Football!!

Well Kaiden is in his second week of football and is having a blast! They have been practicing 3 times a week at 2 hours a crack. He just got his pads and the rest of his gear last night so they could start working on tackling and actually get a feel for what the games will be like!

His first game will be on Saturday Sept 9th at 10 am! He is so excited to be able to play. Here is an awesome picture I got of him last night after practice. He was hot and tired and not too happy to have a camera happy mother standing by. But I just couldn't resist, he looked so dang cute in his uniform!

Weekend in Wisconsin!

We went to a friends lake home in Wisconsin this weekend and had so much fun! We left Friday morning and made it there around 5:30 Friday evening. It was such a beautiful and private setting nestled in the trees! We hung out and relaxed over a cocktail while the kids got reacquainted and then had a nice relaxing hottub before going to bed. Saturday was spent on the water. We hung out on the Pontoon boat and spent the day skiing, tubing and knee boarding behind Bryan's boat, as well as jet skiing. There was a paddle boat and all sorts of beach toys that the kids had a blast with! For supper we made some munchies and drinks then headed out for a Cocktail Cruise on the Pontoon, which I guess is a tradition for Kelly and her family. It was so much fun and we got a nice tour of the lake. The weather was amazing! Then it was time for a Bon fire and smores and some more R&R! It was such a much needed quite and relaxing weekend, and it was so much fun to be able to share it with Bryan and Kelly and her three girls!

Here is Karsyn chilling out suntanning!

and Kaiden looking cool as always!

4 guys on a giant hotdog! How funny is that!

Kaiden being the stud that he is, hooked the hotdog up behind the
paddleboat and gave the girls a ride. It was too cute!

Here is Kelly and her youngest Gracie, she is Karsyn's age

Here are Kelly's older 2, Maddie is the oldest at 10
and Cammy is Kaiden's age at 8!

Here is our trusty captain of our cocktail cruise!

Karsyn watering the sand! Notice the red bucket in the background
that is the new home for a baby snapping turtle the kids found!

This pic speaks for it self.... Can you say Divas with attitude!
I wouldn't want to mess with us!

This years school year!

Well Madison Elementary School was scheduled to start off the school year on Aug. 28th. The kids were both excited to be able to start the off the year in a brand new school! There was a lot left up in the air about when teachers would be able to move into their classrooms and for everything to be situated before the first day of school. Teachers weren't scheduled to be in their classrooms until a week before school started and we wouldn't know what classes the kids where in or be allowed in the school until the first day.

With Karsyn starting kindergarten this year I was a little concerned about her starting a year in utter kaios under the above circumstances. As the highly anticipated day grew closer, driving by the new school, suspicions of the school not being done in time started to grow, along with a lot of conversations on what would happen if it wasn't. Finally it was decided that school would be delayed until Sept. 5th. Karsyn was very disappointed and Kaiden was so excited that they had an additional week and a half before heading off to school. Now everyday I have 2 kids asking how many more days until school starts! For me I am glad, I am hoping that with that extra time, the teachers will have had some time to get situated and feel comfortable in their new setting and there will be less tension in the air for the kids, teachers, and parents. We also had classroom assignments posted yesterday so the kids know who their teachers and classmates will be!

Everything seems to be working out, as they always do!!!

Nephew Time!!!

My Brother-in-law Jeremy came and picked Karsyn & I up Friday afternoon so I could babysit my nephews for the weekend while Jeremy & Kristin went to Lake Okoboji with some friends! Mike had to play softball in Madison at 10pm the the last tourny game of the season, and we had a wedding in S.Falls on Sat.

We got down their and gave the kids a snack, then got them ready for Karate, which was at 6pm, I was so excited to take them to karate so I could watch them! We got their and were waiting for class to start when an instructor told me that their session had been cancelled due to blackbelt testing... The boys and I were both bummed out, but we decided to go out for supper and a movie instead.

We headed over to Burger King and had kids meals and Icecream, the kids were great and ate like little champs just in time to make it back to the theater for Over The Hedge to start. The kids picked the front of the theater and sat through the whole movie, which I was very impressed about!

The wedding was at 5pm, and I still had to get some errands done before that, so Sat morning I got all 3 kids bathed dressed and fed and then ventured out to Lewis Drug, The Mall and Walmart, talk about a zoo and my stress level went up about 3 notches but we managed through. I then met Mike, his Dad, his Little brother Justin, and Kaiden at Shopko (Mike had an eye appointment there). I sent the kids with Lowell and Justin, and Mike, Karsyn and I went to the dollar store to get wrapping for the wedding gifts. While we were out, we went out for pizza. Karsyn thought it was pretty cool that she got to go out for lunch with just the 3 of us. It was fun! We then hustled home so I could iron outfits for all 3 boys and myself, plus get Karsyn's hair and myself ready before we needed to leave for the wedding.

The wedding was beautiful, everyone looked great, and the kids were so well behaved! I am sure everyone at the wedding thought Mike and I were crazy with 4 kids that looked about the same age!!!! We the then went to the reception and dance where we had a wonderful meal and the kids played out on the playground! There were tons of kids their ages so they had a great time! Karsyn wanted to stay for the dance so we let her dance with the other kids. We then did the $ dance and she and Austin got to dance with both the bride and the groom! About 10:30 we decided to get the kids home to bed, so Mike had one dance with Karsyn and then out the door we went! It was a fun night, and it was great to see some of Mike's family that we haven't seen in a while. And all of the new additions! Two of Mike's cousins had babies recently so it was so fun to see them as well!

What a Great Weekend!

I had such a wonder full weekend and past week! My kids and family made a point to make my birthday a special event and they sure succeeded! Kaiden and Karsyn went to a benefit auction with my parents a couple weekends ago for a neighbor kid of ours(my parents) who was in a bad accident and is currently paralyzed. He has a little feeling in his leg and knees, so we are praying that we will continue to gain his feeling back. Instead of picking out things for them selves they did their birthday shopping for me! They each got to pick out an item and bid on it. This was very cool when they gave me the gifts because they told me about where they got it and how it was going to help out Josh. I was disappointed that I could be there so I am glad that my children were able to represent our family in the support we have for the family!

Kaiden got me a big Yankee candle and after buying it he smelled it and told my Mom, "I hope Mom keeps this at the office, 'cause it doesn't smell good". It is Rose scented and he didn't get to smell it before he bought it. I think it smells wonderful and yes it is staying at my office! I think of him everytime I look at it!

Karsyn got me a Chai Tea gift set, which is just awesome! I absolutely love Chai Tea and that is our special drink that we have together, as the kids love it too! Karsyn even had to have a Chai Tea Party for part of her last birthday. It was also a perfect gift!

The day before my birthday, my father-in-Law Lowell and the kids brought me a vase of 12 pink long stemmed roses. They were so beautiful and some of the most fragrant roses I have ever smelled! Lowell said he took the kids to the store and they got to pick them out. After a lot of arguing they finally picked them and I think they did a wonderful job. And finally my Birthday, we got up and headed for Sioux Falls. It was my Mom, Lowell and the kids. We headed out for day of school clothes shopping and I can't believe some of the cute clothes that we found!!!! Karsyn is very into skirts right now, so I got her some of those and decided that we can do tights and boots through the winter if need be! For Kaiden clothes aren't as exciting so we did a few less items but a little more $$$. He got the Broncos Jersey he had been wanting and a really cool pair of shoes, along with the standard t-shirts etc.

We had an awesome lunch and a Mexican restaurant and finished up our shopping so I could get Lowell and Justin back to Madison to play softball on Mike's team. They were short on players so they filled in for them. After the games Lowell wanted to take me out for a birthday drink, and since Mike had volunteered Justin to Ump the next set of games (which he was going to babysit for me), Mike went home with the kids and I went down for a Birthday cocktail! It was a wonderful day!!!!

Among that I got a lot of phone calls and emails from all sorts of family and friends to wish me a special day, so I was certainly spoiled and pampered and thanks to everyone for making it such a special day!! I am so blessed to have so many people that care about me and my family as well as for our health in which we so often take for granted!

26 and still kicking!

Today is my 26th birthday! I hardly ever write about my self so this should be a stretch. I was born on August 11th 1980 in Medicine Hat Alberta Canada. I have one older brother which is 3 years older and my parents which are still together today! My brother Stacey and I are almost exactly the same distance apart as Kaiden and Karsyn and their personalities are also so similar it is scary!

Well I think I am going to take my babies school shopping today! I can't think of 2 people that I would rather spend the day with and shopping on top of that... What more could a girl ask for on her birthday! Every year I try to take each of the kids school clothes shopping and have a day that is just about them. They get all of the attention and pampering a kid could ever want. It is so much fun. They can try on anything they want, we eat at where ever they choose and get everything they need for school. This year they will do it together instead of separately, but I think they won't mind sharing the spotlight for the day!

Here are some miscellaneous pics of me when I was a little girl! I was a little chunk hu!!!!







Well I better go for now! I just wanted to thank my Mom & Dad for everything they have done for me and for raising me in such a wonderful and loving environment. I know I wasn't the easiest child to raise... So thanks again! XOXO

Canaries Game!

We went to the Canaries game last night with Kaiden's baseball team! It was so cute watching them out there! I think they all had a blast. They got to hang out with the players for a bit before the game and then they sat with their families and watched the game. After the game was over the kids could go out on the field run the bases and get autographs from the player! Kaiden was pretty pumped about that. He got 2 balls from the players during the game, which he got signed afterwards! Karsyn had to wear a jersey as well and thought that Cagey the mascot was pretty cool.

We had a beautiful night to be at the ball game and an amazing sunset! I tried to get some pics of it, Gotta love those South Dakota Sunsets!! The game went until about 11, and then we brought Mike's little brother back to his brother Jeremy's house and headed for home! We got home about 12:30 and hit the hay! I was exhausted!!!!

Apple River!

We got back from a weekend at Apple River yesterday afternoon. We had so much fun! It was Brian and Val Wilkens, My friend Christie from Mitchell and Mike and I. We left for Apple River Friday at noon and it was a 5 to 6 hour drive and is on the Wisconsin border. We got there around 6 o'clock, set up camp and grilled some brats. We stayed up around the campfire and and had a few drinks. We had people from other sites come visit and the whole grounds were one big party! The next morning we were waken at 5 am with firecrackers and rap music. Needless to say I wasn't too impressed! The weather started out over cast with the odd sprinkle.

We decided that if we were going to get wet we may as well do it on the river so we made a beer run and headed to pick our tubes and hit the water. The tubing lasted about 3 hours per trip. There were tubers everywhere. Each group had there tubes tied together. There were some pretty big groups. They sure knew how to do it, they had water proof stereos and had music going. We bounced around from group to group and partied with a bunch of different people. After we went down the first time we stopped for a quick lunch at the car then headed down again. By this time it was about 2ish and there were a lot more people, and people were starting to feel the booze a little more by now. Things started to get a little more wild! Every so often there would be a ton of people stopped in the middle of the shallow part of the river having big parties. They had bongs, chocolate syrup and whipped cream going. I didn't get in on that action but it was interesting to sit back and watch!

For as many people that were there and as much alcohol that was consumed I couldn't believe how mellow and friendly everyone was! We did not witness one fight or argument! I found that to be pretty impressive.

All in all it was a great time and it was so fun to just hang out with good friends! We will definitely be going again next year. We plan to pick a date early enough so we can get a lot more people to go!!!! There is fun in numbers right!!! Will you be there???

Missing the Kids!

Well the kids have been away from home for one full week now, and boy does it seem quite! I sure miss their sweet voices and their hugs, kisses and cuddles. It's it night that I notice it the most. They left last Thursday with their Great Grandma and Grandpa Nielsen to stay in Woonsocket for a few days, I think that they were probably pretty spoiled. I here they got to go swimming a couple times a day in the new pool. They absolutely love going to their house! They also got to spend some time at their Grandma Lori's and see her new baby kittens... Which I understand were threatened to be sent home with the kids!!! (Not going to happen!) and from there on to Echo Valley Ranch to see their Gramma Lynn and Papa Ron. Karsyn got to have a friend from Springs come out to the ranch to play today and I guess she sure told my mom! She said Gramma is your floor dirty, we have company coming over you know. So when Mom went to town to her meeting Karsyn and Papa had to scrub the floor! I hope that isn't what I sound like when we have company coming over... But I am guessing that is probably were she gets it from!

Grandma O!

We went to Britton this past weekend to see my Grandma O. She is my Dad's mom and is in the hospital right now healing up from a broken hip over the 4th of July. She turns 90 in September and is still in amazing shape both mind and body! The doctors couldn't believe it when they took her into surgery. They only had to do a partial hip replacement because her socket was still in such good shape which is unheard of for someone her age! She still lives on her own up until this point and I hope she can still stay there once she recovers from her fall. (The picture to the left is at my baptism)

My Grandma is one of the most amazing women in this world, she raised 7 children with a 20 year span between them. She has 18 grandkids and 17 great grandkids, with a couple more on the way! She is one of the most supportive and calming people I know no matter what the circumstances and has an awesome sense of humor! I would be happy to be half the women she is, and every time I see her I just can't believe what she is up to. Whether it is taking the train to Washington or traveling some where, she never ceases to amaze me. I am so proud to be her grand daughter!
(This is a picture of my Grandma with Kaiden)

The Baseball finale

Kaiden played his final baseball game last Thursday night and they played a very strong team, the kids played a great game! The final score was 6-5 for the other team, due to a wrong call by the umpire we lost the game. This made it a pretty hard loss, but the kids handled it like super stars, which made me even prouder. I had a hard time handling the situation as grown up as the kids did, but managed through it! I guess you can always learn from your kids can't you!!!!


The team is going to Sioux Falls next week to a Canaries game. They get to warm up with the Canaries and then be announced during the starting lineup. It should be a lot of fun to see those little guys on that big field! After that all of our kids summer activities will be finished and it will be time to get the kids ready for school! Karsyn will start kindergarten and will also start her first year of gymnastics. Kaiden will be going into 3rd grade and also starts his first year of football. It is amazing how fast they grow up!

Here is Karsyn and her Uncle Justin. Justin has been staying with us for the past couple of weeks and will be heading off for his first year of college in Brookings at SDSU. I have enjoyed having him around so much, he has been a great help at our office and with the kids. I hope he plans to make a lot of visits during the school year... Even if it means him coming by when he needs laundry done etc.