Happy Birthday, Annabelle!!!

This past weekend was Anne's All Inclusive. This is a new tradition My mom, Anne, and I have started. Every year we treat one of us to an All Inclusive Mystery Weekend. This year it was Anne's turn. For those of you who don't know, Anne is turning 30 on New Year's Eve!!!

My Mom and I surprised Anne with a trip to the Old Taylor's Falls Jail. It is now a B&B. When we got there we started reading the Guest Journal, and were surprised to read account after account of hauntings in the jail. This is something we didn't plan on. My mom laughed it off, Anne hoped we'd have an encounter, and I was a little nervous. We didn't have anything super cool happen to us, but there were a couple odd things. The housekeeper's told us about people seeing orbs, furniture moving, noises, and even small children seeing people. Anne started taking a bunch of pictures, because others had said things sometimes show up in the pics. We had a couple unexplained spots in a few pics, but one crazy pic of mom. It looks like it is snowing all over her, and it was a completely clear day. One last thing for the paranormal fans, the housekeeper told us that the batteries often go dead in people's cameras or the pics come back just black. Anne put new batteries in while we were there and they were dead today. Freaky!!

Okay, besides the ghosts, we had a lot of fun with the locals. This was my kind of town. The bartender let you pour your own drinks and dance on the bar. Notice, we are in our PJ's. Anne and I went to the gas station real quick for some munchies and decided to stop in. I'm wearing a t-shirt, capri sweats, and snow boots, and it didn't matter at all. We had the best time with all our new friends.

I could go on and on about our weekend, but I've rambled enough. We had a great time, but thank goodness Anne only gets an all inclusive every third year. I don't think my mom and I could keep up with her every year. There were just a few too many cocktails. Next year is Mom's turn. I'll keep you posted.

Happy Birthday, Anne!!!

Merry Christmas

The Saturday before Christmas we spent at my parents'. This is the annual Waldschmidt Christmas Sleepover. As usual, we had a great time. We had a wonderful meal, opened presents, and watched a movie or two. In the morning we had our traditional big breakfast, but for the first time ever the boys decided they were NOT making the breakfast over the fire. Apparantly they are not quite as winter tough as they were in their younger days. We also had a lot of fun with Dan's new Wii. I cannot believe how sore you can get from bowling.

Sunday we celebrated Christmas with Steve's brother's families. I love this Christmas too. We have decided to make it a very laid back celebration. We all come in our PJ's. The kids love it, and so do the adults. Jen made a wonderful meal and dessert. It's so much fun watching the little ones open their presents.

On Christmas Eve we went to my grandparent's in Prior Lake. There are getting to be so many great-grandchildren, so it's pretty chaotic. And.... there are two more on the way. Fun times. We love spending time with the Friedges family. There are always many good laughs and a lot of food.

Christmas Eve night we decided to take the girls to church at Hosannah. We normally go to St. Michael's in Prior Lake at 10:00, but we didn't think the girls could hold out that long. Let's just say that church was the most chaotic part of our Christmas. We quickly moved to the parent room. All the lights in the church were off as part of Hosannah's Christmas Service, and our little Ellie moves a chair over to the light switch and starts blinking them. No, she wasn't in control of the entire church, but there was a nice blinking parent room at the back of the church. Then, she had her fingers shut in the door while trying to escape with another parent, so there were a few lovely screams. As Ellie is screaming Zoe says in just a calm matter-of-fact way, "I guess she'll have short fingers."

Christmas day was wonderful. We opened presents with the girls, watched movies, went sledding, and enjoyed a 3 hour family nap. At about 5:00 we went back to Prior Lake for some more fun with the family. By the time we got home I was Christmased out. I put the girls to bed, and took down all the decorations (even the tree). I wondered what the neighbors thought when they saw the tree on the curb in the morning. Christmas with a 1 year old can be pretty stressful. I guess I was a little scroogish by Christmas night.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!! And, I hope you have a very Happy New Year!!

Lily Comes to Visit

My niece, Lily, is going to be with us every other Friday, and we couldn't be more thrilled. Today was our first day with Lily. We had so much fun. Lily loved the new toys, and my girls loved having a baby in the house. I do think I'll get some serious pipes out of the deal. Whenever Lily wanted to be held, so did Ellie. Whenever Ellie wanted to be held, so did Lily. I had one in each arm several times throughout the day. I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow.I was very surprised how smooth and easy our day was. Lily is such a joy, and we can't wait until her next visit. We love you little Lily Rae Rae!!

No More Baby Mullet

I finally brought Ellie in to get a real haircut. The poor thing has been sporting the baby mullet look for far too long. As you can see in the pics, she did NOT like getting it done at all. I cannot believe the lady was able to cut it at all. She actually was able to give her a cute little bob. She looks so adorable. I just love it. Such an improvement.

Christmas Cookie Time!!

Lovely hair net, Anne!!! Ha. On Wednesday My mom, sister, and I did a Christmas Cookie Bake through community ed. It is the best deal ever. You show up, and the dough is all ready for you. You just assemble. They have all the prep done ahead of time. They also do the baking and the clean up. We have a blast every year. Anne is ALWAYS the first (and maybe only) person to steal a cookie.

Breakfast With Grandma Fran

Last Sunday we had breakfast with Steve's Grandma Fran and the rest of the Zwebers. This is something we do with Fran every year for Christmas. It is always such a wonderful day. The food is amazing and the company is even better. Thanks Grandma!! We look forward to this special time with you all year long.

Always Thinking

My Dad went into a wheelchair several months ago. It truly was a blessing in disguise. He has felt so much better since he stopped using his legs so much. He also seems to have a lot of fun with the power chair. Check out this video. I can't believe he made a plow for his chair. This has got to be a first.

A Family Tradition

My family has cut down its own Christmas tree for as long as I can remember. When Steve and I got married we continued the tradition. Every year we go to a place called Hampton Hills. It is very close to my parent's home in Randolph. We spend forever trying to find the perfect tree. This year my mom made her search much easier. She didn't want the perfect tree, instead she wanted a "Charlie Brown" tree. Zoë had a lot of fun helping Grandma find the right tree, but Ellie preferred to stay in the warm truck with Grandpa. After we found our trees we went back to my parents for Christmas Cookies (and a beer).

Turkey Day

Ellie coloring a turkey.

Ellie is a true Friedges. She enjoys shaking dice.


Zoë and KK always have a good time at Grandma Alice's and Grandpa Julius's house.




Jenni and Matt checking out the deals for Black Friday.

Grandma and Barb working hard in the kitchen.

Zoë enjoying her Thanksgiving feast.

Ellie enjoying her meal as well.

My favorite twins, Brooke and Carter. Brooke wins the prize for enjoying her meal the most. She sat and ate for probably an hour.

Tom, Natalie, and Kelly lounging after the meal.

We had a great Thanksgiving, or should I say a great three Thanksgivings. We started the day with the Hostrawsers (Steve's Mom's family) at Dave and Jen's. Then, we moved to Prior Lake to visit the Friedges side. Zoë and her cousin KK always have the best time together. After two big meals, a few hours watching football and going through the Newspaper ads we headed home.
On Saturday we traveled South to Iowa for Thanksgiving with the Waldschmidts. It was wonderful seeing everyone this weekend.

Welcome Mom!!!

My mom decided to enter the big exciting world of the internet. She got a sweet laptop yesterday. She says she needed one so that she could read the blogs. Way to go mom. We're always happy to have new readers!!

Now We're in Trouble

Ellie decided (Way too Early) that she is ready to be a big girl. Today at nap time, Zoë came running out to let us know that Ellie was standing on the end of her bed. We weren't sure what she meant, but rushed in to check in out. Yep, Ellie had both feet up on the railings. She was pretty proud of herself. We put her back in the crib and left. We watched her through the crack in the door, and in about 2 seconds she was back up on the railings. Steve got out the screw driver and took the side off. I swear Zoë did this way too early too. She was in a big girl bed at 21 months (also because of climbing). Ellie is only 19 months. I know so many people whose kids stayed in their cribs until 3 or later. How did I end up with the climbers. Life would be so much easier if she just stayed in the crib. Now, we'll be battling with bed time for a while. I wasn't planning on this at all. We may have to separate the girls again. I can't imagine all the fun they'd have with both of them able to run around.

Off to Arizona

On Saturday we got together with Steve's family at Dave and Jen's house to say good bye to Chuck and Karen. They left on Sunday morning for another warm and sunny winter in Arizona. We also celebrated Karen's birthday. Happy Birthday, Karen!!

Don't forget to vote today.
Zoë is one excited voter. She pulled the sign out of the yard and was marching up and down the side walk. Now, look at my little niece Lil. She takes her politics very seriously. Sorry, I should have gotten a pic of Ellie with her McCain sign. What do you think of Barack and Sarah? Check out those moves!!

More Halloween Fun!!

On Halloween Day the three grandaughters vistited Grandpa Bill at work. Thermo King had an awesome Halloween Party. Imagine hundreds of cubicles and trick-or-treating. The girls had a blast! We even met Sarah Palin.

Halloween was such a busy day. We also had the Lakeville Panther's football game in the evening. Sadly, their season came to an end after a great game against Lakeville South. Good job Uncle Mike! We look forward to next season.

First Annual Zweber Spooktacular!!

Last night we had our first annual cousins' Halloween Party. The kids all had a chance to see each other in their costumes. They were adorable! We had a very SPOOKY meal too. We had black spaghetti, Pizza with eye balls, bloody witch fingers, eye balls, spider bread, graveyard cake, and witch's brew. Mmmmm!!

On Sunday we had Christmas (Yes, Christmas) with the Zwebers. Chuck and Karen will be leaving soon for Arizona, so we always celebrate a little early. It is so much fun with all the kiddos. Although, it's not too easy to get a good picture of all six of them. The night was complete with a turkey dinner and presents. The kids had a lot of fun, and so did the adults. We will miss Chuck and Karen very much. Luckily, the Panthers are doing well, so C and K will be here a little longer than usual. They always wait to leave until Mike's team is out of the playoffs. The Panthers won on Saturday, so on Halloween night they will be playing Lakeville South. It should be a great game.