December Recap

In a nutshell...

Ahhh December :) I was able to take a big, deep breath this month, which was just what the doctor ordered. The month still kept us on our toes, but it was a bigger mixture of fun activities as opposed to just required ones, so that was fun.

We started out the month visiting Santa with the boys at our work's open house, and then throughout the rest of the month, we managed to take trips to both Mankato (for an evening) and Sioux Falls (for an overnight) with the boys. We filled the middle of the month with lots of snuggling up with Christmas movies, baking, playing in the snow, and working on some craft projects. We ended the month with a slew of Christmas celebrations, and so many wonderful memories.

Here is a little more in-depth look at our December. See the links at the bottom of each section if you want more specifics (and more pictures) :)

 

Busy Saturday (December 6)

We had a very full day the first Saturday of the month, starting with a trip to visit Santa at Toro followed by a birthday party for a friend's kids and a trip to Mankato.

Click here for a full recap with pictures!

Family Weekend in Sioux Falls (December 13-14)

We decided to spend a couple days in Sioux Falls as a family just relaxing and having fun before the busy-ness of Christmas began. We visited the Sertoma Butterfly House, played at the park, met up with Dad, Pam and Jess for supper, played in the pool, had a nice breakfast out together, played in the pool more, shopped a bit, and just generally had fun.

Click here for a full recap with pictures!

Holiday Baking and Such

We did lots of fun, seasonal activities this year, including baking/frosting/decorating sugar cookies, shopping for and wrapping gifts, playing in the snow, looking at Christmas lights, and watching lots of Christmas movies together by the glow of the tree.

Click here for a full recap with pictures!

Christmas Eve(December 24)

We had a nice Christmas Eve at our home in Windom. We went to the Christmas Eve service, then had Dad, Pam, Jess and Tyler over for a lasagna supper and opening gifts.

Click here for a full recap with pictures!

Christmas Morning (December 25)

Christmas Morning is one of those traditions I want to always have at home with my family, opening gifts, listening to Christmas music, eating rolls together and just celebrating together. We had a great time opening gifts together this year, and it was so fun to see the boys feed off each others' energy.

Click here for a full recap with pictures!

Christmas in LeSueur (December 25)

After our Christmas morning traditions at home, we loaded up in the car and made our way to LeSueur to join Mark's Mom's side of the family for Christmas dinner together. We were missing a good chunk of the family this year, but we still had a great time and made some great memories :)

Click here for a full recap with pictures!

Christmas in Humboldt (December 28)

We had a great time down in Iowa at the farm for Christmas this year. We missed our Ropte family from Des Moines and Indiana this year, but had a nice time celebrating with everyone else who made it!

Click here for a full recap with pictures!

New Years' Eve (December 31)

For NYE this year we invited the Studes to our place for appetizers, playing in the bouncy house, games and a dance party.

Click here for a full recap with pictures!

 

Looking Ahead...

Mark and I are VERY much looking forward to a much-needed night away without the kiddos this Saturday. We still aren't sure what we're going to do, but we are hoping to make it relaxing!

Party planning is well underway for Cashel's 3rd birthday at the end of the month - a Jake and the Neverland Pirates' theme this year, and he is SO EXCITED!

January is always a crazy month for me at work with my boss taking almost the entire month off between snowmobiling and a mission trip he has been going on the past 3 years. But we're looking forward to our vacation to the Florida keys and the warmer weather there in early February. We decided to stay in Key Largo to escape a bit of the crazy and just take day trips. We can't wait!

Not much else going on in this neck of the woods, which is a blessing and a curse, I suppose, when you're locked up inside on the frigid days in Minnesota in winter. We will make it, though - we always do :) Here's to a memorable 2014, and we're certainly looking forward to a new year with new memories to be made!

New Years' Eve (December 31)

We started out the day by relaxing a bit as a family, then we dropped the boys off at daycare for a few hours and tidied up the house and ran some errands. Afterwards, we took Mark's Mom out for lunch to celebrate her birthday at Bergen.

Later that evening we hosted a small but fun little party at our house this year with our friends the Studes. The kids loved playing in the bouncy house, and us adults were busy keeping the oldest two in line. Ahh...the joys of little ones on the brink of turning 3.

Mark and I tried desperately to stay up until the ball dropped, but we lost motivation at around 11:55pm and sadly didn't make it. (We had watched the ball drop in NYC an hour earlier).

Either way, we're welcoming 2015 with open arms! We can't wait to see what this year has in store for us! Be looking soon for our 2014 recap!

2014 Photobooks

2014: January through June

2014: Brainerd Trip (May 29-June 5)

2014: July through December

Cashel

Kendrick

Christmas in Humboldt (December 27-28)

We had our final Christmas celebration of the year at the family farm in Humboldt the weekend after Christmas. I think this is the first year we haven't all been together as siblings, but unfortunately, Dave and Elicia's family came down with a horrible flu bug, and Dan and his family are all still adjusting to their newest little addition, who just finally reached his due date on Christmas Day and has been home just a couple weeks.

So it was "small" as far as family gatherings go, but we still had 7 kiddos and 4 of us siblings home with our wives/husbands/significant others as well as my Mama for a grand total of 16.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon, and I really don't know that I've seen my boys play so hard. They had a blast with their cousins, and finished off Saturday night with a dance party. We also had a belated birthday celebration for my little sister, who turned 29 (although the cake I made said 28 - oops!) on the 23rd. And I swore that I wouldn't post pictures of her in her pjs, but this is seriously just too cute :) I just love her and her adorable family :)

Sunday morning was pretty laid-back. With all the commotion going on, we opted to skip church that morning and relaxed and visited over breakfast.

We started the official Ropte Christmas at noon just as two of my uncles (one of them with a friend of his) and my baby brother Jason's girlfriend Molly arriving. We were excited to meet Molly for the first time! Aren't they just cute? :) Apparently miss Kaleigh Mae was a little jealous, but it definitely didn't take her long to warm up to Molly :) (See the middle picture in this first collage)

While we were a few family members short (11 to be exact), we still had a nice time. As is usual with so many little ones, I felt like I spent more time wrangling toddlers than visiting. We're looking forward to a new year and hopefully seeing these guys a little more - especially the ones we missed this year!

A Dusting of Snow, and Christmassy Activities

Sorry this post is a bit late...almost 2 weeks late, really.

This has been a strange year for us in Southwest Minnesota, considering we had snow, and now we don't. And it's December. And it's in the 30s? But we've been slowly and surely trying to make the most of the Christmas season, and we've been busy doing at least a few of the things us Minnesotans do well this time of the year:

{Looking at Christmas lights}

{Making and decorating Christmas cookies}

{Playing outside in the "snow"}

{Watching Christmas movies under the glow of the tree}

Our plan for the next 5 days is to soak in the rest. We're celebrating Christmas at three different celebrations within this coming week, and are looking forward to a relaxing, low-key New Years :)

On the schedule:

• RELAXING
• Making more cookies
• Watching Christmas movies
• Hot Cocoa
• Opening gifts

Christmas Morning (December 25)

I've got SO much catching up to do, but I was just inspired to do these pages while the boys jumped in their jumpy house, so they're done, while everything else is not so much. So I apologize for going a smidge out of order :)

One of the things I have tried to make a point of as a mother is to spend Christmas morning at our home. I have such fond memories of this as a child - waking up Christmas morning in my own bed and then opening presents with my siblings and parents at our home.

We kept most of the gifts simple this year, since the boys had already gotten their main gift a month prior: A fun jumpy house. Cashel got some rain boots and a Jake pirate ship, and Kendrick got a Noah's ark set and a fun monkey ball play thing. They also got their Christmas eve boxes of PJs, a book, their 2014 ornaments and a movie.

Another tradition we started last year was to have cinnamon rolls and juice for breakfast. We usually have a bigger meal planned for the day, so we like to keep it simple.

The overall favorite toy of all the gifts (besides the jumpy house) was definitely Kendrick's monkey toy. The look on Cashel's face was so priceless when the balls all came out.

More coming on our Christmas soon - I promise! We just have one more Christmas celebration together :)

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours :) We've been busy celebrating with family so far, mixed with such sweet moments with our boys. There is something truly special about seeing the glow of a child's face sitting by the tree, and the excitement of the anticipation and wonder of this season.

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

Christmas Day in LeSueur (December 25)

After a nice, relaxing morning at home together, we loaded up the car and made our way to LeSueur to celebrate with Mark's extended family on his Mom's side. We gathered at Uncle Roger and Aunt Cathy's for the day and had a nice time visiting and catching up what little we could. It's always a different experience when you've got two toddlers to chase around: It makes sitting down to enjoy a cup of coffee and piece of pie more like a sprint obstacle course than a relaxing time playing cards and laughing. Regardless, we did have a nice time, complete with a Mama and Cashel turkey hunt and fireworks. I'll let the pictures do the talking :)

A big thanks to Roger and Cathy for opening up their home for the afternoon. Give us ten more years and maybe we'll be able to actually visit with you again :)

Christmas Eve (December 24)

Christmas Eve was a flurry of preparation for us, but the day itself felt very calm and relaxing. I prepped the lasagna for supper right after breakfast, so there was little to do in the kitchen the rest of the day. We spent the boys' nap time picking up and cleaning in preparation for Dad, Pam, Jess and Tyler coming for supper and listening to Christmas music.

The day truly just flew by, and before we knew it, it was time to wake the boys up and get them ready for the Christmas Eve service at church, which started at 4pm.

It was a beautiful advent service, about 45 minutes long. I always love Christmas Eve services, sitting in the dimly-lit room with the candles lighting the room. We came home and got the oven going, then let the boys open their Christmas Eve gifts from Mama and Daddy. I picked out a book for each of them along with a new Christmas movie, a new set of Christmas PJs and their 2014 ornaments.

Dad, Pam, Jess and Tyler arrived just about 10 minutes before the lasagna was coming out of the oven, so just about perfect timing. Lasagna is one of those yummy comfort foods that just feels good when it's cold outside :)

Of course, Cashel just couldn't wait another second to open gifts, so we moved pretty quickly from finishing our meals to opening gifts. He got an awesome coral reef book and a fun sticker book and the Cars DVD and blu-ray pack. Kendrick got a fun wooden toy, some new rain boots and a book.

We tried to get a group picture, but man is it ever hard with two wriggly little dudes.

And, of course, they had to show Uncle Tyler their jumpy house and break it in. I'm fairly certain they had no fun at all.

We always enjoy our time with these guys, and this year was no exception. :)

Family Weekend in Sioux Falls (December 13-14)

After an unseasonably warm week, Mark and I decided that we could all use a change of scenery, so we booked a last minute deal on hotwire.com for a hotel in Sioux Falls (it ended up being the Sheraton!) for Saturday night and we made our way over there after getting our things packed up that morning and having some lunch.

Kendrick was out right away, but Cashel was pretty hilarious until he conked out about half an hour later.

Sertoma Butterfly House and Marine Preserve

We decided after checking in to head over to the Sertoma Butterfly House and Marine Preserve to check it out. We thought it was an alright time, but we probably wouldn't go back again: It was one of those "done it, good to go" type of things.

It started with the marine preserve, which the boys thought was a lot of fun. They were mesmerized by all the fish as well as the tiny sharks and sting rays.

The butterfly house was a little chaotic, but not because of the butterflies, but rather because both boys were totally obsessed with getting off the path and either diving into the fish pond or digging up all the dirt ::sigh:: The joys of being a boy mom :) The butterflies were so beautiful, though!

I didn't take a ton of pictures because I spend most of my time keeping Kendrick out of the fences lol

This butterfly landed right on Mark's back! Cashel thought it was pretty cool!

Sertoma Park

How I lived in Sioux Falls for a year and a half without knowing about this park (which is, literally, about a tenth of a mile from my old gym) is beyond me. COOL place!

Other Highlights

I never ever ever ever ever (I could keep going, but I won't) get sushi. Ever. Ever. I love it! LOVE! So I was just on cloud 9 when we went to the Hibachi Grill and Grand Buffet for supper (shout out to AiWen for introducing me!). We met Mark's Dad, Pam and Jess there, who had been doing some Christmas shopping earlier in the day. Although I didn't capture any other pictures from the meal, what with my kids being monkeys, Cashel getting lost for about 3 minutes (that felt like about an hour), and trying to get them to eat their food instead of play around with it. Oh well.

After supper, we met back at the hotel and the kiddos went swimming. Or, rather, Cashel, Mark and I went swimming while everyone else watched. And Kendrick sort of went swimming, but most of the time, he looked about like this:

He was NOT a happy camper. We still haven't determined if the water was too cold, the chlorine was too strong for his dry skin, or if he was just scared in general. He didn't want to go near it, and he didn't want us to either. He did seem to somewhat enjoy it a little bit as long as I held him entirely out of the water and didn't even let the tips of his toes touch.

Cashel preferred the bath-water temp "hot" tub, so these two hung out there for the most part.

The night ended up being pretty hairy after the pool. We got the boys baths and pjs, after which Grandpa, Grandma and Jess left, and we thought it'd be fun to drive around town and look at Christmas lights with the boys. Kendrick conked out right away, but Cashel was WIRED, so he ended up staying awake for what seemed like an eternity, but was really only about 9:30pm. Of course, when we got back to the hotel at 9, Cashel was still wide awake and Kendrick woke back up too, so it was a struggle to get everyone to sleep.

The next morning, we all went out for breakfast at our usual spot in Sioux Falls: The Rollin' Pin.

After breakfast, Kendrick and I dropped Mark and Cashel off at the hotel so they could get some swimming in, and Kendrick and I went to the mall to do a little playing at the play place...at 9am. It was good for him to burn off some steam, seeing as how he HATED the pool and all. We were gone about an hour, and made it back just in time to get our things packed up and drive home. We did stop in Worthington for a couple errands and grabbed some pizza to eat over at Dad and Pam's, but made it home by 7pm to wind down.

We had a nice time, we were just tired. Dog tired. It's beginning to make us wonder about how on earth we're going to be able to make it for a whole week on vacation together lol Oh well :)