's.  It was fun to see everyone and hang out.  On Saturday that weekend, we had a gathering at our house with the Weibergs, Dauwalters, Jack & Rhett, and our parents.  Another fun day catching up with everyone!  So thankful for such great family and friends in our life. 

Halloween 2015

Halloween was on a Saturday this year!  We had such a fun group of neighbors over for a few games and food and then we all headed out to Trick or Treat together.  The kids came back and headed straight for the basement where there was some major candy trading going on!  The adults hung out by the bonfire outside!

Happy Birthday Grandma Bernie!!

Happy Birthday Grandma Bernie!  The girls were so excited to make her this beautiful birthday crown :) 

Lots of Running!

Fall is the season to run!!!  And we did!  The Surly Trail Loppet is one of my favorite races!  Such a fun event!  Also, the girls ran the Solomon Autumn Trail Series which is a 1 mile run on the trails of Highland Park and they ran the 1 mile Run for Apples as well!  I ran with Ruby and Maggie ran up ahead.  

First Day of School 2015

The was first day of school for BOTH girls!!  Maggie is in 2nd grade and Ruby is now a kindergartener!  The girls were very excited for the school year to start!  Maggie's class looped this year.  She was very happy to have her same teacher and see many of her same friends in her room again this year!  Ruby's kindergarten teacher is the same one that Maggie had.  She was excited to have a chance to have her as a teacher too!   It's nice to have both girls at the same place now, but I can't believe how fast those early years have gone for the girls!!  Amazing to think they are already both in school......where did the time go?

MN State Fair Trip 2015

Yes, we made it to the State Fair.  In a weak moment, Chuck decided to give Maggie an incentive to start behaving better at home and of all things, he decided that we would go to the State Fair if she held up her end of the deal.  And, Maggie did!  We went early on Sunday morning and left a little after noon when it got way too crowded to be enjoyable.  It had been years since Chuck and I were there and this was the girls first trip.  It was actually a fun morning.......not sure that we'll go again next year, but I'm glad we made the trip. 

Good Bye Summer! Sad to see you go!

Another great summer of fun!  We enjoyed many weekends at the cabin, spent some time at Gma and Gpa Demullings in the pool, went to Valley Fair, did our Duluth trip, and had a couple of fun bday parties.
I am so fortunate to be able to be home with the girls all summer!  I cherish the time as I know it goes by so fast!!  Summer time.......can't beat it!

Ruby's 5th Birthday!!

 Ruby had a really fun birthday party out at Grandma and Grandpa Mike and Alice's.  The kids had fun swimming, playing in the hot tub, picking apples off the tree, going for rides in the quad, and just hanging out!  Thank you so much Grandma and Grandpa for providing such a fun place to celebrate Ruby!!

This is such a cute picture of the sweet little neighborhood girls.  Ruby had a little party at the house one afternoon and we had a great time painting our nails in the salon (playhouse) and playing games outside.  It was a beautiful day! 

All of the cousins together!!!

It was great to get all of the Demulling cousins together at Toni's this summer!  Crazy how big they are all getting!! 

Our Summer Duluth Trip 2015

We had a great trip to Duluth this summer!  This year we invited Grandma and Grandpa Bill and Bernie to come along and we stayed at the Water's Edge Hotel.  The girls loved the hotel.  Inside were fun water slides, and outside was a nice pool and hot tub too!  Chuck and I were able to get away a bit and head to the All Pints North- the craft brewers festival going on right down by the lake.  It also happened to be my birthday.......it was a fantastic bday weekend!!  Thanks to Gma and Gpa for coming along and all of your help watching the girls!! More pics of the weekend in the picasa web album.

Happy 4th of July!

 We had a great weekend up at the cabin for the 4th of July!  This year the ice cream truck made a stop right in front of the cabin.  Of coarse we couldn't pass that up and Chuck purchased the extra large bomb pops for everyone! 

We found out that Maggie's two friends from school Axel and Bella have a cabin on the next lake over. It was great to pop over and visit them and see their place. 

On Sunday, Trent and Aimee and the kids stopped by the cabin on their way up to Brainard.  They spent the weekend out at Mom and Dads and then ended their vacation up in Brainard at the Grand View Lodge.  The cabin isn't too far out of the way so they stopped by for a few hours.  We went on a pontoon ride, tubing and did a little paddle boarding.  Was so nice to see them!! 

Lake Waconia Triathlon

 After taking about 7 years off, I decided to do another Triathlon!  Gina and I signed up for the Lake Waconia Tri in hopes that we could get together this summer and train for it.  We managed to get together one time for a bike and run.  It's crazy how busy life gets!  Anyway it was great to do the tri together and it reminded me how much I love those races!

The Chux/ Turman Garage Sale

The third Chux/Turman Garage Art sale happened this summer.  I hesitated posting this since it was a very busy crazy time for Chuck, but it was a big part of our summer.  In the midst of getting the shop ready for the sale this year, Chuck was also dealing with construction in the space next to their current location for expansion and also in discussions about the shipment of his new press that continues to be delayed due to flooding in Texas.  He held it all together with much grace even though he often went on limited sleep as he had many early mornings.  I love the drive he has and hope that our girls will also inherit his hardworking mentality. 

A visit from the Tucson Souvigniers!

We had lots of fun with Chad, Terese, Max and Claire while they were in town.  On Thursday when they arrived, the girls and I picked them up from the airport and then we had a quick lunch and headed over to Shadey Oak Beach for some swimming and park time.  Then the rest of the Souvignier clan came over and we all had dinner together and got this cute pic of all of them on the slack line. 

 On Tuesday the girls and I met them at Valley Fair.  It was our first trip there, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  Turns out we have a little dare devil on our hands!  Maggie surprised me with no fear when it came to riding the big coasters!  Luckily Max was also a fan of the bigger rides and the two of them had a blast together!  One of our first rides was the big white wooden roller coaster and that just wet their appetite for more.......They rode the corkscrew three times in a row and even did the big Pirate Ship.  It was a full day- I think we got there at 10:30 and didn't leave until around 6:30.  They were pretty tired by the end, but had soooo much fun.