Wrestling

Wrestling has begun again...of course Burandt has decided to join :)

He's gotta let some of all that aggression out somewhere right!

Brecken also decided to join...this is his first sport, and so far he seems to like it.

get em buddy

Even if he is always the one getting pinned :)

Girl Time

Kee came for a visit while her mommy was at work, and since it was a school day she had no choice but to play with auntie Sarah :) First we started off with beauty... lip gloss and a lot of it. She had about 20 of the darn things and I swear i tested each and everyone out...twice!

Then on to tea party...boy does this girl love to play tea party. sad thing is the only tea party cup we had was this itty bitty lego cup, which yes she insisted I drink from :)

Ooof all that playing makes a little lady hungry....

...I mean sleepy.

Oh the cuteness!!

Braydon's Band Recital

Braydon had is band recital on January 24th. It was for the 6/7/8 grade band students.

Here is the 6th grade band getting ready to perform.

There is Braydon in the pink tie in the back on the trombone. He has got so much better since last year :)

Nice Concert! Good Job Buddy!!

Fishing

Has Blake been out fishing you ask? (I get ask that a lot actually) Obviously he has been out fishing...like a LOT! I never see him anymore. If he's not working he is fishing.

He is now sponsored by Northland Fishing Tackle so boxes like these are a common sight around here. Not that he really needs any more tackle, or line, or reels, or fish houses for that matter- he could easily take the entire town of Keewatin fishing and have enough to go around.

What ever makes him happy I guess ...gotta have the new stuff:)

He has also been doing some filming this winter. In fact he is headed out again in the morning to film with Brian Brosdahl and Greg Clusiau. busy-busy-busy

An eater from LOW

Blake, Bill Sherck (DueNorthOutdoors), Greg Clusiau

Yes he's been to Canada this year already and has his big Manitoba trip coming next month....so ya you could say hes been doing a little bit of fishing :)

Special Person Day

I woke up this very blizzardy morning and Burandt informs me that he needs me to be his "special person lunch guest" at school that day. Gotta love last minute plans...especially on a blizzardy day when Blake took my car to work and I have nothing to drive.

But I put on my winter boot and trucked it to school for lunch with my son. I was soaking wet and late by the time I got there but he was happy to see me :)

After lunch he brought me up to his room and showed me his desk and some art/math project he was working on. I am happy to say he is doing much better in school this part of the year...a few things yet to work on but I'd say big improvement.

Great Job Buddy!!

ps...yes he has had a haircut since these photos :)

Recycle Yourself

At the end of January we headed west to East Grand Forks for a very special 56th birthday for Blake uncle Kevin who has been give a new lease on life with his recent liver transplant. A benefit was held in his honor.

If you would like to read up on his amazing journey check out Team Grinde's blog: http://liveronions.wordpress.com/ it's a great read, comical yet informative. Highly recommended!

Here is also the news stations clip from the evening of the benefit...PS those cute little ladies are not to be mistaken for movies stars its just Arin and Lex (Blake cousins) but I'm sure the Hollywood bigwigs will be calling them soon :) http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/57919/

Of course we had to make our annual stop at Cabela's

The kids always have so much fun looking at all the mounts. Even though they have been there numerous times before and not much has changed, they still act like it's their very first time stepping foot in the store :)

The fish tank is always fun...look they even had a turtle.

Brecken by the lil muskies

Burandt by a long nose gar

Braydon by the small mouth bass

Roads were a bit yucky for our ride home though...at least we had a great weekend. Its always fun to get together with family.

Burandt's "Big Kid" Room

Burandt had been asking for quite some time to have his bedroom redone because it was to "little kiddish" . So upon the finding of this sweet bed (on Pinterest of course) I got in one of my crazy idea moods and tore his room apart. I then had to enlist the help of my master carpenter/husband because obviously I couldn't do this myself...correctly :)

We worked together and in a couple evenings had a nice little cubby bed for Burandt.

Hunting was what he wanted as his theme...because he likes guns, blood, and killing things aka-hunting.

We had a few bumps in the road (and by bumps in the road I mean a whole gallon of white trim paint "accidentally" spilled all over the new carpet with hand prints all over the wall and small pre-k size 11 feet prints all over the floor- the whole nine yards). But I think it turned out pretty darn good :)

Happy New Year!

Huh 2012. Can that even be right? Where did 2011 go?

We changed things up a bit this year and stayed home for New Years Eve. Shocking I know :) Normally we go to the annual KFD pass the New Years Party, but this year seemed to sneak up on everyone! Before you knew it the year was over and we didn't even plan the party. So we stayed home and tried out Blake's new can cooker that he got for Christmas, just the five of us- Blake, Braydon, Burandt, Brecken, and myself. We ate and played board games...it was perfect!

Looks amazing doesn't it :)

Hope everyone had a great New Years 2012!

Willie the Elf

This year we started a new tradition with the boys which has been quite fun actually (considering how old my kids are and all) Anyways...Elf on the Shelf! I suggest everyone do this with your child its so darn cute and fun! Don't know what its about?? Well I'll tell you (or Wiki will) Read on...

The Elf on the Shelf Tradition Have you ever wondered how Santa knows who is naughty and who is nice? The Elf on the Shelf – A Christmas Tradition is the very special tool that helps Santa know who to put on the Naughty and Nice list. This interactive holiday hide-and-seek tradition is perfect for children and families of all ages. The tradition begins when Santa sends his scout elves out to Elf Adoption Centers. Waiting for their families to bring them home, these patient elves hibernate until their family reads The Elf on the Shelf, gives their elf a very special name, and registers their adoption online. Once named, each scout elf will receive its Christmas magic and become a part of the family’s Christmas each and every year. Excellent listeners and even better observers, these scout elves are the eyes and ears of Santa Claus. Although they cannot be touched, or else they may lose their magic, the elf will always listen and relay messages back to Santa. Taking in all the day-to-day activities around the house, no good deed goes unnoticed; these scout elves take their job seriously. Each night, after the family goes to bed, the scout elf uses his magical Christmas powers to fly back to the North Pole. Once there, the elf will make his or her daily report to Santa and visit with elf friends where they will tell stories about their beloved families, play with the reindeer, and of course, sneak some of Mrs. Claus’ cookies! Before the family awakes each morning, their special scout elf will fly back to their home from the North Pole. However, since these elves like to play games, don’t expect to find them in the same spot! While some like to hide in the freezer (probably because it reminds them of the North Pole) and others prefer to sit on the fireplace mantle or hang from the chandelier, these elves love to play hide-and-seek with their families. On Christmas Eve, the scout elf will listen for Santa’s bell and then fly back to the North Pole until the next season, wishing every girl and each boy a Christmas of peace and a year full of joy.

See..now doesn't that just sound like a fun time :) Seriously-Do it!

We named ours Willie...and he is quite the trickster! He had many good hiding places this year, but will have to get a little more creative next year I think:)

Christmas 2011

I "think" everyone had a great holiday this year...I was told by a certain little someone that THIS WAS HIS BEST DAY EVER! Although he comes home from school most days claiming it was the best day ever, so...I guess that statement could be debated.As we do each year we spent Christmas eve at Blake parents enjoying Christmas festivities...and as usual the kids stayed up a lot later than they should have playing with their new goodies that they got for Christmas from Gramdma house.

Even Oliver was anxious about the big day. He had been sniffing his stocking for hours and really wants to tear open the raw hides he discovered in his stocking...snooper!

But Christmas morning came soon enough, and wouldn't you know it I was the first one up :) I had set my alarm for 7;45 because I knew we had many stops to make that day but I figured the kids would have me up long before my alarm. Wrong! So I made coffee and got everything ready and woke them up at 8:00.

I don't know who was most excited kids or Oliver cause he had the raw hides out before they barely made it down the stairs :)

It didn't take long before the house was filled with paper and presents.

All that excitement is for the Wii game MW3 and headset

Shoes for Brecker

New shoes for Burandt

Legos...need I say more :)

Burandt got his bow

And what did Santa bring?? Android Tablets!! Yes they were beyond excited about these!

Burandt checking out the MW3 and headset

Braydon playing on his new Android tablet...A shooting gun game of course.

After we finished up at our house Christmas morning we all packed into the car and headed to my grandparents in Pengilly for Christmas morning tacos :) Then on to Blake's grandparents back in Keewatin for some gift exchanging and visiting. And we ended our day at my parent house in Hibbing with a huge family Christmas dinner with all the fixings!

We had an amazing Christmas....we put on a lot of miles and did a lot of visiting- but Hey that's what the holidays are about right :)

Big Thank you to everyone for making our holiday so special!