Thanksgiving

Yes, it's nearly Christmas, but who can deny cute pictures of kids, right?

The four of us traveled to San Diego for Thanksgiving with Jake, Cheryl, Richard, Alison and even Alex and his girlfriend Stephanie. We had a great time and somehow found the strength to leave no matter what the temps where greeting us back at home.

Cheryl as usual put together an outstanding meal and the Jacobsen's were great hosts in their new home. Hanging out with Alex and Steph was fun. We made it out to the beach for a little fun in the sand, although no one was quite brave enough to find their way into the ocean. And Ann and the kids finished up with the weekend with a trip up to Legoland to see her friend Barb and her two boys.

It was fun seeing and spending time with everyone, although we were really disappointed to not have the opportunity to get back up to LA and see friends.

Here's wishing all of you a merry Chistmas. We're looking forward to good times with friends and family and we'll be sure to post pictures soon after.

Rakin' Leaves and Halloween

Fall is here and while Old Man Winter is already knocking on the door, or maybe it's more like knocking the door down, we've managed to take advantage of the few nice weeks of fall. Typical Minnesota though; 70 degress last weekend and a high of 30 today. Brrr!

With a bigger yard at the new house, we managed to rake up some pretty impressive leaf piles. The kids loved it and even had fun raking.

Halloween was a blast as well. Cailin was a cowgirl and Evan a tiger. I don't know what the trick or treaters are like for everyone else, but being in a dense area of Saint Paul lends itself to a constant stream of kids. I think we hit a new high this year in handing out 300 pieces of candy, and that was with 1 piece per kid for the most part! As you'll see the in picture, the kids benefited in the reverse by collecting over 200 pieces...yes, Cailin had to count and organize.

Our friends Steve and Huira came and visited this weekend, which was great, and we're looking forward to thawing out in San Diego over Thanksgiving. Check out the pictures, and as always, click through to see bigger pictures or for downloads.

Apples and Pumpkins

We made what's turning into an annual trip to an apple orchard last weekend. With Ann out of town, I took the kids out to Apple Jack Orchards in Delano with my sis Lauren and her little ones, Gabrielle and Derek. The kids had a ton of fun climbing on and over pumpkins, seeing some farm animals (Cailin and Gabrielle even got a pony ride!), getting lost in a corn maze and of course roaming the orchard picking apples. We must have been a little late this year. We got a fair amount of apples, but were really just limited to Firesides and a few Haralsons. Regardless, they were good... as were the apple turnovers, pull-a-parts, donuts... mmmm, yum.

Have a look at the pics. We're off to rake leaves this weekend, so maybe another posting soon..?

Summer turns to Fall

The leaves are starting to turn and there's a nip in the air, but we've had a great fall so far. We had a great day at the State Fair to start Sept. Evan got in on the rides this year and Cheryl and Jake helped us eat our way from one stop to the next.

The four of us got out for an 8 mile bike ride to support Pancreatic Cancer at the Purple Ride. Ann says a big Thanks for everyone who contributed.

Cailin started 1st grade and so far she's loving it. You can already see her reading, writing and even math improving. I also ran the TC marathon a couple weeks back. Wow, it rained harder than anything I'd run in before, but it managed to dry up and I finished well. 3:32.57 for anyone keeping score.

Well, we're hoping for an Indian summer or two up year. Some warmer weather would be nice to help while raking those leaves.

Check out Ann's blog on the new house. We think we've got an architect picked out, so things should start moving faster here. We hope that's a good thing! :)

A Summer in Review

Hi Everyone. Yes, we're a little late on the summer pics, but maybe it'll bring back that warm sunny feeling for a second. Well, we had a lot of great days by the pool. Cailin made a ton of progress in the pool, from simply stokes to somersaults under water to endless jumps off the diving board.

We had birthdays along the way too. Cailin turned 6 and Evan two. Cailin had some of her friends over for fun and games around the house including once again, the jumper. This year Evan started to get into opening his own presents, although always seemed to want to play with whatever he just opened instead of moving to the next.

So, have a look at the pics. And as always, click into the slideshow for bigger images or to download or order.

Spring in Saint Paul

Spring has finally arrived. We made a quick trip to LA for a friends wedding. The Grand Old Day parade marched our way again, and Cailin's last day of Kindergarten arrived. Can you believe it? Her last day already! And check out the very last picture, which is her first day. My, my, how time flies.

Spring Break on Maui

For Spring Break (Yes, that's re-entered our vocabulary) we ventured to Maui. We had a great time lounging, sunning and just relaxing.

Easter

Some random shots of Easter at the Hetlands.

Cailin's first two days skiing

Hi everyone. We got Cailin out skiing for the first time ever this weekend. We did a test in the backyard out in Hamel and she had a great time. She wanted to go again, so why not! We went over to Hyland Ski Area the next day and had a great time. She's working on her snowplow and doing a great job. Per the last pic, it looks like I need some new boots and maybe new skis too. I think they're each about 10 and 20 years old respectively... shows how much skiing I've done lately.

Cailin makes a Valentines Cake

Valentines and a Lost Tooth

Some new pics of the Kids. Click on any of them to view them all in the album.

A little bomber girl

Cailin shooting down the hill here in the Highland Park area of Saint Paul. Quite the brave cameraman, huh?!

Cailin & Evan Enoying Winter

Pics of the kids out in the snow. We'll be staying in doors this weekend though... zero for a high!...brrrrrrr