What Has Happened Since...

Our last post was quite a while ago, so here is what has happened in the last few weeks.

November 20 - We met up with Mick, Hung and Casen for a little bowling. Although it was a little loud, and we performed quite the baby juggling act, we had a good time. And it was fun to
go bowling... I can't remember when I last went!

November 24 - I caught Eko with both paws up. He continues to amaze me. How can that really be comfortable.

November 25 - We feasted with Jon's parents on ham and other yummy thanksgiving sides. Jeff, Shelley, Micah and Elissa joined up with us later that evening to relax together and even get a back massage chain going!

November 26 - Thanksgiving part two happened back at our house with my family. The babies ate, we ate, we played a fun debating game, a little Wii action took place, and some fun hangout time. It was a day. Margaret, Oliver and Lucius had so much fun they wanted to spend the night... how could we say no! We had swedish pancakes the next morning then ran off to get a few cuts of fabric before dropping them back at home.

November 30 - I needed to get out of the house after being inside all weekend, so I ran some errands and ended up at my parent's house for the afternoon. I shoveled what little snow they had while Brianna napped then hung out for a while with my dad. I caught this fun photo while Brianna and Grandpa played!


That gets us through November anyway!

So Much to Celebrate

... To Charlie Brown turning 60 (yet he doesn't look a day over 8)
... To a finished craft
... To the best countdown ever!

I am pretty excited to announce that I have finished my Peanuts Advent Calendar. I guess I have 1 or 2 things left to finish (so maybe some of you wouldn't consider it complete) but other than that - Ta Da!

I just couldn't wait to share. It's questionable whether or not it was actually worth the cost of making it over just buying it in the store, but now I have the privilege to say, "Yes, I made it!" My family knows our fondness for the Peanuts, as Jon explained in a previous post, so when my sister mentioned she saw this advent calendar at a local shop, I just had to go check it out. A couple yards of fabric, some black fabric paint, many Xacto cuts, and a few tiny modifications later, it is complete. I know Thanksgiving is still coming up, but the anticipation of Christmas and Christ's birth is so exciting. I can't wait to be able to share this joy with Brianna and see her face light up as we countdown as a family!

Rattling the Dice

Normally I don't let Brianna play with my phone, but tonight I just couldn't help it. We went to baby story time at the library today and halfway through we shake some fun bells/rattles, which Brianna is really getting the hang of. So, to help pass a little time this evening I thought it would be fun to practice our shaking. We don't have any jingle bells or many rattles to use, but my phone has this dice rolling application (that I never understood and thought I would never use), which actually worked perfectly. She loved it! You can even hear the dice "rolling" around inside my phone as she figures out what makes the noise.

 

Count Your Blessings

Leave it to the Berenstain Bears to remind you of the simple things in and about life.

After a weekend of no power and waking up still without power, Brianna and I got out of the house in hopes of finding somewhere warmer to wait out the cold. It had been a long weekend and I was hoping, sooner rather than later, our power would find it's way back so we could go back to our house and just be - without the headlamps and without thinking where we were going next in order to stay warm. Along our Monday excursion, we stopped briefly in a book store before picking up lunch. We went up to the kids section and browsed our favorites. I came across the Berenstain Bears Count Their Blessings book and thought what perfect timing. For those unfamiliar with this book, it's about a big storm rumbling the treehouse and leaving them temporarily without power. At one point Mama reminds her cubs to, "... start appreciating the things you do have. It's called 'counting your blessings.'" Sure enough, they have each other, a cozy fire to snuggle up next to, yummy hot chocolate, and a sturdy house to keep them safe.

Although our circumstances were a little different and lasted much longer, I still had to stop and count our blessings.
1. We were together and safe and warm
2. Family was right around the corner and gladly welcomed us into their weekend
3. Brianna still managed to get sleep even though she was shuffled from here to there
4. Eko was able to relax and stay calm at my sisters house
5. A friend let us borrow a cooler so we could salvage what was left in our fridge
6...7...8...

Thanks Michelle, Hung and Casen for letting us crash your weekend, eat your food and watch a mind blowing movie with you! It was nice to know we had a place to go.

Saturday morning, my mom watch Brianna as I went to a covenant seminar and Jon ran errands. While Jon snowplowed my parents driveway, we played a bit with cousin Lucius and Oliver  before returning home to no power!

Casen was kind enough to share toys and electricity so we could play before heading to bed.

Electical outages and cloth diapers don't mix, especially when it's diaper washing night. Both Casen and Brianna jumped in the basket once all the clean diapers were neatly folded.

Eko was having a hard time finding a suitable spot to lay down... oh wait... they have a couch too... problem solved.

Helping Fold Laundry

Well, not quite folding, but she loved handing me the clothes-almost!

The Great Backyard

With Brianna asleep, Eko lounging and me engrossed in my project, I was hesitant to answer the phone when it rang. I was on a roll. Thankfully, I did answer and it was my observant neighbor next door. The extent of the call was, "just wondering if you've seen the two deer in your backyard - they've been there a while." Well, no I haven't even turned around or got up in the last hour or so! I put down my crafting materials and went straight to the back window. Here's what I saw!

Yes, I think that is 8 points!

I tip-toed out the basement door to get a closer look. They kept a watchful eye on me, but carried on investigating our backyard.

After Brianna woke up, the deer were still in the backyard, so we peered through the window together. Eko finally caught on there was life moving in the backyard, so he was glued to the window as well. What fun we had just watching them graze in the backyard. 

Thanks to our neighbors, we had a fun family free movie!

Their Eyes Meet

This past weekend, my mom, Brianna and I drove down to Norfolk, Nebraska to visit with family and celebrate the life of my Uncles mother, Edna. We were both glad we were able to make the trip and support and love on our family. We love you all and are praying for you!

While we were down there, we went to visit my Grandpa at the nursing home. We haven't had the chance to introduce Brianna to Papa, so this seemed like a good opportunity - that is, if we could make it down the hallway of the home without being stopped by too many loving old ladies who just adore babies. Saturday night, we arrived, unpacked in the hotel, then went out to dinner with two of my Aunts. It was getting close to Brianna's bedtime but we thought there was enough time to make the short trip over to Papa's place and briefly visit with him before Brianna heading back to the hotel.

As we walked in the home and through the hallways there was one room of 5 or 6 old ladies watching TV. I smiled politely, holding Brianna, thinking we would just carry on down the hall. Not so! These women were persistent and waved us in the room. There was no way we were passing them by without a meet and greet. One women took her out of my arms and started showing her off to the other ladies. It was very cute and my cheeks hurt from smiling so much, but I was glad to help make their day! Once we navigated out of their hangout, we made it to Papa's door at the end of the hall.

I know Papa loves his grand-kids, but you could see his face light up as he interacted with Brianna and how proud he was as he rattled off the number of great grand-kids he has. He is just too cute... and feisty! We were able to spend more time with him on Sunday morning. That is when Brianna realized he had velcro shoes on and she knew what to do with velcro! Thanks for spending time with us Papa. We are so glad we finally were able to see you, it had been too long!

I love your belt Papa Great! It even has a picture of Nana Great!

Four generations of Hayes'

The Doctor Is In

We aren't big halloween people, but we enjoy handing out candy to the kids in our neighborhood and this year Eme had the chance to make a costume, with some help for her sister Margaret, for Brianna. What to make for a costume though? Eme and I have enjoyed the Peanut's comic strip over the years. We enjoy receiving a new Peanuts Christmas Tree ornament every year and a Peanuts calendar. So Eme decided to make a Lucy costume.

Eme did a GREAT job and, as always, Brianna looks oh so cute! And it's not just my bias speaking...numerous people commented on how cute she looked! Don't you agree?

Every year Mortenson allows kids to come in, show off their costumes and walk around to see what kind of treats people have for them. Here you can see Lucy slowly walking away from Snoopy soliciting her psychiatric services. (Snoopy gets farther and farther away)

You can't see it very well in the background, but Mortenson has a fully operational tower crane in its lobby. Sit in the operators chair and lift the bucket of concrete or bundle of steel pipe. It's pretty cool!

Tom Gunkel, the President and CEO of Mortenson wasn't handing out candy. Instead he opted to give little gifts to the kids. He handed Brianna a Santa book which she was very thankful for as she isn't eating candy...yet.

Anniversary Adventure Part III

The final morning of our weekend we took a quick walk out to the point at Grand Marais Harbor. The sunrise was beautiful as it flooded the bay with light and broke the shadows.

Brianna was ready for one last hike up Mt. Oberg

The surroundings look a little different than a couple weeks ago as Oberg Lake's crystal blue water stands out amongst the brown.

As we headed back down the mountain we knew our weekend was quickly coming to an end. But it was a great weekend spent (briefly) with Jeff and Shelley and together for the latter half. It was fun to expose Brianna to God's beautiful creation even during, what some might classify as, an awkward time of the year as the season changes from Summer to Fall. We definitely had a great time enjoying the outdoors during the day and relaxing inside at night.