Getting the Tree with no snow...

It was a bit odd tramping through the grass to cut down our Christmas tree. But I have to say it was much easier for the boys, especially Emmitt, to walk without the snow tripping them up. We headed out to Saunders tree farm Saturday morning.

We all took off to find our tree...we were all alone at the tree farm. In years past we have gone after work, in the dark, and with tons of snow and crabby kids. This year it was actually wonderful.
He is actually whistling O Christmas Tree to the wilderness.
If you can see how much the tree towers over us, you can probably guess that it didn't fit in the house without some major trimming.
Daddy and the boys cutting the tree down.The boys were in such awe that daddy just picked up the whole tree and drug it out of the woods. Parker thought we were going to leave it on the side of the road.Emmitt had given it up after awhile and just simply gave up on walking without assistance.He kept laying in the ditch and giggling when daddy would pick him up by his coat and help him to his feet. They made a game out of it.All done getting the tree and heading home to put it up and decorate it.

I Heart Turkey

My crazy sister in law bought and then doctored up these I heart Turkey shirts. We wore them while we cooked the Thanksgiving meal for our in-laws. I don't think I have ever had a more fun cooking day. Ever. We shopped for all the food on Wednesday and spent just as much money at the grocery store as we did at the liquor store. Our plan was to keep it simple, drink wine, serve the meal @ noon, drink wine and have fun. And we did all of the above.

Our father in law has always referred to me as the queen. When I gave birth to both boys, he came into the hospital room and said "you're still the queen". Well now I get to (happily) share my throne with Casey. She had to add the Queen Cooks to the back of our shirts. The family all had a great time, we hung out all day. Napped, ate left overs, played games and enjoyed a wonderful day together.

4th Birthday

Parker Anthony. I cannot believe you are four years old! You were so excited for your birthday party. You had these crazy ideas that everything was going to change when you turned four. In a way many things did change, but not overnight, very gradually over the year. You set your mind to being "dry" at night (thanks to buddies Max and Nate) when you were four. I am not kidding-the night of your birthday you demanded to wear underwear and were appalled when I put the "mat" under you at bedtime. By golly-you woke up dry! Almost 2 years ago you potty trained with little difficulty and you wait until now to quit peeing at bedtime! Unreal. You owe me $408 in pull-up money by the way.

The most significant changes have occurred since February when you had your surgery. You have gained 8 pounds in 9 months! Even though we don't see a huge improvement in your eating habits, you obviously are eating more. You are still pretty little-hanging around 35 pounds. You are definitely taller. Your 3T pants officially became floods in a matter of weeks. Your speech has dramatically improved. With the help of the tubes and school you are hearing words properly and saying them correctly. We had the speech therapist watch you at school and the only things you struggle with are the "k" and "ga" sounds. She gave us some tips on how to work with you in a fun way. Otherwise you are doing what other 4 year olds are doing.Your birthday party with the family was a blast. I enjoyed this party the most. I love that we only do cake and ice cream for the party goers. I have never felt like I need to feed them and they don't expect it. This year I got my cousin Summer to take pics for me so I could actually be at the party as a mom and host and nothing else.
The table was perfect for all the kids to gather around and watch as we sang Happy Birthday.

One of Summer's girl Gracie Lyn. Summer and Jon have 2 boys (ages 6 and 4) and then the girl came! Summer is way into shopping for this cutie! A D O R A B L EThis year I got my last Patty Cakes cake...chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream layers with butter cream frosting and fondant. Served with mint-n-chip ice cream! YUMMY.We look too young to have a 4 year old right?Ummm...yeah, every year the frosting turns our mouth a different color. The gifts were of course a huge hit...but Auntie Casey and Uncle Blakes farm set was by far the favorite. It comes with every tractor and piece of farm equipment known to man. Even a couple of horses and goats...Grandma Janet got you a new gun. It came with a Sheriff badge so you had to get your cowboy outfit on and shoot things. So boy.

You are definitely all boy. You love to pull anything on a trailer. You love to hunt and shoot any kind of animal. You are so into pretending. You and your brother are a different animal every day. Your favorite is playing tiger or bears. You still make each member of the family the momma, the daddy, the brother and the baby-tiger, bear, puppy. You build dens out of all the blankets and pillows from the whole house. You love to make forts and spend most of the evening building. Every day when we get home you ask to "be naked" meaning just in your underwear. On the weekends, we don't bother putting clothes on you. You have given up pajamas and sleep in your underwear. You laugh at yourself and tell stories daily. You still have naughty streaks in you. You know how to be polite and kind but can get a little bossy and mean at times. You have learned how to fib and then say "I was just teasing mom". We are working on that one. You are very easy going when we take you somewhere different. You find anybody or anything to play with. Change does not bother you. But sometimes your curiosity is what gets you in trouble. You are very comfortable, almost too comfortable, at places and therefore think you run the show! Places like church, the store, the library. You have been there so much that you forget there are rules to follow that are not your own. You know how to push buttons with your mom and dad. Your biggest struggle is listening. We have to ask you daily to "listen". We love watching you learn and are amazed at what you bring home from school. We are so proud of you and can't wait to see what this next year has in store for us.

My only sister-in-law

I only have one sister-in-law...Casey...and I love her like another sister. Well that sister is turning 30 on Friday! Tonight the family is coming over for dinner cooked by yours truly. I know she has already left work for the day (she drives from Loman to Bemidji every.single.day) so she won't see this post until tomorrow. But I am totally rubbing in the fact that she is 5 months older than me to the day. Which is totally frightening for whatever reason-that I will be 30 in 5 months! YIKES. I am not really sure what the big deal is about turning 30, but society has me believing that part of me is going to shrivel up into an old lady.

Anyways, I wrapped up 30 little gifts for her. I tried really hard not to get trinkity shit that she doesn't need. She has to open them in order, starting with the card...which when she opens it will sing the "We are Family...I got all my sisters with me" song to her. Finishing it off with the 30 gift which is a bottle of her favorite wine. In between 1-30 are some things like: dark chocolate, a woodwick candle, a nice pen, fancy post-its, a new coffee travel mug, a coffee gift card...fun stuff she'll use.

So, I want to know...what did you do on your 30th Birthday?