Wonderful Weekend

I just had a weekend that could not have been more jam packed and fun!

Friday started with my BFF Tammy driving 12 hours to come stay with me! She arrived, despite white out conditions, on my door step around 7:30 that night. It was so nice to sit and enjoy our favorite martini together with her in my very living room!

Saturday my parents treated us and brought us to the play Billy Elliot. It was Mike’s first production of this size and my fifth (Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Mama Mia, and Jersey Boys preceded Elliot). It was such an amazing show. It was funny, it was sweet, and it had a great ending…what more could you want? Afterwards we met Tammy at Enjoy in Apple Valley. If you have never been there, you have to try it. They have amazing food and great atmosphere. In the summer, there is a great outside area with comfy seating and even a huge stone fireplace. We love this restaurant. Plus, we were able to treat mom and dad to a nice dinner to thank them for taking us to the play!

After dinner, I hopped into Tammy’s car and we headed to a high school friend’s 40th birthday party. She had an 80’s theme and we looked quite attractive walking into this public bar!

I stole this picture off Facebook. Some are looking at one camera and some are looking at another, but you get the idea…I went with the flash dance look. The birthday girl is the blonde in the upper left hand corner. She’s old……REALLY old. Poor thing. Poor old thing.

We danced all night to our 80’s tunes and had a great time! It’s pretty scary how many of those lyrics I remember and yet I can’t remember my 2nd grade teacher’s name or a single thing I wore back then. I had to go online and google “80’s outfits” to figure out what to wear.

Sunday we slept in and then decided to hit the movies. We saw Black Swan…..which I knew was a thriller but Tammy thought it was going to be a nice documentary about ballet dancers and how hard their life is. Um, I am not sure if she’s ever going to be the same. She watched most of the scenes through her fingers and had a hard time slowing down her heart rate after it was over! Cracks me up! I would not see this movie again, but I was glad I saw it. I know it’s been nominated for many awards and I understand why…….but it’s not a feel good movie. See at your own risk!

Unfortunately, Tammy left around 4 and I sat my butt in the recliner. I wanted to tackle a chapter in science and ramp it up because it is such a boring chapter for me AND the kids. I didn’t finish until 10:00 last night (even ate dinner in that chair) but it feels good to have fun, educational, and cool things planned for this final physics unit of the year.

Dinner is planned for Wednesday night with Tammy and another high school friend and then she will head back to Indiana (where it’s not THIS cold!). Thanks for a great weekend my friend! I love you!

Peace,

LB

Tundra Living at its Finest

 

A Very Vertigo Christmas

Christmas 2010 will go down as the Christmas filled with vertigo for me. I first got vertigo when I was pregnant. It has come and gone ever since and can be devastating for me. I also know that people have it much worse than me and I am thankful I am not one of those people.

 

 

This time it started the Thursday before Christmas, which was our last day of school before break. It came at about 9:00 in the morning. I know by now that if I don’t take medication immediately when I feel it come on, I won’t be able to catch it in time and then I start getting sick and I would be on my way home. The downside to taking the medication is that it makes me very tired. The medication helps with the spinning, not with the nausea. However, once the spinning stops, the nausea usually goes away after that.

 

 

I made it through the day and went to bed early that night!

 

 

Christmas Eve was spent at my mom and dad’s. Mike mom, Dave, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew join my family each Christmas Eve. It’s nice to be able to have both families together. We are spoiled that everyone gets along so well.

 

 

Christmas day was spent together, just the four of us! I love this. Not only can Santa come, but there is no rushing to get out of the house. The kids are able to play with their things, and no one gets out of their pajamas all day. It’s heavenly. We watched Harry Potter 4 because Noah finished the book and lounged around.

 

 

The kids opened their gifts from each other Christmas morning. Usually it’s the one present they get to open Christmas Eve, but we came home so late from my parent’s and we all went to bed, kind –of forgetting our tradition!

 

 

Connor got Noah a remote control helicopter and Noah got Connor walkie talkies and spy glasses. I love how Connor is more interested in watching Noah open the gift he got him than he is in his own gift! They enjoy buying for one another.

 

 

 

 

Limited edition DSI’s!

 

 

 

Noah and his new phiten necklace. Notice the hair horns.

Santa even came!

 Santa doesn’t wrap presents in out house. I bet that makes things easier for Santa.

 

  

Both boys got hats in their stockings. Santa knows that Noah likes Under Armour  and Connor was THRILLED when he saw so many Vikings wearing this very same hat on Tuesday night! He ran to get it and wore it the rest of the game while watching the screen for another siting of a player on the sideline wearing it.

 

 

 

We had a lot of fun playing with Noah’s new remote control toy. It’s always a crap-shoot buying this stuff. Most of the time it doesn’t work, or it’s way too hard for a kid maneuver, but not this one. It was easy to fly.

 

 

The plan was to have a steak dinner that night, but vertigo reared it’s ugly head in the afternoon and I spent a couple of hours in bed. We postponed the steak dinner until the following night.

 

 

Mike surprised me with a Nook under the tree! We don’t exchange Christmas gifts and I discovered this gift for me under the tree four days before Christmas. Needless to say my poor husband didn’t get a gift from me. He doesn’t care, but I wished I had noticed the gift sooner. I am excited to download some books once I have read the two I got as gifts from my mother-in-law. I am almost done with The Help and it’s such a great book. Vertigo slows me way down because I can’t read while I have it, otherwise it would be done. It’s a really good book.

******************************************************************************************************************************

New Years Eve will be spent at our new neighbors with others from the hood! Should be a fun time. We usually see so little of each other in the winter so we are looking forward to seeing everyone. Plus, the kids can go back and forth from the party to home which will be nice.

 

 

We have been enjoying our lazy days of winter break. Kids have played a lot of video games, created and played numerous flag football games in the street, lunch with daddy, and mama has had a few play dates with her favorite friends. The boys have a sleep-over planned with Granny and Papa for Saturday so we will visit Mike’s friends this weekend and catch-up. Always good to see them.

 

The tree is down, decorations put away…..I guess 2011 can come any time! I made a promise to spend one day on work and I haven’t done it. With only three days left, it’s not looking good that I will keep that promise. I admit I am feeling a little guilty about this, but I am ready for the week back to work. I was just hoping to get a jump start on some upcoming things I am tackling for the first time this year.

Enjoy the weekend!

LB

Heide Ho Ho Ho

We enjoyed an early Christmas with my side of the family this past weekend. We have been celebrating early for years and that generally means everyone can make it.  The only member missing was my nephew Michael who is living in San Francisco. We changed it up and instead of a traditional turkey/ham we had lasagna. It was a nice change, dishes were done much quicker, and my kids ate like piglets. There were tons left over and my kids ate like piglets for a second time the next day. We watched Grumpy Old Men and Christmas Vacation. My kids got a video game that kept them enthralled much longer than I care to admit. Come….meet my family.

Here is my gorgeous mother. It’s because of her we all get spoiled and fed so well while we are there. Isn’t this a great picture of her? I just love it.

This is my dad and my sister Lisa.

 

 

 

 

This is Lisa’s boy Matthew. With him is Sarah. I am not quite sure what to call her, exactly. But we sure hope she’s around a long time.

 

 

 

 

 

This is Lisa’s youngest Mitchell. He’s all grown up and drove down himself, stayed overnight with my parents, and went back to Lakeville the next day. Cripes, it’s like he’s an adult or something.

 

 

 

 

My brother Rick and his wife Tracy. We used to live next door (yes, directly next door) to them for years. I miss that. My brother and I are almost exactly ten years apart.

 

 

 

 

 

This is Rick’s oldest Cameron. I apologize for the blurry picture. I have no idea what happened. And of course, because he was next to me, I didn’t take any other pictures of him.

 

 

 

My brother’s youngest, Calvin, and my other sister Carrie.

 

 

 

 

 

Carrie’s only child, Devon, and her husband Bud. Could they be more gorgeous?

 

 

 

 

Last but not least, my two wee ones…..

 

 

Again, my speed light was my best friend. Why this little piece of equipment decided to start working is beyond me. I swear I have tried it before and it never got shots like these. No editing on color at all was needed. I am using one of my old lenses (not my new one) and my parents downstairs is dark…I have never been able to get shots this decently down there ever. Love it!!

Hope you have a great week. School was out at noon today. We are getting hit with a huge storm again. Off to watch the Vikes play the Bears on the U of M field. Crazy!!

Love,

LB